227: The sky has fallen.

Shortly after Zhang Huaiyuan's name was registered in the association.

Someone, somehow, leaked an internal registration form from the association.

In the identity column, the information "Registered Disciple of the Virtual Tower Master and Myriad Things Tower Master" was clearly printed.

Thinking back to the fellow on the Ranking Stele whose score had risen to 90 points with a single-subject credit as high as 45, who had suddenly gone silent.

Well-informed factions immediately understood what had happened.

—Clearly, he had been admitted early due to his exceptional talent.

Another name was quietly added to the "do not provoke" lists of various powers.

Meanwhile, on the front-page headlines of mainstream media across the All Heavens and Myriad Realms, almost identical information was printed:

"A mysterious genius emerges; the Tower Masters of the Virtual Tower and the Tower of All Things from the Time Traveler Association appear simultaneously to take a disciple."

"The new session of the Time Book House is about to begin admissions; the registration channel is now open!"

"..."

Of course, a few small media outlets also published some unconfirmed rumors, such as:

"Affected by unknown factors, the credit limit of the famous deadbeat Brie Dawn has skyrocketed. The stock prices of 237 related trust institutions have soared."

"Another genius emerges from the Silver Splendor Empire, confirmed to join the Tower of Time. The battle situation in Yinzhou has eased, and the price of Shining Gold Ore plummeted by 10% overnight."

"..."

However, none of this news had anything to do with Zhang Huaiyuan.

At this moment, he was staring at the light screen before him with a look of astonishment.

After officially registering with the association, he could formally access and use the entire association's trading system.

Moreover, due to his status as a Registered Disciple of two Tower Masters, his clearance level was extremely high.

"Tears of the Sea of Time Type I, internal price: 100,000 time coins."

Zhang Huaiyuan's eyes were fixed intently on that familiar teardrop-shaped item.

"100,000 time coins... 100,000 time coins!"

"Damn you, Brie Dawn! Something worth 100,000, and you dared to sell it to me for a billion! Are you even human?!"

"Wait... it's not just a billion; I seem to owe a debt of 2 billion time coins."

Zhang Huaiyuan's gaze swept over the prices of various goods in the trading house.

"Dimensional Constructor: Can temporarily create a dimension that changes according to the user's will, lasting up to a billion years. Ignores most detection methods. Price: 100 million time coins (Requires Senior Scholar rank or higher)."

"Memetic Bomb: Sets a concept including beliefs, customs, slogans, etc., and uses it to conduct large-scale indiscriminate attacks. Price: 50 million time coins (Requires Senior Scholar rank or higher)."

"..."

All sorts of unbelievably terrifying weapons were laid out before his eyes.

Especially after seeing that a low-level slave world only cost around 10,000 time coins.

Only then did he realize that the value of time coins seemed to be much, much higher than his own.

The sky had fallen!

"Query value system."

Zhang Huaiyuan tapped a few times, quickly switching pages. After a careful scan, he finally gained a concept of the value of time coins.

Within the scope of the 3,000 Great Worlds that depended on the Time Traveler Association.

The most valuable currency was the association's internal "credits."

Truly rare items, top-secret technical data, and even requests for high-level Scholars to help or guide, or the use of high-level laboratory instruments, could only be exchanged for using credits.

And there were not many ways to obtain credits.

The simplest time was during the novice assessment period, where one could earn a point by passing a simple test.

After becoming an official member of the association, one could only obtain credits by submitting valuable research topics or papers, or by making outstanding contributions to the association.

Most importantly, within the association, academia was treated as rigorous and sacred.

Therefore, credits could not be traded!

Furthermore, to prevent decadence and stagnation, every member of the association had a basic credit requirement every ten thousand years.

Those who failed to meet it were directly expelled from the association.

This decamillennial credit review was also a major test for many Scholars.

The second most valuable was the "time coins" introduced by the association.

Every single time coin contained a trace of the aura of time and a unique historical code, making it impossible to replicate.

Coupled with the association's endorsement, they were accepted by the vast majority of high-level powers.

A Junior Scholar's annual basic stipend was only about 100,000 time coins.

It sounded like a lot, but it included all expenses for scientific research; far from having a surplus, it was usually not enough to make ends meet.

"Looking at it this way, Mr. Buli is indeed capable. A mere Junior Scholar was actually able to borrow a capital of over 37 billion time coins."

Zhang Huaiyuan shook his head, and the indignation in his heart dissipated quite a bit.

Although he had been swindled out of so much.

But if it weren't for the book Buli gave him, his "Creatology" wouldn't have been able to break through again, let alone counter-invading the Xuanjian Sect.

And while the Tears of the Sea of Time only cost 100,000 time coins, he truly had no way of accessing them at the time. It was also the other party who had brought him to the association.

Compared to these favors, these few... few time coins would just be considered a repayment.

"The teachers told me to find them after completing the registration. I'll go pay my respects first, and then think of a solution."

Zhang Huaiyuan sighed softly and first walked toward the Virtual Tower.

Even though he had just taken two terrifyingly powerful teachers.

But he couldn't just go there and ask for money before achieving anything; that would create a terrible impression.

Compared to the impression he would make on the two big shots, those two billion were simply not worth mentioning.

While lost in thought, he soon arrived at the foot of the Virtual Tower.

"Little Junior Brother."

Just as he was considering how to go up, an elegant voice rang out.

He saw a mechanical lifeform shimmering with a silver luster, smiling at him.

"Little Junior Brother?"

Zhang Huaiyuan was slightly taken aback but immediately reacted and bowed. "Senior Brother, are you also a disciple of Teacher Kraft?"

"I am the teacher's third student. You can call me Third Senior Brother."

The silver mechanical lifeform nodded with a smile.

It was unclear what material its face was made of, but its expressions were vivid and lifelike, no different from an ordinary person's.

"Third Senior Brother."

Zhang Huaiyuan immediately replied.

"It's your first time here, Little Junior Brother. The teacher instructed me to give you a lift. Follow me."

"The Virtual Tower has a total of 129,600 floors, excluding the one hundred floors for administrative affairs."

As they walked, the silver mechanical lifeform introduced the place.

"The first 120,000 floors contain all sorts of precious knowledge accumulated by the association over endless ages."

"The following 9,000 floors record the outstanding achievements created by ordinary members of the association."

"As for the final 500 floors, they are the life's work of the teacher and several top Scholars, and the most precious wealth of the entire Virtual Tower."

"This..."

Zhang Huaiyuan's eyes lit up instantly, and he asked excitedly:

"Third Senior Brother, can I go and see all of these whenever I want?"

"Of course not."

Seeing his Little Junior Brother's expression, the silver mechanical lifeform couldn't help but laugh:

"Acquiring knowledge comes at a price. Moreover, knowledge that is too profound can leave those with ordinary talent trapped within it for their entire lives. Therefore, one can only enter by reaching the corresponding rank and spending credits."

"However, since Little Junior Brother was able to have both the teacher and the Myriad Things Tower Master take you as a disciple simultaneously, you naturally don't have the former concern. Since this is our first meeting and I haven't had time to prepare a gift, I'll give you an annual pass."

As he spoke, the silver mechanical lifeform reached out and pulled out a silver-white card, handing it over.

"After use, you can freely enter and exit the first 120,000 floors for a hundred years."

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

"..."