Chapter 54 (1): A Lesson

Fang Che quickly scanned his gaze over everyone present to gauge their reactions, giving him a rough idea of who he needed to keep an eye on in the future.

He then strode over to the instructors' table to propose a toast.

"That was very well said," Li Changkong praised, and the other instructors were clearly also very pleased with him.

"You're far too kind, Instructor Li," Fang Che replied with a bashful smile.

Bing Shangxue set down her chopsticks, then said, "Spit it out then. What's your objective?"

The four instructors from the eleventh class collectively turned to her with bewildered expressions.

"My objective is simply to treat everyone to a meal," Fang Che replied with a pure and innocent smile.

"If you're not going to tell us now, then we're not going to give you another chance," Bing Shangxue harrumphed coldly.

"Alright, I'll talk," Fang Che hurriedly said. "I have two questions that I wanted to ask all of you. Can I go out on missions now, and how many merit points would it require to exchange for a weapon that can harbor a spirit?"

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Firstly, no, you're not allowed to go on missions. Secondly, the weapons that you speak of are far beyond your current reach. Thirdly, even if such a weapon is made available to you, you won't be able to afford it!" Li Changkong harrumphed coldly.

A sullen look appeared on Fang Che's face upon hearing this.

Instructor Liu felt a little sorry for him, and he smiled as he explained, "You've only just made a breakthrough, and you've only been at the academy for less than two months, so we can't allow you to go on missions. For starters, you have to memorize the missions code of conduct, and only after you pass a test can you begin taking on missions.

“Essentially, you need to understand the importance of only doing missions that you're meant to do, while refraining from taking on missions that aren't for you. Even if the opportunity seems perfect, you must not touch missions that aren't meant for you as that'll send you down a slippery slope where you take on more and more risk, and eventually, you're going to bite off more than you can chew.

“Furthermore, you have to at least reach the mid third-rank Lesser Grandmaster tier before you can take on some low-level missions. Our academy is not a mercenary. We have a responsibility to only assign students with missions that are suitable for them, thereby maximizing mission success rate and minimizing casualties.

“You're not allowed to take on missions above your grade, and even if you complete such a mission, you'll only be punished, not rewarded."

Fang Che was astonished to hear this.

"Hence, you have to learn the rules first. Otherwise, you'll lose all of your merit points just from completing a few missions above your grade."

Fang Che rolled his eyes in a resigned manner.

It seemed that he would have to familiarize himself with these rules before he could do anything else.

"Then what about a weapon that can harbor a spirit?" he asked in a hopeful manner.

He had to find a vessel for the Golden Horn Flood Dragon spirit body.

Otherwise, what if he had some information that he couldn't relay to the Guardians through Ye Meng?

This was a very important part of his plan.

"Don't even think about it!" Duan Zhongliu scoffed. "Even if we ignore the matter of whether you can afford such a weapon, there are very few of them at all on the entire continent! Such a weapon has to have been nurtured by someone for a very long time, thereby developing some spirituality. The only scenario you'll find a weapon of this caliber without an owner is if said owner is already dead."

Fang Che was well aware of just how rare these weapons were.

There were only a small handful of places in which ownerless weapons of this caliber could be found, including the Guardians headquarters, the top clans on the continent, and the top-tier warrior academies.

It was possible for top-tier academies to be in possession of such weapons as they had to nurture prodigies.

At the moment, White Cloud Warrior Academy was Fang Che's only hope of finding such a weapon. All of the other options were completely beyond his reach!

Instructor Liu took a sip of wine, then said, "You've treated me to a meal, so I feel obligated to answer your question, even though there's not much point in giving an answer. The reason there's no point in answering your question is because what you're searching for is virtually impossible to find. When the owners of the weapons that you seek die in battle, their weapons are generally destroyed and reduced to scrap metal as well.

“Even for the weapons that manage to survive, they're normally damaged beyond repair. For the few that remain unscathed, the spirituality within them won't acknowledge anyone as it's just spirituality without intelligence. Any weapon that possesses intelligence will destroy its own consciousness in the wake of its owner's death, even if it remains physically unscathed.

“According to my knowledge, there exists a spear that possesses spirituality in our academy, and it's the academy's most prized treasure. If you want to purchase it with merit points, even a hundred thousand won't be enough, let alone your paltry balance of two hundred. Actually, after this meal, you probably won't even have two hundred merit points left."

Fang Che was cast into complete despair.

"As opposed to buying such a weapon, you're better off nurturing one yourself," Li Changkong added.

Fang Che's eyes lit up once again with renewed hope.

He knew that this was an option, but he also knew that materials suitable for forging such weapons were very difficult to find.

"Does our academy have the materials?" he asked in a hopeful manner.

"Nope! Absolutely not!"

Li Changkong couldn't help but be amused by the glimmer of renewed hope that had appeared in Fang Che's eyes.

"As soon as materials of that nature are obtained, they'll immediately be forged into weapons. Hence, perhaps you can find ownerless weapons capable of harboring spirits, but you definitely won't find anyone holding onto materials that can be refined into such weapons!"

The instructors collectively burst into laughter, very pleased with themselves for getting Fang Che's hopes up, only to mercilessly dash them again.

Of course, Fang Che was far from amused.

You think this is funny? I'm about to go into depression! I should've never invited any of you!

Right at this moment, he heard Bao Feiyu mumble incoherently through a mouthful of food, "I've heard that someone once found this type of material in the Myriad Spirit Forest..."

"Shut up!" Li Changkong snapped as an infuriated look appeared on his face, and Bao Feiyu hurriedly shut his mouth in a sheepish manner.

Li Changkong heaved a long sigh as he turned his gaze back to Fang Che with a weary expression.

Once again, Bao Feiyu's loose mouth was causing trouble for everyone.

The Myriad Spirit Forest wasn't a place that anyone could enter. Even if the eight instructors present joined forces to venture into the forest together, they weren't guaranteed to be able to make it back out alive.

Li Changkong fixed a stern gaze on Fang Che as he said, "Materials of this nature have indeed been found in the Myriad Spirit Forest, but only on one occasion 570 years ago by Master Diao Wuqiu, a warrior that was ranked in the top hundred on the Cloud Weapon Archive at the time. Never has anyone else been able to replicate this feat before him or since, so don't even think about it! Do you hear me, Fang Che?"

Fang Che nodded in silence, while Li Changkong gave Bao Feiyu a vicious glare.

The latter didn't dare to meet his gaze, knowing that he had caused trouble for everyone.

Right at this moment, Mo Ganyun asked, "Instructors, can I trouble you to explain the cultivation base system for warriors?"

"You haven't been taught this by anyone in your clan?" Li Changkong asked.

"I have, but our clan has its own system, which may be different from what's accepted in the academy or by the rest of the world at large. No clan can match the top-tier warrior academies when it comes to knowledge and experiences on these subjects."

"That's true. This is part of the curriculum, so I was going to explain it in a lesson, but seeing as you've raised the question, I may as well explain it to you now," Li Changkong said.

He had already delivered this lesson countless times, so he was able to speak about the subject as if it were second nature.

"Warrior tiers first came into existence when the power disparity between warriors became too great, and they've evolved for tens of thousands of years into the system that we currently follow. In the beginning, there were very few tiers, but such a system didn't work as it was often the case that a single warrior from one tier could easily decimate an entire unit of warriors that are technically of the same tier.

“Hence, more tiers were gradually created in order to more accurately classify warriors based on power level. The tiers are, in ascending order of power, Warrior Disciple, Warrior, Warrior Master, Lesser Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster, General, Lord, Warlord, King, Emperor, and Sovereign.

“There are tiers even beyond the Sovereign tier, but once you get there, you'll have already learned what lies beyond, so there's no need for me to teach you. The first tier is the Warrior Disciple tier, which all of you have already surpassed, but it must be mentioned because it's the starting point for all warriors.

“At that stage, you still don't know anything and need to be taught everything, and that's why you're referred to as a Warrior Disciple. The difference between the average person and someone with aptitude to become a warrior is that for the former, excessive exercise or manual labor will break down their bodies over time, whereas for the latter, they will only continue to grow stronger with more labor and exercise.

“That's not to mention the superior bodily coordination and strength that those with warrior aptitude tend to possess."

All of the students nodded in response. These were concepts that they were already familiar with.

"Once a Warrior Disciple has learned how to use their strength, how to battle, and has gained basic knowledge in the human body, they will naturally progress to the Warrior tier once they've accumulated enough power. This is the easiest breakthrough to make for a warrior.

“All one has to do is reach the pinnacle of the Warrior Disciple tier, then engage in an all-out battle against an equal or more powerful opponent, and the breakthrough will happen just like that. As long as the sparring partner isn't an idiot, this should be the safest and foolproof breakthrough for any warrior to make."

Fang Qingyun became flushed with embarrassment upon hearing this. He was the one of the sparring partners in history to have somehow messed up this simple process.

Along with the embarrassment that he felt came the recollection of the excruciating whiplashes he had suffered at his father's hands as punishment, and he couldn't help but shudder at the memory.

With that in mind, he turned to take a glance at Fang Che, who was also looking at him, and the latter gave him a smile and a thumbs-up.

Fang Qingyun immediately averted his gaze with a dark expression.

Li Changkong paid no heed to little non-verbal exchange as he continued, "The Warrior tier is a phase of power and knowledge accumulation, but the tier indicates that one is no longer a complete novice, hence the removal of the disciple suffix.

“:Once a Warrior has accumulated power and knowledge to a certain degree, they'll reach the Warrior Master tier and be able to answer any questions related to cultivation raised by their junior brothers and sisters who've only just begun cultivating as warriors. In other words, at this tier, one possesses a sufficient base of knowledge to take on disciples of their own, hence the suffix of master. Don't underestimate the Warrior Master tier.

“There are countless warriors across the continent with mediocre aptitude, and this tier often ends up being the conclusion of their cultivation journey. However, that doesn't stop them from opening warrior schools to instruct children in the way of the warrior. Furthermore, a Warrior Master's combat prowess is already far beyond what any ordinary person can hope to contend with."