CH 107

Teacher Miller looked very happy and praised, "I knew you were a good child."

Afterwards, she told Rode a lot about the special students and the cooperation with the secretive unit of Caliel.

Rode then learned that there were many differences in the future path of the royal city, and the current consensus was to expand outward.

Only with more territory, more resources, more people, stronger warriors and power, can the sacred fire be protected and the human civilization be passed down.

Although the process is painful, it is necessary.

The ultimate outcome of shrinking and defending is destruction.

But under the general direction, there are countless choices.

The royal city has never lacked intelligent and insightful people, and they have come up with various methods and means for this.

Some are reliable, some are absurd, and some are cruel.

How to judge which paths are correct, which paths are wrong, and which paths are harmful is a constant theme in the highest council.

But as long as it is for the inheritance and continuation of humanity, it is embraced by the king.

Except for extinguishing the fire and plunging into darkness, everything else is allowed.

This is the law of the new king.

The previous Thalorian was very strict, with many taboos. Just because the soul characteristics were contrary to fire, such as water, darkness, cold, mental control, and soul devouring, they would be burned to death.

People like Rode, whose fire seed name contains the word "black," would have been thrown into the secret experimental base under the stone city if they appeared in the royal city twenty years ago.

"The Inhuman Voice of Caliel."

Just as there is light, there is also shadow. Thalorian has powers other than fire.

In its long history, Thalorian has encountered many crises of extinction. Before the life and death situation, it didn't care about anything. At that time, the king, in order to seek more power, turned his attention away from fire.

The specific process is unknown due to the catastrophe in the year 708. Many scholars only know that after that, the secret experimental base "The Inhuman Voice of Caliel" was established underground in the stone city.

In the same year, the "Secretive Unit of Caliel" formed by "The Inhuman Voice of Caliel" was born.

It became the shadow under the light, the supplementary force after the Flamebearer Legion of Thalorian.

"The Inhuman Voice of Caliel" is the Goldenworth Academy in the shadow.

But it is much more cruel than Goldenworth Academy.

Because it violates the faith in fire and is completely contrary to the worldview of most "citizens of fire," its existence is classified as top secret by the royal city, and only those with relevant permissions can know.

Rode is able to know now because his name is listed in the member list of the "Experimental Branch of the Secretive Unit of Goldenworth."

This is a project conducted in cooperation between Goldenworth Academy and "The Inhuman Voice of Caliel," aiming to quickly cultivate a group of mature, powerful, and capable warriors.

It is a helpless move.

Goldenworth Academy has always adhered to the cultivation plan of the headmaster, always aiming for comprehensive and complete development, and has always opposed the training of students in the form of weapons.

It is slow and costly. Students need to study for four years to thoroughly understand history, culture, tactics and strategies, the kingdom's situation, medicines, monster species, and so on, before they can step onto the battlefield after graduation.

There have always been people in the highest council who believe that this is unnecessary.

Students with low talent only need to quickly learn combat-related skills and can then go to the battlefield.

It saves expenses, shortens the cycle, and can quickly make up for the shortage of combat personnel in various legions.

But the headmaster, Lord Theodore, has extremely old qualifications and has had countless glorious achievements. He is both powerful and highly respected.

It is because of trust and respect for him that the academy has been able to persist.

"A person is not a weapon, a person is a miracle with countless possibilities." This is the philosophy of Lord Theodore and the motto believed by all the teachers and instructors of Goldenworth Academy.

It has indeed created countless miracles, allowing many ordinary people to eventually shine brightly.

However, with the development of Star City and the upcoming disaster, the external pressure on the royal city has increased dramatically, and the argument for weapons has resurfaced.

After many debates, the two sides finally reached a compromise.

The Caliel's Inhuman Voice, which has the characteristics of rapid growth, extreme precocity, and strong combat power, cooperated with Goldenworth Academy to form an "Experimental Branch of the Secretive Unit of Goldenworth."

Goldenworth selected a group of students suitable for growth in battle, and both sides sent instructors to jointly develop a training plan to quickly cultivate them into powerful combat personnel, in order to share the defense pressure of Thalorian.

The "Experimental Branch of the Secretive Unit of Goldenworth" has been officially included in the battle sequence.

Soon, they will be deployed into battle like regular legions."We have divided a section of the eastern part of the Black Dele Training Ground as the base for the experimental branch," Teacher Miller told him.

"Starting from tomorrow, most of your time will be spent at the base. After completing the combat training, you will leave the royal city. So, you need to prepare as soon as possible."

Rode felt a bit nervous for no reason. It seemed like things were getting serious, but there was no turning back at this point. He took out his whistle:

"Teacher Miller, it has run out of energy. Can you ask His Excellency the Chief Dean to recharge it for me?"

Teacher Miller smiled slightly:

"His Excellency the Chief Dean is not here, but he specifically instructed me about this matter."

She took out a bottle from her pocket, inside of which was a thin layer of silver liquid emitting a faint glow.

"This is his spirituality. Oh, you may not know what spirituality is. It is the blood of the soul, possessing unimaginable spiritual power. It is the purest spiritual material... especially for His Excellency Theodore, only he can extract and store his spirituality like this."

Rode looked at the bottle of silver liquid in astonishment:

"Isn't spirituality supposed to be a translucent solid?"

Teacher Miller praised him: "Correct, it seems that the rumor about a black bucket in the library is true. The solidified spirituality is the spirituality without a soul, like dried-up blood. And this is the original spirituality, which, besides being a precious material, also has special functions."

She carefully poured the silver liquid onto the whistle.

"For example, it can restore the power of soul-made objects."

The silver liquid was absorbed by the whistle, and it no longer looked dull and lifeless, but was filled with luster.

Big Brother was back.

Rode happily took back the whistle.

With it, at least there would be some security.

Rode asked again, "My attribute test is over. Can I apply for the allocation of Sun Stones?"

Teacher Miller shook her head slightly:

"No, your sewer attribute does not have any connection with Sun Stones. The logistics department cannot approve it. However, you are now a special-grade student and will receive a salary of 630 silver coins per week. In addition, you can independently choose the supplies and potions you need. Furthermore, you have the qualifications to apply for the allocation of spiritual medicine and weapons."

"If you specifically need Sun Stones, you can choose them. With your salary, you can receive five per week."

"Okay."

Rode agreed almost immediately.

Five per week may not seem like much, but it adds up over time.

This is a good thing.

"For the allocation of spiritual medicine, you need to provide the materials yourself. The royal city will find a professional alchemist to allocate it for you. I will give you a list, although there is no limit to the number of times, I suggest you not occupy too much of this resource. The frontline combat personnel are in great need of spiritual medicine, which is life-saving supplies."

Rode nodded. He didn't care about spiritual medicine. Were there any medicines that could revive the dead? Were there any invincibility potions for thirty seconds?

"The same goes for weapons. You need to provide the materials, and the weapon master will forge the weapon according to your needs. You only have one chance, and I suggest you save it for later."

Rode nodded again. At least for now, he didn't plan on changing his weapon. "Raven" paired with the sealed spirit bullets was very handy.

"Alright, that's all I have to say. Gather at the Black Dele Training Ground at noon tomorrow. Don't be nervous, I am also one of the teachers in charge of the base."

Teacher Miller stood up and sent Rode back.

In the remaining time, Rode went to the largest market in the inner city for a super shopping spree.

He spent a total of 30,000 silver coins in one go, buying all the supplies he thought he might need.

Rode now had over 58,000 silver coins on him, more than enough to support himself.

Afterwards, he returned to the dream realm and asked the Book of Knowledge about information on items such as "Puppet Wood," "Resurrection Stone," and "Living Flesh."

This was knowledge outside of the dream realm, and the fees for the Book of Knowledge were exorbitant, requiring 90,000 red stones.

Red stones were a common material, usually used to make urns or ash bags. You could buy ten for one silver coin, so 90,000 red stones would be 9,000 silver coins.

With Rode's current wealth, he could afford it.

But even if the merchants had that much inventory, how could he transport them into the dream realm?

He could only hold two stones at a time with both hands. He would have to make 45,000 round trips.

Rode couldn't even transport his soul by blowing it up.

Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original.

What should he do?

After thinking for a moment, Rode had a sudden inspiration and changed to another question: "Who is the merchant selling Puppet Wood in the market?"

Strictly speaking, this didn't seem like knowledge.

But the Book of Knowledge trembled, and a line of words formed on the cover:

"A Radiant Stone weighing more than seven grams."

Rode felt delighted. There was hope!

A seven-gram Radiant Stone was very cheap, costing only 500 silver coins.

Rode quickly bought one from a gemstone shop.After stuffing the fingertip-sized luminous stone into the mouth formed by the patterns of the Book of Knowledge, the pages automatically flipped open, revealing a line of text.

"Crooked Merchant Broken Tooth."

Rode immediately left the dream and quickly found out the location of Crooked Merchant Broken Tooth.

He was in the farthest corner of the market.

It was a very shabby little workshop, quite different from the clean and tidy streets around.

Crooked Merchant Broken Tooth was a sly-looking yellow-faced man. As soon as he heard Rode wanted the "Puppet Wood", a lewd smile appeared on his face.

"Five thousand silver strands each."

In the dusty shop, he lay in a rocking chair, legs crossed, extending his five yellowish fingers towards Rode.

Rode frowned, the price was obviously too high.

"Can it be cheaper?"

Crooked Merchant Broken Tooth chuckled, "It's cheap enough. These are top-quality goods, can last at least ten days. Ten days, you can play with it as you wish."

"What do you mean?"

Crooked Merchant Broken Tooth laughed, "Don't pretend. The Puppet Wood, besides being used for spirit communication and ghost rituals, only has the function of mind control. Everyone knows what you want to do. Hehehe, five thousand silver strands for ten days of wonderful time, isn't it cheap?"

A bad feeling arose in Rode's heart. This thing seemed to be worse than he had imagined. Would he get into trouble?

Seeing his silence, Crooked Merchant Broken Tooth was surprised, "Are you planning to do something else?"

Rode thought about his limited resources and gritted his teeth, "I'll take it! Give me four!"

But Crooked Merchant Broken Tooth refused to trade with him, stood up and pushed him out.

"I'm not selling anymore. No, I don't have this thing here. You go. I was just joking with you."

It took a lot of persuasion from Rode to convince him that he just wanted to hold a multi-person sports event and promised not to cause any trouble.

Crooked Merchant Broken Tooth sighed, "Alright, but I warn you, you'd better not choose anyone from Kimberly Academy, and don't use it in the academy. Otherwise, you'll not only be expelled, but also be taken to the Internal Affairs Tribunal. I'll be in trouble too."

He seemed to assume that Rode was a student of Kimberly Academy.

Rode painfully counted out twenty banknotes of the highest denomination and handed them over.

Crooked Merchant Broken Tooth took out four charred pieces of wood, each about two fingers wide and one finger long.

"Top quality, absolutely genuine. If there's any problem, you can come to me."

Rode pocketed the wood and immediately turned into a corner as soon as he left the shop, pinching the wood and entering the dream.

He placed the wood on the stone platform one by one, confirming that the item "Wood Puppet" in the spiritual material was completely lit up and there were no abnormalities, then he breathed a sigh of relief.

The crooked merchant was quite honest, so the problem must be with the price.

Five thousand silver strands each was indeed too expensive.

Rode had no choice but to spend the money in order to increase his hand.

Leaving the dream, he glanced at the workshop, thinking that when he came back, he would investigate the price of this product in detail.

If he found out that he had been cheated.

Humph.

Finally, Rode went to a hat and clothing store and asked the shopkeeper for a robe that could completely cover his hands when they were clasped together.

The shopkeeper had never seen such a strange request and said it could be custom-made, but it would take ten days.

After being repeatedly slapped in the face with silver notes by Rode, the time was shortened to an hour.

Although he spent another five hundred silver strands, seeing more than a dozen tailors frantically sewing a robe was worth it.

The shopkeeper, who had made a big deal, was all smiles, wishing he could lie on the ground to serve Rode.

Rode tried on his new robe, which was very suitable.

It had very wide and special long sleeves. When Rode made the lightning symbol, he could button up the sleeves from inside.

Others could not only see his gestures, but also could not pull open his sleeves. If they pulled hard, he would wake up.

In this way, he could enter and exit the dream at any time and place.

The robe was also very wide, very suitable for hiding things inside. No one would find it strange that Rode suddenly took things out of his sleeves or things disappeared in his sleeves.

Rode was very satisfied and left the hat and clothing store amid the shopkeeper's repeated "come again next time".

This big shopping trip almost drained Rode's economy.

His just-rich wallet deflated again, and the nearly sixty thousand huge funds were left with only seven thousand silver strands in a blink of an eye.

But the gains were also full. The purchased items piled up into a small mountain in the dream.

All the preparations that could be done were done, and Rode began to look forward to the upcoming test.

(=)