Master once said that people are complex, and one should never judge them by appearances alone. Sometimes, someone might smile warmly at you, appearing kind on the surface, yet harbor ill intentions in their heart. Others might be poor with words, cold-faced but warm-hearted, and could become true friends.
Li Fei remembered these words but didn’t fully grasp their deeper meaning. She had always thought that traveling with Master all these years had exposed her to everything, but in truth, she was still just a ten-year-old girl who didn’t understand human nature well. That’s why she had been so thoroughly fooled by Lei Xiuyuan.
The night was deep, and Li Fei still tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. In the end, she had refused Baili Gelin’s offer to share a room. Moving now would feel like admitting defeat. Whether it was Ji Tongzhou or Lei Xiuyuan, she had a clear conscience and stood firm in her righteousness—why should she be the one to leave? If anyone should move, it ought to be them.
She hadn’t slept for two full days and nights, her arms so exhausted she could barely lift them, yet sleep eluded her. Thoughts swirled endlessly in her mind, all revolving around Lei Xiuyuan. Was it just a simple prank? Or had he harbored malice all along, plotting to frame her? If Chang Yue hadn’t noticed his little scheme, she might still be naively trusting him as a friend, giving him her unreserved faith.
With a sigh, Li Fei sat up and poured herself a cup of water. Unable to sleep and with nothing else to do, she felt the loneliness of the late hour. Ri Yan wouldn’t wake for several more days, leaving her with no one to talk to.
She sat blankly by the bed, lost in thought, until moonlight gradually crept over the windowsill, spilling onto the floor. Tonight’s moon was bright as day, illuminating the room clearly. In its glow, she suddenly noticed what seemed like a scraped wound near her wrist—probably from practicing sword flying earlier that day. She hadn’t paid it any mind and absentmindedly rubbed it, only for a thin layer of skin to peel off under her fingertips.
Li Fei was startled. Had two sleepless nights really made her skin peel from exhaustion?!
She hastily rolled up her sleeve, only to find her arm perfectly intact—smooth and unblemished, without so much as a scratch. Had the peeled skin just been an illusion?
Dazed, she stood there for a long moment before quickly lighting the oil lamp and searching the bed from top to bottom. But she couldn’t find the skin she had peeled off—had it really been a hallucination? She must be exhausted beyond reason to imagine something so bizarre. She really needed to sleep!
The next day, she was jolted awake by persistent knocking. Baili Gelin’s voice shouted from outside, “Li Fei! Aren’t you up yet?! We’re really going to be late!”
Groggy and still half-asleep, Li Fei stumbled to the door and opened it, rubbing her eyes. “I—I’ll be ready soon. Just wait a moment.”
Baili Gelin hadn’t planned to enter the Thousand Fragrance Chamber, but as the door opened, the morning breeze carried an intoxicatingly warm and fresh fragrance from inside. Unable to resist, she stepped in, sniffing curiously. “Li Fei, what incense are you burning? It smells amazing!”
Li Fei splashed cold water on her face as she replied, “I don’t have any incense. It must be the flowers outside.”
“It’s different from flower scent! And it doesn’t really smell like incense either…”
Baili Gelin followed the fragrance to the bed, where the strongest aroma seemed to emanate from the bedding. She grabbed the blanket and took a deep sniff, exclaiming, “Don’t tell me you’re not burning incense! This smell is definitely coming from your blankets!”"That must be the incense from the Academy. Do I look like someone who uses fragrances?"
Baili Gelin leaned in to sniff her neck curiously. "Huh, it's true—you don't have that scent on you... How strange. What kind of fragrance is it? It smells so nice."
"It's just floral. This place is called the Thousand Fragrance Chamber—it wouldn't live up to its name if it weren't fragrant." Li Fei quickly changed into her disciple uniform and vigorously combed her messy hair in front of the mirror.
Seeing her yank at her hair mercilessly as if she had a vendetta against it, Baili Gelin snatched the comb away in alarm. "Let me do it! If you keep pulling like that, you'll tear all your hair out."
With deft hands, she braided Li Fei's hair into a thick plait. Staring at Li Fei's reflection in the bronze mirror for a moment, Baili Gelin suddenly exclaimed, "Have you gotten paler again? How are you lightening so fast? And your hair's darker too! Li Fei, out with it—have you secretly been using some beauty concoction? Keeping good stuff to yourself is a sin!"
Li Fei rolled her eyes. "Do I look like someone who uses that kind of thing?"
But she really had gotten much fairer... Baili Gelin studied the face in the mirror. It was as if some change had happened overnight. Yesterday, she hadn't been this pale. When they first met, Li Fei had been as dark as a lump of charcoal, her skin almost black. After two months in Huaguang County and on the Rainbow Deer Carriage, she had lightened a bit but was still on the darker side. Yet now, she was almost as fair as Baili Gelin herself. Paired with the white top and red skirt, her plain features suddenly took on a delicate charm. No one would mistake her for a tomboy now.
"Done." After finishing the thick braid, Baili Gelin stepped back to admire her handiwork. Noticing Li Fei's prominent thick brows, she pushed her back into the seat. "Stay still. Today, I'm fixing your eyebrows."
Would they even make it to the Disciple Room clearing before dawn at this rate? Li Fei sat stiffly, resigned, as Baili Gelin scraped and trimmed her brows with a small knife.
"Li Fei, listen—that Zhao guy last night insisted I watch the moon with him. So inconsiderate, so domineering. I think he's completely uncultured, just a brute. Me? I don't like that type at all. But that Wu boy who shares the courtyard with him seems quite refined. He speaks nicely and even gave me a flower. Only downside is he's a bit short. Hope he grows taller later."
As she shaped the brows, Baili Gelin chattered away about her ever-shifting romantic interests. Just yesterday, she'd praised that Zhao guy, and now it was Wu. Li Fei could only force a dry laugh. "Ge Lin, you... you're really... um, emotionally expressive."
"That's not it," Baili Gelin pouted. "I only like one person at a time. Once I truly like someone, it's for life."
But with how often you switch, when will that "truly like" ever happen? Li Fei kept the thought to herself. She felt that Ge Lin's so-called "liking" for Zhao or Wu wasn't genuine at all. It was as if she were desperately searching, eager to find someone to love. Li Fei didn't quite understand this mindset, but she wouldn't judge."Mm, your eyebrows have a nice natural shape, so they don’t need to be thinned too much. Just clean up the stray hairs around them. Take a look." Baili Gelin pushed the bronze mirror in front of her.
Li Fei glanced casually at the mirror—it was still the same familiar face, with unremarkable features, but her complexion did seem much fairer now. And with her eyebrows neatly groomed, her whole face looked cleaner and much prettier than before.
"You’re amazing," she praised. This was the first time she had ever seen herself look so much like a proper girl.
"Of course!" Baili Gelin smugly put away the small knife. "When I used to perform with my sister, I was the one who did all the makeup and hairstyling!"
Suddenly, Ye Ye’s voice came from outside the window: "Hey, you two, it’s almost mao hour. Are you planning to be late and get fined?"
"Ye Ye’s here!" Baili Gelin cheerfully pulled Li Fei outside, sticking her tongue out at him. "We’re coming! Look at Li Fei—doesn’t she look much prettier now?"
Ye Ye gave a wry smile. "You’re always fooling around. Hurry up, the teacher will be here soon."
Baili Gelin walked alongside him, chatting and laughing the whole way. This kind of smile, this kind of voice, this kind of attitude—she never showed it to any other boy. Only in front of Ye Ye did she act like this. Though Li Fei hadn’t yet reached the age where she could properly appreciate such things, she still felt that Baili Gelin was at her most beautiful when she was with Ye Ye.
Maybe it was because they were as close as family… Li Fei sighed, thinking of her Master.
Outside the Disciple Rooms, most of the children had already gathered. Since they had already mastered Sword Flying, today was likely the start of their formal cultivation training. Everyone was excited and full of anticipation. According to the cultivation manual, the first step in formal training was "Alchemical Furnace Cultivation." What did that mean? Would they be locked inside a furnace to circulate their inner breath? Wouldn’t they suffocate?
Just as everyone was lost in their own imaginations, the teacher arrived. Hu Jiaping was dressed properly today in white robes, his hair neatly tied up. From head to toe, he finally looked somewhat like an elite disciple of an Immortal Sect. It seemed that with the start of formal cultivation training, even this carefree teacher had to put on a more serious demeanor.
"Starting today, we’ll begin Alchemical Furnace Cultivation in groups of three." Hu Jiaping pulled out a stack of papers, flipping through them as he spoke with rare seriousness. "Originally, I planned to group you based on your potential and Spirit Root attributes, but that would be too troublesome, and the teacher responsible for testing Spirit Roots hasn’t arrived at the Academy yet… Since you’re currently living in groups of three per courtyard, and there are eighteen of you, we’ll just divide you into six groups accordingly. Come on, those from the same courtyard, stand together. Quickly."
Grouping by living arrangements… Li Fei’s heart immediately sank. Did that mean she was grouped with Ji Tongzhou and Lei Xiuyuan? This was quite possibly the worst group imaginable… She instinctively turned her head, her eyes first landing on Ji Tongzhou’s face, which was covered in bandages that couldn’t hide his sickly green pallor. Lei Xiuyuan stood far behind, though his expression was hard to make out.
"Teacher!" Ji Tongzhou suddenly interrupted Hu Jiaping loudly. "I object to this grouping!"
Without even looking up, Hu Jiaping replied indifferently, "Objection denied. Either accept the group or leave. Your choice."
Ji Tongzhou had no choice but to shut his mouth resentfully. He glared at Li Fei, then at Lei Xiuyuan, snorted, and crossed his arms, refusing to move as he waited for the two of them to come over."What about you three?" Hu Jiaping noticed that everyone else had already formed groups of three, while Li Fei and the other two were still standing apart, motionless. He seemed to be in a bad mood today, frowning as he said, "If you don’t get into groups now, all of you can leave!"
Li Fei had no choice but to take a few steps toward Ji Tongzhou, keeping a considerable distance between them, but at least they were now standing together. Meanwhile, Lei Xiuyuan approached them quite casually. Like Ji Tongzhou, his face was covered in bandages, making his expression unreadable.
"Although each of you possesses exceptional talent and profound Spirit Roots, your so-called strength is only relative to ordinary mortals. Any average disciple from an Immortal Sect would easily surpass you. The fundamental reason isn’t that their talent is superior to yours, but that your Spiritual energy reserves are insufficient. Your Alchemical Furnaces have yet to be developed."
Hu Jiaping continued, "Celestials draw the Spiritual energy of heaven and earth into their bodies, circulating their Inner breath. Within them, it’s as if there’s an Alchemical Furnace. The larger the Furnace, the more Spiritual energy they can draw. If your current Furnace is the size of a teacup, then mine is… well, about the size of that island over there."
He pointed to the largest floating island in the west, eliciting gasps of astonishment from the children. Smiling, he went on, "And those truly earth-shaking, formidable Celestials—their Alchemical Furnaces should be several times larger than this entire Academy."
Larger than the Academy! And theirs were only the size of teacups… The children fell into an awed silence.
"Recognizing the gap is what fuels your drive." Suddenly, a small white cloud materialized beneath Hu Jiaping’s feet, lifting him effortlessly into the air. "Follow me. We’re heading to the Martial Training Field in the west. Your formal training begins now."
The western island was the largest of the five floating landmasses, its terrain crisscrossed with various structures. Each of its four directions had a Martial Training Field, and Hu Jiaping led them to the smallest one. The field was paved with large white tiles, forming a square. Along the eastern edge stood dozens of stone dummies, each about half a person’s height, their surfaces pockmarked and cracked in places—likely damaged by previous Academy disciples during training.
Hu Jiaping found a corner and flicked his sleeve, causing five small bamboo baskets to appear on the ground. Each basket seemed to contain stacks of thick Curse Seals. Rumor had it that crafting these seals was quite laborious, yet here in the Academy, they were handed out like worthless scraps of paper.
"Now, in groups of three, each of you will come forward to collect one hundred Curse Seals for each of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth."
The baskets floated lightly into the air, rotating to reveal characters inscribed on each—gold, wood, water, fire, and earth.
Finally, something resembling real training! The children excitedly stepped forward, each taking five thick stacks of Curse Seals. But then what? Where was the Alchemical Furnace?
Once the seals had been distributed, Hu Jiaping pointed to the row of dummies on the eastern side of the field and said calmly, "In your groups of three, choose one dummy. Before nightfall, you must use up all five hundred Curse Seals—not a single one left. For every seal remaining, you’ll be barred from the northern dining hall for that many days."
Five hundred! The group gasped in unison, immediately understanding what he meant by "Alchemical Furnace training." It wasn’t about an external furnace, but the invisible one within their bodies. Using up five hundred Curse Seals would place an immense burden on their Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Whether they could even circulate their Inner breath smoothly the next day was uncertain. This kind of training could only be described as brutal.On the fourth day at Young Phoenix Academy, the formal training began, and the children finally experienced for the first time the strictness and harshness of the Academy.
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