On one hand, he felt it would enhance his own image, since everyone knew that this gentle beauty had taken a liking to him.

On one hand, there was a hidden sour feeling; he was clearly the genius, yet everyone was praising the mediocre Tu Longjian.

A cold snort shattered the peaceful atmosphere.

"With such poor aptitude, why don't you learn something better?"

The person who made the sarcastic remarks was Fang Hui, the one who harassed Tu Longjian on the first day of the new students' enrollment.

Ever since that day, this petty young master has held a grudge against Tu Longjian and Gan Xiuming.

Although his talent was only three spiritual roots, he managed to successfully draw qi into his body in just twelve days by consuming elixirs.

At this moment, he turned his nose in the air and began to target Tu Longjian.

Gan Xiuming is, after all, a genius, and he dares not provoke him. Tu Longjian, however, is a woman of mediocre talent, and he will pick on the weak.

The freshmen surrounding Tu Longjian were indignant after hearing this, but they hesitated when they saw Fang Hui.

After all, most of them are just ordinary people and can't afford to offend young masters who are rich.

Only the robust cultivator Yan Leran wasn't buying his act and bluntly said:

"That drug-addicted chicken has the nerve to laugh at others. Others may have average talent, but they work hard to improve, unlike the drug-addicted chicken who just keeps taking drugs to get ahead."

Fang Hui was so angry that his face turned red, and he rushed forward to punch Yan Leran.

Yan Leran, however, showed no fear and bravely shouted, "Come on! Who's afraid of who! I've never lost a fight!"

Tu Longjian maintained his persona, appearing weak and cowardly, and softly offered advice:

"Don't fight..."

At the same time, her hands were moving swiftly inside her sleeves.

A wisp of spiritual energy surged out, turning into a thin line that secretly blocked Fang Hui's feet, causing him to suddenly stumble forward and fall flat on his face.

Ouch!

Fang Hui scrambled to his feet, clutching his broken tooth, and mumbled incoherently:

"Damn it... it's spicier than it hurts me."

Everyone burst into laughter at his snarling words despite his gaping teeth, filling the school with a joyful atmosphere.

Only when Shi Zixue was usually immersed in her own world did she suddenly look up, her deep eyes staring straight at Tu Longjian.

That's the second move of the mental cultivation technique: Spiritual Energy Transformation.

Most of the newcomers here have only recently begun to cultivate Qi, and those who have succeeded are still consolidating their practice to lay a solid foundation for future cultivation. They have not yet begun to learn the mental techniques.

Shi Zixue was exceptionally talented. After absorbing Qi into her body at a young age, she began learning cultivation techniques and had already taken one step beyond the threshold of the Moon Realm.

She pondered to herself, "To be able to control spiritual energy so precisely, that girl must be—"

We've already reached the Moon Rank!

He's not the good-for-nothing they were mocking at all!

It takes ordinary people several months or even a year to reach the monthly level of Qi Refining, but she cultivated from an ordinary person to the monthly level of Qi Refining in just twenty days!

It surpassed her, a genius with a mutated spiritual root!

However, Zixue didn't expose him, but instead secretly kept an eye on Tu Longjian in the days that followed. She watched as the seemingly useless person in everyone's eyes grew rapidly in the shadows.

Fang Hui's furious and sinister eyes swept across the entire room. He remembered today's humiliation and blamed it all on Tu Longjian.

"When the lamp reaches Liao Xinsheng's trial, Li will be in for a good show! Just you wait and see!"

Tu Longjian pretended to be scared and hid behind Gan Xiuming, trembling. Fang Hui saw this and hated Gan Xiuming with resentment.

When the time comes, he will make that adulterous couple crawl on their knees in terror at his feet!

Where he couldn't see, the delicate Tu Longjian had a cold smile on his lips.

It's one thing for the chosen one to bully her, but she can deal with him slowly and deliberately.

A freeloader who lives off his parents dares to act arrogantly towards her? Does he really think she's someone to be trifled with?!

Then came the class assignments.

Gan Xiuming was assigned to Class A, which consisted of geniuses with a single spiritual root, and had the fewest members, less than ten.

Fang Milu is in Class B, which consists mostly of talented individuals with dual spiritual roots, numbering about twenty or thirty disciples.

Tu Longjian was assigned to Class D, which accommodated a large number of students with three spiritual roots, a few with four spiritual roots, and herself, the only one with five spiritual roots. It had the largest number of students, nearly a hundred.

Only after drawing qi into the body can one truly embark on the path of cultivation.

The further you go, the more obvious the differences become due to talent.

The practice of dividing students into classes is also intended to cultivate geniuses in a targeted manner.

Several months have passed, and most people have already entered the Qi Refining Moon Stage.

With the help of the Dry Spirit Lamp, Tu Longjian surpassed all the new students early on and reached the perfect Qi Refining Star Rank.

Even Shi Zixue had only just entered the Star Rank, while Gan Xiuming was still a step behind.

The Dry Spirit Lamp truly lives up to its reputation as a profound spiritual treasure prepared by Heaven for the chosen ones.

Tu Longjian's cultivation speed improved by leaps and bounds.

However, because he lost the treasure, Gan Xiuming only displayed the level of an average genius.

With the advantage of being one realm ahead, Tu Longjian lit up his second destiny point, and his progress in the strategy reached 30%.

Soon the day arrived for the start of the new student trials.

It is located in a small secret realm, specially prepared for cultivators in the Qi Refining stage.

Each new student carries a nameplate, which can be crushed to teleport them out.

While not in immediate danger, the situation is fraught with peril.

It can test the results of learning over this period of time. The small secret realm is like a miniature version of the cultivation world, with intrigue and betrayal, as well as unity and cooperation.

Senior Brother Li and his disciples carried up several wooden boxes. When they opened them, they found hundreds of slightly rough but incredibly sharp black swords neatly arranged inside.

The crowd excitedly gathered around, and some even picked it up and started gesturing.

"This is a Xuan Sword, forged from ordinary spirit iron."

Senior Brother Li cheerfully began explaining to everyone.

"To replace the wooden swords you usually practice with."

After speaking, his expression suddenly turned serious, and his deep voice rang in everyone's ears, carrying a trace of spiritual power that weighed heavily on their hearts.

"The freshman trial is not a major crisis, but you still need to be careful in everything you do. Although the nameplate can save your life, there have been cases in the past where monsters have bitten you in half and swallowed you before you could even crush the nameplate."

Everyone was alarmed upon hearing this and became somewhat more obedient and docile.

Then, a delicate, long mirror, about two people wide, was displayed.

This is the trial mirror used exclusively by new Qi Refining stage students. Each peak master will send their eldest disciple to observe the performance of the new students. Only after most of the students have been eliminated in the second half of the trial will the master personally come to recruit geniuses.

The group went inside one by one, and their figures quickly disappeared.

Over the course of their time together, Gan Xiuming became increasingly gentle towards Tu Longjian, showing a tenderness and compassion for her.

He held Fang Milu's hand with one hand and Tu Longjian's hand with the other, and the three of them entered the trial mirror one after another.

"Don't worry, I'm here."

Gan Xiuming winked at Tu Longjian and gently comforted him.

Tu Longjian's panicked expression calmed down slightly, and he blushed as he lowered his head and softly hummed in agreement.

The freshmen queuing behind them saw this scene and felt a mixture of envy and jealousy.

"How come both beauties have been taken into this guy's arms!"

"Sigh, what can I do? He's a genius, a charming and talented young man..."

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Shi Zixue walked in expressionlessly, leaving behind the words "idiot" before departing.

The disciples behind them looked at each other in bewilderment.