The autumn frost was like water, and Gufeng Mountain was very quiet at night.
A single starlight reflected in the Milky Way, making the distant lights appear blurred in comparison.
Beside the small wooden building, a cluster of osmanthus trees was planted. By this season, quite a few had already bloomed. When the wind rose, the rich fragrance swayed and fell like flying fireflies, dyeing the mountain scenery with a layer of sweet scent.
Zanxing sat on the third floor, gazing into the distance in a daze.
Duan Xiangrao had gone out in the evening and hadn’t returned until now. She had been picked up by several newly admitted disciples. Zanxing couldn’t help but sigh inwardly – look at other people’s social skills, making friends on the first day of enrollment. And then look at herself… better not mention it.
The small wooden building of the Taiyan Sect had an open-air third floor where one could look up and see the starry sky. Zanxing sat cross-legged, and by now, she had calmly accepted one fact – she had indeed transmigrated into the novel “Nine Heaven Summit,” and she probably couldn’t return for the time being.
Zanxing was a rather ordinary person with no special talents. Her greatest virtue was probably her good mentality. No matter what happened, she could continue forward calmly. This was also why she could remain so composed until now. Entering “Nine Heaven Summit” was an accident, obtaining the Xiaoyuan Pearl was also an accident, but the path was ultimately her own choice. Since she chose this path, she had to walk it even if she had to crawl.
The scars on her face from residual demonic qi remained. To completely heal them, she would need to enter the top thirty of the assessment. In today’s selection competition, she ranked sixty-eighth among the top 120 who qualified, and this was even with the cheat-like advantage of the Xiaoyuan Pearl. With this performance, securing a spot as an inner disciple was still somewhat uncertain.
However, fortunately, the spiritual energy on Gufeng Mountain was very abundant.
The Taiyan Sect had chosen an excellent location. Throughout this mountain, there was rich heaven and earth Yuanli everywhere, and it was purer than what was found outside. Combined with cultivating body tempering using the Xiaoyuan Pearl, the efficiency doubled.
Although she now had the protagonist’s subplot, the original owner’s body constitution was mediocre after all. To achieve the protagonist’s chosen-by-heaven accomplishments, she still needed to work twice as hard.
Zanxing closed her eyes, took a deep breath, circulated her internal energy to activate the Xiaoyuan Pearl within her body, brought her palms together, and began absorbing the surrounding spiritual Yuanli energy, starting the refinement process.
…
At dawn, sunlight slipped through the window cracks of the small wooden building.
The dormitory building was quiet when suddenly, a loud cock’s crow pierced the air, sounding like thunder and making people’s ears buzz.
Zanxing woke from her sleep with a start, sat up abruptly, and rubbed her eyes. Was that a rooster? It was way too loud!
She rubbed her eyes and got up to wash. After finishing her morning routine, she pushed open the door and saw a rooster standing on the branches of the distant osmanthus tree.
This rooster was very beautiful, with a gorgeous bright red body extending into golden yellow at the back, dotted with a bit of emerald green. Its tail was scattered with yellow spots. Even its crest was golden. At this moment, it stood on the treetop, pacing unhurriedly with a spirited appearance, like a staff member in evening dress conducting an inspection.
They say a crane stands out among chickens, but this rooster would be eye-catching even standing among cranes.
“Hey, Junior Sister Zanxing, you’re awake too?” Tian Fangfang from next door was holding a bowl and rinsing her mouth at her doorway. Seeing Zanxing come over, she greeted her.
Zanxing: “This rooster…”
“I heard from the brothers living in my building that this is the Taiyan Sect’s dawn rooster, called General Youri. Every morning when it calls, we all have to get up.”
Zanxing: “I understand, a biological alarm clock.”
“Did you look at the enrollment schedule?” Tian Fangfang asked.
Zanxing replied: “I looked at it last night.”
New disciples of the Taiyan Sect all had to attend classes on time. Classes were divided into general courses and elective courses, with general courses further divided into basic courses and theory courses. Basic courses covered fundamental cultivation practices like ordinary breath regulation, light observation, and quiet meditation. Theory courses were cultural classes, reading Daoist texts like “Pure Tranquility Classic,” “Heart Seal Wonderful Classic,” “Entering Medicine Mirror,” “Azure Sky Song,” and the like.
These large classes had to be attended together. As for small classes, only inner disciples were qualified to receive instruction from true masters. Besides this, to improve cultivation levels fastest, one still had to rely on self-study.
The spiritual energy on Gufeng Mountain was abundant, suitable for cultivation. Only inner disciples of the Taiyan Sect could access core secret texts and cultivation methods. Fortunately, the Taiyan Sect’s Martial Arts Hall had a rich collection of books. As a famous sect, the Taiyan Sect allowed all enrolled disciples to enter the Martial Arts Hall to select secret texts. However, only inner disciples could go above the first floor of the Martial Arts Hall.
Last night, Zi Luo had someone deliver today’s schedule. In a moment, newly enrolled disciples would go to the Taiyan Sect’s Martial Arts Hall to select cultivation methods as their main cultivation course for the next half month.
Tian Fangfang spat out the last mouthful of water, hugged her bowl as she walked back, saying as she walked: “I’m going to change clothes. Junior Sister Zanxing, you should hurry up too. If we go late, all the good cultivation methods might be taken.”
Zanxing responded and also returned to her room. Inside, Duan Xiangrao had already finished getting ready.
She had returned at midnight last night, which should have counted as staying up late, but this roommate showed no signs of it at all. Duan Xiangrao had even found time to style her hair in a complex arrangement and apply full makeup. Although she wore the standard gray gauze robe of Taiyan Sect outer disciples, even her way of tying the belt was different from others, always appearing more form-fitting.
Zanxing picked up the school uniform gray robe distributed last night. The robe felt very soft to the touch, with a white underskirt inside and a gauze outer garment. On the chest of the gauze garment, a phoenix was embroidered in black and white. Simple yet flowing, it fit remarkably well when worn. She couldn’t manage Duan Xiangrao’s complex hairstyle, so she simply combed her long hair, gathered a section at the back into a small bundle, and casually tied it with the gray cloth strip that came with the hair ornament before leaving the room.
Outside, Tian Fangfang was waiting for her.
The two walked while asking for directions. After walking for who knows how long, Tian Fangfang pointed ahead and said happily, “Found it!”
Zanxing looked up and saw that quite a few new disciples had already gathered ahead. In front of these disciples stood a small black building with three floors. It occupied a very large area. At the base of the tower stood a huge stone tablet with three large characters carved by sword: “Martial Arts Hall.” The characters had been painted over with red ink, appearing vigorous and powerful, as if they could pierce through the entire stone.
“This is the Taiyan Sect’s Martial Arts Hall.” A voice came from behind.
The two turned around to see Zi Luo approaching with a smile, looking toward the small building: “Every disciple who enters the Taiyan Sect can go to the Martial Arts Hall to select a cultivation method to practice. When you advance to inner disciples, you can continue going upward. For now, you can enter the first floor.”
“Senior Sister Zi Luo,” Tian Fangfang scratched her head, “Could you reveal to us which cultivation method is the most powerful?”
Zi Luo smiled: “Rather than whether it’s powerful or not, cultivation should consider whether it’s suitable.”
“Go ahead,” she said: “Go now and select a cultivation method that suits you.”