’So Contribution Points can also be used to buy supplementary materials for Advanced Su Fragrance?’

After finishing his chat with Liu Qi, Jiang Qiu opened the Martial Arts account on his phone and found he had 6,110 Contribution Points. This was an impressive sum. Sun Yongsheng had reportedly only earned a total of 300 to 400 points over six years, and even Optimizers like Wu Hao mostly had around 1,000.

He had originally planned to use his Contribution Points to buy Bone Su Fragrance at 400 points a portion, hoping to raise his Body Refining Realm as much as possible before the university entrance exams. He never expected that after mastering Shadow Stepping, he would advance a minor stage on his own.

’Now that my cultivation has reached the skull, it’s too close to the brain. Using Bone Su Fragrance now would be like splitting my own skull open—a complete death wish...’

With this in mind, Jiang Qiu dialed Wu Shan’s number.

BZZZ—

The phone vibrated. A moment later, the sharp crack of spear tips cutting through the air came from the other end. It sounded like three or four people; Wu Shan was likely giving special instruction to students who were skilled with the Ancient Martial Spear.

Then, the sound of a twisting spear was drowned out by a voice as deep and steady as a mountain. "Why the sudden call? Are you in trouble?"

"It’s not about anything at the base. I was just wondering about the progress on developing the Advanced Su Fragrance."

Jiang Qiu rubbed his fingers, a hint of apprehension in his heart.

He had over 6,000 Contribution Points, but he wasn’t sure how far that would actually go. Besides, if the Advanced Su Fragrance was almost fully developed, it would be too late to improve its quality.

"Oh, don’t you worry about the Advanced Su Fragrance. We’ve already tested ten formulas. Worst-case scenario, we’re only three formulas away from succeeding. It’ll be ready before the university entrance exams, no problem."

Hearing this, Jiang Qiu visibly relaxed. "Here’s the thing, Teacher. The spear skill I comprehended, Furious Dragon Ascending to Heaven, was recorded by Tianjiao Base. A committee member named Lin evaluated it and awarded me 5,000 Contribution Points. They’ve already been transferred, and I was thinking..."

"What?! How many Contribution Points did you say!"

A shout like a clap of thunder echoed through the small room of training ground number eight at Outer City Eighth Middle School. Liu Zili, Wang Guanjia, and Xie Kuang, who were in the middle of spear practice, stopped dead in their tracks. They all stared at Wu Shan, whose right eye was bulging like a bull’s.

"Five thousand..." Wu Shan sucked in a sharp breath.

The two-meter-tall, one-eyed man took another deep breath, snatched a water bottle from the table, and took a long swig. Even as the cool liquid slid down his throat, his mouth still felt parched.

Back in his day, during the university entrance exams, he had watched students die one after another, and the reward for finally getting into Northwest Martial University was a mere 100 points.

And this kid, Jiang Qiu, makes one trip to Tianjiao Base, scores 1,110 points on the Military Department’s test, and now he pulls in 5,000 just for having a spear skill recorded.

This wasn’t just some run-of-the-mill prodigy; this was a goddamn prodigy among prodigies!

At this thought, a glimmer of anticipation shone in Wu Shan’s right eye. He lowered his voice. "A Quasi Tier Two Spear Skill?" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Yeah."

The word was barely out of his mouth when—BANG!—a palm slammed onto a table. The three others in the room flinched as they watched Wu Shan throw his chest out and roar, "Good! A genius! A peerless genius! Name it, what do you want? I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen!"

The sudden roar stunned Jiang Qiu, derailing his train of thought for a moment before he recovered. "I heard from Officer Liu Qi that Contribution Points can be exchanged for high-quality supplementary materials for the Advanced Su Fragrance. I have several thousand points now, and it seems like a waste to spend them on anything else.

"So I’d like to improve the quality of the Advanced Su Fragrance, but I don’t know if it’s enough..."

"It’s enough!" Wu Shan was ecstatic, feeling as if a puppy he’d been feeding for three years had suddenly returned as a Wolf King. He turned, walked out of the small room, crossed training ground number eight, and ducked into an empty warehouse. "Normally, most supplementary materials for Advanced Su Fragrance can’t be bought with money. That Su Fragrance expert proposed thirteen formulas precisely because they’d never had to work with purely common materials as supplements.

"I don’t know much about crafting Su Fragrance, but five thousand Contribution Points is more than enough to replace some of the less crucial, low-grade ingredients. The effect of the finished Advanced Su Fragrance will definitely be enhanced as a result.

"I’ll have to ask the expert for the specifics—exactly how much we can improve it and how many points it’ll cost to exchange for the rare materials.

"But you don’t need to worry about changing the ingredients causing drastic changes to the formula. That expert is incredible; he’s personally developed Advanced Su Fragrance before, so he’s experienced. After testing ten formulas, he should have a thorough grasp of the mutated Pebble’s properties by now."

"Okay. Thank you, Teacher."

A faint smile touched Wu Shan’s lips. He felt deeply gratified, yet a current of shame flowed through him as well.

’To be called ’Teacher’ by a prodigy like him... it’s the greatest honor of my career.’ He lamented how his abilities had been crippled after leaving the Military Department, leaving him poor and destitute. And he had even tried to suppress such a shining Luminous Pearl.

Sigh...

He sighed internally, but then he suddenly remembered something. A hint of anticipation flickered in his right eye as he lowered his voice to ask, "I heard from Director Zhao that many Great Demons were killed during the Dongqi Lake operation. They said the single drop of Essence Blood extracted from the Lord of Dongqi Lake was refined into Demon Blood Fragrance and will be sent to Tianjiao Base. Will you have a chance to get that one? Or can you only choose one made from the Essence Blood of a generic Spirit Communication Realm Great Demon?"

"I’m getting the Demon Blood Fragrance made from the Essence Blood of the Lord of Dongqi Lake."

Jiang Qiu’s calm words struck Wu Shan’s ears like a howling Gale. His heart hammered in his chest, which burned with heat, and his brow twitched. "Good. Very good. With that, you can forge the highest quality Jade Sinews. Even after you become a full-fledged Martial Artist, you’ll still have the aptitude of a peerless prodigy!"

His heart pounded faster than normal. A vast, pyramid-shaped silhouette formed vaguely in his mind, encompassing all the exam candidates in the entire Northwest Province. ’Where would Jiang Qiu rank now?’

A powerful student could bring great advantages to their school or class during the university entrance exams. If the students taken under his wing were hardworking and had some ability themselves, they too would have a chance to get into Northwest Martial University.

Besides, Jiang Qiu was the type of prodigy who would step up for others, and he had never held a grudge against the students who targeted him. Once he became powerful, he would surely look after hardworking and sensible students like Hu Ye’ye and Qian Cheng!

’In that case, this last class of my teaching career could truly be considered a fortunate one...’

The two talked for a while longer, and every sentence from Jiang Qiu landed like a hammer blow to Wu Shan’s chest, making his face twitch and leaving him utterly dumbfounded.

Mastering Shadow Stepping in thirteen days, surpassing Yang Zheng, the former leader of the Ten Great Prodigies?

Using Furious Dragon Ascending to Heaven to single-handedly defeat Lin Wei, the strongest member of the Tianjiao program?

Compared to all that, the fact that he had reached the skull stage in less than half a month was no longer so surprising.

At the end of their conversation, Jiang Qiu transferred the Contribution Points to Wu Shan’s account and asked, "Teacher, how is the cultivation of Liu Zili and the others coming along?"

"Ever since I told them you became one of the Optimizers, they’ve all started working much harder. With the lion’s share of resources directed to them, ten have already reached the Copper Skin Realm. There’s a good chance the entire class might reach the Copper Skin Realm before the university entrance exams."

Wu Shan smiled, his right eye filled with gratification. "What’s more, Wang Guanjia and Xie Kuang have both had a breakthrough. Their Body Refining speed has increased, and the Wusu Fragrance Essence that has built up in their bodies over the years is finally taking effect. They might even be able to break through to the Iron Flesh Realm.

"As for Liu Zili, she’s still a good distance from the Iron Flesh Realm, but from what I’ve observed, she has a slight chance too..."

"Good. Thank you, Teacher."

Jiang Qiu ended the call, his mind at ease. A wave of relief washed over him, and the corners of his mouth lifted into a faint smile.

’Regardless of whether Liu Zili can break through to the Iron Flesh Realm before the exams, I’ll get her into Northwest Martial University.’

After all, back in the Qingmu Town Secret Realm, she had tossed him the only dose of Blood Boiling Liquid she had, saving his life when his Qi Blood was completely depleted.

’A debt like that had to be repaid.’

With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Qiu took a shower, ate a hearty lunch, then sat on the sofa and started browsing various forums, catching up on the news while he waited for the results of the meeting.

He continued until his phone started to ring. RING RING RING.

"Jiang Qiu, the Demon Blood Fragrance refined from the Essence Blood of Zhu Li, the Lord of Dongqi Lake, has arrived. General Mo and the executive committee held a meeting and have approved your rank as number one overall.

"Get over to the Resources Building for your medicinal bath, now!"