Kunjun City was not laid out with much regularity. Its streets did not cross in a neat grid; diagonal avenues and winding lanes were everywhere. Coupled with its vast territory, newcomers found it exceptionally easy to lose their way.
"This..." Wu Yaozu walked along a bustling diagonal street, turned down a winding lane, and ended up completely dizzy, discovering that he had circled right back to where he started.
To make matters worse, the crowds were bustling, shoulders brushing against shoulders. Having just emerged from the Fourth Peril, he was quite unaccustomed to such packed thronging and nearly got separated from Qin Ming.
"Spiritual goat! Freshly hunted from the mountains, accumulated a century of cultivation! Fresh meat skewers roasted till fragrant, bursting with spirituality! Everyone, line up!"
A tout outside a barbecue stall hollered at the top of his lungs. Truth be told, business was absurdly booming. The spiritual goat meat looked mouthwateringly tempting, rich with fragrance and shimmering with spiritual light.
"Brother Ming, should we head in and have a taste?" Wu Yaozu asked, his appetite genuinely piqued.
"It's probably rat demon meat mixed with goat musk, though it should still be edible," Qin Ming remarked.
Wu Yaozu was struck speechless.
"Epiphany Tea, harvested from the fringes of the Second Peril! Once every three years, a new batch hits the market! Personally picked by seniors from the pure land, up for auction tonight!"
From atop a sizeable teahouse, someone channeled conscious spiritual light to project their voice across the street, instantly sparking quite a stir.
Clearly, this teahouse's tea leaves were fairly famous.
After entering the city, Qin Ming and Wu Yaozu had only visited two academies before becoming completely disoriented by the winding streets. Unable to bear it any longer, they first found an established tavern to have a meal.
"How on earth was this metropolis, famous even throughout the night mist world, ever planned out?" Wu Yaozu grumbled. "So many crooked roads zigzagging everywhere—it's utterly unfriendly to newcomers."
At an adjacent table, someone chuckled. "Brother, you can think of Kunling as a cluster of cities. If you look at it that way, it won't be so easy to get lost."
After receiving guidance from the bystanders, Wu Yaozu and Qin Ming finally gained a deeper understanding of the place.
This domain had been carved out by various sanctuaries and academies.
Each sanctuary or academy chose a territory rich in spirituality, expanding outward with itself as the center, turning each into its own district. As the region developed, people continuously migrated here, filling in the empty gaps left between the different sanctuaries and academies.
Consequently, Kunjun City could be divided into over a dozen districts covering vast expanses of land. It was not at all unusual to find spiritual mountains steaming with immortal mist or giant lakes within the city, making its total area far larger than that of other metropolises.
Where different districts met, roads inevitably ran skewed and crooked.
"Little Wu, you need to change what you call me. From now on, call me Shen Wubing," Qin Ming reminded him in a low voice. Having arrived in a new territory, he did not want to draw attention to himself; his primary goal was the book collections of the major academies.
By now, his control over his flesh and blood was fine and delicate down to the minute details. He altered his appearance and circulated Harmonize with Light and Dust. Back at the Six Imperials ancestral court, Lu Zi had supplemented this secret technique for him, bringing about a qualitative improvement.
"Understood, Brother Shen," Wu Yaozu nodded.
"The prices here are really not cheap," Qin Ming remarked when settling the bill, discovering it was several times more expensive than Chixia City.
Before plummeting from the sky into the Fourth Peril, his body had been shattered; while he managed to bind a few crucial items with adhesive force, his clothes and day gold had been completely lost.
"Sigh, I once had a bit of wealth, but all of it detonated alongside me in midair. Oh well, pieces shattered, peace delivered," Qin Ming sighed.
Tallying up his day gold, he found only a hundred and some odd coins left—such a pity for the generous contributions made by Wang Nianzhu, Ge Qianxun, and the others.
"Little Wu, spend sparingly." He split half with Wu Yaozu, giving them sixty-six coins each. That was their entire net worth.
Wu Yaozu nodded. "Brother, we'd better hire a carriage. This place is far too convoluted, and we can't skimp on this—we're just wasting time going in circles."
Qin Ming nodded. "Right, let's go. First we'll join an academy and settle in before planning our next move."
They then boarded a goat-drawn carriage. Though they hadn't eaten any spiritual goat meat, they were now riding in a carriage pulled by one. The goat was taller and sturdier than normal oxen or horses, its gleaming golden coat quite eye-catching.
At first, the two thought a driver would be handling the carriage to ferry passengers, but to their surprise, the old goat drummed up business all by itself.
It was exceedingly enthusiastic and silver-tongued. Furthermore, the nanmu carriage was spotless and carried a refreshing scent.
"Old Goat here has been hauling passengers for twenty years—fair to young and old alike, with honest prices! If you two young masters ever need a ride in the future, or want a long-term charter, just ask for me." It had a name, calling itself Jin Xiang.
Wu Yaozu asked, "Old Goat, which academy do you think is good for newcomers like us who have decent talent but no backing?"
Jin Xiang wagged its goatee. "Truth be told, it's hard to compare. Tianpeng Daoist Sanctuary, Shanhe Academy, and the like are all decent—not a single one is subpar, or they wouldn't have been able to establish themselves in this legendary land. Rumor has it that prominent figures back all of them!"
"Shanhe Academy it is, then," Qin Ming decided.
"Right away!" The old goat trotted smoothly and swiftly, chatting cheerfully along the way and briefing the two on plenty of precautions.
For instance, the top candidates had long been admitted in advance; if they wanted to join now at the last minute, they would have to pass an assessment.
"There's a patch of misty land in the back mountain of Shanhe Academy—don't wander into it recklessly, as accidents happen easily. Also, crouching tigers and hidden dragons lurk inside the academy, so keep a low profile, or you might easily get sorted out..."
Qin Ming and Wu Yaozu found its service rather thoughtful, well worth the fare.
Shanhe District was bustling. Viewed on its own, it was fairly well-ordered, with shrines, residences, and markets lined up side by side, surging with lively human traffic.
The academy was situated right at the center, sprawling across vast grounds. Within it lay ridges, dense groves, lakes, and extensive clusters of ancient buildings—mysterious yet brimming with vitality. Upon reaching the gates, they saw swarms of students streaming in and out, all young and radiant with life.
Seeing this, Jin Xiang grew quite sentimental and sighed, "Ah, another year of new student registrations. Thinking back twenty-four years ago, I entered through these very gates. In the blink of an eye, I've been graduated for twenty years."
Hearing that, Wu Yaozu felt a wave of despair. This goat was actually a non-human senior fellow student? So it had gone straight to pulling carts upon graduation? This lousy academy's prospects were terrible—truly worrying!
Jin Xiang hurriedly added, "Don't misunderstand, junior brothers! The cultivation technique Old Goat practices is rather peculiar—it requires swallowing the red-dust worldly air every day. No job could be more fitting for me than this. I am tempering my mind in the mortal realm!"
Qin Ming and Wu Yaozu exchanged glances. They had already disembarked; they couldn't just switch to another academy now, could they?
Since they were already here, they might as well make the best of it. The two strode forward.
Shanhe Academy used two rocky hills as its entrance gate, swirling with purple qi, flanked by lush, verdant ancient trees.
"You two junior brothers possess such dignified bearing and heroic vigor—one glance tells me you're extraordinary..." The moment they reached the gate, a pretty young woman stepped forward with a warm greeting. But upon learning they were not officially registered new students and had come for a provisional assessment, she smiled slightly, excused herself, and quickly swapped out for a youth to lead the way.
"Which path do you walk? The immortal path, the esoteric path, the mutation path... or are you Newborns?" the youth asked.
Upon learning that both walked the Newborn path, the youth asked with a smile, "Do you want to become gold-armored guards? Quite a few junior brothers and sisters on the immortal path have been picking helpers lately."
Hearing this, Wu Yaozu felt the Newborn path was really looked down upon. Brother Ming's prospects were worrying!
"Uh, we have no such plans for now," Qin Ming said.
The youth then waved over a crow, directing it to guide the two to their assessment, while he turned and walked away.
Wu Yaozu stood dumbfounded, only managing to speak after a long moment: "This... isn't this a bit too practical? We went from a pretty senior sister to an old crow?!"
"Little Crow here is in the bloom of sixteen—I'm your senior sister too!" the crow perched on a branch squawked indignantly.
"Ah, my apologies, Sister Crow!" Wu Yaozu quickly apologized.
Qin Ming held a twenty-city winning streak and could have entered any academy at will without difficulty, but he had no intention of exposing himself. He went through the testing alongside Wu Yaozu—strength, speed, perception, combat trials, and the like—and both naturally passed with ease.
The interior of Shanhe Academy was deep and serene. While the entrance gate was clamorous with registering freshmen everywhere, the interior was so immense, encompassing woodlands, wetlands, and more, that the clamor instantly vanished.
Sister Crow said, "Junior brothers, your cohort is truly fortunate. This year, the senior masters of the major sanctuaries and academies are joining forces to deal with that auspicious beast in the Third Peril. If you perform well and show enough excellence, you'll certainly be bestowed auspicious beast blood, which could very likely grant you a rebirth."
Wu Yaozu rubbed his fists together eagerly, his blood boiling with excitement.
Qin Ming remained far calmer. He knew why those immortal seeds and divine seeds had appeared: they had come precisely for the blood of the auspicious beast, and the available spots were undoubtedly scarce and fiercely contested.
Sister Crow added, "Still, your chances are indeed slim. Have you heard of that abnormal 'Eighty-One'? His name is Xin Youdao, and he swept through eighty-one cities. He has also joined our Shanhe Academy. He walks both the esoteric path and the Newborn path simultaneously. Without a doubt, since the Newborn side is weaker with hardly any real competitors, he'll most likely choose to claim a spot from this side to obtain the auspicious beast blood."
"Wait... is there even a pecking order between the different paths?" Wu Yaozu scratched his head. Having just arrived here, he felt that things truly weren't easy for Brother Ming.
Sister Crow said, "Many Newborns see reality for what it is after six months to a year. Those with clear heads only applied here in the first place to find a figure to follow. Weren't you two doing the same?"
Wu Yaozu was left speechless.
Soon, Sister Crow led them to their lodgings. The accommodations were quite ordinary, far from comparable to the spiritual mountain zones cloaked in immortal mist where those on the immortal and esoteric paths resided.
This was a patch of woods far from the Fire Spring, appearing rather dim in the night. The only redeeming feature was that each was an independent wooden cabin rather than the multi-person dormitory they had envisioned.
Sister Crow cackled, "See that domain where the Fire Spring flows, immortal mist billows, and purple qi gathers? Actually, you can fight your way in. Anyone with outstanding performance can live there regardless of path—and there are plenty of pretty senior sisters there, you know."
"Brother, let's go beat our way into a couple of rooms. Forget moonlight, this place is so far from the Fire Spring," Wu Yaozu transmitted mentally.
"Let's stay steady for now. We can discuss it after we understand the situation here," Qin Ming replied. He genuinely did not wish to attract attention right after arriving.
What he cared about most was the book collection here—that was his ultimate objective; everything else was trivial. In fact, he planned on making the rounds through all the academies and sanctuaries.
"Junior brothers, want a ticket?" Right before departing, Sister Crow leaned in mysteriously.
"What's this about?" Wu Yaozu asked curiously.
Sister Crow said, "Xin Youdao is formidable, having joined our academy. And another peerless prodigy who tested his blade across a hundred cities—hailed as a Young Ancestor—is also extraordinarily powerful. He has come to Kunjun City and is about to spar with Xin Youdao. Don't you want to watch a showdown standing at the pinnacle of our generation's pyramid?"
"Tsk! What kind of place is Kunling? It's thick with major sanctuaries and academies, teeming with students! A grand showdown between the most representative prodigies of our generation commands the eyes of all, and many have traveled tens of thousands of li from other cities just to watch. Did you expect to see it for free? Ticket prices have soared through the roof long ago!"
"How much?" Wu Yaozu asked.
It lowered its voice. "I have good seats. Since I'm your senior sister, I'll give you a discount: twenty coins of day gold per ticket."
"Not interested!" Wu Yaozu might have just emerged from a peril and lacked experience, but he was certainly no fool. Sister Crow was blatantly asking for an extortionate price, trying to fleece them!
"Ticket prices have been hyped into the clouds already, you know? You won't find them cheaper anywhere else." The two still shook their heads.
"Brother, when are the two of us going to have a match? If we charge like this, we'll make a fortune in no time!" Wu Yaozu secretly transmitted, convinced that the two of them were top-tier contenders as well.
"Tuition, boarding fees..." Sister Crow offered a friendly reminder. Seeing that they weren't buying tickets, she had no desire to linger. The two felt numb all over—were they going to go bankrupt right after entering? The various fees were shockingly exorbitant.
"Could you give us a few days' grace?" Wu Yaozu whispered.
"Sure. Someone on my end is hiring gold-armored guards. Want to go earn some day gold?"
"We'll consider it first," Qin Ming said.
Flapping its wings, Sister Crow flew off and vanished into the night.
That day, Qin Ming and Wu Yaozu strolled around simply to familiarize themselves with the environment and adapt to the atmosphere here.
They noticed many students running toward the main gates, quickly causing a commotion, and promptly followed along to inquire about the situation.
"Come on, let's head next door to Feixian Academy! Supposedly, a senior master has arrived and will preach there. There are even immortal seeds coming to share their insights and offer blessings to the new students," someone said.
Hearing this, Qin Ming immediately lost interest.
"Let me tell you just how formidable these immortal seeds are! One had an epiphany at age three, and another swept their peers and obtained a near-immortal item..."
Hearing their conversation, Qin Ming grabbed the speaker at once. "What did you say? Who is among them?" Moments later, he gestured to Wu Yaozu. "Little Wu, let's go. We're heading to Feixian Academy right away!"
Chapter 187