"Your Shrek Academy is willing to lend them to me?"
Yun Che grasped the key point from Yan Shaozhe's words.
Reactivating four Spirit Rings, regardless of the method, was not easy.
Unless he left the battlefield and went hunting for souls himself.
But in one year, he'd also have to find enough helpers, and who knew how many unexpected events he'd encounter along the way.
After all, to activate his Spirit Rings now, he needed to absorb the very Spirit Beasts his original rings came from.
He was, after all, a genius. And a genius Spirit Master's growth is inseparable from various powerful, rare Spirit Beast Spirit Rings.
Among the four Spirit Rings Yun Che had lost, two were from extremely rare Spirit Beasts.
He might not even be able to obtain them through hunting.
He would either have to use the connections of Di Tian and the other Fierce Beasts at the Spirit Transmission Pagoda to find them, or resort to using life energy.
This meant a massive number of Contribution Points.
No organization would easily bleed that much.
Yun Che had died too many times.
To a certain extent, this also lowered these organizations' opinion of him.
Being prone to death was not a favorable review.
Lending was about earning Contribution Points, not doing charity. If you're prone to death, when will you ever repay the debt?
You might die again after this revival before the loan is repaid, never paying back the debt.
"It's not that our Shrek Academy is willing to lend them to you, it's that our Shrek Academy is," Yan Shaozhe said meaningfully. "I've noticed your strength and talent on the battlefield. As long as you fight a bit more secure, repaying the debt is quite promising. You could even use this to undergo a transformation."
Upon hearing this, Yun Che finally understood.
So that was it.
Yan Shaozhe had come to recruit him.
If he recruited Yun Che under his command, it wouldn't be a simple loan issue anymore.
It would be about strengthening his own side's forces.
If they could restrain Yun Che, then he could steadily and quickly earn Contribution Points.
"Join Shrek Academy? I've never studied at Shrek Academy."
"In times of great war, it's actually about banding together for warmth. Shrek Academy has many geniuses. You might find a good partner, and then you can have support on the battlefield."
Yan Shaozhe began listing various benefits.
Yun Che, on the other hand, was thinking about the drawbacks.
What was the biggest drawback of joining Shrek?
Directly opposing the Body Sect.
Exactly!
That was the most obvious and greatest drawback.
Even if, on the surface, Su Ming hadn't specifically targeted Shrek Academy recently, everyone knew the Body Sect and Shrek Academy were old rivals.
Throughout Su Ming's growth, he had clashed with Shrek Academy many times.
With Su Ming alone, Yun Che had to carefully consider whether to join Shrek Academy.
No, perhaps there was no need for consideration.
Yun Che wasn't foolish.
"I refuse."
He shook his head, politely declining Yan Shaozhe's offer.
Rebuffed, Yan Shaozhe didn't bother to press further. He simply flicked his sleeve and left.
He didn't think anyone other than Shrek could provide Yun Che with enough Contribution Points to cover four revivals.
This kid would eventually come looking for Shrek Academy.
After Yan Shaozhe left, Yun Che looked thoughtful.
"Reactivating Spirit Rings is indeed expensive, but Yan Shaozhe is also confusing concepts. Although my Spirit Power recovery will be faster due to retraining and having a secondary-growth Abyss Bracelet, it will still be measured in years. There's enough time between activating each Spirit Ring to earn Contribution Points."
As for being prone to death?
Yun Che admitted that he had been impulsive in this battle, only thinking about the benefits of his actions and forgetting to consider the costs.
If he were truly more cautious, he could have completely avoided death.
Su Ming noticed Yan Shaozhe's attempt to recruit Yun Che into Shrek.
"Yun Che, Sky-Propping Spear."
Su Ming was thoughtful.
So, Yun Ming couldn't be a descendant of this Yun Che, could he?
"Shrek Academy is actually already my power, just ostensibly still belonging to Tang San. Having Yun Che join Shrek Academy, if he could become the Sea God Pavilion's Pavilion Master, that would naturally deal with Yan Shaozhe and the like."
After serious thought, he sent Yun Che a telepathic message.
"Join Shrek Academy. Become the Sea God Pavilion's Pavilion Master."
He simply issued a mission.
Of course, there would be benefits too.
He offered Yun Ming's cultivation method for the Sky-Propping Divine Spear as a reward.
In later eras, Yun Ming had cultivated the Sky-Propping Spear to the divine artifact level. Su Ming had also helped Yun Ming revive, examined the Sky-Propping Divine Spear, and, having experienced multiple parallel worlds, understood Yun Ming's growth process.
He could completely offer Yun Che a path that mirrored Yun Ming's.
The sudden voice in his mind left Yun Che bewildered.
He thought he washallucinating.
However, when Su Ming outlined the subsequent cultivation path for the Sky-Propping Spear, he thoroughly understood.
"It's that one."
Who else could silently send him a telepathic message and devise a cultivation method so befitting his own Martial Soul, if not that one?
"So these Spirit Alloys are needed. I see."
In the cultivation of the Sky-Propping Divine Spear, the pairing of Battle Armor also had its nuances.
It was precisely this part that made Yun Che completely certain of Su Ming's identity.
"He actually wants me to join Shrek Academy."
Yun Che understood part of the reason after a moment's thought.
This was about turning it into his own use.
As expected of Su Ming. Such breadth of mind...
Yun Che sought out Yan Shaozhe again.
Yan Shaozhe found it odd that this kid had changed his mind so quickly.
"Maybe he just didn't think it through at first. Young people, too impulsive, speaking without thinking, directly refused. After thinking it over carefully, he realized the current situation," he chuckled inwardly.
Feeling pleased, Yan Shaozhe outwardly remained composed.
He began negotiating terms with Yun Che.
He had just been begging you to join the academy and you refused. Now you're coming back wanting to join, so getting Contribution Points will be a bit harder.
"Even the academy's Contribution Points are limited. The Contribution Points you need for your four Spirit Rings are too many. The academy can only provide you with Contribution Points once every six months. Not only do you have to repay the previous loan and interest within those six months, but you also have to ensure you recover enough to need the next Spirit Ring activated within six months."
The corner of Yun Che's mouth twitched.
Recover ten levels in six months?
Was that really possible?
No.
More like, was this truly just using him to the bone?
To recover ten levels of Spirit Power in six months, he couldn't rely on meditation. He would have to fight, devour Abyssal energy, and rely on the life energy feedback from his bracelet to restore his cultivation!
"Fine, I'll do my best."
Thinking of Su Ming's mission, Yun Che still agreed.
Yan Shaozhe was inwardly smug.
Young people like this were the easiest to fool.
"When can you activate your first Spirit Ring?"
"Right now," Yun Che said.
"Good."
Yan Shaozhe took Yun Che to the Fifth Peak, exchanged for life energy equivalent to fifty thousand years of cultivation, and infused it into Yun Che's third Spirit Ring.
Watching Yun Che's third Spirit Ring turn pitch black, both Yan Shaozhe and Yun Che's eyes flashed with surprise.
Indeed, activating a Spirit Ring was also an opportunity to increase its longevity!
***
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