Divine Emperor Demon Emperor

He made his way to the Merit Hall. The entrance to the advanced students’ Merit Hall was arguably the liveliest place around, with students constantly coming and going. Some were there to accept missions, others to exchange their points for items.

He ambled into the Merit Hall and took in the vast hall, which was neatly divided into several sections.

Lin Yun first headed toward the mission acceptance section, where countless missions were posted on a wall that stood seven or eight meters tall.

There were missions for individuals and for teams, all categorized from one to three stars based on their danger level. Rumor had it that the highest-level missions for the advanced students were only at the Three-Stars Level.

"Only one hundred Merit Points?" Lin Yun said with some disappointment, looking at the highest-level Three-Stars missions. They only awarded a hundred Merit Points.

Not lingering long at the mission wall, Lin Yun moved on to the item exchange section. He grew even more disappointed when he saw the number of Merit Points required for redemptions.

A single Earth Level Two-Stars Elixir cost five hundred Merit Points. As for Three-Stars Elixirs, even the lowest quality ones were over a thousand.

The prices were so high they felt completely out of reach. In other words, he would have to complete ten Three-Stars missions just to afford a single Earth Level Three-Stars Elixir.

"Excuse me," Lin Yun asked a Steward of the Merit Hall politely, "are there any other ways to earn Merit Points besides accepting missions?"

The Steward didn’t give Lin Yun any trouble. He simply handed him a piece of paper that clearly listed the methods for earning Merit Points.

The first method was, of course, accepting missions—the most conventional way. But there were two other options. When Lin Yun saw them, his eyes lit up. Though these methods were much more difficult than missions, they offered a much faster way to earn Merit Points.

One method was for students to wager Merit Points in duels, whether they were ranking battles, pre-arranged matches, or even life-and-death fights, as long as both parties agreed to the stakes.

This approach depended on mutual consent; if one party refused, the wager was off.

’It feels too much like a long shot,’ Lin Yun thought, and turned his attention to the final method.

Within the Academy, there was a place called the Battle Arena where students could sign up for fights. Their opponents could be other students, death-row inmates, or even Demon Beasts. Depending on the opponent’s strength, the winner would receive a corresponding amount of Merit Points as a reward.

However, the Battle Arena had an extremely high mortality rate. Furthermore, fights against opponents of the same realm earned very few Merit Points. One could only obtain a substantial amount by fighting opponents of a higher level or taking on multiple enemies at once.

A fiery glint appeared in Lin Yun’s eyes as he read the description of the Battle Arena. ’This might be difficult for others, but for me, the Battle Arena is practically a place for free Merit Points.’

For Lin Yun, fighting above his level was as natural as eating or drinking. Ever since his escape from Iron Gate Pass, every single one of his opponents had been of a higher tier than him.

’I wonder how many Merit Points I’d get for defeating a Qi Sea Realm Martial Artist?’ Lin Yun wondered.

Now that he had a way to earn Merit Points, Lin Yun was eager to check out the Battle Arena immediately. If he could really earn enough points, the resource crunch for him and Little Ape would be somewhat alleviated.

Just as Lin Yun was about to head over and check out the Battle Arena, Li Yang and his cronies walked in, accompanied by a Steward.

The moment he saw Lin Yun, Li Yang bellowed, "Lin Shan, I’ve applied for a ranking battle against you! Do you dare to accept?"

Li Yang’s furious shout caused many of the surrounding students to gather around. They were more than happy to watch the drama unfold.

Hearing this, Lin Yun didn’t immediately agree. Instead, he asked, "I dare, but why should I?"

"If you refuse, you’re a coward and don’t deserve to be at Yanhuang Academy," Li Yang said contemptuously. In his eyes, Lin Yun was clearly scared witless.

At the same time, the surrounding students began to look at Lin Yun with disdain. Anyone who didn’t even dare to accept a ranking battle would be looked down upon by the entire Academy.

"He’s that good-for-nothing who only lasted three breaths."

"Oh, so that’s him. No wonder he doesn’t dare to accept Li Yang’s challenge."

"Tch, what a loser. Wasting my time. This is boring." Someone had recognized Lin Yun, and soon, everyone began to jeer. After all, Lin Yun’s score on the placement test had been ridiculously low.

Ignoring the surrounding jeers, Lin Yun kept his gaze fixed on Li Yang. "Fine, I’ll accept. But there has to be a wager."

Hearing this, Li Yang burst into wild laughter. He figured Lin Yun was just making excuses to get out of the challenge.

"Haha! A piece of trash like you wants a wager? What could you possibly have to bet?"

"Merit Points," Lin Yun stated plainly.

When Lin Yun mentioned Merit Points, Li Yang’s laughter died abruptly. He gave Lin Yun a strange look, but it quickly morphed back into a sneer of contempt.

"Merit Points? Do you even have any?" Li Yang scoffed, looking at Lin Yun.

"No, but I have this instead." From his Space Ring, Lin Yun took out a brocade box. Inside lay the Earth Level Three-Stars Elixir he had won from the Blood Refining Young Master back in the Mysterious City: a Life Extending Pill.

"A Life Extending Pill... You actually have a Life Extending Pill!" Li Yang’s eyes filled with intense greed as he stared at the elixir. This was an Earth Level Three-Stars Elixir! He didn’t even have one, yet this loser somehow did.

"Alright, you’ve seen my stake. This Life Extending Pill is worth at least one thousand Merit Points. How many do you have?" Lin Yun said calmly, putting the brocade box away.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Li Yang’s eyes as he watched the Life Extending Pill disappear back into the Space Ring. He and his group immediately began to confer, presumably to pool their Merit Points.

After a moment, their discussion ended, and a look of disappointment appeared on Li Yang’s face. The dozen or so of them had only managed to scrape together eight hundred Merit Points, two hundred short of the one thousand he needed.

"Lin Shan, we only have eight hundred Merit Points."

Hearing this, Lin Yun was inwardly ecstatic. ’They actually managed to scrounge up eight hundred Merit Points!’ In his mind, those eight hundred points were as good as his.

Though he was overjoyed, Lin Yun put on a hesitant act. "Eight hundred? That’s still two hundred short. You know the value of my Life Extending Pill. It would cost at least fifteen hundred points to redeem one from the Academy..."

Seeing Lin Yun about to refuse, Li Yang hurriedly said, "Wait! I’ll try to get more."

Li Yang then started asking the surrounding students to lend him Merit Points, promising a ten percent return on their investment after the fight.

Since Li Yang’s opponent was Lin Yun—the student ranked dead last in the advanced class—many people lent their Merit Points to Li Yang without hesitation. In their eyes, there was no way Li Yang could possibly lose. It was a guaranteed, can’t-lose investment.