After Jiang He sent out the message, a reply popped up in just over ten seconds.
[Zhang Zhiyong: ?]
That single question mark carried all of his confusion.
If he remembered correctly, Jiang He had just broken through to E-rank on Thursday, and now he was already about to break through to D-rank?!
[Zhang Zhiyong: ???]
Clearly, a single question mark was not enough to express his emotions.
Three more would do the job.
After a full half-minute, Zhang Zhiyong's third message appeared.
[Zhang Zhiyong: The Bureau currently has tens of billions in subsidies. Resources related to breakthroughs have had their prices drastically reduced. The total for the resources you need is 1.2 million.]
Jiang He nodded in satisfaction.
Now that was economic sense!
Just sending one more message had saved him 1.3 million in one go!
However, Jiang He did not immediately ask Zhang Zhiyong to purchase the materials.
Instead, he sent back a thank you and continued waiting for Zhong Honglian's reply—
The subsidies from the Fire Bureau were clearly preparations made by the Council to deal with the apocalypse.
If that was the case, then the training camp would surely have even greater discounts on resources!
Sure enough, after waiting a short while, Jiang He received a new message.
[Zhong Honglian: 800,000, or 50 D-rank Spell Words.]
As the training camp instructor, Zhong Honglian knew that Jiang He had been undergoing harsh cultivation in the Twisted Time Domain for nearly two weeks.
She was not surprised at his growth.
And the price she quoted also showed that she already knew about the Spell Words.
Jiang He's eyes lit up.
The training price was cheaper, and Spell Words could even be used as payment…
Rounded up, that was practically free!
Wasn't this a huge profit?
He quickly sent Zhong Honglian a message.
[Jiang He: How do the Spell Words work?]
[Zhong Honglian: 「Image」 This is a Spirit Storage Vessel. It can store Transcendent power. Just put the Spell Words into it.]
Jiang He's eyes revealed surprise.
As expected of Teacher Zhong, a high-ranking Transcendent—after learning about Spell Words, she had so quickly found a storage artifact.
With this, even those who were not Word-Spirit professionals could use this kind of Transcendent item to bypass the limit on Spell Words, unleashing more and richer effects…
However, the [Word Keeper] itself already possessed unlimited storage, and it even grew stronger the more it stored.
Jiang He was not envious.
Instead, he thought of something else.
[Jiang He: Teacher Zhong, I plan to draw some Spell Words for sale every day, but I'm worried about others competing for them… Could I borrow the Spirit Storage Vessel?]
[Zhong Honglian: You may.]
Jiang He's spirit lifted.
With the Spirit Storage Vessel, he could draw Spell Words every day and directly store them inside, letting others handle the sales.
This way, not only would he be far more relaxed, but his drawing efficiency would also rise greatly.
Amazing, Teacher Zhong!
...
Jiang He needed a large quantity of materials, and using them also required others' assistance.
After his exchange with Zhong Honglian, he returned to school and went to the resource warehouse.
At that moment, Zhong Honglian was already waiting outside.
When she saw him approach, she raised her hand and tossed him a jade vial, which landed in his palm.
"This is [Azure Dragon Essence]. It can strengthen one's talent."
This was the MVP reward from the actual combat training, though it came a little late.
However, the Ever-Changing Beast that had appeared during the Exotic Beast Rampage had clearly drawn the instructors' attention, keeping them busy with reports…
Jiang He understood and tucked the reward into his clothes.
Then, Zhong Honglian took out a brass lantern, placing it in front of him, followed by a vial of Spiritual Blood.
"This is the Spirit Storage Vessel. Try its effect first."
Jiang He nodded, opened the vial of Spiritual Blood, and drew out a wisp.
In midair, he sketched a Spell Word, condensed it into a red speck of light, and flicked it forward.
The red glow fell into the lantern, floating inside like a tiny spark.
Zhong Honglian focused, parted her lips slightly.
The spark flew out from the lantern, entered her mouth, and the Spell Lines flared.
She spoke.
「Spirit Heal」
As the Spell Word took effect, a faint healing energy flowed across her palm.
"Not bad." Zhong Honglian put her hand down in satisfaction, her gaze turning back to Jiang He: "Jiang He, help me ask Old Bai if he can draw a few Spell Words for me."
Goodness, even Teacher Zhong was drawn by Word-Spirits and wanted to obtain powerful Spell Words?
Unfortunately, not even Teacher Zhong could get them.
Even if the S-rank Transcendents of the Council came offering top resources for Spell Words, Jiang He would still have to refuse with regret.
"Old Bai" had already gone home to visit family.
The only "Old Jiang" left was the one who could only do physical Word-Spirit.
Unable to obtain Spell Words, Zhong Honglian felt a bit disappointed.
But as a high-ranking Transcendent, she did not reveal her emotions, merely nodding slightly and fixing her eyes on Jiang He.
"Come, I'll help you break through your energy level."
...
Jiang He followed Zhong Honglian into the chamber reserved for breakthroughs.
He did not attempt it immediately, instead using the Fire Seed released by Zhong Honglian in combination with the Phoenix-Resting Wooden Blade's rebirth effect to rapidly enhance his basic attributes.
In just over ten minutes, he had filled the energy gap, reaching the E-rank bottleneck.
Then, using various supplements, he restored both his spirit and stamina to their peak before taking off his shirt and lying down on the chair.
"Teacher Zhong, let's begin."
Zhong Honglian was far faster than Zhang Zhiyong.
Before Jiang He had even finished speaking, several Bone-Piercing Needles had already pierced into his acupoints.
Various expensive resources were rapidly broken down and fused into a stream, flowing into his body through the needles.
With this external infusion, his spiritual power climbed rapidly, quickly reaching the energy-level shackle, and gradually approached the limit!
However—
Just as he was about to achieve complete sublimation, everything came to a sudden halt.
Like dominoes falling, the minor shortcomings in his basic attributes caused his spirit and stamina to collapse faster, until they fell into complete ruin.
Jiang He felt as though his mind had been struck; he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
At this moment, the medicine he had taken in advance activated.
Not only was the backlash from failure greatly reduced, but as the drug took effect, both his spirit and body were soothed, and his strength recovered rapidly.
Seeing this, Zhong Honglian's face remained calm.
Jiang He's foundation was too weak.
Trying to force a breakthrough, failure was perfectly normal.
But with a massive amount of resources as the base, failure not only avoided aftereffects but also improved his resource absorption, further refining his body and spirit, raising his foundation!
Thus, the chance of success in the next attempt would increase!
This was the [Forced Breakthrough Method]!
In times of peace, this method was far too wasteful.
Even the second generation of powerful Transcendents would be reluctant to squander resources like this.
But now, with Jiang He as a top-tier prodigy, he was worth such investment.
"Continue."
With a thought, Zhong Honglian broke down the second batch of breakthrough resources and infused them into Jiang He's body.
Failure, then growth.
The third batch.
Failure, then growth.
The fourth batch, the fifth batch…
By the sixth batch, Jiang He had reached a certain extreme.
At this point, if his blood had been tested, traces of it would be found within the sea of medicinal substances.
In ancient times, he would have been considered a top-grade "medicinal human," a single bite of his flesh being a massive tonic.
After receiving an ocean of resources, he finally welcomed sublimation.
Spiritual power surged and spread, and the entire chamber seemed to become a zero-gravity space, everything floating into the air.
Jiang He himself floated from the chair, his hair scattering, his eyes glowing with divine light.
...
Name: Jiang He
Attributes: Body 500.0, Spirit 1000.0, Energy 300.0
Talents: Ferryman of Time, Eraser (temporary)
Comprehensive Energy Level: 1000.0 (D-rank)
...
Inside the zero-gravity chamber, Zhong Honglian stood unaffected, still in her place: "Congratulations."
Jiang He had awakened on the 18th.
On the 27th, he broke through to D-rank.
The time taken—nine days.
He had truly made history.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) ‹ (TL : More Chapters @patreon.com/c/Gooberilla)