Chapter 209: Chapter 85: The End of Senior Year

"First, show me where public safety is bad. That’s where I’ll go..."

As the Evil-Devouring Demon Lord, this was the first thing Su Zhou thought of. ’College is a long time. The chance to adventure in an Otherworld is rare—you need to hunt a first-generation Evil Demon for it. So, to avoid wasting time I could be using to get stronger, it’d be best to go somewhere with a high crime rate. I could be a Masked Hero, hiding my identity while helping people. Occasionally kill a few Evil People, eat their souls... Wouldn’t that be great?’

But on second thought, the idea was pretty unrealistic.

’The three newly established A Class Extraordinary Academies are located in Zhengguo’s capital, Celestial Capital; the developed coastal city of Modu; and the ancient ten-dynasty capital, Western Capital. Forget about high crime rates; I bet those places have several elite official Extraordinary squads stationed there, working under a Holy Seat.’

’If some clueless, moronic Transcendent tried to commit a crime in a place like that, they’d be caught in a day and have their ashes scattered within three.’

"This really is a tough decision."

He ordered another pot of spicy boiled beef. Su Zhou held his phone in his left hand, looking at a map of Zhengguo, while his right hand, seemingly with a life of its own, picked at the beef and bean sprouts. He wasn’t holding back in the slightest—Shao Qiming was full anyway. Su Zhou furrowed his brow slightly. "Huh, why do Celestial Capital, Modu, and Western Capital form a triangle? It looks a bit like an Array."

"And I’m just noticing that Western Capital is right in the center of Zhengguo. Makes it seem even more like some kind of national-level Great Array... But the triangle is shifted toward the north."

"You noticed?" Shao Qiming had also taken out his phone and was looking at something. Hearing Su Zhou’s words, he smiled and replied, "The locations of the three Extraordinary Academies weren’t chosen randomly... Anyway, I heard my dad mention that, but it’s all he knows for now."

"As for the south, that’s the stronghold of the ancient Daoist Sects. Today’s Zhengyi Academy and Chuanshu Academy are the modern incarnations of those ancient Daoist traditions. So, while it might seem undefended, it’s actually teeming with Transcendents and heavily fortified."

"I figured as much." Su Zhou nodded slightly. ’Of course the locations of the professional Extraordinary Academies weren’t chosen at random, I could have guessed that.’ But that alone wasn’t enough to help him choose. "What do you think about the academy in Celestial Capital? It’s the Capital, at least, so its resources should be the best."

’But if I go to the Capital, I’ll be under the watchful eyes of Zhengguo’s other Transcendents. I probably wouldn’t be as free.’ That was what gave him pause.

"Before you make a decision, you might want to look at this first."

At this time, Shao Qiming seemed to have finished something on his phone, then handed it to Su Zhou. "News my dad got from Celestial Capital... Although everyone says not to spread it, the fact that it’s being spread at all means the higher-ups are interested in making it public."

"Let me see."

Su Zhou took Shao Qiming’s phone. There was a document on it. He muttered to himself, reading aloud, "The Three Extraordinary Academies are all essentially for training professional career Transcendents, but even so, they each have their own specializations."

"Celestial Capital’s Daoist Discipline Academy... It trains researchers for relevant Extraordinary Majors, with an emphasis on cultivating Transcendents who can apply modern technology in fields like materials science and physics. The reverse is also true: using modern science to aid Extraordinary research, with the goal of integrating the two. Hmm, under our Zhengguo’s Supervision of All Saints, a purely academic institution like this probably has the highest status."

"Modu’s Zhizhi Academy... The description is almost identical. It also trains research-focused Transcendents, but in addition to researchers, it emphasizes training Explorers. It doesn’t specify what they explore, though. My personal guess would be ruin exploration. You know how since the Spiritual Energy Revival, all sorts of ancient ruins have been popping up around the globe."

"As for Western Capital’s Qinxing Academy... It also trains Extraordinary researchers, but with a focus on the practical application of Extraordinary theories, and on updating and repurposing various ancient methods. It also trains Explorers for missions in unspecified fields."

"This is interesting."

’In Zhengguo, the major academies are essentially places for training various types of researchers. Based on my assumptions about the academies of old, Celestial Capital’s Daoist Discipline Academy is probably where they train Academic Officers. In the future, they’ll likely form the foundation of Zhengguo’s new Extraordinary System.’

’Modu’s and Western Capital’s Zhizhi and Qinxing Academies, on the other hand, are more independent. The so-called Explorers, translated into the terminology of Zhengguo’s Supervision of All Saints system, are basically combat units known as ’Scholars required to wield independent martial power.’ They’re likely meant to be Extraordinary Inspectors and military officers. And ’practical application of Extraordinary theory,’ in a way, can also be read as ’militarization.’’

’These are all Zhengguo’s unique and euphemistic system names. After all, even the Patrol major nominally makes you a Scholar of an academy affiliated with the Legalist School of criminal law. Professional pig farming requires a High Tier Scholar diploma from an Agricultural School academy specializing in animal husbandry.’

After reading all that, Su Zhou had a pretty good idea of what to do. "In that case, I’m definitely not going to the one in Celestial Capital. A purely academic academy has high status, but it’s also highly restrictive. Plus, it’s in the Celestial Capital—I bet there are seven or eight Holy Seats stationed there on any given day. Forget about stirring up trouble; if I saw a thief on the street, he’d probably be caught before I could even make a move."

"Modu and Western Capital both sound good. To put it bluntly, the ’Exploration’ major is all about exploring ancient sites and ruins. The Daoist Saint told me about this kind of stuff before. I think exploration suits my specialization and personality. Modu is closer to home, but Western Capital appeals to me more."

"In that case, I’ll put these two down on my application, and flip a coin to decide later."

Su Zhou’s tone was incredibly confident, as if he could attend whichever school he pleased—which was, in fact, the truth. Honestly, it was debatable whether the deans of these three academies had even reached the Extraordinary Level themselves. How could they possibly reject Su Zhou?

As for Shao Qiming, it was much the same. A genius with A Class Talent, there were only so many of them in the entire country; they were the type to be fought over. And with Shao Qiming’s usual grades, there was no need to worry about him messing up on the Holy Ascension Selection Test.

The issue of their applications was thus settled. If they were the types to stand on ceremony, the two of them would have ordered a bottle of wine to celebrate.

But since they were both good students who didn’t touch cigarettes or alcohol, they made do with a Coke and the corn and pork rib soup instead. A very casual affair.

"Hey, hey, watch the cup! There’s a snake in here!"

In the room, only Yara was displeased. "Your cup is over there!"

"Sorry, sorry. I got carried away and didn’t notice."

「Time flew.」

Five months passed without much incident, and the final semester of senior year gradually came to an end.

Over these five months, the effects of the Spiritual Energy Revival had become so pronounced that they were impacting many people’s daily lives, even forcing them to change their habits.

The Spiritual Energy Revival triggered drastic environmental shifts across the globe. Issues like desertification in some areas and the explosive growth of jungles in others created immense hardship for local populations.

The greatest impact, however, came from shifts in the Earth Veins. Earth’s Spiritualization activated volcanoes around the globe, forcing many residents of volcanic and seismic zones to relocate, or to simply stay and endure the dire circumstances.

But every coin has two sides. While volcanic eruptions and earthquakes were certainly destructive, they weren’t without their upsides.

In East Japan Fuso, several Spiritual Qi Bursts from a Pan-plate Spiritual Vein caused Mount Asama to erupt multiple times, triggering minor earthquakes. However, these eruptions also deposited large amounts of Spiritual Volcanic Ash, making the surrounding land incredibly fertile and ideal for growing Spirit Plants. Moreover, the churning earth qi created several zones with high concentrations of Spiritual Qi, perfect for Cultivation.

Similarly, the Celestial Pool in the Zhengguo Taibai Mountain Area was gradually evaporating. The dormant volcano there had also begun to reactivate, occasionally spewing plumes of black smoke accompanied by a deep rumbling.

’To be honest, every time I watch Taibai Mountain reactivating, I get a strange sense of déjà vu. After all, in another world, I lived there for nearly a month, fought a few thrilling battles, and even learned the Thunder Technique.’

With the Spiritual Energy Revival, humans were changing, and so were animals and plants. Many ranchers and large-scale farm Patriarchs reported that among their livestock and crops, some would occasionally undergo atavistic regression or Spiritualization, turning into Spirit Beasts and Spirit Plants.

These animals and crops, which had undergone Spirit Awakening but remained relatively docile, were collected by local authorities to be used as a new Seed stock. The goal was to gradually phase out the old breeds and completely replace ordinary livestock and grains with these new, more delicious and tender varieties.

"’For the people, food is heaven.’ There was no truer saying. It might not have sounded very grand, but in reality, this grassroots food replacement program was one of the highest priorities for governments around the world. In Zhengguo alone, it was said that several Holy Seats, led by the Agricultural Saint, were directing more than twenty-three Agricultural School Academies to pour their efforts into it. And after tasting some expensive Spirit Beast Flesh, Su Zhou couldn’t help but give the plan two thumbs up.

The better the populace ate, the greater their natural Talent. The faster they could cultivate, the stronger the nation’s power would become. This, in turn, would increase their ability to resist the chaotic era that might lie ahead.

Not only that, many of the elderly, who had been on the brink of death, seemed to have been given a new lease on life by the Spiritual Energy Revival. Unlike oxygen or other substances, high concentrations of the surging Spiritual Qi didn’t cause adverse reactions. Instead, it was like a welcome rain after a long drought, nourishing the very life essence of every person in the world.

After all, compared to the vast timescale during which Spiritual Qi existed, the mere thousand-odd years of the Dharma Decline Era were but an insignificant blip in human history. Every human body possessed an affinity for Spiritual Qi; the only difference was in how much they benefited. According to reports from researchers, as long as the Spiritual Energy Revival continued its steady rise, the average human lifespan was likely to increase by ten to fifteen years.

All countries and powers were preoccupied with their own domestic issues. As a result, in the nine months from September 2014 to the present day in June, not a single large-scale conflict that could be called a ’war’ had broken out anywhere in the world. The greatest unrest was confined to Afriga and South America, where there were incidents of Transcendents clashing with official forces, but even those were swiftly suppressed.

But this peace, punctuated by small bursts of chaos, felt like the calm before the storm. It was as if some colossal entity was lurking silently in the shadows, biding its time.

Of course, for the time being, none of this had anything to do with Su Zhou, who had spent the last half-year diligently studying and cultivating.

Because the Holy Ascension Selection Test was imminent.