Chapter 10

The voice of沧桑 (cāngsāng, meaning "vicissitudes of life") carried a sense of authority, echoing throughout the entire Law and Military Department. All the students outside the hall were taken aback, especially those who had previously gloated, who now stared with wide eyes and open mouths, hardly able to believe it.

For a moment, there was silence outside the hall, and all eyes fell on Wang Baole, watching him walk with his head held high and chest puffed out. His red special admission robe seemed particularly eye-catching at that moment.

The crowd instinctively stepped back, clearing a path for him. As Wang Baole walked away, after a long while, gasps and murmurs suddenly erupted.

"He's actually fine!"

"How is that possible? He cheated, didn't he? How could they say he didn't violate the rules?"

Amidst the murmurs, Liu Daobin also stood in the crowd, equally shocked. Involuntarily, scenes of Wang Baole's heroic performance during the assessment and his unexpected retrieval of the megaphone in the classroom flashed through his mind.

"Deep and unfathomable!" After a moment, Liu Daobin took a deep breath and realized that Wang Baole's special admission was not a fluke. He felt a unique quality in Wang Baole.

Not only was Liu Daobin shaken, but the senior students from the Discipline Department who had brought Wang Baole here also exchanged glances, seeing the disbelief in each other's eyes.

Amidst the murmurs, when Wang Baole returned to his cave dwelling, the news that he had been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Dao Academy spread through the Spirit Network, reaching the entire Lower Academy Island. Everyone who had been following the matter was shocked and puzzled.

For a moment, Wang Baole's name once again dominated the Spirit Network. At that moment, Wang Baole was sitting on the terrace of his cave dwelling, looking at the Spirit Network with a sense of satisfaction. Unlike his previous self-deprecating attitude, he was now pleased to see his popularity rising.

"To become a high-ranking official in the Federation, public opinion is extremely important. It seems that I already have a solid foundation now," Wang Baole said with a smile, feeling that he was one step closer to his dream.

"However, I can't be complacent," Wang Baole thought, recalling the middle-aged man in black in the hall. The man's harsh words and attempts to ruin him made Wang Baole feel a chill.

"This person must be a high-ranking official on the Lower Academy Island. If I don't know his specific identity, I will be at a disadvantage..." Wang Baole quickly searched the Spirit Network for clues. As dusk fell, he finally found the man's identity, but his breathing became rapid.

"This... Deputy Chancellor! Oh no..." Wang Baole's heart skipped a beat. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't mistaken, and then he became nervous. The man's position was too high; the Deputy Chancellor of the Lower Academy Island was already a significant figure in Wang Baole's eyes.

"I haven't offended him, have I? Could it be that our ancestors had a secret I don't know about... and offended him?" Wang Baole speculated, feeling a headache. After a while, he recalled the biographies of high-ranking officials he had studied and his eyes showed determination.

"Almost all high-ranking officials encounter one political rival after another throughout their lives. One could say that their path to success is paved through struggles with their political rivals!"

"This Deputy Chancellor seems to be my first political rival in life!" After labeling the man as his political rival, Wang Baole was no longer nervous. Instead, he was filled with fighting spirit and began to consider the advantages of being a special admission student.

Although he hadn't gone out much in the past few days, he had already learned about some of the privileges of special admission students through the Spirit Network. One of these privileges was the ability to borrow a magical artifact from the treasure chamber of their department for free for five years.

Thinking about this, Wang Baole quickly got up, left his cave dwelling, and found the treasure chamber. With his special admission status, he went through a series of verifications and entered the chamber. Inside, there were some students who immediately recognized him, though some ignored him and continued to select items, while others whispered to each other.

The treasure chamber was filled with an ancient atmosphere. From the outside, it looked like a five-story pavilion. Inside, there were rows of shelves on all sides, each holding a magical artifact registered by the Law and Military Department.

Some were unremarkable, while others shone brightly. At a glance, there were thousands of magical artifacts, showcasing the depth of the Law and Military Department. After all, only the finest items were placed here for students to borrow.

The rental fees varied depending on the magical artifact, but this was not a concern for Wang Baole.

"Since it's free, I should borrow something valuable," he thought. After scanning the first floor, he went up to the fifth floor, where he felt even more satisfied with his special admission status and began to select an item.

"This sword is nice!"

"This bell is also beautiful..."

"These gloves are great, all silver, and they look very powerful!" After looking around, Wang Baole was torn. He liked every magical artifact here and found it difficult to choose. His gaze finally fell on a white jade pillow, and he felt a sudden urge.

This pillow was called the Dream Pillow, which created an illusory scene, similar to the Dream Maze assessment. However, due to its limited capabilities, it was rarely borrowed and was quite expensive.

If it weren't for the black mask, Wang Baole wouldn't have noticed this pillow. But after some thought, he immediately decided to borrow it.

After registering, Wang Baole left with the Dream Pillow, feeling very excited. His steps were light as he headed back to his cave dwelling, planning to try to uncover the secret of the black mask.

Although it was dusk, the sky was still filled with the glow of the sunset, casting a red veil over the Law and Military Peak, creating a soft and beautiful scene. The cool evening breeze brought relief from the heat, and many students came out of the pavilion, chatting and laughing on the peak.

Perhaps the red glow of the sunset masked Wang Baole's special admission robe, but as he walked along the mountain path, few people noticed him. Instead, they were drawn to a figure in the distance.

The figure was a young man dressed differently from the special admission students, wearing a pure white Daoist robe that made him look very elegant, though his face was ordinary and slightly pockmarked.

Despite this, some female students looked at him with admiration.

He was not alone; over a dozen students surrounded him, some carrying his backpack and others holding his ice spirit water, as they walked from a distance.

"It's the Head Student!"

"The Head Student of the Spirit Stone Academy, Jiang Lin!"

Unlike the reaction to the special admission students, the moment the male and female students saw the young man in white, they immediately approached to greet him, showing respect and courtesy, as if they were meeting a teacher. This made the young man in white seem even more noble. After nodding in acknowledgment, he continued on his way, surrounded by his entourage.

He had seen Wang Baole, but in his eyes, whether it was a special admission student or a regular student, there was no difference. Anyone below the rank of Head Student was considered a junior, not a peer.

Wang Baole watched the young man in white with a pockmarked face walk away, feeling a bit envious. He felt that his own moment in the spotlight had been stolen.

"What's a Head Student?" Wang Baole grumbled, opened the Spirit Network, and continued to walk back to his cave dwelling. As he checked the information, his breathing became irregular. By the time he returned to his cave dwelling, he was completely stunned.

"This... this is a Head Student?"

A Head Student is the top student on the list of each academy, and each academy has several Head Students. For example, the Law and Military Department has three major academies, so there are three Head Students!

In addition to proving their absolute excellence in the academy, Head Students have another title: Chancellor's Disciple!

All Head Students from each department are considered disciples of the Chancellor, and they address each other as fellow disciples, which is different from the relationship between seniors and juniors. Moreover, as Head Students, they have some powers that even special admission students do not possess!

Special admission students only have a few more conveniences than regular students, but Head Students... have some of the power of the Dao Academy. They can monitor the rules and discipline of all students in their department. This single power alone is enough to make countless students nervous and respectful!

This power is already considerable within the Dao Academy, and most importantly, the department head has no authority to dismiss a Head Student, as they are not appointed but rather promoted based on their own achievements.

This is a rule of the entire Ethereal Dao Academy, and only the Chancellor has the power to dismiss a Head Student. However, such a drastic change in the rules is only used in extreme cases, and even the Chancellor is reluctant to use it.

Similarly, a Head Student with such status and power dares not be the slightest bit lazy. If they are surpassed by someone else and are no longer the top student, they immediately lose everything.

As Wang Baole read the information on the Spirit Network, his eyes burned with enthusiasm. However, becoming a Head Student is extremely difficult. He remembered that the top student on the Spirit Stone Academy's list had a score of 90, indicating that they had refined a spirit stone with 90% purity.

"Unless I refine a spirit stone with higher purity, it's impossible," Wang Baole sighed, putting aside his envy. He was not the type to be jealous of others. For him, the prestige of a Head Student was indeed something that ordinary people could not easily achieve.

With a mix of regret and desire, Wang Baole put away his thoughts, took out the Dream Pillow from his small bag, and then took out the black mask. After some thought, he activated the Dream Pillow. As the scene before him changed, a glacier appeared.

The cold wind pierced his skin, making Wang Baole shiver.

"Indeed, it's very realistic," Wang Baole quickly looked around. Snowflakes were falling from the sky, the ground was covered in ice, and he could even see some small animals in the distance. Everything was incredibly real.

Wang Baole retracted his gaze and looked at his right hand. He had learned from his previous experience and held the black mask in his hand before entering the dream. When he looked down, he saw that the black mask in his hand was now blurry, with some parts clear and others blurry, as if the dream could not fully resolve it.

"It works!" Wang Baole was excited and quickly examined the mask in detail. After a while, the mask stabilized, but it was still incomplete. However, the text that had appeared on it before reappeared.

"Void Qi Absorption Technique?"

Wang Baole blinked and continued to look. After reading all the text, his body stiffened and began to tremble. His eyes showed intense excitement.

The Void Qi Absorption Technique is a method of creating spirit stones from nothing, without the need for a blank stone as a container. Instead, it absorbs spiritual energy through the body to form a spirit stone!

Because it does not require a blank spirit stone and uses a different method, its purity... far exceeds the Qi Cultivation Technique! Not only 90%, but even the perfect spirit stones that only Law and Military Masters can refine are no longer out of reach!

At this moment, Wang Baole completely forgot about the Ethereal Dao Academy's techniques. His mind was filled with the desire to become a Head Student, which became his driving force, and he became completely obsessed.