Chapter 54

After the evening class ended, Wang Qi walked towards the northern end of the Immortal Academy. After asking a senior disciple for directions, Wang Qi found the alchemy room.

When Wang Qi arrived, Xiang Qi was tidying up the equipment. Seeing her junior brother come to her on his own initiative, she was somewhat surprised: "Wang Qi? Did you come to see me for something?"

After Wang Qi explained his purpose, she showed an expression similar to that of Mao Zimiao and Wang Zhenqi: "A thousand merit points? Why don't you just rob someone?"

Wang Qi helplessly spread his hands: "With my cultivation, I can't rob anyone, right?"

"True... Are you saying that if your cultivation was high enough, you would rob someone?"

Wang Qi neither confirmed nor denied it.

Xiang Qi held her forehead: "It costs about that many merit points to refine a life-bound magical treasure at the Golden Core stage. What did you set your eyes on?"

"The books in the library."

Wang Qi answered truthfully. There was no point in hiding it.

Xiang Qi looked suspicious: "Are there any books in the library that expensive?"

Wang Qi explained the situation: "Actually, last night when I was meditating, a senior suddenly stepped out of the void, saying he found me likable, and then gave me a number. The old man in the ring said that senior was at the Transcendent stage, and he called himself Xibai Che."

"Xibai Che?" Xiang Qi frowned: "The 'Master of Calculation' Xibai Che?"

Wang Qi nodded. Xiang Qi suddenly grabbed Wang Qi's shoulders and stared into his eyes. After a while, she burst out laughing: "The 'Master of Calculation' Xibai Che, hahaha, you say the Master of Calculation guided you... hahaha!"

Seeing the girl in front of him laughing until tears almost came out, Wang Qi helplessly shrugged. If a regular high school student on Earth told others that a Nobel laureate was tutoring them, the reaction would probably be the same.

Xiang Qi laughed for a long time before stopping: "This is the best joke I've heard this month... I don't think you're the type to run halfway across the Immortal Academy just to tell me a joke. Come on, what's really going on?"

Wang Qi looked at her seriously. Seeing Wang Qi's expression, Xiang Qi finally understood: "You really came to tell me a joke?"

Wang Qi's serious expression instantly collapsed: "Damn, how deeply has my image as a joker been ingrained! Don't you even consider the possibility that I'm not joking?"

Xiang Qi widened her eyes: "Really! You received guidance from the Master of Calculation?"

"I just told you that! You only realized now?"

Xiang Qi placed her hand on Wang Qi's forehead and probed with her magical power: "No signs of a mental breakdown. I confirm I haven't... What you said is true?"

Wang Qi covered his face: "I'm defeated by your reaction speed, Senior Sister..."

Xiang Qi said apologetically: "Sorry, but this news... You really received guidance from the Master of Calculation?"

Wang Qi shook his head: "I'm not sure. That senior called himself Xibai Che."

Xiang Qi walked back and forth, her face full of excitement: "You received guidance from the Master of Calculation! You received guidance from the Master of Calculation!"

It was clear that she was genuinely happy for her friend.

Wang Qi was a bit puzzled: "It's not like I received a grandmaster's enlightenment, is it worth being so happy?"

Xiang Qi quickly composed herself: "Looking at your attitude now, you're not arrogant or restless, which is good. However, don't underestimate the guidance of the Master of Calculation. The world's cultivation methods are countless, and many seniors have been stuck at certain stages because the mathematics they mastered didn't align with their path. With the Master of Calculation's guidance, you should be able to avoid many detours."

Wang Qi said: "The senior is just a guide; the one who walks the path is still me."

In his previous life, he already knew which mathematical tools were needed for that kind of research, so he didn't value this guidance as much as others.

However, this didn't mean that Xibai Che's book recommendations were worthless. Wang Qi wasn't very familiar with the classics of this world, and Xibai Che's recommendations were very sharp, all of which were what he needed. This list of books actually saved him a lot of hard work.

Xiang Qi was very satisfied with Wang Qi's attitude and praised him a few times. Wang Qi humbly accepted it, then frowned: "The guidance is good, but I don't have any merit points at all right now!"

Xiang Qi also thought about it: "This should be a long-term process. Why don't you wait until later... Why are you looking at me like that?"

Seeing Xiang Qi's suddenly wary tone, Wang Qi sighed: "Can't you help me out a bit?"

Xiang Qi shook her head like a rattle: "Absolutely not. After I finish tutoring this year's disciples, I have to return to the sect to prepare for my Golden Core formation. This is what I've saved up with great difficulty. Do you have the heart to make me sacrifice my life-bound magical treasure to support you?"

A life-bound magical treasure's power grows with the cultivator's cultivation, so it's best to refine it as early as possible. Additionally, a life-bound magical treasure is crucial for a cultivator's future path to the Nascent Soul stage, so it can't be taken lightly.

No matter how thick-skinned Wang Qi was, he couldn't possibly beg someone to sacrifice their future to help him, so he had to think of other cultivators.

Xiang Qi, as if reading his mind, shook her head: "In terms of merit points, most disciples in the world have the same tight budget. Even if they could lend, it would be at most ten or twenty points. It's only better for grandmasters."

Wang Qi asked: "Is Brother Su usually generous?"

"Someone with millions of spirit stones in their spirit pool might not have many merit points." Xiang Qi shook her head: "Although the current exchange rate is about two thousand spirit stones per merit point, the Immortal Alliance won't let you exchange spirit stones for merit points. On the street, you might not be able to get a single merit point even with twenty thousand spirit stones."

Zhen Chanzi was shocked and couldn't help but interject: "Two thousand spirit stones per merit point and twenty thousand spirit stones per merit point? That's a huge difference! And a Qi Condensation stage cultivator has tens of thousands of lower-grade spirit stones worth of spirit energy..."

Xiang Qi gave him a look as if he were a naive country bumpkin: "What use is spirit energy?"

"Of course, to shorten..." Zhen Chanzi suddenly stopped speaking.

For ancient cultivators, spirit stones were mainly used to absorb the spirit energy inside to accelerate cultivation. This is why spirit stones had a recognized value in the entire immortal path.

However, modern cultivators obtain all the spirit energy they need from the breath of heaven and earth, gathering the purest spirit energy from the heavens, so they don't value spirit stones.

After thinking about this, Zhen Chanzi still wasn't convinced: "Spirit energy can also be used for array formations, alchemy, and refining magical treasures, saving cultivators' magical power and increasing their cultivation time."

Wang Qi shook his head: "Old man, don't forget that modern cultivators suppress their cultivation in the three stages of human life to maintain their mental state. Saving time is meaningless."

For ancient cultivators, spirit stones were essential for cultivation, like money and grain, without which they couldn't survive.

For modern cultivators, spirit energy is at most like water, electricity, gas, and heating. Having it is more convenient, but not having it isn't a deal-breaker.

In today's immortal path, the merit points that can be exchanged for anything in the Immortal Alliance are the capital for cultivators to enhance themselves.

However, Wang Qi noticed something strange: Have you ever seen someone use water, electricity, gas, and heating to buy things on the street?

Xiang Qi's next words explained Wang Qi's confusion: "Actually, a hundred years ago, the Immortal Alliance already mastered the technique of extracting spirit energy from the heavens through the breath of heaven and earth. Using spirit energy for transactions today is just to prevent the collapse of the immortal path."