CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 49 EXCHANGE

Upon arriving at the infirmary, the doctor first helped Zhou Leng with bone setting and bandaging, while Deng Zhijue sent Qi to Zhou Leng and cleansed hidden ailments.

Finally, Zhou Leng was pushed into the "Demon Spirit Artifact" for treatment.

The entire Demon Spirit Artifact resembled a magnetic resonance machine, a large horizontal cylinder where Zhou Leng was pushed into the center.

A buzzing sound arose as the cylinder rotated, with blue Demon Patterns flickering on it.

Zhou Leng felt his entire body enveloped by strange light, and then the damaged parts of his body rapidly healed at a perceivable speed.

It was Zhou Leng’s first time experiencing the power of the Demon Spirit Artifact.

Demonized Items refer to modern technology driven by Demon Crystals.

The core of the Demon Spirit Artifact is the Demon Spirit Technique.

However, the Demon Spirit Artifacts from the Demon Spirit World have been heavily influenced by Blue Star Human Race technology, integrating many Blue Star concepts over the years and increasingly resembling Blue Star items.

After the treatment ended, Zhou Leng was pushed out, and the doctor handed him a blue medicine bottle.

"Drink it."

Zhou Leng took it and drank it in one gulp.

An indescribable bitterness filled his mouth, as if countless tiny people were scrubbing his mouth with brushes dipped in bile, causing Zhou Leng’s face to instinctively twist.

"This is the magic energy potion paired with the Demon Spirit Artifact treatment. If you don’t drink the magic energy potion, you’d lose almost half a year of your lifespan."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Alright, for the next three days, don’t overtrain. If you eat meat herbal cuisine and Great Nourishing Pills, you can resume normal activity a day early."

Zhou Leng bid farewell to the doctor and walked out with Deng Zhijue.

"Thank you, instructor."

Zhou Leng naturally knew that the cost of using the Demon Spirit Artifact for treatment was very high, and even though instructors had permission to use it, there were undoubtedly restrictions.

Deng Zhijue threw over a Great Nourishing Pill, which Zhou Leng caught and consumed.

"Let’s go, time to receive your award. After class, don’t forget to attend the exam; I’ve already signed you up. The Divine Text Bureau will appoint an expert examiner."

Zhou Leng returned to the Martial Arts Dojo, where classmates from Class 01 gathered around. Seeing that Zhou Leng only had faint bruises left on his body, they were amazed.

Soon, the third and fourth place winners also returned. They received treatment too, but the effects weren’t as good as Zhou Leng’s.

The chief instructor, Huang Jingqiu, appeared to award the top four contestants.

Xu Kang’an, the first place winner, received a Replenishing Essence Pill, two Qi Nourishing Pills, and a Blood Replenishing Pill.

Zhou Leng received five Qi Nourishing Pills and a Blood Replenishing Pill.

After receiving their awards, Xu Kang’an asked Zhou Leng, "How many Replenishing Essence Pills have you taken?"

Walking away, Zhou Leng replied, "I just finished my second one."

"So few?" Xu Kang’an said, incredulous.

"Many students in our class haven’t taken even one," Zhou Leng said.

"Trade?" Xu Kang’an offered his Replenishing Essence Pill to Zhou Leng.

The Replenishing Essence Pill costs 100,000 per pill, while Qi Nourishing Pills and Blood Replenishing Pills cost 10,000 each.

Xu Kang’an added, "Taking three Replenishing Essence Pills can eliminate basic hidden ailments in the body. Afterward, each additional pill boosts overall bodily health slightly. Do you know how many you can consume before they become nearly ineffective?"

"I really don’t know," Zhou Leng replied.

"100 pills. After that, they only work during advancement, otherwise they’re useless. I’ve already consumed the full 100, so I’m trading your Qi Nourishing Pills and Blood Replenishing Pills."

"Alright!" Zhou Leng handed over his Qi Nourishing and Blood Replenishing Pills to Xu Kang’an.

Xu Kang’an said, "In cultivation, there’s a concept of ’Core Elixir,’ which is the most important pill at a certain stage. You should consume as many as possible to avoid weaknesses."

"In the Qi Blood Realm, the true Core Elixirs during the Qi, Blood, Body, and Power periods are ’Replenishing Essence Pills’ and ’Strengthening Body Pills.’ Once you’ve consumed 100 Replenishing Essence Pills, or advanced to the Body Refining Stage, you can take Strengthening Body Pills. The theoretical limit for Strengthening Body Pills is also 100 pieces."

"Aside from these two pills, meat herbal cuisine is actually the most important. Generally, we record the number of Core Elixirs taken in the Martial Arts Diary."

Zhou Leng calculated in his mind, Replenishing Essence Pills are 100,000 each, Strengthening Body Pills are 200,000 each, and 100 pills of each amount to 30 million...

"Others may not understand why I’m trading my Replenishing Essence Pill with you, but you should understand," Xu Kang’an said.

"Like Martial Saint Zhao mentioned, reduce internal friction and unite externally," Zhou Leng stated.

Xu Kang’an nodded heavily, "See you later."

Zhou Leng looked at the Replenishing Essence Pill in his hand.

Originally, he thought he wouldn’t get the Replenishing Essence Pill, since he didn’t win first in the opening exam and figured he’d have to wait for the monthly exam, but didn’t expect Xu Kang’an to offer a trade.

Consuming this Replenishing Essence Pill could heal old injuries almost completely.

Then, he should aim to fully transition into the Blood Transporting Period.

Yet, he’d need to save up one Replenishing Essence Pill and 10 Blood Replenishing Pills for the Blood Transporting Period beforehand.

After lunch, Zhou Leng attended martial arts class with his fellow Martial Arts School students.

The curriculum at the Martial Arts Hall differed greatly from high school and college; theory books were self-studied, and course content was learned through videos.

There were only a few major classes each week, attended by all four classes together.

Today’s classes were in the Martial Arts Hall, where the instructor taught and called students to demonstrate.

After each class, students were left with various bruises, some even bleeding.

The final class was Deng Zhijue’s Inner Skill Class.

After teaching, Deng Zhijue shared more about cultivation practices at the Martial Arts Hall.

"Although Martial Arts School students supposedly only attend classes for half a day, that’s both true and false."

"In the morning, you attend combat demonstration classes, but in the afternoon, you must go to the Martial Arts Hall to cultivate."

"Whether it’s physical cultivation, True Qi cultivation, or sparring practice, it requires a minimum amount of time to earn credits."

"Under this model, the average growth rate of Martial Arts School students surpasses even those of Martial Arts Academy students within the same level"

"As for External Skills training, it’s entirely up to you. The Demon Worship Sect, Demon, and Sea Siren will assess your results."

"Tomorrow morning, come half an hour early for class monitor election and select chairs for various martial arts subjects."

"Every month, the Martial Guard Bureau presents martial arts cases to the Martial Arts Hall, where instructors lead outstanding students in handling cases."

"Not only do you earn bonus credits, but you also gain war merits, which can be exchanged for resources at the Martial Guard Department or Demon City Army."

"Remember, war merits are your most valuable future resource."

"If you don’t understand something, ask me directly. I’ll answer when I have time and will post regular Q&A sessions weekly..."

After the session, Deng Zhijue took Zhou Leng into the examination room.

Zhou Leng took out his student card and electronic ID card, verified his identity, and sat at a computer desk.

Soon, an image was projected onto the blackboard ahead.

It appeared to be a laboratory, and a young woman with long hair sat in a chair.

She wore a white coat, her black hair pouring down like silk, slightly shiny and smooth, with black-framed glasses without lenses perched on her nose.

In the plain attire and setting, her bright red lips and cold eyes were particularly prominent.

Deng Zhijue said, "This is the expert examiner."

"Hello, teacher," Zhou Leng greeted politely, though feeling surprised inside.

Acquiring a Basic Divine Text researcher status is not difficult, but attaining Intermediate and Advanced qualifications is very challenging; expert level requires numerous significant research achievements, typically starting at age forty.

This Divine Text expert waved her examiner’s card before putting it back.

Zhao Nandi, Divine Text Research Expert.