Chapter 3003 Little Green Plum
The selection of a study room was based on the level of one's spiritual root aptitude. Among Song Chi, Dai Jia, and Cheng Yao, Dai Jia had the best aptitude, possessing both metal and water spiritual roots. Her metal spiritual root was valued at 85, while her water spiritual root was slightly lower at 68. If her water spiritual root were above 75, she would likely have a chance to be accepted as an outer disciple by the sect elders if she achieved excellent results after graduating from Qingxue Palace. Of course, becoming a direct disciple was out of the question.
But precisely because of this, Dai Jia looked up at the mountain peak with a somewhat unpleasant expression. There were several small courtyards there, and the spiritual energy of the mountain peak was obviously more concentrated, probably for disciples with good aptitude to stay in.
But Dai Jia's expression only flashed for a moment before she laughed and jumped to the northernmost of the retreat.
Next up is Cheng Yao. She has three spiritual roots: metal, water, and wood. Her metal spiritual root is over 85, and the other two are both over 70. She's probably here for the sake of sound cultivation as well. She also chose a secluded room on the north side, towards the west.
When they arrived at Song Chi's place, Dai Jia asked with a smile, "Senior Brother Zhu, does Junior Sister Song also live in this courtyard?"
Judging from her tone, she probably felt that Song Chi, whose spiritual root aptitude was less than 80, was not qualified to live in the same courtyard as her.
Senior Brother Zhu merely glanced at her, a hint of sarcasm in his eyes. He probably thought that someone like Dai Jia, with only one spiritual root holding her back, was nothing to be proud of, even if she had two; she was still a waste. This wasn't just his opinion; it was common knowledge in the cultivation world. Anyone with a spiritual root below 70, even if they had two, had little hope of achieving the Golden Core stage.
Dai Jia blushed immediately after being looked at like that, and said to Cheng Yao, "Let's go."
The two went inside, and Cheng Yao smiled and nodded to Song Chi before going into the courtyard.
Song Chi chose the western-side villa because the small courtyard was filled with beautiful white chrysanthemums, which she liked very much. She wondered which girl would come to the eastern-side villa.
Next, Senior Brother Zhu gave her a storage ring containing a set of sect regulations, one hundred mid-grade spirit stones, a sect map, and a beginner cultivation method with meridians clearly marked.
“Since Junior Sister Song knows a little spiritual power, I won’t take the booklet out of your storage ring. Over the next two days, familiarize yourselves with the various parts of the sect. Remember, the area north of Qingxue Palace is a restricted area of the sect, so do not trespass.”
"Thank you for your guidance, senior brother."
After thanking Senior Brother Zhu, Song Chi entered the courtyard. Just then, another Xuan Turtle arrived and put down five female disciples. Four of the girls playfully flew upwards, and one of them, who was using the Instant Step technique, looked like she was almost at the third level of Qi Refining.
According to sect rules, one's cultivation level must not exceed the third level of Qi Refining before joining the sect. The Instant Step technique requires the second level of Qi Refining to learn. As for aerial flight, that requires the third level of Qi Refining. Ye Qingyu's flamboyant sword flight was due to the use of some magical artifact.
There was also a girl in green who was the most beautiful, with a cold and aloof expression. The four who flew up were laughing and whispering to each other while glancing back at the girl in green. They probably didn't say anything nice, because their expressions didn't look good.
Therefore, the girl in green, who was about to step forward, suddenly stopped and pointed to the courtyard where Song Chi was.
"Are there any vacant private rooms in that courtyard?"
Senior Brother Zhu glanced at her, checked her token, and said kindly, "Junior Sister Xi has excellent aptitude in all three spiritual roots. There is also a courtyard house available at the top of the mountain, where the spiritual energy is even more abundant."
Upon seeing the inscription on the token, Song Chi learned that the girl's name was Xi Ya, and she possessed the aptitude for three spiritual roots: water, wood, and fire. Her water and wood roots were both at 90, and her fire root was also strong at 82. Therefore, it was highly likely that she would become a pill refiner. This was because the best spiritual roots for a pill refiner were 100 for each of the water, wood, and fire roots. Of course, one could become a pill refiner with only wood and fire roots, but the resulting pills would lack a certain spiritual luster.
The importance of alchemists to cultivators is undeniable. Even those in the Qi Refining stage need to consume pills for cultivation; every cultivator's path to growth is inseparable from pills.
Therefore, Senior Brother Zhu showed a respectful, gentle, and smiling expression only towards Xi Ya.
Xi Ya glanced at the high place and frowned. "No need, I'll just choose this courtyard."
Upon seeing this, Senior Brother Zhu said, "No one has chosen the fourth courtyard or the study on the east side."
Xi Ya then said, "Then I'll stay here."
Senior Brother Zhu slightly moved his lips, glanced at the playful sounds coming from above, and guessed that Xi Ya had a conflict with those disciples with two spiritual roots. Therefore, he didn't try to persuade her further. After giving Xi Ya a storage ring and explaining the situation, he flew to the neighboring mountain peak.
When Xi Ya entered the courtyard, Song Chi nodded and smiled at her.
She naturally wanted to curry favor with the alchemist, mainly because she found the girl pleasing to the eye. Moreover, her cousin Song Jun actually possessed the three spiritual roots of water, wood, and fire. He was deeply passionate about herbalism and alchemy, and had always yearned to become an alchemist. But with that aptitude, even reaching the Foundation Establishment stage was difficult… Sigh, thinking of her brother's dazzlingly handsome, otherworldly appearance, yet he received such poor aptitude, it truly felt unfair that fate was so cruel.
If my brother had Xi Ya's talent, he would definitely be moved to tears.
Xi Ya gave her a cold look, nodded, turned around the courtyard, and went to the east-side study.
As Song Chi went to the west courtyard, he heard a mocking laugh coming from Dai Jia's yard. "Nothing's happened yet, and she's already rushing to stick around. Heh!"
This is probably a sarcastic jab at her for trying to curry favor with Xi Ya.
I don't know what's wrong with her, but ever since I landed on Peach Blossom Mountain, I've disliked her.
Song Chi was sure he hadn't offended her, and he didn't know what was wrong with her. Perhaps she just didn't like people like her?
In short, she didn't bother with it. Upon entering the courtyard, she found the halls, bedrooms, study, and even the washroom meticulously clean and elegant. Although the house was small, it was fully equipped and quite cozy. Most importantly, the spiritual energy in the training room was tens of thousands of times better than at home.
As expected, I have to come to a major sect, and be an inner disciple at that!
Song Chi clenched her fist in satisfaction. After a quick wash, she wrote a letter explaining that she had become an inner disciple of the Azure Sword Sect. Then she went out to the stream at the foot of the mountain, spent a low-grade spirit stone to fight a small Xuan Turtle—the kind that could only accommodate one person—before heading to the sect's messenger. She needed to inform her family as soon as possible.
My parents must be extremely anxious down the mountain right now.
Riding the spirit tortoise, she arrived at the mountains outside the academy. Just as she was about to turn south, she coincidentally ran into Senior Brother Wen Shuo and Mo Feiyun, who had come from the east. They had seen off the two male disciples before returning. Song Chi then hurriedly bowed to Wen Shuo.
"Where are you going?" Wen Shuo asked.
"Go to the messenger station to deliver a letter to my parents."
When Wen Shuo heard her say that, he smiled. "It's time to share the good news. Go ahead."
"yes."
Immediately, Song Chi urged the spirit tortoise southward, heading straight for the messenger's place not far from the mountain gate.
Wen Shuo watched the small white-clad figure recede into the distance under the blazing sun and couldn't help but smile. This little girl was probably the youngest of this batch of disciples, because according to her token, she had just turned fourteen yesterday. And the minimum age for a sect to accept disciples was fourteen.
Moreover, this child wasn't very tall, with a slender figure like a willow branch, a fair and delicate face, and eyes that smiled like crescent moons. She didn't wear any hairpins or ornaments, just tied her hair up like a male disciple, and wore a white robe. The first word that came to mind when she appeared was "clean."
That pure and beautiful quality makes her seem like she was born to be the beloved little green plum next door.
She's really likable. Especially for teenagers, she's incredibly attractive.
Wen Shuo is about ten years older than these children, so of course he wouldn't develop feelings for them. But when he glanced at his junior brother Mo beside him and saw his cold gaze watching the little white-clad figure disappear into the distance, he couldn't help but feel a moment of warmth, and a smile even appeared on his lips.
Although Junior Brother Mo concealed it well and quickly resumed his cold expression, he could not escape the keen eyes of Wen Shuo.
And then there's Young Master Ye from Meiquan in the southwest. Although that boy has a haughty face and smiles mockingly when he sees this young lady Song Chi, how could anyone fool the fleeting glint of joy in his eyes?
Leaving aside Wen Shuo, the new disciple traveling with them, the pretty Dai Jia, was initially a little shy when she saw Ye Qingyu, but upon hearing Ye Qingyu call out "Song Chi," the girl immediately twitched her fingers. This Dai Jia was probably from a small cultivation family, and likely knew Ye Qingyu beforehand and harbored feelings for him. Hence, she was now jealous.
Let's not dwell on that. In short, the two young men clearly had a crush on Song Chi.
But Wen Shuo also knew that this infatuation would eventually fade as his cultivation level gradually improved. This was because geniuses like Ye Qingyu and Mo Feiyun, as Song Chi had said, were truly celestial pearls, worlds apart from ordinary disciples.
As for Song Chi, this young girl's spiritual roots... none of them exceed eighty, so she's destined to have no hope of reaching the Golden Core stage. Soon, she'll be left far behind these geniuses on their path of cultivation.
Moreover, the elders, mentors, and respected figures of both Ye and Mo's families would never agree to their infatuation with such an ordinary disciple with only three spiritual roots.
These relationships will undoubtedly end without fruition. Although Wen Shuo has only been in the cultivation world for a few years, he has already witnessed this cruel difference.
At this moment, he had only one thing on his mind. Today, Qi Yu had been lazy, giving him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to escort his junior brother Mo to the Purple Bamboo Peak where Venerable Yuheng resided.
Just now, when he was taking those male disciples to settle down, Venerable Yuheng conveyed this to him through divine sense.
"This child need not be sent to Xuanyun Peak, send him directly to my Purple Bamboo Cave."
Wen Shuo immediately realized that this Junior Brother Mo Feiyun was even more important than he had guessed. At that moment, he felt a surge of warmth in his heart.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him. Soon, he would finish his graduation assessment at Qingxue Palace, and it would be time for the sect leaders to select disciples. He was a sword cultivator with dual spiritual roots of metal and water, with 90 in metal and 89 in water. This aptitude was already considered top-notch among inner disciples, but it wasn't enough for the sect's venerable elders to select disciples. In any case, if his metal spiritual root exceeded 95, he would still have a chance to become an outer disciple.
Now, he could only put on a gentle and serene demeanor as he escorted his junior brother Mo to Purple Bamboo Peak.
It is said that Venerable Yuheng prefers gentle and refined disciples. Although he was selecting sword cultivators, this is the prevailing rumor. This is because Venerable Yuheng himself is an extremely handsome man, whose demeanor and bearing are unparalleled.
Wen Shuo simply escorted Junior Brother Mo to the entrance of the Purple Bamboo Cave. "Reporting to the Venerable One, Junior Brother Mo has been delivered."
"Hmm." A very elegant voice came from inside the courtyard, followed by a soft, smiling voice. "Fei'er, come in."
Mo Feiyun bowed to him and walked into the cave.
Wen Shuo ultimately failed to even meet Venerable Yuheng, unable to display his gentle and refined side. He could only sigh inwardly and return. He had no confidence whatsoever that he would be pleased with the Venerable, so he wasn't particularly disappointed.
Song Chi spent two low-grade spirit stones to deliver the letter to the messenger and then left the messenger's office.
Just as they arrived at the Spirit Turtle's place, they saw a number of outer disciples setting up a flea market, selling spiritual herbs, cultivation techniques, and other items.
She thought of the usual tropes in cultivation novels, where the protagonist often finds extremely precious treasures and cultivation techniques at flea markets, so she couldn't help but take a closer look.
A note from the author:
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Hooray for my new novel! It's been over half a year since my last post, and I'm truly sorry. It's because of my previous novel, *The Empress*, which I spent three months working on, only managing to write about 50,000 to 60,000 words. The plot and characters were all there, and they were very much in my mind, but I guess all that passion was burned out by that last book, and I just couldn't write anymore. So, in a fit of pique, I wrote this one. This one was written much faster because I completely let loose and wrote freely. Just a heads-up, the male lead in this one is a "shipping" character (maybe other air signs won't feel this way, it's just my opinion). As you know, air signs are like emperors in ambiguous relationships, or little dogs in love. If I had decided on a male lead from the beginning, I would have felt constrained, and nothing I wrote would have felt right. But being surrounded by handsome men and ultimately falling for one of them, I'm quite excited. So, if you're bothered by that, proceed with caution. This book has a lighthearted atmosphere overall, and the world-building isn't even a tenth as harsh as my previous one, because I'm striving to create a realistic cultivation world, so it might be a bit more detailed. But it's still very fun; I was laughing and slapping the table while writing.
Anyway, yay! And please consider adding this to your favorites; the pre-order amount is quite low!
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