First Lecture on Formations

Petty, even guarding against a turtle.

Su He carried the two of them to the surface. Feng Ya Ya excitedly showed Su Hua Nian the results of her Big Turtle talent test.

A flicker of surprise crossed Su Hua Nian's usually placid eyes.

A green stone pendant on her waist lit up. Su Hua Nian flicked her finger, and the stone floated in front of her, its light projecting a human figure.

It was a refined middle-aged man, exuding a scholarly aura.

Su He guessed it was a Dao technique like the Water Mirror Technique, allowing for remote communication.

The middle-aged projection appeared, his gaze turning stern upon seeing Ya Ya: "You've escaped from the Suppression Prison again. Who pardoned your confinement?"

Feng Ya Ya made a face at him and hid behind Su Hua Nian.

Hmph, it's that annoying Daddy again. I barely see him once a year, and when I do, he just scolds me.

Hmph! Nobody pardoned my confinement. Ya Ya performed well and was released early.

This middle-aged man was the Sect Leader of the Azure Origin Sect, Feng Yi Ju.

He looked at the hiding Ya Ya, a hint of disappointment in his eyes: "Madam, Elder He just met with me and suggested that our daughter also go to Li Nan Courtyard starting tomorrow to listen to lectures with the newly admitted disciples. I agreed."

The little girl hiding behind her mother's back immediately widened her eyes and glared fiercely at her father: You're the one going to school, your whole family is going to school!

She jumped up, intending to bite the green stone with her little fangs to interrupt the call, but Su Hua Nian pressed her back with a slender jade finger.

Su Hua Nian's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she looked at her husband, whom she hadn't seen in a while and felt a bit unfamiliar with: "Why?"

Feng Yi Ju sighed: "This great turmoil in the Beast Taming Valley, if it were just her causing trouble, it wouldn't be much. She could be punished. But she fell into Lu Ming's scheme. If Lu Ming can scheme to make her overturn the Beast Taming Valley, he could scheme to make someone else shake the entire Azure Origin Sect."

Feng Yi Ju absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen. What disappointed Feng Yi Ju the most in this incident was not that the dignified first True Disciple of the Beast Taming Valley would scheme against a naive child.

It was that Ya Ya couldn't even see through such a simple scheme!

It was merely two servants who said as they passed her: "Ya Ya is just waiting in vain. The Beast Taming Valley has too many pet beasts, so the person she's waiting for is afraid to come."

And then this rebellious daughter overturned the Beast Taming Valley and let half of the pet beasts escape.

A cold glint flashed across Su Hua Nian's eyes. As the Sect Leader's Wife, she rarely interfered with the sect disciples, only engaging in external battles to ensure the disciples had a peaceful external environment for their development.

But daring to scheme against Ya Ya had touched her reverse scale.

Feng Ya Ya cowered, hiding behind her mother. She was small but not foolish. Aunt Lin had already told her that she had been used. But Lu Ming, who had schemed against her, had his Lifebound Beast bitten to death by the Big Turtle.

It was then that Feng Ya Ya asked Gu Lin to take her to find Su He.

Su He didn't understand what was happening, but he could guess some of it. It should be related to himself.

Feng Yi Ju looked at his wife and daughter: "We will always have moments of oversight. And she is special; a hundred years is but a blink of an eye.

Rather than letting her be schemed against by villains, it's better to let her start interacting with new disciples now. Among the new disciples, there's a lot of infighting, not major events, but plenty of schemes. It's appropriate for her to suffer a few losses to broaden her horizons."

By age, Ya Ya was already decades old. But her growth was slow, and she was innocent and carefree. And her mother had protected her too well; she hadn't even had friends all these years. That's why she treated a turtle like a treasure.

Feng Ya Ya bared her teeth and protested in a low voice: "Mother, no, I don't want to! I have Big Turtle with me, and no one can bully me!"

Su Hua Nian ignored her daughter. She remained silent for a long time, her chaotic breathing indicating her inner turmoil.

Feng Yi Ju didn't rush her. After a long while, Su Hua Nian finally uttered a soft word: "Alright!"

Feng Ya Ya's mumbled protest instantly fell silent. She stared at her beautiful big eyes, looking at her mother in disbelief. In that moment, she felt like the whole world had betrayed her, leaving only Big Turtle...

She hugged Su He Turtle's head, her mood sinking.

One day passed uneventfully. Su He rested in the water pool. Feng Ya Ya, dejected about having to go to Li Nan Courtyard to listen to lectures starting tomorrow, forgot to ask Su Hua Nian for cultivation guidance for Su He.

Given the circumstances, Su He was magnanimous and forgave her for the day.

In the evening, Su He lay by the water pool, looking at the mother and daughter in the thatched hut. Feng Ya Ya complained of being tired and fell asleep early. Su Hua Nian sat cross-legged in meditation, her chest rising and falling slightly, her proud figure causing her white robes to sway, evoking thoughts.

The turtle also had thoughts.

It further solidified Su He's resolve to transform into a human.

Unknowingly, the moon was high in the sky, and a gentle autumn breeze was blowing. Su He also fell asleep at some point.

Then he felt a pair of small hands pulling at his scales.

He opened his eyes to see Feng Ya Ya holding up a finger in a shushing gesture.

"Let's go, Big Turtle! Before it gets light, let's skip class! I'll take you to Tranquil Peace Hall to steal Life Nourishing Porridge. After you're full, you'll take me fishing. We'll be self-sufficient and never come back."

Are children so resistant to school these days? They're even running away from home.

He carried Feng Ya Ya and quietly crawled out of the formation, crashing through the mountains according to the little girl's instructions, all the way into Tranquil Peace Hall.

A group of disciples inside Tranquil Peace Hall looked at them askance.

Feng Ya Ya covered her face with a handkerchief and yelled at an Azure Origin Disciple: "What are you looking at! Haven't you seen a girl stealing things? Speak! What Medicinal Cuisine did you cook today?!"

The disciple looked helpless and was forced to put on a frightened expression: "We, we cooked Assorted Deer Antler Soup."

"Very good!" Feng Ya Ya nodded with satisfaction, then crouched down and whispered to Su He: "Big Turtle, let's go through that window over there. There are fewer people there, so we can steal things without being discovered!"

Su He rolled his eyes and pushed through the crowd, crawling in the direction Feng Ya Ya indicated.

In a short while, a massive turtle carrying a large vat followed a tiny figure, sprinting out. Behind them, a kitchen aunt chased them, brandishing an iron ladle.

The aunt was quite formidable; Su He could feel a dull ache in his internal organs when the iron ladle struck the turtle's shell. Finally escaping to the foot of the mountain, they saw a wide river. The turtle snatched Feng Ya Ya into its mouth and plunged into the river, drifting downstream with the current.

Feng Ya Ya shrieked, laughing merrily.

The aunt returned to Tranquil Peace Hall empty-handed and saw the Hall Master lounging leisurely in the sun. Fury instantly surged within her. She smashed him off his lounge chair with her ladle and yelled, "That little girl and the turtle stole a vat of Medicinal Cuisine, are you blind?!"

The Hall Master looked utterly bewildered. "Madam Su sent Spirit Stones via Flying Sword before dawn, paying for the meal. Why should I intervene? Are you that attached to a vat?"

Aunt: "..."

If it was paid for, why didn't you say so earlier? And you have the nerve to justify yourself!

Clang! Clang! Clang!...

On a small island in the center of a small lake, Feng Ya Ya lay laughing on the grass, her mouth smeared with Medicinal Cuisine. Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

The stolen Medicinal Cuisine was amazing, much tastier than the usual. After drinking it, her belly felt warm.

Su He gulped down the Medicinal Cuisine, but his eyes held a hint of worry.

He had played with the child all day and almost forgot about the dice. Fortunately, this time the stolen item rolled a quality of three. If it had been a quantity increase of three, and the turtle carrying one vat of Medicinal Cuisine suddenly became three vats...

He would probably be sliced up and researched by the Azure Origin Sect.

No, he couldn't do this anymore.

Robbery should only happen among beast groups! Feng Ya Ya flipped over and patted Su He's shell. "Big Turtle, let's not run away from home today. Let's go to Heavenly Mechanisms Pavilion and find Grandpa Hu to help you forge a Cosmos Ring. You eat too much, and carrying you while stealing will draw too much attention."

Su He's eyes lit up.

A voice came from nearby, "What do you need a Cosmos Ring for! If you know formations, you can carve one onto the turtle shell, and you can carry anything you want!"

Feng Ya Ya and Su He turned their heads simultaneously.

They saw a middle-aged man and seven or eight youths walking up from under the lake.

"You, are you Feng Ya Ya?" The middle-aged man sized Feng Ya Ya up and down, then nodded. "Yesterday, I received a message from the Sect Leader saying you would come for a lecture—not bad, you knew to inquire about the venue beforehand and arrive early."

Feng Ya Ya: "???"