Chapter 157 - Tour
After spending more than an hour in the hot springs, Su Lingxi eventually told the girls to get out so that she could continue the tour. Xiao Fang also got out when he heard this, but he didn't stop practicing the [ Solid Body ] technique.
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In the women's change room, everyone could see Zhao Pan's athletic body. She wasn't too muscular but fit enough to make the other girl jealous. There were a few girls that began to whisper about her, but she paid no attention to them. Her foster mother, Yao Wu, had told her about the hardships she might face in the inner court, so she had already mentally prepared herself for the bullying she was going to experience.
Suddenly, Bai Fan walked into the change room then saw Zhao Pan. Bai Fan took one drying cloth from the rack then approached Zhao Pan casually.
"Did you enjoy the spring water?" Bai Fan asked.
Suddenly she heard giggling behind her, it seemed that the girls were laughing about something someone said about Zhao Pan. Bai Fan turned to look at them with a frown.
"Ignore them," Zhao Pan said nonchalantly.
Despite how indifferent Bai Fan usually was, something about the situation annoyed her a bit.
"Zhao Pan, I wanted to ask you about the Inner Court Exam."
"Sure, what do you want to know?"
"During the first test of the inner court exam, I was surrounded by a swarm of insect-type beasts. Luckily, someone helped me escape just in time. I wanted to know if that person was you."
Zhao Pan shook her head saying, "It wasn't me, but if you tell me what happened I might be able to help you."
Bai Fan thought for a moment then began to explain everything that happened in the Ancestral Training Grounds.
"...Interesting."
"I know, it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. If you can help me find her, I'll even let you in on a little secret."
"Hm? What kind of secret?"
Bai Fan leaned in and whispered in Zhao Pan's ear, "I know where Da Long is."
"Hoho, you think I don't know where he is? Last night, you stood outside of his door, right? I can only imagine what you planned to do with him that late at night."
Bai Fan's face suddenly became red.
"Don't worry about repaying me, if I find this mystery girl I'll let you know," Zhao Pan said as she started to walk out of the change room.
"Ah, wait. It's not what you think," Bai Fan said as she quickly followed her out.
Once they were out, they both saw Xiao Fang idly sitting on a rock that was about a meter tall. His blindfold was still wrapped around his face, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and his wet jet-black hair was combed back and let down his shoulders. He was still practicing his [ Solid Clone ] technique, but the girls were too distracted by his looks to care about what he was practicing.
Even though he was blindfolded, he was still so handsome that the girls found it difficult to stay mad at him. Actually, many of the girls were already having naughty thoughts and gossiping about him, but no matter how much they whispered about him he didn't seem to care at all.
Suddenly, Xiao Fang's head turned to face Zhao Pan and Bai Fan as they came out of the bath house. He got off the rock he was sitting on then started walking towards them. They didn't know how to react, they never expected him to suddenly approach them like this.
"It seems the both of you know who I am. Since we will be seeing a lot more of each other, I hope we can treat each other well this year," Xiao Fang said.
Bai Fan blushed, "O-Of course. We are neighbors after all," she whispered the last part embarrassingly, but it was something she had to let him know.
Xiao Fang nodded at Bai Fan then turned his head to face Zhao Pan. She stood there motionless as she tried to think of something to say. Da Long was an idol to men and every girl's dream, but that same person had just approached her.
"Mn... let's treat each other well," Zhao Pan finally replied.
Xiao Fang nodded then went back to practicing his [ Solid Clone ] technique.
Xiao Fang had been listening in on their conversation while they were in the girl's change room, so he knew the girl they were looking for was Xiao Hei. Xiao Hei had a general dislike for humans, so he was surprised to hear that she had saved Bai Fan.
If even Xiao Hei was interested in her, naturally, Xiao Fang was too.
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Once all the girls were accounted for, Su Lingxi continued the tour.
They were given a brief history of each of the various facilities in the inner court. The thing that interested Xiao Fang the most were the things she called 'Trial Pods'.
There were trial pods all over the inner court, each reserved only for the people in a certain class, but the scoreboard was linked. It looked interesting, so he wanted to give it a try.
Price per attempt: 100 merit points
**The higher you placed on the scoreboard the more merit points you receive every month.
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Xiao Fang also learned about the various Cultivation Rooms in the inner court. Similar to the hot bathhouse, the Cultivation Rooms were full of natural qi, but the effect it had on one's cultivation was amplified since only a few people could be in there at once.
Price per hour: 100 - 1,000 merit points. (Depending on the quality of the qi in the room)
*Price drops per person using the same room.
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He learned the locations of the mission hall, the public lecture halls, the private classes, and the various club houses. Finally, at the end of the tour, he learned about the Ancestral Training Grounds.
The Ancestral Training Grounds were separate into 9 levels, the farther down you went, the higher the beast tiers got.
Price per entry: 1,000 - 10,000 merit points depending on floor
*Price drops by the number of people in the same party as you.
> Small group members get 5% off
> Large group members get 10% off
> Minor guild members get 25% off
> Major guild members get 50% off
*Major and Minor Guilds are eligible to purchase guild houses and will receive store discounts based on their guild rankings.
**Ranking is determined by the average rank of a guild's top members on the trial pod leaderboards. If there are any disagreements with the ranking, a supervised battle can be held to settle it.
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However, before going into the Ancestral Training Grounds, you had to buy a special pendant, the same special pendant he used during the exam.
Low-grade pendants = 5,000 merit points.
Medium-grade pendants= 25,000 merit points.
High-grade pendants = 100,000 merit points.
The higher the grade, the higher the quality and capacity.
The more he learned about the inner court, the more he realized just how little he could actually afford with his monthly allowance.
'It seems I'll need to prioritize getting more merit points before anything else,' Xiao Fang thought.