Molting the Mortal Coil

Chapter 984: Academic

Guan Zhenyan was not happy that Sage decided to take a break from his Debt Collecting duties for a decade, but technically the time limit for him to even start the task was still a few hundred years away. Sage used this fact to shut the man up, especially since Guan Zhenyan was still being exceedingly vague about how many debts he had to collect and how long it would all take. When he tried to spur him into working more, Sage just turned it around and started asking more and more questions. He never openly refused to do the work of collecting debts, but he also didnt start to move either.

Sage didnt plan on continuing the work until he finished handling his own business first. With such great opportunities here in front of him, he would be a giant fool to give up on them. Hed initially come to the Clear Sky Academy only to gather a specific piece of information, but now that he was here and also achieved a position without intending to, he couldnt let it go to waste. Especially considering that the Clear Sky Academy was a greater place of knowledge than any other hed seen in the past. The Timeless Master had access to obscure knowledge, but the library Sage had accessed was just a couple shelves worth. At the Holy Flame Sect hed collected a vast and extensive collection of knowledge, but most of it was related to the professions. This was very useful to the development of the Inner World, but it was far from the level of quality that he now found in the Clear Sky Academy.

The Tianxia Capital was where those who were too powerful and successful for the Kingdoms would go. The Clear Sky Academy was one of five great institutions where those people sent their children to be trained. Theyd collected knowledge and techniques for many thousands of years from all the Kingdoms in the whole of the Tianxia Empire and outside of it as well. Most Clans or Sects had their own signature techniques which they guarded zealously. These specific moves were usually quite powerful or unique, but outside those few moves they had only mere morsels in comparison to the Clear Sky Academy. While the Academy may not have access to all those powerful and unique moves that whole groups formed around, they had many of equal might. The number of sects and clans that had fallen or declined throughout time was immense and when they fell, those techniques would be seized. Many of them were modified and improved before going on to found new groups, but many others were sold or traded and in time found their way to these great Academies.

There were also many in the Academies that spent their time researching and improving techniques to create their own unique legacies. They could go on to become famous and start their own Sects, or Clans, but since their research was paid for by the Academy they also had to leave behind copies of their work. The Academies competed to raise the strongest graduates, so they were always aiming to improve the techniques they could teach. This was also why they used mission systems for the students. These missions helped gather resources for the school, and also determined how these resources would be distributed to the students.

Sage wasnt really worried about the student life, or how the Academy was run. What he cared about was the vast library they had. Since he had access it went without saying that he wanted to copy down the whole thing to the Inner World. With the help of such massive time dilation as well as the computational power of Bio-computers, he was sure that the Inner World would research many times faster than the Clear Sky Academy. Sages reading was interrupted quite often by the jobs that the Twilight faction sent him on, but he made rapid progress and he estimated that he could read the whole library within a decade using all his tricks.

That wasnt all that he did during this time. When Sage left the Clear Sky Academy and the twenty thousandth level to complete missions he also stopped by the most impressive shop for the level he was on and made a purchasing order for any and all Heavenly Materials they might stumble upon. This led to him leaving his location with them and setting the duration for these orders to stand for the decade he planned to stay in the Academy. Over time, he had placed more than a dozen of these orders. While hed been to hundreds of levels on missions, he had to hold back as he would only end up making the stores compete with each other to fulfill his order. So he had to choose carefully, selecting stores that were many levels away from the others and preferably with different distribution channels: information that he went out of his way to collect.

Most of the payments that he received from Twilight for his missions were saved up to pay for these purchase orders. At the same time he had to sell large amounts of other resources to make enough to actually purchase the Heavenly Materials that were collected.The raw materials as well as many finished magical devices that were manufactured upon the Inner World. They were of course things that no one had ever seen before, but they werent secret weapons like the Bio-computers or Blastids. Instead he sold many entertainment related magical devices. While such things were being spread in the Depths and by the Prosperity Company that didnt mean they were common in the Tianxia Capital and he could make large amounts by selling them in large numbers allowing the local businesses to become a distributor. Especially given there would be a limited number as Sage didnt plan on sticking around in the capital forever.

Yet, even with these lucrative returns, Sage couldnt purchase all the Heavenly Treasures that he learned of. Even earning tens of millions of Spirit Stones, he was outbid many times.

Wildfire, a Heavenly Flame that spread rampantly, the symbol of unconstrained expansion and consumption. Lost. Spring Wind, a Heavenly Wind that could spread fertile and pollinating energy over vast areas. It not only healed people, but also revitalized the plants and land, strengthening the natural world. Also, lost. Shadow Coal, a lump of coal that seemed to absorb all light, and a Heavenly Jewel. The coal-like dust it created could somehow absorb light, making it darker in an area when it was burned. Too expensive. Blood Rain, a Heavenly Water that appeared no different from a viscous pool of blood. The red water it created could absorb blood and killing intent, capturing and condensing it. Purchased by a very terrifying person that Sage felt was an Immortal. Even looking at the woman made Sage feel like he was going to be skinned and drained of his blood like livestock.

Inked Trigrams Steel. Sage had no chance at all of winning this one, as it was a heavily sought after Heavenly Metal. This steel-like material was ink black and it was flawlessly compatible with all of the elements. Any Magical Device made from it would be perfectly usable by a person of any innate Qi nature and could also be used as a bridge between opposing elements. It was extremely versatile and considered a perfect material to make the most powerful weapons or tools. There was also another Heavenly Metal, and Sage thought he had a chance at this one given its undesirable properties. Unfortunately, he was wrong again. The Gold Demon Blood was a metal that stayed in a liquid state at room temperature, and prolonged contact actually caused living beings to spontaneously mutate. Even worse, it also incited violent mood swings. Sage hoped such a harmful thing would be unwanted, at least enough for him to buy it, but he was very wrong. Surprisingly, it was almost as popular as the Inked Trigrams Steel, and Sage could only watch helplessly as Evil Cultivators, each more vicious and creepy looking than the last, got into a bidding war over it.

Yet, it wasnt all losses. Sage lost out on those six Heavenly Materials, but he was actually able to get hold of three others.