Chapter 549: Chapter 50: Cultivating Hobbies and Refining Elegant Tastes
June 6, 2018
Heaven-Reaching City is undeniably the capital of the Xiangzhou Continent, boasting the largest population, the biggest land area, and the forefront of Immortal Dao with the One Sect and Three Academies.
A city so immense naturally has its internal operating rules, such as the simplest one: the closer you get to the bustling central area, the more astonishing the land price becomes. For example, the Teahouse Avenue, where high fashion and luxury goods are gathered, completed the transition from "worth every inch in gold" to "worth every inch in crystal" five hundred years ago. The land price here can no longer be measured by mortal gold and silver, but must rely on Spirit Stones and other Crystal Stones.
Currently, the average land price on Xiangzhou Continent is highest in Golden Jade City, but when it comes to the peak of land prices, it is undoubtedly in Heaven-Reaching City. The land prices in the most prosperous area of Golden Jade City are similar to those on Teahouse Avenue.
However, Teahouse Avenue is far from being the core area of Heaven-Reaching City, since fashion and luxury do not hold the highest status here. The Shanru District, with the Octagonal Arena, and Honglang District, with the largest library, both have land prices surpassing Teahouse Avenue. News often circulates of "a mysterious rich woman from Golden Jade City buying land in these districts at sky-high prices," continuously verifying the reputation of Heaven-Reaching City as the number one city under the heavens.
As for the peak land prices within Heaven-Reaching City, it is indisputably at the location of the One Sect and Three Academies.
Central District.
As the name implies, it is located at the very center of Heaven-Reaching City. The entrance to the Saint Sect’s Myriad Forms Garden, as well as the headquarters of the Wuxiang Sword Academy, Cyan Lotus Academy, and Celestial Craft Institute, are all situated here. Two thousand years ago, the Saint Sect’s two founders created the One Sect and Three Academies here, standing at the peak of Xiangzhou Immortal Dao, and subsequently built the first and largest city in the age of civilization, Heaven-Reaching City, around these four sects neighbors.
The Central District does not encompass much land, as the Saint Sect long ago relocated the Myriad Forms Garden to the sky, leaving only an entrance on the ground for those unable to fly to come and go. The Three Academies also strictly limit their land occupation, hardly expanding an inch. If internal space becomes really cramped, they use Immortal Dao techniques to warp space internally.
Thus, although the Three Academies each have their own system, internally vast and boundless, as if containing a small world, their main gates are almost all on the same street, constantly bumping into each other.
So as soon as Wang Jiu stepped out of Cyan Lotus Academy, he saw the welcoming team in front of the Wuxiang Sword Academy.
According to the rules of the Sword Fighting Tournament, to ensure fairness, the two academies will host the tournament alternately. The last tournament two years ago was hosted by Cyan Lotus Academy, where Sang Yue and Sang Jing spared no effort in preparing for the battle, investing significant resources in training cultivators and achieving quite ideal results in internal mock battles.
After that, sword cultivators from Wuxiang Sword Academy, in front of four hundred Cyan Lotus Scholars and over a thousand guests who came to watch, overwhelmingly defeated Cyan Lotus Academy, continuing to uphold the Sword Academy’s reputation.
The brutality of that battle was one-sided, rarely seen in the hundreds of years of rivalry between the two academies. All the strategies and the excellent seed candidates carefully arranged by Sang Yue and Sang Jing were crushed by the pure hard power of Wuxiang Sword Academy, and even the sisters themselves suffered a crushing defeat under the perfect coordination of the Celestial Sword and Broken Sword. After that battle, the morale of Cyan Lotus Academy disintegrated, and even without a word from Wuxiang Sword Academy, fierce internal opposition against further confrontation emerged.
That Sword Fighting Tournament was not the one that decided the ownership of the Sword Academy’s reputation, but it could be considered a precursor to the real tournament, serving as a wind vane. After all, cultivators cannot be trained to be masters as quickly as mortal martial artists within three to five years, and the seedings likely to shine in the real tournament would already reveal their sharpness in this Sword Fighting Tournament.
And that crushing defeat basically meant that the next Sword Academy competition would be without suspense. From that battle onwards, the academy sisters’ personalities completely changed, becoming eager for success, even to the point of losing their wits, risking everything to explore Primordial Ruins, and ultimately falling at Golden Cloud Peak.
Now, according to the sisters’ last wishes, the Sword Fighting Tournament between the two academies reopens, but even before the battle starts, many people have clearly stated that such competition is meaningless, as the disparity in strength is so great that it doesn’t even have the value of skill exchange. Cyan Lotus Academy should honestly return to being an academy, focusing on Immortal Dao theoretical research, with no interference with the Sword Academy, and what’s wrong with that?
Even so, when the new head of the academy expressed the intention to face the challenge head-on, Wuxiang Sword Academy still extended the respect and etiquette deserved. A welcoming team comprising elite disciples lined up in two neat rows at the academy’s entrance, looking solemn yet friendly, completely absent the accumulated arrogance of past winners.
In contrast, the academy’s team was clearly lacking in quality, with the scholars walking with trepidation, lamenting and sighing occasionally, vividly displaying their demoralized spirits even before the battle started.
"Bringing disgrace every few years like this, when will it ever end..."
"It’s just a one-time bet, why not just pay to smooth things over, especially since the academy recently found a new sponsor, the budget is not so tight..."
"The key is every battle ends up shaming all academy members! Once, the Three Academies had equal status, each with their own strengths. Now, when Cyan Lotus Academy is mentioned, people’s first impression is its reputation being crushed by Wuxiang Sword Academy..."
"Alas, losing the reputation is nothing, but last time I was on a blind date, met a girl of similar cultivation level and great looks, then mentioned I’m a student of the academy and know some swordsmanship, she abruptly thought I had some special interest!"
"... Haha, explaining that would be hard, especially since two years ago you were forced into that Sword Fighting Tournament as a strongman."
"Uh, I didn’t explain."
"No explanation?"
"Because she has a special interest, and she’s quite a seasoned player in the circle. When we were matchmaking, I thought I found a kindred spirit, so I was particularly enthusiastic... It was also the first time I met such a beautiful girl, so..."
"...So you just went along with it?! You’ll get found out someday!"
"No, that night we actually had a little spar, and I found that the special interest... was actually pretty interesting, so..."
"Damn you, you pervert, stay away from me!"
...
Compared to the Wuxiang Sword Academy, the people from the academy were a perfect representation of the term "rabble," without a hint of the composure and demeanor expected of intellectuals.
Fortunately, Wang Jiu hadn’t expected these scholars to hold the fort anyway,
The only warriors truly capable of taking the stage were the few individuals carefully selected by Wang Jiu.
——
The group approached the gate, and the Sword Academy’s main entrance opened silently. An elder in long robes stood at the door, cupped his hands, and greeted, "Welcome, fellow academy cultivators."
Wang Jiu recognized the person as the current dean of Wuxiang Sword Academy, a Mountain-Overturning Realm cultivator named Wang Xiao, born in 1940. He was a bit surprised; this old cultivator was famous across the Xiangzhou Continent. Among his peers, his combat skills were the weakest, but when the former dean was ready to pass on the position, Wang Xiao received unanimous support from within the academy and took over its leadership for over 30 years.
During his tenure, Wuxiang Sword Academy thrived, making breakthroughs not only in practical combat but also in Sword Dao theory, swordsmanship heritage, and sect management, subtly overshadowing the rival Cyan Lotus Academy — although the competition between the two academies had always favored Wuxiang Sword Academy, under Wang Xiao’s term, the advantage was overwhelming.
For a dean who lacked Sword Dao talent but excelled in management, Wang Jiu returned the courtesy, drawing a sword shape with his hands in front of his chest, symbolizing the shared pursuit of the ultimate truth of Sword Dao. Wang Xiao’s eyes immediately lit up, a gentle smile graced his face, and he personally led the academy group inside the Sword Academy.
Compared to Cyan Lotus Academy, Wuxiang Sword Academy exuded simplicity, even ruggedness. Beyond the main gate was a slightly narrow corridor, flanked by two rows of peculiar buildings, leaning at odd angles with materials ranging from metal to jade and wood, in a riot of shapes without any apparent order. They happened to block out the sunlight, leaving the central passage completely shrouded in shadow.
As they walked, Wang Xiao openly explained, "The internal management of the Sword Academy is always casual, with not many rules beyond Sword Dao practice. These are the residences of the academy cultivators on both sides, and the internal and external modifications are entirely up to the owners. The swordsmanship practiced by Wuxiang Sword Academy’s cultivators varies widely, so the sword training rooms in their residences are naturally bizarre. Outsiders might find them unsightly at a glance, but this is the unique culture of Wuxiang Sword Academy."
Wang Jiu nodded, earnestly watching the buildings on either side.
But behind him, a Cyan Lotus Scholar rashly spoke up, "Clearly, it’s just a lack of artistic aesthetic sense. Barbarians are still barbarians..."
The voice wasn’t loud or soft, but everyone present was a cultivator, so they could hear it clearly. Wang Xiao himself just smiled, pretending not to hear, and the Wuxiang Sword cultivators around him also maintained their serious expressions, showing no reaction.
This strict discipline made Cyan Lotus Academy seem like a scattered band of scatterbrains. The silent stillness of the Sword Academy folks was more effective than any scolding or insult.
At this moment, Wang Jiu suddenly asked, "Is the Fire Element Sword in vogue at the Sword Academy recently?"
After speaking, without waiting for the surprised expressions from those around him, including Wang Xiao, Wang Jiu continued on his own.
"The training rooms in the residences of the academicians on both sides have seen a 70% increase in elements that promote Five Elements Sword over the past 10 years; more than half of the wooden buildings are conducive to practicing Fire Element Sword, and most of the rest have residual Fire Element Sword Qi. While the buildings added from 10 to 20 years ago show more signs of Heart Sword Technique — precisely 25 years ago your academy created Lost Heart Sword Rain, which was all the rage — yet in the past twenty years, there hasn’t been any particularly famous Five Elements Swordsmanship at Wuxiang Sword Academy. So this trend of the Fire Element Sword is because... hmm, the Spiritual Sense of the Vermilion Jade Sword has awakened?"
At these words, a deathly silence instantly fell over the surroundings.
