Li Fei flew back on her stone sword to the small Martial Training Field on the western island, where all sixteen disciples who had passed the test had already gathered. Even Lei Xiuyuan was standing properly among the crowd—he had returned earlier than her.
Baili Gelin waved discreetly at her from the group. Li Fei quickly jumped off her stone sword and, keeping her head low and shoulders hunched, scurried over to stand beside her.
"All the new teachers are here! Thank goodness—I thought we'd be stuck with that Hu Jiaping teaching us all year. That would've been so depressing!" Baili Gelin's face was flushed with excitement. "Look, look! That big brother in white is so handsome! A hundred Hu Jiapings couldn't compare to a single one of his eyebrows!"
Being short, Li Fei was easily lost in the crowd. Several teachers stood opposite them, but she couldn't very well stand on tiptoe, so she craned her neck to peek through the gaps between the shoulders of those in front.
Beside Hu Jiaping stood three men and one woman—likely the new teachers. Strangely, three of the four newcomers weren't unfamiliar faces. The girl had round, apple-like cheeks and a perpetually smiling expression. Another was a stern-faced middle-aged man around forty, and the third was a simple-looking young man in his twenties—these three had all been waiting for them at Bountiful Snow Pavilion during the Second Selection at the Academy.
As for the fourth... Li Fei finally rose slightly on her toes. Next to the apple-cheeked girl stood a young man in white Daoist robes, about the same age as Hu Jiaping. With his finely arched brows, star-like eyes, and jet-black hair like ebony, he was an exceptionally handsome man. Yet his demeanor carried an icy, detached serenity, as if carved from ice.
"Did you see him?" Baili Gelin's girlish heart seemed ready to leap from her throat. "The one in white robes! Oh heavens, he's so handsome! Even if he's cold as ice, he's still gorgeous!"
Li Fei tugged at her sleeve discreetly. While many of the girls were openly staring at the handsome teacher, Ge Lin was being far too obvious. He was good-looking, sure... but was this level of frenzy really necessary?
The five teachers seemed to have finished their casual conversation. Hu Jiaping stepped forward and announced, "These four are your new instructors. Three of them you should recognize from the Second Selection. As for this dashing elder brother in white—he's an elite disciple from Star Rectitude Hall... You little girls over there, keep staring like that and your eyeballs might fall out."
The named female disciples immediately blushed and lowered their heads. The white-robed man gave Hu Jiaping a cool glance, to which Hu Jiaping grinned. "Just a joke. Alright, teachers, introduce yourselves."
The simple-looking young man spoke first. "I'm Luo Chengji, a senior disciple under Elder Qi of the Embrace Sky Sect. I'll be responsible for teaching you Earth and Wood element cultivation methods."
The stern-faced middle-aged man said impassively, "I am Miao Lanxin, first disciple under Pavilion Master Han of Earth Treasury Gate. I will instruct you in Metal and Fire techniques."
The apple-cheeked girl stepped forward with a bright smile. She didn't look much older than the students, her expression innocent, yet occasional sharp glints in her eyes revealed shrewd worldliness."I am Lin You, the third disciple under Dragon Serene Primordial Lord of the Fire Lotus Temple. From now on, I will be responsible for teaching you water-element techniques. Let me make this clear upfront—though I may look young, I'm actually over fifty years old, a few years older than that uncle over there. If anyone slacks off in their training or shows disrespect to their elders, don't blame me for being merciless."
Over fifty! Baili Gelin's eyes widened in shock. After a long pause, she tugged at Li Fei's sleeve and whispered, "Being a Celestial is amazing! She looks like a teenager at fifty-plus!"
As if hearing her, Lin You immediately glanced over, startling Baili Gelin so much she nearly bit her tongue.
"...I'm ashamed to admit I'm not yet a Celestial," Lin You said with an amused smile. "Most Celestials go by their Dao Titles within their sects. Their worldly names cease to exist the moment they ascend."
So you lose your name after becoming a Celestial? Then why did Zuoqiu Xiansheng bother giving her the name Jiang Li Fei? It would be discarded sooner or later anyway.
Finally, the handsome man in white stepped forward. His features were peerlessly beautiful, yet his expression was utterly cold, as if devoid of all human emotion. His voice was equally detached, sending an immediate chill down one's spine like plunging into icy water.
"Mo Yanfan, fifth disciple of Xuanshan Zi from Star Rectitude Hall. I will instruct you in fist and sword techniques."
Xuanshan Zi? That name sounded familiar. Li Fei racked her brains until she noticed Ji Tongzhou's complicated expression beside her and suddenly remembered. Wasn't Xuanshan Zi that Yue Kingdom royal clansman Ye Ye had mentioned? It was because of this powerful Celestial's backing that Yue had been aggressively expanding its territory all these years.
Come to think of it, they'd all wondered back then—if Yue had a royal Celestial, why didn't they just take Ji Tongzhou directly into Star Rectitude Hall as a formal disciple instead of making him go through Young Phoenix Academy? Judging by Ji Tongzhou's expression now, there must be some hidden secret behind it.
As for this Mo Yanfan, he gave her an oddly familiar feeling. His icy demeanor and that voice that jolted one's spirit were almost identical to Zhen Yunzi whom they'd met at Green Mound. Having disliked Zhen Yunzi, Li Fei found herself predisposed to dislike this handsome instructor too. When he mentioned teaching fist and sword techniques, did he mean martial arts? Did Celestials still need to learn such things?
"Enough digressions. We'll begin with Spiritual Root Attribute Testing now." With a wave of his sleeve, Hu Jiaping produced a low table holding an egg-sized crystal orb. The translucent sphere seemed filled with clear water that rippled gently despite remaining untouched.
At the word "test," the children's legs began trembling. They'd just been tested this morning—another one already?!
Hu Jiaping laughed. "What's there to fear? This isn't a cultivation test, just determining your spiritual root attributes. When your name is called, come stand before the table—Madam Lin... I mean, Miss Lin, if you'd assist."
He'd nearly slipped up by calling her "Madam," quickly correcting himself with silent relief.
Lin You stood smiling across the table, giving him an unreadable glance that left Hu Jiaping sweating as he opened the student register. "Zhao Hongyi," he began calling names.A tall, sturdy boy stepped forward nervously. Lin You gestured for him to place his hand on the orb while she lightly rested her own hand atop his head, instructing softly, "Focus your mind and draw spiritual energy into your body."
Within moments, the water inside the orb pressed by Zhao Hongyi rippled endlessly. Gradually, raindrop-like patterns began appearing on the surface as if it were raining. A little later, a small area about the size of a fingernail at the bottom of the orb turned an emerald green. The orb maintained this state—raindrops on the surface and emerald green at the bottom—for a long time.
"Primary water, secondary wood attributes," Lin You withdrew her hand and said indifferently. Hu Jiaping immediately added "Primary Water, Secondary Wood" beneath Zhao Hongyi's name.
Li Fei watched all this with some nervousness when suddenly Ri Yan's voice sounded in her ear, "Hmm? This little girl?"
She was slightly startled and whispered, "I thought you were asleep. You're still awake?"
Ri Yan ignored her, his two eerie green eyes scrutinizing Lin You up and down. After a long pause, he suddenly chuckled, "Excellent, excellent. There's going to be quite a show."
"What are you talking about?" Li Fei was utterly confused by his laughter.
Ri Yan continued, "This Spiritual Root Attribute Test might be tricky for you. Do as I say—when they call your name, quietly use Spirit Absorption, but don't go overboard, just a little will do. After that, this girl will channel her spiritual energy into your head to test your attributes. Go along with it; whatever attribute she detects, just accept it. Don't resist her."
What did he mean? Li Fei felt both puzzled and nervous. Was it because her constitution was different from ordinary people? Or was it that her Spirit Root had no attributes and she was afraid of being discovered?
Soon, over a dozen people had undergone the test. Most children had one primary and one secondary attribute, though the secondary was so faint it might as well not exist, producing only the slightest reaction in the orb. Only Ji Tongzhou had a single fire attribute, which seemed rare. Hu Jiaping asked multiple times to confirm.
"Lei Xiuyuan."
When his name was called, Lei Xiuyuan stepped forward slowly and placed his hand on the orb. The change in the orb was extraordinary—glimmering golden light began to seep out bit by bit. In the blink of an eye, the water inside the orb turned entirely gold and even began to solidify, looking like pure, unalloyed gold.
"Oh?" Even Lin You seemed surprised this time. "A single metal attribute? That's rare."
The vast majority of cultivators had one primary and one secondary attribute in their Spirit Roots, while those of poorer quality even had three or four attributes. The purer the Spirit Root's attributes, the easier it was to master Advanced Immortal Techniques of that attribute, and even combinations of the five elements.
Lin You smiled. "A single metal attribute—I believe Mr. Zhou of the Embrace Sky Sect has one."
Luo Chengji nodded. "Indeed. Elder Zhou is a pillar of our sect."
Lin You looked at Lei Xiuyuan with a pleased expression. "You're quite promising. Train hard. If you can be accepted as a disciple of the Embrace Sky Sect and receive personal guidance from Mr. Zhou, your path to immortality will be vast."
Lei Xiuyuan bowed his head and acknowledged with a simple "Yes," then turned and walked away without any visible joy or surprise.The last one was Li Fei. Her heart pounded with nervousness as she silently repeated the instructions Ri Yan had given her earlier. She gently placed her hand on the pearl. When Lin You instructed, "Draw spiritual energy into your body," she immediately focused and began Spirit Absorption, then forcibly interrupted it. Lin You's hand rested on her head, and soon, a strange pressure descended from her crown, drilling into her scalp and invading her Eight Extraordinary Meridians. She couldn’t help but shiver.
"Don’t move," Lin You murmured softly.
As the spiritual energy coursed through her body, Li Fei didn’t dare resist in the slightest. Suddenly, she felt as though the energy had confirmed something—then, warmth surged in her palm. A small stream of spiritual energy was gently expelled from her body and landed on the pearl.
The clear spring inside the pearl abruptly turned reddish-brown, cracking bit by bit from the bottom. Soon, the spring transformed into dry, earthen mud clinging to the crystal-clear surface.
Hu Jiaping exclaimed, "Earth?! It’s earth?!"
In an instant, the other instructors were startled and crowded around to look. When they saw the mud inside the pearl, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Primary earth—does it have a secondary attribute?" Miao Lanxin, ever composed, was the first to ask.
Lin You closed her eyes for a long moment before finally opening them again, her expression equally astonished. "Pure earth attribute! This is a Spirit Root unseen in a thousand years! Little girl, what’s your name?"
Was it really that rare? Li Fei was stunned. She had merely gone along without resisting—who knew earth-attributed spiritual energy would be expelled? If she tried again, it might have been one of the other four elements.
"Jiang Li Fei."
Hu Jiaping repeated her name, unable to contain his excitement. A pure earth attribute—what an extraordinarily precious affinity! Everyone knew earth was the foundation of defense, from minor invulnerability to the Barriers of major Immortal Sects, all constructed through earth-element Immortal Techniques. Spirit Roots with earth as the primary and another as secondary were already rare, highly sought after by any sect—let alone a pure earth attribute!
Miao Lanxin, forgetting decorum, stepped forward first. "Jiang Li Fei? Excellent! Would you be willing to come with me to Earth Treasury Gate?"
"Master Miao, that’s hardly fair!" Luo Chengji blocked him. "This is the Academy, not the mortal world. You can’t just recruit people at will!"
Lin You chuckled. "Those sects—even Star Rectitude Hall and No Moon Court—are mostly filled with stinking men. Little girl, as a pure and gentle maiden, why not come with me to Fire Lotus Temple? There are many sisters there who would surely dote on you."
What… what was happening? Li Fei was dumbfounded. How had she suddenly become such a hot commodity?
Ri Yan sneered in her ear. "A bunch of fools. If she truly had a pure earth attribute, she wouldn’t be in the Academy, and it certainly wouldn’t be their turn to claim her!"
Then, as if arguing with himself, he muttered, "Then again, this little girl is even stranger—yet here she is, in the Academy."
"...What are you mumbling about?" Li Fei was exasperated. "What do I do about this situation? Making such a spectacle now is going to make things difficult later!"
"Scared of what? Even if they fight over you, it’s not these sects’ turn. That Star Rectitude Hall lad hasn’t even spoken yet! And with a No Moon Court representative here, do you really think they’d let you be snatched away like this?"Sure enough, as soon as Ri Yan finished speaking, Mo Yanfan opened his mouth. His voice carried a strange calmness, and the moment he spoke, everyone involuntarily stopped arguing: "Everyone, please calm down. Don't forget this is the Academy. Talented individuals are rare—why not wait until the new disciple selection next year and compete fairly then?"
Hu Jiaping also laughed: "Exactly. We came here to be teachers, not to snatch people away. If Zuoqiu Xiansheng finds out, how would we save face?"
At the mention of Zuoqiu Xiansheng, everyone immediately fell silent. After a long pause, Miao Lanxin finally sighed and said, "My apologies, I lost my composure."
Lin You smiled faintly: "A single earth attribute is truly rare—losing composure is only human. Very well, let’s set this matter aside for now. Hu boy, what’s the arrangement for the afternoon? You tell us."
Perhaps to retaliate for his earlier slip-up in calling her "auntie," she mercilessly played the age card and called him "Hu boy."
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