White Jade Capital in the Heavens

The history of cultivation in this world, like the history of civilization itself, was not long.

Tens of thousands of years ago, cultivation systems did not yet exist. People could not even control spiritual energy. Some extraordinary geniuses were born with it, while others had such a high affinity for it that they easily came into contact with those wondrous energies, but none could use them.

Then someone discovered the interaction between Runes and spiritual energy—

Draw spiritual energy into certain symbols, and wondrous reactions would follow. Different symbols produced different effects.

These were the most Basic Runes. Later, building on the Basic Runes, people gradually discovered more complex Runes with more powerful functions.

The first people to learn how to use spiritual energy emerged.

At first, their abilities were weak. They used them for little tricks, hoping to swindle their way into a position as a priest or something of the sort.

Some were burned to death instead.

But as people learned more about Runes and spiritual energy, they soon mastered stronger, more complex powers and gradually put them to use in farming and war.

The earliest cultivators were born.

This was the embryonic form of the Spirit Sect.

The Spirit Sect relied heavily on spiritual energy and spells. For a long time, it was the dominant cultivation path in this land. Later, the Sacred Ancestor united the realm and consolidated its cultivation systems. The Spirit Sect became the first organized cultivation sect in the world, playing a crucial leading role in the development of cultivation methods, spells, and Runes.

It was the ancestor of every cultivation system.

But as the cultivation world developed, competition between cultivators grew fiercer and wars grew crueler. Their need for combat strength rose with them. The Spirit Sect gradually lost its dominant position to the Sword Sect and fell to second place.

An era arrived when Sword Cultivation filled the land.

Yet the tide of history rolled in wave after wave. No one could stay at the forefront forever—

The dominance of Sword Cultivation was eventually replaced by other cultivation systems too.

The Spirit Sect remained in second place.

Over the next several thousand years, the cultivation world had no permanent winner. Different eras demanded different things of cultivators, and cultivation systems large and small each had their time in the sun.

Some lasted only decades; others, more than a thousand years.

The Spirit Sect was always second.

Some systems had been eliminated, while others survived. Some moved with the times, while others held fast to tradition. Some enjoyed a second spring, while others were preserved by the state.

The Spirit Sect system remained where it had always been.

An evergreen of cultivation systems, if ever there was one.

The last cultivation system in history to shake the entire cultivation world was the Esoteric Sect. On the timeline, it was the one closest to the modern era.

Its name only resounded across the land a thousand years ago. Strangely, though, for a system that struck such fear into the cultivation world, it had pitifully few cultivators.

Stories of how terrifying the Esoteric Sect was spread everywhere, yet few people had ever seen one of its cultivators.

No one even knew how many disciples it had, where its headquarters were, or whether it was really called the "Esoteric Sect."

It was as mysterious as a rumor.

But several hundred years ago, the Yi Nation court joined forces with the major sects to search the land for Esoteric Sect disciples. That was impossible to hide.

These days, promotional accounts online were forever draping the Esoteric Sect in a terrifying veil. Everyone talked it up as the most frightening cultivation system in history, claiming it had become so intolerable that the other powers had united to wipe it out.

No one knew how that purge had ended.

The history books did not say. Perhaps it had not gone well.

Yet the Esoteric Sect had indeed vanished afterward, which seemed to suggest the purge had worked.

Even in the modern era, people still did not understand its core principles. All they had obtained was the Esoteric Sect's spiritual cultivation method, which became the primary reference for the method now taught throughout the Yi Nation.

The train stopped at several more stations, passing through sunshine and rain.

One of Chen Shu's earbuds still hung in Ning Qing's ear, but she was no longer looking at the scenery outside. She had turned to watch his sleeping face, her expression serene.

He was still holding her hand.

"Smile for me

"Fame and fortune aren't the goal

"Making yourself happy—that's what gives it meaning

"The paper planes of childhood..."

The song was playing through the earbud. Both its music and lyrics had been written by a man named Jay Chou. She remembered that Chen Shu loved singing it, and sang it even better than the original.

She looked up at the display in the carriage.

15:32.

Speed: 453 km/h

Temperature: 23°

Just over two hours remained.

Ning Qing glanced again at Chen Shu's face on her left shoulder. Seeing his head begin to slide down, she raised a hand to support it so he would not overdraw his personal credit. Then she carefully slipped his phone out of his pocket and removed his earbud.

With only one hand free, it was awkward work.

"Mm..."

Chen Shu stirred.

Ning Qing stopped and studied him for a few seconds. When he did not move again, she put on the earbud and picked up his phone.

Unlocked.

Time to watch some short videos.

News: "Today, our military assisted Puluo's armed forces in eliminating the Two-Tailed Sect..."

Science explainer: "Let's verify this viral video of an Otherworldly Beast..."

Talk show: "Leaving the facts aside..."

News: "According to Professor Yuan, the identification of the Commoner's Hairpin was thanks to a young assistant. Believe it or not, this young person has only just finished the college entrance exams..."

Gaming: "I died there. Time to make reasonable use of the downtime."

He watches such a random mix of things.

Ning Qing kept scrolling.

A beauty dancing: "Ding ding ding ding, woo~~"

Expressionless, Ning Qing watched the long-legged girl with defined abs on the screen until the dance ended.

She pressed and held, then selected "Not interested."

Then she scrolled to the next video.

Chen Shu woke to find her playing with his phone. He was not particularly surprised. He pulled his hand free of hers; his palm was slick with sweat, and it did not feel comfortable at all. This sort of thing only felt good at the beginning.

Then he asked groggily:

"What time is it?"

"Four eleven."

"How much longer?"

"Exactly two hours." Ning Qing glanced at him. "You held my hand for three hours and twelve minutes, and leaned on my shoulder for three hours and one minute."

"Round those down to zero, boss."

"All right."

"Very generous of you, boss."

Chen Shu rubbed his face and woke up a little more. "That Hama Beer packed quite a punch. I might not be able to sleep tonight."

Ning Qing took out one earbud and handed it to him.

18:11.

The train pulled into Jade Capital West Station. Its doors opened with a hiss, and the passengers rose to collect their luggage.

Chen Shu pulled his suitcase off the train alongside Ning Qing. His backpack was much lighter than it had been that morning. Standing on the platform, he looked up. The distant setting sun glowed orange-red, and the horizon was washed in amber. The sunset in the imperial capital seemed grander than Bai City's, though not as lovely.

"Let's go."

This was not their first visit to Jade Capital.

They had come once four years earlier, during summer vacation, to travel. Xiaoxiao had come with them, and they had spent a week there before going home.

After leaving the station, they hailed a cab and headed straight for the hotel.

They were not attending the same school.

Chen Shu was going to Yujing University, while Ning Qing was going to Ling'an Academy. Both ranked among the best schools in the world. The two campuses stood next to each other, and registration at both would begin the day after tomorrow.

They had booked a hotel close to the schools. They had arrived early because Chen Shu wanted to visit his older sister tomorrow.

His sister also studied in Jade Capital. This was her final academic year, and she had rented a place off campus.

They arrived at Tuanzi Hotel.

One room each.

After putting down his things, Chen Shu let Lawyer Wei, his sister, and Xiaoxiao know he had arrived. Then he sat on the edge of the bed and took stock of his current assets.

This world had no Alipay, and Feixin had no feature for storing money, but nobody needed cash anymore. Everyone kept their money in online banks, with an account of their own. Chen Shu found it even more convenient and better regulated than WeChat or Alipay.

His account held just over fifty thousand.

He had saved it all himself.

For an ordinary university student, that was plenty. For a cultivator, it was nothing.

He also had a little over a thousand Black Gold Coins online. Those were valuable, but he did not count them. They had their own purpose, and he would not cash them in unless he had to.

As for tuition and living expenses...

He had none set aside.

Yi Nation's universities had a support policy:

For the full five years, students did not have to pay tuition up front. That did not mean tuition was free. On the contrary, it was much more expensive than university had been in his previous life. It was added to a credit loan that accrued no interest for ten years from enrollment. After that, interest began to accrue.

Living expenses worked the same way.

After registration, the university would issue a campus card. For ten months each year, the government would deposit a set amount onto it every month. The amount depended on the university's recommendation.

Anything left over at the end of the semester could be returned.

Universities in Jade Capital all provided fifteen hundred a month. It could be spent on meals in the cafeteria or purchases at campus stores.

For a student from a poor family who did not spend much, that was more than enough to cover basic needs on campus, including clothes and an occasional restaurant meal. If they wanted a more comfortable life, they could find a way to earn more. That was not particularly difficult either.

Chen Shu, though, spent a lot.

Knock, knock.

A faint knock came at the door, followed by Ning Qing's soft, pleasant voice:

"Let's go out for dinner."

"Coming."