Celestial Water Physique (1)

After everything settled down, Du Chen found a secluded spot to examine the tattoo on his backside, and a heavy frustration settled over him.

Before the "ending of the strife," the first lotus of the Open-Top Dui Trigram had blossomed only about one or two tenths. Yet, after Du Chen saved the common folk of Antwerp Port, he only gained the blossoming of a little over half a lotus, bringing the first Open-Top Dui Trigram lotus to seven or eight tenths of its full bloom.

Daoist Grape had once said that the Precious Lotus Scripture became exponentially harder to cultivate in its later stages. Du Chen had already anticipated that this particular act of benevolence wouldn't yield immense returns, but he hadn't imagined the harvest would be *this* meager.

It seemed that by the final trigram, he might truly need to save all of humanity just to elicit a noticeable change in the lotuses on his backside.

Still, Du Chen secretly mused that the Scripture was forcing him to perform more good deeds, to compensate for quality with sheer quantity. In the later stages, if saving one city wasn't enough to make the lotuses change, then he would save several cities, dozens even!

The core of the Precious Lotus Scripture lay in "accumulating" Celestial Merit!

There was also another frustrating matter: after questioning Steve, Du Chen confirmed that his Lotus Internal Force was now equivalent to Three-Star Battle Qi. However, the strength of a Three-Star Fighter wasn't merely about power and speed; they placed far greater emphasis on the application of techniques. This left Du Chen, who was utterly clueless about such skills, questioning his own abilities.

Fortunately, he was about to enter the Battle God Academy, where plenty of techniques awaited him to learn.

The day after the python siege, the teachers from the Battle God Academy who had rushed to aid Zigurd also arrived at Antwerp Port. Yet, all they received was an utterly shocking piece of news: Zigurd's captive had escaped, and a sacred artifact had been forcibly bonded with a new master!

An unimaginably powerful Battle God had delivered a resounding slap to the Battle God Academy, bestowing immense humiliation upon Zigurd!

What these teachers thought or how Zigurd would handle the matter was no longer Du Chen's concern. Day in and day out, he tirelessly ran between the port and the refugee camp, dedicating himself to helping the displaced rebuild their homes. Not a single treasure he had "borrowed" from the aristocratic camp remained; he had sold them all to provide relief to the refugees.

Half a month later, the disaster relief efforts were running smoothly, and the Battle God Academy's new term was about to begin. More and more students arrived at the port to report, and on the very day of registration, Du Chen's second elder brother, Charles, also arrived at Antwerp Port.

At the port, ten colossal ships, like small islands, were moored at the distant deep-water pier. All were multi-masted triangular-sailed galleons, brimming with ancient European grandeur. Without exception, their figureheads were statues of Zigurd himself—these were the academy's vessels for welcoming new students. Only these ships were permitted to enter the waters surrounding Battle God Isle.

On the docks, smaller boats ferried the new students, while Norton also stood at the port, bidding farewell to the three Saint Sigurd Cain brothers.

"Apply yourselves diligently once you're in the Academy. Your uncle will see you off here. If you encounter any troubles at the Academy, just send a message through someone; after all, it's only a few hundred miles by sea from here to Battle God Isle."

"Thank you, Uncle, for your care these past days," Steve said, expressing gratitude on behalf of the three brothers.

"Alright, board the ship!" Norton waved them off. Before leaving, he let out a hearty laugh towards Charles, who had just arrived that day. "Charles, when you graduate, your uncle looks forward to fighting alongside you again! Last time at Heaven's Ocean Pass, I took down a good few more than you did!"

"Uncle Norton, I also look forward to fighting on the battlefield by your side! Just try not to get chased by Behemoth beasts like last time, alright? Hehe."

"You little rascal! Get going!" It was clear that Norton felt a much closer bond with Charles than with the other two, even indulging in harmless banter.

For they were not just uncle and nephew, but also former comrades-in-arms.

Charles saw Norton off, then was the first to board the small boat. "Elder Brother, let's go too." His gaze seemed to intentionally bypass Du Chen.

*My second elder brother is as arrogant as ever!* Du Chen gave a cold, internal sneer, paying no heed to Charles.

The small boat carried the three brothers to the colossal ship at the deep-water pier. No sooner had they boarded than Aliza and the other attendants were led away—their luggage and the students' would be arranged in other cabins. A middle-aged man dressed as a cleric stepped forward and addressed the three brothers, "Three new students, please present your admission letters. I will also be verifying your likenesses!"

"Alright!" Du Chen reached into his embrace, but just then, a tall, graceful elven beauty strode onto the deck. She wore a fiery, form-fitting red armor, her light green hair fluttering with the sea breeze, inadvertently revealing a pair of pointed ears that added to her alluring charm.

"Hey, leave their inspection and verification to me!" the elven beauty said with a smile to the cleric.

"Oh, esteemed Professor Mina, why would you engage in such work?" the cleric demurred, sounding troubled.

"It's stifling in the cabin; I came out for some fresh air. Alright, hand the work over to me, and you go inspect the other students," she said, gently pushing the cleric aside. "Do you truly wish for me to order you with my professorial authority?"

"Whoa, an elven beauty teacher!" Steve winked and nudged Du Chen. Although his voice was very soft, Professor Mina still heard it. She chuckled teasingly, "My, young handsome man, do you perhaps wish to flirt with me?"

Mina's audacious words even flustered Steve, a seasoned playboy. He gave an an awkward smile, sticking out his tongue and lowering his head in playful embarrassment.

In his heart, however, he was thinking, *Oh gods, if only all the teachers at Battle God Academy were like this, hehe!*

"This handsome young man with golden hair is your younger brother, isn't he? Very dashing indeed. If I had to choose, I'd much rather he had said those words just now!" Mina's slender, jade-like fingers reached out to Du Chen's chin and lightly flicked it.

*Damn it, are all the teachers at Battle God Academy this wanton!?*

Du Chen unhappily dodged her touch.

"Hehe, the little one is quite shy! Alright, hand me your admission letter!" Mina said, checking the letter as she led the three brothers into the cabin. "Francis, isn't it? Your admission letter has a note stating you have no battle qi. *Tsk-tsk*, how interesting! How many gold coins did you bribe the examiners with to get in?"

Du Chen had a very poor impression of this wanton beauty of a teacher, and his expression became quite serious. "Professor Mina, the note already details my examination process. I merely had good luck."

"Well, then, let's just say you were lucky!" She personally tucked the admission letter back into Du Chen's embrace.

Benefiting from its massive hull, the ship's cabins were also extremely spacious. When Du Chen entered, many students were already inside, lined up and being tested one by one at a crystal orb.

Mina smiled. "Your identities have been verified. Now, follow me for the entrance examination. This test checks your sensitivity to Natural Primordial Force and will determine your class and assigned teachers based on the results."

As she spoke, she fixed her gaze on Du Chen's eyes and gave a seductive smile. "Francis, even though you have no battle qi, you still have to be tested. There's no helping it, we have such a stuffy dean!"

Without queuing, she strode directly to the front of the testing personnel, pointed at a student currently undergoing examination, and said fiercely, "Boy, I am Professor Mina! I am now threatening you: let us cut in line immediately, or your time at the Academy will be extremely unpleasant!"

Despite a thousand dissatisfactions, the student dared not offend a professor before even entering the Academy. He glanced at the three brothers, then obediently stepped aside.

"Young handsome man, please proceed!" Mina gestured for Du Chen to step forward for the test.

*What was there to even test?* He had already been tested once at Saint John Cathedral, and this body couldn't sense Natural Primordial Force at all.

Du Chen placed his hand on the crystal orb, then suddenly jolted in surprise. No, that wasn't right; he had already undergone a complete metamorphosis…