Ming Li followed Qiu Hong and the other two into a black tower of new quarters. Since it wasn’t rest time, the place was bustling with lively disciples chasing and playing around. The ground floor was planted with numerous flowering trees as landscaping, forming a small flower grove with tables and chairs for disciples to rest.

The administrator at the entrance of the new quarters registered them: “Which academy, name, and star meridian level?”

Qiu Hong scratched his head and asked, “You need the star meridian level too?”

The administrator leaned back lazily in his chair and said, “Need detailed records.”

Qiu Hong asked again, “Who’s the strongest here? How many of the eight meridians are at what level?”

The administrator maintained his lazy demeanor: “You’ll find out when you go in.”

“Alright,” Qiu Hong said, “Gui Xiu Academy, Qiu Hong, eight meridians awakened, five meridians at full level.”

The administrator looked at him with some surprise, recorded the information on the star disc and compared it with Nan Que’s Gui Xiu information to confirm it was correct. “New disciples this year, huh? Eight meridians awakened, haven’t seen that for several years.”

Qiu Hong went in.

The administrator called out, “Next!”

Dou Lanmin stepped forward with a grinning face and said, “Liu Xiu Academy, Dou Lanmin, eight meridians awakened, five meridians at full level.”

The administrator couldn’t help but look at him twice. Surprisingly, here came another with eight meridians awakened.

He glanced at the two people behind, thinking to himself, It can’t be.

Cheng Jingbai flashed a sunny, brilliant smile at the administrator: “Zhen Xiu Academy, Cheng Jingbai, same as those two.”

The administrator sat up straight and seriously input the search into the star disc. Well, well, indeed another with eight meridians awakened.

It was Ming Li’s turn at last.

The administrator looked at her and couldn’t help asking, “Are you the same too?”

Ming Li: “What do you mean by ‘the same’?”

The administrator probed, “Eight meridians awakened?”

Ming Li suddenly realized: “Oh, yes, that’s the same.”

“Four of them!” The administrator drew in a sharp breath and asked, “Which academy are you from?”

Ming Li said, “Yi Xiu Academy, Zhou Li, eight meridians awakened, single meridian at full level.”

The administrator’s fingers trembled as he entered the information on the star disc. What kind of monsters were these new disciples recruited this year? Each with such formidable talent.

He gave the room keys to Ming Li and the others, watching them enter with a complex expression.

Inside the new quarters was very lively, with people coming and going. People were chatting and laughing along the railings of each floor, either standing or leaning. The newcomers seemed to have gone unnoticed until Dou Lanmin quietly said after Ming Li arrived, “We’ve been eavesdropped on since we were registering just now.”

Qiu Hong clenched his five fingers into a fist and swung at the empty air. The star power fluctuated, accurately shattering the transparent Wind-Stealing Bird that was monitoring them. The circulating qi struck back with turbulence. The remaining force of this punch should have transferred entirely to the Wind-Stealing Bird’s master, but the other party cleverly converted it, transferring the attack elsewhere. An unfortunate person sleeping soundly in a room was hit by the fist’s wind and fell off the bed.

The unfortunate person cursed as he got up from the floor.

The previously bustling new quarters suddenly became quiet at this moment. People more or less glanced at Qiu Hong, who had made the move.

The four received various evaluations from all sides—playful or curious, malicious or thoughtful—indicating they were not as calm and unconcerned as they appeared on the surface.

A room door was kicked open from inside with a bang. The person who came out was very tall and sturdy. In his haste, he had put on his upper garment but hadn’t even finished tying his belt. He roared in anger, “Who the hell just sent a punch of star power into my room!”

His voice was loud, echoing throughout the entire new quarters, with the sound reverberating three times. Especially for the people below the tall and sturdy man, they could even feel the hot wind of star power exploding in his breath, sweeping across, making the flower trees sway and branches break. A crackling sound fell at Ming Li’s feet.

Someone tremblingly pointed to Qiu Hong below.

Xu Bin looked over angrily.

When he looked over, Dou Lanmin and Cheng Jingbai immediately retreated, pulling Ming Li, who was still looking down at the tree branch, behind them, leaving only Qiu Hong to raise his head and meet Xu Bin’s gaze from the third floor, candidly saying, “Me.”

This kid truly wasn’t afraid of death.

Dou Lanmin and Cheng Jingbai both cast admiring glances at him.

Xu Bin came to the railing and looked down at Qiu Hong, giving a cold laugh at his fearless attitude: “Newcomer?”

Qiu Hong honestly replied, “Just arrived today.”

Xu Bin flexed his hands, producing crisp clicking sounds. He asked, “Which academy are you from?”

Qiu Hong said, “Gui Xiu Academy.”

“What a coincidence, me too,” Xu Bin said, then tightly clenched his five fingers into a fist. As he spoke, he threw a punch at Qiu Hong from above, accompanied by a tiger’s roar that spread like thunder with the fist’s wind.

This punch contained only star power, similar to the one Qiu Hong had thrown earlier, but it was faster and stronger than his.

Ming Li only felt a fierce wind coming toward her face, wild and arrogant. As she raised her head, Qiu Hong had already been blasted far away, brushing past her wind-raised clothes and hair, flying back until he was stopped by a flower tree behind, making a dull sound as the flower tree shook violently for a moment.

Even the spectators couldn’t help but shrink their necks in fear at this punch.

Qiu Hong clutched his chest and coughed, bending his leg to rise but falling back midway.

Seeing that a punch using only star power could knock Qiu Hong down and prevent him from getting up, Ming Li witnessed the gap between new students and veterans.

Xu Bin said from his high position, “Returning the favor.”

After saying this, he went back to his room. The door closed heavily, cutting off others’ views.

When everyone thought it was over, they saw Qiu Hong slowly stand up with one hand pressing against the ground. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, showing no signs of injury, and the fighting spirit in his eyes grew even stronger.

Cheng Jingbai said helplessly, “Take it easy, will you?”

“What’s this kid trying to do, reconcentrating his star power?” the spectators exclaimed in surprise. Some leaned over the railings, seemingly wanting to get a closer look. “He’s not going to continue fighting, is he?”

“Is he suicidal, challenging Xu Bin? Didn’t he just get blown away?”

Others warned, “Hey! Newcomer, that’s your Gui Xiu Academy’s physical meridian genius. Know when to back down and don’t show off blindly!”

Dou Lanmin quietly retreated into the crowd, yelling, “Let’s see in this Gui Xiu Academy internal battle whether it’s the newcomer or the veteran who ultimately wins! Place your bets before the fight starts!”

Cheng Jingbai pointed at him: “You must have been a poor ghost in your previous life.”

While everyone was watching the excitement, only Ming Li looked at the room number on her key and turned to go upstairs to find her dormitory.

Qiu Hong had finished gathering his strength, the veins on the back of his fist bulging. Influenced by the powerful star’s power, a small whirlwind formed under his feet, sweeping up fallen flowers.

Someone knocked on Xu Bin’s door: “Get up, the kid still wants to fight you!”

They knocked and ran, fearing they might be affected if Qiu Hong’s punch came over.

Xu Bin in the room heard this and sprang up like a carp. Cursing, he kicked open the door and came out: “What else do you want?”

Seeing his target appear, Qiu Hong raised his hand and threw a punch. The vast star power concentrated in this punch rushed toward Xu Bin on the upper floor. Xu Bin reacted quickly, immediately punching back.

Both sides were using only star power, but such a contest also relied on the strength of one’s physical meridian. The aftershock from the collision of their star powers swept across the new quarters, causing many spectators leaning on the railings to be forced backward.

Ming Li had just reached the second floor and saw someone being flipped onto the ground, rolling a circlesx before getting up, cursing.

She continued to walk up. Her room was No. 36 on the fifth floor, but Ming Li stopped in front of room No. 12 on the fourth floor.

The person inside had originally opened his Heavy Eyes meridian to watch the commotion, but when he noticed Ming Li stopping at his door, a chill ran down his spine. Before he could react, the door was kicked open by Ming Li.

She stood against the light at the door, reached out her hand to grab the transparent Wind-Stealing Bird that had been hidden by her side from the void, and locked eyes with the pockmarked young man sitting cross-legged in the room. Ming Li crushed his Wind-Stealing Bird with her five fingers. Zhuang Shu swallowed instinctively.

Zhuang Shu said with an awkward expression, “Ah, cough, Junior Sister, it’s a misunderstanding, let’s first…”

Ming Li extended her hand toward him: “Bind Sound.”

Zhuang Shu’s mind exploded upon hearing this. Before he could defend himself, he was blasted away by the Circulating Qi word spell sound explosion, flying out of the room. If not for the railing stopping him, he would have fallen.

People on the fourth floor were startled by this commotion and all looked over.

Ming Li looked at Zhuang Shu without saying a word. Zhuang Shu, who had been blasted out and was feeling dizzy, shook his head and raised his hand to stop Ming Li from pursuing further. Clinging to the railing, he stood up and said, “Don’t attack, I’ll explain myself!”

Zhuang Shu, covering his bleeding nose, shouted to Xu Bin on the third floor, “Sorry, Xu Bin! It was I who accidentally transferred his earlier punch’s star power into your room!”

Xu Bin: “…”

He glared fiercely in Zhuang Shu’s direction: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Xu Bin lowered his body to add strength, punching again, throwing the force that had been in a stalemate with Qiu Hong toward Zhuang Shu on the fourth floor.

Zhuang Shu cried out in panic as he dodged, but was still affected by the punch’s wind and was blown far away.

Xu Bin snorted coldly and said to Qiu Hong below, “No more fighting. I need to catch up on my sleep.”

But Qiu Hong rubbed his hands together: “Are you the strongest here?”

Xu Bin’s expression sank upon hearing this, and he turned back to look at Qiu Hong.

Qiu Hong raised his head to look at him: “If you’re not, then I won’t fight. I want to fight the strongest person here.”

Dou Lanmin, behind him, made a “yeah” gesture, “Go for it, brother, don’t be afraid. Even if you lose, it’s not shameful! A gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, what was it again? Anyway, we’re not intimidated! Fight! Taunt him a couple more times!”

Cheng Jingbai grabbed him and pulled back: “If you don’t know, don’t misuse phrases. If something serious happens from the fight, will you take responsibility? Stop inciting here, quickly move away.”

Dou Lanmin said while retreating, “Don’t bet, hey!”

Ming Li no longer cared about the subsequent development. She found her dormitory room and entered. She dealt with Zhuang Shu to break the eavesdropping spirit technique because she now only wanted to lie down and sleep to find her junior brother in dreams.

The room was clean, and although the bed was small, it was enough for one person.

Ming Li didn’t overthink or be too picky. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she activated her Yin Meridian, attempting to separate herself while awake.

Her current Yin Meridian level was too low, making self-separation difficult and dangerous. Star power revolved around her at high speed, causing the Pilgrim’s Fire to blaze fiercely as a result.

Separating oneself from the Yin Meridian was a delicate task, but Ming Li was patient and skilled. Under the pressure of the Pilgrim’s Fire, she slowly made her external self fall into sleep, then supported with the spiritual power of her Spiritual Court meridian, separating another self to enter her sleeping dream.

Ming Li was conscious in the dream, but this time she didn’t dream about her junior brother.

She had to try again.

After three such attempts, her star power was nearly exhausted, yet she still couldn’t dream of her junior brother. Ming Li found it strange. Usually, she would dream of him when falling asleep, even without thinking much about him, but now that she urgently wanted to see him, she couldn’t dream of him.

The Pilgrim’s Fire burned her star meridians, spreading from inside out. Beneath her porcelain-white skin, flickering fire lines could be faintly seen.

Ming Li was about to separate for the fourth time. The burning pain of the Pilgrim’s Fire made her frown slightly. As she stopped running her star power to alleviate it, she suddenly felt the light in the room dim significantly.

She turned her head as if sensing something, and saw a black-clad youth standing with his back against the closed door of the room.

The grayish-white, hazy light shone through the door onto the youth’s face, showing the aloof appearance from their first meeting at the Bei Dou examination platform. When Ming Li turned to look, the youth’s figure instantly changed to his appearance from many years later, with light and shadow falling on his upper body, displaying the crazed demeanor that despised all things in Ming Li’s dream.

Ming Li’s eyelashes trembled lightly, her gaze flickering.

As Zhou Zixi raised his hand, his sleeve slid down, revealing black incantations flowing on his arm. As he raised his head, his deep, dark, and bright eyes looked toward Ming Li in the corner shadows, mockingly saying in a soft voice, “Nan Que truly produces worthless beings like you, who only dare to kill me in dreams.”

Ming Li: “…”

Who are you insulting?