Chapter 5

The currency used in the City of Light is the Spirit Coin. Generally, two to three thousand Spirit Coins are enough for a family's annual expenses. The value of various items in the City of Light is measured in Spirit Coins, including battle armor, spirit crystals, various beast hides, and various spirit medicines.

The annual tuition for Saint Lantian Academy is over three thousand Spirit Coins, which is a significant expense for ordinary families. However, many ordinary families still try to send their children to Saint Lantian Academy, because becoming a warrior or a spirit master, even at the Bronze level, can change the fate of a family.

A Bronze-level warrior, if employed by the city guard, can earn an annual income of five to six thousand Spirit Coins, and can also venture deep into the Sacred Ancestor Mountains for additional gains.

The Tianheng family, to which Nie Li belongs, is a relatively declining noble family. The family head, Nie Hengxun, is a one-star Gold Spirit Master, and the family's annual income is about 600,000 Spirit Coins. The family's annual expenses are very large, with just the tuition for the family's children costing over 300,000 Spirit Coins, plus other expenses, often leaving the family in a deficit, forcing them to sell various assets to maintain their lifestyle. However, even so, the Tianheng family still sends every descendant to Saint Lantian Academy.

Family head Nie Hengxun said that only outstanding descendants can make the Tianheng family rise again. Even if they live in hardship, they must ensure that every descendant receives the best possible training.

In his previous life, Nie Li did not fully understand this statement and felt a bit estranged from family head Nie Hengxun, as the head was very strict with them. After being reborn, Nie Li finally understood the head's good intentions.

As a member of the Tianheng family, I must make the Tianheng family strong and become a peak existence in the City of Light!

After being reborn, Nie Li's memory contains many powerful cultivation techniques. However, before that, he needs to get some money to buy a few初级 soul crystals to test the attributes of his soul sea, in order to decide which cultivation technique to practice. If he finds a suitable cultivation technique, his cultivation will be much more efficient.

Dong dong dong!

The bell rang throughout the City of Light, signaling the end of class.

Students from Saint Lantian Academy walked out of the high walls, bustling through the busy streets at the academy's entrance, with vendors' calls echoing continuously.

"Brand new Bronze Battle Armor, engraved with Frost Snow Runes. Noble young masters and misses, are you interested?" A vendor in a gray short robe enthusiastically called out, quickly attracting the attention of many students. Bronze Battle Armor is not something ordinary students can afford, but Saint Lantian Academy has many noble descendants, some of whom are very wealthy, and with good luck, it can still be sold.

"Look, it's Bronze Battle Armor engraved with Frost Snow Runes!" The students excitedly discussed. It was a pair of gauntlets, emitting a deep blue light, covered with various mysterious totems, with a faint frosty chill emanating from them.

"How much does it cost?" A student asked in a low voice.

"Sixty thousand Spirit Coins!" The vendor smiled.

"Heavens, that's so expensive!" An ordinary family might not accumulate sixty thousand Spirit Coins in over a decade.

"This is Bronze Battle Armor engraved with Frost Snow Runes. The Frost Snow Runes are drawn with the spirit crystal and blood of a Frost Snow Demon, which was still in its prime when it was killed. Frost Snow Demons are not easy to hunt, and the characteristics of the Frost Snow Demon make this pair of gauntlets have very strong offensive capabilities! This is absolutely the best battle armor for Frost Snow-type warriors and spirit masters!" The vendor enthusiastically introduced.

Many students looked at the Bronze gauntlets with longing and then left silently, as such an expensive item was beyond their means.

"Bronze Battle Armor costs sixty thousand Spirit Coins, so how expensive must Silver and Gold Battle Armor be!" Lu Piao muttered, as his monthly allowance was only about five hundred Spirit Coins. Lu Piao's family had many assets, so his finances were relatively comfortable. In his previous life, Lu Piao often helped Nie Li and Du Ze. But even with some extra money, Bronze Battle Armor was not something he could buy on a whim.

Nie Li, Lu Piao, and Du Ze walked and looked around. The street was filled with various goods, from expensive to cheap.

"Nie Li, what exactly are you planning to do?" Lu Piao looked at Nie Li with curiosity.

Just as they were chatting, a figure walked up to the vendor.

"Look, it's Shen Yue!" Lu Piao nodded towards that direction, "And Ye Ziyun!"

Nie Li looked into the distance and saw Ye Ziyun chatting happily with a few girls. Her beautiful face and sweet smile were full of sunshine, making her the most dazzling and captivating among the girls, drawing everyone's attention.

Everything around seemed to come alive because of Ye Ziyun's presence.

Shen Yue also occasionally glanced over.

"I happen to need a pair of Bronze gauntlets, wrap this pair for me!" Shen Yue said to the vendor.

"Sure thing, young master!" The vendor immediately beamed and quickly wrapped the Bronze gauntlets.

"Here are sixty thousand Spirit Coins!" Shen Yue casually took out six spirit crystal cards from his spatial ring, each representing ten thousand Spirit Coins.

Throwing out sixty thousand Spirit Coins, Shen Yue appeared calm and indifferent, putting the Bronze gauntlets into his spatial ring.

The surrounding girls let out low gasps, amazed at how rich he was. A few prettier girls looked at Shen Yue with admiration, but Shen Yue ignored them, glancing at Nie Li and his friends with a proud look, then gazing deeply at Ye Ziyun, his eyes clearly saying, "My eyes only have you."

"Despicable!" Lu Piao growled, "This is a silver bullet attack!"

"Rich guy! Others can casually throw out sixty thousand Spirit Coins and even have a spatial ring." Du Ze shrugged and looked at Nie Li, "Nie Li, he's handsome and rich, what do you have to compete with him?"

"Ha ha, Ye Ziyun doesn't care about that money!" Nie Li said indifferently, looking over to see Ye Ziyun completely ignoring Shen Yue, still chatting with the other girls, occasionally glancing at Xiao Ning'er, who seemed a bit distracted.

Xiao Ning'er had a cold expression, usually keeping to herself and not interacting much with her classmates.

Nie Li knew that what Ye Ziyun wanted most now was friendship. In his previous life, she always wanted to be friends with Xiao Ning'er, but the difference in their status eventually drove them apart.

Seeing Ye Ziyun's expression, Shen Yue looked somewhat dejected.

"Alright, Ye Ziyun really doesn't care about money. Nie Li, maybe she likes girls, so you still have no chance!" Lu Piao winked, teasing.

Nie Li smiled, not taking Lu Piao's teasing to heart. In his previous life, he was Ye Ziyun's only man. "Let's go, I'm going to start my plan!"

Lu Piao and Du Ze's expressions turned serious, and they nodded.

"Lu Piao, go buy two light crossbows and five cylinders of a hundred crossbow bolts each. A light crossbow costs 160 Spirit Coins, and a cylinder of bolts costs 30 Spirit Coins. Don't let the vendor rip you off!" Nie Li said to Lu Piao, "We'll meet at the entrance to the academy's trial grounds."

"Sure thing!" Lu Piao nodded, a bit curious if Nie Li had ever bought light crossbows and bolts before, knowing the prices.

Nie Li's monthly allowance was only fifty Spirit Coins, not enough to buy such expensive items.

"Du Ze, let's go buy some Black泽 Grass!" Nie Li said. Black泽 Grass has a certain numbing effect.

Du Ze's family was even more financially strained than Nie Li's, so Nie Li naturally wouldn't let Du Ze spend money. He paid for everything.

Black泽 Grass is very cheap, a handful can be bought for one Spirit Coin. In addition, Nie Li bought some low-level fusion potions and went to a small hill near the City of Light to collect a lot of Zoysia grass.

"What exactly are you planning to do?" Du Ze asked curiously.

Nie Li smiled mysteriously, "Black泽 Grass has a certain numbing effect, but the potency is very low, usually only used to apply to wounds to reduce pain. Zoysia grass is a very common wild grass, and no one has discovered its use yet. But if you mix it with fusion potions and Black泽 Grass, it can significantly enhance the numbing effect of Black泽 Grass!"

Du Ze was stunned and asked, "How strong is the numbing effect?"

"For ordinary beasts, it's not very effective, much weaker than low-level numbing potions. But have you noticed that goats never eat Zoysia grass?"

"Goats?" Du Ze fell silent for a moment, guessing something, his eyes brightening, "Nie Li, are you a Spirit Apothecary?"

"Spirit Apothecary?" Nie Li thought for a moment and laughed, "I guess so."

A Spirit Apothecary is someone who uses various spirit herbs to refine pills or mix potions. In his previous life, Nie Li was not a Spirit Apothecary and only had a basic understanding of spirit herbs. However, the potion mixers in the City of Light were of very low skill, not even qualifying as true Spirit Apothecaries! Nie Li could easily look down on those so-called Spirit Apothecaries! During his adventures on the Holy Spirit Continent, he once entered the Poison Forest, where some humans lived, surviving the hunting of highly toxic beasts. They were the true Spirit Apothecaries!

Nie Li began to mix the potions, making a total of six bottles.

The trial grounds of Saint Lantian Academy were established by the legendary Spirit Master Ye Mo and the academy's head, Black Gold Spirit Master Gao Yuan, surrounded by high walls. Every year, the strong of the City of Light capture some low-level beasts and release them into the trial grounds. Any Saint Lantian student below the Silver level can enter, and the students can hunt beasts, with the hides, spirit crystals, and other items they obtain being handled by the students themselves. Some poor students can hunt beasts in the trial grounds to supplement their household income.

Nie Li and his friends, who had not even reached the one-star Bronze level, were going to the safest area of the trial grounds, where only the beast goats lived. Although the goat beasts are very aggressive, they are herbivores and will only attack humans to the point of severe injury, then stop, making the area relatively safe.

After meeting at the entrance to the trial grounds, Nie Li and his friends verified their identities with the guards and entered together.

In the trial grounds' novice apprentice area.

Among the sparse trees, there were occasional patches of grass, with goat beasts slowly pacing through them. Their eyes were blood-red, and they were violent and restless, often perking up their ears to listen. If any intruder enters their territory, they will mercilessly attack.

At this moment, a strange sound came from not far away. The nearest goat beast suddenly let out a low roar and charged in the direction of the sound.

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