Beneath the locust tree in the courtyard, with plain tea on the stone table, Wen Ling held nothing back, imparting the unique insights he had painstakingly developed over the years-and indeed everything he had learned in his lifetime!
Mu Chen sat quietly and listened, his expression intent.
He already possessed a grasp of the essential principles behind the myriad transformations of spiritual energy.
Now, as he listened to Wen Ling explain the specialized art of Spirit Arrays, the slightest guidance on its many principles was enough for them to melt into understanding like snow falling into spring water, without the least obstruction.
An hour later.
Wen Ling raised his slightly cooled cup of tea and moistened his somewhat dry throat, looking at Mu Chen with a complicated gaze.
He had nothing left to teach him.
It was not that he was stingy; the boy before him had truly drained every last drop of ink from his belly!
Mu Chen bowed solemnly to Wen Ling. "Thank you for setting me on this path, Master Wen."
Wen Ling hurriedly rose and stepped aside, smiling wryly. "You honor me far too much, young master. With your ability, your future achievements in Spirit Arrays will be beyond anything I can fathom. It was already my good fortune to introduce you to this path."
Over the following days, Mu Chen began studying the Array Diagram on his own, his progress covering a thousand miles a day.
During that time, Mu Feng visited once. He mentioned that the Northern Spiritual Academy's competition for admission slots was about to begin and asked whether Mu Chen wanted to watch.
At those words, the spiritual energy at Mu Chen's fingertips paused slightly, and the array patterns quietly dispersed.
He recalled those bright eyes, with their faint trace of reproach, and smiled.
"Let's go take a look and cheer Qian'er on."
The Northern Spiritual Realm covered a vast territory, its large and small factions intertwined like tangled roots. Disputes rose and fell every day, as commonplace as falling leaves in a forest and seldom worthy of notice.
Yet there was one grand occasion that had consistently drawn the attention of the entire Northern Spiritual Realm for years.
It was the competition for admission slots held by the Northern Spiritual Academy!
In the eyes of every faction in the Northern Spiritual Realm, the Five Great Academies were colossal entities whose limits were utterly beyond their reckoning.
No one could imagine how terrifying their foundations and power were. They knew only vaguely that, in the eyes of such entities, even the entire Northern Spiritual Realm amounted to no more than ants and dust!
For that very reason, almost every faction with any strength at all sharpened their heads to squeeze through, desperate to send their children beyond those gates.
They understood perfectly well that anyone who entered the Five Great Academies would gain achievements and horizons far beyond those of anyone confined to this place.
Though the Northern Spiritual Realm could be considered a region in its own right, compared with the boundless, dazzling Great Thousand World, it was merely a remote corner.
For the geniuses of the Northern Spiritual Realm, the Five Great Academies were virtually the only broad road to the heavens if they wished to truly witness the vastness of the world.
Thus, whenever the Northern Spiritual Academy's competition for admission slots began, Northern Spiritual City became the most brilliant, most bustling focal point in the entire Northern Spiritual Realm.
Even the Lords of the Nine Domains attended in person.
This was not merely a matter of prestige. It concerned whether the next generation could leap through the Dragon Gate like a carp, and whether their families' fortunes would endure.
Now, it ought to have been eight domains.
Today, Northern Spiritual City was crowded to the utmost.
Within the immense city, a sea of people pressed shoulder to shoulder.
Shouts, conversations, and vendors' cries mingled like water boiling in a cauldron. The clamor soared into the clouds, rolling waves of sound carrying a hundred miles.
The competition took place at the Northern Spiritual Plaza in the city's northwestern district. Exceptionally spacious and paved with enormous dark-blue stones, it could accommodate hundreds of thousands of spectators.
Yet even this vast plaza had already been completely submerged beneath a sea of people.
All the students of the Northern Spiritual Academy had gathered in the plaza's inner section, their faces filled with excitement and anticipation.
In the guest seating, Mu Chen sat beside and slightly behind Mu Feng, dressed in black, his ink-dark hair framing his relaxed bearing.
On his shoulder, a gray-brown sparrow leisurely groomed its wing feathers with its little beak, utterly indifferent to the commotion below.
Mu Chen's gaze passed through the crowd and settled on the front ranks of the Northern Spiritual Academy's students.
There stood a pretty figure in dark martial attire, her hair tied in a high ponytail. Her back was slightly taut, her bright eyes fixed on the arena as her fingers unconsciously clutched the hem of her clothing.
As though sensing his gaze, Tang Qian'er turned her head, and her eyes met Mu Chen's squarely across the crowd.
She froze at first, then a barely perceptible glimmer of delight flashed through her eyes. Soon, however, she pursed her lips and turned away again, though her previously tense shoulders and back seemed to relax a little.
The competition proceeded smoothly. Tang Qian'er successfully secured an admission slot to the Five Great Academies, and she chose the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy!
"Hey." She waved at Mu Chen, an undisguised, radiant smile on her face. "I'll be counting on you at the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, esteemed senior Mu Chen."
Seeing the mischief and barely perceptible nervousness flickering in her eyes, Mu Chen smiled too. "Aren't you afraid being at the same academy as me will put too much pressure on you?"
"What's there to be afraid of?" Tang Qian'er lifted her chin slightly. "If you can go, then naturally I can too."
"Besides," she added, lowering her voice in a plaintive complaint, "someone's been back for so long, but all he does is cultivate or take care of important matters. Once we're at the academy, surely he'll have to put in a little actual effort?"
Mu Chen laughed and shook his head. "All right. Once we're at the academy, you can come to me if you run into trouble."
He paused, looking at the girl's eyes as they instantly brightened, then added, "But your cultivation will still depend mainly on yourself."
"I know, I know. You're so long-winded." Tang Qian'er pursed her lips, but the smile in her eyes only deepened. Suddenly, she remembered something. "Right now... you're not busy with anything, are you?"
Before Mu Chen could answer, Mu Feng smiled and waved his hand. "Go on, go on. You youngsters shouldn't sit around here keeping us old fellows company. Qian'er did well today. She deserves to relax a little."
"Thank you, Uncle Mu!" Tang Qian'er beamed, then turned to look expectantly at Mu Chen.
The sparrow on Mu Chen's shoulder flapped its wings impatiently.
Mu Chen raised his hand, curled his index finger, and gently flicked its little head, earning an indignant turn of the sparrow's head.
"Let's go," he told Tang Qian'er. "I'll take you around to celebrate."
Side by side, they passed along the edge of the still-bustling plaza, leaving the boiling clamor and countless open or covert gazes behind them.
"Where are we going now?" Tang Qian'er asked, her steps growing lighter as her ponytail swayed behind her.
"We'll just wander around." Mu Chen glanced over the shops lining both sides of the street. "Are you hungry? Or is there something you'd like to buy?"
Tang Qian'er's eyes darted thoughtfully. "Let's browse first! It's been ages since I properly explored Northern Spiritual City. The last time I came was..."
She thought for a moment. "Before you went to the Spirit Road. I came with my father to buy medicinal herbs, and we were rushing around the whole time."
Back then, Mu Chen had yet to return, undercurrents stirred within the Northern Spiritual Realm, and the Tang Domain had been burdened with all manner of affairs.
The girl's thoughts had been buried in cultivation and a trace of worry for someone far away. How could she have had the leisure to go shopping?
Now, her admission slot was secured, and her childhood companion stood beside her, safely returned and more dazzling than ever. The sunlight overhead was just right, and the breeze was gentle.
Tang Qian'er felt as though a great stone had lifted from her heart. That long-absent sense of ease made everything she saw seem fresh and interesting.
It would be even better if my childhood companion didn't already have someone else in his heart...
Clearly, I was here first!
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