Lei Xiuyuan stared at her face for a while longer before finally looking away and saying indifferently, "You've changed a lot. I couldn't help but look a few more times."
Changed a lot again? She instinctively touched her face. Since childhood, she had looked exactly like her Master, as if carved from the same mold. If her Master wasn't good-looking, how could she be any better? Knowing she wasn't pretty, she rarely looked in mirrors—who would want to stare at a face as dark as charcoal for no reason?
Later, perhaps because life became more comfortable and she was no longer exposed to wind and sun, she just got a bit fairer. Could that really be called changing a lot?
Li Fei suddenly remembered the boy who had secretly watched her at the eatery yesterday. When she caught him, he even blushed—an expression she'd only seen on the faces of male disciples who knew Baili Gelin. Could it be...?
A shiver ran through her, unsure whether to feel happy or incredulous. She asked curiously, "Are you saying I've become prettier?"
Lei Xiuyuan turned his head away and let out a soft scoff, his voice icy. "You've become like a stranger. Not as good as before."
Li Fei felt annoyed. "You're the one who's changed the most! And you're criticizing others? This is just me blossoming at eighteen, while yours is a twisted personality!"
He chuckled. Blossoming at eighteen? It had only been a few months—how was that "blossoming"?
What was there to laugh about? Li Fei grew even more irritated. Though she no longer held any grudges against him, she still felt they couldn't get along smoothly. There was an air about him that repelled fools, and it made everyone feel like an idiot in his eyes.
The swelling on his ankle was quickly healed. Li Fei withdrew the Healing Net and said coldly, "Done. Get up."
Lei Xiuyuan moved his ankle slightly and murmured, "It still hurts."
"Impossible!" Li Fei was furious. Was he doubting her Healing Net? "It's already healed! It can't possibly hurt!"
He looked at her innocently. "It really does hurt. You're not me, so of course you wouldn't believe it."
Was he deliberately picking a fight?! Li Fei angrily rolled a snowball and hurled it at him. "Then sit there by yourself!"
She turned to fly away on her sword, but unexpectedly, he retaliated—a snowball smacked the back of her head, and the cold snow slid down her neck. Even with the protection of Immortal Technique, it still made her shiver. Li Fei turned back in disbelief, only to see him sitting in the snow, holding two large snowballs, as if challenging her.
This brat was absolutely asking for it!
Her mind burned with anger, completely forgetting about the test or anything else. She immediately rolled an even bigger snowball and hurled it back at him. He returned the favor without hesitation, throwing an even larger one at her. Back and forth they went, pelting each other until soon both were covered in snow. Panting heavily, Li Fei saw him bending down to roll another snowball, so she simply pounced on him, and the two tumbled several more times in the snow.
Summoning the rough-and-tumble strength of her street urchin days, she pinned his hands down and sneered, "Do you yield?!"
Lei Xiuyuan was also gasping for breath, his fair skin flushed pink. His already damp eyes shimmered even more with moisture—no wonder he used to play the pitiful act so well. Everyone fell for it. With his delicate, fragile air, he looked more like a girl than she did."I don't accept this," he muttered softly, rolling over to get up. Li Fei almost couldn't hold him down. She grabbed two handfuls of snow and rubbed them on his face, only for him to suddenly throw snow back at her. Blinded momentarily, she was pushed over, and the two tussled in the snow for a long while—sometimes pelting each other with snowballs, other times shoving snow down each other's collars.
Though Li Fei had been in plenty of fights since childhood, she'd never roughhoused playfully with someone her own age like this. As they fought, she found it unexpectedly fun. Soon, both children were covered in snow, rolling around the snowy plain like two snowmen until they finally collapsed from exhaustion.
Gasping for breath, Li Fei felt both exhilarated and amused. "This is my first time having a snowball fight," she admitted.
Lei Xiuyuan replied quietly, "Mine too."
Li Fei snorted. "You seemed pretty agile to me. Does your foot still hurt?"
She thought she saw him smile. "No, it doesn't hurt anymore."
So he had been faking it! If she'd had any energy left, she would've smacked another snowball right into his face.
Li Fei sprawled out on her back in the snow, limbs splayed. Protected by her Immortal Technique, the biting wind and snow felt as gentle as a spring breeze. Maybe it was because of their earlier playfight, but she suddenly felt that Lei Xiuyuan no longer seemed as distant and aloof as before. No matter how awkward he acted, he was still just a kid around her age.
"Lei Xiuyuan, when's your birthday?" The question slipped out unexpectedly. Though they'd known each other for a while, she realized she knew very little about him.
"What about you?" he countered.
"I'll be eleven on the sixteenth this month."
He blinked. "I turned twelve last October, little brat."
That was the last straw! Li Fei jumped up, grabbing another handful of snow to throw at his face, but he blocked it with a laugh. "Let's go. We're still in the middle of the test."
Right—the test. They had to leave Reed Mountain before the hour of the Snake. An Immortal disciple needed to know their priorities. Li Fei felt both irritated and grudgingly reluctant to end their playfight. Strangely, she found him less annoying now.
Lei Xiuyuan brushed the remaining snow off his clothes and couldn't help but chuckle when he saw her glaring at him like a puppy.
"Let's pass the test first," he said, reaching over to gently dust the snow off her shoulder. "There'll be plenty of time later."
They mounted their swords again, soaring over the vast snowy plain. The end of the test remained elusive, and after flying for a long time, the scenery seemed to repeat endlessly. Lei Xiuyuan suddenly halted, frowning. "This isn't right. If we keep flying like this, we won't make it out by the hour of the Snake. There must be a Barrier here, making us go in circles."
Li Fei had noticed it too. She scanned their surroundings—an endless snowy plain dotted with jagged peaks, battered by wind and snow, devoid of any vegetation. They were supposed to leave Reed Mountain, but so far, they hadn't seen anything resembling a "mountain." These peaks hardly counted.
"Should we go up and take a look?" she suggested. Maybe they'd find something unexpected at the summit.
As they flew upward through the snowstorm, Li Fei's sharp eyes caught a glimmer atop one of the distant peaks. Drawing closer, they saw a door shimmering with Golden light—identical to the one they'd used to exit the forest during the Second Selection.
"Does this... mean we can leave?" Li Fei found it hard to believe. Could the Academy's supposedly rigorous test really be this simple?Lei Xiuyuan didn’t speak. He landed in front of the door, circled it once, and murmured, “I suspect this door might not lead back to the Academy. A shifting portal can open to any location. Since we’ve flown for so long without finding another way out, we can tentatively conclude this door is one of the exits. Might as well try it.”
Li Fei nodded. The two children flew through the golden door on their swords one after the other. In an instant, the vast expanse of snow before their eyes transformed into shades of deep and light green. Behind the door was a small pond no more than a few meters wide, its waters emerald green. The space seemed to be a moderately spacious underground cavern, several meters high, with vines densely covering the walls. Brilliant sunlight spilled into the cave, a stark contrast to the icy wasteland they had just left.
Li Fei took a deep breath. Aside from the astringent scent of the pond, there was also the distinct fragrance of mountain forests outside the cave. It seemed the area beyond was a forest—this must be the real Reed Mountain.
The two of them rose on their swords, about to fly out of the cave, when they unexpectedly collided with an invisible wall. Caught off guard, they tumbled from their swords. Fortunately, the cave wasn’t deep, and the fall didn’t hurt. Li Fei jumped up in shock, looking around in confusion. Why couldn’t they fly out? There was clearly nothing blocking the entrance!
Lei Xiuyuan mounted his sword again, this time flying extremely slowly. As he neared the entrance, he reached out and gently touched the air. His fingertips extended just to the edge of the opening but could go no further, as if some unseen barrier blocked the way.
He closed his eyes in concentration, and countless golden lights shot toward the cave entrance. A series of metallic clangs rang out as the golden lights of the Supreme Harmony Art were deflected one after another. The children’s expressions turned grave. The Supreme Harmony Art was the most powerful offensive technique among the basic elemental Immortal Techniques, capable of shattering anything. If even it couldn’t break the barrier at the entrance, it meant their current abilities were insufficient to escape.
“What if we go down instead? Through the pond? Maybe there’s a waterway leading outside?” Li Fei stepped into the pond, only to find her foot couldn’t even touch the water—there was a barrier over the pond as well?
Lei Xiuyuan pondered for a while before saying, “The Academy wouldn’t set up an impossible challenge for us. Maybe we haven’t met certain conditions yet? Did we not kill all the monsters on the snowfield? Or did we enter the wrong door?”
Li Fei stared blankly for a moment before suddenly having an epiphany. “What if not everyone is here yet?”
Lei Xiuyuan’s eyes lit up. “That’s very possible. We’re in the same group and met in the same barrier—if it’s just a coincidence, it’s too much of one. Ji Tongzhou and Baili Gelin might still be trapped in that barrier, searching for a way out. For now, we can only wait for them to arrive. Perhaps all four of us need to be together to leave.”
But what if they were still wandering aimlessly on that snowfield and didn’t find their way here by the end of the time limit?
Li Fei didn’t voice her worries. She figured Lei Xiuyuan could probably guess the same risk, and saying it out loud would only add unnecessary anxiety. She paced around the cave, glancing up at the sunlight outside. Judging by the sun’s position, it was almost noon. They had one more hour left—would they make it in time?Li Fei turned to look at Lei Xiuyuan, who was sitting quietly on the ground. Earlier, they had gotten snow all over their heads and clothes, and now it had all melted. His hair and clothes were soaked, and she figured she probably didn’t look much better. Since waiting around would only make them more anxious, she decided to strike up a conversation.
She sat down beside him and asked, “Lei Xiuyuan, how old is Brother Lu? What does he look like?”
Instead of answering, he glanced at her with a faint smirk. “Asking so many questions—are you interested in me?”
She did feel somewhat curious about him, but admitting it would surely invite his teasing. She had never met a boy like him before. Among the people she knew, Ye Ye was as steady as an adult, Ji Tongzhou was arrogant and domineering, and the other male disciples she occasionally interacted with were either naive or taciturn. None were quite like him.
“Can’t you tell me?” she pressed.
He tilted his head to look at her. “What about you? You said you used to live in Green Mound—what’s the scenery like there?”
She had been the one asking questions, yet somehow, he always turned the tables on her. Just as Li Fei was about to reply, she suddenly spotted a figure flickering on the other side of the pond. Baili Gelin appeared out of nowhere in front of them. She looked dazed, staring blankly at Li Fei and Lei Xiuyuan for a long moment before glancing around the cave. Suddenly, she exclaimed, “Li Fei? You two… Where is this…? Did we not pass the trial?”
Li Fei hurried over to her. It seemed their earlier assumption was correct—all four members of the group had to gather before they could leave.
She quickly explained the situation, and Baili Gelin let out a strange cry. “So we still have to wait for that little prince? How long is that going to take?!”
No sooner had she spoken than another figure flickered into view on the opposite side. Ji Tongzhou appeared before them, his face equally bewildered.
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