Speaking of classmates, not many left an impression on Li Xingkong.
After all, he obtained the system early on and began his path of cultivation, so at school, he was like a transparent person.
He doesn't participate in anything, big or small; he's never involved in winning awards or being scolded.
The same was true among classmates. Apart from those who sat next to or sat in front of and behind him, the others had virtually no interaction with Li Xingkong. Their greatest connection was probably sitting in the same classroom during class. Once they graduated, they would forget each other completely.
But Zhang Yumeng's appearance momentarily stunned Li Xingkong.
She really does look alike to that girl from back then. She was one of Li Xingkong's few friends.
They were in the same class since elementary school, lived close by, and went to and from school together every day. After returning home in the evening, they would first do their homework together at Li Xingkong's house and have dinner before parting ways. They could be considered childhood sweethearts.
Li Xingkong has always been very focused on his studies, so his grades have always been higher than the girl's. From first grade to the high school entrance exam, his grades were undoubtedly better than hers.
But ever since Li Xingkong entered high school and obtained the system, he has devoted all his attention to cultivating immortality, and naturally he doesn't care as much about his school grades anymore.
In his view, he had found his direction in life, but in her view, Li Xingkong seemed to have become a different person after spending the summer vacation, indulging in self-destruction and depravity.
She tried many methods to bring back the Li Xingkong she knew, but Li Xingkong, who was immersed in cultivation, was completely unaware of this.
When did their relationship begin to fade, culminating in them parting ways without a word?
Li Xingkong couldn't explain it either.
Perhaps it started when I refused her tutoring invitation, or perhaps it started when I slept soundly in class, practicing the Hibernating Dragon Technique and ignoring everything else.
Looking at Zhang Yumeng's face, memories deep within Li Xingkong's mind began to surface.
He couldn't see things clearly at the time, after all, he was very ignorant back then. Looking back now, he still feels a bit emotional.
His thoughts had wandered too far, so Li Xingkong and patted his head to bring his wandering thoughts back.
Why think about those things? What's past is past, and there's no Regret Medicine.
It's best to focus on the present matter; improving one's cultivation is the right path.
The two sat and chatted for a while. Because of their similar appearance, Li Xingkong was more polite to Zhang Yumeng. It can only be said that even if they are strangers who have just met, if there is a familiar face, the affinity between them will be correspondingly higher.
A few minutes later, someone brought several more file folders from outside and handed them to Zhang Yumeng.
After receiving the document, Zhang Yumeng opened it, glanced at it, and then introduced it to Li Xingkong.
"You know the situation here in the Earthly Capital; standard architectural plans are generally not found here."
"These are reconstruction drawings of ancient buildings, including wooden pagodas, gardens, palaces, and ancient temples—hundreds of ancient architectural designs of varying sizes. The rest are conceptual buildings, usually given to new colleagues for practice."
He pulled out a stack of preview images from the documents and handed them to Li Xingkong.
Upon Li Xingkong noticed that besides the ancient buildings mentioned above, there were many other buildings with very distinct styles. He could tell at a glance that these were definitely not real buildings, but rather architectural structures from a game.
With just a few blueprints, he could already see several building complexes that he was quite familiar with.
Limsa Lominsa, Stormwind City, Whiterun, Faerûn...
Are these people using this thing to practice? It seems each generation has its own way of thinking.
However, for Li Xingkong, none of it was a problem; he would simply accept it all.
On the contrary, the more complex and detailed these drawings are, the better they are at testing the effectiveness of the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique.
Having obtained the blueprints, Li Xingkong immediately stood up, intending to find any open space to test the effects of the spell.
Reaching the door of the lounge, Li Xingkong remembered something and turned back to Zhang Yumeng.
"By the way, we still need to approve the location for this experimental spell. I'll have to trouble you with that too. As for the location, I think the Gobi Desert is still relatively uninhabited, and there's not much pristine ecosystem around it, so let's choose that area. I'll head over now, bye."
No problem, the terrain alteration caused by this spell is long-term, so the test site still needs to be reported.
After leaving the Earthly Capital, Li Xingkong immediately pulled his flying sword and performed a tail-whip, then sped off in the northwest, leaving a long trail in the sky.
Within minutes, the city had vanished beneath Li Xingkong's feet; the ground had turned from green to yellowish, vegetation was dwindling, and the sandstorms were intensifying.
Although everyone has started cultivating, the environment in the Northwest hasn't changed much.
After all, even Li Xingkong can't turn a desert into an oasis with a wave of his hand right now. On the contrary, turning an oasis into a desert is something that can be done with a sword.
After flying a while longer, there was no greenery to be seen below, and the shadows of sand dunes could be seen in the distance.
"This is fine, that's enough."
Li Xingkong stood in the air and took out a document from his Space Bag.
There was no careful selection; it was all based on luck. Whatever blueprints I got, that's what I made.
He opened the file folder, read the information from the blueprints, and the Hexagram began to rotate, with a model of a large building complex appearing in Li Xingkong's mind.
Altissia, the City on the Water. A city from a well-known single-player game, with exceptional aesthetic appeal.
But the problem is, we're in the desert, and this building just doesn't seem to fit in.
Li Xingkong squinted, focusing his attention on the architectural model in his mind.
That's not really a problem. He's just here to experiment with spells, not to actually create scenery, so these things don't matter. As for the raw materials needed for construction, there's nothing else to use in this desolate place, but there's plenty of sand and stones.
But that's enough; with magic, any material can be added.
After thoroughly examining the model derived from the Hexagram, and finding no major issues, Li Xingkong spread his hands, and the Spell Seed of the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique began to operate in his mind.
Two circular magic circles emerged from his hands, slowly flying towards the ground, rotating and growing larger as they moved. From behind Li Xingkong, a ring-shaped magic circle also appeared, rising several meters above his head before surging and rapidly expanding.
The entire circular magic circle expanded to a point almost invisible to the naked eye before stopping, emitting specks of light towards the ground.
With the spell fully cast, Li Xingkong increased the amount of Magic Power he invested.
The ground within the entire spell's range began to surge, as if it had transformed into churning ocean waves, completely losing its solid properties.
After a few surges, the ground seemed to lose its gravity, and large amounts of sand and pebbles floated up, then gathered into a river that flowed towards the two magic arrays that flew out from the left and right hands.
Before entering the magic circle, there were all sorts of raw materials, but after exiting the magic circle, the raw materials had changed drastically.
The torrent, once a mixture of all sorts of yellow sand, transformed into a transparent ocean current, as clear and bright as Hupo, resembling crystal.
The processed materials flowed back to the ground once more. Within the area affected by the spell, although the large amount of materials appeared chaotic and flying everywhere, in reality, the materials before and after processing were clearly distinct and did not interfere with each other.
Once the materials have been processed and are in place, they will begin to be installed according to the design drawings.
Before long, Li Xingkong saw a large, square foundation appear on the ground. Materials were continuously piled up on the foundation, and the outline of a building was already forming.
After about ten minutes, the raw materials surging within the formation were exhausted, and on the ground, a completely transparent, one-to-one scale water city, as if it were made of fired glass, took shape.
This spell was truly remarkable. Even if it might not be of much use in cultivation or combat, the fact that a city that didn't exist in reality appeared right before Li Xingkong's eyes after he cast it was still quite astonishing.
The spell wasn't over yet. The city was constructed, but the materials hadn't fully cooled. If someone touched it now, it would be like stepping into a newly paved cement road.
The two magic circles flew towards the building, and above the building, they merged into one. Then, from top to bottom, the magic circle enveloped the entire building, covering its entire structure.
This step completely solidifies the shape of the entire building.
After the spell took shape, it dissipated automatically.
Li Xingkong stopped channeling his Magic Power and looked at the building he had created.
It was exactly like the blueprints; even the windows on the building could be opened.