Immortal Refiner

News that a master of artifact refinement had arrived at the Imperial Academy quickly spread throughout the entire institution.

In the past, the Imperial Academy’s strongest cultivation arts had always been the pill dao and the array dao. Talisman dao and artifact refinement, however, had consistently lacked qualified masters.

Still, students at the Imperial Academy were free to choose one of the four arts—pills, artifacts, arrays, or talismans—to cultivate. Those with exceptional talent could even study multiple arts, but the academy discouraged this, as it could hinder one’s primary cultivation.

Therefore, the lack of qualified talisman and artifact masters hadn’t been a major issue for the students.

At worst, they could simply specialize in the pill dao or array dao. After all, the most powerful formation master on the Azure Profound Continent was a master at the Imperial Academy.

Even though Master Ying rarely made public appearances, this didn’t diminish the popularity of the array dao at the academy. Over the years, Master Ying had taught many students who had become formidable formation masters in their own right.

As a result, the array dao had remained the most popular cultivation art at the Imperial Academy for years, highly sought after by many cultivators. Even some of the other masters would occasionally find time to attend his lectures.

”An artifact refinement master... Could it be the one Ning Hei brought in a few days ago?”

”Ning Hei looked quite respectful that day, so it must be him.”

”That artifact refinement master is surnamed Li, with the Daoist name Limitless. I’ve never heard of such a figure in Yujing City before.”

”I heard he’s an artifact refiner recommended to the academy by Prince Ning. His Highness Prince Ning speaks highly of his artifact refinement skills.”

”His Highness Prince Ning... He couldn’t have used connections to get into the Imperial Academy, could he? Does he even have any real talent and learning?”

”Since this Master Li passed Dean Chen’s examination, he must naturally possess real talent and learning.”

”Shh, keep your voice down, it’s not proper to gossip about a master behind their back!”

”Master Li’s artifact refinement class is in nine days. We’ll just go and listen then.”

”...”

The students still harbored some doubts about the sudden appearance of an artifact refiner in the Imperial Academy.

However, since Master Li’s artifact refinement class didn’t conflict with any other art courses, it seemed like a good idea to spare some cultivation time to attend and at least see what he was made of.

After passing Dean Chen’s test, Li Qing officially became a master of the Imperial Academy.

Being a master of the Imperial Academy came with many benefits, such as having his cave abode located on the academy’s only sixth-rank spirit vein.

Furthermore, the master of the Imperial Academy held the rank of a seventh-grade official. Even as a nominal position, it was a symbol of status, meaning he could one day enter the court of the Great Yu Kingdom to serve as an official and be revered by the masses.

However, for Li Qing, the most immediate benefit was naturally the freedom to enter the book pavilion.

This place was the foundation of the Imperial Academy, housing numerous inheritances and all kinds of cultivation manuals and secret texts. Its collection was far more extensive than Li Qing could have ever imagined.

As a master, he could freely browse these inheritances, a privilege that any ordinary cultivator would dream of.

Li Qing, whose goal was to learn the Profound Nether Realm Script, naturally headed straight for the book pavilion.

”Book Mountain Tower.”

Li Qing glanced at the massive pavilion before him, then presented his Master’s Token and successfully entered.

On the first floor, his eyes met towering bookshelves filled with a vast array of cultivation manuals and secret texts, but most were merely basic chapters.

”Besides the basic cultivation techniques, the rest are just first-tier inheritances, as well as some geographical records of the Great Yu Kingdom and the entire Azure Profound Continent.”

Li Qing skimmed through a few and shook his head, then ascended to the second floor.

He wasn’t very interested in those things. He had more important matters to attend to now and couldn’t afford to waste time here.

On the second floor, the cultivation manuals and secret texts were far more profound, all containing divine secret arts that could only be cultivated starting from the Core Formation Realm. Moreover, the Book Mountain Tower possessed the subsequent chapters for almost all of them. If he chose to cultivate one, he wouldn’t have to worry about hitting a dead end.

The Profound Nether Realm Script Record he sought was also collected on this floor. Besides that, another classic text caught his eye.

Records of the Baoyuan Realm. This book actually documented the customs and geography of many places in the spirit realm. This was the first time Li Qing learned that the spirit realm he resided in was named the Baoyuan Realm.

Its contents were rich and comprehensive, introducing the basic overviews of many continents as well as the major races existing in the spirit realm.

Li Qing quickly became interested in this and used his powerful divine soul to memorize it page by page.

These were all basic knowledge, neither profound nor complex, requiring no deep comprehension. He only needed to memorize them to broaden his horizons.

”The Baoyuan Realm is so vast that even if I spend my entire life exploring, I can only reach this far. That boundless ocean and the perilous restricted zones from which no one has ever returned are already beyond my capabilities.”

”What I have yet to explore, I leave to future generations to record and continue.” —Daoist Lord Fengming.

After finishing the entire Records of the Baoyuan Realm, Li Qing let out a long sigh of relief. The secrets of the spirit realm documented in this book far exceeded his imagination.

On some continents, there were even secret realms suspected to be related to the immortal realm, likely small realms lost from that higher plane.

”If my cultivation becomes strong enough in the future, I will definitely explore the entire spirit realm,” Li Qing sighed, slowly returning the Records of the Baoyuan Realm to its original place.

Next, he picked up another book, the Profound Nether Realm Script Record. This was his main purpose for entering the Imperial Academy.

The volume was not very thick, about the width of two palms. As Li Qing opened it, he immediately saw familiar, mysterious characters.

In the Imperial Academy, there were masters who specialized in studying the languages of various races, but such courses had always been relatively unpopular. Very few cultivators were willing to spare the time to attend their lectures.

Li Qing slowly flipped the pages, reading intently.

The book provided a direct comparison between the Profound Nether Realm script and the Spirit Realm Common Language, allowing Li Qing to easily commit it to memory.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face. This was exactly what he needed, and he hadn’t expected to obtain it so easily.

As Li Qing pored over the record with insatiable curiosity, he quickly began to master the script of the Profound Nether Realm. By comparing the two, he started to comprehend the contents of the scroll he had obtained in the Heavenlight Secret Realm.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, nearly half a day had passed.

Li Qing closed his eyes, mentally comparing and verifying the contents of the scroll.

”It’s not entirely comprehensive. There are still a few characters I can’t recognize, but I can grasp the general meaning.”

The scroll, which he had previously found impossible to even begin to understand, was now largely decipherable.