Chapter 1098: Superpower and First Goal!
Translator: Lordbluefire
The Serene Province was located in the northern part of the Nine Provinces. Its terrain was high and there were four seasons in a year. However, their winter lasted for six months.
Maybe it was due to the environment and atmosphere, but the local people were all sturdy and muscular, their personalities magnanimous and straightforward. At the same time, they were extremely valiant.
The most flourishing capital of the Serene Province was none other than Liaojing. The Black-White Academy was located here.
After paying the entrance fee, Sun Mo’s group entered this important city.
“It looks very simple!”
Gu Xiuxun cast a glance around her and was in no mood to tour the place.
If Jinling was a patchwork of waterways that was akin to a good-looking and intelligent gentlewoman, Liaoning would be a place where the cold north winds frequently gusted, a burly dude that was boorish and imposing.
The people here spoke very loudly. The voices of bargaining on the streets blasted into Gu Xiuxun’s ears and were so noisy that she felt a headache.
Yet, Li Ziqi and Lu Zhiruo were staring around them with excitement.
It had been a long time since they traveled so far.
“Quickly look, are these ginsengs? They are actually so thick?”
Lu Zhiruo made a comparison and discovered that they were thicker than her arms. But shouldn’t these valuable medicinal herbs be placed in a store for sale?
Why were they showcased at a roadside stall?
“Most of them are probably fake and are used to swindle people who don’t know their stuff.”
Mei Ziyu explained in a low voice.
As the daughter of a near-ancestor-level alchemist, although Mei Ziyu wasn’t an alchemist, she still had a solid background with regard to herbs. She could tell whether they were real or fake with just a glance.
“Ah?”
Lu Zhiruo started and subconsciously glanced at the guy selling the ginseng. His honest-looking face didn’t seem to be the face of a liar!
“Little lady, do you want a ginseng? I’m selling one for 100 taels. They are all high-grade stuff from the mountains.”
The ginseng guy smiled widely and seemed very amiable.
“Do you people from the Liao Capital like to pass off grass ginseng as real ginseng and sell it to people?”
When Mei Ziyu said this, the guy immediately understood that he had met someone who knew their stuff. He smiled awkwardly and no longer bothered with them.
However, his eyes kept glancing around.
There was no solution as these few women and the two young girls were truly too beautiful.
“Zhiruo, remember something. No matter where you go when you are buying stuff, don’t seek out the cheap ones or you might be swindled.”
Mei Ziyu lectured, “Something good has its worth in every penny.”
“I’ll remember this!”
Lu Zhiruo nodded.
Before they walked far, some middle-aged women came over and smiled at them, asking if they were keen to look for hotels.
“I’m very familiar with all the hotels in Liaojing. Do you guys prefer to stay in a luxurious one or one with good scenery?”
These middle-aged women were professional solicitors. They would be able to earn a few copper coins if they brought a guest to the hotels.
Their judgment abilities were extremely good. The moment they saw Sun Mo’s group, they knew that these people were wealthy. Hence, there was no need for them to use the word ‘cheap’ in their opening statements, opting to choose the word ‘luxurious’ and ‘good scenery’ instead.
Sun Mo really felt like asking if there were any other services?
These middle-aged women reminded him of when he was in university. Every time he got off from a train, a few middle-aged women would approach him and ask if he wanted to stay in a hotel.
The hotels weren’t only cheap; there were girls as well.
“Hey aunty, how do we get to the Black-White Academy?”
An Xinhui asked with a smile.
Eh!
After An Xinhui said this, the surroundings fell silent.
The middle-aged women also became much more respectful.
“Follow this main street and keep walking until you see a gigantic memorial arch. After that, turn right…”
The middle-aged woman bowed slightly while giving directions with a humble and respectful expression.
This was the influence of the Black-White Academy.
As long as someone had a connection with this famous school, no matter how small that was, these ordinary folks would become exceptionally cautious.
“Many thanks!”
An Xinhui passed her a tael of silver.
“Thank you for the reward, honored great teacher!”
The woman smiled.
“How do you know that my Teacher’s wife is a great teacher?”
Lu Zhiruo was curious.
This time around, all of them were traveling in normal clothing.
Because of the beautiful appearances of An Xinhui and the others, they were already a conspicuous sight. If they were wearing their great teacher robes, they would attract even more attention.
“Just from the demeanors of everyone, I can tell that all of you are great teachers, and your star-rank is pretty high.”
One of the women fawned on them.
“Let’s go!”
Murong Mingyue urged. After walking far away, she then warned Lu Zhirou. “Don’t trust that woman from earlier. She saw that we are going to the Black-White Academy so she wants to fawn on us.”
“So that’s the case!”
Lu Zhirou was enlightened. She felt that there were many things she had to learn.
It was afternoon now and there was still plenty of time before the sun set. Everyone wasn’t in a rush to head to the Black-White Academy and was preparing to travel slowly so they could observe and experience the local conditions and customs.
After that, when night arrived, they found a place near the Black-White Academy. On the next day, Sun Mo and An Xinhui would pay an official visit to Headmaster Song.
Very soon, Li Ziqi and Lu Zhiruo went crazy with their playing and purchases. They bought all sorts of little items.
“I wonder if we have the chance to see the Black-White Star Disk?”
Gu Xiuxun felt plenty of anticipation.
“Don’t worry, Sun Mo’s God Hands and Skyward Spirit Rune are his strongest trump cards. If the Black-White Academy wants to see either of them, they will have to allow us to ‘tour’ the Black-White Star Disk.”
Mei Ziyu was not worried about this at all.
Everyone chatted and laughed; the atmosphere was a joyful and relaxing one. But all of a sudden, a commotion appeared before them. People started gathering and someone started shouting.
“Someone fainted!”
“Ziqi, Zhiruo, don’t run around randomly!”
An Xinhui hurriedly called out when she saw the two girls wanting to run over.
They just arrived here and weren’t familiar with the terrain or people. What if they were abducted by human traffickers?
One must know that the little sunny egg and the papaya girl were top-grade beauties among teenagers. After one successful kidnapping attempt, the kidnappers wouldn’t need to work for at least ten years.
“You guys stay here, I will go and take a look!”
Sun Mo instructed and charged over.
“I’ll follow you!”
Mei Ziyu was considered half a doctor and could be of use. Hence, she followed after him.
Their speed wasn’t considered slow, but there was someone who moved even quicker than them. A girl about 20 years old sped over, jumping from rooftops to rooftops like a tornado.
After she arrived in front of the spectators, she immediately jumped down.
Mei Ziyu and Sun Mo also came here. When they arrived, they saw close to 100 ordinary folks gathering here. Indeed, gathering together and watching ‘good shows’ was an innate hobby of humanity.
(But don’t you guys find it smelly?)
“Excuse me, please!”
Sun Mo didn’t dare to say he was a doctor. It would be too embarrassing if he failed to save the person.
Luckily, although Sun Mo wasn’t a beefy fellow, he had the strength and directly pushed his way through the crowd, entering the center area.
An old man was on the ground and it was unknown whether he was dead or not. Beside him, the girl running through the rooftops earlier could be seen squatting and doing emergency treatment for him.
This old man was someone who made a living by ferrying buckets of human excrement. But because he fainted, the contents of the buckets also spilled out.
Just when Mei Ziyu wanted to head over to help, Sun Mo stopped her.
“It’s fine, she can handle it!”
Sun Mo activated Divine Sight and discovered that the old man had heart disease. Also, he had fainted due to this and him being overly fatigued.
There were no other major issues!
As for this woman!
Zhang Guoping, 19 years old.
Spirit-Refinement Realm!
Strength: 12. It seems sufficient for usage, but you are someone who depends on your brains for a living.
Intellect: 18. Outstanding intellect, your logical thinking ability is off-the-charts and you are very proficient in research!
Agility: 13. Your hands are pretty fast, but other than this, your movements are normal!
Will: 8. Just broke up from a relationship.
Endurance: 20. There’s no hardship you cannot suffer!
…
Potential value: Overall, it can be considered above average. But you are exceedingly talented in the medical arts.
“Hey, staff from the Spring Returning Hall, please send two people out and help me carry him into your shop. Also, boil a pot of sugared water, add some wolfberries, red dates, and fresh ginger…”
Zhang Guoping shouted.
The Spring Returning Hall was just located tens of meters away, and their signboard was a gigantic one, written in golden color. It was extremely conspicuous. At this moment, the staff was escorting the boss’s son and was standing at the entrance, staring over in this direction.
Because their shop was located at the top of a flight of steps, their vision was unobstructed.
At this moment when they heard Zhang Guoping’s voice, they remained unmoved.
(What a joke, this shit-carrier has shit fluids all over him. If we shift him inside the shop, won’t we have to stop doing business?)
(If the shopkeeper learns of this, won’t he beat us to death?)
“Did you guys hear me?”
Zhang Guoping roared.
The staff pretended not to hear anything and directly entered the shop.
When Zhang Guoping saw this, her face turned black. She carried the old man and walked toward the Spring Returning Hall.
The people of the Spring Returning Hall were also paying attention to this. After seeing this, they immediately shut the door and pretended to be closed.
“I’ll pay!”
Zhang Guoping’s chest heaved violently.
Many of the spectators shook their heads. (Leaving aside whether you can pay or not, this old man is truly too dirty.)
“M…maiden, don’t do it. I…I have no money!”
The old man panicked.
Compared to death, he was more afraid of owing money. If that was the case, things would surely be even more dire for his son.
“I’ll pay for you!”
Zhang Guoping consoled him. She then shouted again, “I’m a student from the Black-White Academy, I won’t owe you money!”
“This student, my house’s Divine Doctor Tang is out for a diagnosis, could you please go to another clinic?”
After hearing that this person was a student from the Black-White Academy, the shop assistant also didn’t dare to act arrogantly. He explained but he still chose to reject her.
There was no solution as no one really wanted to save this type of poor old person.
“There’s no need for your doctors. I just need a place for him to rest and borrow your stove to boil a medicinal soup for him!”
Zhang Guoping explained but sadly even after waiting for a while, there was no sound from the clinic.
“Stop speaking. The Spring Returning Hall is well-known for being black-hearted.”
“That’s right, they only treat rich people. It’s a place where the poor are prohibited.”
“Why should the poor consult a doctor? Can’t they just bear with the sickness?”
The spectators started discussing.
“You should rest here first. I will go and get medicinal herbs for you from other clinics. You must not move around recklessly.”
Zhang Guoping warned repeatedly and just when she wanted to walk away…
“Maiden!”
The old man grabbed her hands. “I’ve remembered your great kindness, but there’s really no need for you to do this. Cough! Cough!”
Because he spoke too hurriedly, the old man started coughing.
“If you don’t seek treatment now, you will die!”
Zhang Guoping persuaded. After that, a gentle voice interrupted her.
“Feed this pill to him!”
Mei Ziyu passed a small bottle over.
Zhang Guoping opened the bottle and a medicinal fragrance immediately drifted to her nose, causing her spirits to stir. This made her involuntarily start.
“Origin Replenishing Pills?”
This alchemy pill was concocted from a mixture of many valuable herbs. It could replenish both the blood and qi and enhance one’s spirit. It was a greatly nourishing medicine.
“This…”
Zhang Guoping didn’t dare to use this because other than the fact that the alchemy pills were too valuable, they had no flaws.
One couldn’t buy them using silver, only spirit stones.
“Feed it to him!”
Mei Ziyu smiled and called out to Sun Mo. “Let us leave!”
She could tell that this old man was tired. Sickness had long since plagued his body and if he wanted to recover, he had to rest more and slowly relax. However, Mei Ziyu had no way to give such advice.
For some poor people, if they didn’t work for a day, the people in their homes might have to starve for a day.
Sun Mo turned his head every three steps.
“Why? You are fond of that girl?”
Mei Ziyu teased. After that, she sighed. “It’s too much of a pity!”
That girl was very kind, but she didn’t have an appearance that matched her heart. Her face was in the shape of a shoehorn, and her chin was so long that it curled.
“That girl isn’t bad!”
Sun Mo was preparing to headhunt her.
There were several hotels near the Black-White Academy. Sun Mo didn’t lack money now and directly chose the one with the best reputation.
On the second morning, Sun Mo and An Xinhui wore teacher robes with the Central Province Academy’s insignia printed on them and headed to the Black-White Academy.
When they were nearing the gate, they could see many students clad in uniforms of the Black-White Academy, which was a mixture of black and white color. The uniform looked like a chessboard.
This was also a unique characteristic of this school.
“Everyone, are you here for a tour or to visit a friend?”
Just when Sun Mo and An Xinhui got near, the gatekeeper walked out. After sweeping a glance at the school insignia before their chests, he realized that he couldn’t recognize it. However, he didn’t dare to slight them.
This was because four stars were hanging above the school insignia!
(They are probably not swindlers, right?)
The gatekeeper mumbled and secretly surveyed Sun Mo and An Xinhui.
They were both too young.
Although the Black-White Academy was one of the Nine Greats, the youngest of their 4-stars great teachers were 30+ years old.
“We are great teachers from the Central Province Academy and are here to pay a visit to Headmaster Song of your esteemed school.”
An Xinhui spoke.
“This…do you guys have an appointment?”
The gatekeeper frowned. It had been a very long time since Headmaster Song had met with people.
“No.”
An Xinhui shook her head and just when she was preparing to explain more, Sun Mo directly stuffed a banknote into the gatekeeper’s hands.
“Can you tell us where we can find Headmaster Song?”
Sun Mo displayed the power of money.
Explaining too much was useless because a gatekeeper couldn’t be the decision-maker!
The gatekeeper glanced at the banknote and was shocked when he discovered that it was 1,000 taels.
(Which clan is this wastrel from? Isn’t he too extravagant? But I like it!)
“I’m afraid the two of you have to return. Sir Headmaster has been in seclusion ever since he entered the Black-White Star Disk years ago. He hasn’t exited yet!”
The gatekeeper explained.
“Who is in charge of matters in the school now?”
Sun Mo asked.
“Vice headmaster Wan Kangcheng.”
The gatekeeper revealed it due to the money.
“Where can we find him?”
Sun Mo felt a headache. He had met this person before in the Battlegod Canyon and because of the matter with Shi Sheng, the atmosphere between them was bad.
“In the vice headmaster office!”
The gatekeeper reminded them out of goodwill. “Vice Headmaster Wan’s temper isn’t very good!”
“No problem!” Sun Mo smiled. “Do we have to register?”
“Yes!”
The gatekeeper made a gesture and invited them to step into the room. “It’s fine to just write down your names and the school you guys are from!”
Every year, many people would come to the Black-White Academy for observation purposes. Many high star-ranking great teachers were among them. Hence, although the gatekeeper was surprised by Sun Mo and An Xinhui’s rank, he wasn’t too shocked.
But after Sun Mo wrote his name on the paper, the gatekeeper was stunned.
“Y…you are Great Teacher Sun, Sun Mo? The saint candidate?”
The gatekeeper was completely stunned.. His mouth opened so wide that one could stuff a goose egg within.
