That night, the children quickly learned what “one tael of silver per meal” meant.
At around the hour of You, the table suddenly filled with dishes. There was meat and vegetarian food, fragrant white rice, steamed rolls and buns, savoury soup and sweet soup—everything one could want. The sight was dazzling. But unless one placed a tael of silver on the table, one could forget about touching any of that delicious food even until death.
There were also some strong-willed children who firmly refused to pay. Unfortunately, if they did not pay, the food simply remained on the table, fragrant and tempting. Being hungry while delicious food sat right in front of them was torture no less than hell on earth. In the end, even Ye Ye could not endure it and was forced to hand over the silver.
As a result, one tael of silver only got three dishes, one soup, plus rice or noodles. Not a single extra thing. It was stingy to the extreme.
Everyone gathered in Baili Gelin’s **Beautiful Oriole Room** to eat. Each of them was furious. Baili Gelin cursed with every bite.
“Why call it Chufeng Academy? They might as well rename it Money-Robbing Academy! On the first day, they’re already forcing everyone to spend money on food. I’ve never seen anything like it!”
Li Fei said, “The academy recruits new disciples for free every year. It has no real source of money, but it still has to provide us with disciple robes, food, and teachers. Spending some money on a meal is normal. Besides, it’s not every meal. Once we learn to fly, we probably won’t need to spend money anymore.”
Baili Gelin sneered. “You’re too naive. Today, food costs money. Next time, who knows, maybe learning some mental cultivation method will require buying a manual. Then pills will cost money too. The days of spending money are still ahead!”
Surely it was not that frightening?
Li Fei subconsciously touched her money pouch. She did not have much money either. Her master had left her only fifty taels in total. If learning one immortal art cost ten taels, and buying one pill cost another ten, what could fifty taels even let her learn?
And so, the first night at Chufeng Academy passed with the children feeling deeply uneasy about the enormous expenses that might await them in the future.
The next day, everyone woke up very early. Being late meant ten taels of silver per meal, and for three days in a row. Even Ji Tongzhou was unwilling to spend such humiliating wasted money. Before the hour of Mao had arrived, everyone had already gathered in the open space before the disciple quarters.
At this time, the sky had not fully brightened. The floating island was wrapped in gauzy clouds and mist, with green and white interwoven like a veil draped over it. If one leaned near the edge of the island and looked down, there was an endless sea of clouds. The clouds rolled and shifted, deep beyond sight. Just one glance was enough to make the heart tremble.
“What do you think is down there?” Baili Gelin was somewhat afraid of heights and hid behind her sister, not daring to look down.
Li Fei was not afraid at all. She stood steadily at the edge, the wind blowing her clothes until they swayed, as if she herself would soon be blown down.
She said, “Down there is probably mud and bones. Nothing special.”
She had lived in Qingqiu, and every time she went out with her master, she had to climb Tiger’s Mouth Cliff. She felt nothing towards cliffs like this. At the bottom of Tiger’s Mouth Cliff, there were bones of animals that had fallen to their deaths everywhere. There were human bones too. She had long since grown tired of seeing them.
“I guess below is the sea,” Ye Ye said, belonging to the rigorous and rational type. “We flew for more than twenty days on the rainbow deer carriage. After that long, we must have left the Central Continent already. Floating islands of this scale would be more suitable above the sea.”
A strange male voice cut in from behind them. “Below is a forbidden land filled with demons, ghosts, and monsters. If you accidentally fall down, you’ll lose your life.”
Baili Gelin screamed in fright. Everyone quickly turned around and saw that a young man in red had suddenly appeared in the open space. He looked around twenty, unexpectedly young. Around his waist was a colourful gold-threaded belt, which looked extremely bright and eye-catching with his red clothes. But because his features were handsome, especially his eyes, which seemed to smile even when he was not speaking, such bright clothing did not look bad on him.
An adult appearing at the disciple quarters at this time had to be one of the academy’s teachers. The children immediately grew nervous, each holding their breath and waiting for the teacher’s instruction.
The young man in red looked around and smiled. “Not a single one of you is late. How surprising… Looks like every one of you brought your swords too. This year’s new disciples aren’t bad.”
“This teacher seems easy to talk to,” Baili Gelin whispered to Li Fei. “Look, he’s smiling. We’re so lucky.”
Li Fei felt both nervous and expectant. She still could not draw spiritual energy into her body, nor did she know how to circulate inner breath. She wondered if she could learn what the teacher taught.
The young man in red was still speaking. “Since everyone is here, I won’t waste words. First, let me tell you: Chufeng Academy does not have fixed teachers. Every year, the teachers are different. They are all outstanding young disciples chosen from the major immortal sects. My name is Hu Jiaping. I am one of the personal disciples of Perfected Guangwei of Wuyue Court. For now, you will learn sword flight from me. Let me say this first: sword flight is the most basic skill and does not even count as cultivation. If you want to properly learn from teachers in the future, pass this stage first.”
He looked up at the sky, then said, “How about this? Those who can fly before dinner may go to the northern island and get food for free. Those who still cannot fly before dinner will pay twenty taels of silver per meal. Those who still have not learned after three days—I will personally throw you down from here.”
He pointed at the sea of clouds and abyss behind him.
Only dead silence answered him.
Money again!
And twenty taels!
The children were almost numb.
Hu Jiaping lazily sighed. “Good. Then let’s begin.”
He clapped his hands, and a red-covered book suddenly appeared in front of each person. Hu Jiaping yawned. “The method of sword flight cultivation is all in the book. Read it yourself, practise it yourself. If you don’t understand, think about it yourself and don’t bother me. I’ll check your results before dinner.”
After saying this, he found a large tree, lay down beneath it, and refused to get up no matter what.
This… what kind of teacher was this?
The children were dumbfounded.
“…I take back what I said earlier,” Baili Gelin said with tears streaming down her face. This teacher was not merely unreliable. He was practically a bastard!
On the first day of cultivation at Chufeng Academy, the children were completely crushed by cruel reality. But the pressure of paying twenty taels of silver for one meal was far too great. No one was willing to waste time complaining about this irresponsible teacher. Everyone began burying their heads in study, occasionally gesturing a few times, serious to an extreme.
Li Fei opened the red-covered book. Before she even finished reading the first page, her heart sank.
The book contained countless mental methods about drawing spiritual energy into the body and then sending it into the sword. There were also diagrams later, vividly showing the flow and movement of spiritual energy inside the body. All the tricks for controlling sword flight were here.
Although this was indeed much more direct and clear than listening to a teacher drone on endlessly, for her, it was completely useless.
She could not draw spiritual energy into her body at all, let alone control its flow and send it into the sword.
Li Fei silently looked around. Lei Xiuyuan was standing in the distance, holding his long sword and staring blankly, thinking about who knew what. The Baili sisters and Ye Ye sat on the ground meditating without moving. Ji Tongzhou and Commandery Princess Lanya were both reading seriously. Some of the other children stood, some sat, some focused deeply, and some seemed to have understood something.
Everyone was practising seriously.
Only she could do nothing.
Before long, the children suddenly stirred. It turned out Ji Tongzhou was standing on his sword, wobbling as he flew from one end of the open space to the other. Although his flight was not stable at all, he really was flying.
“Hahaha! It’s not hard at all!”
If he did not show off at a time like this, he would not be Ji Tongzhou. The sword twisted clumsily beneath his feet, drifting east one moment and west the next. He lasted for the time it took to burn one stick of incense before finally landing, exhausted.
He looked around in high spirits. Seeing Li Fei standing there foolishly without moving, he became even more pleased. Although it felt good to outshine this group of lowly commoners, the best feeling was naturally surpassing this unruly commoner.
“Hmph.”
He gave Li Fei an arrogant cold snort, leapt onto his sword again, and began flying crookedly once more. This time, however, he flew much better than before.
Li Fei felt like an ant on a hot pan. Although she tried her best to keep calm on the outside, inside she was extremely anxious. Ji Tongzhou truly did have excellent talent and had grasped the essentials of sword flight at once. But right now, she had no time to envy or resent him. She had never imagined that after going through so much hardship to come to Chufeng Academy, she would hit a wall at the very first cultivation lesson.
If she could not learn sword flight, she probably would not even be able to reach the other islands. She would have to pay for meals too: twenty taels per meal. When her silver ran out, what would she do? Starve? Or be expelled because she had no aptitude at all?
She suddenly remembered that there was still a strange person, suspected to be a nine-tailed fox demon, attached inside her body. As if finding a life-saving straw, she hurriedly called him softly, “Old sir, old sir? Are you awake?”
That unpredictable hoarse voice gave her no response at all. Since the second selection, he had not spoken again. Was he asleep? Did he refuse to bother with her? Or had he already stopped attaching himself to her?
Even her last bit of hope was shattered. Li Fei was completely helpless.
Behind her, Baili Changyue, who had been silently meditating, suddenly let out a long breath and stood up.
Ye Ye hurriedly asked, “How is it? Can you control your spiritual energy?”
She neither nodded nor shook her head. Instead, she first closed her eyes, as if savouring the feeling. After a long while, she suddenly opened them and said calmly, “Good. I’ve learned it.”
Lei Xiuyuan walked over and smiled shyly. “I-I think I’ve understood a little too…”
Baili Changyue looked at him quietly. “Then let’s try together.”
He hurriedly waved his hands. “N-no… What if we fall…”
“I’ll protect you.”
Without allowing him to argue, Baili Changyue forcefully threw out her sword. Her sword was like a shooting star, tracing an arc through the air before finally returning steadily in front of her, hovering horizontally.
“Coming?” she asked, staring at Lei Xiuyuan.
Lei Xiuyuan seemed to smile helplessly. Finally, he also threw out his long sword.
Under many gazes filled with curiosity, envy, and surprise, the two leapt onto their swords together. One was graceful and ethereal, the other elegant and refined. They looked not like beginners, but like immortals who had already flown countless times.
The sword beneath Lei Xiuyuan’s feet shot out, instantly turning into a streak of light as it carried him high into the sky. Baili Changyue followed closely behind. Their red-and-white disciple robes swayed and danced, like a pair of butterflies fluttering through the air.
The children let out cries of envy and admiration. Someone had actually learned sword flight this quickly! And flown so well! Their movements were beautiful and neat, not at all like beginners. Their swords glittered in the sunlight, weaving through the clouds and floating islands, a delight to watch.
Baili Gelin was so excited that she could no longer sit and meditate calmly. She jumped up, clapping and shouting nonstop. Even the normally calm Ye Ye could not help clapping and cheering. The small amount of attention Ji Tongzhou had finally managed to gain earlier was now completely overshadowed. He was surprised and unconvinced. After narrowing his eyes and watching for a while, he gave a cold snort, found a patch of shade beneath a tree, and sat down to meditate, ignoring everyone’s exclamations.
Li Fei stared blankly at their graceful figures. For a moment, she did not know whether she was envious or happy for them. Even Lei Xiuyuan was flying so well. It was truly unexpected.
The two gradually flew farther away. After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they flew back and landed steadily on the island’s open space. Baili Changyue’s arms were stuffed full with something, while Lei Xiuyuan was also holding a paper bag. Hot steam rose from it, and it smelled like some kind of food.
“With the name plaque, you can get food for free on the northern island,” Baili Changyue said. She took out what she was carrying, also a paper bag, and tossed everyone a bun. “Eat some. Saves wasting one tael of silver on a meal.”
Li Fei broke open the bun and immediately smelled a strong meaty scent. It was actually a meat bun. She quietly set it aside and did not want even a single bite.
Lei Xiuyuan walked over timidly and said softly, “Boss, sorry. I forgot you don’t eat meat and didn’t get vegetarian buns… I’ll go get you one.”
“No need to rush.” Li Fei pulled him down to sit beside her. “You flew quite well, didn’t you? You should have some confidence.”
Lei Xiuyuan hurriedly waved his hands. “I-I can’t. How could I compare to Boss? You’ll definitely learn soon. You’ll definitely fly better than me.”
“Xiuyuan…”
She sighed and fixed her gaze on his timid face.
Honestly, he really was a very strange child. Someone with excellent talent should at least not be bullied by others, even if he did not bully others himself. He should not be like this. He always cried, always needed her to pull him up, so she subconsciously treated him as weak. But he was not actually weak.
There was something contradictory about Lei Xiuyuan.
“Boss, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?” Lei Xiuyuan looked at her timidly, showing an innocent and cowardly expression as if he had no idea what he had done wrong.
Li Fei disliked that expression very much. She shook her head, stood up, and patted off the dust.
“Nothing. I’m leaving.”
Her own problems were already enough to worry about. She had no energy to think about him anymore.
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