Chapter Twelve: Techniques and Resources

Yang Fan stepped out the door and immediately felt lost. Where was the Tactics Building, anyway? He had absolutely no idea. Everything was pitch black to him—across the vast eight hundred acres of the campus, the only route he knew was from the main gate to the teaching building and on to the dormitories. Everywhere else was a mystery.

“I got a bit too excited and forgot to ask Professor Zhou where the Tactics Building is. Oh well, I’ll go find Professor Zhang. I have to leave the dorm area anyway, so asking her is on the way,” he muttered to himself, heading toward the edge of the dormitory zone.

The academy hadn’t started its term yet. Except for Yang Fan, the freshman dorm area was deserted; the senior students stayed elsewhere, completely separate from the newcomers.

“Professor Zhang, could you tell me how to get to the Tactics Building?” Yang Fan asked, standing at the door of Zhang Fengyi’s office.

“Go out the dormitory gate, turn right, and keep walking. You’ll see the Tactics Building,” Zhang Fengyi replied from inside, not even showing her face.

“Thank you, Professor,” Yang Fan echoed, then made his way out toward the gate.

…

“So this is the Tactics Building?” Yang Fan stared at the nine-story tower before him.

An elderly man, his hair snowy white, sat at the base of the tower.

“Professor, hello. I’m a new student this year. My name is Yang Fan. Director Zhou Haifeng sent me to the Tactics Building to collect my basic cultivation manual,” Yang Fan said respectfully.

“Hmm, Zhou Haifeng already notified me. No need to go inside; I’ll bring the manual out for you,” the old man replied, his eyes still closed. He casually tossed a book into the air. It flashed before Yang Fan and then drifted down slowly. Yang Fan reached out and caught it.

“Thank you, Professor.” Yang Fan was about to turn and leave.

“Stop!” The old man finally opened his eyes, a faint smile appearing as he looked at Yang Fan.

“Is there something else, Professor?” Yang Fan stopped, puzzled.

“You really don’t know much, do you? You’ve got the manual, but do you know how to cultivate?” the old man asked.

Yang Fan’s face flushed with embarrassment. He’d gotten carried away, ready to leave without even looking at the manual. But it wasn’t entirely his fault; after all, he’d spent years longing for this. In the small city, he’d worked many part-time jobs, always hearing stories about cultivators. Now, with the manual in hand, the dream was within reach, and he’d overlooked everything else.

“I don’t know, Professor. Please guide me.”

“The basic manual isn’t particularly profound. Most people understand it at a glance. It cultivates the first and second grades of the Vitality Realm—essentially, tempering muscles and bones to strengthen the body. Only when your body reaches a certain level can it withstand the flow of energy through the Qi Sea. Zhou Haifeng told me about your situation. Normally, after term starts, your mentor would explain all this, but since school hasn’t begun, I’ll tell you. Grades one and two aren’t difficult; honestly, it’s just a matter of spending money. You soak in special medicinal baths, sense the power of your blood and energy, use it to strengthen your body, and when your vitality reaches a certain level, you can temper your bones and meridians. Once you can sense and use your blood energy, you’re a first-grade martial apprentice. When you can temper your muscles and bones, you become a second-grade martial artist. At that point, you can switch manuals and begin third-grade cultivation—opening the Qi Sea and gathering energy,” the old man explained.

“Professor, where do I get the resources? When I enrolled, I was promised that the academy would supply resources for my first and second grade cultivation,” Yang Fan asked.

He now understood why the old man had stopped him. Resources were essential—the journey began with their consumption. Without the special medicinal solution, he couldn’t even take the first step of sensing his blood energy.

“Cultivation resources are at the Resource Exchange Center, right next to the teaching building. You should have seen it when you arrived. Go there to collect them. You have first-grade aptitude, so you get one hundred credits upon entry. Credits are used to exchange for all kinds of resources. Our Magic City Cultivation Academy’s exchange center only recognizes credits. Go exchange for what you need. Now you may go,” the old man finished, closing his eyes and yawning.

“Thank you for your guidance, Professor,” Yang Fan said, then turned and ran off.

The Resource Building was beside the teaching building. Yang Fan, clutching his basic cultivation manual, hurried toward it.

Upon entering, he saw that the vast building had no rooms. Inside the main door was a hall with ten counters arranged like bank teller windows. Only one was open; the others were all shuttered.

Yang Fan walked to the sole open window.

“Hello, I’d like to exchange something,” he said to the person inside. On the other side of the counter, a burly man was sprawled across the desk, asleep, drooling onto a damp patch.

Getting no response, Yang Fan raised his voice.

The fat man finally stirred, blinking drowsily at Yang Fan.

“Here to exchange resources?” he asked.

“Yes,” Yang Fan replied, quietly grumbling to himself: “Of course! Why else would I be here? To watch you drool in your sleep?” Of course, he left this unsaid.

“What are you exchanging? You look unfamiliar,” the fat man said.

“I’m a new student, just enrolled. I’m here to exchange resources for first and second grade cultivation,” Yang Fan replied.

The fat man finally woke up fully, but hearing Yang Fan’s words, his face revealed an incredulous expression: “New student? How long did I sleep? Has the term started already?”

Yang Fan was speechless. Was this man’s mind always racing? He had to explain, “No, not yet. I enrolled early. There’s still more than a month before school starts.”

“Good, good. You should have said so. Had me excited for nothing—I thought my Sleep Mastery had improved again, that I could sleep through centuries!” The fat man sighed in relief.

Yang Fan felt personally wounded. This man could really shift the blame. His expression gave him away—there was no breakthrough joy, just panic. Pretending to be happy, as if fooling ghosts.

Though a thousand curses raced through his mind, Yang Fan kept his face calm and said, “I’d like to exchange resources.”

“Right, you want first and second grade resources. What’s your name? I’ll check if you have credits,” the fat man said.

Finally, the conversation was back on track. Yang Fan was resigned.

“My name is Yang Fan. The professor said I have one hundred credits for exchanging cultivation resources,” Yang Fan answered.

“Hmm, you really do—one hundred credits. You just enrolled with that many? First-grade aptitude?” The fat man looked totally skeptical.

Yang Fan felt a stab in his heart. What was with that expression and tone? As if he couldn’t possibly have first-grade aptitude or a hundred credits.

He was out of patience. All the professors he’d met so far had been normal, but here was a real oddball.

“Whatever,” Yang Fan thought. “You can’t always be lucky and avoid stepping in it.”

The fat man handed Yang Fan a list.

“These are the items usable for first and second grade. See what you want? There are descriptions after each. Tell me when you’ve decided, and I’ll fetch them for you,” the fat man said.

Yang Fan didn’t bother replying, took the list, and read.

“Vitality Sensing Solution, 5 credits, for non-cultivators to sense blood energy.
First-grade Vitality Solution, 2 credits, for minor enhancement of internal blood energy.
First-grade Vitality Pill, 5 credits, for enhancing internal blood energy.
Second-grade Bone Tempering Solution, 5 credits, for strengthening bones, minor enhancement of meridian toughness.
Second-grade Bone Tempering Pill, 10 credits, for bone strengthening, moderate enhancement of meridian toughness.
First-grade Vitality Recovery Pill, 1 credit, for replenishing spent blood energy.
Second-grade Vitality Recovery Pill, 3 credits, for replenishing spent blood energy...”

Yang Fan calculated: the Vitality Sensing Solution was essential, and the Vitality Solution and Vitality Pill seemed to be low-end and high-end options. He wasn’t sure of the exact difference, but these were what he needed now.

“What’s the difference between First-grade Vitality Solution and First-grade Vitality Pill?” Yang Fan asked, not too proud to seek advice, though he really didn’t want to talk to this man. Zhou Haifeng had told him that nothing in cultivation was trivial—if you don’t understand, ask. Yang Fan took it to heart.

“Three portions of Vitality Solution are about equal to one Vitality Pill,” the fat man replied.

Yang Fan made his decision.

“I want one Vitality Sensing Solution, five First-grade Vitality Pills, and five First-grade Vitality Recovery Pills.”

“That’s thirty-five credits. You have sixty-five left. Wait here, I’ll get your items,” the fat man said, rising and heading to the back—presumably the warehouse.

…

Five minutes later, Yang Fan, clutching a box and his manual, sprinted back to the dormitory.

He could hardly wait. He knew a new world was about to open before him. He longed to understand everything about it, but the prerequisite was cultivation—becoming a cultivator.

Back in the dormitory, Yang Fan eagerly pulled out his manual and began to read.