Section 6: Arriving at Green Mountain Island, Heavenly Song Academy!

Chu Yun pondered in his heart, recalling bits of information regarding Yan Que.

Yan Que was the son of a commoner. His family home was bare, and his life was one of hardship, which made him mature, sensible, and understanding from a young age. After being recommended from a village island, he enrolled in Heavenly Song Academy. Within the academy, he studied with great diligence and encountered his own share of fortuitous events.

According to rumors from his past life, it was at the summit of Heavenly Song Academy, beneath the Rumor-Whisper Vine, that he discovered the seed of a top-tier demon plant.

This was the renowned and extremely rare Universal Pill-Origin Tree.

Yan Que's own aptitude was already quite good, and his temperament had been tempered by the hardships of his youth. Combined with his diligence and this stroke of luck, he truly became unstoppable, soaring straight to the heavens.

While still in the academy, he was selected by the Lord of Jianghan Kingdom and promoted to a county magistrate. Later, his outstanding political achievements led to him becoming a city lord. He was then promoted to prefect, governing a region, and finally rose to the center of the national capital to become the Minister of Agriculture.

He maintained a simple lifestyle and was strictly devoted to his duties; during his tenure, he never had a single stain of corruption or bribery. His noble character became a celebrated story of the time.

But for now, he should not have obtained that seed of the Universal Pill-Origin Tree yet. Lacking that final spark of opportunity and foundation, he was currently just a destitute student, hunkered down in Heavenly Song Academy.

This is the perfect time to recruit him, Chu Yun sighed inwardly, though he lacked confidence.

Lobbying for talent was not his strong suit; he had zero experience.

If it came to marching and fighting, he could exert some brute force, and perhaps with a flash of inspiration, he could devise a strategy.

If it came to exploring the mysterious and the hidden, he would give himself a thumbs-up as top-tier in the world, absolutely brimming with confidence.

His strength lay in adventure. That was the accumulation and foundation of twenty-three years. It was the vision honed by navigating various perilous secret realms, the strength exchanged for scars and pain while crawling through the line between life and death. It was rock-solid, enough to be called world-class without question.

What was the most important thing in exploring the mysterious and the hidden?

It was not strength, but self-awareness.

Mixing in various perilous secret realms, facing all kinds of sinister traps and powerful Lesser Demons, danger was everywhere. Without this self-awareness—without knowing when to advance or retreat, and being blinded by desire—no matter how high one's strength, one would have died long ago.

Chu Yun had extreme self-awareness; he knew where his weaknesses lay and where his strengths were. He knew what he could do at the moment and what he could not. He knew what he should do and strove to achieve it.

Following this, he practiced diligently without pause.

Every day, he spent half the day fishing to lure Lesser Demons from the sea to train the Heavenly Fox. He spent the other half of the day with the Drunken Snow Blade. While silently sensing the spiritual energy from the demon weapon to reshape his body, he practiced his blade techniques to improve the synchronization between man and blade.

His strength was steadily increasing.

The experiences of his past life spurred him on at every moment, making him wish he could be working hard every second. He even made the best use of his sleeping time.

Unfortunately, he was currently in a growth spurt, and sleep was also important. Eating his fill and sleeping to cultivate, his time was packed full. As for that beautiful young master he had saved from the seawater, he had already completely forgotten him.

Seven days later, the treasure ship arrived at its destination—Green Mountain Island.

Green Mountain Island was a city-level island. Its terrain was unique; the ground in the center of the island rose high to form a great mountain. The mountain was majestic, covered in lush green trees, with white clouds drifting above its peak.

Named Green Mountain Island, it was truly well-deserved.

And Heavenly Song Academy was situated upon Green Mountain.

As the treasure ship reached the pier, the youths cheered and ran off the boat, staring at the green mountain before them in stunned silence.

"Heavens! What a tall peak! This is my first time seeing one."

"Heavenly Song Academy must be on Green Mountain. I'm really looking forward to life on the mountain."

It was the nature of youth to be lively and active at this age. Suddenly, on the pier, it was as if a flock of sparrows had landed on a tree, chirping incessantly.

Chu Yun stayed behind, keeping his distance from the others, watching from afar. His temperament was mature, so he naturally did not fit in with them. However, the main reason for distancing himself from the main group was to facilitate observation.

He was observing the performance of these talents to see if any were particularly outstanding.

However, after observing for a moment, Chu Yun shook his head secretly. These youths might have excellent aptitude, but their temperaments were not very mature; their speech was filled with arrogance, and they still needed to be tempered and honed.

It was only when he saw Shi Jiaming that his eyes lit up. This mysterious youth he had saved was currently standing with his hands behind his back, gazing at Green Mountain. His beautiful, handsome face was veiled in a layer of light sorrow. In his large, bright eyes, clear as the moon, it seemed as if smoke and clouds were drifting. A sense of vicissitudes, not matching his age, was revealed.

It seems that although this Shi Jiaming has a great background, his life is certainly not going well. There is no such person in my memories. However, the jade slip he is clutching must be a letter of introduction to prove his identity. When the White-Browed Alchemist saw it, his expression changed. Clearly, the youth has a direct or indirect close connection with the higher-ups of the academy.

"Quiet, everyone. Follow me to the gate tower to collect your identity jade pendants." The White-Browed Alchemist let out a soft shout, his pressure enveloping the entire area, and the youths immediately fell silent. The eyes they cast toward the White-Browed Alchemist were filled with a clear sense of awe.

Standing on the pier, one could see the tall gate tower. It had vermilion door pillars and gray, upturned eaves. A large plaque hung on the lintel, inscribed with the words "Lower Gate Tower."

Walking closer, one could see that the gate tower was towering and majestic. It stood several zhang high, occupying the main road. A long queue had already formed in front of the gate, consisting of youths from the All-Star Archipelago.

On both sides of the gate, tables and chairs were temporarily set up. Academy staff sat in the chairs, recording information while distributing the identity jade pendants.

The youths could not help but scramble, joining the queue. Chu Yun shook his head and stood at the very end. Enrolling in Heavenly Song Academy was a certainty, so why rush?

Coincidentally, standing right in front of him was Jin Bihan, the princess of Dunhuang Kingdom. Noticing that Chu Yun was behind her, she immediately rolled her eyes at him.

Even when rolling her eyes, she possessed the beautiful demeanor of a fair maiden's feigned anger.

Chu Yun shrugged, unbothered. The other party inexplicably disliked him, and he did not care. In his eyes, the other party was just a thirteen-year-old child. It was not worth getting worked up over.

Only those who truly blocked his path forward were worth him taking action against.

Both sides remained silent, without a single word of exchange. The academy staff worked with high efficiency, and the queue moved forward rapidly.

Just as it was almost Shi Jiaming's turn, another treasure ship arrived at the east pier, and another group of youths disembarked. They chattered as they lined up behind Chu Yun.

"State your name." The tone was somewhat impatient.

"Shi Jiaming."

"Shi Jiaming, let me look. Hmm, found it. Here, your identity jade pendant." The academy staff's attitude was cold as he pulled a jade pendant from the desk drawer. The workload for the day was too heavy; he didn't even have the mood to smile.

Jin Bihan silently took the jade pendant and walked through the gatehouse. Chu Yun followed, stepping up to the staff member.

"State your name." The academy official did not even look up, his eyes fixed on the roster.

"Chu Yun."

"Chu Yun?!" The academy official jerked his head up, letting out a startled cry.

"Chu Yun? Where is Chu Yun?" The surrounding staff members reacted as if struck by lightning, all chiming in at once.

The youths exchanged bewildered glances, unable to fathom why the academy staff were reacting with such intensity. Shi Jiaming turned back to look at Chu Yun, his own expression clouded with confusion.

Chu Yun was taken aback as well. His gaze sharpened, and he asked in a low voice, "What is it? Is there a problem?"