Chapter 8: Crazy Refining and the Academy

Another five months went by as Fa Ma entered an intense refining period. As people realized that he could draw in the Sun's energy to improve elixirs, and that the elixirs could subtly warm the meridians, his demand skyrocketed. The unique combination of beast fire and his exceptional techniques gave him an ability that was undoubtedly rare. He took this opportunity to request profound-level exercises of the wood attribute, techniques involving the sun, moon, or stars, and beast fires that involve the stars or moon. He received two profound rank exercises of the wood attribute, one medium and the other low. However, he couldn't find anything related to the sun, moon, or stars except for a fifth-grade beast fire from the "Starry Flame Horse" that they've inherited since the time of Yun Potian. No one had been able to refine this fire, so Fa Ma was able to obtain it.

He also got a surprise visit from an inner courtyard elder from Canaan Academy who asked him to refine the Sun Three Pattern Green Spirit Pill. The elder even left a token for Fa Ma to join the Academy, ensuring at least a smooth entrance.

Unfortunately, a certain royal princess, Yao Mei, kept bothering him during this time, always coming over with the guise of "asking for advice." The brat was only ten years old but she already blushed when she saw him and desperately tried to have physical contact with him. He told Yan Qingshan to make her go away as he still wanted to show some respect to the royal family. However, when Yan Qingshan said to leave it in his hands, he burned the little brat a bit and gave her a healing elixir. She sat there and started to bawl, and he simply left, letting her cry in the courtyard. When he returned, Yao Mei was still there with puffy eyes and asked if he thought she was unworthy of him. He simply told her, "Yes," and moved on. Fortunately, the emperor got the message and left him alone. Fa Ma was never able to adapt to this feudal society where every old man wanted to give his underage granddaughter to him, which disgusted him as the morals of his previous life didn't allow that; he wasn't Xiao Yan.

During this period, he even broke through to two-star Battle Grandmaster and his Battle Armor was a dark Golden Red. He could also use the beast fire as armor, but it consumed Battle Qi much quicker. He could barely refine 5th-grade elixirs, but the main thing stopping him from fully advancing was the lack of enough Battle Qi. Yan Qingshan was generous with his materials and fully opened up the library and prescriptions to him. The only way he could repay Old Yan was to help him break through to Battle Ancestor. With his resources stacked up, he prepared to go to Canaan Academy with Old Turtle. Old Turtle didn't want to move, but he knew that his main opportunity to break through to Battle King lay in the Fallen Heart Flame. This "Cultivation Cheat" could quickly help Zhi Gui accumulate enough Battle Qi and strengthen his foundation.

The next day, the inner courtyard elder, Hu Qing, actually came to pick him up on a fourth-order griffin. This treatment surprised him, but he knew his genius status warranted it. When Hu Qing returned to the academy and reported about Fa Ma to the two vice deans, Qian Lao and Bai Lao, they immediately ordered him to bring Fa Ma back. If such a genius student could graduate from the academy and become famous in the Central Continent, Canaan Academy would gain greater reputation and a huge influx of students.

As they made their way to the Black Horn Region, they were fortunate enough to avoid any black storms—strong winded hurricanes that could even kill Battle Emperors. They quickly stopped at Black Seal City, the headquarters of the Eight Gates, whose leader was a Battle Emperor named Yuan Shao. Black Seal City was the premier auction house in the region and various goods with shady backgrounds from various continents ended up there. There were even rumors of backing by a Battle Ancestor, as two Battle Emperors tried to rob them but were killed. Fa Ma learned that the next auction would be in six months' time and knew it might be his chance to get the items he needed.

Though he had read about the Black Horn Region's brutality in books, it was still mind-boggling to witness a man being raped in an alleyway by an old woman. That was a scene he would never forget, and to make things worse, the woman noticed him looking and waved at him. Old Turtle and Hu Qing just laughed it off, but Fa Ma knew he would have to change his mindset if he was going to stay in the region.

They soon flew to Peace Town, and he got to see the infamous Dead Spirit Tree in front of the town. The town was as big as a city with merchant caravans going in and out. Despite its vast size, it had a simplistic feel to it that he very much enjoyed. As they entered the outer courtyard of the academy, he could see Battle Practitioners and Masters sparring in different fields. Everyone was giving their best, highlighting the academy's strong atmosphere. Hu Qing led him to the office building and gave him some information about the Dean of the Outer Courtyard, Su Mu. Su Mu was a peak Battle Emperor, and his son, Su Qian, was now an inner courtyard elder at the young age of 30 with a Battle King cultivation. Hearing that he was related to Su Qian raised Fa Ma's interest. It would be interesting to see the grandfather of the future Dragon Empress and technical father of a Semi-Battle God.

As they entered the office, he saw an old man staring at a painting of a man that looked like himself and his son. "Ah, you must be the famous Alchemy Monster," the old man joked. "I'm Su Mu, the dean of the outer courtyard. It's an honor to meet such a genius."

Fa Ma swore he was going to kill whoever gave him that nickname. They could at least have given him something like, "Alchemy Demon." Little did he know, back in the Jia Ma Empire, Old Shu sneezed as he thought someone was talking about him.

"Nice to meet you, senior. It's an honor for me to come to this legendary academy."

"Haha, don't be so humble. It's an honor for us that such a genius is willing to come to our academy. If you are willing to be an elder at the Academy after you graduate, we will reward you with three Earth-rank techniques or skills, the beast fires you need, five profound rank skills, and the alchemy department will be fully open to you as long as you lecture and teach others during this time."

Fa Ma gaped in shock. Was he dreaming, or do people just love giving him money?

Before he arrived, Elder Qian and Bai had discussed with the dean, who was away, Mang Tianchi, that if they were going to raise the genius, they were going to do it all the way. The Academy already had the foundation for skills and a learning environment; they just needed that final boost in popularity.

Fa Ma agreed immediately; as for returning the skills, he could simply deduce them when the time came. He walked out of the office with a smile and looked forward to his future in the Academy.