Ah! Youth

Once again, silence fell over the room. Jiang Liyang keenly sensed that this was a good time to step forward, show off his learning, and make a good impression on Jiang Jinyi!

He rose, cupped his hands, and replied, "I believe that Dui Metal's refusal to establish itself is better than establishing itself!"

Teacher Xun's expression grew solemn. This boy came from the Xiao Mountain Jiang Clan, and on the strength of that one sentence alone, he had the best chance of securing a Foundation Establishment seed position ahead of time among this year's Metal Virtue class!

"I once heard that in ancient times, the Five Virtues lineages often had only one or two True Lords alive at the same time. A time like this, when all four of Qinghuan's Metal True Lords hold their positions at once, is unique in millions of years!"

"So why, in ancient times, could the Five Manifestations function with only a handful of True Lords? That is where the idea of acting in another's stead comes from. Take our Metal Virtue as an example: if only one True Lord of Qian Metal and Tongbao were alive, they could still just barely keep the two Metals' collection and storage functioning."

"And when it comes to acting in another's stead, the proper positions of the Five Virtues are surely best suited to the task. So I believe that those in the proper positions are the hub of the Five Virtues' operation and can bear any Metal's place in the rotation of the Five Manifestations!"

Without question, Jiang Liyang had succeeded in drawing everyone's attention, including Jiang Jinyi's as she gazed at him with her big eyes shining from a seat to his front and left!

Jiang Liyang's vanity was satisfied to the utmost. He continued, "Then, in modern Qinghuan, with all four Metals flourishing, what duty does Dui Metal bear?"

He cupped his hands again toward Teacher Xun on the raised platform. "I believe Dui Metal is the firmest cornerstone that has enabled the four Metals to change their authorities several times in the short span of a thousand years!"

"Qian Metal and Tongbao have changed too drastically. In my private opinion, the scale of those changes exceeds the limits of what any single attainment position can bear, and the Dui Metal attainment position ultimately shares that tremendous burden!"

Teacher Xun unconsciously stroked his beard as he pondered and digested Jiang Liyang's startling claim. Then he asked, "You say the changes to the Qian Metal and Tongbao attainment positions have exceeded their limits. Do you have any evidence?"

The question seemed to stump Jiang Liyang. He hesitated for a long while before saying, "Teacher Xun, I'm only making a guess based on problems I've encountered in my own cultivation."

"Oh? What problems gave you such an idea? Why not tell everyone?"

Teacher Xun had always encouraged shocking statements like the one Jiang Liyang had just made. As long as they weren't deliberately trying to attract attention, there was no harm in Qi Refining Stage juniors speaking their minds.

But at the level of Purple Mansion Divine Abilities, a few casual words like those spoken here today would bring True Persons out to criticize them. Those words would concern the True Persons' divine abilities and Daoist arts, making it a dispute between lineages!

At this point, Jiang Liyang gritted his teeth and said, "I spend all year tinkering with instruments in the lab, and my research tends toward Origin Lightning. I feel that the way Rare Metal has been evolving in recent years is looking less and less like Metal Virtue!"

Teacher Xun smiled, however, and gestured for Jiang Liyang to sit. "More than twenty years ago, another student said the same thing to me. At the time, I was critical of it, but looking back, I was too narrow-minded. That student later became the first senior from Lüyu to enter Philosopher-Sage Heaven!"

"With the flourishing development of all kinds of Origin Lightning equipment, the great figures of Philosopher-Sage Heaven have indeed explored a path of development different from Immortal Lord Dongyuan's. Whether Rare Metal and Origin Lightning can really give rise to an intercalary True Lord, as those great figures expect, will be for you to witness."

"Whenever I think of it, I feel that time makes us old too easily. The best scenery of this era is only just beginning to unfold, yet I have no choice but to get off at the next stop!"

All the students below rose to their feet and agreed.

Although many students had no idea what use the old professor's theories on the Dao, so far removed from them, might be, his students filled Xuantian. Having a cushion to sit on in this classroom would be a credential they could boast about in the future!

Teacher Xun's classes always filled the entire morning, three days in a row each week. The first half covered theories on the Dao, and the second half covered techniques. The schedule was packed!

Because Jiang Jinyi had focused almost entirely on raising her cultivation in high school, her foundation in techniques was a sorry sight compared with her classmates'.

After every class, Teacher Xun would call on Jiang Jinyi to stay behind for a spot check on her previous coursework.

"How is your cultivation of the Heavenly Origin Golden Light Incantation coming along?"

Teacher Xun extended his thin right hand and placed two fingers on Jiang Jinyi's wrist. "Mm! Not bad, you've made a start. Although the Heavenly Origin Golden Light Incantation is a second-grade technique, it's also a cultivation method that's extremely difficult to bring to major accomplishment."

"Jiang Jinyi, I can make you an offer here. If you can cultivate the Heavenly Origin Golden Light Instruction to major accomplishment within three years, I'll allow you to stay at the school, no matter what your cultivation is. How about it?"

Chen Suqiu, who was waiting below for Jiang Jinyi to finish class, turned her head in surprise. Had Teacher Xun truly come to value her roommate so highly?

If Chen Suqiu remembered correctly, this was the first time she had heard a lecturer or professor in their class mention staying at the school to any of them!

Chen Suqiu suddenly felt a little envious. Miserable as her roommate's life had been these past few months, her progress was plain to see. All she lacked was the upbringing in a great clan that Chen Suqiu herself had enjoyed since childhood!

Clearly, the class's lecturers were also helping her catch up on what she had missed, and Teacher Xun on the platform was the most exacting of them all!

It seemed the Dui Metal Aperture Heart Qi Gathering Instruction Jinyi cultivated had quite a few intricacies. When she had time, she would have to ask the elders at home again and see whether any insights left by their seniors could help her roommate!

Suddenly, Chen Suqiu spotted that wealthy young man from the Xiao Mountain Jiang Clan circling under a tree not far from the classroom. She sighed inwardly!

The Jiang Household's young master was clearly interested in Jinyi. In every class, Chen Suqiu could sense Jiang Liyang frequently casting glances their way.

Clearly, she wasn't the focus of his attention. Seeing Jiang Liyang pacing around outside today, Chen Suqiu quickly understood: he was planning something.

Normally, this young master of the Jiang Household would have dashed off to his lab the moment class ended!

At the sight of him, Chen Suqiu thought again of Jiang Wangxuan, whom she had met once a few months ago: a Grand Yin senior at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement and her roommate's good older brother!

If Jiang Wangxuan could gain the Jiang Household's support, the road ahead of him should be quite smooth, shouldn't it?

The Xiao Mountain Jiang Clan was a cultivation clan with an actual Purple Mansion great figure, unlike the Jialing Chen Clan, which had gone nearly two hundred years without producing a Purple Mansion cultivator!

In her own generation especially, even their chances of producing a Foundation Establishment seed were in jeopardy!

Seeing Jinyi come down from the platform, Chen Suqiu found herself torn. Should she do the Jiang Household a favor while she was at it? Among the boys in their year, the Xiao Mountain Jiang Clan was truly in the first tier in terms of family background!

"Suqiu, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long again. Come on, we don't have class this afternoon. Let's go to that hotpot restaurant we visited before and turn our grief and indignation into appetite!"

Chen Suqiu sighed. Jinyi was good in every respect: cheerful, always smiling at everyone she met. She looked delicate, but she was soft on the outside and strong on the inside, with a mind of her own. Her only flaw was that she liked searching all over Lüyu for good food!

How could a dignified Qi Refinement cultivator who no longer ate the five grains spend every day thinking about where to get a meal? Sometimes, she even ran two li early in the morning to buy her beloved red bean buns!

Chen Suqiu suddenly felt that Jinyi would most likely turn the Jiang Household's young master down on the grounds that he shouldn't disturb her meal.

Sure enough, as soon as the two left the classroom, Chen Suqiu saw Jiang Liyang standing nervously under the tree. Ah, boys this age were so easy to read!

Yet the scene she had imagined, of a young man and woman blushing at each other, never came. Her good friend, who had just been holding her hand, shot off like a cannonball in the blink of an eye.

Chen Suqiu saw Jinyi leave a golden afterimage as she sped toward a small pavilion nearby in the space of a few breaths. Then the young woman slammed into a young man's arms!

The young man wore a blue-green robe, with a wooden hairpin casually tucked into his hair. From here, she could make out only half his face.

The sight made Chen Suqiu's heart warm. She silently begged forgiveness for her thoughts, then reminded herself that this was her roommate's brother!

Then Chen Suqiu saw Jiang Liyang, who had been waiting off to one side, wearing a look of disbelief. She realized at once that things had gone wrong. The misunderstanding here could probably fill a short story!

"Suqiu!" Jinyi waved hard at her from the pavilion!

Chen Suqiu thought for a moment and followed, silently slipping past Jiang Liyang. Poor Young Master Jiang, keep trying!

But the farther Chen Suqiu walked, the closer she got to the pavilion, the slower her steps became.

How is that possible? Why has his Grand Yin presence vanished completely?

No, it doesn't seem to have vanished. It's more as though this Grand Yin senior has turned into a piece of warm jade, his radiance hidden within.

Chen Suqiu had only seen such a state and presence in the great figures of her own clan and her teachers at school!

A crazy thought surfaced in Chen Suqiu's mind!

"Junior Suqiu, it's been a while. Have you been well?" Seeing the apprehension in Chen Suqiu's eyes, Jiang Wangxuan spoke in an even gentler tone.

Now that she was close, Chen Suqiu could finally be certain that Jiang Wangxuan was not at the Qi Refining Stage. She could detect no trace of true essence on him, and she dared not think any further than that. It was too shocking!

"J-Jiang, Senior Jiang, it's been a while. I keep hearing Jinyi say that you've been in seclusion ever since we last met!"

Jiang Wangxuan nodded. "Time passes unnoticed in the mountains. Once your cultivation is a little higher, going into seclusion for a week or two at a time will be perfectly normal!"

"But, Brother, you were gone too long! You disappeared for almost two months, and I've already broken through to Qi Refinement. Brother, are you treating me like a traveling frog, throwing me out for two months and only coming back to check on me once in a while?"

Jiang Jinyi spoke with great dissatisfaction.

Jiang Wangxuan smiled. It seemed their parents hadn't told her he had gone home. Knowing the girl was preparing for Qi Refinement, they had simply told her nothing.

After all, sending messages home from Lüyu wasn't as convenient as it was outside. One had to go to a specific school campus to "dial up the internet."

"Jinyi, you'll have to get used to this pace in the future too. For cultivators like us, it's normal to disappear into the mountains without sending word for years."

Then Jiang Wangxuan said to Chen Suqiu, "Junior Suqiu, if you have nothing to do later, why not come with us to Central Palace for a simple meal? There are also a few things I'd like to discuss with you while we're there!"

The stray lock of hair on Jiang Jinyi's head immediately stood up. What could her brother, who had just emerged from seclusion, possibly need to discuss with Suqiu?

Chen Suqiu drew a quiet breath and lowered her head. "I'll do as you say, Senior."

At the edge of her vision, a forlorn young master of the Jiang Household was already walking away!