This kind of jade card, each of them had one, was distributed by the accompanying teacher after arriving at Lower Academy Island. But at this moment, Brian Brooks, looking at the jade cards in everyone else's hands, was a bit dumbfounded.

“What is this thing, why don’t I have one…” Brian Brooks hurriedly asked around, and after learning the origin, once again felt that the goatee was completely unreliable.

It wasn’t until everyone had placed their jade cards, leaving only Brian Brooks, that the senior sister leading the way also looked over and asked with concern.

“Junior brother, do you have any questions?”

“My card is a bit different from everyone else’s…” Brian Brooks hesitated for a moment, touched the purple jade pendant in his pocket, and carefully placed it on the stone mirror.

But the instant his jade pendant touched the stone mirror, suddenly, the entire pendant erupted with a strong purple light. Even the stone mirror instantly shone with dazzling brilliance, accompanied by a thunderous roar that shook the heavens, echoing across the entire Weaponry Peak.

A shockwave spread out, and all the students around were shaken to their core, retreating in shock.

“What’s going on!”

“What happened!!”

Even Brian Brooks was startled.

And that wasn’t the end of it. What was even more astonishing was that, amid the overwhelming light, atop Weaponry Peak, a vast and solemn bell began to toll, its deep sound rising slowly, as if announcing to the entire Weaponry Department!

Dong, dong, dong…

For a moment, in every area of Weaponry Peak—whether students climbing the mountain, people inside the classrooms, or those cultivating within the many buildings at the summit—everyone looked up.

Beside the stone mirror, the horse-faced senior sister only felt her mind buzzing, her eyes snapping wide open, disbelief in her gaze as she cried out in shock.

“Specially recruited student!!”

“What did you say?” Brian Brooks was even more confused.

At the same time, as the bell echoed, atop Weaponry Peak, in a grand hall filled with spiritual energy, Goatee was sitting there reading an ancient book. His mood, which had just begun to calm, became agitated again.

“This little brat, how did he get here so fast!” He was annoyed, and just thinking about how his five-year privilege was gone made him regret it so much his guts turned green.

If no one came to bother him, it would be fine, but just then, as the bell rang out, several figures rushed in from outside the hall—it was the other teachers of the Weaponry Department.

“Fellow Daoist Edward Bolton, I heard you specially recruited an outstanding talent for our Weaponry Department this time!”

“Haha, Old Bolton, Old Bolton, I knew you always had a sharp eye. Where’s that good seedling? Hurry and bring him here for us to see.”

As the excited teachers came in one after another, Goatee listened to their words, his face turning ashen, feeling like he’d bought a pile of crap and had to eat it with tears in his eyes. He could only force a smile.

“That’s right, he’s a… good seedling! I have a magic tool to refine, I’ll be off first…” With that, Goatee hurried away, afraid that if he stayed any longer, he wouldn’t be able to resist slapping that good seedling to death!

Chapter 6: Big Trouble

After going through registration, receiving cultivation techniques, Daoist robes, and other trivial matters, when Brian Brooks put on the unique red Daoist robe of a specially recruited student and stood in front of a somewhat secluded but beautifully scenic building near the mountaintop, his mouth nearly split to his ears with a grin.

In front of him was a purple stone gate, and as it opened, it revealed—astonishingly—a cave residence!

“So this is the legendary cave residence!” Brian Brooks couldn’t help but be excited. For most students, they lived in dormitory-like pavilions; only a select few were qualified to live in a cave residence on the mountain.

After all, rarity makes things precious. A mountain can have many pavilions built, but cave residences are fixed and hard to increase. Plus, each cave residence has an array to gather spiritual energy, making the aura much richer than in the pavilions.

So even though Brian Brooks’s cave residence wasn’t large, it was enough to make countless students envious.

Feeling his distinctive Daoist robe and looking at his own cave residence, Brian Brooks saw that no one was around and finally couldn’t hold back. He looked up and laughed heartily, feeling on top of the world. After entering the cave residence, he found that although it wasn’t big, it had a terrace extending two zhang out from the mountain. Standing there was like standing in the sky. Feeling pleased, he simply sat on the terrace, gazing at the sky and earth outside, in an exceptionally good mood, and took out a bag of snacks.

In this wonderful mood, Brian Brooks munched on his snacks while opening the unique martial arts manual of the Ethereal Dao College he had received. On the first page, written in bold, vigorous calligraphy, were three big characters!

Ancient Martial Arts Technique!

This Ancient Martial Arts Technique was not unique to the Weaponry Department, but was a foundational technique that all students in every department of the Lower Academy had to learn. When freshmen arrived, depending on their choices, they would learn the unique knowledge system of their department, but this Ancient Martial Arts Technique served all departments, supporting the basic cultivation of each.

“Three levels of the Ancient Martial Realm: Vital Energy, Body Sealing, and Vein Supplementation!” As dusk approached, the wind grew cooler, blowing over Brian Brooks and making him feel very comfortable. His attention to the manual also became much more focused.