"Friend, please stay!"
Seeing Su Qing turn to leave, the old man hurriedly called out to stop him.
For heaven's sake, don't go out there and wreak havoc on anyone else! Keep this up, and there won't be any promising seedlings left in the Northern Cang Realm.
"Was there something else?"
Su Qing turned back and asked.
"Well, ahem, I can take you there directly."
Su Qing considered it for a moment, then cupped his hands. "Thank you for the offer, but I'd still like to make my own way there."
Hearing this, the old man felt utterly helpless. "We wouldn't feel entirely at ease letting you go there alone," he said ruefully.
Su Qing understood what the old man meant and chuckled. "Then please take me there."
With that, the old man beckoned, and a beam of light enveloped them both, streaking across the Northern Cang Realm.
In the blink of an eye, the two had approached the center of the Northern Cang Realm.
It was an open plain amid the mountains. Although the Northern Cang Hall had yet to open, many people had already arrived.
Within the dense sea of people, the various factions stood as clearly divided as the Jing and Wei rivers, and their clamor had already risen beyond the ninth heaven.
Looking at the teeming crowd, Su Qing was somewhat astonished. He had never expected there to be so many people.
As the old man and the young man drew closer to the gathering, Su Qing realized something and asked.
"What happens to those who have already reached a level-four mark when the Northern Cang Hall opens, but aren't here yet?"
The old man smiled, seemingly seeing through Su Qing's thoughts, and explained.
"Don't worry. Once the Northern Cang Hall opens, we'll wait another twelve hours for those students. That will be more than enough time for them."
Hearing this, Su Qing stopped worrying about Mu Chen and the others.
Soon, the two arrived above the gathering, and the old man withdrew the beam of light enveloping them.
The purple-gold mark between Su Qing's brows was now exposed to the Northern Cang Realm, radiating dazzling light.
At the same time, a tremendous boom rang out high in the clouds. A pillar of purple-gold light descended, shining in concert with the mark between Su Qing's brows.
When the light faded, a magnificent palace appeared amid the clouds, truly a sight of "golden towers, silver halls, and purple courts; jade blossoms, precious grasses, and exquisite flowers."
The enormous palace slowly descended from the sky, startling everyone below into hurriedly retreating, terrified that the crushing weight of the purple-gold structure would grind their flesh and bones into pulp.
At the appearance of the purple-gold palace, everyone began discussing it. Some sharp-eyed people soon spotted Su Qing and the old man beside him and alerted their companions.
Su Qing ignored the chatter below and followed the old man into the purple-gold palace before it had finished descending.
As Su Qing stepped inside, light suddenly flashed before his eyes. By the time he regained his bearings, he was already in another splendid, gilded hall.
"A Teleportation Spirit Array? Have we already arrived at the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy?"
Su Qing surveyed his surroundings with mild curiosity as he asked the old man.
"That's right."
The old man shrugged at Su Qing.
Seeing that the others had yet to arrive and that only he and the old man were present, Su Qing continued asking.
"Then do you know why the Northern Spiritual Academy was given two seed quotas this time?"
The old man gave Su Qing a strange look, then sighed.
"Both quotas were given because of you two brothers."
"You've probably already guessed the reason for Mu Chen's. As for the other quota, that's a long story."
At that moment, the old man seemed to sense something. His eyes shifted, and he suppressed his desire to chat with Su Qing.
"Never mind, I'll make a long story short."
"You were also awarded a place on the Spirit Road, but some of the higher-ups at the Five Great Academies thought you were too bloodthirsty and unsuitable to participate."
"So they held a vote. The final decision was that you would not be allowed to participate."
"And this seed quota was your compensation."
At this point, the old man couldn't help sighing. He rubbed the space between his brows.
"You two brothers really are one more murderous than the other. You're quite a pair."
Su Qing neither agreed nor disagreed. "I was merely cutting the weeds out by the roots," he said calmly.
The old man looked at Su Qing, wanting to say something, but abandoned the thought when the words reached his lips. He smacked his lips.
"Forget it. Everyone has their own path. Take care of yourself."
With that, neither had anything more to discuss. They stood quietly in the hall, waiting for the other students.
Before long, a succession of lights flashed inside the hall. Su Qing rolled his eyes in irritation at the glare and looked away.
The arriving crowds swiftly brought life to the deserted hall, spreading out according to their respective factions.
Seeing everyone enter, the old man said little. With a wave of his hand, he created a screen of light before them and inscribed the rule he had explained to Su Qing earlier.
No one objected. They sat down cross-legged where they were, passing the time chatting or resting as they waited for the others to arrive.
Many people studied Su Qing, some discreetly and others openly. Full of curiosity about the first student to obtain a level-nine mark, they discussed him among themselves.
Su Qing's handsome face also drew the eyes of quite a few girls. Some of the bolder ones were already itching to approach him, considering how to strike up a conversation.
Su Qing ignored those studying him, but the girls' gazes gave him something of a headache. He had always found this sort of thing troublesome.
After turning it over in his mind without finding a better solution, he could only form a hand seal and trace a circle around himself with thick ink, creating a simple Draw the Ground as a Prison. The spreading ink screened out those ardent gazes.
The girls were deeply disappointed. Some refused to give up and approached the barrier to test it, but ultimately returned empty-handed.
Before long, another light flashed, and a Black-Skirted Girl led her faction into the hall. The mark between her brows was also level nine.
The girl, whose bearing was cool and aloof, first scanned the crowd, then shook her head in disappointment, as though she had failed to find what she was looking for.
When her gaze swept over the circle Su Qing had drawn, a trace of puzzlement and curiosity appeared in her eyes, but it was immediately buried beneath their calm.
Failing to find the boy she wanted to see among the crowd, the Black-Skirted Girl led her faction to an open space to rest.
Yet every time light flashed and someone entered the hall, she raised her head to look, only to lower it again in disappointment.
Fortunately, Heaven did not disappoint a devoted heart. After an unknown stretch of time, light flashed, and Mu Chen, Tang Qian'er, Ye Qingling, and the others stepped into the hall.
Whether by chance or not, the moment Mu Chen entered, he spotted the Black-Skirted Girl who had been waiting for him. Just then, she happened to raise her head, and their eyes met.
Elsewhere, sensing that Tang Qian'er and the others had entered the hall, Su Qing dispelled his barrier, revealing himself.
Before Tang Qian'er could look for him, Su Qing smiled and raised an arm in greeting.
Seeing him, Tang Qian'er ran over joyfully and threw herself into Su Qing's arms, nuzzling her head against him.