Just then, Song Tianyun appeared.

"Song Tianyun, principal of the Eastern Capital Military Academy, pays his respects to Elder Li!" Song Tianyun had sensed Li Tiannan’s aura, but he also knew that if Li Tiannan didn’t want to be detected, it would have been impossible for him to do so.

"Mm. What do you think about the Gao Neng situation?" Li Tiannan nodded, put away the three pieces of Magnetic Crystal Ore in front of him, and turned to look at Song Tianyun.

"Gao Neng?" Song Tianyun was a bit surprised. Li Tiannan’s question was rather sudden, and its direction wasn’t clear.

But Song Tianyun quickly understood. "I think that while Gao Neng’s methods are a bit shameless, sometimes, appropriately hiding some of one’s strength isn’t necessarily a bad thing..."

"That’s not what I’m asking," Li Tiannan said, shaking his head.

"Then what does Elder Li mean?" Song Tianyun was slightly alarmed. He quickly added, "Gao Neng is still a kid, after all. We can’t really hold him to the standard of a soldier."

"A soldier? You mean a soldier should be completely selfless and doesn’t need to fight for his own interests, is that it? No wonder Gui Zian still hasn’t broken through to Tier Eight!" Li Tiannan’s tone turned slightly cold.

"..." Song Tianyun’s expression changed.

If those words had come from anyone else, Song Tianyun wouldn’t have given them a second thought. But coming from Li Tiannan, he was a bit bewildered.

"You all look at things too superficially. You think selfless dedication is the duty of a soldier. That’s not wrong, but have you ever considered this: if you want to protect others, what is the first thing you must do?" Li Tiannan’s tone gradually grew solemn.

"Naturally... you must strengthen yourself!" Song Tianyun said immediately after a brief silence.

"Seems you’re not completely stupid," Li Tiannan retorted, then continued, "When poor, one cultivates oneself in solitude; when successful, one brings benefit to all. You should understand this principle. If you want to protect, you must first fight for yourself. Or do you think you can survive in this world with just a few empty words? Without strength, you don’t even have the right to discuss governing the Alliance!"

"Yes!" Song Tianyun immediately nodded.

"Do you think that little brat Gao Neng’s actions are shameless? I don’t think so. He used his own abilities to fight for resources and won several billion. And what he’s planning to do next is something none of you can do. He’s preparing to establish a Military University in the Forgotten Land. Song Tianyun, let me ask you, can you do that?" Li Tiannan continued. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"What? He’s going to build a Military University?!" Song Tianyun felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. This wasn’t a question of whether he could do it, but something he wouldn’t even dare to imagine.

To establish a Military University in the Forgotten Land.

Even the Military Department would never do something like that.

Yet Gao Neng was actually going to do it?

’He’s just one person!’

"You can’t do it, and Gui Zian certainly can’t. You’re both high-tier, while he just broke through to Tier Five. Who’s stronger and who’s weaker? Something two high-tier individuals can’t do, a mid-tier is preparing to do. Now, do you still think Gao Neng’s methods are shameless?" Li Tiannan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"No, Gao Neng is stronger than all of us!" Song Tianyun shook his head.

"Alright, I’ve said all I need to. As for how the Eastern Capital Military Academy will develop from here and what it will do, you can think about that yourself." Li Tiannan had no intention of saying more and vanished on the spot.

Watching Li Tiannan’s disappearing figure, Song Tianyun didn’t let out a sigh of relief. Instead, he felt a heavy pressure weighing down on him.

’A first-year freshman, enrolled for less than half a year...’

’He actually wants to build a military academy?!’

Song Tianyun suddenly felt old.

The times were changing.

It seemed his conservative nature had truly limited the development of the Eastern Capital Military Academy.

...

「In the freshman dorms of the Eastern Capital Military Academy.」

Gao Neng was studying the Bone Forging Technique Li Tiannan had left him.

He had money now.

A lot of money.

So, the first thing he planned to do was naturally to use his "Wordless Celestial Book" skill to enhance it and see to what degree this Bone Forging Technique could evolve.

"Scummy System, use Wordless Celestial Book to enhance ’Bone Forging Technique’!"

"Enhancement failed!" came a mechanical voice.

’Enhancement can fail?’ Gao Neng was a little stunned. ’I thought the Wordless Celestial Book was supposed to be super strong? How could it fail to enhance something?’

"Refuse to answer!" the mechanical voice replied.

"Twenty thousand Alliance Coins!" Gao Neng had already figured out the Scummy System’s bullshit.

"Fifty thousand."

"Deal."

"Is the host blind? Your Wordless Celestial Book skill is only at the initial level. To enhance this ’Bone Forging Technique,’ you need a higher-level skill!" the Scummy System said bluntly.

"..." Gao Neng was speechless.

’For such a simple answer, why did I just give the Scummy System fifty thousand Alliance Coins?’

’Motherf... acker!’

’Once you have money, it really is easy to get a big head.’

However, the Scummy System’s words did make Gao Neng realize something.

As his strength continued to improve, some of the skills the Scummy System had given him before were now starting to fall behind.

For example, Lifeform Transformation wasn’t as useful as it used to be. And based on this, the Wordless Celestial Book could probably only enhance mid- and high-tier skills.

This Bone Forging Technique came from the King Realm...

So it couldn’t be enhanced!

’I need to find a way to upgrade these two initial-level abilities.’

’But to upgrade, I need to do quests.’

’Quests!’

’They’re such a pain in the ass!’

Still, there was a very realistic goal right now: obtaining an S-rank rating on the Dragon List.

The difficulty of that should meet the quest requirements.

Gao Neng thought about it and decided he could issue one.

"Issue Quest: Obtain an S-rank rating on the Dragon List!"

"Reward: Two opportunities to upgrade skills!"

Gao Neng’s goal was very clear this time, and he didn’t need any hints. That way, the completion conditions given by the Scummy System hopefully wouldn’t be too difficult.

He clicked confirm!

The mechanical voice rang out a moment later.

"DING! New quest successfully initiated."

"Quest Name: Obtain an S-rank rating on the Dragon List!"

"Quest Description: Two by two, they fly and roost as one. Joy is better when shared. You are not fighting alone!"

"Quest Completion Condition: When you obtain your S-rank rating, remember not to abandon your friend. Please help Fang Tangtang obtain an S-rank rating as well."

"Quest Reward: Two opportunities to upgrade skills."

"Quest Penalty: Randomly downgrade two skills."

"..." Gao Neng was speechless.

’I’ll fucking kill you, you scummy system!’

’What do you mean, "fly and roost as one"?’

’Fang Tangtang is only at Tier Four Mid Stage, how is she supposed to get an S-rank rating?!’

’Do you really think those guys in the Alliance leadership are idiots?!’

Gao Neng knew that nothing good ever came from issuing a quest. If he had known, he would have just kept lying low. He’d been perfectly fine recently, for instance.

’Greed is the original sin!’

’No choice now.’

’I can only sacrifice my own interests for the greater good...’

An idea had already formed in Gao Neng’s mind. His gaze fell back to the Bone Forging Technique in his hand. Without further hesitation, he pulled on his pants and went upstairs.

...

「Upstairs.」

Fang Tangtang, wearing green frog pajamas, was rolling around on the bed with Gao Xiaomeng.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Fang Tangtang, open up if you dare! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing just because you’re hiding in there rolling around! Open up, open up, hurry and open the door!" Gao Neng’s voice came from the doorway.

"Barging into a girl’s dorm in the middle of the night? Gao Neng, are you trying to ascend to the heavens?!" Fang Tangtang was furious, but she still opened the door a crack.

Then, she saw a secret manual held out in front of her.

It was clearly a handwritten copy.

Three large words were written on it: Bone Forging Technique.

"What kind of secret manual is this?" Fang Tangtang asked, looking confused.

"You remember that I gave Li Tiannan a piece of White Jade Bone Forging last time, right?" Gao Neng said casually. Fang Tangtang had been there when he met Li Tiannan, so there was no need to hide it.

"So, this is the King Realm Bone Forging Technique from the White Jade Bone Forging?" Fang Tangtang’s eyes lit up.

"That’s right. Wanna learn?" Gao Neng immediately pulled the manual back.

"Yes!" This time, Fang Tangtang wasn’t as reserved as before. She threw the door wide open and lunged at him.

"THUD!"

The two of them tumbled directly from the top of the stairs to the bottom.

The whole time, Fang Tangtang clung to Gao Neng like a monkey, completely unconcerned about getting hurt, her hands constantly patting him down.

So much for the problem of him barging into a girl’s dorm.

"Money! Give me money!" Gao Neng couldn’t take it anymore.

"Fine! I have money! I, Death God Fang Tangtang, have tons of money! Let me see that Bone Forging Technique. I’ll give you however much you want." Fang Tangtang knew exactly what level of secret manual this was.

More importantly, this was the kind of thing that was truly priceless and couldn’t be bought on the market.

A Bone Forging Technique translated by a Strongest.

How much was it worth?

An astronomical price!

"Two hundred million! Give me two hundred million!" Gao Neng immediately named his price.

"Okay," Fang Tangtang agreed without even trying to bargain.

"..." Gao Neng froze, then immediately spoke again. "Can I say five hundred million now? If not, how about a little more? Three hundred million would also be fine!"

"Then forget it." Fang Tangtang immediately let go and turned away.

"Huh? You don’t want it anymore?" Gao Neng was a little curious. ’That makes no sense. Fang Tangtang definitely wants this manual. She wouldn’t refuse to learn it just because of the price increase, would she?’

"You brought the manual right to me, so you obviously intend for me to learn it. Whether I pay extra or not, you’re going to give it to me. Don’t think I’m an idiot!" Fang Tangtang said as she walked back up the stairs.

"..." For a moment, Gao Neng was actually speechless.

This girl, Fang Tangtang, was really something else.

When it came to anything unrelated to money, her intelligence was despairingly low. But the moment money was involved, her IQ shot right up.

’She could see right through his plan?’

’Impressive!’

"Alright, two hundred million it is! Let’s start practicing now!" Gao Neng didn’t dwell on the money. Even if Fang Tangtang didn’t pay, he had to let her learn it so she could achieve an S-rank rating.

"Now? No way. I’m going to sleep now," Fang Tangtang refused.

"What’s there to sleep about? Hurry up and practice with me!"

"Practice with you? Wait a minute, this Body Refining Technique... it doesn’t require dual cultivation, does it? Whoa, no wonder you were willing to sell it to me so cheaply! So that was your plan! Let me, Death God Fang Tangtang, tell you this in all seriousness: even if it’s dual cultivation, we have to wear clothes! Otherwise, I’m not doing it!"