Substituting inferior goods for superior ones

A thousand li away, the Lord of the Ink Pavilion had long since detected the Martial Saint’s avatar trespassing into the spiritual array that distributed spirit arts within the Grand Spirit Academy.

She had initially planned to address the matter in a few days, but to her surprise, her senses were stirred once more at that very moment.

‘What in the world is Sister Xue up to? Surely she hasn’t resorted to stealing spirit arts? If she has, I swear I’ll hang her up and give her a good thrashing.’

Beigong Qingmei immersed herself in her senses, and a vivid scene from afar crystallized in her mind’s eye: Shangguan Xue’s avatar, accompanied by a line of words penned by spiritual consciousness.

After a three-second pause, she finally exhaled a long, resigned sigh.

“Is this truly an attempt to suppress the Child of Fortune?”

Despite her spoken words, she retrieved a brush with her right hand, deftly sketched a few strokes in the empty air, and activated the distant spiritual array responsible for distributing spirit arts.

Within the white box, the spiritual array underwent a subtle transformation; a single star silently vanished without a trace, only to reappear moments later, rejoining the main cluster.

This particular star was known as the Mahā Art, a spirit art of Saint-grade caliber.

In that brief interval, the contents of the Yin-Yang Wood Art, which lay before Luo Jin, had been seamlessly replaced by the Mahā Art, even as its original cover remained untouched.

Luo Jin, completely oblivious to the change, reached out and seized it.

Instantly, the Myriad Weight Art and the Water-Sky Unison Art reverted to their stellar forms.

Witnessing this, Shangguan Xue exhaled, a visible wave of relief washing over her.

The line of words she had written was: ‘Replace the content of the Yin-Yang Wood Art with the Mahā Art.’

‘Heh, Qingmei must be wondering why I’d do such a thing. She’s probably thinking, am I really trying to suppress the Child of Fortune?’

‘After all, the Mahā Art is vastly superior to the Yin-Yang Wood Art.’

‘In truth, this is the safest approach.’

Just then, the Instructor declared that, with everyone having acquired their spirit arts, it was time to head back.

Shangguan Xue contemplated these matters, drifting out of the white box in the wake of the others.

‘Firstly, his talent is good, but it doesn’t perfectly align with the Mahā Art, which will slightly affect his cultivation speed.’

‘Secondly, even after cultivating the Mahā Art, he can still cultivate two more spirit arts. This level of change is not a major issue.’

‘Had I chosen an art without this feature, he might have encountered another opportunity for dual cultivation, and I, lacking foresight, would have inadvertently messed things up.’

‘However, unlike the harmonious balance of the Yin-Yang Wood Art, the inherently domineering Mahā Art functions by suppression. The Vast Ocean Art and the Sumeru Mountain Art are also exceptionally overbearing; for these three to coexist… hehe.’

‘If his fortune remains consistently strong, he might be able to suppress them. But should his fortune ever wane, he will inevitably suffer a backlash.’

Overwhelmed with delight, Shangguan Xue nearly forgot to dispel her external avatar, allowing herself to drift all the way to the classroom.

It was at this precise moment that the elderly dean approached her from the opposite direction.

‘I completely forgot this was merely an avatar!’ As she snapped back to awareness, she swiftly retracted her spiritual consciousness, causing the avatar to vanish in an instant.

“Hmm?” The old dean’s footsteps halted.

“Dean?” the leading Instructor inquired, “Is something amiss?”

The old dean’s gaze, piercing and keen, swept over the gathered students, yet he ultimately shook his head. “Nothing.”

‘That was a narrow escape; I was almost detected… This old man, a Nirvana-realm expert, is still capable of sensing my presence.’

‘Come to think of it, among the billion inhabitants of the Central Continent, the total number of Nirvana-realm experts barely reaches five thousand. For such a formidable individual to serve as a middle school principal here…’

Shangguan Xue secretly savored her good fortune, yet simultaneously found herself unable to suppress a minor grumble.

“Ziyan, oh Ziyan, your Tranquility Pill’s efficacy is simply too potent!”

Having dispatched her avatar, she had consumed a focus-enhancing Tranquility Pill to assist her cultivation, only for the pill’s potent effects to completely engross her main body’s attention in cultivation.

A short while later, the group returned to the classroom, and Shangguan Xue, too, brought her cultivation to an end.

No sooner had he settled into his seat than Luo Jin eagerly unfurled the “Yin-Yang Wood Art,” his eyes immediately falling upon the characters for “Mahā Art.”

‘What sort of art is this? I don’t recognize these characters…’ Luo Jin found himself momentarily stunned.

However, his gaze soon caught the words “Saint-grade Spirit Art,” and a surge of joy instantly filled his heart as he mused.

‘Choosing the special one was indeed the right decision; this is a Saint-grade spirit art disguised as a high-grade one!’

Had he simply chosen a Saint-grade art directly, Luo Jin would not have been overly thrilled.

Yet, having chosen a high-grade art only to receive a Saint-grade one, he felt he had stumbled upon an incredible bargain—even if he was inherently destined to receive a Saint-grade art in the first place.

Shangguan Xue had precisely understood this psychological quirk.

She was confident that Luo Jin, believing he had stumbled upon a great advantage, would not report the discrepancy.

After a moment of contemplation, she retrieved paper and a brush, intending to provide an explanation to Beigong Qingmei.

By this time, the day was drawing to a close.

The Instructor reminded the assembled disciples to report to the classroom promptly the following day, then formally dismissed them.

‘The Grand Spirit Academy actually doesn’t offer boarding options… Are you trying to drive up property prices in the vicinity?’

Shangguan Xue, her mind buzzing with a myriad of trivial thoughts, hastened home and presented the letter to Jia Nan.

“What is this?” the fox inquired, curiously weighing the letter in her paws.

“It’s an explanatory letter for Qingmei,” Shangguan Xue replied, grappling with her dinner. “I had her replace the Child of Fortune’s Yin-Yang Wood Art with the Mahā Art.”

“Oh…” Jia Nan regarded her with narrowed eyes. “You’re aware I don’t really understand spirit arts, aren’t you?”

“Ah, that’s right, you’re a demonic beast; you don’t cultivate using spirit arts. The most you’d know is what a few of us are cultivating.”

Mumbling under her breath, Shangguan Xue swallowed her food, only to find herself choking severely, requiring several large gulps of water to regain her breath.

Wiping her mouth, she clarified, “Essentially, it was swapping a high-grade art for a Saint-grade one.”

“I see, no wonder you felt the need to explain,” Jia Nan remarked.

She understood one thing: Saint-grade was superior to high-grade.

From her perspective, such a seemingly disadvantageous exchange certainly warranted an explanation.

“Alright, I’m done eating.”

Placing her bowl and chopsticks aside, Shangguan Xue retrieved her wooden saber and headed into the courtyard.

“What are you doing?”

“Practicing my saber,” Shangguan Xue responded, finding the question rather peculiar. “What else would I be doing, chopping firewood?”

“Aren’t you tired?” Jia Nan asked, effortlessly slicing open space with a fox paw before casually tossing the letter within.

“I’m not tired at all,” Shangguan Xue declared, swinging her saber. “Besides, couldn’t you have just gone yourself? Simply tossing the letter directly into the room isn’t exactly a daunting task.”

“I’m tired,” the nine-tailed fox replied, settling onto the ground. “And Qingmei isn’t nearly as timid as you suggest.”

“Who told you that? She’s incredibly timid; she only feigns bravery out of fear of displeasing Senior Beigong.”

Shangguan Xue, quite unconcerned about Qingmei overhearing, continued to playfully mock her.

“The power of the Creation Realm is enough to instill courage in anyone,” Jia Nan chuckled. “Now, tell me, what kind of spectacle did you witness today?”

“You actually remember what I said before I left,” the young Martial Saint offered a wry smile. “Well, how to describe it? The Child of Fortune was stopped for his disheveled appearance, but an Instructor, recognizing his exceptional talent, stepped forward to champion his cause.”

At the mention of the Child of Fortune, Jia Nan’s interest immediately sharpened.

“Did this Instructor experience ‘chickens and dogs ascending to heaven’?”

Shangguan Xue, in the midst of her strenuous training, let out a chilling sneer.

“How could that possibly happen? She offered considerable assistance to the Child of Fortune at the Grand Spirit Academy, only for the Child of Fortune to accuse her of exploiting her kindness for personal gain, telling her to ‘transform into spring mud to protect the flowers even more.'”