Chapter 75: The Taste of Reward

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Purple!

Did purple cores even exist?

At that moment, despite the captivating honor roll, the brilliant purple on the core compass still attracted its fair share of attention.

In Luojiang Examination Tower, half of the crowd’s gaze was fixed on the honor roll hanging in the sky, while the other half had their attention on the never-seen-before brilliant purple shown by the core compass.

Even the examiner had his lips slightly parted. Flabbergasted by the result, he lost his ability to control his expression.

A purple core… It was something beyond his knowledge.

The uproar in the tower was like hail falling from the sky, bombarding the calm surface of a pond, forming rippling sounds one after another.

“It can’t be real, right? Do purple cores even exist?”

“Maybe the core compass malfunctioned…”

“Who is it? Who has a purple core? How odd!”

Noisy discussions broke out among the students.

Liu Hao’s mouth opened and closed. As he stared at the vibrant purple, he did not claim it was some trashy core because purple cores were extremely rare. Even more so than red or yellow cores.

Thus, he did not continue his mockery—doing so would only make him look like a clown.

Liu Hao had a complex expression on his face. He closed his eyes and thought about how Fang Lang improved by leaps and bounds in such a short period of time. Perhaps it was due to his purple core.

Far away.

The new head examiner of Luojiang Examination Tower walked out with Wen Ting, who had a cup of wolfberry tea in his hand.

The head examiner spoke, “This is a purple core. It’s classified as a mutated core. There’s an entry for it in the Record of Core Mutations. You can score him as a golden core.

“Candidates with any core above the yellow tier will receive twenty points.”

Beside him, Wen Ting had a casual yet elegant smile on his face.

In truth, the head examiner had no idea what a purple core was. It was Wen Ting who told him about it and showed him the entry in the Record of Core Mutations.

A purple core was equivalent to a golden core!

Sharp gasps could be heard from the crowd.

The students who were questioning the purple core were instantly rendered speechless. They were left with nothing but jealousy. No, it was not jealousy. It was envy!

People of their level were not even worthy of jealousy.

After all, the mutated core was comparable to a golden core!

The students were curious to know who was the owner of this purple core.

However, when they found out it was Fang Lang, the entire examination tower turned silent again. Following the silence was another uproar!

Not only was Fang Lang a monster who surpassed geniuses from 3,000 academies to become the theory and combat champion of the Imperial Examination, he had a purple core too?! Was that not overkill?

Perhaps it would be worse if he did not have a purple core.

Countless students would be outraged if a student with a white core were to become the theory and combat champion.

That moment, they had nothing to be outraged about—all they had left was admiration.

Among the crowd.

Yang Zhengyi’s long fringe hung over his forehead. He was shocked to the point where he forgot to flip his hair. His jaw dropped to the ground.

Not only did the imbecile turn into a genius, he ranked first on the honor roll!

Yang Zhengyi even thought Fang Lang was just joking when he predicted he would rank tenth. Who would have thought Fang Lang was actually being humble?

It was as if he was living in another world.

Liu Bubai was equally as shocked by both Fang Lang’s rank and his purple core.

Nonetheless, his shock turned into a sudden realization soon after.

‘No wonder Fang Lang could carry me to victory so many times! Wait, that’s not it. No wonder he could walk alongside a genius like me!

‘After all, birds of a feather flock together!’

Liu Bubai’s lips curled up as he gazed at the floating honor roll.

’39th rank, Liu Bubai.’

Even Liu Bubai himself was taken aback! How did he manage to achieve such a high rank?

Nevertheless, a moment later, Liu Bubai acted as if it was only natural. ‘Perhaps… this is what they call talent.’

Ni Wen saw her ranking too.

She was ranked 199th on the honor roll. It was not bad, but she could have done better in the practical assessment. She was unlucky too.

Even so, Ni Wen was very satisfied. She was thankful to have gotten into the honor roll and gained the right to participate in the final section.

Although her achievement was far from Fang Lang’s, Ni Wen clenched her tiny fists with determination. Her eyes were filled with resolve.

She was determined to give her all—she would follow in Fang Lang’s footsteps!

…

Cloud Inn, owned by the Fang family.

It was one of the best inns in Luojiang City.

Old Fang was sitting by the window on the third floor, gazing through the curved corners of some roofs that faced the direction of Luojiang Examination Tower. From there, he could see the floating roll of honor slowly unfurling.

However, he could not see the names written on it.

Old Fang’s palms were drenched in sweat. ‘How did Fang Lang do in his exam? What’s his rank?’

He was anxious to know Fang Lang’s results.

A moment passed.

Suddenly, there was a loud racket below the inn. Old Fang stood up hastily and leaned against the beautifully engraved balustrade to gaze down below.

That was when he saw a few of the servant girls from his manor scurried cheerfully toward Cloud Inn with an official from the court.

“Good news, good news! There’s good news about the Imperial Examination! Congratulations, to the Fang household! Their young boy, Fang Lang, had topped the honor roll!”

The official was being dragged along by the servant girls who repeatedly announced the good news for all to hear!

Their voices filled the entire street!

The street turned rowdy in an instant!

They spread the news from the Fang Manor to the inn. Even customers enjoying a meal in the inn turned their heads to the news.

The Cloud Inn was instantly surrounded by dozens of carriages. Many businessmen had heard about Fang Lang’s great achievement and immediately came rushing to Cloud Inn to congratulate Old Fang.

The Fang family’s boy had topped the honor roll!

That year, the champion did not belong to the well-established academies in Changan, nor did it belong to the Imperial Academy. Instead, it belonged to Luojiang Academy!

The moment the honor roll was revealed, the wonderful news spread to every corner of Luojiang City like giant waves of the ocean.

On the third floor of Cloud Inn, Old Fang was not as surprised as one would imagine. In fact, he sat back down on his chair.

He thought about how Fang Lang worked his fingers to the bones, how he burned the midnight oil and how his food was always cold because he was too busy cultivating. Old Fang could not help but weep when he thought about Fang Lang’s sacrifices.

‘Lang’er’s hard work has finally paid off!

‘My beloved wife, your son has succeeded!

‘He got into the honor roll!’

…

Wen Ting left Luojiang Examination Tower with Fang Lang, Liu Bubai and Ni Wen. Out of 3,000 students in Luojiang Academy that year, only the trio managed to get into the honor roll. The student who ranked fourth in the academy ranked below the 600th in the Imperial Examination.

Even so, Wen Ting felt extremely content. It was the best result Luojiang Academy had achieved in recent years!

Moreover, there was Fang Lang!

First in the honor roll!

Once again, he set a new record in Luojiang Academy!

From the day Luojiang Academy was founded, they had not produced a student who ranked first in the Imperial Examination’s honor roll before!

Although topping the honor roll did not mean Fang Lang was the champion of the Imperial Examination, it was still an incredible honor!

On top of that, Fang Lang managed to triumph over Li Yuanzhen, who was second in the honor roll. Li Yuanzhen—son of Administrator Li Puyi—was exceptionally talented and unrivaled in the whole of Changan City.

Everyone thought Li Yuanzhen would be the one to top the honor roll and become the grand champion.

Fang Lang’s abrupt appearance made many eat their own words.

Wen Ting was overjoyed. He marched on with a spring in his steps as he sipped his wolfberry tea.

Meanwhile, Liu Bubai had his head held high and his chest puffed with pride. Ni Wen, on the other hand, hung her head low with her cheeks flushing red. She shuffled forward along Chang Street, following behind Fang Lang as countless students’ gazes fell on them.

As for Fang Lang, his eyes appeared empty at the moment—he was busy reaping his rewards!

Ding, ding, ding! The crisp notification sound of the System sounded again and again.

The taste of reward lingered in the autumn rain.

‘Ding! Congratulations on making the honor roll. Achievement mission complete. You are rewarded with Innate Sword Intent Seed and one Silver Reward Egg.

‘Innate Sword Intent Seed: You have achieved 1st rank on the honor roll. You are rewarded with a supreme-grade Sword Intent Seed.

‘Ding! You have appeared on the honor roll with your binding partner, Ni Wen, and thus completing a meaningful interaction. Passive ability triggered. You are rewarded with a Grade-Rush Card.

‘Ding! You have appeared on the honor roll with your binding partner, Liu Bubai, and thus completing a meaningful interaction. Passive ability triggered. You are rewarded with a 5X Physical Buff Card.

‘Ding! You have appeared on the honor roll with your binding partner, Jiang Linglong, and thus completing a meaningful interaction. Passive ability triggered. You are rewarded with Spell: Spirit Awl.’

…

There were too many reward notifications from the System. Fang Lang was seeing stars.

Fang Lang knew getting into the honor roll would trigger the completion of the achievement mission and bring in rewards, but he did not know his binding partners making the honor roll would bring rewards as well.

Moreover, he could milk a reward from Old Jiang even though she was in the faraway city of Changan!

Fang Lang was more than pleased with this fair treatment by the System. He was beaming internally.

It was an extremely fruitful harvest!

Even so, Fang Lang was in no hurry to study his rewards. Wen Ting led the three students back to Luojiang Academy.

A figure abruptly shot down from the sky, appearing out of nowhere in front of the four.

Fang Lang and the others were all taken by surprise. They quickly bowed down and greeted, “Vice Leader Chao.”

Chao Xiaojian’s long white hair ran down his back, where he carried his blade. His gaze was fixed on Fang Lang. Suddenly, he reached out and squeezed Fang Lang’s shoulder.

Chao Xiaojian’s expression changed instantly. Fang Lang was different from before!

His core had mutated!

“First on the honor roll. Not bad, not bad. As expected from the champion of my Gathering of Swords.”

Chao Xiaojian regained his composure and placed his hands behind his back.

Wen Ting rolled his eyes at the conceited man.

Chao Xiaojian did not bat an eye at him. His eyes were still fixed on Fang Lang.

He continued. “However, don’t be too proud of yourself. You won’t be given any advantage in the final section.

“Let’s not mention the monsters of the royal family yet. If you run into people like Li Yuanzhen, Jiang Linglong or that senile blacksmith’s disciple, Wei Sheng, your defeat is already a given.”

Wen Ting nodded in agreement. “The honor roll has been published today. Ten days later, the final section will begin. This ten-day period is your only chance for exponential improvement.”

Wen Ting continued. “Travel to Changan will take a day. You will await the final assessment there. Thus, that leaves only nine days.

“We will prepare an intensive cultivation schedule for you.

“Pack up your valuables tomorrow and gather on the academy’s practice grounds,” Wen Ting instructed sternly.

“Thank you, sir.”

Fang Lang, Liu Bubai and Ni Wen bowed at the same time.

Nonetheless, Fang Lang did not care about anything Wen Ting just said. Instead, he asked with twinkling eyes, “The senile blacksmith… are you referring to the elder from the blacksmith workshop on Chang Street?”

Wen Ting pressed his lips together and nodded. “Yes. His disciple’s name is Wei Sheng. He came in second in the Grand Martial Arts Championship. However, that was only because he’s still a young boy. The disciple has incredible core and talent—when he grows up, he will surely become a giant in the martial arts world.”

‘Wei Sheng?

‘The one who ranked 4th on the honor roll?’

Ni Wen and Liu Bubai stole curious glances at Fang Lang when he inquired about the disciple. They were shocked by the sight they saw.

A smile gradually appeared on Fang Lang’s face.

After a while, it turned into a creepy grin.

‘Hehehe!’

That was…

The joy of being rewarded!