Astral Apostle

Chapter 499: Returning (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

In the main world, Planet Aquamarine, Scarlet Academy.

It was another refreshing morning. The weather was clear and cloudless.

The students walked out of the dormitory and chatted in twos and threes as they headed to different areas for classes. The academy gradually became lively.

Zhou Jing walked out of the dormitory. Feeling the good weather today, his mood became bright.

“Every time I come back, I feel that the world is so alive. I wonder if it’s because of psychological factors…”

Zhou Jing heaved a sigh of relief, his emotions complicated.

Although there were all kinds of experiences in the astral world, and his memories would not disappear, every time he returned, his experiences of the other world took the initiative to fade, so as not to confuse his own sense of self.

He could differentiate the situation between his main body and every apostle and divide them. He would not forget the daily experience of his main body every time he traveled. This allowed him to almost achieve the effect of continuous projection… This was not only because of the support of the interface itself, but also because his mental strength had increased.

Zhou Jing carried his school bag on one shoulder and went to the canteen to buy a few fresh meat buns for breakfast. As he walked, he ate and chewed.

The freshly made buns were hot in his hand. With every bite, the soft and sweet skin and the delicious and juicy filling overflowed with a fragrance that filled his mouth.

Now that Zhou Jing had experienced two astral realms, everything else was fine. In terms of food, it was really difficult to endure. Every time he woke up and returned to the main world, his appetite would increase. He could even eat simple food here with relish.

After eating the buns, he also arrived at the teaching building. He squatted at the door for a while and waited for Li Xiaoyin, Xu Lingyun, and Zhang Xiao, his childhood friends, to enter the classroom together.

This morning was a cultural class. It was about how Supers could correctly find their position in society and deal with their relationship with ordinary people. It was similar to ideological education. Many students of the same cohort would attend the class together.

There was basically no one in the first few rows of the classroom when the others arrived and went in. The four of them found a few seats in the back row and sat down. They each took out their textbooks and other class materials before putting on their earphones and taking out their game consoles.

It had been more than two months since school started, and the ty of being new students had long passed. Other than the general courses on firearms, combat, and superpower cultivation, many people had already started slacking off in some boring courses.

This was especially true for the cultural class. If not for the fact that the percentage of GPA in every semester for said class was not low and that there was still an exam at the end of the semester, no one would listen to it at all.

As Xu Lingyun covered his phone with his book, he casually chatted with Zhou Jing.

“Jing, what have you been tinkering with recently? Why don’t you eat with us all the time? Has our relationship faded, huh?”

“I’m rushing back to the dormitory to sleep.”

Zhou Jing spoke the truth.

During this period of time, in order to travel to the astral world as soon as possible, after class at night, he rushed back most of the time and refused to gather for dinner many times.

However, Xu Lingyun did not believe him. He curled his lips and said, “This reason is too perfunctory. Just spout nonsense. To be honest, are you in a relationship?”

Li Xiaoyin was secretly eating snacks. When she heard this, she immediately turned around and raised her eyebrows,

“Which girl has such good taste to take a fancy to our Jingjing? Quickly tell me the truth!”

Zhou Jing’s expression turned serious as he said righteously, “What love? I’ll have you know that I prioritize my studies over everything else.”

The trio rolled their eyes.

Xu Lingyun suddenly paused, and his tone became wretched. He whispered, “Jing, have you been obsessed with ‘movies’ recently and rushing back every night to do ‘manual labor’? If you have good things, share them with me!”

“That’s you. I’ve always kept my nose clean. When I go to the toilet, I even let it dangle freely in the air. My hands don’t even go near it.”

Zhou Jing looked straight ahead as he spewed a bunch of bullsh*t.

Xu Lingyun’s expression twitched a little before he changed the topic,

“Speaking of which, ever since I started cultivating martial arts, I’ve had so much energy every day that I can’t spend it all… How’s your progress now? I’ve already cultivated my basic tempering method to the third level and can start to sense the Martial Path Aura. Moreover, I’ve already mastered a Martial Path School of Thought.”

He was quite talented in martial arts. The more he practiced, the more insightful he became. Among the new students who chose this path, his cultivation progress was at the upper end. Not only had he entered the School of Thought early, but he had also grasped the initial part quite well.

However, the Foundational School of Thought Xu Lingyun chose was not Zhou Jing’s Swift Wind Style, but the Flourishing Blossoms Style that was famous for its gorgeous and complicated moves. Its fighting style was different from Zhou Jing’s.

“I’m only slightly better than you.” Zhou Jing shrugged.

His main body trained step by step, and his progress in martial arts was similar to that of a normal person. However, the fourth apostle, Chen Feng, had almost practiced the basic tempering method and the Swift Wind Style to the maximum level. It was just that he had yet to die and become an Eternal Apostle, so his abilities could not be converted for the time being.

According to the information of the main world, entering the second realm of the [Martial Artist System] required one to master the basic tempering method and at least one martial arts School of Thought.

After comparison, Zhou Jing realized that the “mastery” mentioned in the course did not mean that one had to reach the maximum level, but that they just had to reach a certain standard… If he used the interface to gauge, he would probably be able to break through once he reached Lv3. Most martial artists advanced at this level.

Of course, this was the lowest requirement to advance. The higher the level, the better one’s foundation. Naturally, there were additional benefits.

After all, it was only the entry stage, and the requirements were not that harsh. If one was required to master the basic tempering method to the maximum level before entering the second realm of the Martial Path, there were too few people who could even reach this stage. Even some of the high-leveled martial artists currently might not even be able to do it.

In other words, in terms of basic tempering methods, Chen Feng’s attainments were already higher than many martial artists in the main world. When he inherited it in the main world, not to mention comparing it with his peers, even his teachers would not be at his level.

If not for the fact that his main body’s progress was normal and he had yet to pass the test of the martial arts class to obtain the knowledge of the next realm, he would have long asked Chen Feng to change to the next cultivation technique.

At this moment, Zhang Xiao scratched his head and said in frustration, “I just stepped into cultivation a few days ago. The teacher said that I’m not suitable to practice martial arts and suggested that I change to another path. I haven’t thought about it yet.”

Zhou Jing looked over and patted his shoulder to comfort him.

Although martial arts was mostly practiced by boorish people and was already very common, it still focused on aptitude. Zhang Xiao indeed did not have much talent in this aspect.

“Which superpower system are you planning to switch to?”

Zhou Jing was curious. After all, Zhang Xiao was his assistant in name, so he still had to ask to show concern.

“I haven’t thought about it.” Zhang Xiao shook his head, feeling very conflicted.

Every new student had three chances to choose their chosen Supers course. He had already used it once, proving that it was not suitable for martial arts. There was no future in developing on this path. He was very cautious about the remaining two trial and error opportunities.

Xu Lingyun interrupted from the side, “Xiao, I have a suggestion. Why don’t you go and do something skills related, such as being a mechanic? Look, the three of us are all boorish people. We have to have someone using their brains to balance ourselves, right?”

Li Xiaoyin was unhappy when she heard that, “Who are you calling a boor? You two are the ones who practice martial arts. I’m an Esper!”

Hearing this, the three of them ignored her.

If your superpower is not boorish, then there is no such thing as boorish in this world.

Zhang Xiao said with a bitter expression, “You want me to learn mathematics, physics, and chemistry? Aren’t you scamming me? I might as well choose Psychokinesis. Why would I learn how to torture myself with machinery?”

“What’s wrong with learning machinery? At most, you’ll lose your hair. What’s the use of having so much hair? Can you give birth with it?”

The two of them started to argue softly.

The corners of Zhou Jing’s mouth twitched. He did not want to participate in the bickering, so he simply chose to listen to the class lecture instead.

…

After a sleepy class, Zhou Jing and the other three went to the canteen for lunch. Because they were each taking their own courses in the afternoon, they separated.

There was a professional course in the Exploration Bureau this afternoon that Zhou Jing needed to attend alone.

Not long after he won second place in the freshmen competition, he received an appointment from the Exploration Bureau and had long accepted their offer.

Ever since then, not only did he have to attend the Exploration Bureau’s basic courses, but he also had to attend the professional classes held by the Exploration Bureau and be nurtured as an official member.

As the new student champion, Li Xiaoyin had also received appointments from many organizations, but she had yet to accept any of them. She had decided to choose after graduation. She followed a different path from Zhou Jing.

Zhou Jing followed the course notice on his personal terminal and quickly arrived at the academy’s helipad.

Other than him, there were more than ten other students here. They were all students who had been hired by the Exploration Bureau.

Among them were the first-year students and a few second-year students. They had attended two or three classes together and knew each other, greeting one another politely.

There were many familiar faces inside, such as Wu Fan from his Crown Faculty and his old opponent, Lin Kun.

These two people’s abilities were also quite adaptable. Their performance in the freshmen competition was not bad, so it was not surprising that the Exploration Bureau took a fancy to them.

Zhou Jing was quite familiar with Lin Kun now. Although they had fought in the past, they were students now and were in the same class. They could still get along normally.

“Kun Kun, how’s your superpower development recently?”

Zhou Jing poked Lin Kun’s stomach and asked casually.

Lin Kun’s face was filled with vigilance, “Why do you care about this? Are you trying to scout out your opponent?”

Zhou Jing curled his lips, “Do I need to? Wouldn’t I still be able to kill you with my bare hands?”

“F*ck you…”

The two of them “chatted” happily.

Not long after, Vice Dean Shen Xinqin arrived. Even though she held a position of Vice Dean, she was also a teacher in the Exploration Bureau’s preparatory course.

Shen Xinqin clapped her hands to silence everyone before speaking,

“We won’t be attending today’s class here. Everyone, follow me on the aircraft. Let’s leave the academy.”

Everyone was stunned and let out looks of surprise.

“Teacher, where are we going?”

Shen Xinqin smiled and said,

“Today is the first time I’m bringing you to the Exploration Bureau to see the work environment of the bureau and visit the shuttle device… Most importantly, you’ll be faced with some inspections from some explorer teams.”

Hearing this, Zhou Jing’s eyes could not help but flicker with curiosity.

He could finally see with his own eyes what was going on with the explorer organization in the main world.