Chapter 940

Chapter 940: Academy

In the Xingbei Immortal Domain, within a certain Giant City, a man of ordinary appearance at the true immortal level was enjoying tea in a teahouse.

Calm and composed, he occasionally glanced at the passersby on the street, a flicker of excitement hidden in his gaze.

"How could a Postnatal Spiritual Treasure belong to a mere true immortal like you?"

"Before long, you’ll become my Deadly Poison puppet," the man thought to himself, taking a sip of his spirit tea.

"Sadly, the Tea of the Wide Road associated with Deadly Poison is too costly to enjoy regularly."

"But once I secure the Postnatal Spiritual Treasure this time, I must ask Sage Zixuan for a cup of Deadly Poison tea."

A look of bliss crossed his face, as if savoring the memory of the Tea of the Wide Road from days gone by.

Just then, his brow furrowed slightly, but it quickly smoothed out again.

Meanwhile, at the Hidden Spirit Sect, Xu Fan was hosting Shangling, the guardian true immortal from Golden City.

Xu Fan greeted her with a warm smile and a friendly demeanor, as if welcoming an old friend.

"Grand Elder, here is the current Immortal Jade from those families, totaling over 2.3 million," Shangling said, presenting a space ring.

"The guardian true immortal is too kind," Xu Fan replied cheerfully, gesturing for Xu Gang, who stood nearby, to take the space ring.

"Those families offended your sect; some compensation is only fair."

"The remaining assets and properties in various cities will take time to sell, but the Immortal Jade from those sales will be fully delivered to your sect," Shangling added, her tone ingratiating.

Since the battle, she had shifted her approach toward the Hidden Spirit Sect.

Now that she needed a favor, she offered everything without hesitation.

"Keep those properties, guardian true immortal. I have no need for them," Xu Fan said with a wave of his hand, uninterested in the scraps left behind.

According to the newly established intelligence network, the remaining assets were worth only about 200,000 Immortal Jade.

It was better to share the spoils than to hoard them all.

"This is the compensation your sect deserves, Grand Elder. Please don’t refuse," Shangling insisted quickly.

"Does the guardian true immortal have other business today?" Xu Fan’s friendly expression softened slightly, sensing Shangling had more to ask.

"It’s nothing major. I simply wish to request that your sect establish a public academy in Golden City," Shangling said earnestly, her eyes hopeful.

The 80 million disciples of the Hidden Spirit Sect were granted half a month of vacation each year to return home.

The methods of cultivation and study within the sect had naturally spread through these disciples.

Moreover, the remarkable progress in their Cultivation realms had inspired Shangling’s idea.

"Grand Elder, you may not know, but Golden City is in decline. It’s no longer a trade hub, the spirit ore reserves are exhausted, and the lack of a distinctive industry has worsened the situation."

"I believe your sect’s teaching methods are uniquely effective."

"So, I’ve come to humbly request that your sect develop the cultivation academy industry in Golden City."

"Once our academy gains a reputation, it will attract students from nearby cultivation families in the Giant Cities."

"This would greatly boost Golden City’s prosperity."

Shangling looked at Xu Fan with tear-filled eyes, lowering her attitude to the very bottom, hoping Xu Fan would agree to her request.

Xu Fan gazed at Shangling, surprised that this young woman was also quite talented, coming up with the idea of developing the education sector to prosper the economy of the city.

"As far as I know, those Immortal Sects and holy places have similar teaching methods. My small techniques for teaching disciples shouldn’t be too uncommon," he said.

"That’s different, that’s different! Those are techniques that only top-tier Immortal Sects possess; common sects still rely on the higher cultivation to teach," Shangling replied eagerly.

"If the Grand Elder could open an academy in Golden City, once it gains a reputation, the Immortal Jade will surely flow in abundantly."

"This way, your sect will gain Immortal Jade, and Golden City will get a chance to develop—it’s a win-win situation," Shangling looked into Xu Fan’s eyes with great longing.

Before, Shangling had three focuses: cultivation, managing the daily affairs of Golden City, and agonizing over how to develop it.

When Golden City was at its peak, it was not her turn to shine; by the time she took over, Golden City had already fallen to the bottom, arguably the worst Giant City in the Star Yuexian Domain.

Each year, when the guardian true immortals gathered, she could barely hold her head high.

"Good idea, but where will the technique come from? I can’t just hand over my sect’s techniques, can I?" Xu Fan said gently.

He saw a light in the eyes of this guardian true immortal, and that light represented the Hidden Spirit Sect.

"You don’t need to provide the techniques; my family has a complete system of inheritance techniques. I just need to gather a few minor, unimportant techniques, and that will be enough to establish an academy," Shangling said, her eyes flashing with golden light. She felt that this was the only opportunity she could grasp in nearly ten thousand years, the only chance to hold her head up high at the guardian true immortal gathering.

"People fight for a breath of air; even the Buddha fights for a stick of incense," she thought.

"Guardian true immortal is not simple!" Xu Fan laughed.

"My ancestors were once part of a great cultivation family, and during their peak, there were Golden Immortals appearing. Now, our family has declined, and all we can present is this complete system of inheritance techniques," Shangling said. This was something she had never mentioned to anyone else, but today she was going all out for this opportunity.

"Is this cultivation academy really feasible?" Xu Fan asked, as Grape had already reported all the data to him.

In the cultivation world, even slightly larger Immortal Sects and holy places have strict requirements for accepting disciples.

In the Immortal Realm, most mortals have spirit roots, but not every person with spirit roots can join a sect.

And those small sects that are lax about accepting disciples often have inheritance techniques that are inferior to those circulating in the market.

Thus, academies emerged in this situation, offering a few sets of techniques that were slightly better than those widely known, and inviting several true immortals who could teach disciples, making an academy feasible.

It would specifically accept the children of weaker cultivation families; as long as they paid spirit stones and Immortal Jade, they could cultivate the academy’s inheritance techniques with true immortals guiding them.

As long as the success rate of becoming immortals in this academy is high, there would be no shortage of students in the Immortal Realm.

"So, all you want is my way of teaching disciples?" Xu Fan asked.

"Yes, as long as the Grand Elder gives me a spirit realm like that, I can just lie back and collect Immortal Jade every year."

"All the Immortal Jade earned will be given to your sect without keeping a single penny for Golden City," Shangling said.

"That’s not out of the question. My sect has an obligation to contribute to Golden City," Xu Fan replied.

"Then, my sect will provide a set of techniques for teaching disciples, and the earnings from the Immortal Jade will be divided 80-20."

"We can’t let the guardian true immortal work for nothing."