Spirit City High School.
Inside the office of Lin Dong, the homeroom teacher of Senior Year Class 1.
At that moment, Lin Dong held a report listing the results of Spirit City High School's seniors in their first week's competition and trial.
However, the results of two students on the report had been marked top secret.
His hands trembling slightly, Lin Dong set the report on the desk before him, then looked at the middle-aged man sent specifically for this purpose by the Education Bureau and said:
"So, among this year's seniors who awakened sects, two of the top three in the sect world's first-week competition and trial came from our Spirit City High School?"
Although those two students' information was hidden, as their homeroom teacher, Lin Dong knew perfectly well whose results were missing from Senior Year Class 1.
The middle-aged man before Lin Dong nodded slightly. "That's correct. That's why the higher-ups specifically sent me here to protect Spirit City High School, in case hostile organizations target the geniuses among this year's seniors."
"Starting today, I'll be stationed at the cultivation abodes of your school's seniors."
Lin Dong took a deep breath, nodded silently, and handed back the report.
Hostile forces attacking students designated as priorities was something that happened from time to time.
There had once been a senior who awakened an S-rank sect and tragically lost his life in an attack.
After that, almost every senior listed for priority protection had someone assigned to guard them.
What Lin Dong had not expected was that this time, their Spirit City High School would produce two geniuses among geniuses.
If hostile forces really did establish a domain at Spirit City High School to descend upon the sects and launch an attack, it would be time for these old bones of his to risk everything.
The sect world.
[Fairy Qingluan of the Azure Luan Sect has sent a trade invitation. Accept?]
Accept.
[Congratulations! You have successfully paid 600 mid-grade spirit stones and obtained 6 supreme-grade spirit jade blanks.]
Six hundred mid-grade spirit stones was still no small sum for the Evergreen Sect as it stood, but fortunately, the purchase was worth the price.
After purchasing the six supreme-grade spirit jade blanks offered by the Azure Luan Sect, Lin Feng checked his spirit stone assets.
He currently had 8,000 low-grade spirit stones, 400 mid-grade spirit stones, and 100 high-grade spirit stones remaining.
Those 100 high-grade spirit stones had come from placing first in the first week's competition and had remained untouched. They, too, counted as part of the Evergreen Sect's reserves.
Elsewhere, at the Daoxuan Sect.
Perfected Daoxuan sank into thought as he looked at the reply from Tiancan Tudou, the Evergreen Sect's sect master, saying he wanted to settle things with him offline.
But after he waited for nearly an hour, the other party still had not replied again, as though he truly had no interest in these supreme-grade spirit jade blanks.
Could some idiot really be asking only 100 mid-grade spirit stones for each supreme-grade spirit jade blank? Wouldn't that be a straight loss?
Even at market price, each supreme-grade spirit jade blank was worth 150 mid-grade spirit stones. Besides, in newly opened sect worlds like theirs, even the shop did not sell such things, so the price should have been higher.
For a sect eager to build an ancient Spirit-Gathering Platform and take the lead in the second week's competition, even his asking price of 1,000 mid-grade spirit stones apiece would be acceptable!
He was not simply asking for the moon; he had seen actual examples.
Unless-unless the Evergreen Sect was confident it could remain far ahead in the second week's competition even without building an ancient Spirit-Gathering Platform.
Perfected Daoxuan was momentarily dazed, guessing that the Evergreen Sect had evidently already begun exploring the ruins of its predecessor.
The sect world, the Evergreen Sect.
Ever since Tie Dali slew the Bloodshadow Wolf King and subdued the wolf demon pack, the Evergreen Sect had quietly taken on an entirely new look.
Following Lin Feng's arrangements, every sect disciple had been equipped with a wolf demon mount, dramatically increasing their combat strength and mountain patrol efficiency.
Each of the fourteen outer disciples with cultivation aptitude received a sturdy azure wolf that had already entered the Qi Refining Realm, capable of serving as transportation, fighting enemies, patrolling the mountain, and guarding the sect.
The remaining ten servant disciples, who currently lacked cultivation aptitude and had only four traits, each received an ordinary wolf demon that had not entered the Qi Refining Realm. They were responsible for the sect's routine security patrols and standing guard inside and outside the mountain gate.
Meanwhile, the new wolf king at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer led all the remaining azure wolves to settle in the Evergreen Sect's front-mountain territory, forming a natural outer defensive force for the sect. Day and night, they guarded the crucial routes to the mountain gate, intimidating the wild spirits and monsters throughout the surrounding mountains.
Dusk brought a slight chill, and mountain breezes swept through the dense woods on the Evergreen Sect's rear mountain, rustling the branches and leaves.
Outer disciple Zhao Qingyan sat astride an azure wolf, slowly making his way along a woodland path.
He was one of the sect's fourteen outer disciples, possessing a low-grade spirit root and a cultivation level that had barely reached the Qi Refining Third Layer. He diligently kept watch in his daily duties and never slackened on mountain patrol.
The azure wolf beneath him had sleek azure fur, powerful limbs, and a faint trace of spiritual energy in its breath. Its steps were exceptionally steady, and it already understood human intentions and knew its own duties.
Following his fixed patrol route, Zhao Qingyan inspected the rear mountain's boundaries, checked the growth of the spirit seeds in the spirit fields, and searched for hidden dangers in the wilderness, eventually reaching a deep hollow on the rear mountain that he seldom visited.
The deeper he went, the more unusual the surrounding vegetation became.
Although the surrounding woods were lush and flourishing, there was not the slightest chirp of an insect or roar of a beast within this hollow. It was eerily silent.
The mountain breeze inexplicably vanished without a trace as it passed through this place. Even the circulating spiritual energy of heaven and earth showed a faint sense of stagnation here, wholly at odds with the smooth flow of spiritual energy around it.
The azure wolf beneath him suddenly stopped, its ears tense and flattened. Its nose repeatedly sniffed the ground, and low, wary whimpers rose from its throat. Its limbs tensed slightly, revealing an instinctive vigilance.
"What's wrong?"
Zhao Qingyan's heart tightened. He raised a hand and gently pressed it against the wolf's head, sweeping his sharp gaze over the surroundings.
At first, he thought some remaining demonic beast was hiding in the mountains, but after focusing on his investigation for some time, he detected not the slightest trace of demonic or baleful energy.
Only the air in the hollow before him faintly revealed an extremely thin, almost nonexistent haze of light, difficult to discern with the naked eye. Only the slight distortion in the flow of spiritual energy betrayed the anomaly.
Zhao Qingyan frowned slightly, swung down from the wolf's back, and slowly stepped forward, raising his hand to tentatively touch the space ahead.
Hum~
An exceedingly faint, ethereal vibration quietly sounded.
The air touched by his fingertips suddenly rippled like a faint ring on water, and transparent waves swiftly spread to envelop the entire hollow.
The previously unremarkable woodland scenery instantly twisted and shifted. Pale golden formation patterns, hidden for untold years, slowly emerged in the air, flowing and flickering between light and darkness.
One corner of the formation's concealment broke away, fully revealing the scene behind it.
It was the entrance to an ancient ruin, sunk deep into the mountainside.
Weathered, broken bluestone pillars stood at crooked angles, and the stone walls were covered in obscure, incomprehensible ancient Dao patterns. Eroded by the years, most of their lines had become blurred and worn, yet faint fluctuations of Dao resonance still lingered.
The entrance lay beneath a thick seal of dust. Vines entwined the crumbling walls, and wild grass covered the stone steps. Clearly, it had been isolated by the formation and sealed away for countless ages, with no one ever setting foot inside.
A vast, ancient, distant aura slowly seeped from the depths of the ruins. Unlike the vibrant spiritual energy of the wilderness, it carried the weight and stillness of accumulated years.
Zhao Qingyan's pupils abruptly contracted, and his heart gave a sudden jolt.
He had guarded the rear mountain for years and traveled through all the surrounding woods, large and small, yet he had never known that such a secret ruin, perfectly concealed by an ancient formation, lay hidden on the Evergreen Sect's rear mountain!
The azure wolf beneath him grew increasingly restless, letting out repeated low howls, seemingly in awe of the ancient aura lingering within the ruins.
Zhao Qingyan forcibly suppressed his shock, knowing this was by no means something he could handle himself.
Not daring to rashly touch the ruins and disturb the formation patterns, he immediately retreated several steps and stood firmly, his expression solemn.
"Report to the sect master at once!"
With a low shout, he leaped onto the azure wolf's back. Without investigating any further, he urged the wolf to turn around and race toward the sect's main hall.