While the player is in Battle Through the Heavens, the system is in The Great Ruler.

Chapter 76 Academy Reward: Origin Heart Flame!
"Lu Yu, an inner court student of Canaan Academy, has been ordered by Vice Dean Hu Qian to go out and complete a mission. This is a letter from the Vice Dean..."

Lu Yu took a deep breath, then took out a gilded letter from his storage ring and handed it to the leader of the enforcement team.

The captain took the document and examined it carefully. When he saw the unique blue seal at the end of the document, his tense expression immediately relaxed. He said, "So it's Senior Lu. My apologies. Please come with us into town to rest."

As he spoke, he stepped aside to make way, and at the same time gestured to the law enforcement officers behind him. The officers immediately put away their weapons and lined up neatly to make way for him.

Meanwhile, on a mountain peak not far from Peace Town...

Two figures in black robes stood with their hands behind their backs, their wide robes fluttering in the wind, yet unable to conceal the faint but terrifying aura emanating from them.

One of them was Vice Dean Hu Qian, whom Lu Yu was familiar with. He stroked his long beard and smiled, "Well? Elder, I told you this kid couldn't be a spy, could he?"

The black-robed elder, known as the Grand Elder, nodded slightly, his gaze lingering on the distant Black Corner Region. He nodded and said, "Strange fire, secret techniques, sealing spells, and those weapons of extraordinary origin... they certainly don't seem like the work of those guys from the Black Corner Region."

He paused, then continued, "He's a promising talent. In that case, let's give him the qualification to enter. However..."

The old man turned to look at Hu Qian and said solemnly, "According to the rules, no compensation should be given less than what is due."

Hu Qian grinned upon hearing this and said, "Of course. Since this kid has passed the test, the academy will certainly not treat him unfairly."

……

Soon after,

After resting briefly in Heping Town, Lu Yu went straight to the outer courtyard to report back.

Pushing open the door to the vice dean's study, one sees Hu Qian leaning against a sandalwood chair, holding an ancient book in one hand and a celadon teacup in the other, the aroma of tea filling the room.

"Vice Dean, I'm back."

Upon hearing this, Hu Qian raised his head, his kind gaze sweeping over Lu Yu, and asked gently, "Are you injured?"

"It's just a depletion of battle qi, nothing serious."

As Lu Yu spoke, he took out a blood-red token from his storage ring. The token had dark patterns flowing across its surface and faintly exuded a bloody smell. He handed it to Hu Qian.

He said, "Fan Cheng, the fourth elder of the Blood Sect, has been executed. This is his proof of identity."

Hu Qian took the token, stroked the five seal characters "Four Elders of the Blood Sect" on it with his fingertips, and nodded in satisfaction.

Then, he opened the drawer under the table, took out a crimson crystal card, and pushed it in front of him: "From this day forward, you will be the seventeenth honorary elder of my Canaan Academy."

Lu Yu took the Fire Crystal Card, initially not thinking much of it. But when he saw the number displayed on it, he suddenly raised an eyebrow. The number flowing across the card was not zero, but rather "17,500 points"!

Lu Yu was taken aback, then said, "Vice Dean, isn't this the wrong one?"

"You took the wrong one? No, you didn't."

Hu Qian stroked his beard and smiled, then slowly said, "The assessment is just a formality to verify your identity. The academy never takes advantage of its students."

"The Purple Jade Breakthrough Pill you contributed earlier has been valued at 10,000 Fire Energy Points by the Elders' Council. The Golden Essence Pill is worth 2,500 points. Add to that the 5,000-point reward for killing the Fourth Elder of the Blood Sect, and that's exactly the total."

Seeing Lu Yu deep in thought, Hu Qian continued to explain, "These fire energy points can be used for more than just entering the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower for cultivation. Considering that some honorary elders are not fire-attribute, the academy has specially created an exchange system."

As he spoke, he took a gold-embossed booklet from the bookshelf and handed it to Lu Yu: "This is the exchange list, which has everything from cultivation resources to techniques and combat skills. With your current fire energy points, it's enough to exchange for some decent treasures."

Lu Yu opened the booklet, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. It was filled with records of various rare items: seventh-tier magic cores, earth-rank combat techniques, rare medicinal herbs…

Most notably, the last page prominently displays the four characters "Original Heart Flame," with an exchange price as high as 5,000 Fire Energy Points.

"how?"

Hu Qian smiled meaningfully, "Now you know why so many powerful people are scrambling to join my Canaan Academy, right?"

A look of sudden realization flashed in Lu Yu's eyes, and he nodded, saying, "I see. It seems I was rather ignorant."

"But this last page, the Origin Heart Flame? Could it be...?" "Just as you guessed, the Origin Flame that the academy extracted from the Fallen Heart Flame..."

"Although the essence extracted by the academy cannot compare with the true essence of a different kind of fire, it is still quite rare..."

Hu Qian put down his teacup, his expression solemn, and said, "This kind of Primal Heart Flame requires the Grand Elder to personally lead a team every year, joining forces with at least three Dou Huang powerhouses, to refine about three to four clusters. And even that depends on luck; sometimes they get absolutely nothing..."

He paused, then continued, "This item has little effect on Dou Wang level experts, but it is a treasure for Dou Ling cultivators to break through their bottlenecks. Therefore, the academy has always regarded it as the final reward for the top ten in the Strong Ranking Competition."

"If you want to exchange it, that's fine too."

"But have you thought this through? The cultivation costs at the higher levels of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower are considerable. The seventh level requires 100 fire energy points per day, the eighth level requires 300 points, and as for the ninth level..."

He paused meaningfully and said, "It's just a wall away from the Fallen Heart Flame, and it costs a thousand points every day."

"Your 17,500 points may seem like a lot, but if you want to cultivate in the long term, you need to be careful with your spending."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yu fell into deep thought, secretly calculating in his mind: given his current situation, after breaking through to the Dou Wang realm, his cultivation speed had already slowed down somewhat because he had not yet condensed the Floating Pagoda.

If you want to cultivate to the intermediate-level Dou Wang level in the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, you probably can't do it like before, one star per month. You need to save at least four months' worth of fire energy points to be on the safe side.

To cultivate on the seventh level, one would need to consume 12,000 points, leaving 5,500 points of fire energy to exchange for the Origin Heart Flame.

More importantly, due to the continuous use of the Heaven-Burning Spirit Technique over the past three days, the Earth Core Flame within his body has shown signs of weakening. This source of the strange fire is the perfect tonic.

With this in mind, Lu Yu looked up with a determined gaze and said, "Vice Dean, I have decided to exchange for a ball of Primal Heart Flame!"

"Oh? Since you've made up your mind, I won't try to persuade you any further."

"However, the Origin Heart Flame needs to be prepared in advance. You should go back and rest for a few days."

"When the time comes, I will send someone to inform you..."

Hu Qian smiled and nodded.

"Then I'll take my leave now, junior."

After leaving the vice dean's study, Lu Yu did not return directly to the inner courtyard.

He turned and headed straight for the outer disciples' residence, walking slowly along the bluestone path and turning several corners.

Suddenly, in front of the pavilion, Qinglin was standing on tiptoe to hang clothes to dry, her emerald eyes shining brightly in the sunlight.

"Son!"

Qinglin was taken aback for a moment, then excitedly let go of the hem of the garment in her hand, and rushed forward as her skirt fluttered.

Lu Yu smiled and gently ruffled her hair, then took out several bottles of pills and asked softly, "How has your cultivation been lately?"

……

As dusk settled, Lu Yu returned to his residence in the inner courtyard. Pushing open the gate, he saw Zi Yan tiptoeing, stealing spiritual fruits from the tree, while Little Fairy Doctor shook her head helplessly beside her.

Hearing the noise, the two turned their heads at the same time.

"came back?"

The Fairy Doctor smiled gently and offered a cup of warm tea with her delicate hand.

Zi Yan then leaped onto Lu Yu's back, muttering, "Where are my pills? You promised to bring back delicious food!"

Lu Yu smiled and took out several jade bottles from his storage ring, and Zi Yan's joyful cheers immediately rang out in the courtyard.

……

(End of this chapter)