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Qu Yi had already told him this much. Luo Mu could guess the rest without needing to ask. No wonder Li Hu had sounded so disdainful when he overheard their conversation.

"Hmph! If this man didn't come from a wealthy family with countless spirit herbs at his disposal, who knows how many years it would've taken him to cultivate on his own to the ninth layer of the Qi Refining Stage?" Qu Yi said, his face full of resentment.

"The ninth layer of the Qi Refining Stage?" Luo Mu was slightly startled. He hadn't expected the man to be so powerful. Still, judging by his age, he was already in his late twenties, several years older than Luo Mu. From what Qu Yi had said, the man had taken plenty of medicinal pills to reach this level. That piqued Luo Mu's curiosity.

"Oh? I'm rather curious. Could you tell me more, Fellow Daoist Qu?" Luo Mu said with a smile.

"Actually, it's no secret. Though he's a member of the Li Family, his aptitude really isn't very good. Since he couldn't make much progress in cultivation, he chose alchemy instead. His family is remarkably wealthy, with plenty of spirit herbs and pill recipes for him to use. Over the years, he's achieved quite a lot in the art of alchemy."

"They say he's long been able to refine pills that improve one's cultivation in the Qi Refining Stage. That's how, despite his ordinary aptitude, he managed to force his way to the ninth layer before turning thirty. In three years, the Wanfa Sect will hold its once-a-decade disciple selection. With his alchemy skills, he'll likely catch the eye of one of the Wanfa Sect's envoys and rise to glory by joining the sect to cultivate!"

As he spoke, Luo Mu could clearly hear the bitterness in Qu Yi's voice. It was only natural. The man could practice alchemy without any worries, with heaps of ingredients at his disposal, while Qu Yi had to humble himself and beg others just to practice artifact refining. He had even nearly lost his life over the materials he needed. The grievances he'd suffered were no small matter.

What surprised Luo Mu was that Li Hu had also chosen the Alchemy Department. Luo Mu had made the same choice, so things might get interesting between them in the future.

"Really, you don't need to feel this way. People are born into different circumstances, so of course they start at different places. There's no need to compare yourself to him. Just do your best at what you ought to do and what you want to do. How much you gain isn't important. What matters is that you've tried and never given up. Don't aim to outdo others; aim to outdo yourself." Seeing Qu Yi's sour expression, Luo Mu smiled and offered some words of encouragement.

Qu Yi was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected someone so young to say something like that. It surprised him. Thinking it over, he found that Luo Mu made a fair point. He shook his head and stopped dwelling on the matter.

"Fellow Daoist Luo, you saw what happened just now. Heh... Don't laugh at me, but although I'm devoted to artifact refining, I'm still not quite capable of refining a mid-grade magic artifact. Are you sure you want to entrust your materials to me?" Qu Yi gave a self-deprecating smile before asking.

Even so, Qu Yi hoped Luo Mu would agree. He gazed at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.

"Since I already agreed to let you use the materials, I've made peace with the possibility that they might be ruined. Don't feel pressured, Fellow Daoist. Just refine it without worry." The look on Qu Yi's face stirred something in Luo Mu, and he replied with a smile.

At that moment, Luo Mu felt that he and Qu Yi were much alike. Back when he'd struggled to set foot on the path of cultivation, hadn't he also worked tirelessly and endured setback after setback? Qu Yi might have suffered just as many indignities for the sake of artifact refining.

For a moment, Luo Mu felt they were kindred spirits, bound by the same hardships.

"Wonderful! Thank you, Fellow Daoist!" Qu Yi exclaimed, his face lighting up with joy.

Luo Mu smiled without saying more and led the way toward the city. Qu Yi followed close behind, elated. Whether he'd forgotten Li Hu's humiliation or simply buried it deep in his heart was anyone's guess.

A short while later, the two successfully entered Jinxiu City and went their separate ways. Qu Yi went to refine a magic artifact for Luo Mu, while Luo Mu headed for Jinxiu Academy in the city center...

The sight of the grand, imposing complex left Luo Mu deeply shocked. He had never seen Jinxiu Academy before, so it was only natural that such an impressive academy would astound him. It was nothing like the tiny school in Dragon Gate Town.

Students in white robes streamed in and out of the academy gates, making for a lively scene. They were all genuine cultivators. Most were one or two layers below Luo Mu in cultivation, though quite a few were stronger than him.

Luo Mu came from Dragon Gate Town. In all these years, the town had produced only one cultivator, Xiao Ling'er. Luo Mu, the little poison fiend, could perhaps be counted as one too. Together, that made only two.

But here, so many students went in and out of Jinxiu Academy. The sight shook Luo Mu. After a moment's thought, though, he understood.

There were countless small towns around Jinxiu City. Even if each one produced just a single person capable of cultivation, the number would still be substantial. And tens of thousands of ordinary people lived in Jinxiu City. Every day, countless new lives entered the world there, and some of those children were bound to have spirit roots.

Given all that, it was hardly surprising that Jinxiu Academy had so many cultivators.

Luo Mu stood blankly at the entrance to Jinxiu Academy, still wearing his black mask. His sixth-layer Qi Refining Stage cultivation aura radiated faintly from him, naturally drawing the attention of many students coming and going.

A sixth-layer Qi Refining Stage cultivator wasn't among the strongest students at Jinxiu Academy, but he wasn't weak either. He ranked around the middle. Luo Mu's clothes were exceedingly plain, and he didn't look like a student. Someone with sixth-layer cultivation who didn't seem to belong to the academy would naturally arouse the students' curiosity.

Some of the female students who were a little weaker than him saw that the half of his face visible beyond his mask was rather handsome. They couldn't help stealing a few more glances, even more curious about what the other half of his face looked like.

By the time Luo Mu came back to his senses, he realized how awkward the situation was. He'd just been standing at the academy gate, drawing everyone's attention.

He smiled wryly, shook his head, and collected himself before walking toward the academy entrance. A wooden sign, two meters tall, stood there with the words "Registration" written on it.

"Hello, I'm here to register." The receptionist at the registration desk was a white-haired old man whose cultivation was only at the third layer of the Qi Refining Stage. Luo Mu could tell at a glance. But he didn't put on airs; instead, he greeted the man politely before explaining why he'd come.

Hearing him, the old man looked up at Luo Mu. He had worked as a receptionist at the academy for decades and had met all kinds of people. At a glance, he could roughly judge Luo Mu's cultivation. Though his expression didn't change at the sight of someone so young, he was deeply shocked inside.

In all his decades there, the old man had hardly ever seen anyone reach the sixth layer of the Qi Refining Stage at such a young age. Then he thought of how he himself had only reached the third layer in his entire life, and couldn't help sighing.

"Name, age, place of origin, current cultivation level, and which department you'd like to enter." Looking at Luo Mu, the old man asked five questions in quick succession. His concise manner surprised Luo Mu.

"My name is Luo Mu. I'm nineteen, from Dragon Gate Town, and at the sixth layer of the Qi Refining Stage. I'd like to enter the Alchemy Department." Luo Mu had already made up his mind, and answered just as concisely.

The old man nodded and kept recording Luo Mu's details with the brush in his hand. A moment later, he finished and took a fist-sized crystal ball from beside him, handing it to Luo Mu.

"This ball tests your body's elemental attribute. Once you know your attribute, it'll be easier to choose the cultivation technique that suits you," the old man said as he held out the crystal ball.

Luo Mu recognized the crystal ball, of course, and knew what it was for. But when the old man offered it, he made no move to take it.

Luo Mu had entered the Dao through poison. After being tempered by countless poisons, his constitution had long since become poison-attribute. He knew that well. The crystal ball before him tested the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. He didn't know whether it could detect his poison attribute, but one thing was certain: whether it could or not, neither outcome would be good for him.

If it detected his attribute, Luo Mu would inevitably attract unwanted attention. The old monsters might even seize him for research.

If it couldn't, that would be even more troublesome. How could someone with no five-element attribute cultivate at all? How had he reached this level?

So when the old man offered the crystal ball, Luo Mu merely smiled. He didn't reach out to take it.

"I've already had my attribute tested. It's wood, so there's no need to bother testing it again and waste time." Luo Mu gave the old man a genial smile and spoke softly.

"All right." The old man was quite straightforward. Seeing that Luo Mu was unwilling, he didn't press him and put the crystal ball away. The test was only meant to help him. Since Luo Mu didn't want it, the old man wasn't going to shamelessly insist. Whether Luo Mu had really been tested before or was truly wood-attribute was none of his concern. It was Luo Mu's business, not his.

"The tuition is one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones per year. Any problem with that?" the old man asked evenly.

"No problem." Luo Mu smiled. With a wave of his sleeve, one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones appeared on the table before the old man, neatly stacked in rows.

A sweep of his spiritual sense was enough for the old man to count the stones. He nodded, and a hint of a smile finally appeared on his face. Then he took out a black token made from an unknown kind of wood. He waved his hand, and a flash of white light passed over the token. Luo Mu's name appeared on the front, while the words "Jinxiu Academy" appeared on the back.

After that, the old man also took out a set of school robes and placed them in front of Luo Mu along with the token.

"Mm, the number of spirit stones is exactly right. This is your uniform and your identity token. Keep them safe. From this moment on, you're one of the students of Jinxiu Academy. Welcome aboard, young man."