Chapter 636: Invitation - 636
His father walked away without saying anything. His mother asked a few questions, concerned, but Skymender waved them off and said he was fine.
She had long been suspicious of his actions, but when she went to Baron Sky he had told her not to worry about it, that it was all under control and Skymender would be fine.
She had accepted that, but she couldn't help but worry. Skymender soon made it alone, where he began to manage the constant pain.
Another month passed. Skymender had healed faster this time. Taking it as a sign, he repeated the process. Becoming immune would no doubt take a long time, but Skymender felt as if it would definitely happen. And this wasn't the same as becoming immune to a poison. That was very specific, and most immunities wouldn't make you immune to other poisons.
This was corrosion, and he was becoming immune to it. In other words, whether it was his corrosive poison or another, he would be immune to the corrosion effect.
Of course, this was also not like poison in another way.
He could become fully immune to a certain poison, no matter how strong it was, but it was impossible to become completely immune to corrosion. There could always be something more corrosive out there. He could only become as immune as his corrosive poison would allow.
Even more time passed. Skymender turned 10 years old.
It was hard to remember, but he was only 9 years old this entire time. Suffering to become immune to poison, as well as corrosion, he had battled through pain that no adult could withstand. Yet he was only 9, now 10.
Even Skymender felt that his future was limitless. It was clear to see. What other 9 year old could be his equal?
He did not know of any.
Skymender's life did not change at all even after turning 10. He continued with the same cycle. Eventually, everyone around him got used to his pale face and bloodshot eyes. It was not even mentioned anymore.
As time passed, the school year ended and summertime began again.
Skymender did not plan to go to the Imperial Capital, he had no need to. Plus, it was not good to overdo it.
However, after receiving a letter in the mail, his mind was changed.
Once again, he received a letter from the Imperial Scholar. It had been nearly a year since the last one.
"Hello, Skymender. Your devotion to research is impressive. I am inviting you to the Imperial Scholar camp over the summer. What is that, you ask? I just made it. It is for those with the highest potential to become a scholar. It will begin two weeks after summer starts. I warn you, do not miss this opportunity. You may never get it again."
Skymender was surprised. However, putting the pieces together, he had indeed heard of the Imperial Scholar's old age.
If he had heard correctly, he had turned 70 this year. It was not surprising that this camp had been created. More than producing scholars, he was most likely searching for a future Imperial Scholar.
It would be hard to replace him. Just like the current Emperor and Sword Master Shang were some of the greatest of their roles in the Empire's history, the current Imperial Scholar was one of the greatest Imperial Scholars on record.
There was nobody clearly better than him, just those considered as good as him. It truly was an incredible era for the Faceless Empire.
Skymender truly could not ignore this invitation. Simply being taught by the Imperial Scholar was a rare opportunity, experienced by extremely few.
Melly had already returned to her parents home, so Skymender immediately went to his parents. They were thrilled to hear the news. His mother nearly wept tears of joy. Skymender's future seemed as bright as their two eldest children. They really could not ask for more.
Nobody even considered the possibility of him not accepting. They would not allow it to happen regardless, even if Skymender wished to reject it.
Since there were two weeks until its start, and it took ten days to reach the Imperial Capital, Skymender would depart tomorrow.
Before that, however, he returned to the school lab. Though this year of school was over, Skymender naturally had access to the lab.
He entered and collected his items. This included his ten cauldrons, his notes, and his most important ingredients. He would leave the less important stuff here.
He could always buy more in the Imperial Capital. Most importantly, he looked at a nearly destroyed wall. It had actually already been replaced twice. Luckily, it wasn't structurally important.
It seemed to be on its last legs.
Skymender threw a vial at it and stepped forward with his hand out.
His hand touched the corrosive substance, but he did not react. It corroded his hand, but only by a single layer.
Even patches of the first layer of his skin were not corroded.
The pain was intense, but nothing compared to before. In addition, his pain resistance had increased by leaps and bounds.
In addition to this, he had noticed something accidentally a while ago.
Once, when he had done this, a drop or two of the corrosive substance had splashed onto his other arm.
Although it had hurt and had gone deeper than it would have on his other arm, he was able to clearly tell that it was more resistant than it should have been, especially since that was its first time in contact with the corrosive poison.
Skymender expected that he had a bit of resistance everywhere, though he did not plan to test it. His testing hand was already horribly scarred, never to recover. Even where that drop had hit was a clear mark.
He did not mind scars, but doing so unnecessarily was pointless.
Skymender eventually returned home and fell asleep. The next morning, just as he woke up, he found another letter from the Imperial Scholar.
Chapter 637: Imperial Scholar Camp Campus - 637
Skymender opened the letter and read it.
"Congratulations on entering the Imperial Scholar camp. I assume. I will now explain the general design of the Imperial Camp. When you first arrive, you will be taken into the Imperial Capital by people employed by the Imperial Camp. During your stay, you will be in one place, the Imperial Scholar Camp Campus. Everything you need will be provided, but leaving the Campus will not be permitted unless under special circumstances. This is not to imprison you or prevent you from speaking about the Imperial Scholar Camp Campus, but to allow you to completely focus on studies and learning during this time. Further information will be provided at the Campus. Good luck."
Skymender put the letter down. Now, with more information, he was ready to set out. He naturally took some books with him, along with a few other things he had packed. He did not bring too much. After all, he did not know how much room he would have.
Waving goodbye to everyone, he left the Sky Barony house and began his long journey to the Imperial Capital. He brought less people this time, totaling only two carriages.
Naturally, he brought along Li Youcai. He also brought Hope.
The ride was calm and boring. Skymender found himself staring out of the window most of the time. He didn't feel as immature as before. In fact, he even felt aged. He had experienced a lot in the last year.
There wasn't much talking, nor were there any unforeseen circumstances. Ten days later the giant walls of the Imperial Capital appeared in the distance.
Skymender prepared himself.
They arrived at the gates. They skipped the lines, of course.
Skymender stepped out of the carriage and was received by a scholarly looking man.
"Lord Skymender. I have been sent by the Imperial Scholar Camp to pick you up."
Skymender nodded. "Let's go."
Without another word, he boarded a carriage. Li Youcai and Hope stayed behind. Until it was time to leave, they would stay at his aunt's house.
The carriage moved swiftly through the bustling city. The scholarly man sat inside of the carriage with Skymender while someone else drove it.
"Here is a basic list of the rules. If anything needs to be known outside of what is in here, it will be spoken to you. If you have any questions, you can ask them to me whenever."
Skymender nodded and began to read the book. There were a lot of rules. Some were written in smaller font, while some were written bigger. Skymender focused mostly on the bigger rules, before focusing on the smaller ones.
Eventually, he had a gist of the Imperial Scholar Camp. He understood how it would work for the most part.
He looked at the scholarly man and asked a question.
"How many people will be at the Camp?"
The book had rules, but not anything about the more specific information.
"Including you, 16."
Skymender nodded. It would be weirder if there weren't so few people. These were all people with the potential to be the future Imperial Scholar.
Skymender asked another question. "How old are they?"
"I cannot completely confirm, but you are definitely the youngest among all of them."
Skymender nodded. Also expected. He did not have any important questions at the moment, and they soon arrived at a large gate. Inside was a walled area, but it was extremely large. He had never seen this area before. It was in a weird area neither in the commoner area nor the noble area. It was near the Imperial Palace, but not in its sector. Skymender and the Scholarly man stepped out of the carriage.
As he looked at the gate, it slowly opened. Inside, a brick path lay. Ahead were multiple buildings, each one multiple stories and clearly very expensive.
The scholarly man walked inside, leading the way.
"Welcome to the newly created Imperial Scholar Camp Campus, Skymender."
Along the path were beautiful trees with falling leaves. If he had come here during the fall, its beauty would have been multiplied.
He was led along, and soon reached one of the buildings.
"This is the male dormitory. You can go in and choose any room on the first floor. Later on, based on performance, other rooms can be obtained."
Skymender nodded.
"You have a few days to settle in and explore. There are plenty of restaurants, and all food is free. There are other things around, though not everything is currently accessible. When the time comes, I will come and get you."
Skymender nodded again. "What should I call you?"
The elderly man spoke. "I am but a scholar. You can call me Scholar Ming. During your stay, I will be guiding you."
Skymender nodded. "Thank you, Scholar Ming."
Scholar Ming bowed as Skymender turned and entered the building.
He walked around the first floor, which in itself had more than 16 rooms. Even if all of the people participating in this camp were male, there would be enough rooms.
A few of the doors had indications that they were taken.
Skymender found a random one close to the door and entered it. Inside was a simple, but sufficient room. It had a bed, a desk, necessary rooms such as a kitchen and a bathroom, as well as many expensive appliances such as a stove.
Skymender dropped the few bags he had brought on the ground and looked around. There was not anything special, but everything was expensive.
Skymender changed his clothes and relaxed for a while. The long carriage ride had caused a bunch of built up fatigue, especially since he was still young.
He took a short nap before waking up and taking a shower. Wearing new clothes, he stepped out of his room.
He looked around the male dormitory, but did not see anyone.
He stepped outside and walked further into the Imperial Scholar Camp Campus.
He saw many congregated buildings, and as he walked further, he finally saw another person.
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