Chapter 603: Peak-Grade Rewards, Rarity Grade S!

Ding!

“Congratulations, you’ve obtained one 30-year time emblem!”

Excellent, he received a top-up for the time emblem he had just depleted. It was a pity that it wasn’t a fifty-year one. But a thirty-year one wasn’t bad either.

Sun Mo thought of how those famous wines seemed to be dependent on their age. The older, the more expensive they were. Therefore, he felt a little curious. “System, is there an eighty-two-year time emblem?”

“There’s a 250-year time emblem, sold for 10,000 favorable impression points. Do you want it?”

The system promoted.

“Scram!”

Sun Mo thought to himself (I’m not a fool. You’re scolding me for being an idiot, right?[1])

“I really don’t understand if you humans are real fools or not. Even if all of France were to have a great grape harvest in 1982, it wouldn’t be sufficient to meet the demand of 1982 Lafites that wineries sell each year.”

The system was baffled. “Moreover, ordinary people would usually not get to enjoy the really good things.”

“So what if someone asked the waiter for a bottle of 1982 Lafite to act cool? Life is already so tiring. Are you still human if you were to rob away the right for someone to act cool?

Sun Mo rolled his eyes.

“I’m sorry, I’m a system!”

The system replied coldly and mercilessly.

“Did you watch too much Infernal Affairs[2]? Alright, stop it with the crap. Quickly open another gold treasure chest.”

Sun Mo urged.

Ding!

“Congratulations, you’ve obtained a piece of mysterious turtle shell. You currently hold four out of seven of them. Please continue to keep up the good work.”

Sun Mo’s lips twitched. What a waste of a gold treasure chest. He hated such collection-based rewards the most because it seemed so hopeless until the day he’d get to collect all of the parts.

“Let’s continue!”

Sun Mo touched Lu Zhiruo’s head. (Lucky mascot, please put in some effort.)

The highly anticipated mysterious treasure chest was opening. Purple fog shrouded around it, and it seemed like it was filled with a strange and mysterious aura.

Then, a green glow pierced through it.

“Don’t let it be a time emblem!”

Sun Mo had his expectations.

Ding!

“Congratulations, you’ve obtained a Dark Continent’s darkness species illustrated handbook. Plant section. Rarity grade S. Ten types. Proficiency index, elementary-level.”

“Note: after using it, you’ll grasp all the information on these ten types of darkness plants. It’d be in such great detail that there was no way to go any further.”

The system explained.

“What does that mean?”

Sun Mo frowned. “Rarity grade hasn’t been a thing in the past.”

Moreover, it was grade S. It sounded very amazing.

“It’s because the plant illustrated handbooks you obtained in the past aren’t the top quality ones. Although there are several species that ordinary people are unable to see, all grandmaster-grade botanists have seen them before. It’s still possible to get information on them from those top-notch academies and powers such as the Saint Gate’s library.”

The system explained.

Take the Central Province Academy for example. Although this academy had gone into decline, the collection of their books was still much more than many ‘D’ Grade academies. As for the academies that didn’t have any titles, they didn’t even have the right to compete against them.

This would mean that the hardworking students in the Central Province Academy would have an advantage in obtaining knowledge.

Moreover, after years of observations and experimenting, the rare darkness plants that the top academies gathered would be solely available to them.

(You want them? Sure, bring knowledge or spirit stones of equivalent value in exchange!)

Sometimes, if one belonged to the opposition group, they wouldn’t be willing to make a trade with you even if you were to offer money!

It was like how material science had always been China’s weakness. Even if they had a lot of money, they had nowhere to buy relevant knowledge from. They could only rely on improving their technology slowly with great effort.

In this case, it was as if Sun Mo had obtained the botany knowledge that other grandmaster-grade botanists had to go through several years of painstaking research to gather.

“Rarity grade S. Does this mean that other schools have no idea about these darkness plants at all?”

Sun Mo secretly felt a little happy.

“No, you’re overthinking things.”

The system immediately drenched his enthusiasm.

“Then what the hell is this useful for?”

Sun Mo pouted. (I’m not happy, I want a refund.)

“Only rarity grade SS would be something that solely you have the grasp over.”

The system explained.

“But don’t look down on rarity grade S. This meant that the number of organizations or individuals who had grasped such knowledge could be counted with a single hand. There won’t be over two hands worth of them.”

“That isn’t bad!”

Sun Mo smiled again. He could accept this.

“That’s not all. The skill books that the system gives you are the most detailed and comprehensive ones. They’d definitely be a lot more complete and accurate compared to what those people researched.”

The system’s tone was filled with pride.

Take yesterday’s Thousand Blood Vines for example. Many great teachers who majored in botany had no idea about it, and these ten species were even rarer than the Thousand Blood Vines.

That 6-star great teacher He Changfeng might have seen some of them before, but his understanding of them was definitely not higher than Sun Mo’s.

“It’s a pity that there are only ten types!” Sun Mo tsked. “Such a scrooge.”

“Scram!”

The system couldn’t take it anymore. Abilities shouldn’t be easily taught; professions shouldn’t be easily sold. The easier it was to obtain something, the more people wouldn’t treasure them. Given how the mysterious treasure chest, which was of the highest grade, could only bring ten types of grade S darkness plants, it showed how precious they were.

“There’s one more big treasure chest. Open it too!”

Sun Mo instructed.

Ding!

“Congratulations, you’ve obtained a fragmented chapter of the peerless-grade saint-tier cultivation art, Undying Mystic Art, part seven. Please keep up the good work.”

“Excellent. I’m still six parts away from getting the complete set of the Undying Mystic Art. It’s really such a long journey!”

Sun Mo gave it some thought and lost his motivation. Therefore, he told the papaya girl to go back and rest. After reinforcing himself with Encyclopedic Knowledge, he took out the skill book and smashed it with one palm.

Swoosh!

Green light spots immediately drifted into Sun Mo’s forehead like fireflies.

They instantly became like seeds, rooting in Sun Mo’s brain, then germinating and growing. In this process, all sorts of data were imprinted into his neuron, becoming a part of him.

Sun Mo felt as if he had become a plant, braving the wind and rain, toiling through the frost and snow on the Darkness Continent. He then gained a deeper comprehension of this world and of life.

In the morning, the birds chirped and the insects cried.

A light drizzle had come down last night, causing the entire Westmountain City to look like a young lady who had just taken a bath, refreshing.

Sun Mo was woken up by the system’s notification.

Ding!

“Mission released. Please guide your students and let them obtain outstanding results in the personal disciples battle. The higher their ranking, the better the reward.”

“Note: if your students aren’t even able to pass the second round of the competition, then you’d be given some punishment.”

“What punishment?”

Sun Mo frowned.

“Trust me, it’s something that you’ll definitely not want to see!”

The system reminded him in a roundabout manner.

After the meal, everyone gathered and headed for the Westmountain Academy, registering at the field. Sun Mo saw Jiang Yongnian. It seemed that this person had passed the earlier examinations as well.

“Teacher Sun, Teacher Gu, Teacher Xia.”

Jiang Yongnian greeted them, looking awkward.

Last year, he was a great teacher who had acted superior when facing Sun Mo, having a strong sense of superiority when facing an intern. But now, there was only endless awkwardness.

After they greeted each other, Xia Yuan smiled and asked, “Teacher Jiang, are you confident?”

“I’ll do my best!”

Jiang Yongnian looked at Xuanyuan Po and Ying Baiwu who were both standing behind Sun Mo. He felt so envious as if he had just swallowed 100 lemons. However, after he saw Jiang Leng, his brows furrowed, feeling a little baffled.

Why did Sun Mo bring this young man with the ‘trash’ word on his forehead?

From his attire, it was clear that he was going to take part in the battle.

…

“Teacher, I saw Teacher Sun and the others!”

Han Zisheng reminded his teacher softly. “Should we go over to greet them?”

“There’s no need. Cough cough.”

After Liu Mubai said that, he started coughing. He had suffered quite serious injuries from the Great Teachers Battle.

“Oh!”

Han Zisheng replied and after taking a few steps, added, “Teacher, I won’t let you down.”

“It’s good that you have such thoughts, but don’t give yourself too much pressure!”

Liu Mubai smiled and patted Han Zisheng’s shoulder. He also wanted his personal disciple to come out on top, but there was no way he’d say something like this.

Han Zisheng smiled. His teacher was still so gentle.

Bang!

Han Zisheng, whose mind had wandered off, bumped into someone and he almost fell.

“Why don’t you look at where you’re going?”

Gui Jiarong glared at Han Zisheng. His teacher was seriously injured and couldn’t make it, so he could only participate in the competition by himself.

Han Zisheng was stunned. He looked to the left and right. (You were the one who went in the opposite direction. Why are you cursing me?)

“What are you looking at? Don’t let me meet you in the arena. Otherwise, I’ll crush your eyes!”

After Gui Jiarong put up his middle finger, he left in a fury.

…

At the registration counter, Han Xi’s gaze turned toward Sun Mo.

“Teacher, I’ll definitely get first place!”

Hua Jianmu clenched his fists. (Since you can’t defeat Sun Mo, then let me defeat his personal disciples and rectify your name.)

“Miao Rui is here!”

As a loud shout rang out, a commotion suddenly appeared in the crowd.

Very soon, everyone saw an extremely strong and handsome young man following Bai Shuang.

He was a seeded candidate, but the Saint Gate wouldn’t give him any advantages such as splitting the seed candidates into different groups to prevent them from meeting each other earlier in the rounds.

Whether or not one could pass the great teacher examination would depend on one’s strength. If you were to encounter a seeded candidate, you could only consider yourself unlucky.

Of course, every examinee’s personal disciple would be distributed to different groups to avoid them meeting each other in the earlier rounds and fighting each other.

The Saint Gate’s efficiency was really fast. Two hours later, the registration and lots drawing process were completed. Then, no preparation time would be given and they’d start the battles right away.

“Teacher, the registration is already done!”

Li Ziqi was like a competent assistant, helping Xuanyuan Po and Ying Baiwu from the beginning to the end.

Even though Jiang Leng didn’t like to talk and always put on a dead-pan expression, he was very reliable. Ying Baiwu hadn’t come across such things since young, and she just needed to familiarize herself with them and wouldn’t need any help after that.

As for the combat addict, he was completely confused. Or rather, it could be said that he couldn’t be bothered to understand the entire process.

If it hadn’t been for the little sunny egg’s help, Xuanyuan Po would have been disqualified.

“Very good!”

Sun Mo praised her. With Li Ziqi’s help, he saved a lot of effort.

“Xuanyuan Po is number 19 in group A, Baiwu is number 67 in group B, and Jiang Leng is number 101 in group G. The competition in the different groups is held concurrently, so I plan on having myself and Tantai go with Baiwu and Jiang Leng respectively. If there are any problems, we’ll rush over and report it to you.”

Li Ziqi took out a small booklet that had her plan written out.

“What about me? What about me?”

Lu Zhiruo raised her hand. She wanted to help as well!

“You?”

The little sunny egg threw a glance at Lu Zhiruo. “You can eat melons!”

“All examinees and personal disciples, please take note. The battles will start in five minutes. Please head to your respective competition ground immediately. Once you’re late, you’ll be assessed as having given up.”

Tong Yiming’s voice rang through the entire school ground.

[1] A Chinese internet lingo of referring to someone as an idiot by calling them 250.

[2] Infernal Affairs is a series of three crime-action films directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, starring Andy Lau and Tony Leung. It tells the story of a police officer who infiltrates the triads and a police officer secretly working for the same gang.