Xiao Mofa was taking a stroll outside since she wanted to familiarize herself with the surrounding area. The reason was quite simple: she would be spending a year in this place.
The courtyards were peaceful, and as an individual that belonged to the S class, things were a bit different in their sleeping quarters. They had their own rooms and training areas, unlike the lower grades. Being talented was a privilege.
Just as she was casually walking by a corner, she felt someone knock her down. In astonishment, she looked up and found a sweaty Rui looking at her in shock.
For some reason, dread and a hint of disgust could be seen in his expression, but they quickly got hidden away. Despite that, Mofa was able to detect it, and she wondered what it was about.
Seeing that he was above her, Rui quickly got up and gave her a hand as well, profusely apologizing for knocking her down.
Looking at him, he really deserved the nickname he was given, “prince of the commoners”. He really didn’t seem like a commoner in the slightest; even his neutral expression and disposition belonged to someone of high class.
However, Mofa didn’t know it was because he was a reincarnated individual who had been relatively successful in his previous life. He had pride in surviving through hardships and knew how to take care of himself. Plus, since he came from earth, where “nobles” didn’t really exist except for, for example, Queen Elizabeth, There wasn’t a large amount of difference in status between people, so he, of course, held himself at a similar level as he did on earth.
He still hadn’t adjusted to the new world, since 14 years weren’t enough to truly adapt.
Rui sighed at his horrid luck once more. Although he felt bad for characterizing an individual based on the status shown by the system, he wasn’t really into such things or kinks. However, despite thinking that, Xiao Mofa on the exterior didn’t seem to possess such qualities, so it made him freak out a bit.
Calming down, he apologized, and after a small interaction, he parted ways with her. He heaved a sigh of relief and continued his run. He still had a few more kilometers to go.
After finally being done with his run, he returned to his room and claimed the mission rewards.
[Congratulations user for completing the daily quest.
1 free stat point has been obtained; Mild recovery has been activated.]
Looking at his level, he pondered how long it would take for him to reach level 10, since all the useful functions would be unlocked then.
After succeeding and claiming the rewards, he looked around his room. It was neat and tidy, not having too much or too little. Especially compared to his family's home room, it could be considered a luxury.
The floor was made out of wood, and a sandalwood smell permeated the air. A small lantern was placed on his writing desk, emitting a light strong enough to read and write in peace.
Turning around and exiting the house, he entered a small training ground surrounded by a wooden fence. This was not only his yard but also the place he would be training in the future.
Walking towards the gate, he looked at the visible buildings across the area. Surprisingly, the ground was elevated, and despite what you would imagine, the academy was massive. Since the academy was located in the capital city of the Illusive Empire, it had to be massive.
There were fake mountains and artificial lakes everywhere one looked in the resting areas.
Skyscraper-like buildings could be seen in the distance, and cranes were flying in the sky, seeming minuscule in front of them. The imperial palace was visible in the long distance, the same size as the skyscrapers, despite the fact that it was much further away.
Rui had been used to this scenery since he had been living here since birth; however, compared to the bustling streets and the merchants and traders passing by, the random peddlers and people going to and fro in this courtyard of his were like a quiet heaven, a void of silence in a loud world.
Sitting down on a rock by a pond, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sounds of the world around him and the smell of the flowers, grass, and mud. After a while, he engrossed himself, seemingly melting into the world.
He had never achieved such inner peace in his two lives. When he was on earth, he would spend his whole day either working or studying. His relaxing time was only when he was reading novels or watching shows and movies. He had never taken a vacation in his life since he was afraid of losing everything if he didn’t try hard enough.
In this life, he had similar manners, trying his best to help out his family in a world much crueler than the previous one.
The sound of a chime was suddenly heard, and a system window appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations to the user for achieving the first absorption.]
[The state of man and earth as one has been achieved.]
[This is a great achievement that even many individuals with higher cultivation can’t achieve.]
[The world is resonating with the user.]
[The perfect Heavenly rune physique is beginning to absorb energy from the world.]
Rui didn’t hear or see the system prompt, as he was wholeheartedly focused on the feeling he was getting. He felt the insides of his body warm up, and a mysterious energy was sipping in. He had no idea what was going on, but he was engrossed in that feeling, a sense of euphoria encompassing him.
The chimes continued to sound out as more system windows appeared.
[First light stage has been achieved.]
[Congratulations to user for sensing the energy of the world.]
[3000 XP has been rewarded!]
[Level Up! One free stat point has been rewarded.]
[Level Up! One free stat point has been rewarded.]
[Level Up! One free stat point has been rewarded.]
[Congratulations to user for reaching level 5.]
[New Bloodline and cultivation skills have been unlocked!]
The chime sounds and the system prompts continuously popped up, but Rui was focused on himself, trying to grasp that feeling as much as possible.
Time passed, and before Rui knew it, night had long befallen...
Soon the morning sun shone through the buildings as Rui slowly opened his eyes.
The rune on his forehead glowed an extremely powerful bright blue for a split second as his pure white pupils looked around in amazement.
Glancing at the system prompts that had appeared, he finally understood his situation and why his vision had changed.
His vision had changed; he could now see particles in the air that weren’t there before. It seemed like an ocean as waves of energy continuously splashed around, colliding with the environment.
Rui thought that his vision had changed thanks to his cultivation going up, but he couldn’t be more wrong. The reason he could see the world like this was due to his heavenly physique.
The heavenly rune physique is one of the 10 extreme physiques, representing purity and clarity. One’s body would never have any impurities, and it could absorb the energy of the world freely. As a side effect, however, their vision would now include the rune energy in the world, as their bodies were one with the energy since they were as pure as it. Although it seemed like a benefit rather than a side effect, it was something that could never be turned off.
Finding himself covered in a filthy black substance once again, Rui frowned and went to clean himself, putting on his academy robes and heading towards the central courtyard of the academy for the daily gathering.
The academy clothes were each unique for individuals in the S class and were tailored for them; however, right now, they still hadn’t made them, so they wore the classic academy clothes: a black robe and white belt. It was clearly made for training. Truly a luxurious academy, Rui sighed.
On the way there, he scanned different items with his identification ability and looked through the new skills in the skill tree. There were two new skills: otherworldly suppression and an energy absorption method tailored to his physique. Of course, it wasn’t of a high level; it was just the introduction to get him through the first stage.
He was glad to see these two skills, since they were useful. One was a suppression method for inner demons and actual demons, something that he had heard about in Wuxia novels and from rumors in this world.
The other, of course, was named the Heavenly Rune Absorption Technique, a self-explanatory name. Despite it being just the basics, it confirmed a solution for one of Rui’s worries: cultivation methods. It seemed that the system even possessed cultivation methods, some of which were tailored to him. The tree of this cultivation method went up twelve stages, so this meant that this skill had twelve levels to it that he had to unlock.
Now what he needed were cultivation resources, and thankfully the academy would provide them every week, so he was in a good situation for at least a year.
Arriving at the central courtyard and entering the area designated for his classroom, he looked around at everyone.
The energy in the air was the most turbulent here, as it collided with people and either got absorbed or rebounded. Some individuals, such as Huo Liang, had the energy completely rebound, except for some that were completely absorbed until there was nothing left. It was similar with Ning Yinin and Xiong Liliang.
It was clear that they had an affinity with a certain element, and since they had EX-grade talents, it made sense. Rui had an abnormally high absorption rate for every element, but compared to the speed at which they absorbed those elements, he was far behind them.
People like Han Dong absorbed a little of everything, but they still had one or more elements that they absorbed more of. No one was balanced like him. Han Dong absorbed the water element the most out of all the elements.
Although they were "absorbing" it, not all of them could actually contain the energy and circulate it around, truly making it theirs. Most of it would be slowly ejected.
Rui didn’t know if absorbing all the energy was good or not. Even if he did, it wouldn’t matter since he couldn’t really change it anyway, so he stopped thinking about it.
The academy elder came to the podium and greeted everyone with a smile. After the usual speech, he took a parchment and started reading which individuals had changed classes, reminding everyone that if their names weren’t called, you wouldn’t change classes.
After announcing all the individuals, the S class didn’t lose any people but gained one, that person being Xiao Long.
What was surprising was that Han Feng got downgraded to the C class from the B class thanks to his test results. Rui couldn’t help but be amazed at his stupidity, while Han Dong was snickering to himself, but he wasn’t surprised.
Next, the academy elder announced the results of the tests, beginning with a strong speech about how everyone should try their best, despite being low on the rankings, etc. The basics when it came to stirring people up and not making them feel bad
Finishing his empowering speech, he began with fifth place and ended with first place.
All the others that were lower than fifth place could check out their rank in the academy hall, where missions and achievements were placed.
The academy itself wasn’t just an institute for study and cultivation, but a place where people learned to be warriors of the martial world, since even the weakest rune master needed to have at least some fighting capability. As such, there were missions that sent people outside for certain periods of time and made the students do small chores. The time, of course, never exceeded a few days since the academy itself was just for a year.
The fifth spot was taken by Zhou Huajia.
In fourth place was Cong Mizaru.
Third place went to Han Dong.
Second place went to Guang Rui.
And finally, first, Xiao Long
He was stunned for a moment, but soon enough he heard the congratulations from his classmates and teachers and realized that he truly was in second place.
He knew that he, Han Dong, and Xiao Long had done a good job, but they each excelled in different fields. Getting second place was incredible since he was a commoner and, unlike the nobles, he didn’t get educated.
Each class was directed towards a designated area for today’s classes.
The head teacher was the same one from the written test. Rui took a deep breath and listened to his words with care.
"Today we will begin actual cultivation. As all of you know, you can’t just cultivate; you need to feel the energy of the world. Once someone is able to detect energy and absorb it, they have reached the first light stage. Although some of you have probably used rune energy subconsciously and even used it on the projection stones, that is only external energy. What we cultivators cultivate is internal energy; that’s how we become powerful. You are all qualified rune masters with great talent, so I’m expecting a lot from you all. In fact, it seems a few individuals in this class have already reached the first light stage today, a truly astonishing speed."
The head teacher made a toothy grin as he called out names.
"Han Dong, Huo Liang, Xiong Liliang, Guang Rui, and Song Liwu, I congratulate you for reaching the first light stage so quickly. You are truly a gifted bunch. However, don’t get complacent; most of the people in this class have talents at your level, so they will be able to reach the first light stage within the week."
"Since you five have reached the first light stage already, you will begin with the next step, rune gathering. A teacher will take you to the academy library, where you will select a method of cultivation for yourselves. We will not assist with picking; it all depends on what you think. You have two hours to choose. The others will be here with me; you will all be trying to absorb the rune energy around, and once you are done, you will also be heading towards the library to pick up a cultivation method."
"The first ten that reach the rune gathering stage first will obtain a beginner gold dan pill, worth quite a lot. So, I’m expecting great things from you guys."
"Do not forget to return after five hours, since we will begin the theoretical classes then."
"Yes sir!"
Called out everyone.
Rui and the other four followed an elderly teacher down a set of precarious stairs that led underground.
Opening the large metal gate with a single hand, the old man sat down in a wooden chair as he lit up incense.
“You have two hours to browse through and find a method for yourself; don’t worry, you will have other opportunities in the future, and the base methods here are all similar, differing a small amount depending on the affinity. This incense will last exactly 2 hours; if you stay any longer, then you will be punished accordingly.”
He said this while pulling out a scroll and carefully reading it.
The five agreed and instantly headed inside in a hurry.
Entering the large hall-like library, Rui was stunned. The library was massive. It finally clicked in his head why they made it underground. Such a massive structure would be too hard to protect from the outside.
The number of books was incredible, and a lot of information was recorded on projection stones and jade slips.
Han Dong instantly headed towards the area with the most jade slips as he looked through each of them with focus. It was clear that he already knew what he would be picking.
An elderly man, even older than the one outside, was cleaning the area slowly. That being said, there wasn’t a single speck of dust, even as he pushed the broom on the ground.
Rui was intrigued as he used identification on him.
[■■■■■■■■■■■■, ■■■■■
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■,■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■■■]
Shock and a trace of fear became visible on his face for a split second before being suppressed by rationality. It was clear that this was a master.
After thinking over something for a while, he scrolled through the books and material at a quick pace, using identification on each one of them.
The information identification showed was dazzling, such as original works from incredible masters and treasures from immortals of old.
Rui found a book containing his physique and talents, thoroughly trying to understand what sort of cultivation method his physique required.
After an hour of not finding anything he liked, he sighed, not pleased. His physique was unique, so none of the methods matched him well. He had finally learned the significance of an EX-rank talent—that being a genius is rarely found, but not rarely enough to not be seen. Especially in a place like the capital of a large empire.
The academy had many branches across the empire, where each new rune master, be it from remote places or bustling cities, would learn to cultivate at least the basics and become part of the power the nation could wield.
Although he didn’t find a method, he wasn’t anxious. Thankfully, the system had given him a method for cultivation, though he didn’t know its stage.
Han Dong, Huo Liang, and Song Liwu had already left. It was clear that they were already informed of this, so they already had a book in mind.
On the other hand, Xiong Liliang stood there dazed for a few seconds at a time as the elder that was cleaning earlier read him each scroll he found interesting.
As he was illiterate, he had to ask the old man to read them out for him. He felt bad for it, but he had no option.
Rui looked at the old man before gaining courage and approaching him.
“Are there any other cultivation methods?”
The old man looked at him with a hint of surprise before smiling.
“Of course there are, but they can’t be found here. Head down that hallway and search in the small room on the right; there are a small batch of methods there. I give you permission to search through them. The higher-ranked methods are on another level, lower than this one.”
Rui nodded in amazement and thanked the old man.
Thankfully, the old man didn’t say anything more and just continued narrating things for Xiong Liliang.
Going down the hallway, Rui found an old room that had a lot of slips and stones that had been there for years. He searched around the area before finding a glass jar with a jade slip inside; the words "heavenly demon mantra" were carved on it.
