It was complicated. Roughly speaking, the two candidates currently most likely to become academy head did not command general support, and there was another group dissatisfied with everyone, who sought ways to stir up trouble. Unable to find a suitable candidate themselves, they had pushed Zhao Xintong forward to muddy the waters.
Over the years, although she had kept herself above reproach, her extraordinary popularity among the Daoist students had still provoked considerable jealousy. Nominating her was no kindness; whichever of the two real candidates eventually took office, it would work against her.
As far as she was concerned, she simply could not be bothered to quarrel. If things suited her, she would stay; if not, she would leave. It was no great matter. Still, it would be a pity to abandon some of her explorations in cultivation here. In terms of resources, it was hard to find anywhere better than the Red Leaf Daoist Academy.
A stargazing platform practically built from heaps of resources, vast mysterious formations, the pursuit of ancient, mysterious artifacts... Many people thought divination was the least expensive path of cultivation, a matter of casually fiddling with counting rods and tortoise shells... They were wrong. Perhaps divination would eventually distill complexity into simplicity, but its consumption of resources in the early stages was staggering.
Alchemy consumed staggering amounts too, but at least it produced something. How was one supposed to reckon the output of divination? Often, even after obtaining an answer, one dared not readily tell anyone, leaving the expenditure entirely unrewarded.
She was weary of the infighting within the Red Leaf Daoist Academy, yet for the moment she could not leave such a perfect environment for cultivation. That was the reason for her inner struggle.
The current Autumn Appreciation Convention, for instance, was also an