Ninth class citizen

Chapter 338 Don’t accept it
Thousands of floating islands are suspended in the air outside Jade Mountain.

These are residences set up by the academy's elders and instructors, as well as a very small number of senior students.

Jiang Cheng was one of them.

Although his private floating island was small, it was crafted with great effort. It contained tens of thousands of acres of space, incorporated lakes, streams, and exquisite mountains, and employed skilled craftsmen to meticulously carve out a luxurious palace, exactly the same as his residence in his own world.

But what pleased Jiang Cheng the most was not that he had surpassed his classmates to have his own private floating island, but rather the location of the floating island.

Private floating islands are scattered throughout the sky, so they can't just be placed wherever they want; they always have to follow various explicit and implicit rules.

The closer to Jade Mountain, the higher the status of the floating island's owner—this is a basic rule known to all.

For example, Professor Zhou and the elders of the college committee all live directly next to Yushan Mountain, with no obstruction to their view.

Those of slightly lesser rank were the instructors, who were all assigned to the area within a thousand miles of Jade Mountain, commonly known as the inner circle.

Further out are the senior students. Students who complete the missions in their own plane can be called senior students; and those who successfully select and guide new students to complete evolution missions in two or more planes will receive the title of senior student.

However, not every senior student is eligible to apply to build a floating island.

There's a hidden condition: one must hold a certain position within the institute.

For example, Jiang Cheng only received final approval after serving as the captain of the law enforcement team for over a thousand years, with the tacit consent of Elder Mu.

The completion of his private floating island signifies that he has permanent residency in the core space of the universe.

The cost of creating a floating island is enormous, and even among qualified senior students, only one in ten can actually build one. Not to mention, they are also able to be assigned a position that is almost as close to the inner circle as possible within the outer circle allocated to the students.

The advantage of this location is that you can see the Wanhua Palace, hidden in the clouds and shrouded in snow and mist all year round, just by looking up.

Compared to Jade Liquid Lake, a forbidden cultivation ground exclusively for the Dean, the Myriad Transformations Palace has far fewer legends, but its status in the hearts of the students is by no means low.

Taiye Lake is invisible and intangible, but Wanhua Palace can provide tangible benefits—not only in terms of character but also in terms of ability.

It is said that there are endless mysteries inside, and all the students who have entered have benefited greatly. Those who have left the academy through their own abilities have all become big figures in the academy.

For example, the top elders of the college committee, and Professor Zhou himself.

However, although Wanhua Palace is wonderful, very few people are qualified to enter.

In earlier years, there were no fixed rules at all; it was entirely up to the dean to decide things on a whim.

However, in the last hundred thousand years or so, due to the establishment of the Academy Committee, things have improved considerably. Every three thousand years, the Academy Committee nominates several people to study there, and the Dean has no objections.

Jiang Cheng has already been nominated as one of the students to enter the Wanhua Palace next time, and is undergoing a thousand-year evaluation.

Of course, this kind of assessment is more about form than substance. Even if something like yesterday's incident happened, and Elder Mu gave him a severe scolding when he got back, it wouldn't affect his spot.

Strict enforcement of the law is not considered a major mistake by the Academy Committee. As long as he follows Elder Mu's instructions closely and does not act on his own initiative, no accidents are likely to occur.

After moving to the floating island, Jiang Cheng made it a must to pay homage to the Wanhua Palace atop the clouds at dawn every day.

The golden rays of sunrise bathed the snow-capped peaks and jade pillars, casting a thousand auspicious wisps of light that instilled an indescribable sense of sacredness, enough to cleanse the soul and allow him to more clearly recognize himself.

No longer the high-ranking leaders and judges of those minor planes, he was merely a student who had achieved some minor success, still worlds apart from those powerful beings who could change the course of events. Today was no different. As usual, Jiang Cheng washed up, cleaned himself, tied his hair, and changed his clothes before moving to the observation platform at the highest point of the floating island, slowly looking up at the clouds due north.

The next second, his gaze suddenly froze, and his pupils contracted sharply.

That towering, half-hidden white jade palace has vanished!

It vanished completely, leaving only the ever-present white clouds in sight.

Jiang Cheng's exclamation caught in his throat, and he froze completely.

Equally stunned was Instructor Zhou, who had been ordered to pick up Nan Rong.

He looked at the empty, drifting clouds and Nan Rong standing alone on them, looking completely innocent, and thought he was dreaming.

"So, you came out of the Wanhua Palace?" he asked dryly.

Nan Rong was too lazy to answer such a question: "Please send me the method to return to the plane via the badge later. I need to go back to the academy to arrange some things."

As soon as she finished speaking, she disappeared, leaving only Coach Zhou, whose heart was in turmoil.

The latter released its spiritual power, instantly searching the surrounding hundreds of thousands of kilometers of space, but still could not find the Myriad Transformations Palace.

He thought about it and reported the matter truthfully to the dean, but the reply he received was very simple.

"Ignore it. Consider it a gift from me for your enrollment."

This sentence is short, but it conveys a lot of information.

Firstly, the Wanhua Palace was indeed taken away by Nan Rong.

Secondly, this mysterious building, which has existed since the school's founding and which many students can only admire from afar, was casually given away by the dean.

While it is true that there is a custom within the school where examiners give appropriate gifts to the new students they select to enhance their abilities and improve their chances of completing later tasks, this is not a hard and fast rule and does not apply to the Dean.

Moreover, according to Professor Zhou's understanding, the Dean has already given a gift!
Does opening her private forbidden area, the Jade Liquid Pool, to shape her body count? Is gifting her the wisp of luck from the beginning of the universe enough? Not to mention, in the end, she was directly sent to the Palace of Myriad Transformations!

As for Nan Rong, who couldn't even find the key to leaving the house yesterday, today she wiped out the whole group!

Instructor Zhou could only imagine how the students who were eagerly waiting to enter the inner sanctum for cultivation would feel upon hearing this devastating news!

However, in the eyes of the Dean, such matters were not worth mentioning.

At this moment, Coach Zhou couldn't help but admit that he genuinely felt envious and jealous of Nan Rong.

The difference in fate between people is truly enormous!

He always felt incredibly lucky. Born into a fallen royal family, he had suffered some hardships in his childhood, but was quickly chosen by a discerning examiner to become a student at the Dimensional Inheritance Academy. Although there were setbacks in his missions, he ultimately completed them, step by step reaching his current position and witnessing unimaginable splendor.

But how old is this girl? She's not even twenty at most, yet she was chosen by the dean, who was personally acting as the examiner for the first time, and received all sorts of pampering and care.

Seriously, you have to admit it.