The environment of the mimic cultivation ground far exceeded Chen Ming's expectations.
If the one at Nuoding Academy had merely been a large pit with some metallic qualities, then this place was something entirely different—it had been built directly atop a high-quality mineral vein.
What's more, the vein itself hadn't been extensively mined. Aside from hollowing out enough space for training and daily living, the structure remained almost completely intact, preserving its natural state.
The difference was night and day.
The moment Chen Ming stepped deeper into the tunnels, he could feel it—his Spirit Power stirring, becoming unusually active, as though the very air itself was resonating with him.
Training here… his cultivation speed could increase by at least twenty percent.
That might not sound like much at first glance, but this wasn't just twenty percent of his original baseline. This was an additional boost on top of his already enhanced cultivation speed—thanks to his techniques and the modest improvements from his previous environment. In reality, the amplification here was remarkably significant.
At this rate, Chen Ming estimated that in just a few more months, he would be able to break through to the level of a Spirit Grand Master and obtain his second Spirit Ring.
"Teacher Qin Ming, I'd like to stay here. The environment is just too good."
"Alright." Qin Ming didn't seem surprised. Instead, he reached into his robe and took something out.
It was a pendant resembling a protective charm, engraved with intricate runes that emitted a faint fluctuation of Spirit Power.
Under Chen Ming's gaze, Qin Ming didn't activate it. Instead, he simply placed the pendant directly into Chen Ming's hand.
"Teacher… this is?" Chen Ming swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.
"This is a storage-type Soul Tool. Lord Zhi Lin came across it by chance in his younger years. It has a capacity of fifteen cubic meters. The Board of Education is gifting it to you. Your uniform, badge, identification, and other items are all inside. You can go change, and afterward, I'll continue showing you around the academy."
"…That's incredibly generous."
Chen Ming carefully sent a thread of Spirit Power into the pendant and quickly located the uniform and other items stored within.
This wasn't the era of mass-produced Soul Tools. In these times, each one was a rare relic—unearthed from ancient ruins, with every piece being irreplaceable.
After receiving gold coins from the Spirit Hall, Chen Ming had once inquired about the price of such items. Even the most basic storage Soul Tool, with a mere one cubic meter of space, cost at least dozens of gold soul coins—and even then, its durability wasn't guaranteed.
As the storage capacity increased and the quality improved, the price rose sharply in a near-vertical climb.
Even the famous Twenty Four Moonlight Bridges worn by Tang San was, at its core, just a clever assembly of twenty-four low-grade, one-cubic-meter Soul Tools strung together to imitate a high-tier one.
By comparison, this pendant alone would fetch at least several thousand gold soul coins on the market.
And yet… it was merely a gift.
Should he attribute this to the generosity of a Spirit Douluo… or to the sheer wealth of the Heaven Dou Emperial Academy?
...
After thanking Qin Ming, Chen Ming found a secluded corner and changed into his academy uniform. Though it had been hastily prepared, the uniform fit him perfectly, and the material was far from ordinary.
Not only did it look refined and elegant, but the fabric itself was surprisingly sturdy. Even if the craftsmanship wasn't particularly advanced, the unique material science of this world elevated it to another level—it offered a certain degree of resistance against piercing attacks and even held up well against corrosion.
For something as simple as a uniform, it was already impressive enough to make Chen Ming reassess the standards of the Emperial Academy.
When Chen Ming stepped out after changing, Qin Ming's eyes lit up instantly.
"Not bad—very impressive!" Qin Ming raised a thumb, offering his praise without hesitation.
After changing into the uniform, Chen Ming's overall appearance had improved dramatically. At just eight years old, he already stood at around 1.6 meters tall—nearly on par with adult farmers in the Douluo Continent who lacked Spirit Power.
Thanks to proper training and a well-balanced diet, his muscles were firm yet streamlined, giving his body a natural, efficient strength. Combined with his steady confidence and composed, unwavering gaze—completely free of any awkwardness or restraint—the moment he donned the uniform of the Heaven Dou Emperial Academy, it felt as though he had always belonged in it.
There was no aristocratic air about him, no trace of inherited nobility—but instead, he embodied exactly what a young Spirit Master ought to be.
If Chen Ming were placed side by side with those idle, unmotivated students within the academy, any passerby would likely assume that he—not those born into noble families—was the true prodigy raised with care and discipline from a young age.
With Chen Ming now properly dressed, Qin Ming led him on a tour around the mountain, briefly introducing the locations of various facilities along the way.
The academy grounds were vast. Beyond the main peak, several smaller mountains had been developed into specialized training areas. Though the number of students wasn't particularly high, every conceivable facility was present, fully equipped and ready for use.
Even with a Spirit Master's stamina, Qin Ming could only show Chen Ming a small portion of it in a single day.
They spent the night in a quiet, unoccupied courtyard halfway up the mountain, and early the next morning, the tour continued.
The cafeteria, the library, the sparring arenas, cultivation grounds, teaching buildings, experimental zones… and even a beast arena.
Backed by the empire, the academy's defining trait was simple: overwhelming wealth.
Although there were only a little over fifty actual instructors, the number of support staff had already exceeded a thousand. Even rarely used facilities were maintained in pristine condition and freely available to all Spirit Masters.
One entire hill had been enclosed and transformed into a beast arena. Inside, Spirit Beasts captured from the Sunset Forest were kept—ranging from ten-year to hundred-year and even thousand-year varieties. These creatures served both as teaching material and as combat opponents for the students.
Out of curiosity, Chen Ming asked about it and learned that as long as one made a reservation a day in advance, approval would be granted the next day, allowing them to fight a suitable Spirit Beast in the arena—completely free of charge.
Whether a student injured or even killed a captive Spirit Beast, they wouldn't have to pay a single coin. In fact, if someone managed to achieve enough consecutive victories, the academy would even reward them.
If one wished to study Spirit Beasts more closely, approval from the three Board Of Education members was required. Once granted, a specialist would restrain the beast on-site, allowing safe observation.
And if the desired species wasn't particularly rare, the academy could even dispatch people directly into the Sunset Forest to capture one.
For someone like Chen Ming, who came from the countryside… this was practically a fully unlocked, "cheat-enabled" environment.
The Heaven Dou Emperial Academy might not know the perfect way to cultivate the strongest Spirit Masters—but they were more than willing to spend without limits in order to try.
To put it simply, Chen Ming had originally come here in search of immortal herbs. But now, he realized that this environment was even more valuable to him than obtaining one or two of those rare treasures.
After all, his greatest advantage lay in AI-driven analysis—the ability to process existing data, draw conclusions, and make precise evaluations. And this academy had effectively handed him the perfect testing ground. Whether it was acquiring knowledge or studying Spirit Beasts, everything here was efficient, accessible, and incredibly convenient.
Joining the Heaven Dou Emperial Academy was like dropping a rice weevil straight into a grain silo.
It was almost too good to be true.