Eventful Autumn

There are also some embellishments on the path of cultivation. For example, Bao Yun was unwilling to accept her previous failure and challenged the Zhi Gu Sect again. This time, Wei Yuan also started Body Forging, and finally, they could fight back and forth.

None of the students were convinced by each other, so the main instruction Bao Yun and Cui Yu could give was "Charge for me." Even though the Ding Xin Sect was also a mess, it quickly devolved into a free-for-all once the fighting started.

Wei Yuan found that a free-for-all was completely different from a Martial Assessment, and it was extremely awkward. When he wanted to throw a punch, his own people happened to be in the way; when he wanted to dodge, someone stepped on his foot. In short, everything was going wrong, and he was constantly being hindered by his own people.

As the saying goes, when one place is in trouble, all directions add to the chaos.

As a result, Wei Yuan was surrounded and beaten until his face was bruised and swollen.

However, after Body Forging, Wei Yuan's body had become much stronger. He was held down and beaten by more than a dozen people for a long time, but he didn't suffer any broken bones or serious injuries. Even minor skin injuries were difficult to inflict. On the other hand, those who beat him were exhausted. After the fight, Wei Yuan had many bruises on his body, which was not a good look.

After these two fights, the students participating in the intensive training were all branded with the Ding Xin Sect tag, and they became sworn enemies with the Zhi Gu Sect disciples. Within a few months, Bao Yun and Cui Yu initiated another battle for revenge. Given Wei Yuan's formidable performance in restraining over a dozen people last time, he was unanimously chosen to be the main force.

At this point, most students had completed muscle and tendon forging and entered Blood Refining, with a few already starting Bone Refining. Consequently, everyone's physical strength increased greatly. Leaping several zhang and shattering stones with a punch were commonplace. The disciples of Taichu Palace were a gathering of geniuses, all possessing various Spiritual Powers. When they exerted their strength, their bodies would be adorned with colorful ribbons and iridescent light. Regardless of their combat effectiveness, their imposing aura was always at its peak.

Thus, they fought in the sky and burrowed into the earth, their movements filled with splendor. Various divine beasts and immortal devils appeared in the air. It wasn't this extravagant even when the Three Immortals stabilized Yunzhou back then.

However, no matter how ethereal and radiant they appeared at the beginning, the fight eventually devolved into a melee, with everyone intertwined. Wei Yuan also found teammates around him.

Then, Wei Yuan was bruised and swollen again.

Fortunately, with three Peiyuan Pills consumed daily, Wei Yuan was much tougher than last time. The blows that landed on him didn't hurt much. This kind of sparring match was considered a friendly bout, so both sides were unarmed and could not use each other's magical artifacts. Otherwise, if someone had pulled out a magic sword and stabbed Wei Yuan, he wouldn't have been able to withstand it. Wei Yuan also discovered that as long as no weapons were used, even blows from those in Bone Refining didn't hurt much.

Of course, Wei Yuan had his limits and knew this was reality, not an Illusion Realm like the Martial Assessment, so he didn't dare to use Heaven and Earth Madman.

After the fight, Bao Yun almost cried when she saw Wei Yuan's appearance. However, Wei Yuan's effort in restraining over twenty opponents allowed Cui Yu and Bao Yun to sweep through other areas, ultimately winning the battle. This was the Ding Xin Sect's first victory, and everyone was elated, except for Wei Yuan.

Afterward, Bao Yun felt guilty and voluntarily found Wei Yuan, comforting him softly for a long time. She also privately forced ten thousand Immortal Silver into his hands. Wei Yuan initially refused to accept it, but Bao Yun insisted it was a loan, not a gift. She spoke of fellow disciple camaraderie, then of shared hometown origins, and finally even brought up Zhang Sheng. Only then did Wei Yuan reluctantly accept. In terms of cultivation realm, Wei Yuan was indeed holding the entire class back.

At this point, the class's public funds of one hundred thousand Immortal Silver had been mostly spent, and the results were very significant. With sufficient resources and pills, the cultivation progress of most Ding Xin Sect students far exceeded expectations, with their average progress already putting them a step ahead of the Zhi Gu Sect.

After more than a year of interaction, Wei Yuan now had a somewhat intuitive understanding of the strength of aristocratic families and no longer had the strange idea that Bao Yun giving tens of thousands of Immortal Silver would affect her life.

After taking Bao Yun's ten thousand, Wei Yuan's personal debt now exceeded thirty thousand. This included six thousand for academic resources and fifteen thousand borrowed from the public fund. Since his debt in Immortal Silver surpassed a thousand, Wei Yuan's mindset had subtly shifted. The money owed seemed to be just a number, and he no longer lost sleep over it. He also became more open and composed when borrowing money.

With this victory, the morale of the Ding Xin Sect students soared. A few days later, Cui Yu announced he would personally contribute another fifty thousand to the public fund, followed by Bao Yun with fifty thousand, and then Xiao Yu with another fifty thousand. This led to unprecedented high spirits among all the students, except for Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan inhaled the moonlight.

Time always passes. As time wore on, it was unknowingly the third year.

According to their Heaven and Earth Theory teacher, this year a great star that couldn't be seen would move between several other unseen great stars, signifying misfortune and chaos. As for how he knew about the movement of an unseen star, the teacher spent three whole classes explaining it, listing a lot of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and drawing countless circular shapes that weren't round. Wei Yuan didn't understand any of it, and neither did anyone else in the class.

The Fortune Theory teacher said that the world's great fortune was experiencing minor ripples, prosperity was turning into decline, the nation's fortune was in turmoil, and individual fortunes would fluctuate greatly. He also listed a lot of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, which no one understood.

The Dao Foundation Theory teacher, Senior Sister Liuli, said that achieving Dao Foundation this year would come with an additional combat bonus, which greatly excited the students. They voluntarily practiced extra after class.

Finally, the teacher for the Theory of Arts changed. Instead of discussing pills and artifacts, he lectured extensively on Witchcraft and Divination, Curse Techniques, and Poisonous Arts. The number of students meditating during class significantly decreased, and everyone listened with exceptional focus.

Wei Yuan used the Divination techniques he had just learned to calculate for himself, obtaining the hexagram: Financial loss.

Wei Yuan felt he hadn't learned the Theory of Arts properly.

However, to be safe, he decided to find Yan Ming from the East Sea at his convenience to catch up and become friends. After all, they were from the same hometown.

In summary, the Year 12 of Longwu in Great Tang was destined to be a tumultuous year.

Not long after spring began, Wei Yuan noticed a strange atmosphere within the sect.

One day, it was time to refine his foundation again. Wei Yuan went to the Hall of Administration as usual. As soon as he entered the small courtyard, he saw the Senior Sister sitting in the room, playing with a orchid.

The orchid was exquisitely beautiful, exuding spirituality and immortal aura throughout its form, causing Wei Yuan to look at it a few extra times. The more he looked, the more he felt it was no ordinary item. However, he then noticed a detail: the orchid had no roots. The end of its stem continuously dispersed into countless brilliant stardust, then vanished, making it impossibly beautiful.

How could such an orchid exist in the world?

Before Wei Yuan could marvel, he saw Ji Liuli say, "Hurry up, what are you dawdling for!"

Ji Liuli's words were not directed at Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan then noticed another person in the room, busy at the medicine cabinet, packing bags of processed medicinal herbs into their respective compartments.

This man, as fluid as water, was too dazzling. Although Wei Yuan had only seen a profile of him before, he recognized him: Xu Henshui.

At this moment, he was holding a few blades of grass, hesitating and unwilling to put them into the medicine cabinet. Ji Liuli sneered and ran her hand up the orchid's stem, finally grasping the flower.