The weather in Xiushui City was fickle in July.
Sunshine still bathed the city at dawn, but six quarters into the hour of the dragon, a light rain began to patter down.
After leaving the dining hall, Chu Yunyun opened an umbrella and walked casually along the bluestone-paved lane toward the Daoist temple north of the martial academy.
The temple was some distance away, situated on a small earthen hill surrounded by vast stretches of untended woodland.
Only a sparsely populated place like that was truly suited to establishing a spiritual-power foundation and practicing spells.
She would have to stay there for the next few days, too, until she condensed her own "Spirit Seed."
The Spirit Seed was the core of all spells, as well as the key to a Spellcaster's Law Power advancing in rank. Equivalent to a martial cultivator's Dragon-Tiger Golden Core, it could gradually grow and ultimately transform into a Nascent Soul.
Chu Yunyun's cultivation had reached the necessary level long ago, and several instructors at the Sorcerer Academy had been urging her for a long time.
In the present age, spellcraft had declined and martial might reigned supreme. Though spell cultivators still had a place, they were generally given little regard.
Once martial cultivators reached the third rank, they could summon wind and rain, shatter mountains, and split the earth.
Martial cultivators could do everything spell cultivators could, so what need was there for spell cultivators?
Moreover, cultivating spells was difficult, and far too few people achieved anything on that path.
It was rare for a young person with Chu Yunyun's talent for spells to be willing to devote herself to that path, so the Sorcerer Academy's instructors valued her particularly highly.
Yet Chu Yunyun had been forced to postpone condensing her "Spirit Seed."
The inner-sect martial examination had been imminent, and she had needed to scrape together eighty taels in customary fees for Chu Xisheng. She had been working escort jobs ever since, until today, when she could delay no longer.
Her spiritual power had already reached its absolute limit, with no room for more.
As the saying went, the moon began to wane once it was full. In spell cultivation, that was no good thing.
Just then, Chu Yunyun suddenly stopped and fixed her gaze ahead.
At a corner of the lane ten zhang ahead, a large group of men and women in blue-green disciple uniforms was passing by, hurrying toward the Sutra Repository beneath their umbrellas.
They were probably newly admitted inner-sect disciples from the academy's North Court, heading to the Sutra Repository to study the classics and select their inheritances.
Chu Yunyun noticed one young man among them.
He was around seventeen or eighteen, making him somewhat older than the other inner-sect disciples.
He was thin, with a sallow face, and looked like an utterly ordinary young man.
But Chu Yunyun had once cultivated the "Cave-Truth Heavenly Eye," which could see through ninety percent of the world's illusions.
Under her gaze, his face was clearly as fair as jade, handsome and refined, his sharply shaped lips red as blood. He wore a tall red crown, with a few unbound strands of hair hanging over his forehead.
Between his brows was a blue-green mark three inches long, extending from his hairline to the bridge of his nose.
Chu Yunyun did not recognize him, yet he felt familiar.
More importantly, his cultivation was already approaching the fourth rank.
What was an expert like him doing at Zhengyang Martial Academy? And why disguise himself as a newly admitted inner-sect disciple?
A trace of coldness involuntarily entered Chu Yunyun's eyes.
She had expected Chu Xisheng's entry into the Sutra Repository to comprehend that "Yazi" totem to be a matter of riding favorable circumstances, as natural as water flowing into a channel.
Now an unforeseen complication had arisen-
Chu Yunyun continued walking as she pondered. A short while later, a thought suddenly stirred, and she turned toward the academy's Grand Training Ground.
On its southern side stood a tall stone wall covered in notices.
There were all manner of internal academy announcements and orders, as well as proclamations from the Xiushui Commandery authorities.
What Chu Yunyun focused on was one particular wanted notice.
"Notorious bandit Li Daogui, alias 'Bloodwind Sword.' Reward: thirty thousand taels of Demon Silver-"
So it was him.
Before the Library Tower, dozens of baskets filled with steamed buns and meat-stuffed flatbreads were soon emptied in a scramble.
The cooks stroked their bulging money pouches, their faces wreathed in smiles.
Several East Court martial instructors were also beaming.
Standing on the steps, Ye Zhiqiu continued instructing the disciples. "Once you enter, your first priority is to memorize the Origin-Nourishing Art's visualization diagram and secret medicine formulas.
"Next, you must memorize two of the External Ten Arts, committing their first two levels' 'True Intention Diagrams' to memory in full. This will form the foundation for your future promotion to True Disciple.
"If you still have time, you may look through other martial classics. If fortune favors you, you might even glimpse the notes and True Intention Diagrams Qin Muge left behind."
A buzz immediately rose among the hundred-odd inner-sect disciples before the steps.
"Qin Muge?"
"You mean the Overlord Martial King, the former Great General Who Pacifies the North, Qin Muge?"
"The Qin Muge who swept across thirty thousand li of the northern territories, became a first-rank divine general in just twelve years, and went undefeated throughout his life, invincible in the north?"
Chu Xisheng's attention stirred despite himself, and he pricked up his ears.
Hearing these people discuss Chu Yunyun felt rather strange.
"That's impossible. True Intention Diagrams drawn by Qin Muge are priceless treasures. How could they end up here?"
"The instructor's boasting to us. Qin Muge came from the Iron Mountain Qin Clan. What connection did he have to our Formless Divine Sect?"
Ye Zhiqiu was not annoyed by their remarks. She chuckled. "The Great General Who Pacifies the North, Qin Muge, joined the frontier army at sixteen to inherit his father's post. At twenty-two, he took command of the Northern Pacification Army in the north. Over six years, he swept across the northern territories, invincible wherever he went, and achieved martial feats unrivaled beneath the heavens.
"But few in this world know that, at the tender age of ten, Qin Muge once entered our Formless Divine Sect under an assumed name.
"She started as an ordinary outer-sect disciple at our Zhengyang Martial Academy and took only six years to become a direct disciple of our sect. Had her father not died fighting on the northern frontier, Qin Muge might already be an elder of our sect.
"They say that while Qin Muge was at our Zhengyang Martial Academy, she spent seventy-two days reading all seventeen thousand volumes of martial secrets in the Library Tower, leaving behind many annotations and notes, as well as several True Intention Diagrams she copied herself. Not long ago, a disciple was fortunate enough to see one of those diagrams and mastered an extremely formidable sword art-"
At that point, Ye Zhiqiu suddenly spotted West Court's head instructor, Shao Lingshan, approaching with a large group.
She curled her lip and cut herself short, gesturing instead for the martial instructors guarding the entrance to open the Sutra Repository's doors. "Let them in!"
As the Library Tower's heavy doors slowly opened, the disciples surged forward with a roar, scrambling toward the first room on the right inside.
Chu Xisheng was no exception. Summoning the same drive he had once used to compete for seats in study rooms, he entered among the first.
The room was structured like a tiered lecture hall. Its interior was spacious, yet it filled with people within a few breaths.
Having entered relatively early, Chu Xisheng secured not only a seat in the first two rows but also an excellent view.
Before long, however, he discovered to his surprise that a ring of empty space had formed around him.
The surroundings were clearly crowded, yet his nearby fellow inner-sect disciples avoided him as though they could not get far enough away.
Some who did not know what was happening tried to squeeze over and sit down, only to be forcibly driven back.
Chu Xisheng grew inwardly wary. He had already noticed eight or nine youths in the crowd watching him with cold expressions and hostile eyes.
Chu Xisheng understood at once: someone had marked him.
And it was almost certainly connected to Long Sheng from yesterday.
Chu Xisheng frowned slightly, then cast aside his distracting thoughts and focused entirely on the Origin-Nourishing Art's visualization diagram.
This was not because he was unconcerned, but because several martial instructors were watching over the room.
Even if those people wanted to attack him, they would not choose a place with so many eyes on them.
Besides, being afraid would do him no good. His best course was to memorize the diagram as soon as possible.
The Origin-Nourishing Art's visualization diagram hung on the wall ahead. Roughly three zhang in both length and width, it occupied most of the wall.
The painting depicted a Great Sun rendered in ink wash.
At first glance, it seemed simple. But upon closer inspection, one would discover a peculiar spiritual resonance in the ink-painted outlines, flames, and streaks of light.
After studying it for a while, Chu Xisheng felt as though this "Great Sun" were shining directly into his consciousness, scorching hot.
A pleasant warmth filled the space between his brows. Wisps of origin yang power arose there and spread throughout his limbs and bones.
The Origin-Nourishing Art seethed in response, undergoing a wondrous transformation.
His qi-nourishing efforts were even more effective now than when he had cultivated facing the rising sun early that morning. Combining the two would presumably allow them to enhance each other.
Chu Xisheng estimated that he would soon be able to cultivate the first level of the Origin-Nourishing Art to perfection.
To advance, however, he would still need the corresponding secret medicine.
The Origin-Nourishing Art's second level corresponded to the "Ninth-Rank Lower" tier.
Only after advancing one's foundational martial art could one truly count as a ninth-rank martial cultivator.
The martial path had Nine Grades and Eighteen Stages, and advancing the foundational art at every stage required the corresponding secret medicine.
But visualization diagrams for foundational martial arts were equally vital, allowing martial cultivators to achieve twice the results with half the effort.
The visualization diagram before Chu Xisheng, for instance, could be considered a simplified, weakened version of the sun.
Ordinary people could not visualize the true Great Sun. It would burn their souls and might even cause them to combust and die.
Thus, an expert of the Formless Divine Sect had copied an extremely small portion of the "Great Sun Origin Yang's" spiritual resonance onto paper, allowing even unranked martial cultivators to visualize it and progress step by step thereafter.
Visualizing this diagram while circulating their foundational art would not only accelerate their cultivation but also nourish pure origin yang power.
To Chu Xisheng's delighted surprise, even his memory seemed to have improved considerably after transmigrating.
His "Eagle Eye" ability also allowed him to notice every detail of the painting.
In just a quarter of an hour, Chu Xisheng memorized the visualization diagram without the slightest error.
When he closed his eyes, the sun in his mind retained all its spiritual resonance.
Still, to be safe, Chu Xisheng continued studying it repeatedly, looking it over again and again. Only after confirming that he would not forget it did he rise to leave.
Someone behind him quickly filled Chu Xisheng's seat.
But several cold-faced youths nearby also rose and followed him out of the room.
Chu Xisheng's gaze sharpened slightly, and his steps paused. Then he continued forward with his expression unchanged.
First, he went to look through the secret medicine formulas for the Origin-Nourishing Art's second level.
In fact, Zhengyang Martial Academy sold the complete second-level secret medicine.
But its price was enough to move one to tears: a single bottle cost four hundred taels of Demon Silver.
Never mind that Chu Xisheng had no money-even if he did, he could not squander it like that.
After learning the formulas, most people sought out the ingredients and brewed the medicine themselves, often for less than a third of the academy's selling price.
Once Chu Xisheng had memorized all the formulas, he glanced back thoughtfully.
Those youths were still tailing him nearby, growing increasingly brazen.
Only the dense crowds around them kept them from making a move.
But if he wanted to reach the second or third floor, they would certainly block his way.
So before studying that "Yazi Diagram," he had to deal with this trouble.