Li Fei returned to the small training ground on the western island, riding her stone sword. The sixteen disciples who had passed the test were already gathered there. Even Lei Xiuyuan was standing obediently among the crowd, having arrived earlier than her.
Bai Li Gelin waved at her discreetly from within the group. Li Fei quickly jumped off her stone sword, lowered her head, hunched her shoulders, and scurried over to stand beside her.
“The new teachers are all here! That’s great! I was worried we’d have to endure Hu Jiaping teaching us for the whole year. That would have been so depressing!” Bai Li Gelin’s face was flushed with excitement. “Look, look at that handsome big brother in white! A hundred Hu Jiapings couldn’t compare to one of his eyebrows!”
Li Fei was short and quickly disappeared into the crowd. Several teachers were standing opposite them, and she didn’t want to stand on her tiptoes, so she had to crane her neck to peek through the gaps between the shoulders of those in front of her.
Three men and one woman stood beside Hu Jiaping, presumably the new teachers. Three of the four newcomers weren’t unfamiliar faces. The girl had apple-shaped cheeks and always wore a smiling expression. Another was a middle-aged man in his forties with a stern face, and there was also a kind-looking young man in his twenties – these three were the people who had been waiting for them at Ruixue Pavilion during the second selection at the academy.
As for the other one… Li Fei secretly stood on her tiptoes. Next to the apple-cheeked girl stood a young man wearing a white Daoist robe. He appeared to be about the same age as Hu Jiaping, with well-defined eyebrows and bright eyes, and jet-black hair like sandalwood. He was an uncommonly handsome man, but there was an extremely cold and serene quality to his demeanor as if he were carved from ice.
“Did you see him?” Bai Li Gelin’s girlish heart was about to fly out of her throat. “The one in the white robe! Oh heavens, he’s so handsome! Even if he’s cold as ice, he’s still so good-looking!”
Li Fei quietly tugged at her sleeve. Although the girls around them were all openly admiring this handsome teacher, Gelin’s behavior was still too conspicuous. This teacher was indeed good-looking, but… was it worth getting so worked up over?
The five teachers seemed to have finished their casual conversation. Hu Jiaping came over and said, “These four are the new teachers. You should recognize three of them from the second selection. This handsome big brother in white is an elite disciple from Xingzheng Hall… And you little girls over there, if you keep staring at him like that, your eyeballs might fall out.”
The girls who had been singled out immediately lowered their heads, blushing. The man in white gave Hu Jiaping a cool glance, to which Hu Jiaping responded with a smile, “Just a joke. Alright, teachers, please introduce yourselves.”
The kind-looking young man went first: “My name is Luo Chengji, a formal disciple under Elder Qi of the Lantian Sect. I will be responsible for teaching you Earth and Wood cultivation methods.”
The stern-faced middle-aged man spoke flatly: “I am Miao Lanxin, the first disciple under Hall Master Han of Dizang Gate. I will be in charge of teaching Metal and Fire techniques.”
The apple-cheeked girl stepped forward with a smile. She looked only a few years older than the children, with an innocent expression, but occasional flashes of sharpness in her eyes betrayed her worldliness.
“I’m Lin You, the third disciple under Dragon Youyuan Jun of Huolian Observatory. I’ll be teaching you Water techniques. Let me say this upfront: don’t be fooled by my youthful appearance. I’m actually over fifty years old, a few years older than that uncle over there. If anyone slacks off in their cultivation or disrespects their elders, don’t blame me for being merciless.”
Over fifty years old! Bai Li Gelin’s eyes widened in shock. After a long moment, she tugged at Li Fei and whispered, “Being an immortal is so great! Over fifty and still looking like a teenager!”
As if hearing her words, Lin You immediately looked over, startling Bai Li Gelin so much she nearly bit her tongue.
“…I’m ashamed to say, I haven’t become an immortal yet,” Lin You said with a smile, glancing at her. “Most immortals go by their sect titles. Their mortal names cease to exist the moment they achieve immortality.”
Even their names disappear after becoming immortals? Then why did Master Zuoqiu bother giving her the name Jiang Li Fei? It would be discarded sooner or later anyway.
Finally, the handsome man in white stepped forward. His features were extraordinarily beautiful, but his expression was extremely cold, as if devoid of all emotion. His voice was particularly detached, sending a chill through those who heard it, making them shiver involuntarily.
“Mo Yanfan, fifth disciple under Xuanshan Zi of Xingzheng Hall. I will be teaching martial arts and swordsmanship.”
Xuanshan Zi? Where had she heard that name before? Li Fei wracked her brain, then turned her head to see Ji Tongzhou’s complex expression. Suddenly, it dawned on her. Wasn’t Xuanshan Zi the royal immortal from the Kingdom of Yue that Ye Ye had mentioned? It was because of this powerful immortal’s support that Yue had been expanding its territory and acting so arrogantly in recent years.
Right, she remembered everyone wondering why, if Yue had a royal immortal, they didn’t directly take Ji Tongzhou to Xingzheng Hall as a formal disciple, instead of making him go through the trouble of attending Zhufeng Academy. Judging by Ji Tongzhou’s expression now, there must be some hidden secret behind it all.
Coming back to Mo Yanfan, he gave her a very familiar feeling. Whether it was his icy attitude or that voice that seemed to invigorate one’s spirit, he was almost identical to Zhenyun Zi whom she had met in Qingqiu. Because of her dislike for Zhenyun Zi, Li Fei found herself not particularly fond of this handsome teacher either. He said he would teach martial arts and swordsmanship – did that mean hand-to-hand combat and sword techniques? Did immortals still need to learn these?
“Enough small talk, let’s proceed with the spiritual root attribute test,” Hu Jiaping said, waving his long sleeve. Suddenly, a low table appeared before him with an egg-sized pearl on it. The pearl was completely transparent, seemingly filled with clear spring water that rippled gently despite no one touching it.
Upon hearing the word “test,” the children’s legs began to tremble. They had just been tested in the morning, and now there was another test in the afternoon?!
Hu Jiaping smiled, “What are you afraid of? It’s not a cultivation test, just a check of your spiritual root attributes. When your name is called, come up and stand in front of the table – Lin, uh… young lady, if you would, please.”
He had almost called her “auntie” but quickly corrected himself, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
Lin You stood on the opposite side of the low table, glancing at him with a smile. It was impossible to tell if she was angry or not. Hu Jiaping nervously took out the disciple register and began calling names: “Zhao Hongyi.”
A tall, sturdy boy walked forward nervously. Lin You instructed him to place his hand on the pearl while she gently placed her hand on his head, softly commanding, “Focus your mind and draw spiritual energy into your body.”
After a moment, the water inside the pearl that Zhao Hongyi was touching began to ripple incessantly. Gradually, it started to look like rain falling on the surface, with tiny droplets appearing. A short while later, a small area about the size of a fingernail at the bottom of the pearl suddenly turned emerald green. The pearl maintained this image of rain falling on the surface with a green bottom for quite some time.
“Primary Water, secondary Wood nature,” Lin You said as she withdrew her hand. Hu Jiaping immediately added “Primary Water, secondary Wood” under Zhao Hongyi’s name.
As Li Fei watched this nervously, she suddenly heard Ri Yan’s voice: “Oh? This little girl?”
She was slightly startled and whispered, “I thought you were asleep. You’re still awake?”
Ri Yan ignored her, his small, pale green eyes looking Lin You up and down. After a while, he suddenly laughed, “Excellent, excellent. We’re in for some entertainment.”
“What are you talking about?” Li Fei was completely confused by his laughter.
Ri Yan continued, “This spiritual root attribute test might be tricky for you. Do as I say. When it’s your turn, quietly use your spirit absorption, but not too strongly – just once will do. Then this girl will infuse her spiritual energy into your head to test your attributes. Go along with her, accept whatever attribute she determines, don’t resist.”
What did he mean? Li Fei was both confused and nervous. Was it because her constitution was different from others? Or was it that her spiritual root had no attribute and she was afraid of being discovered?
Soon, more than ten children had been tested. Most had dual attributes, one primary and one secondary, though the secondary attribute was often so minor it was barely noticeable in the pearl’s reaction. Only Ji Tongzhou had a single Fire attribute, which seemed to be quite rare. Hu Jiaping asked many times to confirm it.
“Lei Xiuyuan.”
When Lei Xiuyuan’s name was called, he slowly stepped forward and placed his hand on the pearl. The change in the pearl was extremely unusual. A golden light began to emerge from within, dot by dot. In the blink of an eye, the water inside had turned golden and started to solidify, looking like a chunk of pure gold.
“Oh?” Even Lin You was a bit surprised this time. “A single Metal attribute? This is rare.”
The vast majority of cultivators had one primary and one secondary attribute, with some less fortunate ones having three or four attributes. The purer the spiritual root attribute, the easier it was to learn high-level immortal techniques of that attribute, and even to master high-level techniques combining the five elements.
Lin You smiled, “A single Metal attribute… I believe Master Zhou from Lantian Sect has that.”
Luo Chengji nodded, “That’s right, Master Zhou is a pillar of our sect.”
Lin You smiled at Lei Xiuyuan, “You’re quite impressive. If you cultivate diligently and are accepted as a disciple of the Lantian Sect, with Master Zhou’s guidance, your future in the immortal path will be bright.”
Lei Xiuyuan lowered his head and said “Yes,” then turned and walked away, showing neither joy nor excitement.
Li Fei was the last one. Her heart was pounding as she kept repeating Ri Yan’s instructions in her mind. She gently placed her hand on the pearl, and when she heard Lin You say “Draw spiritual energy into your body,” she immediately focused and began spirit absorption, then forcefully cut it off. Lin You’s hand rested on top of her head, and soon a strange pressure traveled from her scalp into her extraordinary meridians, making her shudder.
“Don’t move,” Lin You said softly.
Her spiritual energy coursed through Li Fei’s body, and Li Fei didn’t dare resist at all. Suddenly, she felt as if that spiritual energy had confirmed something, and then her palm grew warm as a small amount of spiritual energy was gently pushed out into the pearl.
The clear spring water in the pearl abruptly turned ochre, starting to crack from the bottom. Soon, the clear water had transformed into ochre-colored soil, clinging dryly to the inside of the translucent pearl.
Hu Jiaping exclaimed in surprise, “Earth? Is it Earth?!”
All at once, the other teachers were startled and gathered around to look. Upon seeing the soil inside the pearl, everyone wore expressions of disbelief.
“Primary Earth, is there a secondary attribute?” Miao Lanxin, being more composed, asked.
Lin You closed her eyes for a long while before finally opening them, her face full of astonishment: “A single Earth attribute! This is a spiritual root that’s rarely seen in a thousand years! Little girl, what’s your name?!”
Is it really that rare? Li Fei was frightened. She had only gone along with the flow without resisting, who knew that the spiritual energy pushed out would be of the Earth attribute? If they tested again, it might turn out to be one of the other four attributes.
“Jiang Li Fei.”
Hu Jiaping read out her name, unable to contain his excitement. A single Earth attribute – what a rare and precious attribute! Everyone knew that Earth governed defense, from being impervious to weapons to forming the barriers of major immortal sects. Even spiritual roots with Earth as the primary and the other four as secondary attributes were rare and highly sought after by any sect. How much more valuable as a single Earth attribute?
Miao Lanxin, forgetting his status, rushed forward and said, “Jiang Li Fei? Excellent! Would you be willing to come to Dizang Gate with me?”
“Master Miao, that’s not fair!” Luo Chengji blocked him. “This is an academy, not the mortal world. How can you recruit people so casually?”
Lin You smiled, “These sects, even Xingzheng Hall and Wuyue Palace, are full of men. Little girl, you’re a pure and quiet young lady. Why not come to the Huolian Observatory with me? There are many sisters there who would surely dote on you.”
What… what’s going on? Li Fei was dumbfounded. How had she suddenly become such a hot commodity?
Ri Yan laughed coldly in her ear, “A bunch of fools. If it were truly a single Earth attribute, how could she be in this academy, and how could it be their turn to fight over her!”
Then, as if arguing with himself, he continued, “But that’s not right either. This little girl is even stranger, yet she’s appeared at the academy too, hasn’t she?”
“…What are you muttering about?” Li Fei was at a loss. “What should I do in this situation? It seems like it’ll be hard to keep a low profile after causing such a stir!”
“What are you afraid of? Even if they’re fighting over you, it’s not up to these sects. That young man from Xingzheng Hall hasn’t spoken yet! Moreover, there’s someone from Wuyue Palace here. How could they possibly let you be snatched away like this!”
Sure enough, just as Ri Yan finished speaking, Mo Yanfan opened his mouth. His voice carried a strange calmness that made everyone instinctively stop arguing: “Everyone, please calm down. Don’t forget that this is an academy. If talent is rare, why not wait for the new disciple selection in a year and compete fairly then?”
Hu Jiaping also smiled, “That’s right. We came here as teachers, not to snatch people. If Master Zuoqiu found out, how could we face him?”
Hearing him mention Master Zuoqiu, everyone fell silent. After a while, Miao Lanxin sighed, “I apologize for my improper behavior.”
Lin You smiled, “It’s just that a single Earth attribute is truly rare, so a moment of excitement is understandable. Well then, let’s set this matter aside for now. Hu, you little rascal, tell us the plan for this afternoon.”
Probably to get back at him for accidentally calling her “auntie” earlier, she mercilessly pulled rank and called him “little rascal.”