Missing Thoughts Literature

Chapter 25

Yu Sui's basic classes have three days left.

She went back, washed up, changed her clothes, and prepared to go to the Third Practice Hall of the Yin-Yang School.

As soon as Yu Sui opened the door, she saw Li Jinshuang coming out too. Li Jinshuang paused visibly upon seeing Yu Sui, then averted her gaze and walked straight out.

"Going to the Practice Hall together?" Yu Sui asked.

Li Jinshuang didn't answer and walked away quickly.

Yu Sui followed leisurely. She was in a good mood now and didn't feel "urgent" or "anxious" at all.

On the way, she looked at the Listening Wind Ruler. From Taiyi's Communication Array, she searched for news about today's "level-up challenge."

The Listening Wind Ruler picked up a lot of messages, all sorts of things, but the most numerous were prayers to the ancestors for successful level-up challenges.

Today's level-up challenge allowed promotion from Grade C to Grade B, from Grade B to Grade A.

It covered all disciples in the courtyard, happening once every two months, but excluding students who had joined the academy less than two months ago.

Because there was too much scattered information, Yu Sui refined her focus and added "Martial Dao" monitoring. She then saw the following messages:

"Brothers, quickly reveal who the Martial Dao arena disciples challenging for Grade A are today?"

"All nine schools have them. Too many people, I need a list."

"I knew it. Nian Qiuyan from the School of Techniques, and Cang Shu from the Agricultural School."

"Who is from the Military School?"

"I know who's from the Military School! It's Kong Yiyi!"

"What about the Yin-Yang School?"

"No, who in the School of Techniques would want to challenge the Martial Dao?"

"Nian Qiuyan can only defend for other schools, he can't even defend his own."

"Isn't that obvious? No one can defend their own, but if you run into Nian Qiuyan, just consider yourself unlucky."

"Brothers, I have some bad news. Mei Chengyu from the Ghost Dao School is also a Martial Dao arena disciple challenging for Grade A today."

"Then it's over. Anyone who encounters Mei Chengyu and Nian Qiuyan is finished."

"Those two really don't hold back when they fight!"

"Aren't they here to stop Wei Kun today?"

"Half of the disciples from the nine schools are here to stop Wei Kun today. He's the unluckiest."

Yu Sui read for a long time, remembering certain names and information. She was a little surprised by what the Yin-Yang School disciple Wei Kun had done to offend half of the nine schools' disciples, who were all coming to stop him from leveling up today, as well as her senior martial brother, whose temper seemed quite bad.

At this moment, Yu Sui regretted it. If she had known, she should have placed a Five Elements Light Core with Gu Gan to help her assess Mei Chengyu's strength.

Yu Sui, sitting in the Practice Hall and listening to the lecture, propped her chin with one hand. Looking out the window, she thought, if only the Communication Array could capture images. Since they could transmit sound using Star Position, why couldn't they transmit images?

The level-up challenge, held every two months, was divided into three types: Zhou Tian Test, Martial Dao, and Five Elements Life Technique. Simply put, the first, Zhou Tian Test, was prepared for students with weaker combat power. Some Nine Schools Techniques, while not strong in combat, were exceptionally powerful in certain aspects.

For example, Communication Arrays, Mechanism Techniques, Military Formations, etc. Although their individual combat power was not strong, they were beneficial to the daily life and development of the Six Kingdoms, and were indispensable at present.

The Five Elements Life Technique relied on self-creation, surpassing existing known "techniques" to be considered successful. The Medical School and Agricultural School had the most students choosing this path, followed by the School of Techniques and the School of Names.

As for Martial Dao, it was the strong suit of disciples from the Yin-Yang School and the Military School, followed by the Taoist School, Legalism School, and Ghost Dao School.

To advance from Grade C to Grade B, one only needed to pass one trial. To advance from Grade B to Grade A, two trials were required. Students wishing to challenge for Grade A had to pass all three trials.

At this moment, the Martial Arts Field was still preparing for the draw. Disciples arrived one after another. Thirteen Realm experts were present to oversee the scoring and arrange the arena contestants.

The Martial Arts Field building was predominantly red. A huge circular arena was hollowed out in the center of the tall building, with tiered viewing platforms encircling it, sectioned off by red railings. Waiting on the third floor now were the disciples defending their ranks in this level-up challenge.

Black Yin-Yang School curse patterns adorned the vermilion lacquered wood, illuminating the entire Martial Arts Field.

Kong Yiyi, leaning against the railing, turned her head towards the main entrance on the first floor. She could see a dense crowd and searched for her target among them. She raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Could Wei Kun be too scared to come!"

"He'll come."

Beside her, a man in white, arms crossed and leaning against a pillar, smiled gently.

Three black wooden sticks of varying lengths were tied to his waist, representing the disciples of the School of Techniques.

Kong Yiyi curiously looked at Nian Qiuyan, "Will Wei Kun also seek help from the School of Techniques to break the deadlock?"

"No," Nian Qiuyan tilted his head towards Mei Chengyu, who was standing to the side. "Those with strength in the School of Techniques won't help him, and if they lack strength, it's useless even if he finds them."

"To break the deadlock, his only other option is to seek help from the Ghost Dao School. You'll have to ask if our companion here agrees."

Mei Chengyu said leisurely, "When it comes to divination, I'm not as good as you. Which school will he draw to face?"

"It will definitely be one of the five schools," Nian Qiuyan smiled slightly. "School of Techniques, Ghost Dao, Military School, Agricultural School, Taoist School."

He added, "Wei Kun is a disciple of the Yin-Yang School. Even if he draws the Yin-Yang School, he'll get a re-draw."

"Hmph," Kong Yiyi cracked her knuckles, stretching her neck as if her whole body was making cracking sounds. "He'd better fall into my hands."

Cang Shu, with a pale, sickly complexion and looking as if he hadn't slept, slowly emerged from the entrance and walked towards the three of them. Reaching the railing, he said to the floor below, "They're here."

The first batch of disciples who passed the draw were let into the Martial Arts Field. Mei Chengyu and the others scanned them briefly before slowly turning their heads to look at Cang Shu.

Cang Shu rubbed his eyes and said weakly, "Oh, he's not here."

"Hey!" Kong Yiyi clenched her fist, ready to swing, but Nian Qiuyan stopped her with a smile, "Go to sleep and then talk!"

Mei Chengyu didn't see Wei Kun below, but unexpectedly spotted Gu Gan and a few others.

The Martial Arts Field could hold five matches simultaneously, separated by five barriers that prevented interference and sped up the challenge process.

The students entering the field now signified the start.

Da Yu Sui was in a good mood today, listening attentively to Jing Yun Kui's lecture on the Sixty-Four Hexagrams life techniques.

The basic course was nearing its end, and it wasn't all just listening without doing anything.

Today, Jing Yun Kui told the hundreds of students in the Practice Hall, "Next, you will form groups of four and go to the Yin-Yang and Five Elements Field. If you complete the first trial before classes begin tomorrow, you will have passed the one-month basic instruction period. Otherwise, you will continue with the last two days of classes, and two points will be deducted."

Hearing this, the students couldn't help but gasp. The Grade D students, who were new and had very few points to begin with, would be expelled from the Academy if their points dropped too low.

Some didn't want to lose points, while others didn't want to waste more time on basic courses and wanted to start cultivating in their respective academies sooner. Thus, they acted quickly and soon formed teams to head to the Yin-Yang and Five Elements Field.

Yu Sui looked around. The people beside her spontaneously formed teams, tacitly avoiding her.

Even those she knew from Qingyang acted as if they didn't see Yu Sui. Those with higher emotional intelligence would ask Yu Sui if she had chosen a team yet or if they could help introduce her, because their own teams were already full.

But no one wanted to team up with Yu Sui, a Normal Practitioner. It was troublesome and could lead to them being dragged down. No one knew what the trial in the Yin-Yang and Five Elements Field would be. If they didn't complete it before classes began tomorrow, they would lose two points.

Two points!

Yu Sui remained seated. When no one came to speak to her, she looked down at the Listening Wind Ruler. She had asked Old Man Yan to keep an eye on Zhongli Que. Nangong Ming's conflicts with Zhongli Ci had been increasing over the past two years.

She even suspected that when Nangong Ming and Zhongli Ci completely fell out, Nangong Ming would send her a message asking her to find a way to expel Zhongli Shan from Taiyi Academy.

Or perhaps Nangong Ming was already having others do it.

If the news that Yu Sui could cultivate and possessed a Five Elements Light Core reached Nangong Ming, the tasks Nangong Ming asked her to do would become increasingly difficult.

Yu Sui tapped the Listening Wind Ruler and saw a message from Black Beard.

She had previously asked Black Beard to investigate Mei Chengyu. Black Beard had only just sent the information.

Black Beard considered this the first task the County Princess had given him and felt he had to take it seriously. However, when he started investigating Mei Chengyu, he found it wasn't simple at all.

He couldn't find anything.

Birth registration, age, residence, nationality, birthday, family, friends – all of it was missing.

He didn't know who he was in the past, where he came from, or what had happened.

Black Beard refused to believe it and used all his resources, even secretly bribing someone in the Academy's registration office.

The registration office was where student information was kept. Regardless of how many years ago, any disciple who had ever entered Taiyi Academy would have a record.

But Mei Chengyu's information was still so clean it made Black Beard want to cry.

Aside from his name, even his age was missing. His household registration was blank, and his nationality was unknown. The only related record was:

Master, Chang Gen.

Mei Chengyu's past was untraceable, so Black Beard let it go and focused on his recent activities.

In the message Black Beard sent, apart from the unclear parts about Mei Chengyu's Nine Schools Techniques, most of it was information Yu Sui already knew.

From Black Beard's message, Yu Sui saw Mei Chengyu as a mysterious, cold, ill-tempered, and even somewhat "wicked" person.

Black Beard specifically marked the important points for Yu Sui:

It is known that he killed sixteen people in the Outer City.

Within Taiyi Academy, all are equal regardless of background, class, or status. Personal grudges between students are restricted, and fights to the death are controlled.

Outside Taiyi Academy, as long as it's in the Outer City, the Academy no longer restricts its disciples.

Revenge for grievances, settle scores for enmity – whether they live or die, it's all irrelevant.

Six of the sixteen people Mei Chengyu killed in the Outer City were students of the Academy. The remaining ten were ruffians, gamblers, and drug addicts in the Outer City, including men, women, old, and young.

In front of him, it seemed "all beings are equal," with no favored or hated targets.

He had made many enemies in the Outer City. People from several factions had threatened that if they saw Mei Chengyu in their territory in the Outer City, he would never return.

However, Mei Chengyu was highly skilled. As a Ninth Realm technician, he possessed supernatural abilities and esoteric skills. Although he was a disciple of the Ghost Dao School, he had studied courses from all other schools and knew a little bit of everything.

While others' Bagua Life Techniques were fixed, Mei Chengyu could generate any school's technique within the Bagua.

This was why he had survived until now and often roamed the Outer City without being killed.

After Black Beard sent the message, he felt uneasy, fearing the recipient would be dissatisfied and think his abilities were mediocre. As he sighed, he received Yu Sui's reply: "Then what is the conflict between my Senior Martial Brother and Wei Kun?"

Wei Kun? Black Beard slapped his forehead. Delighted, he quickly filled in the blanks. Finally, there was something he knew!

"Wei Kun is a disciple of the Yin-Yang School, and he does have some past conflict with Mei Chengyu. This incident also happened in our restaurant, I still remember that day."

"Half a year ago, Wei Kun killed someone in our restaurant. That person was also a student of Taiyi Academy and a disciple of the Yin-Yang School. Although I don't know what their conflict was, everyone knew that disputes between Taiyi Academy students were resolved in the Outer City, so no one intervened in their fight at the time."

"After this Yin-Yang School disciple died, Mei Chengyu came to take his body away."

"Wei Kun probably killed his friend. He used to be a regular in the Outer City, but he hasn't been seen coming out for a long time."

It's likely they feared being discovered by Mei Chengyu and the others in the Outer City, which would mean their death was imminent, so they stayed in the Academy and never went out.

Yu Sui watched, lost in thought.

Black Beard asked, "By the way, County Princess, the Prince's reply has arrived. Do you want to come over to see it, or should I deliver it to the Academy?"

Yu Sui replied, "I'll come over."

After Yu Sui finished dealing with the messages from the Listening Wind Ruler, she suddenly noticed the noisy environment had become quiet. She looked up and saw that the practice hall, which had been full of people earlier, was now empty, with only a few scattered individuals remaining in their seats.

Yu Sui looked around and noticed Li Jinshuang standing up in front. Her gaze moved further forward to Xue Mushi, who was sitting in his seat, spacing out.

The last person was leaning against the wall, playing with a scorpion in his hand, Wei Ren.

Yu Sui propped her chin with one hand, her bright apricot eyes reflecting the figure of Li Jinshuang walking towards the door.

Where there are crowds, there are disputes, especially among a group of young people in their prime adolescence, coming from the six kingdoms which were already in competition with each other, and having different goals.

The jealousy, inferiority complex, and pride of young people, and their tendency to form cliques, become even more pronounced in a place like the Academy.

Although the Academy advocated for equality, disregarding nationality and class, the people of Yan Kingdom, being the most disadvantaged, would still face contempt and bullying from other students.

Next was Li Jinshuang, who was isolated by both the male and female students.

Considered a freak, a shameless person, anyone who stood with her or interacted with her would be met with scrutinizing glances, as if saying, "Aren't you disgusted by her?" or "So you're the same kind of person as her."

As soon as someone angrily shouted at Li Jinshuang, there would be a second, a third, and so on, scaring away those who tried to approach her. Those who didn't want trouble would pretend not to see and subconsciously keep their distance from Li Jinshuang.

Under Yu Sui's observation, Li Jinshuang had been acting alone for the entire month. Occasionally, she would follow Xun Zhiya, but due to Shu Chujun, Li Jinshuang was always scolded.

Yu Sui couldn't help but sigh. Even though Li Jinshuang knew the Nine Schools Techniques, it was no use, as everyone around her knew them too. In Li Jinshuang's case, strength comparison couldn't overcome the advantage of numbers.

At times like these, the only ones who could stand with Li Jinshuang without drawing strange glances, pointing fingers, and sneers were a certain type of person.

"Hey." Wei Ren, leaning against the wall, called out lightly. With a flick of his finger, the bright red scorpion in his hand flew towards Li Jinshuang, who was about to reach the door.

Li Jinshuang seemed not to think Wei Ren was calling her, but she sensed danger. The scorpion behind her whipped its tail, its stinger like a crescent moon. Yu Sui saw a flash of silver, so fast it surprised even her.

A crisp sword clang echoed in the now empty practice hall, waking Xue Mushi from his daze and shattering the incoming scorpion.

Li Jinshuang sheathed her sword and looked calmly at Wei Ren.

"Heh." Wei Ren spread his hands and smiled, "Just wanted to get your attention. Don't be so nervous."

People like him, who spent their days with sinister poisons and often let them loose to scare others, were generally avoided, and people considered him quite malicious.

Someone had once cursed Wei Ren for letting his scorpions crawl around, cursing him until their faces were red and their necks were thick, even cursing his ancestors for eighteen generations. But Wei Ren just watched the other person with a smile and spread his hands, saying, "It's that serious? Want to go to the Outer City for a fight to the death?"

After that, others didn't dare to curse Wei Ren to his face again.

Wei Ren pointed at the people still in the practice hall, his gaze sweeping over Yu Sui, who was propping her chin with one hand, Xue Mushi, who was spacing out by the table, and finally stopping at Li Jinshuang. He raised an eyebrow and said, "It just so happens that only the four of us are left. I see no one has invited you, so why don't you join the three of us and form a team to complete this trial?"

Xue Mushi scratched his head. If he hadn't argued with his cousin Xue Jiayue, no one would have invited him to form a team. Actually, there were invitations, but he was lost in his own emotions and didn't respond, so others left.

By the time he was woken by the sword clang and came to his senses, only these three people were left.

Yu Sui, propping her chin with one hand, tilted her head and looked at Xue Mushi.

This person was also quite famous.

The most exciting event in Taiyuan Country recently was when the Saintess of the Yin-Yang School personally went to the declining Xue Family to break off their engagement, causing the Xue Family to lose face in Taiyuan and close their doors for several months.

And Xue Mushi was the unlucky fellow who was sent to Taiyi Academy by his family overnight after his engagement was broken.

He looked like a person with no temper, even a bit dull, always keeping his head down, lost in his own world. Xue Mushi's roommates, upon hearing about his engagement being broken off by the Saintess of the Yin-Yang School, expressed sympathy, offered comfort to Xue Mushi, and cursed the Saintess of the Yin-Yang School as a terrible person.

Then Xue Mushi beat them up severely.

Those who were beaten were also stunned. After they recovered, they cursed Xue Mushi for being ungrateful and broke off their friendship with him. When this spread, everyone laughed at Xue Mushi for having no temper, no self-respect, and for being so deeply in love with the Saintess of the Yin-Yang School that he was like a dog to his former fiancée.

Xue Mushi did not retort, letting his roommates target him.

It was not surprising or noteworthy that such a person would associate with Li Jinshuang and Wei Ren.

As for her, Yu Sui tapped her fingers on the table, making a dull sound, and said lazily, "Are you sure you want to bring me? I'm just a normal practitioner."

"Of course, why wouldn't we? It's not like we can't carry you." Wei Ren tilted his chin towards Li Jinshuang, a half-smile on his face, "Li Jinshuang, as a fifth-realm technician, you won't be unable to carry her in a beginner's trial, right?"

Li Jinshuang remained silent for a long time, then quietly sheathed her sword and put it back into its scabbard. She didn't reply, nor did she leave.