As the group watched the City Lord's Mansion's carriage leisurely pass by outside the window, Master Ji let out a sigh of admiration. “Every generation produces its talents. The City Lord's daughter, Qin Qingmu, was renowned as a genius in her youth. Ten years ago, she was recruited by Shiyan Academy and went away to pursue further studies. She has not returned since, so her reputation gradually faded—to the point that people almost forgot the City Lord's Mansion had such a prodigy…”
“Now that she has returned from Shiyan Academy, her ambitions are certainly not to be underestimated. This decade's grand competition is the perfect opportunity for her to make a name for herself across Hengze Prefecture and even the entire Changyuan Prefecture. Using this as a stepping stone, her prospects in any future struggle for control of the City Lord's Mansion will likely be immense.”
President Song nodded slightly. “Qin Qingmu is barely thirty this year, yet she has already earned the rank of Tier-3 alchemist. Her talent far surpasses even Yin Wenzhou's.”
Though both were Tier-3 alchemists, Yin Wenzhou was ten years older than Qin Qingmu. In comparison, the City Lord's daughter undoubtedly possessed superior talent and potential.
“With those two competing for the top spot this year, we are bound to see quite a show.” President Song tapped his fingers gently against the tabletop. If he had to choose between Yin Wenzhou and Qin Qingmu, he naturally favored the latter.
Although Qin Qingmu was also an alchemist, she had not joined the Hengze Prefecture Alchemist Association; this time, she represented the power of the City Lord's Mansion.
President Song withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Shi Yu.
With Qin Qingmu in the running, he expected even less that Shi Yu would vie for the championship—after all, no one else knew yet that Shi Yu could refine Tier-3 pills after reaching the eighth layer of the Qi Refining Realm.
Even so, he could not refrain from offering a word of encouragement: “Girl Yu, you are still young. Take it from me—by the time you reach Qin Qingmu's age, you won't necessarily be inferior to her. So even if you end up on the same stage, do not feel intimidated.”
Shi Yu's eyes curved into gentle crescents as she nodded obediently. “Yes, President.”
Pausing for a moment, she couldn't help but ask about the question that had been puzzling her: “May I ask… what kind of place is Shiyan Academy?”
President Song exchanged a glance with Master Ji and the others, musing for a moment before looking at Shi Yu with a slight brow-knit. “Come to think of it, little Yu actually meets Shiyan Academy's admission criteria.”
With that, everyone chimed in one after another, filling Shi Yu in on the details of Shiyan Academy.
Shiyan Academy had long enjoyed the reputation of being the number one academy in the East Continent. Its foundation was so profound that it was in no way inferior even to the seven major sects of the East Continent.
Cultivation resources such as technique manuals, divine abilities, and blessed paradises were all available within the academy as long as one had the ability to earn them. Moreover, the instructors were all Foundation Establishment Realm Masters and Golden Core experts. Receiving their guidance allowed one to make progress far faster and smoother than fumbling in the dark alone, not to mention the myriad of other benefits.
“What's more, it has a long history and an unbroken heritage. Countless mighty figures have emerged from its halls over the ages. Their leftover artifacts, inherited methods, and insights into the Dao are all priceless treasures. Even a single droplet of those teachings is enough to make an ordinary cultivator stand head and shoulders above their peers.”
Furthermore, unlike sects and noble cultivation families, the academy granted its students full freedom. Upon graduation, students could leave the academy to forge their own paths without being bound by the strict rules and control typical of sects.
“Because of this, many disciples born into sects or cultivation families attend the academy as well—Qin Qingmu, the City Lord's daughter, being one such example.”
Students who graduated from Shiyan Academy enjoyed far smoother cultivation journeys; barring unforeseen accidents, stepping into Foundation Establishment was a given.
Given all these advantages, countless cultivators naturally fought tooth and nail to gain entry into Shiyan Academy.
“However, a place whose fame echoes across the entire East Continent is not so easy to enter. Its admission standards are extraordinarily strict.”
Every five years, Shiyan Academy held recruitment across all thirty-two prefectures of the East Continent. Applicants had to undergo multiple evaluations, including tests for bone age, spiritual meridians, and soul strength, to receive a comprehensive score. Those proficient in the four auxiliary arts—artifact refining, alchemy, array formations, or talismans—would be awarded extra points based on their respective achievements. Only those who reached a total score of sixty points passed.
Students were then divided into four talent tiers—Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow—based on their score brackets, with each tier enjoying different resources and treatment. Those who barely scraped by with sixty points were placed in the Yellow tier, seventy points earned the Black tier, and so forth.
President Song couldn't help looking at Shi Yu again, thinking to himself, Setting aside her late stage Qi Refining Realm cultivation at such a young age, just her deep mastery in artifact refining, alchemy, array formations, and talismans alone would probably max out her bonus points...
If others possessed talent in just one of those arts, their future path would already be smooth and secure; yet she possessed all four.
“Given time, little Yu will surely make a grand name for herself across the entire East Continent.” President Song's eyes reflected both gratification and complex emotion.
He wanted to keep Shi Yu by his side, but he also knew that spreading her wings in a grander world was what was truly best for her.
In the region where Shiyan Academy was located, the concentration of worldly spiritual energy alone was more than double that of a remote place like Lingtai Prefecture.
Listening to all the information about Shiyan Academy, Shi Yu couldn't help feeling a stir of excitement and longing. She had no desire to join a sect, nor did she wish to serve a noble cultivation family; this academy was indeed the most suitable place for her.
The cultivation techniques she practiced lacked systematic structure. Although the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell evolved and improved them for her, she was still at a disadvantage compared to disciples backed by formidable backgrounds. Furthermore, lacking a master's guidance, she would inevitably run into bottlenecks on her path where she needed doubts clarified and doctrines explained, leaving her feeling somewhat constrained.
Beside her, seeing her lost in thought, President Song chuckled. “Shiyan Academy holds recruitment every five years, and there's still a year or so left before the next one. For now, you had better focus on preparing for the exchange conference's grand competition.”
Hearing this, Shi Yu exhaled softly and replied, “You are right, President.”
...
Having eaten and drunk to her heart's content, she returned to her room at the inn.
Shi Yu sank her divine sense into the Fate-Tapping Bell to check on the condition of the Seven-Color Luan.
It was still sound asleep. Its injuries were fully healed, though its damaged origin source still required time and care to recover. Currently, the palm-sized bird lay beside the Life Spring, its plumage gleaming with brilliant beauty. Its five tail feathers were fully fan-spread, and the other two undeveloped tail feathers twitched every now and then.
Shi Yu noticed faint wisps of fire puffing from its nostrils. Though this fire could not compare to a Heavenly Fire, it was far stronger than charcoal flames or fire catalyzed by ordinary spiritual energy.
This fire was called the Seven-Color Glazed Fire, formed from the Luan's origin power. Possessing powerful refining and purifying effects, it could combat various evil energies, impurities, and evil creatures, making it an excellent choice for alchemy as well.
Shi Yu felt a faintly familiar aura within the flames. That's not surprising. The Seven-Color Luan possesses ancient Phoenix bloodline, so its fire naturally carries a trace of a Phoenix's natal fire.
Even in its sleep, the Luan knew better than to cause trouble; the flames puffed from its nostrils were not directed at the rare spiritual plants in her medicinal field, but rather toward the space above the spiritual spring. The spiritual spring possessed deep spiritual resonance and was not afraid of the fire.
After teasing the soundly sleeping little bird for a bit, Shi Yu retrieved the incomplete formula for the Extreme Devouring Pill—which she had traded her last Lesser Longevity Pill for—and the technique manual 《Illusory Resemblance Art》 given to her by Uncle Mo.
She looked at the pill formula first. Sweeping her divine sense roughly through it, she realized that a vast amount of information was missing, with less than fifty percent preserved.
Trying to deduce and restore the complete formula with only fifty percent was immensely difficult. If she had enough spiritual plants on hand, it might be manageable to experiment slowly and eventually deduce a portion of it.
However... this was not like a game, where she had unlimited materials at her disposal. While Shi Yu was currently quite wealthy, that was only in comparison to ordinary cultivators.
If she tried to experiment on this Tier-7 incomplete formula, she would go bankrupt in minutes.
Unlike low-tier pills whose required spiritual plants were relatively inexpensive, higher-tier pills demanded higher-grade spiritual plants, causing prices to soar, multiplying tens or hundreds of times over.
Concocting a Tier-7 pill incurred an exorbitant cost. What's more, experimenting on a pill formula required an endless amount of spiritual plants, which meant the consumed spirit stones would be...
Trying to restore the formula through sheer mental speculation alone was nothing short of fantasy. Shi Yu pondered deeply for a moment before deciding not to force herself, setting the formula aside to deal with another day.
She turned her attention instead to the technique jade slip for 《Illusory Resemblance Art》.
Rate on N.U.
