"So you are the rising star that Bufan mentioned?"
The woman narrowed her eyes and looked at Chen Xu, sizing him up from head to toe.
"The world is changing so fast. I merely entered a death seclusion, and now someone not even sixty years old can reach such a level."
Her heartfelt sigh drew a retort from Xia Qiming.
"Qiuxi, Chen Xu is Chen Xu, and we are us. Don't lump him in with the rest of us. In Daxia, he is a species of his own and isn't included in the average assessment."
"Teacher Xia, who is this?"
Chen Xu didn't mind Xia Qiming's jealousy. Geniuses were always prone to attracting envy. Instead, he was curious about the woman's identity.
From her words, she seemed quite familiar with Ye Bufan.
"Oh, I forgot. You don't know Qiuxi yet."
Xia Qiming slapped his forehead as he realized.
Because Chen Xu's strength was so far ahead, he usually interacted with people like Ye Bufan, Xiang Longwu, or those old craftsmen from Heavenly Crafts Academy. They were all from his generation or the one before, leading him to subconsciously assume Chen Xu should know her.
"Li Qiuxi, the first cultivator in Daxia during the dungeon era to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage through self-cultivation. Previously limited by the environment, she failed to break through the Soul Transformation bottleneck several times and eventually entered death seclusion. She only recently emerged after the Spirit Qi Recovery in Daxia was successful."
So, she was a traditionalist like Zhang Jingping, a scholar-style genius.
Hearing this, Li Qiuxi shook her head with a hint of helplessness and annoyance.
"The past is best left unmentioned. I was too arrogant back then, trying to cultivate independently against the current version of the world. Otherwise, I should have had a seat among the mythic-tier cultivators in Daxia by now."
Li Qiuxi only dwelled on her frustration for a moment before quickly shaking off the emotion.
"Since you have business with Qiming, I'll take my leave."
She turned to Xia Qiming. "I accept the matter of the learning hall you mentioned."
With a graceful turn, she walked out.
"Learning hall?" Chen Xu was curious. Daxia only had basic education before eighteen and higher education after eighteen. Why was there suddenly a learning hall?
Chen Xu pulled out a chair and sat down. "Teacher Xia, what is this learning hall? A new dungeon?"
"A learning hall is just a learning hall. There are too many people in Daxia practicing multiple paths now. Since the spirit qi concentration increased, some people can't see the situation clearly. They attribute environmental factors to their own talent, blindly practicing techniques and rushing through realms, resulting in many cases of backlash."
Xia Qiming's face showed a trace of distress as he spoke.
After the level limits were lifted and following several major mobilizations, the levels of most job-holders had risen, and casualties in dungeons had significantly decreased.
Aside from encountering certain bizarre dungeons, casualties in others were kept to single digits, and Daxia's population growth finally saw a massive explosion.
But the good times didn't last long. While dungeon casualties dropped sharply, injuries and deaths caused by job-holders and non-job-holders cultivating on their own filled that gap, even exceeding previous figures.
Previously, when spirit qi concentration was low or non-existent, anyone who could learn cultivation or martial arts techniques without the job-holder panel possessed a fair amount of comprehension or talent.
They had a clear understanding of their own situation and wouldn't blindly practice techniques.
Because of this, Fuxi's technique database was open to the public, and everyone could access it.
But once the spirit qi concentration rose, this open database became a major problem.
People without a spirit root would forcibly practice elemental techniques, or practice difficult-to-control Daoist laws without guidance, such as the fire lotus series that involves condensing and compressing flames.
If not for Fuxi's monitoring arrays spread across the country, which detected out-of-control energy and nipped the issues in the bud, who knows how much trouble would have been caused.
"By the way." Xia Qiming seemed to remember something, his eyes lighting up as he looked at Chen Xu. "That Altar of the Martial Sovereign you set up in Xinwang—can you build a few more? Daxia will provide the resources."
"Also, is there an Altar of the Celestial Sovereign? There are fewer incidents in the martial arts path because your Altar of the Martial Sovereign is working. Everyone is physically tough and can withstand the backlash of their techniques. If there's an Altar of the Celestial Sovereign to improve their talent, it would solve a lot of problems."
Xia Qiming's words left Chen Xu confused.
"Altar of the Martial Sovereign? Teacher Xia, what are you talking about?"
"Hmm? Didn't you create it? Elder Qi said it was your handiwork. He was the one who promoted it. There used to be mountains of people queuing up. Later, because there were too many, we feared something might happen, so the Daxia government stepped in to set up a reservation system."
"It's just a large plaza with a Bone Lotus Seat. If you go up and pay your respects, you can receive the Blessing of the Martial Sovereign, which strengthens the body. Some people have even awakened special constitutions."
Hearing Xia Qiming's description, Chen Xu remembered. Wasn't that his Natural Wonder, the 【Bone Soul-Exalting Altar】? Since when did it get the name Altar of the Martial Sovereign?
"That thing is a Natural Wonder of the Land of the Undead, the 【Bone Soul-Exalting Altar】. It was originally meant to buff bone-type undead creatures. It was only because Elder Qi felt like paying his respects to it on a whim that he discovered this function."
"It's... it's for skeletons?"
Xia Qiming was stunned. No wonder the style was so eerie. When he first saw it, he thought it was a set for a horror movie.
"Yeah, only old craftsmen like Elder Qi would have the imagination to discover that use. As for whether there's one suitable for immortal cultivation, I don't think so."
"After all, there's no such thing as an ice root or spirit root in the Land of the Undead."
"What about benefits for the soul?" Xia Qiming pointed to his own head.
Chen Xu shook his head. "For the soul, there is only a decomposition function, no buffing function."
Last time, the soul school from Akhan wanted to purchase the 【Three-Phase Wraith Reincarnation Pool】, which was a Natural Wonder involving the soul.
Ethereal-type undead creatures were in the upper-middle class in the Land of the Undead and didn't need buffs. Therefore, no Lord of the Undead had ever designed a Natural Wonder for soul enhancement.
"Alright. Then do you have time to build a few more Altars of the Martial Sovereign? The number of people queuing every day is too high, forcing Xinwang to build a lot of temporary housing."
"That's not a problem. As long as Daxia provides the materials."
Anyway, the Land of the Undead was still in a ceasefire. During the period when the necrotic tide was erupting, it would be enough for Chen Xu's construction crew to finish the Natural Wonder projects.
"By the way, Teacher Xia, does Daxia have any extra space fragments? I can't work for free, after all."
Chen Xu held out his right hand, rubbing his thumb and index finger together.
"We have fragments. I've had people save them. The entire year's output hasn't been touched. You can go to Heavenly Crafts Academy yourself to pick them."
"Besides fragments, there are also fish carcasses and Yin-attribute materials. I remember you mentioned these two to me before, so I had people prepare them."
"However, there aren't many fish carcasses. After all, the people of Daxia still need to eat. Last time the sea race caused trouble, you converted all the fish in the country into Bone Kun. The people haven't been able to eat fish for a long time. This time, we have to set some aside for the citizens."
"The fish carcasses don't matter as long as there are space fragments."
At worst, he could just wait for the Bone Kun to slowly hatch in the Inverted Sea. Space fragments were the top priority.
As for Yin-attribute materials, the image of the Yin Stone and the Zhenyuan wrapped around it appeared in Chen Xu's mind. He felt like he didn't really need Yin Stones anymore.
Oh well, better to have them than not.
"Teacher Xia, then I'll head to Heavenly Crafts Academy to get the fragments first."
Just as Chen Xu was about to turn and leave, Xia Qiming's voice interrupted him.
"I almost forgot. In three days, Heaven will be visiting. Do you want to participate?"
"Heaven?"
Rate on N.U.
