"There are too many people here. Let's go to my dorm; I'll whip up a few dishes to go with the drinks."
It's Sunday today, and neither of them have any shifts, so a little drink wouldn't hurt.
The flame danced, and the ingredients tossed about in the iron wok. In no time, the room was filled with a fragrant aroma. Zhou Lei sniffed with his nose twitching and looked at the delicious three dishes and one soup on the table, wiping a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth.
"Captain Su, you're amazing. I only found out today that you're such a good cook."
"I'm not that good at cooking; just make do with this."
Su Mu took out two cans of cold beer from the fridge.
Pop, pop.
The two of them opened the canned beers and clinked them together. Zhou Lei picked up a piece of rib and put it in his mouth, his eyes lighting up instantly, "Mm, delicious! Captain Su, with your skills, you could open a restaurant."
"Really? Then eat more."
While eating, Su Mu briefly mentioned that he was about to take a job at the Forging Academy. Zhou Lei thought to himself that someone must have exerted significant effort to get Captain Su transferred to the Forging Academy.
That's good, though. Even though working as a handyman at the Forging Academy might not pay as well as security, it would allow Captain Su to avoid Sun Jianren.
Shenjiang Martial Arts University has four academies and two departments. The four academies are Theory, Combat, Forging, and Elixir, and the two departments are the Armed Department and the Logistics Department.
Blacksmiths and Pill Masters hold esteemed positions and are highly sought after in the High Martial World. In those top-notch Martial Arts Universities, the Forging and Elixir academies often receive the best treatment.
But for Shenjiang Martial Arts University, which ranks at the bottom, it's the opposite. These two academies are almost like empty shells with hardly any teachers or students, while the Combat academy's teachers are the most sought after.
After three rounds of drinks, Su Mu handed over a bank card.
"Good brother, here's your card back."
"Captain Su, you don't need money anymore?"
"No, not anymore." Su Mu didn't mention the double Spirit Stones inside the card.
Zhou Lei instinctively thought that Su Mu originally needed the money, but plans changed, so he returned it as is.
"Captain Su is indeed not the fair-weather friend that person said he was. He's not befriending me for money!"
With that thought, Zhou Lei suddenly stood up, deciding he must confront that person. Seeing Su Mu's curious look, he said,
"Captain Su, I just remembered I have some things to do. We'll drink next time."
"Alright, drinking too much isn't good anyway—it harms the body and affects cultivation. Zhou Lei, you're much younger than me, only in your twenties. Keep cultivating, and aim to become a Third Level Martial Artist soon."
Listening to this, Zhou Lei felt as if Captain Su seemed a bit different than before, as if he'd become younger?
Leaving the dorm, Zhou Lei promptly found Dean Lin.
"About your intervention today, thanks." Zhou Lei awkwardly expressed his gratitude.
Upon hearing this, Dean Lin just shook his head.
"I didn't intervene today."
"It wasn't you?"
"It wasn't me."
"Then who was it?"
Dean Lin then gave a brief account of the day's events, glossing over Elder Wang's involvement.
Hearing that Captain Su was at the Third Level Middle Stage and was going to the Forging Academy as a tutor, not a handyman, Zhou Lei was in disbelief but soon showed a happy expression—he was truly happy for Su Mu.
"Is what you're saying true?"
"Aren't you two friends?"
"Of course, Captain Su told me he was going to the Forging Academy, but I didn't ask for details. I thought you had him transferred to the academy to work as a handyman and manage the warehouse."
Zhou Lei was quite excited, and after a while, he remembered the main issue and hurriedly took out the card.
"You said Captain Su was a fair-weather friend, but today he returned the money to me. I'll transfer the Spirit Stones to you now."
Watching Zhou Lei proudly take out his phone and start the transfer operation on mobile banking, Dean Lin slightly opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.
A few seconds later, Zhou Lei stared at the mobile screen in a daze and rubbed his eyes.
"No, wait, why are there nineteen thousand Spirit Stones in this card? I only lent Captain Su nine thousand five. Did you transfer more?"
Dean Lin shook his head. He clearly remembered that he only transferred nine thousand five into the card.
"Oh, I get it. Back then, Captain Su told me he'd return double the amount one day, and he actually returned it double!" After speaking, Zhou Lei looked proudly at Dean Lin.
Hearing Dean Lin admit defeat, he nodded slightly.
"I misjudged you. This friend of yours isn't just a fair-weather friend. You should spend more time together in the future."
Zhou Lei felt a surge of joy upon hearing this. It wasn't easy to get this person to admit his mistake, but the latter part of the sentence made him feel a bit strange, as if the sun had risen from the west today?
Su Mu lived alone, and he didn't have much stuff, so he moved into the faculty dormitory of the Forging Academy that very day.
There aren't many people in the Forging Academy, but there are plenty of dormitory buildings.
When he saw the standalone two-and-a-half-story villa, Su Mu was stunned. This was going to be his new dormitory.
"Teacher Su, Teacher Su?"
"Teacher Lin, please go ahead."
"Teacher Su, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Old Lin. This building will be your dormitory from now on. Here's the key, and it's fine if you want to live here with your family. Just make sure to register with the academy first."
"The dormitory has three floors. The basement is a cultivation room equipped with general cultivation facilities. The walls are inscribed with a Spirit Gathering Inscription, and the concentration of Spiritual Qi is roughly twice that of the outside. The first floor has a living room, dining room, and a master bedroom, while the second floor has three bedrooms."
Teacher Lin spoke very politely, almost enviously. This young man had just arrived and already had such good accommodations, arranged by Elder Wang no less.
He couldn't help but wonder what exactly the relationship was between this young man and Elder Wang.
After receiving the keys, Su Mu moved into the dormitory with a slight smile, noticing that he didn't even need to clean up; the place was spotless, as if someone had specifically tidied it up.
Su Mu placed his things in the master bedroom on the first floor and headed straight to the basement. It was an open space, three meters high and over a hundred square meters, its walls reinforced with thick steel beams. In the center was an octagonal platform surrounded by iron training stakes, sandbags, dumbbells, and barbells.
The walls were covered with intricate patterns, presumably the Spirit Gathering Inscription Teacher Lin had mentioned.
"It doesn't seem like the concentration of Spiritual Qi has increased, though?"
Curious, Su Mu found a recessed area on one of the walls after some exploration. All the surrounding inscriptions converged there, like a central hub, with a notice beside it.
"The Spirit Gathering Array consumes one low-grade Spirit Stone per hour."
So that's how it works, it needs Spirit Stones to operate.
Su Mu chuckled to himself. He realized his idea was a bit far-fetched; such a great thing couldn't possibly be without cost.
At one low-grade Spirit Stone per hour, practicing ten hours a day would mean ten stones daily, amounting to three hundred stones a month!
"This Spirit Gathering Array really demands a lot. A Second Level Martial Artist only earns a few hundred spirit stones a month; they couldn't afford this."
"So this is how university teachers cultivate, huh? The strong only get stronger, and only by becoming stronger can you rise above your class!"
Su Mu sighed, his horizons opened. Though he had felt a sense of satisfaction after successfully advancing to the Third Level, he suddenly found a renewed desire for power.
Maybe he could climb even higher, to see even more splendid views from above.
"Time waits for no one, let's start cultivating!"
Fortunately, when retrieving Spirit Stones today, Su Mu had kept a thousand on him, just enough for use now. He quickly placed ten Spirit Stones in the Spirit Gathering Array's hub.
Immediately, the inscriptions on the walls emitted a faint glow as they lit up in sequence, and the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the cultivation room began to rise slowly.
That night, two hot topics appeared on Shenjiang Martial Arts University's forum. One was about Elder Wang's identity, and the other discussed Su Mu's luck. Someone soon dug up Elder Wang's personal information.
[Wang Shuheng, graduated from South China Martial Arts University, a T20 university in Dragon Country. He is a professor in the Inscription Department of the Forging Academy at South China Martial Arts University, successfully inscribed a Half-Step Grandmaster-level Inscription, and has made multiple attempts at becoming a Grandmaster-level Rune Master. He's a lifetime member of the South China Inscription Association... Our school really has such an impressive figure!]
[So close to being a Grandmaster-level Rune Master?! This rank must be even rarer than Grandmaster-level Martial Artists, right?]
[Of course, even if the attempts failed, being a Sixth Level Peak Rune Master ranks higher than most Grandmaster-level Martial Artists in status.]
[No wonder Director Li, upon seeing him, hurriedly referred to him as Elder Wang out of respect!]
[That security guard named Su Mu is really lucky, getting acquainted with such a big shot, and now he's directly transferred to being a tutor at the Forging Academy.]
While everyone on the forum marveled at Elder Wang's identity and expressed envy over Su Mu's luck…
The Security Captain of the school held an emergency meeting, where Sun Jianren was removed from his squad leader position due to unethical conduct, and the entire third squad's performance bonuses for the month were canceled.
In the end, Wang He, who had no conflicts with Su Mu, was promoted to third squad leader.
Wang He was overjoyed; he was practically invisible in the squad before, but this disaster turned into a blessing for him.
Where some find joy, others find sorrow. Sun Jianren looked ashen.
"Sun Jianren, do you have any objections?"
"I have no objections."
Sun Jianren regreted deeply, wondering why he chose to target Su Mu in the first place. According to plan, he might have become the Security Captain next year, but now that's all gone.
The worst part for him was his uncle demanding that he must visit Su Mu to apologize in person within the next few days.