Go to the academy

By evening, the miasma had been completely cleared away. Gorgeous sunset clouds stretched across half the sky, casting warm light over North State City.

The barrier was removed, and the Li Kun demon beast by the moat had long gone. The town returned to its usual state, and the people who had been trapped in the inner city all day returned home one after another, and cooking smoke rose.

The reason for the Barrier Jade’s malfunction was also investigated and clarified. It was caused by the Spirit-Devouring Beast that had sneaked into the city at some point.

Spirit-Devouring Beasts liked dark, cold, deep valleys and rarely actively entered towns with many people. Even if they came out for a stroll, they preferred to go to the major sects’ immortal mountains with rich spiritual energy. This one didn’t know why it ran into

North State City, found the place where the Barrier Jade was placed, ate the protective shield, and devoured all the spiritual energy in the Barrier Jade.

Unfortunately, it coincided with the Li Kun demon beast’s appearance, and the miasma surrounded the city, almost causing a catastrophe.

Fortunately, there were no casualties.

The Xuan Yang Sect disciples left after dealing with the matter, and the stubbled man was taken by the guards to heal his injuries.

Before leaving, he asked Yun Ruo to take care of his young apprentice.

Yun Ruo finally learned his full name, Hu Yong.

The person was like his name (“yong” means brave).

She took Hu Yong’s young apprentice, A Heng, for a walk around the inner city, wandering aimlessly through the streets, and also went to the west city area to take a look. The black-hearted merchant and his bodyguard had already left. She then took A Heng to the snack street in the north city area, buying him some food.

A Heng was very obedient, following Yun Ruo wherever she went, like an obedient puppy.

Yun Ruo only took him back to the outer city at night.

Originally, she had sent A Heng back to the guard post, but he followed her out when she left, looking at Yun Ruo expectantly. Yun Ruo had no choice but to take him back to her place, giving him her only bed.

The boy was tired after a day and fell asleep as soon as he touched the bed, but Yun Ruo couldn’t sleep.

She took a cold shower to wash away the blood and dirt from her body, and her mood finally calmed down a little.

The fact that she had awakened all three spiritual meridians still felt somewhat unreal.

Everything she had planned for yesterday was suddenly disrupted. Before today, she only wanted to save more money, find an ordinary residence, plan her career path well in the future, find other ways to make money, and live a peaceful and stable life in this world.

She had been living as an ordinary person for so long, but fate suddenly played a joke on her, throwing such a big pie in her face.

Perhaps it was another trap that required paying a price.

Yun Ruo thought about many things in a mess. Finally, she fell asleep leaning against the window.

The next day, she was awakened by a knock on the door just as dawn broke.

It was more like banging on the door, and the force was not small. If she didn’t wake up, the two dilapidated doors would meet a heroic fate.

Yun Ruo rubbed her eyes and went to open the door. The stubbled man, Hu Yong, stood outside the door, looking very energetic. He was stunned when he saw Yun Ruo, then grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. He carried a package on his shoulder and entered her courtyard, looking around before silently returning his gaze to her face, his expression indescribable. “Good heavens, is this a place where people live?”

“Your injuries are healed?” Yun Ruo asked.

Hu Yong gave a “heh” sound, flexing his arms with might, saying casually, “That little injury is nothing.”

“What’s this?” Yun Ruo poked the big package he was carrying.

“For you.” Hu Yong put the things down, then took out a medium-sized bag from his arms and stuffed it into Yun Ruo’s hands. “Here, this is also for you.”

Yun Ruo opened the bag and was almost blinded by the light.

It was full of spirit stones, roughly estimated to be hundreds of them, mostly low-grade spirit stones, with a few middle-grade ones mixed in.

“What is this for?” She looked at the stubbled man.

“I only have this much right now.” Hu Yong scratched his head, a little embarrassed. “Money for you to take on the road. You’re not going to stay in North State City, are you? Since you know that all your spiritual meridians have awakened, you definitely have to go to the academy to study cultivation. Just take it as a little something from me, a reward for saving my life.”

When Yun Ruo broke into the guard post last night, he thought she was one of the little beggars who often stole things from him, wanting to scare her, teach her a lesson, and then let her take something and leave. But Yun Ruo was not only agile, able to get behind him and chop his neck, but also chose to come to the guard post to report the news instead of running away when danger came. Her mind and courage were first-class, intelligent and bold.

Later, he thought about taking her as his apprentice, at least letting Yun Ruo be able to eat her fill, wear warm clothes, and learn some skills. He didn’t expect that she would be a good seed with all her spiritual meridians awakened.

Hu Yong reached out to pat Yun Ruo’s shoulder, but looked at the pretty little girl who had been washed clean and stopped midway.

He had almost not recognized her when he came in. He smiled, his expression quite serious, “Since you’re so stupid, it’s most important to have the power to protect yourself.”

Yun Ruo: “?” Where am I stupid?

She looked at the large package on the ground, which was bulging. It was probably bedding and the like, well-prepared for her.

She hadn’t expected that Hu Yong, such a rough and big guy, also had a careful side.

Was she really going to start cultivating like this? But she still had many questions.

How to get to the academy, which direction was it in, how far away was it, how to enter the academy after arriving, was it the same as entering a large sect? Although she didn’t know how to enter a large sect, since she had been directly taken into the Xuan Yang Sect back then.

And what was the name of the academy? If she asked people for directions on the road, she had to know the name.

Hu Yong looked at Yun Ruo’s wandering eyes and sighed. “You don’t know anything, do you… I guessed as much.”

If she knew these things, she wouldn’t have waited until she was seventeen or eighteen to test her spiritual meridians for the first time.

If there had been any signs, she would have looked for a way to test it a long time ago.

A lonely little girl, with no family, no wonder she was delayed to this age.

Hu Yong called out his young apprentice’s name in the courtyard a few times. A Heng came out groggily, and his face was washed by his master. After saying a few words to him, A Heng quickly perked up and ran out after saying hello to Yun Ruo.

“Pack up your things, and set off today.” Hu Yong said to Yun Ruo.

Although he thought there was nothing to pack up. Yun Ruo was practically penniless. But if she wasn’t poor, she wouldn’t have lived in the abandoned old city area.

“Oh, I got it.” Yun Ruo replied subconsciously.

Hu Yong nodded and left.

She really didn’t have anything to pack, but thanks to Hu Yong’s reminder, she had cleared her mind and at least had a direction.

Then she would first go find the academy.

She simply packed her luggage, covered her face with a veil, and went to her job to work her last day.

The boss was a spirited and straightforward middle-aged woman who liked her very much, for being quick and observant, and although her figure looked slender and weak, she was very capable. She was a little reluctant to hear that she was leaving North State City, giving her two extra copper coins in wages and some dry food.

In the evening, Yun Ruo returned home, preparing to take her luggage and leave. She pushed open the door and saw Hu Yong squatting in the courtyard, with a sleeping A Heng lying on the large package.

Hu Yong saw her, yawned, and stood up, carrying A Heng on his shoulder with one hand and picking up the package with the other.

“You’re finally back, let’s go.”

“What’s this?” Yun Ruo asked, puzzled.

Hu Yong walked out without looking back. “Take your luggage, the road to the academy is far. We’ll take a carriage. I’ll take you, so you don’t get lost on the way.”

Yun Ruo smiled as she looked at his back. She quickly returned to the house, picked up her luggage, and chased after him. “Uncle, so you’re the one who prepared the carriage at the entrance of the street.”

“This kid found it. I asked for leave at the guard post.”

“A Heng is really capable!”

“Nonsense, he’s my apprentice, after all.”

A Heng was half-awake, hearing the voices of his master and Yun Ruo, and fell asleep again with peace of mind in the swaying carriage.

Qingtiao Mountain was as its name suggested, full of spiritual energy. Sunny days were rare in the mountains, but most of the time, it was clear, sunny, with lush greenery. Countless precious medicinal herbs and rare spiritual flowers and herbs were found there. The mountains were steep, deep, and secluded, hence the name Qingtiao (“clear and high”).

It was a blessed and unique spiritual land.

“Let’s rest for a while.” Yun Ruo leaned against a mountain rock, panting. She looked up at the huge canopy above her head that blocked out the sun, and at the dark path that stretched deep into the mountains, confirming with Hu Yong again, “The academy is really in this deep mountain?”

If she didn’t know Hu Yong’s character, this would really seem like a one-way trip for a kidnapping.

“Of course, that’s how I went to the academy back then.” Hu Yong handed a water skin to Yun Ruo to drink, putting the sleeping A Heng down to rest. The boy had been carried by his master all the way, and was very energetic, like he was on an outing. He ran around picking flowers and grass as soon as he was let down.

It had taken them nearly a month to travel from North State City to Qingtiao Mountain, even though they had traveled day and night.

The academy only enrolled students twice a year, and they would be too late if they were any slower.

On the way, Yun Ruo learned a lot about the academy from Hu Yong.

The academy was just called “Academy”. These two words were its name, simple and crude. Because only a few people could open their spiritual meridians, there was only one academy for cultivators, so there was no need to give it a name to distinguish it.

The academy was the first step for everyone to enter the world of cultivators. Only those who had opened their spiritual meridians could enter the academy to study, and only those who ranked among the best in their studies at the academy had the opportunity to enter a large sect as a disciple. Whether or not they could eventually find a master to study with on their own was another matter.

The academy students were generally divided into two types: one was those who enrolled themselves to study, like Hu Yong and Yun Ruo.

The other was disciples who had already entered a sect, either from prominent families with connections or talented seedlings who had been spotted by a sect. They would also enter the academy in the early stages to hone and study.

Yun Ruo understood it immediately. The academy was equivalent to junior high and high school, and the large sects were like prestigious universities. Either you studied hard and took the exam, or you were recommended in advance.

She understood, everyone wanted to go to a good university to study.

She had asked Hu Yong how long he had studied at the academy, and Hu Yong had told the truth, “Ten years.”

His only awakened spiritual meridian was the Body Meridian. He had worked hard at the academy for ten years, but had only broken through to the third stage. After that, he had never made any progress. His talent was limited, and he could only stop there for the rest of his life.

After that, he returned to his hometown of North State City, finding a job at the guard post and settling down.

“Spiritual meridian awakening is only the first step…” Hu Yong hesitated.

Yun Ruo knew what he wanted to say.

Spiritual meridian awakening was indeed only the first step. How far you could cultivate afterwards depended not only on effort but also on talent.

Each spiritual meridian had a maximum of seven stages. Stages below four were low-level, and the fifth stage was a watershed. Going up each stage was a completely different realm and a huge gap that was difficult to cross. Some could break through to a higher stage in one fell swoop, but many could only remain at a low level and never advance.

Hu Yong was worried that she would have too high hopes, and would likely be disappointed in the future.

After all, awakening spiritual meridians was rare, and the outstanding individuals who could break through were even rarer. Yun Ruo had grown up living an ordinary life until now, so her talent was not outstanding. Otherwise, how could she have not discovered any signs of her spiritual meridian awakening?

But he was afraid of discouraging Yun Ruo, so he couldn’t bring himself to say such discouraging words.

Yun Ruo didn’t have that much of an obsession with advancing. Even if she only broke through to the third stage like Uncle, she would be satisfied. She had three spiritual meridians awakened, and each advancing to the third stage would be a total of nine stages, higher than the maximum stage! She could protect herself, and it would be best if she also had the strength to protect the people around her.

She wasn’t greedy, but she would work hard until she reached the point where talent mattered.