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Translator: Amber.es | Editor : Bubbles | Proofreader: musk

In the early morning, the distant mountains were enveloped by clouds, and the sound of morning readings could be heard from the forest.

Hongmeng Academy’s work and rest schedule were extremely strict: morning readings started at 9:00am every day, followed by morning, noon, and evening classes; only once the entire day was filled with work, could the disciples head back to their courtyard.

The academy allowed rest every ten days, and all the various Immortal Lords would select a rest day to answer questions and give lectures. There were no restrictions and disciples were free to participate.

In short, the cultivation lectures there were not comparable with the mortal cultivation schools.

Right then, the morning bell rang gently, and the morning readings gradually stopped.

The Yellow level’s morning classes were taught by Tian Quan-jun, who had a rigid and toneless way of speaking. Due to the boringly dry Dao textbooks and his slow reading pace, it was inevitable that heads soon began to shake and sway, further lengthening this endless torture.

Twenty-three of the newly enrolled disciples this year were assigned to the Yellow level. Along with the original ones, there were now no fewer than forty disciples in total, but in less than half an hour, a portion of the classroom was already lying down.

Corpses were strewn all over the field; solely Ji Chaoyun was still sitting upright.

“Only now can I understand the true meaning that there will always be someone more talented and more outstanding than oneself in the wide sky.”

After surviving the class, the disciples walked out of the classroom one after another. Ye Chenxing collapsed on a long bench and weakly said, “I used to think there would never be a place more terrifying than my mortal teachers’ classes in this world. Who would have thought..”

Beside him, Bei Ran also looked like his soul had wandered too far away. “Brother Ye, I have tried my best, but you best find another to help you take notes. An hour is my limit. If it goes on, I will start to wonder why I have ever wanted to come here..”

“It’s okay, I understand.” Ye Chenxing’s mood fluctuated wildly. “Just a stick of incense’s time and I’m already in doubt about this.”

After the two finished speaking, they all looked at the back of Ji Chaoyun’s head. The latter was still sitting down in the front row, his head bowed as he wrote something.

Bei Ran sighed. “As expected of Brother Ji, listening attentively throughout the past four hours.”

“Of course. How could he compare to people like us?” Ye Chenxing scoffed and called out to Ji Chaoyun. “Chaoyun, you’re still the most reliable. Remember to lend me your notes.. Chaoyun?”

Ji Chaoyun did not answer.

The two looked at each other and vaguely realised something.

Ye Chenxing tentatively patted Ji Chaoyun on the shoulder.

Ji Chaoyun raised his head from the scroll as a faint light flashed between his auricles, and promptly removed the concealment spell. “Were you speaking to me just now?”

Ye Chenxing: “..”

Bei Ran: “..”

Ji Chaoyun impassively blinked and closed the book he was copying. From the perspective of the other two, it was not clear what book it was, but from its slightly old cover, it was clear it couldn’t have been the《Cleansing Scriptures · Second Edition》book that Tian Quan-jun had spoke for the past six hours.

Ye Chenxing slowly gave him a thumbs up.

After morning class, the Yellow level disciples would head to the Swordplay Arena to practice swordsmanship. As the three of them walked out of the classroom, Ji Chaoyun told them, “You both go first, I have something else to do.”

Ye Chenxing didn’t ask much, simply saying, “Then be quick, don’t be late.”

Ji Chaoyun nodded, turned his head and walked a separate path.

Their morning classroom was located in a pine forest to the west of the main peak; only the outline of its white walls and blue tiles could be seen among the green pine trees. Ji Chaoyun crossed the path paved with limestone behind the classroom and walked until the end of the mountain road, where stood another classroom.

There was a wooden sign standing outside it, with the word “Black” written on it.

Tian Ji-jun, who taught the Black level disciples, was notoriously known for procrastinating. So when Ji Chaoyun arrived, the disciples were still in the middle of leaving the classroom.

He retreated to the shadows and waited for a moment. Soon, there was the sound of footsteps behind him.

Ji Chaoyun turned around and nodded to the other party. “Xiao shixiong.”

Xiao Jue1?was not a tall person, and his delicate face was filled with nervousness. Seeing that no one was around, he whispered, “You’re finally here. Quick, give me the items.”

Ji Chaoyun took out a few scrolls from his sleeves and handed them to Xiao Jue.

Xiao Jue counted them. “Why is one missing?”

Ji Chaoyun lowered his eyes. “That.. I have not finished reading it yet.”

For a moment, Xiao Jue remained silent. Not wanting to make things difficult for him, he said, “No worries. However, you better return it as soon as you finish reading, so as to avoid trouble.”

“Yes..” Ji Chaoyun hesitantly looked at him and asked, “The thing that I have previously asked shixiong, is there really no way about it?”

“Chaoyun, it’s not that shixiong doesn’t want to help you. It’s really that guy who—”

Suddenly, a voice rang behind them. “Xiao Jue, what are you doing here?”

This voice was not unfamiliar to Ji Chaoyun. His eyebrows dipped and he looked back. Indeed, that voice belonged to the appointed disciple who’d assigned him to Wenqu Peak on the day of enrollment — Xu Zixing.

Hongmeng Academy’s appointed disciples were mostly selected from the Black and Earth level. It was not surprising to run across them here.

Xiao Jue’s expression froze, and he didn’t know how to answer. He heard Ji Chaoyun say, “Thank you, Xiao shixiong, for telling the assessment matters to this disciple. I will take my leave first.”

Ji Chaoyun tried to walk away, but was stopped by Xu Zixing. “Assessment matters.. Coming so early to ask about it?”

“What about it?”

Xu Zixing looked him up and down, sarcastically saying, “I almost forgot that our Ji shidi has the most rare, inferior spiritual root that the academy has seen in a century. In three months’ time, if you fail the quarter exam, you’ll have to drop out. Indeed, it’s necessary to prepare in advance.”

Ji Chaoyun did not rise to his taunt. He coldly questioned, “Anything else?”

“What do you think?” Xu Zixing couldn’t continue pretending, he gritted his teeth and squeezed out in a low voice, “What kind of demonic magic did you do to me before, causing this laozi2?to lie in bed for a whole—”

He didn’t finish speaking. He unnaturally turned his eyes away, his expression extremely ugly.

Ji Chaoyun saw the shift in his eyes , and smiled slightly. A corner of his mouth raised in a mocking arc, yet no sign of mirth lurked in his eyes, only an unusual frostiness.

Xu Zixing froze at the sight of his smile, to the point that his neck stiffened. “What are you laughing at?”

“That is not demonic magic,” Ji Chaoyun leaned forward slightly, whispering towards Xu Zixing’s ear, “They are just a few tiny toys I have raised. They have not seen strangers for a long time and are very curious. Xu shixiong is best to remember not to get too close to me, lest.. they sneak out again.”

Xu Zixing’s face changed drastically. Instinctively, he took a few steps back. However, he quickly recovered, forcing himself to stop, and angrily rebuked, “How dare you! Hongmeng Academy explicitly prohibits the use of sorcery, you are not afraid of me—”

“Do you have evidence?”

Xu Zixing’s voice stopped abruptly. He had no evidence.

Not only that, he still had no idea what exactly had hurt him. There were no traces of spells, no wounds left, and even the immortal healer could not spot any problem.

But those three days of torture due to the itching were not fake.

Ji Chaoyun calmly continued, “There is no evidence, and I hope that shixiong will not arbitrarily frame others. As far as I know, that is also against the rules.”

After he finished speaking, he bowed and saluted Xu Zixing. “If there is nothing else, I will leave first.”

Xu Zixing was furious but he didn’t dare speak. Seeing Ji Chaoyun’s back disappear at the end of the trail, he gritted his teeth. “You wait and see!”

He turned around, but saw Xiao Jue’s bowed head walking outside.

“You, stop.” Xu Zixing’s eyes moved slightly. “What are you holding in your hand?”

Xiao Jue hurriedly hid the scroll in his arms. “No, nothing..”

Xu Zixing vaguely understood something. He stepped forward, and raised his hand to hold Xiao Jue’s shoulder, a smile forming at the corner of his mouth. “I’ll give you another chance. Did he really come to you to ask about the quarter exam?”

.

“..This is how things are. The evidence that Xiao Jue and Ji Chaoyun have stolen from the collection of Dengyun Tower is conclusive, and I hope that His Highness will deal with it impartially.” In a room in Dengyun Tower, Xu Zixing stood straight with his hands tucked behind his back as he calmly spoke to the person sitting at the table.

Xiao Jue stood silently beside him, not daring to lift his head.

Feng Qi’s gaze swept over the two of them, and his voice was calm. “I see, you go back first.”

“Your Majesty, the Dengyun Tower’s collection of books has never been lent to outsiders before. You’re not planning to shield—”

“Your name is.. Xu Zixing, right?” Feng Q’s knuckles tapped on the table. “I remember that you followed Jiang Cheng a long time ago, so maybe you have misunderstood me a little.”

“This Highness hates people who think they can teach me how to behave, much less give me orders straight to my face.” Feng Qi raised his eyes, a chill emanating from their depths. “Scram.”

“You—” Xu Zixing didn’t dare to provoke him. In the end, he shot a glare at Xiao Jue, and left with a cold snort.

There was a moment of silence in the Dengyun Tower. Feng Qi stated, “Now that the outsider is gone, let’s talk about it. What happened?”

Xiao Jue mumbled, “Your Highness, I didn’t mean to steal the books from the library. I just..”

Feng Qi: “Just what? Did Ji Chaoyun force you with a sword, or did he kidnap your family?”

“No..” Xiao Jue hid his eyes, but Feng Qi looked steadily at him, his expression calm but like a cold stare on his back. The two stood in a stalemate for a moment until Xiao Jue finally told the truth, “It is true that I took the initiative to help him.”

“..One of the disciples enrolled this year is my biological brother. Both my parents are wandering immortals and we two brothers cannot directly enroll in this school. We can only do so by passing the wandering immortals’ assessment examination.”

“My brother and Ji Chaoyun went up the mountain at the same time, and he received a lot of help from him along the way. If it weren’t for him, my brother wouldn’t have been able to make it to Hongmeng Mountain. When they first arrived at Changqing Garden, I sneaked out to meet them, thinking to give Ji Chaoyun something in return, so..”

“So you took advantage of the fact that I was not in the academy a few days ago to steal the books, borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha?”

Xiao Jue’s legs softened, and he quickly begged for mercy. “I know I was wrong. Your Highness, please forgive me! Please don’t tell the Immortal Elder!”

Feng Qi smiled, and didn’t answer him. He flipped through the book at hand. “He shouldn’t have needed only this book. What else did he need? I’ll listen.”

Xiao Jue: “In addition to these, the first and second volume of the Supreme Changqing Scriptures, and the third and fourth volume of the Supreme Chinese Scriptures. At present, except for the fourth volume of the Supreme Chinese Scriptures, everything else has been returned. But..”

“But what?”

“He still wanted a few other books, but.. After Your Highness returned to the academy, I told him that he could no longer get books from Dengyun Tower, so..”

“You know how to judge the situation,” Feng Qi mocked. “What else does he want?”

Xiao Jue paused hesitantly before taking out a folded piece of letter paper from his sleeve. He handed it over. “Here is everything he wants.”

On the paper, the names of several books were written in neat and beautiful handwriting.

Feng Qi casually glanced at it and understood. “The Supreme Chinese Scriptures are books for practice. He should have completed the first three volumes by now. But the fourth volume is more obscure than the previous ones. No wonder he wants these books, he plans on using these scriptures as an aid.”

Like a trembling quail, Xiao Jue lowered his head, not daring to talk.

Feng Qi took a brush, quickly added a few strokes on the letter paper, crossed out a few unnecessary scriptures, and added two more. He opened his palm, and the letter paper automatically floated in front of Xiao Jue. “Fetching the books according to this is better than what he wants. Go ahead.”

Xiao Jue raised his head in surprise. He looked at Feng Qi with a dumbfounded look, as if this was the first day he met him. “This..”

Feng Qi casually threw the brush on the table, and smiled. “What, worried that I’ll hurt him?”

“No, it’s just..” Xiao Jue looked at the paper in his hand, and then at Feng Qi. Suddenly, there was a glimmer of inspiration; he suddenly understood. “I understand, I will do it now!”

“No, wait.” Now it was Feng Qi’s turn to wonder. “What do you understand?”

Xiao Jue gave a wide smile to Feng Qi. He promised, “Your Highness, don’t worry. I will tell Chaoyun of your intentions, and he will be very grateful to you once he knows.”

“?” Feng Qi was taken aback. Seeing Xiao Jue excitedly walking out, he quickly stopped him. “Come back!”

Feng Qi held down his twitching brows and took a deep breath. Maintaining a steady tone, he explained, “You misunderstood, to him, I’m not..”

“Your Highness doesn’t want others to know about this?” Xiao Jue immediately understood. “I understand. Your Highness, don’t be shy, I will keep the secret for Your Highness.”

“Keep secret..” Feng Qi gritted his teeth, enduring the urge to curse out loud. He was too lazy to explain anymore, and simply said, “Anyway, don’t tell him that I was the one behind this.”

Xiao Jue showed a look that he, once again, “understood” and solemnly agreed.

Xiao Jue turned around to leave when Feng Qi suddenly asked, “Which disciple courtyard does Ji Chaoyun live in now?”

Xiao Jue turned around and hesitantly answered, “He.. doesn’t live in a disciple courtyard.”

Feng Qi frowned slightly.

Xiao Jue: “I heard that Ji shidi stays in the classroom every night, saying that he wants to review his homework. The night watch disciple has encountered him several times during his walk, but Yao Guang-jun closed one eye and said that as long as he doesn’t run around, he can stay as he pleases.”

Staying in the classroom..

That pale and thin face popped out in his heart for no reason. The Yellow level’s class work was the most onerous. How could he work so many days without rest?

“Isn’t this nonsense?” Feng Qi frowned and added, “Since Yao Guang is protecting him like this, why hasn’t his disciple courtyard been swapped?”

“Disciple courtyard?” Xiao Jue was confused. “I have never heard that Ji Chaoyun is going to change his courtyard, and.. no one has ever seen him return to the disciples’ peak. I am unsure where he actually lives.”

Feng Qi’s eyes closed. After a while, he suddenly said, “You don’t need to get the books anymore. Go back to class.”

Xiao Jue: “Huh?”

“Can’t I change my mind?” Feng Qi didn’t want to talk to him further and drove him away. “If I were to discover this kind of thing again, you won’t be able to enter the Dengyun Tower anymore. Get lost.”

“..Understood.”

.

The night was getting darker, and the disciples of the night patrol had just ended their last round. There was no one among the pine forests. It was rather quiet, only a few insects and birds out and about. The night wind passed through the forest, and the half-opened windows creaked. Amongst the pine trees was a single dim light glowing in a Yellow level classroom.

Hongmeng Academy was not subject to the four seasons; only the alternation of day and night was the same as the mortal world.

Immortals originally didn’t need to rise and sleep according to the sunset and the sunrise like mortals did, but ordinary disciples couldn’t bear the heavy workload of the academy. They were so tired that they could barely fight the sleep off their eyelids. All had already headed back to their rooms to fall asleep.

A ray of light scattered into the window with the night wind, and a figure appeared silently in the classroom.

Under the dim light of the oil lamp, a teenager was napping at his desk.

Ji Chaoyun did not sleep well. The long bench was low and short. He had to curl up his hands and feet, with his head resting on his arms, his brows slightly wrinkled because of discomfort, making him look thinner.

The dim flickering of the oil lamp reflected on his pale face. A shallow blood trail was on the back of his hand, and might have been untreated. The wound was still a little red and swollen, and it looked particularly dazzling on the almost transparent white background.

It was rare for Feng Qi to see Ji Chaoyun’s undefended appearance. He squatted down in front of the table, and his gaze traced across Ji Chaoyun’s face inch by inch.

This person was indeed good-looking. Even though Feng Qi was used to the sight of beauties, he couldn’t not admit this.

His gaze was fixed to the other’s smooth forehead. He thought of the pair of dragon horns that had previously appeared there and his throat suddenly felt parched. He leaned down and was about to wake Ji Chaoyun up, when his gaze swept over something.

In Ji Chaoyun’s arms, the edge of a purse was vaguely exposed.

The purse had an excellent pattern. The fabric was embroidered with light golden patterns, and though unclear, it still gave Feng Qi a vaguely familiar feeling. He must have looked at it for a long time as he subconsciously reached into Ji Chaoyun’s arms to take a closer look.

But as soon as his fingers touched the edge of that purse, his back chilled.

Feng Qi raised his head and met a pair of cold vertical pupils.

The oil lamp on the table hadn’t been refilled for a long time. Its light was already very dim, but Ji Chaoyun’s vertical pupils shone particularly clear and bright.

They quietly looked at each other through the flickering light. After a short while, the faint radiance in Ji Chaoyun’s eyes gradually faded, turning back into those black and white orbs.

He lowered his head. Feng Qi’s hand was still in the position of reaching into his arms.

Feng Qi: “..”

Ji Chaoyun: “..”

The author has something to say:

Little Dragon: Came to take advantage of me in the middle of the night. Pervert!!

Phoenix: I didn’t, not me..

Xiāo Jué. Just to note, this Xiao does not mean Little. It’s an actual name.

Arrogant way of saying I/this one.