Transmigration: The Peerless Immortal Husband - Chapter 63

After landing, Teacher Fang flicked his sleeves and left, leaving the new students to be handled by Senior Brother Zhou Li and the others.

Gu Yao and his group were the cleanest among the newcomers, untouched by even a speck of bird droppings. Before any could land on them, they were deflected by the sword energy released by Chi Changye. Meanwhile, Tian Feirong and the chubby boy quickly hid behind Gu Yao, avoiding the disaster altogether.

Bai Xiu’er, dressed in a flowing white dress, covered her mouth as she chuckled softly, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

Several senior students from the academy, drawn by the commotion, gathered to watch. Seeing the bedraggled state of many newcomers, they pointed and laughed uproariously.

When Gu Yao overheard their conversations, he wiped away a bit of cold sweat. It turned out that every new batch of students was made to embarrass themselves upon arrival, though the methods varied each year. This year’s stunt was, in a sense, quite unique.

Apparently, the newcomers could have avoided entering through this particular area, which was where the academy raised its birds. Yet, the flying artifact had deliberately taken this route. Even a fool could predict the result. Clearly, the person controlling the artifact had done it on purpose.

This begged the question: ‘Who controlled the artifact?’

Gu Yao instinctively felt it couldn’t have been Teacher Fang. So, it had to be one of the senior brothers or sisters who had accompanied them to Shifang City.

At that moment, Senior Brother Jiang Yan stepped forward, his gentle smile shining. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to your accommodations. You can clean up and change once we get there.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother Jiang!”

“Senior Brother Jiang, you’re so kind!”

“Senior Brother Jiang is the best!”

Zhou Li discreetly rolled his eyes at their naivety. ‘Fools.’

On the way, each new student was given a small booklet, which detailed the academy’s rules and information.

For example, the accommodations are divided into four levels and four areas: A, B, C, and D. Area A is the highest level, with the highest fees, while Area D doesn’t require any spirit stones for residence. However, as you can imagine, living in such an area at this academy would likely have its consequences.

Of course, paying spirit stones does come with its benefits. The living space might be larger, but the most important thing is that the higher the area, the more concentrated the spiritual energy. Even if someone ends up in Area D by chance, they would still desperately take on tasks to accumulate spirit stones, move to Area C, and then find ways to move up further.

They would first visit Area A, and Area D would be last.

“Area A consists of courtyards. Each courtyard has ten acres of spirit fields and more than ten houses. Although the accommodation fees are high, the value of the ten acres of spirit fields is considerable. If managed properly, you can definitely earn back the spirit stones you paid, and even make a profit. My suggestion is not to force yourself to live in Area A right away unless you are very well-off. You can first learn to cultivate spirit herbs and manage spirit fields at the academy. Once you are skilled at it, you will be able to maximize the value of the ten acres. There are many inspiring stories from senior brothers and sisters at the academy. You can inquire about them when you have time. They are all well-known here.”

Standing at the entrance of Area A, Gu Yao could already feel the dense spiritual energy that hit him like a wave. He took a deep breath, savoring it.

The spiritual energy in Yuanyang Town was the most sparse, and when he later went to Shifang City, he was amazed. Although the spiritual energy in Area A couldn’t compare to the Lord’s mansion in Shifang City, it was still much denser than that in the city itself. If he could live here, compared to Yuanyang Town, it would be like suddenly becoming immensely wealthy overnight.

Not willing to give up, he flipped open the booklet again to check. The cost for staying here for a year was one thousand spirit stones. Gu Yao was with frustration. This was daylight robbery! The spirit stones he and Chi Changye had left were nearly spent after their final purchases. Now, where could he get the money for this? If he had known, he would have saved more. Gu Yao wanted to cry but had no tears.

Chi Changye touched his storage bag, his face slightly awkward. He hadn’t expected that, just as their lives were starting to improve, they would be so broke that they couldn’t even afford decent accommodation. The responsibility of supporting his family still weighed heavily on his shoulders—he couldn’t afford to be careless for even a moment.

Tian Feirong also touched his storage bag. There was no sound. His family had paid for his entrance fee and sent him here. They wouldn’t be able to give him any more spirit stones for daily expenses. From now on, he would have to rely on himself, so there was no way he could afford this.

The chubby boy’s eyes rolled a few times. He shifted uncomfortably, then quietly stood with Tian Feirong. They had agreed to stick together, and it was much more interesting to stay together.

“It’s just one thousand spirit stones. I’ll pay, but who else is willing to be my neighbor?” A large, burly man, twice the size of the chubby boy, swaggered out, followed by a thin, gray-robed attendant, looking smug as he surveyed everyone.

“If Pei Yuchun can afford it, of course I, Hou Qiang, can afford the fee. Brother Jiang, where do I pay the spirit stones? And please make sure you place me as far away from this fat Pei as possible. I really don’t want him as a neighbor.”

A handsome young man in white, holding a folding fan, also stepped forward. He looked suave and charming, drawing admiring glances from several female students.

“Didn’t expect it to be you, Monkey. Do you think I care about being your neighbor? The further you are from me, the better. You stink!” Pei Yuchun said, fanning his nose with a look of disdain.

As the two were about to start arguing, Brother Jiang’s warm voice, like a gentle breeze, dispersed the tension: “Once you enter, you will see the senior brother in charge of collecting the fees and assigning the courtyards. Whatever requests you have, your senior brother will try his best to accommodate.”

“Thank you, Brother Jiang. Brother Jiang is truly a great person.” Hou Qiang closed his fan, cupped his hands in a salute to Jiang Yan, then turned and walked toward the door. Pei Yuchun, seeing that this “Monkey” was about to beat him inside, quickly led his attendant to rush forward.

Gu Yao had already heard of these two on the way here. They were the most popular students, as Tian Feirong had mentioned. Both had gathered a group of followers and were subtly competing with each other, but they didn’t dare to make it too obvious for fear of angering Teacher Fang.

A number of people were still hesitating whether to stay in these high-end areas. Living there represented status, and although some had laughed at the quarrel between Pei Yuchun and Hou Qiang, they couldn’t help but admire their nonchalant attitude toward spending spirit stones. It was indeed enviable and aspirational.

When the senior brothers and sisters led them to Area B, the people who had hesitated before started following behind, as they knew there were many other places requiring spirit stones. They couldn’t just spend all their resources on accommodation.

The housing in Area B was also made up of courtyards, but the size was smaller. The spirit fields provided were only five acres. Naturally, the spiritual energy here was not as strong as in Area A, but the cost had been halved, only requiring five hundred spirit stones. As a result, many people rushed into it.

Seeing that many people had stayed outside, the students walking in proudly puffed out their chests. Although they couldn’t compare to Hou Qiang and the others, they were still better off than the poor souls lingering behind.

Gu Yao scratched his nose. He was also one of those poor souls.

The housing in Area C couldn’t be called courtyards; they were more like simple, shabby yards. The spirit fields had only two acres, and the quality of the spiritual energy here could easily be judged as lower than the first two areas. The spirit plants grown here would definitely be less valuable.

However, compared to the first two areas, the accommodation fee was cheaper—only one hundred spirit stones. Chi Changye quietly handed Gu Yao a bag of spirit stones, exactly one hundred.

Tian Feirong and the chubby boy quickly seized the opportunity: “Let’s choose a courtyard together, and then we’ll give you our share of the spirit stones.”

When all was said and done, four people sharing a courtyard for one hundred spirit stones wasn’t too expensive. Especially after the shock of the previous prices, Gu Yao actually felt that the fee for Area C was quite affordable. He had even felt some pain when paying the entrance fee back then. He nodded, “If you have it, give it. If it’s inconvenient, we can talk about it later.”

With a rustling sound, half of the people left, and in the end, fewer than ten people went to Area D.

After coming out of Area D, Zhou Li curiously said, “I thought Junior Brother Gu and the others would stay in Area A. I saw how generous they were with spirit stones in Shifang City, but I didn’t expect they couldn’t even afford to live in Area B.”

Jiang Yan smiled and said, “They probably spent most of it, but from what I can see, they can get spirit stones more easily than others. Moving into Area B or A is just a matter of time. It’s probably better this way; the more low-key they are, the less likely they are to attract unwanted attention.”

Zhou Li chuckled twice, thinking to himself that once they settled in here, the senior students would likely hear about it soon. This year, two new students had moved into Area A, and most of the senior students’ attention would be focused on those two. As for those two, well, they would have to hope for the best.

Then, with a hint of schadenfreude, Zhou Li said, “Today’s entrance ceremony was really something new. Senior Brother, you—”

Just as he started speaking, he saw Jiang Yan looking at him with a half-smile. Zhou Li immediately stopped, startled.

Gu Yao and the others paid one hundred spirit stones and received three storage bags. Since Chi Changye was not a student, the storage bags contained basic living supplies provided to each student. Of course, those items weren’t worth much, so together, they didn’t even amount to one spirit stone.

The four of them chose a more secluded courtyard, seeking peace and quiet. Each courtyard had its own protective array, which could only be opened with a jade token issued by the person in charge. As for attendants… well, Gu Yao spent five spirit stones to buy an extra one. When Chi Changye received the jade token, his eye twitched. He had never seen a place like Tianfu Academy, one that went to such lengths to extract spirit stones from students.

They opened the protective array and entered the courtyard. There was a tree planted in the yard, probably left by previous residents. Its branches were lush and occupied almost half of the sky. It was very pleasant to sit under the tree and cool off during hot weather.

Under the tree, there was a stone table and a few stone benches, suggesting that the previous residents were people who enjoyed the quiet life.

Gu Yao said happily, “This courtyard is nice, better than I expected. Let’s pick our rooms.”

“Hey, if you think it’s good, then it’s good. I’ll take the rooms on the west side with the chubby boy,” Tian Feirong said, quickly recovering from his earlier disappointment.

“Okay, then I’ll take the rooms on the east side with Brother Ye. We can use the main hall in the center as a guest area and for common activities,” Gu Yao suggested.

“Alright, we’ll follow you, Xiao Yao,” Chi Changye agreed without objection.

The four of them split into two groups. There were four rooms on the east side. Gu Yao and Chi Changye would stay in the two middle rooms, with one for alchemy and the other for talisman making.

After choosing the rooms, the four of them rolled up their sleeves and began cleaning and arranging the courtyard. Even though they didn’t know how long they would stay here, they still wanted to make it as comfortable and well-organized as possible so that they could enjoy their time living here.