Chapter 1074 – Ascender Academy
The laws of the heavens and the earth have always been a mystery! Each place had their own distinct law. Take the Mage Continent for example, they had laws that only permit the use of magic energy. Besides magic energy, they couldn"t use anything else. But even if they could other energies, they wouldn"t be able to use too much of it. Because of this, n.o.body in the Mage Continent cultivated both martial arts and magic. And in the end, they would never reach the peak strength of an individual, not to even say ascending. This was the same case with the Warrior Continent and the Magic Armor Continent. The reason why Zhao Hai was repelled by the laws was because his body was full of both battle qi and magic.
When he ascended to the Machine Field, Zhao Hai was still able to use all kinds of energy. Normally, when the Old Mage asked someone from the Mage Continent to show their spells, they would certainly use the element they were proficient in. But since Zhao Hai didn"t know about this, he revealed that he was a Mage that could use all of the elements.
Zhao Hai might not know about the Mage Continent"s state, but the people from the Machine Field did. Therefore, when they heard that Zhao Hai was an all-element Mage, they were shocked.
It needed more than apt.i.tude to ascend while also being an all-element Mage. Needless to say, the people from the Machine Field paid very close attention to Zhao Hai.
Zhao Hai didn"t know any of these, so he just sat there the entire evening, cultivating. He knew that even if he was an expert in the Atlanta Plane, but in the Machine Field, he was only someone with some talent. If he wanted to live a better life here, then he needed to be competent.
Zhao Hai"s actions actually earned the praise of the people observing him. There were some ascenders who still had the mindset that they were very strong. Because of this, their bodies exuded arrogance and would eventually be idle. People like Zhao Hai who still cultivated after ascending were in the minority.
Even those who became strong afterwards were still arrogant when they ascended. On their first night, they couldn"t sit still like Zhao Hai and practice the entire night.
The more he was like this, the more it showed that Zhao Hai was different. Those who"ve seen Zhao Hai"s conduct felt that he was even more worthy of their attention.
To a person who was absorbed in their cultivation, one night was nothing. Zhao Hai only thought that he was circulating his Myriad Stellar Transformations Yin-Yang a few times before he heard a knock coming from outside his room.
Zhao Hai stopped cultivating as he said, "Come in."
The door opened before a person wearing mage robes entered. This person"s mage robes were unlike the ones worn by the Robot Mages. This person"s robes were very fas.h.i.+onable and didn"t cover his entire body.
Zhao Hai stared, he looked at the person and asked, "You are?"
The person smiled faintly at Zhao Hai and said, "Are you Mister Zhao Hai who ascended from the Atlanta Plane yesterday? h.e.l.lo, I"m here to pick you up."
Zhao Hai quickly replied, "I"m Zhao Hai. h.e.l.lo. May I know where you"re taking me?"
The Mage smiled and said, "All ascenders from the lower realms needs to study in the Machine Field"s Ascender Academy for one year. And after a test, you will then be provided with an official citizens.h.i.+p. I"m here to lead you to the academy."
Upon hearing the Mage, Zhao Hai immediately nodded and said, "Alright, I"ll have to trouble you."
The person smiled and said, "Not a problem. Since this is a place for you to temporarily take a rest, you"ll only get to eat after arriving at the Academy" Then he made a gesture to lead Zhao Hai.
After expressing his grat.i.tude, Zhao Hai proceeded to walk shoulder to shoulder with the Mage. Zhao Hai no longer saw the five Robot Mage as he walked together with the Mage. Since Zhao Hai lived on the second floor, they were able to head outside very quickly.
Zhao Hai was met with shock upon reaching outside. What he saw was something that could only be seen in science fiction movie scenes. There were tall buildings, each one easily reaching 100 floors. On the skies were flying vehicles just like the one from the movies. On some corners and sides of buildings were huge screens showing advertis.e.m.e.nts.
Upon seeing Zhao Hai"s reaction, the person smiled and said, "You"ll slowly get used to it. Come, let"s get going." As he said that, the person gestured Zhao Hai towards a car not far away. This car was just like other automobiles, but this one didn"t have wheels, instead it had something that looked like propellers. It looked like a vehicle meant for aquatic use.
Zhao Hai didn"t ask anything and just lowered his head in order to enter the vehicle. While the other person was entering the car, Zhao Hai took the opportunity to look at the place he came from. It was a tall tower, but in this large concrete jungle filled with tall buildings, it was on the shorter side. It only had about 20 floors, and even if looked shorter than it was, it would be 30 floors at most.
The entire tower was made out of a type of azure stone. It looked ancient, just like how the others magic towers were made. There were no windows on this tower, exactly like some magic towers. Zhao Hai couldn"t help but be stunned. He didn"t expect a building such as this to exist in this place.
The person saw Zhao Hai"s reaction as he smiled faintly and said, "Does it seem strange that the ascender tower looks incompatible with the surrounding buildings?"
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "It looks out of place."
The person smiled and said, "This is the oldest building in the entire Magic City. And the building was also intentionally built to look like this."
Zhao Hai looked at the man with a puzzled expression. The man just smiled and said, "You"re from the lower realms. Don"t you think that it would be better to live in buildings like these?" Then he gestured towards the nearby tall buildings.
Then he turned his head to the front of the car and said, "Ascender Academy." The vehicle silently started. It was a smooth start that Zhao Hai wasn"t even able to notice that the vehicle was already running.
However, Zhao Hai shook his head and replied to the earlier question, "To be honest, I felt uncomfortable in that building when I arrived."
The person smiled and said, "It is for this reason that we didn"t replicate its appearance. Also, the appearance of the building has a function. The building has magic formations that suppresses spiritual qi."
Zhao Hai immediately asked, "Spiritual Qi?"
The person looked at Zhao Hai and smiled, "Right, Spiritual Qi. In the Machine Field, we don"t study what you call magic energy. Instead, we have spiritual qi. Don"t think that Spiritual Qi is weak based on your experience yesterday. That was because the building has formations that suppresses spiritual qi. Actually, the spiritual qi in the Machine Field is a hundred times more than what you experienced before. But newly ascended people like you might not be able to adjust to the abrupt change in concentration, causing you to turn insane. You need time to adapt, so the tower suppresses the spiritual qi in the surroundings. In the course of one year, the Ascender Academy will gradually train you to adapt to the normal amount of spiritual qi. Once you get used to the normal level of spiritual qi and pa.s.s the a.s.sessment, then you will become an official citizen of Machine Field."
While the person was saying that, the car was speeding through the air. Although the car was very fast, the speed can"t actually be felt inside. It just felt like they were just sitting in a room.
By the time the person stopped speaking, the car stopped in front of a lot. This lot was quite big, complementing the huge 100-story or more building in front of it. Above the large building were four characters that read "Ascender Academy".
After the car stopped, the vehicle door automatically opened as electronic voice was heard, "Ascender Academy, please disembark."
The person turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Let"s head out." Zhao Hai nodded and exited the car along with the Mage.
Just as they stood on the ground, it suddenly moved forward. Zhao Hai stared at the ground for a moment and didn"t care about it anymore.
The person looked at Zhao Hai and smiled, "You reacted quite well. I received someone who fell over the moment it moved."
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Actually, my Atlanta Plane is quite developed. Although we don"t have moving platforms, we have elevators. I think the principle between the two is quite similar."
The man turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Really? The Atlanta Plane has elevators? You aren"t lying?"
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Of course its true. You might now know, but the Atlanta Plane is divided into three continents, the Mage Continent, Warrior Continent, and the Magic Armor Continent. The Mage Continent and the Warrior Continent didn"t have elevators, but the Magic Armor Continent did. Oh right, those Mages that received me yesterday, they looked like magic armors from the Magic Armor Continent. They aren"t really people are they?"
Zhao Hai deliberately inserted the last part in order to probe for information. The person didn"t suspect anything as he said, "Of course they"re not people. They"re robots that are made to look like people. They"re just machines. So those magic armors, what do they look like?"
Zhao Hai replied, "Magic armors are metal giants several meters tall. People can enter this giant and operate it from the inside. In addition to fighting, magic armors can also fly. They"re strength is quite formidable. Moreover, there"s also an ascension magic armor. I hear that high-level pilots use them in order to ascend. Do they ascend here?"
The person nodded and said, "It"s possible that they ascended here. But the place where you"re from didn"t have any ascenders for a long time. I had this job for 20 years, and I haven"t heard of someone ascending from your plane."
Zhao Hai just gave a smile, "The rate of ascension in the Atlanta Plane is very slow. There has been so many years since somebody ascended."
The man gave a nod, "That"s normal. There are some planes that won"t have ascenders for several hundred years. It"s not a big deal."
The two arrived at the large building as they chatted. There was a huge screen before the large building. Shown on that screen were information related to the Ascender Academy. The entire building was called the Ascender Mage Academy. This was because this building was for training Mage Ascenders.
The person looked at Zhao Hai who was reading the screen and smiled, "There"s no need to read everything. You"ll know all about that as you spend time here. Let"s go and have you registered first. Then after you settle down at the dormitory, you can have your meal."
Zhao Hai nodded and entered the building. Inside was a very big hall, it wasn"t any smaller than the hall Zhao Hai ascended to.
Inside this hall were people in Mage robes busily walking in and out. Several of these people saw Zhao Hai arrive and then whispered among each other.
Since Zhao Hai"s ears were very sensitive, he was able to hear their words, "This one"s new. Who knows where he came from."
Another said, "Who cares where he came from? He may be a genius back there, but here everyone is equal."
At this time, Zhao Hai arrived at the innermost part of the hall. There was a door that had three characters that read "Registration Office". The man pushed the door open and entered. Zhao Hai quickly followed behind.
The room wasn"t very big, only about 20 or so square meters. The inside looked simple. It only had a table, a chair, and a robot.
This one looked like a very simple robot. It had a round head and its face was half-covered with a screen. It had a silvery body and two arms that showed plates and gears. The robot"s left hand was a rectangular box while the other was equipped with a pen.
Zhao Hai looked at this and understood why the person didn"t even bother to knock. So the one inside the room wasn"t a person.
The man wasn"t polite as he arrived in front of the robot and then turned to Zhao Hai, "Give me the piece of paper that you received yesterday." Zhao Hai took the paper that was given to him by the Old Mage and then handed it over to the person.
After the Mage received the piece of paper, he placed it on the table. The robot"s screen turned bright before writing something on the paper with its pen. After that, the robot"s rectangular box whirred two times before a card was spat out.
Chapter 1075 – A Bag of Coins For A Secret
The man took the card from the robot before handing it over to Zhao Hai, then he said, "This is your ID card. For one year, you would only be able to live inside the Ascender Academy. But you can use this card both in and out of the academy. You will have your own separate room to store your items. This ID card also functions as a bank card. Do you know what a bank is?"
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Of course, we have banks in the Atlanta Plane. We also use our ID cards as bank cards back there."
The man nodded and said, "It seems like I need to know more about the Atlanta Plane. I didn"t expect your civilization to be advanced. This card has 10,000 machine coins. You can use this to buy things. Naturally, the dormitory and the canteen won"t cost any money. But there"s also a restaurant on the premises. If you want to eat good food, then you can go to the restaurant to eat. But you need to spend money if you want to do that. Although 10,000 isn"t a lot, it should be enough for you to live with for an entire year. You also need to pay attention to the tests every month. The content of these tests vary, and there"s also tests that relate to the military. If you pa.s.s these tests, you will gain money as reward. If you fail them, then your money will be deducted as punishment. Do you understand?"
Zhao Hai nodded. Not only did the Machine Field welcome the ascenders, they took great pains in order to construct this academy. They also made sure to have the ascender get used to spiritual qi. At the same time, the academy was built like a small city to make the ascenders familiar with the lifestyle of the Machine Field. And to top it all off, they even gave 10,000 machine coins. They were truly generous.
The man looked at Zhao Hai"s expression and couldn"t help but ask, "Aren"t you shocked? I"ve seen ascenders before who reacted strongly to the one-year stay inside the academy. They said that we"re putting them under arrest."
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Mister can rest a.s.sured, I"m very satisfied with this arrangement. Right, how can I know where I"ll be staying? Going to eat? Or where to head to cla.s.s?"
As soon as the man heard Zhao Hai, he immediately replied, "There"s no need to worry about that. After obtaining this card, you will also be given a Robot Butler. You can even take this robot with you after you leave the academy. If you need anything, you can just ask the butler to a.s.sist you."
After he said that, the door opened and a robot entered. This robot wasn"t as advanced as the Mage Robots from the ascender tower. This robot looked like a metal sh.e.l.l with a head and two eyes. While it walked over, one could hear the gears moving. One could see at first glance that it wasn"t a good product.
The man looked at the robot and said, "This is you Robot Butler. If you don"t want this one, you can just go to the school"s store to buy another one. Robot Butlers are quite cheap, you can buy several of them using your 10,000 coins. You can also exchange your lower realm items in the shop in exchange for coins. And since your lower realm coins don"t circulate here, you can go to the school"s bank and have them exchanged. Rest a.s.sured, the exchange rate is very fair. At the very least, you won"t eat a huge loss. Alright, I"ve already accomplished what I need to do. If you have any questions, you can just tell them to this robot. Programmed into this robot are common questions that ascenders ask."
Zhao Hai nodded before he gave a bow and said, "Thanks for the hard work. Right, from the beginning I failed to ask for your name. I"ve been disrespectful. Please accept this small gift." Then Zhao Hai turned his hand to retrieve a small sack. This cloth bag wasn"t that big, but the thing inside felt quite heavy.
The man was also a good judge of the items. After seeing Zhao Hai"s cloth sack, he knew that it was a bag of coins. To be honest, he didn"t expect Zhao Hai to give him a bag of coins.
The man worked in this job for more than 20 years and had met quite a number of ascenders. These ascenders were too arrogant to give him gifts. When they saw him, they all treated him as though he were a servant. Although he took this job because he didn"t have the talent to progress, he still felt uncomfortable with being looked down upon. Zhao Hai was the first person in 20 years that gave him any gifts.
The man actually didn"t take the coins and just bowed and said, "I thank Mister Zhao Hai. I"m called Gu Mingyue. Mister Zhao Hai, I"ve been a receptionist for more than 20 years, and this is the first time that someone has given me gifts. However, I simply cannot accept your generosity. You need these gold coins. This academy is built just like a small city. In order to get settled here, you would need money. You also need to save up some money for the future."
Zhao Hai laughed and said, "There"s no need for Mister to worry about me. I"m a Mage, I could easily study magic for a whole year without going out. I also don"t like to walk around, so I don"t need that much money. Please take it." Then he took Gu Mingyue"s hand and placed the bag on it.
Gu Mingyue looked at Zhao Hai and felt his heart move. He looked outside the room before turning to the Robot Butler, saying, "You go wait for us outside." The Robot Butler didn"t move and just turned to Zhao Hai, obviously treating him as its master. It would only listen to Zhao Hai"s instructions.
After seeing Gu Mingyue"s expression, Zhao Hai knew that the man had something to say. So he immediately turned to the robot and said, "You go outside and wait." The robot immediately bowed towards Zhao Hai and said, "Yes, Master." Then it proceeded to leave the room.
Once the robot had left the room, Gu Mingyue immediately looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Mister Zhao Hai, you need to be alert if you intend to use this robot. It isn"t just a Robot Butler, it is also used to observe a person. If you use him, make sure to have him modified by a special robot shop inside the school and remove the surveillance device. There are a lot of robot shops inside the academy, but there are special ones that don"t care about the academy"s power and influence. If you also want to buy robots, buy them from those special stores, they can guarantee the quality of your robot." Zhao Hai blinked upon hearing this. Then he said, "Alright, I will pay attention. Thank you for the warning Mister Gu. If you need anything from me in the future, then don"t hesitate to approach me. I"ll do what I can to help."
Gu Mingyue bowed and said, "Thank you, Mister Zhao Hai. I will take my leave first." Then he turned around and left.
After seeing Gu Mingyue being honest, Zhao Hai couldn"t help but smile. He understood that Gu Mingyue was a low-level character here in the Machine Field. And it would be close to impossible for him to advance further in life. Because of this, he could only be a receptionist here. Moreover, he did so for already 20 years.
Because of their status in life, these low-level characters wouldn"t enter the eyes of most ascenders. But Zhao Hai knew that these kinds of people had their own methods and means in order to survive. If you make connections with them, then you would certainly gain unexpected benefits later on.
Now that Zhao Hai arrived at a completely new place, his way forward was essentially dark. In this case, it wouldn"t be bad to have a few friends while keeping a low profile. If he were plunged into cunning plots and ruses, who would save his life?
Take today"s matter for example, a bag of gold coins was nothing to Zhao Hai. But to Gu Mingyue, it might actually represent something, even changing his state in life. Most importantly, Gu Mingyue saw Zhao Hai"s respect in that bag of gold coins.
And because of this, Gu Mingyue was able to tell Zhao Hai such a relevant information. Otherwise, Zhao Hai wouldn"t have known about the surveillance device inside the robot.
This information was very important to Zhao Hai. His biggest secret was the Farm. If a heaven defying thing such as the Farm was made known to these people, then they would certainly use all kinds of means in order to take it from him.
Gu Mingyue told Zhao Hai that the spiritual qi in the Machine Field was a hundred times more than the lower realms. With such a concentration of energy, the Machine Field certainly had much more powerful experts than the Underworld.
Zhao Hai also came to know that the laws of a plane had a direct relations.h.i.+p with the plane"s density of spiritual qi. Since the Ark Continent"s spiritual qi was inferior to the Divine Realm, it could only produce experts up to 9th rank. G.o.d-ranks would need to ascend not only because of the laws, but also because of the spiritual qi.
If G.o.d-ranks stay in the Ark Continent for a long time, then they would absorb ma.s.sive amounts of the Ark Continent"s spiritual qi. This would affect the continent"s development. Since the density of the spiritual qi was low, the Ark Continent"s laws wouldn"t permit the constant presence of G.o.d-ranks inside the plane.
The laws and the density of spiritual qi were part of the universe. Naturally, they complement each other. The laws of the Ark Continent"s have been forcibly changed, and even if it was connected to the Divine Realm, it still couldn"t replenish the spiritual qi being lost. Because of this, the Ark Continent opened more spatial cracks in order to supplement its need of spiritual qi.
Although the energy of the Underworld was dark energy, it was still a type of spiritual qi. Since the spiritual qi of the Underworld was superior than the Divine Realm, the strongest experts born there would naturally be stronger than the ones in the Divine Realm.
And now, the spiritual qi of the Machine Realm was supposedly 100 times more than the Atlanta Plane. According to estimation, the strongest experts here should be at least 100 times stronger than the peak experts in the Atlanta Plane. Faced with such experts, even Zhao Hai was certain that he wouldn"t be able to make a struggle.
Zhao Hai recalled his arrogance back in the Underworld, where he could just flatten a city with ease. But now he was clear that he couldn"t afford such arrogance.