For the first time, Yu Sui resonated with a Five Elements Light Core with such a high degree of compatibility. Every breath she took brimmed with rich Five Elements Qi, and she could feel its presence clearly and truly.
At her fingertips, on her cheeks and in her eyes, even in her sleeves, hair, and ornaments, Five Elements Qi wrapped around her whole body, poised to burst into action.
But Yu Sui soon sensed something was wrong. The power lasted far too briefly, vanishing almost in an instant.
Each Five Elements Light Core provided too little power.
Yu Sui could produce at most three hundred new Five Elements Light Cores a day from the strange fire. Once separated from the strange fire, these cores would exist for only twelve hours before dissipating on their own.
Yu Sui's Five Elements Light Cores were currently at their most primitive. They had undergone no cultivation at all and could not even be considered first-realm cores—they were the lowest grade.
Sage Chang Gen gave no reply, but Yu Sui remembered what he had once said:
"Focus."
Yu Sui steeled herself and sank into the depths of her consciousness. Watching the strange fire sway gently, she said, "Unite as one."
She knew.
The strange fire could understand what she meant.
At certain times, the strange fire was her.
The tiny flame suddenly turned into a fearsome Fire Snake in the darkness. In an instant, it devoured the three hundred Five Elements Light Cores that had emerged. Gathering their scattered power together, it refined them into a single new Five Elements Light Core and returned it to Yu Sui.
That was the core she would focus on cultivating from now on.
Yu Sui pushed the door open, her eyes narrowed with a smile, and saw Mei Chengyu, whom Sage Chang Gen had finally let inside.
Mei Chengyu walked from the main entrance to the foot of the steps, then looked up at Yu Sui as she came out. She seemed to be holding back her excitement. If no one else were around, Yu Sui would probably have been skipping down the steps by now.
She was so happy that the problem troubling her cultivation had probably been solved.
Mei Chengyu stood motionless before the steps as he heard Yu Sui call, "Senior Martial Brother."
Just listen to her. When she was happy, even the way she called him Senior Martial Brother sounded different.
Mei Chengyu lifted his eyelids and glanced at her.
Yu Sui had only taken a couple of steps up the stone stairs when she stopped and smiled at Mei Chengyu below. "Senior Martial Brother, let's spar."
As if afraid Mei Chengyu would refuse, she added, "Master agreed, too."
"Don't use Master to pressure me." Mei Chengyu drawled lazily. "I don't spar with just anyone. What can you offer me in exchange?"
Yu Sui considered it, then lowered her eyes and asked curiously, "I have money. A lot of it. How much would you need, Senior Martial Brother?"
Mei Chengyu was speechless.
Now that was brazen.
Mei Chengyu's lips curved slightly. "Remember to pay up afterward."
As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from Yu Sui's sight. Using Wind Riding Technique and Fleeting Shadow, he appeared behind her. "If you can catch even a corner of my sleeve before dawn, I'll charge you a little less."
Yu Sui turned around, but Mei Chengyu was already several meters away.
"Even though I have lots of money, it never hurts to spend carefully." Blue Light flashed beneath Yu Sui's feet. Five Elements Qi surged into the Wind Riding Technique, and she shot forward like an arrow, leaving a string of afterimages behind.
The stone lanterns on the ground glimmered, shedding a little light into the darkness. Whenever the two chasing figures flashed past, the Five Elements Qi streaming through the air made the candle flames bend and shudder violently, nearly snuffing them out.
As she chased him, Yu Sui grew more familiar with how to trigger and use Five Elements Qi and Nine Schools Techniques. Just as years ago, when the Imperial Academy taught her horseback archery, knives, and swords, she picked up the techniques and essentials quickly, almost as soon as she saw them.
She was like a candle burning, too—burning with all her might for the first time in her life. Mei Chengyu was already a Ninth Realm sorcerer. Even after narrowing the gap between them, he barely held back against Yu Sui, who had only first-realm strength. Every time she nearly caught up, he easily pulled away again.
That feeling of always coming within a hair's breadth of touching something, only to miss it, could easily affect a person's state of mind. The sting of failure was fierce, and so was the desire to overcome it.
"You're going to lose me a fortune at this rate." Mei Chengyu stood on the very edge of a high platform with Wind Riding Technique, looking at Yu Sui, who was already panting with exhaustion. He spoke unhurriedly. "Still want to chase me?"
Yu Sui wiped the sweat from her cheek and nodded. "Yes!"
She charged after Mei Chengyu again.
She had never felt anything like this. Releasing Five Elements Power felt so exhilarating that it was as if all the emotions she had forcibly suppressed and all the anger she had put off over the years were silently spilling out during this night's wind-riding chase.
Yu Sui let herself release this power until, at last, she was completely spent, drenched in sweat and too exhausted to move even a finger.
She lay down on a long bench inside the Saint Hall Main Hall, so tired she could barely speak. It took Mei Chengyu a while to work out that she was saying she wanted to rest.
Mei Chengyu looked at her exhausted state. "I doubt you'll wake up after just a short rest."
It was her first day learning Nine Schools Techniques, and already she was burning through all her strength without a care. He couldn't tell whether she was simply too happy or had been holding too much in.
Mei Chengyu leaned against the door for a while, then looked away from the sleeping Yu Sui and furrowed his brows slightly, trying to remember what he had come here for in the first place.
"Master." Mei Chengyu looked toward the portrait of Sage Chang Gen. "Tomorrow I'm going to the martial arts division to block someone. Afterward, teachers from quite a few academies will probably come looking for trouble with you."
Sage Chang Gen replied, "That's fine."
Mei Chengyu looked at Yu Sui again. "You're really letting her sleep here? With all these ancestors watching, what kind of conduct is that?"
Sage Chang Gen said, "You can wake her and send her back to the dormitory."
Mei Chengyu replied lazily, "I won't."
Yu Sui slept briefly that night.
She rarely slept well after nightfall. The slightest noise could startle her awake, and when someone was nearby, the swaying strange fire could suddenly rouse her, too.
Now she sank from the deepest part of her consciousness and landed on a boundless expanse of water. Scattered sparks drifted above its dark, heavy surface as a flame slowly rose from deep beneath the water.
Yu Sui crouched and watched the rising flame.
Just as the Black Flame was about to reach the surface, it suddenly scattered and turned into a human figure.
Yu Sui saw herself in the water.
She wasn't surprised. Her expression was calm, her fingers suspended above the surface, just short of touching it. The Yu Sui beneath the water had gorgeous eyes. They were the same person, with identical faces, yet easy to tell apart.
When the Yu Sui in the water lifted her eyes to look at the surface, it was as if she were passing judgment on something. Her upturned eyes were bold and wicked. She parted her lips slightly, as though saying something.
What was the other me saying?
It was surely telling her to come down, or else asking her to let it come up.
The Yu Sui beneath the water was like a Sea Demon. Her long hair floated softly and weightlessly in the water, ripples shimmered over her luminous skin, and her eyes looked even more dewy beneath the surface. When she occasionally drew close, she gave you a sly, alluring look and beckoned you to come closer.
But Yu Sui only watched her coolly, unmoved.
Scattered sparks drifted up from the water like stars falling into the deep sea, yet they could not be extinguished.
She reached out toward the Yu Sui on the surface. Her wet fingertips gently touched the back of Yu Sui's hand. Yu Sui didn't pull away. In the next instant, the person who had emerged from the water became Black Flame and swallowed Yu Sui whole.
Yu Sui heard her laugh softly.
"We are born of one another; we live and die together."
Yu Sui slowly opened her eyes.
She sat up from the cold bench and rubbed her eyes, unable to remember what had happened in her dream. It seemed like she shouldn't have forgotten, yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't recall it.
Yu Sui furrowed her brows, looking troubled. She didn't even notice Mei Chengyu standing by the door.
Mei Chengyu was replying to a message on his Listening Wind Ruler. Without looking up, he said, "If you're awake, hurry back to the dormitory and wash off all that sweat."
Only then did Yu Sui look toward the main hall entrance in surprise.
A moment later, Mei Chengyu looked up, too. Seeing her dazed expression, he raised an eyebrow. "Pay me for last night's spar first."
Yu Sui asked, "How much?"
Mei Chengyu didn't even blink. "One hundred gold."
Yu Sui nodded and took out her Listening Wind Ruler. "Senior Martial Brother, let's add each other as friends on the Listening Wind Ruler."
Mei Chengyu thought that sounded fine, so he walked over with his Listening Wind Ruler.
Yu Sui held hers out and tapped it against his. While she was at it, she grabbed his clothes.
Mei Chengyu was speechless.
He lowered his eyes to look at her, his lashes quivering slightly.
"Senior Martial Brother." Yu Sui tilted her head toward the outdoors. "The sun's rising now. That means it's morning."
Mei Chengyu looked toward the main entrance. The night sky was dim, but dawn had appeared. The sun that had set in the west yesterday was now slowly rising.
Yu Sui said, "Since I caught you before dawn, you have to charge me a little less."
"All right." Mei Chengyu looked back at Yu Sui with a half-smile. "I'll charge you a little less. Ninety-nine gold."
Yu Sui was speechless.
She let go and rubbed her face, thinking, It's fine. I have money.
Yu Sui and Mei Chengyu headed back to the dormitory together.
On the way, Mei Chengyu watched Yu Sui use Wind Riding Technique to race far ahead, then pretend to stroll slowly for a couple of steps before suddenly flying a long way forward again. She repeated this over and over, having the time of her life.
At last they reached the dormitory. Mei Chengyu looked back at Yu Sui, who was still walking at an unhurried pace.
The morning mist had dispersed, and peach blossoms still covered the branches on either side, as if they would never wither.
Yu Sui strolled along at her leisure.
Mei Chengyu, up ahead, gave her a look that asked why she was walking so slowly. Yu Sui said, "I usually run because I'm afraid I'll be late. Now that I can use Wind Riding Technique and know I'll definitely make it in time, I'm not in a hurry anymore. I'd rather take my time and look around."
She looked up at the falling Flower Rain and gave a simple reason: "Because the flowers along the road are beautiful."
The pink blossoms blanketing the mountain fell at the touch of the morning breeze. Dressed in pink as well, Yu Sui seemed as if she might blend into the mountain scenery, yet she remained utterly unique.
Mei Chengyu watched silently.
It was clear that his junior martial sister was genuinely in a good mood.
Yu Sui asked Mei Chengyu, "Senior Martial Brother, can I break off some of these flowers?"
Mei Chengyu said, "Break off as many as you like."
Let me see who dares say these flowers can't be picked.
Yu Sui looked up at the flowering trees and used Wind Blade to cut off several branches of peach blossoms. After she'd had her fun, she carried them toward the dormitory.
Mei Chengyu was replying to a message on his Listening Wind Ruler and wasn't watching where he was going. Yu Sui fiddled with the branches in her arms and chatted with him, whether or not he responded.
Yu Sui headed for the Dragon Ladder.
Mei Chengyu was replying to a message on his Listening Wind Ruler, so he followed Yu Sui without thinking. Only after they arrived did he realize where they were. "You know Wind Riding Technique now. Why take the Dragon Ladder?"
Yu Sui said, "I like using Wind Riding Technique outside, but I like taking the Dragon Ladder in the dormitory."
Mei Chengyu hadn't said anything yet when the Dragon Ladder descended to their floor, stopped, and opened its doors.
Gu Gan and Xun Zhiya, standing inside the Dragon Ladder, looked out and came face-to-face with Mei Chengyu and Yu Sui, who were waiting at the entrance.
Gu Gan noticed Yu Sui first, but was surprised to see Mei Chengyu beside her. He had been leaning against the wall, but now straightened up, his brows drawing together.
Mei Chengyu merely glanced at the two inside the Dragon Ladder.
"Suisui." Gu Gan headed toward Yu Sui while sizing up Mei Chengyu. "You didn't come back last night?"
"I just got back. Are you going to the Legalist School this early, Brother Gu?" Yu Sui asked with a cheerful smile, greeting him warmly.
Gu Gan paused. "There's a Level Up Challenge today. Xun Zhiya and I are planning to give it a try."
Yu Sui seemed a little confused, but nodded. "Then you'd better get going. Good luck!"
"Where have you been? Why are you only getting back now?" Gu Gan asked with a frown.
Mei Chengyu stepped into the Dragon Ladder and said, "Let's go."
Yu Sui walked inside and waved to Gu Gan outside. "I'll tell you later. You two go ahead!"
The Dragon Ladder doors closed.
Gu Gan stared at the ascending Dragon Ladder, his expression dazed.
"Are we going?" Xun Zhiya asked calmly.
Gu Gan withdrew his gaze. "Let's go."
Inside the Dragon Ladder, Yu Sui received a message from Gu Gan. She read it for a while, then asked Mei Chengyu, "Senior Martial Brother, is the Level Up Challenge the kind where Grade B Disciples become Grade A Disciples?"
Mei Chengyu hummed in acknowledgment as he sent a message.
Yu Sui asked thoughtfully, "Then what do you have to do?"
"Every time the Level Up Challenge opens, there are different requirements and trials, and each school has its own rules." Mei Chengyu spoke absentmindedly. "The people who picked martial arts for this challenge are unlucky, because they'll have to face me."
Yu Sui asked curiously, "When does it start? Can I go watch?"
Mei Chengyu turned to look at her. Seeing that she really was only curious, he smiled, his tone neither light nor heavy. "What would you go watch for?"
Yu Sui asked, "Am I not allowed?"
Mei Chengyu said, "Your Basic Course isn't over yet. You can't."
Before you continue