That evening, the children quickly learned what "one tael of silver per meal" truly meant.
Around dusk, the table was suddenly laden with an extravagant spread—from meat dishes to vegetables, fragrant steamed rice to flower-shaped buns, savory soups to sweet desserts—everything one could imagine, dazzling to the eye. But without placing a tael of silver on the table, one wouldn’t even dream of touching those delicious dishes, no matter how desperate.
Some strong-willed children stubbornly refused to pay. Yet, the food remained on the table, its aroma taunting them. The torment of starving while surrounded by delicacies was no less than purgatory. In the end, even Ye Ye succumbed and reluctantly handed over his silver. To their dismay, one tael only bought three dishes, a soup, and either rice or noodles—nothing more. The stinginess was infuriating.
Gathered in Baili Gelin’s Liying Room for the meal, everyone seethed with indignation. Between bites, Baili Gelin cursed, "Why call it Young Phoenix Academy? Just rename it Robbery Academy! Forcing us to pay for meals on the very first day—I’ve never seen anything like it!"
Li Fei reasoned, "The Academy admits new disciples for free every year. Without much income, they still provide us with uniforms, food, and hire teachers. Paying for meals isn’t unreasonable. Besides, it’s not every meal. Once we learn to fly, we probably won’t have to pay anymore."
Baili Gelin scoffed, "You’re too naive. Today it’s meals—next time, it’ll be buying manuals for some cultivation technique, then elixirs. The real spending has only just begun!"
Could it really be that dire?
Li Fei instinctively touched her money pouch. She didn’t have much—only fifty taels left by her Master. If learning an Immortal Technique cost ten taels, and elixirs another ten, how far could fifty taels take her?
The first night at Young Phoenix Academy passed with the children anxiously dreading the financial burdens ahead.
The next morning, everyone rose early. Being late meant a ten-tael penalty per meal for three consecutive days—even Ji Tongzhou refused to waste money on such humiliation. Before dawn, the open space outside the Disciple Rooms was already full.
The sky was still dim, the floating island shrouded in misty veils of cloud, its emerald hues interlaced with white like a gauzy robe. At the island’s edge, peering down revealed an endless Cloud Sea, its swirling depths unfathomable and terrifying.
"What do you think is down there?" Baili Gelin, afraid of heights, hid behind her sister, too scared to look.
Li Fei, entirely unafraid, stood steadily at the brink, her clothes fluttering wildly in the wind as if she might be blown away any moment. "Just mud and bones," she said. "Nothing special."
Having lived in Green Mound, she’d scaled Tiger Jaw Cliff with her Master countless times. Cliffs and precipices held no fear for her. The base of Tiger Jaw Cliff was littered with the bones of fallen animals—and humans—so many she’d grown numb to them.
"I’d guess it’s the sea," said Ye Ye, ever logical. "We flew over twenty days on the Rainbow Deer Carriage—long enough to leave the Central Land. Floating islands of this scale would make more sense built over the ocean."A strange male voice chimed in from behind: "Below is a restricted area teeming with demons and monsters. If you fall down there by accident, you won't make it out alive."
Baili Gelin let out a frightened scream, and everyone quickly turned around to see a young man in red suddenly appearing in the open space. He looked to be in his early twenties, unexpectedly young, with a colorful gold-threaded belt tied around his waist. Paired with his red clothes, he stood out vividly. However, since his features were handsome—especially his eyes, which seemed to smile even when he wasn't speaking—the flamboyant outfit didn’t look bad on him.
An adult appearing in the Disciple Room at this time could only be an instructor from the Academy. The children immediately tensed up, holding their breath in silence, waiting for the instructor’s lecture.
The red-clad young man glanced around and smiled. "Not a single one of you is late. What a surprise... And it seems you’ve all brought your swords. This year’s new disciples aren’t bad."
"This instructor seems pretty easygoing," Baili Gelin whispered to Li Fei. "Look at how he’s smiling. We’re really lucky."
Li Fei felt both nervous and excited. She still couldn’t draw spiritual energy into her body, nor could she circulate her inner breath. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to learn what the instructor was about to teach.
The red-clad young man continued, "Since everyone’s here, I’ll cut to the chase. First, let me tell you—Young Phoenix Academy doesn’t have fixed instructors. Every year, the instructors are different, selected from outstanding young disciples of major Immortal Sects. My name is Hu Jiaping, one of the direct disciples of Guangwei Zhenren from No Moon Court. For now, you’ll follow me to learn sword flying. Let me make this clear—sword flying is the most basic skill. It doesn’t even count as cultivation. If you want to properly learn from an instructor in the future, you’ll have to pass this hurdle first."
He glanced up at the sky and added, "Alright, here’s the deal: those who can fly before dinner get free food from the north hall. Those who can’t by then will have to pay twenty taels of silver per meal. If you still can’t do it in three days, I’ll toss you straight down from here." He pointed at the abyss of Cloud Sea behind him.
The only response was dead silence. More demands for money! And twenty taels at that! The children were nearly numb by now.
Hu Jiaping sighed lazily. "Alright, let’s get started."
He clapped his hands, and suddenly, a red book appeared in front of each person. Hu Jiaping yawned. "The method for sword flying cultivation is all in the book. Read it yourself, practice yourself. If you don’t understand, figure it out—don’t bother me. I’ll check your progress before dinner."
With that, he found a large tree, lay down beneath it, and refused to get up no matter what.
This... what kind of instructor was this? The children were dumbfounded.
"...I take back what I said earlier," Baili Gelin said, tears streaming down her face. This instructor wasn’t just irresponsible—he was downright outrageous!
On their very first day of cultivation at Young Phoenix Academy, the children were utterly crushed by the harsh reality. But the pressure of twenty taels per meal was too much to bear. No one had time to complain about this negligent instructor. Everyone buried themselves in the book, occasionally gesturing with their hands, practicing with unprecedented seriousness.
Li Fei opened the red book, and her heart sank before she even finished the first page.
The book was filled with extensive instructions on how to draw spiritual energy into the body and then channel it into the sword, accompanied by diagrams vividly illustrating the flow and movement of spiritual energy within the body. All the secrets to controlling sword flying were right there.Although this was indeed much more straightforward than the teacher's tedious explanations, for her, it was completely useless.
She simply couldn't draw spiritual energy into her body, let alone control its flow to channel it into the sword.
Li Fei silently glanced around. Lei Xiuyuan stood in the distance, idly holding his sword, lost in thought. The Baili Sisters and Ye Ye sat cross-legged on the ground, motionless. Ji Tongzhou and Lan Ya Junzhu were both engrossed in their books. The other children were either standing or sitting, some deep in concentration, others seemingly enlightened—everyone was diligently practicing. Only she could do nothing.
Before long, the children suddenly stirred with excitement—Ji Tongzhou was wobbling unsteadily on his sword, flying shakily from one end of the clearing to the other. Though his flight was far from stable, he was indeed flying.
"Hahaha! It's not hard at all!" It wouldn’t be Ji Tongzhou if he didn’t gloat at a time like this. His sword twisted clumsily beneath his feet, veering east one moment and west the next. He managed to hold on for the time it took an incense stick to burn before finally collapsing, exhausted.
Proudly, he surveyed his surroundings. Spotting Li Fei standing there dumbly, unmoving, his smugness only grew. Though it felt good to outshine these lowly commoners, nothing compared to the satisfaction of putting this troublemaker in her place.
"Hmph." He snorted arrogantly at Li Fei before leaping back onto his sword and attempting another wobbly flight—this time with slightly better control.
Li Fei felt like an ant on a hot pan. Though she maintained a calm exterior, inside, she was frantic with anxiety. Ji Tongzhou truly had exceptional talent, grasping the essence of sword flying in an instant. But right now, she had no time to envy him. Never had she imagined that after all her struggles to reach Young Phoenix Academy, the very first lesson would stump her.
If she couldn’t learn sword flying, she wouldn’t even be able to travel to the other islands. Meals would still cost money—twenty silver taels per meal. What would she do when her money ran out? Starve? Or be expelled for having no aptitude?
Suddenly, she remembered the mysterious figure inside her—possibly a Nine-tailed Fox Demon—and immediately clung to this lifeline. She lowered her voice urgently, "Old sir, old sir? Are you awake?"
But the elusive, hoarse voice gave no response. Since the Second Selection, he hadn’t spoken a word. Was he asleep? Ignoring her? Or had he already left her body? With even this last hope dashed, Li Fei was utterly helpless.
Behind her, Baili Changyue, who had been silently meditating, suddenly exhaled deeply and stood up.
Ye Ye quickly asked, "How is it? Can you control spiritual energy now?"
She neither nodded nor shook her head. Instead, she closed her eyes as if savoring the moment before suddenly opening them again and saying calmly, "Alright, I’ve got it."
Lei Xiuyuan approached, offering a shy smile. "I... I think I’ve grasped something too..."
Baili Changyue gave him a quiet glance. "Then let’s try together."
He hastily waved his hands. "N-no... What if I fall—"
"I’ll protect you." Without another word, she flung her sword forward. It arced through the air like a shooting star before returning steadily to hover horizontally in front of her.
"Ready?" She fixed her gaze on Lei Xiuyuan.Lei Xiuyuan seemed to smile helplessly before finally tossing out his own longsword. Under the gazes of many—some curious, some envious, some astonished—the two of them leaped onto their swords together, one graceful and the other elegant, as if they weren’t beginners but Celestials who had flown countless times before.
The sword beneath Lei Xiuyuan’s feet shot forward, instantly transforming into a streak of light that carried him high into the distant sky. Baili Changyue followed closely behind him, their red-and-white Disciple uniforms fluttering like a pair of butterflies dancing gracefully through the air.
The children gasped in admiration—how could anyone learn Sword flying so quickly? And fly so well! Their movements were both beautiful and precise, showing no signs of being novices. The swords gleamed under the sunlight, weaving through the misty floating islands, a sight to behold.
Baili Gelin was so excited she couldn’t even sit still for meditation, jumping up and clapping her hands while shouting. Even the usually calm Ye Ye couldn’t help but applaud. The brief moment of glory Ji Tongzhou had managed to claim earlier was now completely overshadowed. He watched with narrowed eyes, a mix of surprise and resentment, before snorting coldly and retreating to the shade of a tree to meditate, ignoring the exclamations around him.
Li Fei stared blankly at their elegant figures, unsure whether she felt envy or joy for them. Even Lei Xiuyuan flew so well—it was truly unexpected.
The two gradually flew farther away, returning after about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, landing steadily on the open ground of the island. Baili Changyue’s arms were full of something bulky, while Lei Xiuyuan held a paper bag in his hand, steaming hot and smelling like food.
“With your Name Tag, you can get free food from the northern island,” Baili Changyue said, pulling out another paper bag from her arms and tossing a bun to each of them. “Eat up, so we don’t have to waste a tael of silver on meals.”
Li Fei broke open the bun, only to be hit by a strong, meaty smell. It was a meat bun. She quietly set it aside, not wanting to take a single bite.
Lei Xiuyuan timidly approached and whispered, “Big Sis, I’m sorry… I forgot you don’t eat meat. I didn’t get a vegetarian bun for you… I’ll go get one now.”
“No rush,” Li Fei said, pulling him down to sit beside her. “You flew really well just now. You should have some confidence.”
Lei Xiuyuan hastily waved his hands. “N-no, I’m nothing compared to you, Big Sis! You’ll learn it right away and definitely fly better than me.”
“Xiu Yuan…”
She sighed, staring intently at his timid face. Honestly, he was such a strange child. Someone with such exceptional talent—most would be content not to bully others, but he shouldn’t be like this. He was always crying, always needing her to pull him along. She instinctively saw him as weak, but he wasn’t weak at all.
There was something dissonant about Lei Xiuyuan.
“Big Sis, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?” Lei Xiuyuan gazed at her timidly, his expression innocent and cowardly, as if unsure what he’d done wrong.
Li Fei hated that look on him. Shaking her head, she stood up and dusted herself off. “It’s nothing. I’m leaving.”
She had enough of her own troubles to deal with—no energy to spare thinking about him.
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