James walked up to the counter. He was currently inside the missions department in the Sky Blaze Tower. 

The lady behind, gave a warm smile as she registered the right cord of completion. 

" Well done. I never expected you to complete this one. Here is your reward. "

'Ting' his watch made a sound and James looked at the display showing his account balance. He was just remunerated 120 gold for completing the mission. 

James thanked the woman and went back to his dorm. 

Back at the dorm, James and Gus were seated inside discussing amongst themselves. 

" I still can't believe that you were able to kill that Fanged Bear! " exclaimed Gus as James proudly showed him his mission record. 

" Told you I'd complete it" replied James. 

" What's more I broke through to the mid stage Azure realm as well" 

" What! you too? "

" What do you mean by me too? There are others who broke through as well in our batch? "

" Yeah. That guy from the royal family Luke did and so did Kayla, Jane and this other guy named Tom. " said Gus. 

" Wow Jane, Tom and Luke broke through through as well? They didn't even have the pellet like us. " said James. He was astonished upon hearing this. He expected Gus and Kayla apart from him making a breakthrough since they won the pellet boosting their capability giving them a headstart. 

" Well you know how monstrous Jane is. All she does is missions and practice. Luke I heard got help from seniors, plus he has the royal bloodline making it easier for him."

" The really oddity here is Tom. I heard he ranked 8th in the entrance exam and he never really stood out as well. "

" Hmm, looks like reaching the end of the band in the tournament will be tough. " said James. 

" Yep! By the way even I think I will be able to make a breakthrough soon. We still have about over a month for the tournament. " said Gus. 

" Ah that's cool! Haha, can't wait to see your 'Earth Shattering' technique again. "

" Hey man! Your Gale Slash was pretty weak too you know! " said Gus embarrassingly. He was reminded of the battle they had earlier in VR. 

" Oh you will be surprised if you see it now though" grinned James. 

" Our first year sure passed by quickly."

" Yeah, I still can't believe we will be second year students in four days "

The year was ending after three days. James thought that it flew by pretty quickly. Just last month his birthday went by and he turned 13. He had learned and advanced a lot in this year. 

From the first January itself they will be promoted to the second year, while a new batch takes their place. 

They will have to leave their dorms and will be given a new area. This time though, they will be living amongst the seniors. 

The most basic rooms didn't have any charge, however, the betters rooms were charged on a monthly basis. 

Everybody aimed to live in better rooms as they were said to have better amenities and denser qi inside. This made it the ideal location for closed door cultivation for them. 

The new dorms were not located very far from their current ones. They will be shifted after another three days, just a day before the new year. 

They were both excited and nervous as they will be living with the seniors soon. 

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. 

An assembly was conducted in the academy auditorium which was attended by each and every student of the academy. It was the yearly assembly where the final years said their goodbyes while the others were shifted up a class. 

The students were all seated in their uniforms looking towards the stage while the headmaster was distributing prizes and awards to the final year students for their various achievements in the academy. 

James could see many notable seniors of whom he had heard about and seen amongst the winners like senior Edward and senior Warren.

After the award ceremony, the headmaster gave a long speech about the road of cultivation and it's many challenges. He motivated the students and gave a final goodbye to the leaving batch. 

The assembly ended and the students returned back to their dorms. Back at the dorms, the first years had to pack up as they now had to live amongst their seniors. They were now second year students now. 

The students were all lined up and sent towards their new dorm area on a similarly large hover board that they had used earlier when they entered the academy. 

When they reached the new area, they were left gobsmacked by what they saw. The area was huge to the point that it looked like the size of a small town. 

There were many kinds of structures that filled this area. From above James could see many single storeyed residential buildings which he guessed were the normal dorms without a monthly rental. 

Apart from these there were also some large buildings, the size of a mansion encompassing a huge area. This James thought were the rental ones. Students could be seen roaming around in the area as well. Many of them were observing the approaching hover board. 

As they descended down, the teacher who escorted them, looked towards them and spoke, 

" From now onwards this will be your dorm area. You are all forbidden to visit your previous dorm area. The new batch of students who will be replacing you as first years will be stationed there. "

" The one storeyed buildings you see here are the ones without a monthly rental fee. Each of you may choose one amongst them as your new home. Unlike previously you will be given the entire building and not just a single room"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

" If you would like to live in a more comfortable space with higher concentration of qi, you may choose one of the larger buildings. "

" However, each one of them has a specific monthly rental fee which you need to pay upfront. "

" You will be removed on failure to meet the payment. Each house has a different amount of rent set according to the extra benefits offered. "

" That will be all. You may now choose your homes. "

The teacher departed leaving the students with their luggage. They all started moving around, selecting their new homes. 

James and Gus stood there looking around. There were many seniors who came towards their group to chat and give their suggestions. 

They decided to split up and gather some information on the various homes available. As James moved around the area looking at the various homes and checking the rental prices, a voice called out to him. 

" It seems we meet again James"

James was surprised to see senior Ritz who was standing towards his right. He had a very favorable view of senior Ritz as he had helped him immensely back in the forest. He smiled and said, 

" I am lucky to meet you again brother Ritz! I would like to thank you again for your help earlier. "

" Ah don't mention it. We are fellow students after all. It seems you broke through to the mid stage of Azure realm. Quite impressive! I look forward to your performance in the annual tournament" 

" Than you brother Ritz. I hope I don't disappoint you."

" So you are out here searching information about the various rental homes I presume. "

" Yes brother Ritz. Do you have an advice for me regarding this matter? "

" Hmm, well my advice would be to choose a non rental residence. "

" Why's that? " asked James. He was surprised hearing this answer. He wanted to live in a rental home to increase his cultivation speed. 

" You have already broken through to the mid stage recently and until the tournament starts, the only gain you can have is more proficiency in your techniques."

" I suggest you to save up your money and aim for a high ranking in the tournament. With the tournament prizes and monthly ranking stipend, you can aim to live in a better home. "

" Simply put, a rental home won't benefit you much currently. " said Ritz. 

James thought carefully at the words of his senior. It was indeed true that a rental home would not benefit James much at all currently. Instead he can save his money and spend it later onwards for better options. 

" I have to thank you again for your help brother. " replied James. 

" Haha, don't mention it. "

He agreed with his senior's viewpoint as it seemed more logical. 

The minimum rent of a home was 100 gold coins a month. James's total wealth currently amounted to just 290 gold coins which he earned through undertaking missions. It was not enough to pay for even three months of rent. 

With the tournament reward and monthly stipend he would be in a much better position and might be able to afford an even higher rental home. 

He bid senior Ritz farewell and went to look for Gus to discuss the matter. After discussing it with him, Gus also agreed with senior Ritz viewpoint. He was confident that he could achieve his breakthrough in a month with or without the help of a rental home. 

They made their decision and selected two non rental residences which were located near to each other. 

Entering inside James saw that the house contained a bedroom, a bathroom and a small room with a denser concentration of qi inside compared to the outside which he figured was the cultivation room. 

For a non rental residence it was miles ahead than his previous dorm room which just a bed and a small bathroom. James was quite satisfied with it. He wondered how the rental ones would be compared to his current home. 

Night approached and the skies turned dark. James was meditating inside the cultivation room. He was immersed in absorbing the higher concentration of qi inside when he suddenly heard a knock on his door. 

He exited the room and opened the door to find two guys outside in academy uniform. He was sure he had never seen them before which meant they were his seniors. 

One of them smiled warmly and said,

" Hello junior brother. We are glad to have you juniors amongst us and even the year is ending and so we seniors have decided to host a party in your welcoming. "

" We are here to extend the invite to you. The party will begin in an hour. The venue for the event is the East Mansion. We hope you attend it. "

" I will keep the invitation in mind. " replied James. He found it strange after hearing the sudden invite. The seniors gave a smile and left towards another house. He looked around and saw groups of seniors going around talking to the others as well. 

James could see from the looks of it that this was a party where they didn't have a choice to refuse. 

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Notes - Here is today's chapter! I am really sorry that I didn't post 1 yesterday. I just couldn't write one yesterday, my mind just refused to. I am really sorry about it. I just completed this one, if u find any mistakes please do comment and tell. Thanks and enjoy! :)