In the afternoon, Tu Xiao’an arrived at the vice-dean’s office and saw the old man extend a hand directly toward him.

How could Tu Xiao’an not understand? He tossed the Azure Owl’s Nine Colored Feathers over, and they floated right in front of the old man’s eyes.

"These feathers are truly beautiful. Worthy of being the feathers of an Immortal Spirit Peacock."

The vice-dean beamed and looked at him. "I’ve already made the arrangements for you to enter the Super Genius Class. I’ll take you to challenge someone in a bit. If you defeat them, you can officially join the Genius Class."

Tu Xiao’an wasn’t actually that interested in joining the Genius Class. He had just been provoked by Bai Junran earlier.

He asked, "What’s the difference between the Genius Class and the regular classes?"

"The benefits are different."

’Benefits?’ Tu Xiao’an frowned. ’This isn’t a job, what kind of benefits could there be?’

The vice-dean said, "Every student in the Genius Class is allocated ten Spirit Stones per month. Students ranked in the top five get twenty. Students in the upper-class get only five, and the lower-class gets one."

’Spirit Stones?’

’So such things exist.’ Tu Xiao’an had never seen one.

"Old man, let me see one."

Seeing his reaction, the vice-dean was astonished. "You’re the great Bai Town Snake King, and you’ve never seen a Spirit Stone?"

"I’ve seen them in novels, but never in real life," Tu Xiao’an said without a hint of a blush.

"I really don’t know how a Snake Spirit like you cultivates. But I can’t blame you for never having seen a treasure like a Spirit Stone. Generally, only we human Martial Cultivators have them."

As he spoke, the vice-dean tossed a crystal-clear stone to Tu Xiao’an. The stone was small, about the size of a newborn baby’s fist.

’What powerful Energy!’

Tu Xiao’an caught the Spirit Stone with his bare hand. It felt cool to the touch. Most importantly, he could clearly feel the abundant Spiritual Qi and potent Energy contained within.

"Ding... Low Grade Spirit Stone. The host can gain 100 points of Evolutionary Energy by absorbing it."

’Holy crap, one hundred points of Evolutionary Energy! That’s equivalent to me Devouring an entire Awakened Creature.’

’Absorb.’

Tu Xiao’an gripped the Spirit Stone tightly. Instantly, it began to flicker as the pure Energy inside was rapidly drawn out. The crystal-clear Spirit Stone then turned into an ordinary rock and crumbled into dust.

Evolutionary Energy: 3300/5000.

"Kid, who told you to absorb the Spirit Stone?"

The vice-dean shot to his feet, then said in amazement, "To think you can completely absorb the Energy from a Spirit Stone in just a few breaths... you’re a monster!"

It would take a Rank One Martial Cultivator ten days of Cultivation to completely absorb the Energy from a single Spirit Stone.

Even a Rank Two Martial Cultivator would need three days.

’What’s the big deal? When I devour creatures, they’re converted directly into Evolutionary Energy. This is nothing.’

But of course, he wouldn’t say that out loud.

"These Spirit Stones are pretty good," Tu Xiao’an said with a smile.

The vice-dean snorted. "Of course they’re good. Only official students of the Ancient Academy can receive Spirit Stones every month. Why else do you think all the major powers send the children of their clans here? A huge part of the reason is for the Spirit Stones."

One Spirit Stone is 100 points, ten is 1,000, and a hundred is 10,000.

Tu Xiao’an’s breathing suddenly grew heavy. ’This stuff is great! Fifty of them would be enough for me to advance a Level.’

’If that’s the case, I could easily reach Level 30 just by relying on Spirit Stones.’

"Old man, give me a few more," Tu Xiao’an said greedily.

The vice-dean sneered. "What do you think these are, candy? Every single Spirit Stone is hard to come by and is controlled by the state under a numbering system."

"The Ancient Academy is a cradle for the nation’s talent, which is why a portion is distributed to students for their Cultivation each month."

Tu Xiao’an understood. "You just said that if I get into the Genius Class, I’ll get ten a month, and if I rank in the top five, I’ll get twenty a month, right?"

"That’s right," the vice-dean nodded.

"Then if I go and defeat the number one ranked student, will I take their rank?"

"Hmph, you wish." The vice-dean naturally understood what devious plan Tu Xiao’an was hatching. "At the start of a new semester, the student rankings are reset. However, it’s not done through individual challenges, but through special trial missions set by the academy."

Tu Xiao’an said, "That sounds like a pain."

"No need to be impatient. What you need to do now is get into the Genius Class, because Spirit Stones will be distributed once the new semester begins."

"When?"

"In three days."

Tu Xiao’an got it now and started to smile. By that logic, he could get ten Spirit Stones in three days, which meant an easy thousand points of Evolutionary Energy.

’And it’s not just me who gets them. The other students do too, hehe.’

"Old man, take me to the Genius Class assessment now. Let’s not waste any more time; we’re all busy people."

The vice-dean’s beard bristled as he glared. "Snake Spirit, if you dare keep calling me that, I’ll throw you out! I’m already giving you preferential treatment. In the entire history of the Ancient Academy, no Demon has ever been allowed to study here."

"Don’t you need something from me?" Tu Xiao’an wasn’t falling for his act.

He had already agreed to one of the old man’s requests, and who knew what he would be asked to do in the future.

’But the Ancient Academy is really something else, to even have treasures like Spirit Stones. There are bound to be many more surprises waiting for me in the future.’

"Follow me."

The vice-dean led the way himself. Tu Xiao’an, the strongest freshman, was getting the VIP treatment. This was mainly because the vice-dean was worried he would cause trouble.

"When you fight a student in a moment, remember to stop once a winner is decided."

The vice-dean specifically instructed him.

"And what exactly does that mean?"

"Once your opponent concedes, you can’t attack anymore."

A short while later, the old man led Tu Xiao’an to a Martial Arts Arena. A number of students from the Super Genius Class had already gathered there. Arrogance was written all over their faces as they looked at the freshman, Tu Xiao’an, with sneers.

The vice-dean waved at a young man in green robes among the crowd. The man’s Body Technique was incredibly fast; he moved like a green shadow and landed on the arena floor.

"Don’t worry, old man. I promise I won’t kill him."

Tu Xiao’an tossed out the comment with a grin and walked up. At his current level of strength, this wasn’t a duel; it was child’s play.

This Martial Arts Arena was about a hundred square meters, more than enough space for two people to fight. However, this arena wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

Tu Xiao’an’s gaze swept the area. He discovered several hidden spots where many powerful Martial Cultivators were concealed. Furthermore, the Martial Arts Arena was positioned in a way that it was visible from all directions within the Ancient Academy.

In other words, you could watch the match in the Martial Arts Arena from any direction.

As long as your eyesight was good enough, you could even watch from several kilometers away.

This match had probably attracted not only the students of the Ancient Academy, but also many of its higher-ups, who were all watching closely.

Tu Xiao’an couldn’t help but wonder, ’Besides this old vice-dean, how many people in the Ancient Academy know my identity as a Snake Spirit?’

Normally, at Tu Xiao’an’s current level of Cultivation, as long as he didn’t release his snake-like aura, no one below Rank 3 would be able to see through his disguise.

The day before, he had clashed with Bai Junran, and Bai Junran hadn’t seen through his Snake Spirit identity at all.

And Bai Junran had one foot in Rank 3. If even he couldn’t see through it, then no student in the Ancient Academy should be able to.