After several rounds of tug-of-war and negotiation, the representatives of both universities finally each gave some ground and hammered out the details of the joint training program one by one.
All that remained was to submit it to the Immortal Palace Education Department and complete the filing process, after which the agreement would officially take effect.
The agreement's most unusual clause specifically concerned Chen Fan: Jiang Qingyuan, the professor specially dispatched by Jingfu, would provide one-on-one instruction. To facilitate teaching, Chen Fan would move into her residence and live with her; he would also receive access to Jingfu's internal research projects, which were not open to outsiders.
Chen Fan listened from the back row, his face composed while flowers of joy bloomed in his heart.
One-on-one mentorship was one thing, but moving straight into the professor's home? This was no joint-program exchange student arrangement. This was getting special meals cooked for him right in someone else's rice bowl.
The reason a top university like Han University could stay so far ahead of other institutions was its formidable faculty and deep foundations!
Even then, one-on-one instruction was a rare opportunity that could not simply be sought out. It was a privilege only available after successfully gaining admission to graduate or doctoral studies. Generally speaking, even professors mostly taught regular classes.
And now Chen Fan was getting that treatment directly. How could he not be happy?
The meeting ended, and everyone went their separate ways.
Chen Fan followed Jiang Qingyuan out of the administration building. The afternoon spirit sun spread across the steps, falling warmly on his shoulders.
He let out a long breath of stale air, and the heart that had hung suspended for days finally settled back into his belly.
It was done.
The joint training arrangement was finally nailed down.
Just as he stepped off the last stair, a system notification rang out in his mind without warning.
[Ding! Main quest [Invitation from Two Universities] completed!] [Quest rewards issued: random trait ×1, one Cultivation Method-Diagram of the Five Supreme Dao Evolutions!]
Chen Fan's steps paused, a flash of light passing through his eyes.
The rewards had arrived!
He first scanned the description of the new Cultivation Method.
[Diagram of the Five Supreme Dao Evolutions]: Can evolve the cyclic, mutually generative states of Supreme Change, Supreme Beginning, Supreme Inception, Supreme Simplicity, and Supreme Ultimate within the Spirit Sea. Can reduce complex Spiritual Qi to chaos, and can also derive entirely new Qi dynamics from chaos.
"Sounds pretty mystical." Chen Fan inwardly clicked his tongue. This Cultivation Method did not seem geared toward Qi refinement and building a foundation. It seemed more like something that reached straight for the source of the Great Dao. It certainly had enough prestige; he just did not know whether it was practical.
Before he could think further, a second notification popped up.
[Ding, drawing trait... Congratulations, host, on obtaining the trait: Aperture of the Mysterious Female. Automatically equipped and activated.]
The Mysterious Female?
Chen Fan froze slightly. As a high-achieving student ranked among the top fifty in the Immortal Palace college entrance examination, he had memorized the classical culture material tested in two of its ten subjects until he knew it by heart. He immediately recalled the lines from the Dao De Jing: "The valley spirit never dies; this is called the Mysterious Female."
"The gate of the Mysterious Female is called the root of heaven and earth. Endlessly lingering, as though it exists, its use is never exhausted."
According to the classics, this was the source of creation in heaven and earth, the gateway through which all things arose.
He focused his awareness inward and glanced into his Spirit Sea.
What he saw nearly made him whistle.
His Spirit Sea, previously dyed scorching red and restless by the Fire Cloud Cultivation Method, like a hot pot bubbling furiously over a flame, had now become a mass of hazy gray-white mist. All that restless fiery Qi had been soothed, circulating slowly and mildly within it.
And his false fire Spirit Root, universally acknowledged as trash, was soaking in this Chaos Qi, undergoing subtle transformation as it silently unfurled and changed.
Chen Fan understood perfectly well.
Previously, Diligence Can Make Up for Lack of Aptitude and Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence had improved his physique, cultivation speed, and margin for error. But an improved physique did not mean his comprehension rose along with it.
Now, equipping the Aperture of the Mysterious Female was like installing a "source decoder" directly into his Spirit Sea, raising even his sensitivity to the Great Dao a notch.
Even more interesting was the Diagram of the Five Supreme Dao Evolutions.
With the Aperture of the Mysterious Female as a foundation, the first time Chen Fan viewed it, his Spirit Sea completed its first cycle of evolution almost in the blink of an eye: the Supreme Ultimate divided and united, and chaos flowed.
But Chen Fan knew very well that this did not count as truly understanding it.
It was like catching a glimpse of the final answer during an advanced mathematics exam. How to derive the steps, how to apply the formulas, how to extrapolate when the question changed-he had no clue about any of it.
The result was perfect, while the process left him completely baffled: a classic case of "knowing that it was so, but not knowing why."
So it only gives me the reference answer, not the explanation? Chen Fan silently grumbled. Fine, I'll pocket the answer first. I've got plenty of strength and means!
While he muttered to himself inwardly, Jiang Qingyuan turned her head beside him and gave him a meaningful look.
With her cultivation, her perception was exceptionally keen. Even without using her Immortal Spirit Eyes, she could detect the changes in Chen Fan.
His records stated plainly that Chen Fan had a fire-attribute False Spirit Root and relatively low affinity for Spiritual Qi.
Yet in just those dozen or so breaths, the dry, fiery presence around the young man had suddenly vanished without a trace. In its place was a profound, all-embracing presence carrying a sense of endless generation, while even the fluctuations of his Spirit Root were quietly strengthening.
Has he awakened a special physique? Jiang Qingyuan wondered. Or is he hiding some other secret?
Interesting.
She had originally accepted the joint training assignment partly because of the university's arrangements and partly out of curiosity about this freshman with a False Spirit Root who had turned his fortunes around by grinding for the college entrance examination.
Now it seemed this assignment might prove much more entertaining than she had expected.
Just then, Chen Fan's Micro Message chimed.
He gave a soft "Huh?" and opened the interface, a smile immediately appearing on his face that he could not quite hide.
[Congratulations, student Chen Fan. Your application for the society "Luofu Society" has been approved, and the society has been successfully established. Please move into the campus society district within the stipulated time and complete the recruitment filing procedures.]
The Luofu Society was a little scheme he had planned before enrolling.
For universities within the Immortal Palace system, a sizable portion of the annual funding allocated by the Education Department went toward supporting societies. Venues, consumables, activity subsidies-each had its own allowance.
Proper societies had to lead their members, organize activities, and compete in competitions. There were plenty of things to spend money on.
His purpose in founding the Luofu Society was simple-to shear the university's wool legally and within the rules.
Did a one-man society not count as a society? In ancient times, a Celestial Emperor had established a one-man Heavenly Court. Today, Chen Fan would follow his example!
He would collect the funding and use the venue all the same. Usually, he would just keep the name registered and submit an activity report at the end of the year.
All the resources he saved would go into his own cultivation. Guaranteed profit, no losses.
He had even thought it through: once the society's rank rose, he could apply for "team-building funds" to buy spirit fruits and snacks, grandly calling it "replenishing stamina between cultivation sessions." Perfectly reasonable.
"What has you so happy?" Jiang Qingyuan asked casually, her tone calm but carrying a trace of barely perceptible curiosity.
"Nothing much." Chen Fan put away Micro Message, his smile the picture of innocence. "My society application was approved. Now I'll have a proper organization of my own."
Jiang Qingyuan glanced at him. How could she fail to see that the boy was working his little abacus in his belly?
There were plenty of students at Han University exploiting loopholes in society funding, but there really were not many like him who founded a society immediately after enrolling and ran it alone.
Still, the bold stuffed themselves to death while the timid starved. The immortal path itself went against heaven. If one feared both the beginning and the end, how could one achieve success and renown?
She withdrew her gaze and walked forward, her clear, quiet voice drifting back:
"Come on, let's go to my place first. I've kept rooms for you. Pick one and settle in. We'll start lessons this afternoon."
Chen Fan raised an eyebrow and followed her.
So soon?
Good. With the Aperture of the Mysterious Female as his foundation and a renowned teacher pointing the way, he wanted to see just how long it would take him to chew through this Diagram of the Five Supreme Dao Evolutions.