Chapter 71: I Will Protect You
“Are you Ling Chuxi?” asked the proud-looking maiden who was blocking their way.
Ling Chuxi sized up the maiden standing before her and immediately recognized her—she was the young maiden she had seen riding down the street on horseback the other day. The one the people called a peerless genius. What was with her unfriendly tone?
“Yes, I am. Is there anything I can help you with?” replied Ling Chuxi calmly.
“I’d like to know how on earth you managed to get Teacher Mu to accept you as his disciple. I guess I’ll find out during the upcoming training.” Lan Xinyu spoke with glaring discourtesy. By now, she had recognized Ling Chuxi as the maiden in the window she had locked eyes with when she rode into town the other day. Ling Chuxi’s sharp gaze and refined temperament had left an impression on her with a mere glance. Despite this, never did Lan Xinyu think she’d be someone Teacher Mu would take in as a disciple.
“I suppose you could ask Mu Liufeng—uh, master, yourself. I don’t think he’d mind.” Ling Chuxi wasn’t used to addressing Mu Liufeng as “master” yet, but she corrected herself as she was sure he’d be unhappy if he found out she was addressing him using his full name and would call her a “wicked disciple” again. But, wait. Why did Lan Xinyu have such an infatuated look on her face? Don’t tell me that the crazy, narcissistic jerk that is Mu Liufeng actually had an admirer? How illogical!
Upon hearing Ling Chuxi utter Mu Liufeng’s full name as such, Lan Xinyu’s expression changed. Her jealousy compelled her to move her hand subconsciously towards the golden whip hanging from her waist—her weapon of choice.
Ling Chuxi clocked Lan Xinyu’s movements and raised an eyebrow. No more playing nice. “Tsk, tsk. What’s up with you? You want to brawl right here at the academy?” asked Ling Chuxi tauntingly. She smirked. “Come on then, I’m not afraid of a little fight. I have a backer, so I won’t be expelled.”
The color of Lan Xinyu’s face turned pig-liver red. She was so angry that her hands began to tremble slightly. That’s right, she knew as well as anyone that in order to take action against another student, one had to gain approval from the teachers first. Once the purpose of a battle had been determined as mere sparring between students so each could learn and gain pointers from the combat methods of the other, only then would permission be granted. If students were to battle without gaining permission, it would merely be considered a fight and all parties involved would be expelled. The sting of Ling Chuxi’s words was very clear—since her backer was Mu Liufeng, even if she had been caught fighting with Lan Xinyu, he would shield her from any consequences unlike the lack of protection Lan Xinyu would face! Ling Chuxi’s words succeeded in rubbing salt into Lan Xinyu’s wounds.
“I must bid you farewell. I have a very busy day ahead of me since I need to attend to the matter of eating the top-rated soybean pudding from Chengxi.” Ling Chuxi smiled and flounced away after saying such angering-to-death-without-care-for-compensation words. She then called out to Ling Yichen who’d been waiting for her a short distance away and left together with him without paying Lan Xinyu any care. Rage bubbled up in Lan Xinyu to the point of causing her to go green in the face.
“What an indecent person this Ling Chuxi is! I will teach her a lesson once training starts! I’ll make her kneel before me and beg. Teacher Mu will be able to see clearly who is more suited to be his disciple then!” Lan Xinyu gripped the golden whip against her waist tightly and forced her words out through gritted teeth.
…
Far off in the distance, Ling Chuxi sneezed. A frown appeared on Ling Yichen’s handsome face as he looked at Ling Chuxi in concern. “Have you caught a cold?”
“No. It must be Lan Xinyu griping about me behind my back!” said Ling Chuxi with certainty. She cradled Little White tightly in her arms and added cheerfully, “I couldn’t possibly catch a cold with Little White warming my bed every night.”
“Still, it’s better to be careful in every regard.” Ling Yichen turned to look back at Lan Xinyu standing a long way behind them, unmoving from where they had originally left her. There was slight concern in his voice as he continued, “I think she will definitely find ways to cause trouble for you however and whenever she can. She has a monster beast with strong cultivation techniques so you should be careful.”
Ling Chuxi’s lips curled into a sneer. “Really? She should bring it on then. Let’s see how peerless this peerless genius truly is.”
Ling Yichen’s expression softened as he began to speak his next words, “I will—” However, Ling Chuxi cut him off happily before he could finish what he was going to say.
“Yichen, look! Roasted chestnuts coated with sugar! Quick, let’s try some. We can order two servings to start with. One and a half portions for me and a half portion for you,” whispered Ling Chuxi gleefully as she looked at the cart selling roasted chestnuts.
Ling Yichen gave her a feeble smile and resignedly trudged off to buy the roasted chestnuts, swallowing the words he had meant to say: “I will protect you.”
Chapter 72: Life and Death is Your Own Responsibility
Ling Yichen wordlessly passed the pack of sugar-coated roasted chestnuts to Ling Chuxi. Ling Chuxi put Little White on her shoulders, then quickly took the pack from Ling Yichen and began to peel the chestnuts. Just as she was about to pop the one she had finished peeling into her mouth, a fair and slender hand reached out and snatched it away.
“Hey!” cried Ling Chuxi angrily. She whipped her head around to glare at the person who dared steal her food away from her, only to see Mu Liufeng casually toss the chestnut he had stolen into his mouth.
“You’re such a disrespectful person!” barked Ling Chuxi in annoyance at Mu Liufeng. She had to denounce his bad behavior despite him being her master. That was her chestnut that she had laboriously peeled with her own two hands!
“You wicked disciple! If your master partakes in your food, that means he is seeing you as someone worthy of sharing meals with,” retorted Mu Liufeng candidly. Needless to say, he didn’t feel that snatching away his own disciple’s food was something to be ashamed of.
“Teacher Mu,” greeted Ling Yichen respectfully. He had naturally guessed at the identity of the chestnut-stealing man who stood before him and Ling Chuxi. Mu Liufeng was a name he had heard spoken in many a discussion before, but this was his first time seeing the man behind the name in person. At first impression, there didn’t seem to be anything remarkable about him aside from his set of very charming eyes.
“Hmm,” snorted Mu Liufeng by way of recognizing Ling Yichen’s greeting. For Mu Liufeng, this was considered a courteous response.
“Do you have any advice for the upcoming training, master?” questioned Ling Chuxi as she peeled a chestnut. She popped the chestnut into her mouth the second she finished peeling it, fearful of Mu Liufeng stealing it away again.
“Nope,” replied Mu Liufeng offhandedly. After a giving Ling Chuxi’s question more of a brief thought, he added, “If you die then you deserve it.”
Ling Chuxi’s lips twitched. What kind of master was this?!
“I have other matters to attend to, so, later.” Mu Liufeng threw out a cavalier goodbye before floating away. Literally. Even up to this point, Ling Chuxi had yet to deduce his level of cultivation.
Once Mu Liufeng was well out of earshot, Ling Chuxi muttered under her breath, “Tell me, Yichen. With such an awful personality, how is it that he still has an admirer?”
“Because he’s very powerful,” answered Ling Yichen succinctly and practically.
Upon hearing Ling Yichen’s words, Ling Chuxi lowered her head and remained silent for some time. When she raised her head again, her gaze was sharpened by determination.
Indeed, that’s how things were here. Only the strong are respected!
…
It was only during the training three days later that all newly accepted students realized they were facing White Stone Academy’s real admissions test. The ones who were able to persevere through the training would be truly accepted students of White Stone Academy!
This time, the training was held at the White Stone Canyon ten miles from White Stone City.
Ling Chuxi and Ling Yichen stood together in a group of two. What surprised Ling Chuxi was that all participating students were required to sign a death indemnity. The terms listed in the indemnity were easy enough to understand—participation in the training was deemed voluntary and that one would be held responsible for one’s own life and death!
That clause alone had scared off quite a number of new students. Many thought passing the innate talent assessment and entrance examination meant they had nothing more to worry about. Never did they think the real examination came after and that it would be so dangerous! However, Ling Chuxi saw it differently. She admired White Stone Academy for organizing such a training because it tested the valor and tenacity of students. One would not make it far along the road of cultivation without possessing such qualities.
Those who refused to sign the death indemnity would have no place as students at White Stone Academy.
Ling Chuxi and Ling Yichen signed the death indemnity without a word. When they looked around, they saw that some of the students around them were afraid to sign and withdrew their participation instead. Aside from the few dropouts, there were still many students who were willing to sign and participate.
The teacher in charge of the training this time was the academy’s vice principal. He took a look at the number of students who decided to participate and nodded his head in satisfaction. The turnout was rather large this year. Hopefully, many of them would pass the training and be able to properly enroll at White Stone Academy.
In order to pass the training, students just had to meet one requirement—they had to pass through White Stone Canyon and reach the other side of it within seven days and nights.
Chapter 73: Everyone Has Their Own Secrets
White Stone Canyon stretched a few dozen miles. The canyon terrain consisted of steep rocky cliffs, wetlands which appeared harmless but which contained danger from every angle, and a lake with bone-piercingly cold water. Students participating in the training were expected to find ways to overcome the dangerous terrain and make it to the other side of the canyon on their own. Every piece of material gathered or hunted by each group would be tallied into the final results.
Indeed, White Stone Canyon contained danger at every turn. However, it was also a treasure trove. There were wild beasts whose bodies possessed medicinal value and a multitude of rare and precious herbs to be found. One might even encounter savage beasts armed with horns or leathered hides which could be used to make weapons. If one was lucky enough, perhaps one might come across a monster beast. Anyone who manages to find and tame a monster beast to become their mystical pet received much admiration.
There was an equal proportion of danger and opportunity within the canyon. Many an adventurer had ventured into White Stone Canyon in hopes of striking it rich. Some did, but many others lost their lives in such a pursuit. The White Stone Academy had selected this place as the grounds for the training to put the courage and determination of their students to the utmost test. What a cruel and vivid first lesson this was! With such tough methods, it was no wonder why White Stone Academy was the fifth best academy nationwide!
Ling Chuxi’s empty hands swung by her sides as she walked. The Luo Chen Sword was strapped securely to her waist and Little White was curled around her neck, functioning as a captivatingly beautiful fur neck warmer. Meanwhile, Ling Yichen was having a hard time. He carried a big, hefty bag upon his back filled with his and Ling Chuxi’s belongings. Unlike the cumbersome cloth bundles other students carried on their backs, Ling Yichen was sporting a simple backpack with shoulder straps and small pouches all over its body and sides to make it easier to store and retrieve things. This bag was made by Ling Chuxi herself specially for the training.
Once the teacher in charge blew the start whistle, training officially began.
Ling Chuxi and Ling Yichen walked into White Stone Canyon alongside other groups of students.
“Yichen, what prize does one get for getting first place in this training?” asked Ling Chuxi offhandedly as they walked. Ling Yichen seemed to care a great deal about the first-place prize and was determined to get it at all costs.
“A Seven Star Flower,” answered Ling Yichen in a serious tone after a beat of silence.
A Seven Star Flower? Ling Chuxi racked her brain to recall what the use of this flower was. That’s right. It was a priceless herb with seven petals that were different colors. It could cure illnesses caused by common poisoning and was able to be used to make a rare medicinal pill. What did Ling Yichen want it for?
Ling Yichen didn’t say anything further on the matter and Ling Chuxi didn’t press him into divulging more. Everyone had their secrets after all. If and when Ling Yichen wanted to talk about it, he would bring it up. If he didn’t wish to say any more then no matter how many times someone asked him about it, it would be in vain.
After entering the canyon, all the students began to slowly disperse into different directions in different groups. As Ling Chuxi and Ling Yichen progressed deeper into the canyon, the path stretching out ahead of them slowly got quieter and the sky became dimmer. Ling Chuxi dug out the spiced pine nuts she had packed yesterday and started munching on them while scouting their surroundings. The air was fresher and more humid within the canyon. Some herbs only grew specially in this specific climate the canyon possessed.
“Yichen, I feel we can easily rack up a fortune here,” said Ling Chuxi happily as she eyed a few herbs growing under a large tree ahead of them.
“Are those… Indeed, those are Geocentric Flowers.” Ling Yichen hesitated initially before confidently stating the name of the herb. “But I don’t think they are worth much money, are they?”
“They’ll be worth quite a bit after they’ve been refined into medicinal pills. Plus, the one in the middle looks more than ten years old. It can be used to refine a fair amount of Di Medicinal Pills,” said Ling Chuxi as she pointed at one of the herbs. Di Medicinal Pills were miraculous healing pills. All medicinal pills were divided into three tiers—lower, intermediate and advanced. Naturally, the advanced tier pills resulted in the best effects. A lower-tier Di Medicinal Pill could sell for 50 silver taels, but an intermediate tier one could sell for more than 500 taels. Advanced tier pills were worth more than 5000 taels. The disparity in range truly left one flabbergasted.
Ling Chuxi considered a few thousand taels a small fortune as she was currently not rich.
Chapter 74: Being Robbed But Ended Up Robbing?
“You know how to refine pills?!” blurted Ling Yichen as he looked at Ling Chuxi in astonishment. His eyes were full of disbelief at her casual words. She was a pill master! Did Ling Chuxi even know how much pill masters were valued?
A pill master pretty much equated to great wealth and a respectable status! The probability of failure during the pill refinement process was very high. The higher the tier of the pill, the higher the chance of failure. The beneficial effects such medicinal pills enabled were a far cry from decocted herbs. Medicinal pills were especially important in this realm as cultivation was such a widespread practice here. It was a difficult task to be a pill master. It required a great amount of innate talent. An amount so vast that it was incomparable to the quantity of innate talent a cultivator possessed. If the innate talent of a cultivator was one in a thousand, then the innate talent of a pill master was one in ten thousand and perhaps even scarcer than that.
One might dare offend a strong cultivator, but one would not dare offend a superb pill master. With a mere flick of their fingers, they would be able to refine a supreme tier medicinal pill and have many a strong cultivator willingly risk their lives in their stead! Instead of chasing offenders down themselves, pill masters sent powerful cultivators after such offenders to kill them. These offenders would panic and run about helter-skelter to avoid such a fate, never to live in peace ever again.
“I know a little about it,” answered Ling Chuxi nonchalantly.
Ling Yichen remained silent for a while. If he’d learnt anything from his interactions with Ling Chuxi, it was that what she termed as little was not what he would consider little. He looked up to see Ling Chuxi happily rushing off to collect the herbs she had pointed out earlier and felt a jolt of shock go through his heart. ‘Chuxi, how many other secrets do you have that I’m unaware of?’
Just as Ling Chuxi got to her feet cheerfully after picking the herbs she wanted, a cold voice rang out from her right. “If you don’t want to ruin your pretty face, put the herbs down and get lost immediately.”
Ling Chuxi’s gaze frosted over. She turned and saw five people dressed in black undercover mission garments. They were standing in single file with weapons in their hands. The one leading the charge was a man with a scar on his face. There was an arrow nocked in the drawn bow in his hands that was directed right at Ling Chuxi’s face.
Was this a robbery attempt?
Ling Chuxi blinked at the five people before her. Amongst the three men and two women, they had archers, swordsmen and a dagger wielder. Their expressions were all on point. Every one of them glared at Ling Chuxi aggressively, looking ready to strike at once should she not comply with their demands. They must be older students at White Stone Academy. Both new and older students were participating in the training together, but based on their dressing and manner of conduct, this group were clearly not made up of new students. Their calm and savvy attitudes spoke to the fact that they were used to this kind of thing from having done it before.
“Why’d you even want these herbs for? It’s amazing that you think they’re worth anything,” muttered Ling Chuxi. These herbs were sold for a mere dozen taels at medicinal halls—they were only worth anything if they were refined into medicinal pills.
“No matter how little something is worth, it’s still worth something. Doesn’t matter how small a mosquito is, it’s still something to eat in desperate times. Wouldn’t you agree? Little sister, if you don’t want to hurt yourself just put down the herbs and piss off with that little sugar-baby face of yours,” said the young man who stood next to the man with the facial scar. He laughed as he spoke. His laughter was obnoxious and the words he spewed even more so.
“Yichen, they want to rob us. What should we do?” asked Ling Chuxi innocently as she tilted her head to look at Ling Yichen. “Should we just let them… or should we rob them instead?”
Ling Yichen’s lips twitched at the sound of Ling Chuxi’s question. Situations like this were common during White Stone Academy’s annual training. The academy never made efforts to stop it and if anything, quietly condoned it. As the world was indeed cruel, allowing students to gain exposure to its injustices as such wasn’t deemed a bad thing. However, as to the question of whether or not to rob them instead, Ling Yichen would have rather Ling Chuxi asked it in a tone that wasn’t pure or innocent in any regard.
Chapter 75: Can You Not Step on My Face When Beating Me Up?
Although Ling Yichen grumbled in his heart, he still slung the backpack down resignedly before deftly unsheathing his sword and attacking the five older students with lightning-quick reflexes. Though his opponents were his seniors, there wasn’t even a hint of fear upon Ling Yichen’s face. Clearly, Ling Yichen didn’t even deem these five individuals worthy of his acknowledgement.
Ling Yichen’s gaze was razor-sharp as he circulated his Battle Qi. With white light emitting from his sword, he rushed swiftly towards the leader of the group—the scar-faced archer who had aimed his arrow at Ling Chuxi. Scarface had made the assumption that Ling Chuxi was simply a tag-along, a weakling Ling Yichen wanted to protect—the weak link in their group of two. Ling Yichen could tell what scar-face thought, so once he drew his sword, he attacked him first.
Scar-face’s face sank and unease rose in his heart. He could sense Ling Yichen’s level of cultivation wasn’t something he could withstand. One could even say, it wasn’t something all five of them could withstand. Therefore, it was essential to catch hold of this fair-faced pretty boy’s weakness! They were a little unlucky today, weren’t they? They had kicked a “metal piece” by accident, but fortunately, he had brought along a “soft bunny” with him. This made things easier for the five of them to handle!
Scar-face shot the arrow he had been nocking in his bow, the one aimed at Ling Chuxi’s face. Although he felt it was a pity that such a beautiful maiden would be disfigured by his arrow, he was a person who didn’t covet beauties but loved wealth the most! This was why he didn’t even hesitate to fire that arrow at Ling Chuxi.
However, he soon realized that his assumptions were wrong. Ling Chuxi was no weakling. Nor was she a tag-along or the weak link within the duo she formed with Ling Yichen!
The arrow whistled sharply as it sailed through the sky towards Ling Chuxi’s face. With great speed, Ling Yichen slashed through the arrow with a backhanded swipe of his sword, but Ling Chuxi moved even faster!
In only the blink of an eye, Ling Chuxi’s cold and beautiful face had appeared right before them!
There was a loud crack as the arrow was split into two by Ling Yichen’s slash and it fell to the ground harmlessly in pieces. But before this, Ling Chuxi had already moved to stand before scar-face and knocked him far and away with the back of her sword. In that split second, a glint of light flashed as quickly as lightning—the unsheathed blade of Ling Chuxi’s sword. Before any of the remaining four had time to figure out what happened, they too were knocked into the air and flew off into the distance in motions that made it look as though they were free and happy.
Once all five of them were sprawled on the ground half dead, feelings of terror and gratitude came to them at the same time! They were terrified at having encountered a strong cultivator, one who was a lot stronger than they were. But, they also felt lucky that such a strong opponent only used Battle Qi and the back of a sword to attack them! If it were any other way, they would not have fallen to the ground in one piece like this, but in two halves!
Who was this maiden exactly? How could she be so strong? What level had her Battle Qi reached? Level 5? Or had it reached an even more terrifying height—Level 6? And to think that they thought she was a “soft bunny”! Never did it occur to them that she was the real “metal piece”!
“How weak! This doesn’t let me gain any real combat experience at all!” barked Ling Chuxi as she walked towards scar-face in disappointment and placed her foot upon his face. She was very upset. Ling Chuxi knew she was not considered weak, but she did feel she lacked in experience when it came to circulating her Battle Qi during active combat. When she saw that these five wanted to rob her, she was secretly delighted at the chance to gain combat experience with her Battle Qi. However, she didn’t expect the battle to end with an instant kill!
Scar-face was almost about to cry. Things shouldn’t have ended up this way! Being beaten up, having one’s face stepped on and being spoken to with such insulting words. And what blunt insults they were too! It was too wounding on one’s self-esteem.