Si Kui was just above the tree tower, watching Li Yang eloquently speaking below.
Unconcerned with the world… gentle and peaceful…
Heh.
Lady Sunflower was beginning to suspect that this little pear blossom was secretly looking for a second teacher behind her back.
Si Kui gently tapped the tree tower and withdrew the record of this attempt to break into the tower.
With this subtle fluctuation, a powerful mental probe from the Star Magic Department came sweeping over.
Si Kui didn’t move, standing still, letting Shen Binghua probe her.
If she could “see” her, she would eat poop while standing on her head.
Li Yang understood what it meant to only show up when necessary.
The Star Magic Department had always been arrogant.
Not only did they not get along with the Star Warfare Department, but their relationship with the Mentalism Department wasn’t great either.
Because of the existence of this tree tower, the Star Magic Department had made a lot of enemies over the years, especially with the Mentalism Department.
Many promising students from the Mentalism Department had been tempted away by the Star Magic Department’s “multiple star skills.”
So, when facing this earth-shattering twist, the Mentalism Department didn’t mind adding fuel to the fire.
“Really interesting, the students from the Agriculture Department broke through their own tree tower, and now they are being slandered by the Star Magic Department as having connections to find a way in.”
“I knew it! With how stingy the Star Magic Department is, how could they let someone with connections into the tower? Turns out it’s the ‘relationship’ between the master and the thief that can’t be refused!”
This double entendre made many people laugh, but the faces of the Star Magic Department’s students turned dark.
Suddenly, this dreamlike tree tower disappeared out of thin air.
Everyone was first stunned, and then the Star Magic Department students let out a sigh of relief, saying, “The tree tower is closed, everyone can disperse now.”
Li Yang blinked, a little anxious, thinking to herself, “I haven’t taken the record yet…”
Ah!
Si Kui’s voice echoed in her spiritual sea:
“Go back, I’ve already retrieved the records.”
Li Yang’s eyes lit up with joy, and she tried to communicate with Si Kui using her spiritual sea: “Teacher, are you also in the Star Magic Department?”
“Mm.”
Li Yang couldn’t see Si Kui, but she understood that, as a semi-Supreme being, it would be easy for her teacher to hide her presence.
“Teacher,” Li Yang said happily, “Were you waiting outside the tree tower all this time?”
“Were you worried I’d get bullied?”
Si Kui coldly said, “You think too much. I was just here to retrieve the records.”
Li Yang didn’t say more, but her eyes turned into crescent moons as she smiled.
If she had a tail, it would surely be wagging by now.
The crowd was in an uproar, and after bidding farewell to Fang Chuyun, Li Yang slipped into her shadow concealment state and quietly left the Star Magic Department.
This concealment state couldn’t escape the notice of the teachers in the Star Magic Department, but Li Yang didn’t intend to hide from them.
Would they dare to do anything to her?
A semi-Supreme being was guarding her!
The school forum exploded.
This news couldn’t be hidden; it spread across the entire Zhongdu Military Academy in no time.
“Shocking news! The iconic building of the Star Magic Department is actually the Agriculture Department’s secret treasure!”
“What?? The tree tower from the Star Magic Department? Quick, tell me more! I’ll pay to click!”
Li Yang had already returned to the Agriculture Department and was surrounded by her senior brothers and sisters…
Oh, now there was also a junior brother, watching the drama unfold.
When they saw this post, the four poor students from the Agriculture Department perked up, their eyes filled with two words—pay-to-view post.
Yu Hongyuan didn’t have this antenna, showing an expression of being rich but foolish—
What are my senior brothers and sisters secretly communicating about? I don’t get it.
Li Yang calmly said, “Don’t rush, it’s not time yet, let’s spread it a bit more.”
Sure, pay-to-view posts can make money, but they would slow down the spread of the event.
A small sacrifice wouldn’t ruin the big plan.
Compared to those few traffic bucks, the tree tower was more valuable!
There was indeed a pay-to-view post on the forum, but it was quickly suppressed because too many insiders knew about it.
Not to mention the students from the Mentalism and Elixir Departments who had been observing the tree tower, even within the Star Magic Department, not everyone was on the same side.
The tree tower was a rare resource.
As the saying goes, it’s not about scarcity but inequality.
For example, of the new students who managed to enter the tower this time, only Shen Shangchi and Ying Qi were allowed in; the others had been harboring discontent for a long time.
Now everyone finally saw an opportunity.
Turning against their own people, they didn’t hold back.
“I’ve always been puzzled—why is it called a tree tower? And why does it only nurture star plants? Our Star Magic Department isn’t part of the ‘wood’ system!”
“Yeah, I even asked a teacher once. Why is there only a tree tower? Why isn’t there a beast tower? I hate star plants; I prefer fighting star beasts!”
“Now I understand. Turns out, this tree tower doesn’t belong to us【doge】.”
“Careful with what you say upstairs. Don’t you fear being blacklisted?”
“I’m not afraid! I’m already not graduating anyway, so I might as well drop out tomorrow.”
“Hold on, don’t rush to drop out. Why not come to our Beast Control Department and study further?”
This made the forum silent for a moment.
Soon someone secretly popped up, saying, “Hey, if you can transfer, why not transfer to the Agriculture Department?”
“Good idea! Looks like the Agriculture Department is rising!”
Li Yang and the others were watching with great interest when the post suddenly disappeared.
Well, well… Someone’s still monitoring the forum and deleting posts.
But even though one post vanished, another one popped up.
What were once just bystanders now became even more enraged due to the deletion.
“Stop deleting posts, what did I say that’s violating the rules?”
“Zhongdu Military Academy should change its name to Star Magic Military Academy【funny】.”
Li Yang didn’t rush to say anything.
She decided to let the public opinion ferment for a while, hoping the other side would mess up and create more chaos before she revealed her trump card, catching them off guard.
Anyway, the tower entry records were in the hands of the teachers.
If they tried to twist the truth, she could just post the video on the forum and explain the special circumstances of the Agriculture Department students and the tree tower.
Anyone with eyes could easily tell the difference.
Li Yang wasn’t afraid of exposing the way the tree tower worked.
Unless it was an Agriculture Department student, star plants wouldn’t crazily chase after people. If the necessary condition couldn’t be triggered, the plants wouldn’t cluster together, and rare stars wouldn’t emerge…
The seniors from the Agriculture Department had anticipated this when they created the tree tower.
It was precisely because of this crucial monster-gathering setup that the tree tower and Agriculture Department were tied together.
Li Yang imagined for a moment.
If five students from the Agriculture Department entered the tree tower… the scene would be quite exciting. Five people running ahead, with 20 star plants chasing behind.
Li Yang couldn’t wait, but the problem was, even if the whole Agriculture Department were emptied out, they still couldn’t gather a second student qualified to enter the tree tower.
Her three senior brothers and sisters had already surpassed the age limit, as the tower’s first floor was only open to students under 20.
Yu Hongyuan, on the other hand, was the right age but still at least a month away from being able to summon stars into his body.
No rush. First, get the tree tower back, then take things slowly.
“I’m going to find a teacher to appraise the star core,” Li Yang said as she stood up.
The four were deeply focused on the forum, waving her off, “Go, go.”
They were no longer interested in the star cores, completely absorbed in the forum content.
The three senior members of the Agriculture Department had never seen such excitement.
They wished they could hold their phones and watch for three days and nights without sleep!
Li Yang returned to the small courtyard halfway up the mountain, where Si Kui was by the pond, playing with the bloodthirsty lotus.
The lotus saw Li Yang and spun around three times in greeting, its little eyes blinking, and it even made a flattering sound.
Si Kui couldn’t stand its fawning and slapped it down.
The lotus spun in the air before sinking to the bottom of the pond.
Li Yang smiled and walked over, placing her star cores on the table.
One blue, three green.
Li Yang had already checked at the trading post.
The starting price for rare star cores was 200 merit points (the one from Fang Suyun was appraised, so it was priced higher), and the green star cores weren’t cheap either.
On average, each one cost 10 merit points.
10 merit points were equivalent to 100,000 yuan.
Li Yang made a conservative estimate—her trip to the tree tower earned her 2.3 million easily!
Si Kui lowered her eyelids, casually glancing at the star cores.
To her, the star cores that made her little disciple so happy were no different from gravel.
“So there are green star cores,” Si Kui said.
Li Yang was surprised, “Aren’t green ones quite common…?”
Li Yang quickly realized and asked, “Teacher, do you know about the existence of white star cores?”
Si Kui remained silent.
Li Yang was speechless.
Her teacher really didn’t understand the hardships of the world.
Green was considered excellent-grade. Most first-tier students only bought white star cores.
Li Yang was curious and asked, “Teacher, what color is the star core for the invincible solar shield?”
“Golden.”
“What about the binding of the Willow God?”
“Golden.”
“So above the blue star cores are golden ones?”
“Below gold, there are silver, red, purple… I guess,” Si Kui couldn’t be sure, these things were a little too far from her.
Li Yang felt a little dizzy and asked, “Is gold the highest quality?”
Si Kui shook her head.
“Stop!”
Li Yang didn’t want to ask anymore and said, “This world is too far for me. Please don’t tell me about it, so I don’t mess up my path. I think… people shouldn’t aim too high. What use are purple, red, silver, gold, and the invincible rainbow star? I just want to take good care of this little blue star core.”
“Teacher,” Li Yang said, looking at her expectantly, “How do I appraise this star core?”
She could spend her life to appraise it, but she wanted to know the regular method.
Otherwise, it would be hard to explain.
Si Kui said, “I can appraise it…”
Li Yang smiled broadly.
Si Kui finished her sentence: “…the lowest quality is silver.”
Li Yang: “???”
Si Kui said, “This blue star core cannot withstand my mental probe.”
It turns out that having a teacher with a high realm wasn’t always good.
One was too disconnected from reality, while the other was too grounded.
The gap between them was as vast as the Mariana Trench.
“Can I appraise it myself?”
“Your spiritual power is too low.”
Si Kui cleared her throat and explained, “Appraising star cores is a subject in the Mentalism Department. If you want to learn it, after you advance to the second tier, you can take it as a minor.”
So that’s how it works…
The Mentalism Department had this craft.
It made sense, though. Appraising star cores required mental probes, and of the seven major departments, the Mentalism Department had the highest spiritual power, so it made sense they would research this craft.
Li Yang said, “Then I’ll go to the trading post to find someone to appraise it!”
Si Kui paused for a moment and said, “You’d better do it yourself.”
Li Yang forced a smile and said, “Teacher, you also said my spiritual power isn’t enough…”
Si Kui quietly looked at her.
Li Yang’s heart skipped a beat. She gave a dry laugh and said, “Teacher, that ‘lucky encounter’ of mine… it probably won’t have this effect… right?”
Si Kui didn’t expose her and simply said, “Forget about the Solar Shield and the Binding of 柳神.”
“Don’t be greedy. These two star techniques are too high in grade. Once they leave my control, they will devour your spiritual sea.”
Li Yang: “!”
She didn’t hesitate, obediently saying, “I’ll forget them right away.”
Si Kui took the opportunity to give her a lesson:
“High-grade star techniques need to be subdued. If you don’t have the absolute strength to suppress them, they will devour your spiritual sea. Once they devour enough, you’ll lose control.”
“Lose control?”
“Just like the low-tier star plants from the tree tower. They have no consciousness, only broken instincts.”
Li Yang didn’t dare to take it lightly. Golden star techniques were precious, but her life was worth more
“Teacher…” Li Yang suddenly remembered something and asked, “I should have killed a second-grade cultivator, right? Why don’t I see any signs of advancing to the second grade?”
Li Yang had been thinking about this ever since she left the tree tower.
The star plant she had killed wasn’t of low rank.
She guessed it was at least a second-grade high level, maybe even a peak one. She not only participated in the kill but also delivered the final blow, yet there was no sign of a breakthrough.
Li Yang initially thought that she needed to kill the target herself, that relying on her teammates wouldn’t work.
But when Si Kui mentioned spiritual consciousness, she realized it might be related to that.