Returning to the crowd, He Chiqiong and the others all gathered around her.
They looked at her with mixed expressions, appearing as though they wanted to say something but didn't know how to phrase it.
Even He Lingling, who was usually so eloquent, stammered for quite a while before finally managing to squeeze out, “Sister Ah Yu, don't be discouraged or sad! My dad said, um... he said...”
Seeing her rack her brain without coming up with the words, Shi Yu smiled slightly and teased, “What did he say?”
“Uh, well, basically stuff like 'man can conquer nature' and 'anything is possible' and things like that!” He Lingling peeked at her face, and seeing no sign of sorrow or dejection, she gradually eased her mind and leaned closer with a grin. “Sister Ah Yu is already amazing for being able to enter Shiyan Academy! Those people make fun of your Dao Platform quality, but they don't realize that tons of cultivators fail to achieve Foundation Establishment in their entire lives!”
“True enough.” Beside them, Su Luoyao's lips curled up, a gentle voice floating out as amused pleasure sparkled beneath her eyelashes. “Although Miss Shi falls short compared to those above, she is more than enough when compared to those below.”
At first glance, her words sounded like she was echoing He Lingling's comforting remarks, but in truth, they carried a blatant undertone of ridicule.
Shi Yu had not felt like dealing with her, but after being provoked repeatedly, anyone with an ounce of temper would feel anger rising. In the Origin Realm, strength was paramount. In terms of age, Su Luoyao was several years older than Shi Yu, yet Shi Yu had already achieved Foundation Establishment, standing an entire major realm above her. By proper etiquette, even if Su Luoyao were seventy or eighty years old, she would still have to address Shi Yu respectfully as Senior or Master, and the same applied to He Chiqiong and the rest.
Shi Yu cast a cool glance at her. Upon meeting her eyes, Su Luoyao's smirk froze, and a chill crept up her spine. A subtle wave of pressure extended along Shi Yu's gaze, instilling a faint sense of dread in her...
Su Luoyao averted her eyes, taking a few steps back with a pale face.
Seeing this, He Chiqiong felt a headache coming on. He looked at Shi Yu hesitantly. “Miss Shi, Ah Yao was impetuous and spoke carelessly. Please do not take it to heart.”
Having said that, he turned to glance at Su Luoyao with a stern expression.
Su Luoyao's lips parted, muttering incoherently, but her proud nature ultimately kept her from uttering an apology.
Shi Yu had only wanted her to shut up and stop bothering her. Seeing that her goal had been achieved, she withdrew her aura and paid her no further mind, turning instead to He Chiqiong. “Fellow Cultivator He, since you all still have to wait for your evaluations, I shall take my leave first. Farewell.”
With that, she patted He Lingling's head and turned to leave.
He Chiqiong wanted to ask her to stay and join them, but knowing she had no such intention, he swallowed his words. He simply watched her receding back and let out a gentle, melancholic sigh once she had walked far away.
Only now did Su Luoyao dare to speak up. Seeing his melancholy, she advised reluctantly, “Brother Chiqiong, those on different paths cannot make plans together. She is merely a rogue cultivator. Even if we were fated to cross paths, it was only for a short journey. Why waste your emotions on her?”
He Chiqiong knew there was truth in her logic, tacitly agreeing with her words, though he could not help feeling a faint melancholy lingering after his initial emotional stirrings.
“How can fate between people be dictated by status?” He Lingling did not buy her talk about differences between cultivation families and rogue cultivators. Shaking her braided hair, she stood on tiptoe and peered hard in the direction Shi Yu had gone. Only when nothing remained visible did she pout and give up.
...
After leaving, Shi Yu took a stroll through Shiyan City.
Although this city was famous throughout the entire East Continent, its architecture was not as grand and awe-inspiring as she had previously imagined. Instead, it appeared somewhat plain and understated, exuding an ancient and weathered charm.
However, the city spanned an immense area—likely the largest she had ever set foot in. Designed with multiple concentric square city walls nesting inside one another, its various districts were connected by an axis running north to south, with the world-renowned Shiyan Academy sitting right at its center.
During Shiyan Academy's recruitment period, countless talents from across the East Continent gathered here. No matter how large the city was, it could hardly accommodate such a crowd. Everywhere she looked, streets and alleys were packed with people, making it difficult to find a quiet place to rest.
She crossed several streets and inquired at over a dozen inns, but every single one was fully booked. Even the taverns and eateries were overflowing. No sooner had a waiter seen off one table of guests than new patrons took their seats before the table could even be cleared.
As she wove through the alleys, Shi Yu did not find it tedious. She was not only searching for a place to stay over the next few days, but also keeping an eye out for well-located courtyards and shops.
Once she entered the academy, the instructors would naturally arrange housing for her. However, Qingzhou and the others would arrive in Shiyan City anywhere from a few months to a year or so. She needed to prepare lodgings for them in advance.
If the price was right, setting up a small shop to continue earning cultivation resources would be ideal...
After searching for half a day, Shi Yu finally found a modest inn in a secluded alley that still had a few vacant rooms.
After booking a room and securing her lodgings, she stopped bustling about. The small inn also served tea, so she went up to the second floor, found a seat by the window, and ordered a pot of tea to sip leisurely.
Gazing at the street outside and listening to the casual chatter of the patrons, she found the atmosphere quite pleasant for a moment.
However, when she overheard what the nearby tables were animatedly discussing, Shi Yu could not help but press her fingers to her temples.
“...Exactly! Who would've thought? Reaching Foundation Establishment at twenty—how many people can do that? Everyone assumed she was a genius aiming for a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, but who would have imagined...”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Truly lamentable, truly lamentable!”
“Stop sympathizing with others! Whether we can even reach Foundation Establishment ourselves is still up in the air!”
“Ha! If any of us manage to achieve Foundation Establishment, there's no way it'd be the lowest tier of Mortal Dao! Hahaha...”
Only a few hours had passed since her evaluation, yet news of it had already spread across Shiyan City.
The patrons were oblivious that the young woman sitting alone by the window sipping tea was the protagonist of their conversation. Laughing amongst themselves, they clearly treated the matter as prime gossip.
Shi Yu simply listened as if it were someone else's story. Seeing the patrons laugh so heartily as their conversation grew lively, she rested her chin on her hand, blinked, and poured herself another cup of tea.
...
Ten days later, the recruitment drive for Shiyan Academy finally drew to a close.
Shi Yu packed her things and, having asked for directions in advance, headed toward the location handling the subsequent and additional evaluation items.
This evaluation site was located near the academy's side gate. She took a slight detour, and upon arrival, spotted a familiar face—Senior Sister Shen Yun, whom she had traveled back with via the Zhiyu City teleportation array earlier.
This senior sister seemed born to toil; wherever there was work, her presence was guaranteed. At the moment, she wore a thoroughly drained expression, standing listlessly at the intersection as she received prospective students arriving for the evaluations.
When she saw Shi Yu approaching, she raised an eyebrow, and a spark of life instantly returned to her exhausted face.
Taking in her expression, Shi Yu knew at once that Senior Sister Shen must have heard the rumors about her as well.
Shen Yun stretched her arms and walked over to Shi Yu with a chuckle. “Yo, if it isn't the grand celebrity of this year's recruitment evaluations.”
Shi Yu twitched her lips, pulling out her jade token inscribed with the score "Sixty-One." “Senior Sister, what a coincidence.”
Shen Yun walked around her twice, then glanced at the jade token in her hand and kindly cautioned, “What, you're sure you want to take the subsequent tests? Your score is quite precarious. If you lose a few points and drop below sixty, then—”
Shi Yu nodded and was just about to answer when she suddenly felt the sky darken above her, her heart giving a sharp jerk.
Alarmed, a subtle bad feeling arose in her mind. Raising her eyes, she saw what looked like a colossal entity pressing down from above the cloud layer. It was so vast that it seemed to smother all of Shiyan City, plunging the sky into murky darkness.
Bursts of commotion erupted. In the dim sky, streaks of golden light flickered in the distant horizon, signaling that something monumental was taking place.
Then, the ground beneath their feet trembled violently, fine spiderweb-like cracks spreading across the earth.
Shen Yun's expression shifted drastically as she grabbed Shi Yu's arm. “Quick, follow me inside the academy!”
“What's happening?”
Shen Yun shook her head. “I don't know, but this commotion... it looks like the grand city-protecting array has been activated.”
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