Matters of the Outer Academy

After Lu Qing withdrew his spell, he looked again and could already sense the surging spiritual energy that had previously gathered in this spot.

This Spirit Plant Garden in the valley covered a vast area. From the task information, this was merely its outer perimeter.

Ever since Lu Qing entered, he had not seen anyone else.

"There should be a concealment formation here, right?"

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to see nothing besides disciples and elders, along with the Water Lotus pond before him. It was as if this were merely an ordinary valley.

That was naturally impossible.

Since this was a Spirit Plant Garden, there had to be spirit plants.

Yet after Lu Qing finished casting his spell and carefully surveyed his surroundings, all he could see was still a natural pond at the bottom of the valley.

He found no other clues.

"But this has nothing to do with me. It's better if I don't have to deal with them."

"What matters now is that the water level seems to be falling extremely slowly."

After Lu Qing cast this spell, only a thin wisp of spiritual power remained in his Dantian. However, the spiritual energy here was abundant. In the span of a breath, coupled with his decent aptitude, he lightly circulated the spiritual power within his body into his Dantian, and the spiritual power that had been completely depleted slowly began to accumulate once more.

This recovery speed was much faster than when he meditated on the Dao Peak. One reason was the effect of that rare Snow Spirit Fruit; another was that it truly showed how places where spirit plants were grown could gather the spiritual energy scattered throughout heaven and earth.

Thinking of it this way, it was no wonder the back mountain of the Nameless Dao Peak he had chosen also had a large stretch of Spirit Fields.

He stared at the pond for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, yet still could not make out any drop in the water level.

"Forget it. I'll cultivate here. Water Lotuses draw upon the water of heaven and earth to grow; someone cultivating beside them won't affect them."

Lu Qing had naturally learned about Water Lotuses before. Water Lotuses bloomed in seven days and bore Lotus Fruit in fourteen.

Lotus Fruit could be used as a nourishing ingredient. Among Dao Sect disciples, it was considered a fairly decent spiritual-energy dietary supplement. Consuming it could shorten the time required for a major cycle of spiritual power circulation. Put plainly, it could save one or two days of cultivation time.

However, Water Lotuses were not precious. If eaten year-round, one would grow accustomed to them and their effects would become quite slight. Furthermore, Water Lotus seeds were not difficult to obtain, which was why they had been placed at the edge of the garden.

After the fruit formed, someone would naturally come to handle it.

In other words, after fourteen days, a designated person would come to collect the fruit. His task only required him to ensure that the Water Lotuses bore fruit; the subsequent harvesting was not within the scope of this task.

The spirit plant task Lu Qing had chosen was also within what he could handle. Why would he joke around and tend to anything too precious?

Don't forget, he only had one Minor Cloud Rain Technique to offer at present. Watering was no big deal, but for most precious spirit plants, watering alone could no longer meet their growth requirements.

Thus, Water Lotuses lived rough and were extremely easy to raise.

Nor would anyone covet them.

Lu Qing cultivated here in peace.

His heart was at peace and his mind tranquil as he focused on tempering the spiritual power in his Dantian.

And the Entry Trial Tournament that had only taken place yesterday—

The storm had only just begun.

The rankings had not been announced, but every disciple knew their own rank. Some were socially well-connected, and after asking around a little, they could roughly infer the names in the top ten.

Yet an unexpected upheaval had occurred during this Entry Trial Tournament. No one knew what the final results would be.

The only ones who could be certain were probably those few Heaven's Pride with Heaven-grade Aptitude.

Upon a mountain peak stood an elegant pavilion, lofty and solemn, encircled by countless spiritual mists and auspicious radiance.

Inside, several Outer Academy disciples had arranged a small banquet.

"Brother Fu, we actually ranked outside the top twenty. What a huge loss."

Lin Tiannan looked indignant. Among this batch of geniuses, he was a Heaven's Pride from Central Province in the Profound Heaven Domain.

He had originally believed he would contend for the top ten. Who would have thought he would fall beyond the top twenty?

Did that not mean that quite a number of disciples with Superior Aptitude had already squeezed them down?

Fu Wuding sneered. "So what do you plan to do? It's only the ranking of one minor tournament."

Lin Tiannan said, "This isn't merely the ranking of one minor tournament. I asked around earlier—some fool who didn't know his place received a Foundation Establishment Spirit Item."

A Green Robe disciple beside him spoke up. Everyone at this small banquet was a genius who should originally have entered the Inner Academy.

Though they were currently in the Outer Academy, each and every one of them had already taken a master in the Inner Academy.

Even the three elders of the Outer Academy who oversaw the channels for rising from the Outer Academy to the Inner Academy turned a blind eye to this batch of disciples who, for reasons unknown, had been sent down to the Outer Academy.

"A mere Foundation Establishment Spirit Item. With our strength, it isn't something overly precious to us. Junior Brother Lin, don't be so petty."

At this moment, someone seated above spoke.

"Senior Brother Li, I—I'm just a little unconvinced. Our cultivation is clearly higher than theirs. If we fought on an arena, they definitely wouldn't be our match."

When Lin Tiannan saw who had spoken from above, his gaze flickered before he slowly replied.

This man was the same as them, except he had recently been drawn in by Bai Yunqing and, for some unknown reason, had gained Senior Brother Yan's favor.

His cultivation was now a step ahead of theirs.

In cultivation, those ahead came first. Aside from those of the same master's lineage, most followed this rule. Calling him Senior Brother was not wrong.

Lin Tiannan had refused at first, naturally because of the pride in his heart.

Yan Langyu had possessed Superior Aptitude, but after obtaining some opportunity, he had gradually transformed into someone with Earth-grade Aptitude.

As someone born with Earth-grade Aptitude, Lin Tiannan was unwilling to submit to another.

Not to mention that they had originally been able to enter the Inner Academy.

The disciple seated above did not care. He knew that he was responsible for building good relations with these people.

Li Jiao said, "Oh? Then I wonder which dark horses ranked highly that Junior Brother knows? I'd like to get acquainted with them."

As soon as he said this,

Lin Tiannan's eyes flickered, and he held him in even greater contempt. Sure enough, he's a fine dog.

Yet he immediately smiled and said, "There are a few, but since the rankings haven't been announced, I can't know them all. These are only this junior brother's guesses."

"There were several times more disciples with Superior Aptitude recruited this year than in previous years. Any one of them could be among them. I can think of three or four."

"That's good. I'll make sure to befriend them properly." Li Jiao did not mind.

When all was said and done, this small banquet had originally been for these disciples to exchange information and build connections, and they naturally began discussing the incident from yesterday as well.

"What exactly happened yesterday?"

"Heh, don't mention it. A Purple Mansion Realm demon beast caused trouble and had its Divine Soul shattered by a single sword strike from the supervising elder. Unfortunately, quite a few people had stood too close and are still recuperating from their injuries."

The disciple who spoke wore a subtle expression, and the others were the same.

Setting everything else aside, those with Heaven-Grade Aptitude and those few who had distinguished themselves in cultivation should be the ones in the top ten—and they had basically all suffered severe injuries.

Naturally, the faint delight and relief in their hearts did not show on their faces.

"I originally wanted to recruit some disciples with Superior Aptitude, but unfortunately, there are still a few for whom I can't find an opportunity."

Li Jiao sat above, holding a wine cup as he thought to himself.

He knew what his aptitude was like, but it was not genuine. His Lineage had simply paid an enormous price, originally intending to send him into the Inner Academy, where he could continuously use the Inner Academy's resources to raise his realm before feeding those gains back to the Lineage.