Chapter 437: Playing with the Communication Jade First (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

Aboard the massive sky-cruising dharma-vessel of the Haotian Academy, the vast, expansive deck was densely crowded, a veritable forest of young cultivators and even martial artists who had gathered from all corners of the realm to participate in the academy examinations.

Yes, there were even martial artists.

Throughout the long, winding history of the continent, it was not entirely without precedent, though exceedingly rare, for peerless masters of martial arts to emerge, their names etched one by one into the eternal vault of history; in fact, an ancient, nonconformist genius who had abandoned the mystic arts in pursuit of martial prowess had ultimately attained the exalted status of a Martial Emperor, and that very individual had hailed from the Haotian Academy.

Furthermore, apart from Jiang Xiaoyue, the crowd was interspersed with members of the demon race whose features differed from ordinary humans, having traveled tens of thousands of miles in search of the Dao.

No matter what status or background one possessed, nearly every walk of life could be encountered here.

Such was the nature of the Haotian Academy.

Standing at the very front of the deck was a middle-aged man clad in black robes, his grayish-black hair streaked with lines of silver and coiled into a Daoist bun atop his head, secured by nothing more than a wooden hairpin, giving him the appearance of a somewhat unkempt, rustic priest.

Beside him stood a silver-haired woman dressed in pristine white, appearing to be in her early forties.

"The rules of this academy examination are surely known to you all by now!" the middle-aged man spoke, his voice carrying across the deck. "If there are no objections, you may now leap from the vessel at your own discretion and enter the Spirit Mountains. The time limit is seven days; those who fail to pass through the mountain gates of the Haotian Academy by then, no matter how much they have acquired, will be deemed to have failed!"

"What difficulty could there possibly be in that?!" a voice shouted out in bold defiance, and a figure promptly leaped down from the dharma-vessel.

Immediately following, the spiritual luminescence across the entire vessel began to scatter downward, descending layer upon layer like celestial maidens scattering blossoms.

"Let us land over there, on Zhanyun Mountain!"

"This way! This way! It is said that within the depths of Misty Peak lie countless treasures!"

"Young Master Xun, what say we head toward White Cloud Hill just ahead?"

"..."

...

Within the walls of Boss Fang’s establishment, a large white deer, having lost its very reason for being due to the sudden deprivation of its employment as a mount, leaned back against the sofa after draining its milk tea.

Suddenly, the light filtering through the storefront was eclipsed by a shadow.

Miraculously, and against all historical precedents, the shop welcomed a flock of new players.

"Where... where is Xiaoyue?!" Jiang Xuan demanded, striding through the entrance with large, commanding steps, followed closely by a dense, dark crowd of retainers; some among them wore suits of full armor, looking incomparably fierce and mighty, while others possessed fluffy, tufted ears growing from the sides of their heads. Jiang Xuan glanced left and right. "Where is the proprietor?"

The large white deer, which had been lounging with utter nonchalance upon the sofa, shivered in sudden terror and collapsed prone onto the floor. "Your... Your Highness?! Her Imperial Highness the Princess has already departed to participate in the academy examinations!"

"Rise," Jiang Xuan said with a casual wave of his hand. "There is no need for such excessive etiquette within this shop; it is far too troublesome!"

"The proprietor, well..." Li Wuya stepped forward to greet them. "The proprietor has stepped out. What do you esteemed guests intend to play? We have 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy 3' here, which is exceptionally fun to play!..."

Pausing for a brief moment, he hastily amended his phrasing: "...and exceptionally beneficial to one's cultivation!"

"I understand!" Jiang Xuan thought to himself, recalling that this seemed to be precisely how the seasoned veterans in the internet cafe expressed their expertise...

"Consider this gentleman an old hand! Bring forth the milk tea and instant noodles without delay!" Jiang Xuan shouted with confidence.

"!!??" Li Wuya and Li Qin'er were instantly struck dumb, their minds descending into utter bewilderment.

What in the heavens was an 'old hand' supposed to mean in this context?

"Zhen Yan! Xue Ming! Go brew a few cups of milk tea!" Observing the thoroughly dazed expressions on their faces, Jiang Xuan felt a twinge of awkwardness, wondering if he had perhaps uttered the wrong phrase.

He had not expected his attempt to pose as a veteran driver to result in such an immediate and unmitigated blunder.

"Understood!"

He had just finished reading the chapter of 'Jade Dynasty' where Bi Yao met her tragic demise, and he had yet to see what followed!

Hurriedly planting his backside into a vacant seat, he donned the virtual reality headset, clicked upon 'Jade Dynasty', and resumed reading with an intensity that completely ignored the presence of anyone else.

"Distinguished... customers?" Li Wuya’s face twitched uncontrollably. "Our shop’s newly released 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy 3'—would you care to learn a bit more about it?"

"I... I wish to learn!" The large white deer trotted forward, its jaws firmly gripping a handful of spiritual crystals.

"Is this... is this enough?!" it squeaked in a tender, milk-toned voice, shaking the storage pouch slung across its back. "If it is not enough... there... there is still more here!"

It seemed that its mastery of human speech was still somewhat clumsy and unrefined.

"..." Consuming milk tea was one thing, but this beast actually harbored desires to play video games?!

The two attendants exchanged a bewildered glance: with the store manager away, what manner of fiends and monsters had descended upon this establishment?

Hailing from minor clans as they did, their entire worldview was on the verge of shattering completely.

"Yo-hahahaha! This is far too intriguing, and it shall be of immense assistance to this celestial maiden in manifesting a proper human form!" In any case, since the Princess had not ridden it out into the world, it might as well indulge in a round of gaming first.

The two attendants wished for nothing more than to weep without tears: ...what under the sun was happening here?!

Boss, please return quickly! Can this creature truly be permitted to play?!

...

Boss Fang, at this precise juncture, possessed no leisure whatsoever to return.

Meanwhile, the cultivators of Jiuhua City and Half-City suddenly widened their eyes in astonishment as they stared at the group chat: "Holy smokes, where on earth is this?!"

A single photograph had been dispatched into the chat, depicting a lush, verdant forest where spiritual qi gathered in thick, undulating mists; it was clearly captured from a personal perspective, and beside the scenery stood a strikingly beautiful maiden clad in a long blue dress.

"Look at the bottom right corner, there are several Seven-Leaf Flowers!"

"Look to the left! There is also a thousand-year-old Moonlight Grass on the left!"

"Ta-da!" Jiang Xiaoyue proudly brandished her newly fashioned communication jade, which currently displayed the penguin communication interface; though the new model developed by the Wuwei Daoist Alliance could not support overly complex applications, running the penguin chat was no issue at all, especially since the system upgrade allowed the software to be downloaded and converted into spiritual energy data, making the device perfectly compatible.

In this manner, she merely required the messages to link back to the internet cafe in Yuanyang City.

Of course, if these cultivators were to possess their own custom-made programs like an actual mobile phone, it would likely require quite a few more years of development.

She first formed a V-sign with her fingers and snapped a charming photograph: "This Princess is already at Zhanyun Mountain outside the Haotian Academy, you know!"

Very quickly, a cute photograph of Jiang Xiaoyue at Zhanyun Mountain materialized within the 'Legend of Sword and Fairy Exchange and Discussion Group'.

"Sister Lanruo, would you care to join me for a picture to send into the group?!" Beside her, Li Lanruo was left entirely dumbfounded by the spectacle.

Did we not agree that you would carry me to an easy victory and let me soar alongside you?!

And now?! The very moment we land, you immediately begin messing about with a communication jade and taking self-portraits?!

There existed such an outrageous method of operation?

Furthermore, could a communication jade truly be trifled with in such an extravagant fashion?!

If a certain venerable old Headmaster were to discover that such an eccentric individual had infiltrated the academy examination, one wondered if he would be so enraged as to directly issue a decree banning the use of communication jades during the trials.

...

A certain large white deer was still engrossed in its gaming session at this time.

Possessing absolutely no conceptual understanding of what a video game truly was, its playstyle was essentially a chaotic display of blind button-mashing, and it had chosen an online game rather than a single-player experience.

Upon the screen, a female mage clad in simple cloth attire could be seen brandishing a small wooden sword.

Ahead of her marched several warriors.

Within the Jiuhua Military Channel, a voice boomed out in a thick, rugged cadence: "Brothers, what are you all up to? Why have you all run back to the Novice Village?"

"We are carrying a sister! Let me tell you, this girl is incredibly adorable! Her voice is so tender and sweet, she is far cuter than my own younger sister!"

"What?! There are actually girls playing this game?!" a warrior bellowed in a gruff, honest voice as he cleaved a monster before him with a single stroke of his blade.

"Yo-hahahaha! How are you all so incredibly powerful!" A tiny mage named Lu Xiaoxian was leaping about with extreme joy, waving her wooden sword.

"..."

The silence stretched, absolute and unbroken.