Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

"Which is better, Qingfeng or Beidou?"

Lin Wanqiu was dumbfounded.

Then she quickly realized, with scores that ranked first in two subjects and fifth in Qian Province, she certainly had the ability to choose any university she wanted.

"Wait a second, I'm going to check some information online."

She and Lin Yong hurried off.

Leaving his flying sword to Jiang Yuan, Jiang Ding sat on the sofa, closed his eyes, and fell into cultivation. Although there was nothing to cultivate at the moment, the habit had been formed and was hard to change.

'I need to prepare for the Cultivation of Immortal Gate Nine Scriptures. I don't know much else, but reading a large number of scriptures and Magic-Level techniques, doing a lot of math problems, and improving my abilities in Formation Path are very helpful. I should visit the library more often.'

Jiang Ding took some time to make a two-month study plan for the summer vacation.

Cultivators are those who live long lives; they aren't in a hurry, they don't waste a moment, and with gradual accumulation, they finally achieve the grand undertaking of becoming an Immortal.

Ding ding ding!

The phone rang—it was Li Junhao calling, which was rare since now they mostly communicated through messages and such.

"Jiang Ding!!"

"Hahaha, brother, I scored three points above the minimum score line for Qianling University Taoism Department!"

"Just think, in our class maybe only about a dozen or so could possibly be admitted to a university's Cultivation Department, and some students with Spiritual Roots didn't even make it!"

"Ahahaha... Aren't I, old Li, awesome? No Spiritual Root, not good at martial arts, but still forced my way in with cultural subjects and luck!"

Li Junhao was so excited, he was talking non-stop and incoherently.

"Congratulations."

Jiang Ding sincerely congratulated his desk mate.

No one in the school worked harder than him; he studied for more than twenty hours every day, and people often worried he would die suddenly, but now he had finally realized his dream.

"Alas! It's still not secure, though. If some other high-scoring people apply to Qianling University, they might squeeze me out..."

After the excitement, Li Junhao fell back into his usual worrying.

"That won't happen, the likelihood of that is extremely low."

The Immortal Sects' demarcation of the score line is very precise. Unless there was some major event, such as a change in Spiritual Veins or in teaching staff in some area, it's unlikely that anyone would lower their options to apply.

"I hope your auspicious words come true."

"By the way, congratulations on becoming the top scorer in two subjects."

"Shit, how could I not have noticed at all during regular days? I thought we were both in the same boat, rolling in the mud together, comforting each other. And you, you sneakily flew away without a sound?!"

"Good thing I was sharp enough to jump with all my strength, or else I would have been in trouble."

"Haha..."

Jiang Ding laughed heartily.

The two talked for over an hour, reminiscing about the three years of high school, dreaming about college life, and fantasizing about how they would move mountains and fill seas and have eternal life after becoming great figures in the Immortal Path.

Just before hanging up, Jiang Ding faintly heard the sound of pages flipping.

Ding ding ding!

Just after hanging up the call, someone else rang.

"Congratulations!"

The hearty voice of Hua Bing came through: "I just checked the score line, and I barely climbed to the end of the list for No.12 University. I also casually checked the scores of the top scorers in each subject to observe, and man, someone's the top scorer in Cold Weapons and Moral Thought!"

"So here I am, hurrying over to curry favor, so the top scholar might remember this little girl."

"Haha! The class president is too modest. Once we're in college, you'll rise with the first breeze and become a phoenix. By then, we'll still need the class president to take care of us, just like you used to."

Jiang Ding modestly exchanged a few congratulations.

They chatted for a bit and parted ways cordially.

Ding ding ding...

"Everyone is so enthusiastic."

His phone lit up with over a dozen calls—the class advisor Teacher Guo, Wu Tianli, Sun Xiao, the math teacher Wang Lan... Basically, all the classmates who had been admitted to university and the teachers from various subjects had called. They were all very excited.

"Hello, Teacher Guo..."

"Hello, Wu..."

Jiang Ding answered each call in turn.

He naturally didn't show any impatience.

Teachers and classmates had helped him a lot in daily life and studies, and although there were occasional disagreements, by the end of graduation, these were no longer relevant.

After busily spending two hours exchanging feelings with classmates and teachers, he hung up the last call.

"I'm off to the library, are you coming?"

Jiang Ding retracted the blue-golden tree and asked.

"No."

Jiang Yuan gave a simple and direct reply.

"Okay then..."

...

Jinlingshan Mountain.

The spiritual energy was dense here, living in this place could extend one's lifespan.

Jiang Ding closed his eyes and regulated his breath for a moment before opening them.

It had been several days since he last visited, but the scenery remained the same. No one had attempted to set foot on the sealed mountaintop, and there had been no additional casualties because of it.

"I suppose I now have some abilities..."

Jiang Ding muttered to himself.

He was reminded of the terrifying scenes he had witnessed in the Jianghu of Yue Nation, where people were refined into elixirs and the commoners were displaced and would often fall dead in the streets.

At that time, he had made up his mind,

to help improve the lives of the Yue Nation's commoners, in whatever ways he could without endangering himself, once he was capable.

The time seemed appropriate now.

He called for Liu SanQi, the manager of Jinlingshan Mountain, to make some inquiries.

"These trivial matters of the mortal world can be arranged with a simple command from you, Young Ancestor Uncle,"

said Liu SanQi without overthinking it.

"As long as it does not disrupt the sect's Immortal Successor Dragon and Phoenix List, even if it means making your clan kings or marquesses, it's fine. Even becoming an emperor is possible; it just requires some planning and expenditure of spirit stones to avoid impacting the Immortal Successor Dragon and Phoenix List."

"Then how can I improve the lives of the commoners as much as possible without affecting the interests of the sect, allowing them to live and work in peace and contentment?"

"You could choose wise kings and ministers and widely spread education..."

At this point, Liu SanQi found himself at a loss for words.

He knew every detail about which peak and which vein belonged to which faction within the sect, how to manage and dispatch personnel for the spiritual plants and spirit beasts, but he was clueless about mortal affairs.

This little sect uncle had climbed his way up from the mortal world; he was not someone easily fooled.

'Not my area of expertise.'

Jiang Ding understood.

"I need one or two inner-sect disciples to handle this task. It may take some time— the very matter I just discussed with you. What would be an appropriate reward?"

"Inner-sect disciples value their cultivation the most. Just give them elixirs that can boost their cultivation base,"

explained Liu SanQi with familiarity.

"With your status, you can gift two bottles of Spirit Essence Yellow Pills to each early or mid-term cultivator."

"Alright, invite Huomai's Disciple Chen Xi for me, and be polite about it. It's fine if she doesn't come or isn't available; compile a list of possible substitute disciples who might be well-versed in mortal affairs."

"Don't worry, Young Ancestor Uncle. I understand,"

reassured Liu SanQi.

...

Before long,

Chen Xi appeared on the mountaintop, and for some reason, she brought Gong Caiyu with her.

"Brother Ding really has the welfare of the world in his heart..."

Chen Xi's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Why would someone known as the 'Dream Eating Sword Demon' pay such attention to these simple folk?

"Let's hear it."

Jiang Ding held a deep respect for professionals.

"Xiantian Martial Artist."

Chen Xi restrained her smile and said seriously, "As long as you control the Xiantian Martial Artists and Masters, as well as restrict some of the inner-sect disciples' mortal families, you can completely control the mortal world's situations."

"But it can't just be coercion; you must also offer incentives."

"Combine the two with regular inspections."

"Brother Ding, you can use your authority to issue tasks in the Sect Administrative Hall, allowing disciples to take them on. Assign disciples annually, equipped with Record Jade Tags, to inspect the livelihood of the people in every domain. Reward those Xiantians who do well and punish those who do not."

"That should suffice."