Chapter 43: The Flower of the Underworld

  "Xiao Pang, you're in trouble?" Zhou Weiqing had just arrived at the dormitory building when he ran into Shangguan Xue'er rushing out.

  As soon as he saw him, Zhou Weiqing's gloom in his heart was alleviated a little, and with a smile all over his face, he said: "It was just a few people collecting protection fees, let me beat them up."

  Shangguan Bing'er frowned slightly, "Xiao Pang, we're here to learn. Don't stir up trouble casually."

  Zhou Weiqing chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist, saying: "If someone offends me, can't I just not be afraid of trouble? Don't worry, I have my own measure. However, to be honest, this academy is quite chaotic, I'm afraid it will affect your cultivation. Why don't we rent a house outside and live there instead? What do you think?"

  Shangguan Bing'er brushed off his sleeve, "You're thinking too much. I'm going back to the dormitory, and I still need to get familiar with my new roommates. Oh, right, what about Da Huang and Er Huang? We live in the college, they are the biggest problem, can't always keep them in the ring, it's suffocating."

  "So, I'm telling you, renting a house outside is the way to go!"

  Shangguan Bing'er hesitated for a moment and said: "But didn't the academy say we're not allowed to leave casually?"

  "Leave it to me, I'll figure something out. I'll go ask around. These so-called rules are all about making money, otherwise they wouldn't distinguish between nobles and commoners. Money can make a ghost push a millstone. The academy really isn't suitable for us to cultivate, the dormitory area is too chaotic, let's just move out and live elsewhere later, at worst we'll just have separate rooms." After saying those words about separate rooms, his face was filled with resentment.

  Shangguan Bing'er's face turned red, but thinking of Da Huang and Er Huang, those two lovely big guys, she could only helplessly nod her head.

  Just as Zhou Weiqing said, he went to the new student registration office and inquired about it, and got an accurate answer. Leaving the academy is not impossible, and no one stops you from living outside, but the dormitory fee must be paid, and at the same time, you have to spend money to buy a pass to enter and exit the academy. The price of a one-year pass is as high as 10,000 gold coins. Zhou Weiqing cursed the academy for being greedy while buying two passes with gritted teeth. Of course, he wouldn't tell Shangguan Xue'er about this price, lest she be heartbroken. He had to buy these passes, one was for the possible arrival of good fortune, and the other was that in the future, when he made and sold condensed scrolls, he would also have to go out. Of course, he wouldn't make low-level condensed scrolls again in the future. The higher the level of the condensed scroll, the better the effect, and the greater the profit.

  The reason why the primary Condensed Scroll is so cheap, with only a few tens of thousands of gold coins to buy a set of 1,000 sheets, is that its success rate is not high. Even if it's 1,000 scrolls, it's not necessarily possible to succeed. More importantly, these 1,000 scrolls take nearly three years to condense. Unless there's no other way, who would be willing to use this low-success-rate and poor-effect Condensed Scroll?

  But the intermediate condenser is different, first of all, the intermediate condenser is one hundred sheets per set. The success rate is three thousandths, which means that using one hundred scrolls has a thirty percent chance of successful condensation, not only less time but also more reliable than the primary condenser's one in ten thousand, and the price is much higher. At least it costs 100,000 gold coins per set, with fewer materials used, the profit margin is quite considerable.

  In the past two years, high-quality scrolls have become extremely scarce, and their prices have skyrocketed compared to two years ago. For example, Zhou Weiqing's original Condensed Form Bow, a master-level scroll with inlaid holes, now has a starting price of 500,000 gold coins at auctions, far exceeding the 20-30 million gold coins it cost back then. As a result, the lives of Body Jewels Masters are much more difficult than those of Spirit Jewels Masters. Many four or five-jewel level Body Jewels Masters would be lucky to have one or two Condensed Form weapons.

  In the world of Onmyodo, Tenketsu is undoubtedly superior to the others, and whether Tengoku or Taikyoku is stronger has always been one of the biggest topics of discussion in the Onmyodo world. So far, Taikyoku has always occupied a leading position, one because there are fewer Taikyoku than Tengoku, and the destructive power is also stronger. Another reason is that solidification is more difficult than expansion.

  The existence of Taoyin Palace provides the best training ground for Intention Bead Masters. As long as one has sufficient strength, good luck, and wealth, it's not difficult to cultivate an excellent Intention Bead Master. However, Body Bead Masters are much harder to come by. Condensed Form scrolls are scarce, making it even more challenging to find a suitable one. Without multiple condensed form abilities, how can Body Bead Masters compare to Intention Bead Masters? In reality, if Body Bead Masters possess powerful condensed form equipment, especially high-level condensed form sets, their strength won't be inferior to that of Intention Bead Masters at all.

  Zhou Weiqing took the pass and left the academy, and after inquiring nearby, he found a rental courtyard. The courtyard was about 300 square meters, with seven or eight rooms inside, fully furnished and almost new. The rent was 50 gold coins per month. To put it into perspective, this location in the city was already quite good, and the rent was very reasonable. However, compared to the academy's fees, it was much cheaper, showing just how expensive these top academies were.

  Commoner students are discriminated against because of economic reasons. If not for the sake of recruiting talent, the Imperial Academy would have a hard and fast rule that probably wouldn't even recruit commoner students.

  Zhou Weiqing didn't hesitate to pay the deposit and ran back to the academy, the place was settled, he wanted to bring Bing'er to take a look, and it was indeed time to let Da Huang and Er Huang out.

  He didn't know that his battle with /浪 today had already caused a stir in the circle of commoner students. The commoner students, including this year's new batch, totaled over 160 people. Although their numbers were far fewer than those of the noble students, these commoner students were all Bead Masters. In the Tianyi Empire, there weren't even this many Bead Masters in the entire country. Of course, the cultivation levels of these commoner students were relatively low. The defeat of the commoner Guardian /浪 had already made Zhou Weiqing's name resound far and wide, and he was famous before school had even started.

  "Stop right there, can you just barge into the girls' dormitory?" Zhou Weiqing walked into the dormitory building, just about to go find Bing'er, but was blocked by a middle-aged woman in her fifties. When he and Bing'er had arrived earlier, this woman hadn't been around.

  "Uh, I'm looking for someone." Zhou Weiqing revealed a smile that he thought was his most honest.

  The old lady glanced at him and said, "Looking for someone? Every boy who comes here says that. Call out yourself. It's impossible to go in."

  Zhou Weiqing deeply felt that renting a house outside was really the right thing to do, but under duress, he had no choice but to shout loudly "Bing'er, your husband is here to find you."

  His voice was not small, let alone the female dormitory on this side, even the male dormitory on the first floor could hear it. Some ordinary students poked their heads out and saw him, and the male dormitory immediately fell silent.

  It wasn't long before Bing'er rushed out with a red face, quickly ran to Zhou Weiqing's side and glared at him fiercely, "You little scoundrel, what are you shouting about?"

  Zhou Weiqing smiled foolishly, "I didn't shout wrongly, auntie, this is indeed my wife, please take care of her more in the future."

  That old woman hummed coldly and unreasonably, Bing Er pulled him to turn his head and run away, actually afraid that this guy would say something embarrassing.

  Just as the two of them reached the entrance, Zhou Weiqing heard the old lady muttering to herself, "A beautiful flower stuck in cow dung, and good cabbage is all dug up by pigs."

  Zhou Weiqing took a step back, almost falling to the ground. Shangguan Xue'er also heard it and couldn't help but laugh, "Little Fatty, what did you call me?"

  Wu Wei Qing chuckled and said, "Our fake IDs are all set, this is the pass, I'll give it to you. With this thing, we can come and go as we please in the academy without any restrictions." As he spoke, he handed one of the two passes he had bought to Shangguan Fei'er.

  "Have you found a place to live?" Shangguan Bing'er asked in surprise

  Zhou Weiqing's face was full of pride, "Of course, with your husband taking action, is there anything that can't be done? Come on, I'll take you to see the new house. The deposit has been paid, but it's still necessary for my beautiful wife to give her final approval before we confirm the rental."

  Feeling Ou Yan's fiery gaze, Sangyu patted him on the head and said in a low voice, "Alright then, we'll sleep separately. Otherwise, you can go live with Da Huang and Er Huang."

  Zhou Weiqing nodded without hesitation, "No problem, I'm a decent person, people call me the honest and reliable young master, an untainted beautiful youth. Absolutely won't do things like sneaking peeks at beauties bathing or quietly slipping into your room in the middle of the night."

  Shangguan Bingbing hummed, "It's better if you don't, if I catch you once, I'll move back to the dormitory immediately. Wait for me, I'm going to get the daily necessities I just bought."

  Zhou Weiqing slapped his forehead and said, "Right! My dear wife Xue'er bought me a sweet cotton quilt, I'll take that too."

  Shangguan Bing'er's face turned red, but her heart was sweet and she said "You're the only one who knows how to talk"

  The two re-entered the dormitory, and the old woman was still sitting at the entrance of the girls' dormitory on the first floor. Seeing the two return, she suddenly looked at Zhou Weiqing with a vigilant expression, "You little scoundrel, what are you doing? Are you going to retaliate? Let me tell you, if you dare touch my finger, I'll shout 'harassment' immediately."

  Zhou Weiqing was left crying and laughing at the same time, looking at this incredibly fierce big mom. "Big mom, aren't you my own mother? How dare I touch you? I guarantee to keep a distance from you." After finishing speaking, he ran back to his dormitory in a flash.

  As soon as Zhou Weiqing pushed open the dormitory door, he felt that the atmosphere inside was a bit strange. As soon as he entered, the eyes of the other seven people in the dormitory instantly fell on him.