The Elite Class residence was quite nice. Although limited in size and lacking a private courtyard, each person had their own room, and the rooms were fairly spacious.
Joe Di's room was right next to Frank Pang's. Unable to find anyone else to talk to, Frank had been chatting nonstop ever since he became acquainted with Joe.
From Frank Pang, Joe Di learned that the Elite Class at Celestia Martial Academy did not require students to stay for a fixed period. As long as one's strength was sufficient, they could enter the Elite Class. Moreover, during the Celestia trials, students in the Elite Class could keep any treasures they found. If they chose to hand them over to the Federation, they would receive corresponding rewards.
Finally, when Frank Pang grew parched and went to get a drink, Joe Di returned to his own room. Once inside, he immediately began preparing to refine his Celestial Cleaver. To prevent Frank from disturbing him, he even hung a 'Do Not Disturb' sign at the door.
It was only when Joe Di began refining the Celestial Cleaver that he truly understood what a restriction was. As soon as his spiritual sense touched the cleaver, the first thing he encountered was the array pattern restriction within.
To refine the Celestial Cleaver, he had to first break through these array pattern restrictions. Joe Di had never learned how to refine a magical artifact before; his knowledge came from a study jade slip. The jade slip only briefly mentioned the process of refining a magical artifact, with no detailed instructions.
Joe Di could only rely on his own methods and keep trying. After more than half a day, he finally managed to refine the first restriction by grinding it away with his spiritual sense.
Once he refined the first restriction, Joe Di gained some experience, and the pace of refinement quickened.
......
In Class Eleven of the regular students at Celestia Martial Academy, all the students sat quietly at their desks, waiting for the teacher to arrive.
The students in this class had just arrived on Celestia. By the usual standards of Celestia Martial Academy, most of them would not have qualified. Only because of the academy’s special recruitment and lowered requirements were they able to sit here now.
For everyone here, this opportunity was extremely rare.
Unlike the Elite Class, which had only thirty students per class, the regular class consisted of a hundred students. Zoe Shen sat quietly among the crowd. The first thing she did upon arriving at the academy was to ask her instructor whether it was possible to practice martial arts with a heart condition.
The instructor had looked at her with a hint of disbelief and replied, 'It’s not just a heart condition—even if any of your internal organs have a problem, you cannot cultivate Celestia’s martial techniques. The martial arts here are different from what you’re used to; they emphasize cultivation from the inside out. To practice martial arts, you must be in perfect health. So, do you think you can train with a heart condition?'
The instructor’s words made Zoe Shen wonder if her illness had suddenly vanished, but even she knew that was unlikely.
An elderly man with graying hair, carrying a large suitcase, walked in. All the students stood up in unison and greeted the instructor.
According to their schedule, the first month was devoted to various theory courses. Only after a month would they begin cultivation classes. The teacher for this lesson was Professor Thomas, reputed to be the academy’s foremost expert in medicinal herbs and minerals.
Professor Thomas set down his suitcase and gestured for everyone to sit before speaking. 'You are all outstanding students from martial academies around the world. Many people think that coming to Celestia Martial Academy is about learning skills. If that’s the case, why do we spend a month studying minerals and medicinal herbs instead of diving straight into cultivation?'
After a brief pause, Professor Thomas continued, 'That’s what I want to explain today. In my view, the most precious things on Celestia aren’t the martial techniques but the mineral materials. You may ask what I mean by this. Well, let me tell you.'
With just a simple opening, Professor Thomas had captured everyone’s attention. Seeing that all eyes were on him, he nodded and continued, 'On Celestia, not only have we discovered martial techniques, but also the Daoist arts. Furthermore, we’ve found all sorts of discarded pills and fragments of magical relics. How are pills made? Naturally, from medicinal herbs. And how are magical relics made? From mineral materials.'
In the future, you will all walk the path of martial arts or Daoist cultivation. Sometimes, to advance further, your own efforts are not enough—you’ll need to rely on external resources. These resources are the medicinal herbs and minerals I mentioned earlier.'
At this point, Professor Thomas walked to the edge of the giant blackboard and pressed a button, saying, 'The knowledge of minerals and medicinal herbs I’m teaching you now is but a drop in the ocean compared to the entire universe. Remember, all knowledge is accumulated bit by bit. What I know was exchanged for with lives on Celestia, so I hope you study diligently. Today, I’ll teach you to identify sixty kinds of medicinal herbs, each with its own use. Some we already understand, others are still a mystery.'
Fifty types of medicinal herbs appeared on the giant blackboard, each with an illustration and a label.
Suddenly, Zoe Shen stood up, her eyes fixed on the twenty-eighth herb: the Scarletblood Flower.
She knew the Scarletblood Flower all too well. Back at Lethe Temple, Master Redmond had told her that only the Scarletblood Flower could cure her illness—and there were none on Earth.
So although she’d heard of the Scarletblood Flower, she had never actually seen one.
Today, seeing the Scarletblood Flower, she found it strangely familiar, even though she knew she had never seen it before. After learning that Earth had no Scarletblood Flowers, she’d given up searching for the herb that supposedly didn’t exist.
Then Zoe Shen remembered—she’d seen this herb at Luokang Hospital. At the time, a withered Scarletblood Flower had been thrown on the ground, and Auntie Fang had even asked the nurse why there was trash in the VIP suite. The 'trash' Auntie Fang mentioned looked exactly like the Scarletblood Flower on the board, except that it had already withered.
Was she cured by the Scarletblood Flower?
'That student, please sit down.' Professor Thomas frowned and addressed Zoe Shen.
Zoe Shen was still lost in thought when a girl beside her quickly pulled her back into her seat.
Her mind drifted back to that hospital room. Who would use a Scarletblood Flower to save her? Who even knew how to use it?
That day...
That's right—it was David Di. On that day, only Joe Di had visited her in the hospital, and she had even given David Di a bank card.
How could David Di possibly have a Scarletblood Flower?
Then Zoe Shen understood—only David Di could have the Scarletblood Flower. Very few people knew it could cure her, yet David Di knew.
But didn’t Master Redmond say there were no Scarletblood Flowers on Earth? How did David Di find one? Could he have gotten it from Celestia?
'Professor, I’m truly sorry, but I have an important question. The twenty-eighth herb, the Scarletblood Flower—does it grow on Celestia?' Zoe Shen stood up again.
Professor Thomas didn’t mind students asking about medicinal herbs. He moved his pointer to the Scarletblood Flower and said, 'This herb was mentioned to me by Master Redmond, the abbot of Lethe Temple. He hoped to find the Scarletblood Flower on Celestia, but as for whether it actually exists here, I’m not sure. When you join the Elite Class, you’ll have a chance to participate in trials on Celestia—then you can look for it yourselves.'
So that’s how it was. Zoe Shen sat down, still unable to understand where David Di’s Scarletblood Flower had come from. What troubled her even more was that after David Di cured her and left, she hadn’t once tried to find out what had become of him.
Zoe Shen finally understood why David Di had asked for a divorce. After learning that the Scarletblood Flower could cure her, David Di divorced her and set out to find the flower. It was certain that he had sought out Master Redmond.
So I’m really such a heartless person, Zoe Shen thought, bowing her head. She knew David Di had cared deeply for her, but she had never once felt anything for him.
Even after their marriage, the two had never so much as held hands.
If she hadn’t happened to see the Scarletblood Flower today and realized David Di had saved her, she might never have remembered him again.
After being expelled from the Di Family, she had no idea where he was now.
......
Buzz! A faint vibration sounded. Joe Di loosened his grip, and the refined Celestial Cleaver floated up, circling above his head.
Magical artifacts truly were remarkable, and Joe Di was thrilled. Not only was this a magical artifact, but it was a high-grade one. As Joe Di willed it, the spinning cleaver expanded several times over.
Unable to resist, Joe Di moved his spiritual sense again, and the cleaver landed at his feet. In the next moment, it lifted him up, slowly circling the middle of the room.
Leaping down, Joe Di reached out, and the cleaver fell neatly into his palm.
Joe Di couldn’t be more pleased with the cleaver.
Once he held the refined cleaver, Joe Di clearly saw a few tiny words etched on it: Chef's Summit, Starcrest Sect.
It really was a cleaver—a magical artifact from Chef's Summit of the Starcrest Sect. From the name Chef's Summit, it was obvious this peak managed the sect’s food and meals.
(That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends.)