Fang Jueqian was utterly dumbfounded.
How, how did he know!
No, Fang Jueqian suddenly snapped back to his senses. Since when did he have a secret lover?
This classmate had clearly misunderstood the situation.
“Where did you see that? Is there some kind of misunderstanding?” With his innocence on the line, Fang Jueqian felt he needed to clear things up properly.
Classmate D wore a little expression that clearly screamed, It has already gotten to this stage, yet you still want to hide it from me:
“I saw it this morning! You were tangling and pulling at each other at the foot of Qingyun Peak, and you even kissed. Don’t even think about lying to me. Who is that person with white hair? Why don’t you bring him around for everyone to meet someday? Don’t worry, our Class Wu is the most open-minded. We are very accepting of same-sex romance.”
What on earth was he even talking about?!
When on earth had he ever kissed the Daojun?!
This was a frame-up! A blatant, barefaced frame-up!
Fang Jueqian’s face flushed as red as dripping blood. Having been framed to this extent, he was bound and determined to prove both his own innocence and the Daojun’s innocence.
After a round of intense questioning, Fang Jueqian finally figured out the truth of the matter:
It turned out that Classmate D had unintentionally spotted Fang Jueqian together with a white-haired youth this morning, and their actions looked intimate. However, he was standing rather far away and the angle wasn’t great, resulting in a visual perspective distortion. He had mistaken Fang Jueqian pleading with the Daojun for a half-day leave as them kissing each other.
Proving that this was a misunderstanding was very simple; all he had to do was explain the principle of perspective distortion and give a practical example.
Fang Jueqian called over passing Classmate E and Classmate F. Both of them were exceptionally enthusiastic and agreed to help the moment they heard about it.
After Fang Jueqian personally adjusted their positions and angles, Classmate E and Classmate F stood a good two or three paces apart from each other, yet they managed to make Classmate D, who was positioned at a specific viewpoint, see the illusion that they were kissing.
Classmate D was completely convinced:
“It really was my mistake! I’m sorry, Fang Jueqian. I accidentally misunderstood you. But who was that person with white hair? You two must have a great relationship.”
Classmate E and Classmate F chimed in to fan the flames from the sidelines: “Yeah, who is that person, Fang Jueqian? Do you have any other friends? Bring them along to meet us sometime.”
Even after it was clearly explained as a misunderstanding, everyone still held immense enthusiasm for getting to know that friend of Fang Jueqian’s. Fang Jueqian tried to brush them off at first, but after deflecting for a while, he sluggishly realized that their reactions weren’t quite normal.
Fang Jueqian asked cautiously, “Why do you guys insist on getting to know him?”
Could it be that the Daojun’s identity had been exposed after all?
That couldn’t be right. Even if it really had been exposed, Classmate D shouldn’t be reacting like this.
Fang Jueqian couldn’t help but gently probe:
“I heard that last night, Daojun Lingxiao was also in the main hall of Qingyun Peak.”
D, E, and F: “Yeah, so what?”
“It seems the Daojun also has white hair.”
“Hahahaha, Fang Jueqian, you really know how to joke.” D, E, and F laughed so hard tears were almost coming out of their eyes.
Fang Jueqian: “Oh.”
Fine, testing ended.
The result truly was heartwarming.
Fang Jueqian couldn’t help feeling a bit depressed. Although he knew that he and the Daojun obviously had no connection on the surface, and the gap between them was just a tiny bit large, they didn’t have to dismiss it so unhesitatingly, right?
Could they at least hesitate for a tiny, teeny second when saying those words?
Such a crisp, clean, absolute impossibility, complete with laughter that brought tears to their eyes, left him utterly speechless.
After finishing their laughter, the classmates finally explained to Fang Jueqian why they were so abnormally obsessed with his friend.
“Fang Jueqian, you only transferred here recently, so you don’t understand the situation here.”
The classmates enthusiastically shared yet another “Guiyuan Immortal Sect unspoken rule” that Fang Jueqian had never noticed.
As the fastest-rising Mahayana Daojun of the current era, almost everyone in the Guiyuan Immortal Sect was a fan of Daojun Lingxiao, divided only into mild, low, medium, high, and fanatic levels of obsession.
And fans always wanted to get a little closer to their idol.
Yet Daojun Lingxiao had rarely made a move ever since advancing to the Void Refinement stage, and after entering the Mahayana stage, he didn’t even show his face at all.
Since they couldn’t get close in terms of distance, they simply closed the gap in terms of appearance.
Because Daojun Lingxiao’s signature look was a youthful visage and white hair, the former being somewhat troublesome since maintaining an unsuitable physical form consumed a lot of spiritual power and wasn’t lasting, white hair was very easy to pull off.
In past years, a trend of white hair swept through the Immortal Sect. Regardless of gender, old or young, everyone sported a head of white hair that was either flowing, messy, or sleek, paired with a matching white outfit. Running into them at night made you think you were seeing ghosts floating by.
However, this trend finally ended during a friendly exchange activity between the Guiyuan Immortal Sect and other sects, known as the Joint Sect Grand Competition.
When the Sect Master of Guiyuan Immortal Sect looked down from high above, seeing that other sects’ areas were colorful, vibrant, and bursting with youthful energy, and then looked back at his own sect’s area:
A gentle breeze blew past, leaving a pale, desolate white all over the ground.
Were they in mourning?!
Consequently, this trend was brutally suppressed.
From then on, anyone in the Guiyuan Immortal Sect who dared to dye their hair white would be challenged and even swarmed by peers of the same rank. Unless one possessed overwhelming strength, it was impossible to maintain.
Over time, an unspoken consensus formed within the Guiyuan Immortal Sect:
White hair is a symbol of power!
Anyone daring to pair white hair with white clothes and act all dashing without getting beaten to death could be considered the strongest among the strong.
Fang Jueqian was utterly amazed.
He recalled and found that it indeed seemed to be the case. Just looking at Classes A, B, C, D, E, and F in the Guiyuan Immortal Sect’s elementary division, he hadn’t seen a single person with white hair outside of Class A.
Even within Class A, the number of white-haired individuals was so scarce that Fang Jueqian had assumed it was normal, never expecting such a hidden secret behind it.
If no one told you, who on earth would know?
Classmates D, E, and F said excitedly:
“The academic exams are happening in a few days, Fang Jueqian. Since you possess such high-quality connections, you have to share them with everyone. We can all make friends, and we’d even be willing to spend a few more spirit stones.”
True to form, everyone was as wealthy and generous as ever.
However, considering that introducing the Daojun to them was far too suicidal, Fang Jueqian dared not seek his own death in a million years.
In the evening, Fang Jueqian received a message from Qiu Haoqing, so he shouldered his small schoolbag and arrived at another blessed realm to resume his special training.
After the Daojun’s crash course, Fang Jueqian had improved a lot and received high praise from Qiu Haoqing.
Blushing profusely from the compliments, Fang Jueqian felt even more motivated for his lessons.
Just as Fang Jueqian was about to dive back into training, he heard Qiu Haoqing say with hesitation:
“If Shiniang hears any rumors recently, please do not believe them. The truth is not what they are spreading.”
Fang Jueqian waved his hand, assuming Qiu Haoqing had heard those bizarre gossip rumors spread by Class Wu, and naturally didn’t take them to heart:
“I know, rumors are all fabricated. I won’t believe them.”
Seeing this, Qiu Haoqing seemed to heave a sigh of relief and smiled again:
“That’s good then.”
A few days later, the highly anticipated academic exams finally officially commenced.
The weather on this day was very clear and cloudless. Fang Jueqian woke up early, tidied himself up, and arrived at the martial trials venue.
His first match was scheduled for noon on the first day, and his opponent was rumored to also be a Qi Refining tenth-layer cultivator.
Judging purely by cultivation, this match could be described as a meeting of sharp points against sharp awns, truly a clash between a dragon and a tiger.
After giving himself a tiny boost in his own mind, Fang Jueqian puffed out his chest, pulled in his stomach, and walked into the arena with full confidence amidst the still rather sparse flow of people.
He originally thought he had arrived early enough, but he never expected that all his classmates from Class Wu had already arrived.
From far away, Fang Jueqian could see at a glance that Class Wu’s students were all clustered tightly together, packed shoulder to shoulder in a bustling frenzy of excitement.
So he squeezed his way in with great effort: “What are you guys talking about?”
His deskmate, who was in the middle of paying with spirit stones, caught sight of Fang Jueqian and generously shoved a few freshly purchased bottles and jars into his hands:
“Fang Jueqian, come here. Your medicine! I specially grabbed these for you. Remember to take them within an incense stick’s time before the match; it will make you high-spirited and let your spiritual power flow three parts more smoothly!”
Was this taking drugs before a match? Wouldn’t he be disqualified for cheating?
Unable to brush off his deskmate’s kind intentions, Fang Jueqian accepted the medicine bottles with a dumbfounded expression and shoved some spirit stones back to him:
“Are there any side effects from eating this?”
The deskmate racked his brains to recall: “Side effects? It seems like you fall into a period of weakness half an hour after taking it, and what else? I forgot. Anyway, as long as you can win the match, what do side effects matter.”
A shout suddenly rang out from the crowd: “There’s still a batch of Steel-Bone Iron-Bone Pills here! Take them two incense sticks’ time before the match, and you’ll be fearless against any pain during the battle, though it only lasts for the duration of half a teacup of time. One hundred spirit stones each, cash on delivery! Who’s interested?”
Before the voice even faded, outstretching hands eagerly thrust forward:
“Me, me, me! Give me a bottle!”
“I’ll take the whole lot!”
“No hogging! Limited to one per person!”
“Don’t step on my foot! Don’t step on my foot!”
The deskmate said pleasantly surprised: “There’s actually good stuff left!” He squeezed back into the crowd with renewed vigor, pulled out spirit stones, and shouted at the top of his lungs:
“Save a bottle for me!”
Perhaps the shoppers’ enthusiasm was too intense, but the students of Class Wu used the vendor as their center and actually squeezed along with the vendor toward another spot.
A gust of cool breeze swept past, leaving only six or seven pairs of shoes and socks, trampled into a grayish-black color, lonely abandoned in place.
Fang Jueqian: “Sigh.”
For the sake of his own feet, he decided he’d better stay out of the chaos.
As time trickled by, students from other classes also arrived at the venue one after another.
Fang Jueqian also caught his first glimpse of the notoriously unapproachable chief proctor who had always lived purely in the legends of Class Wu’s students.
This proctor wasn’t very old. Dressed in white with white hair and carrying a long sword on his back, his aura was exceptionally cold and stern. One look told you he was an expert among experts.
With the proctor’s arrival, the previously boisterous arena grew quite a bit more orderly.
His deskmate returned to Fang Jueqian’s side, thoroughly satisfied: “Now we don’t have to worry about getting eliminated early.”
Fang Jueqian glanced at him and couldn’t help asking:
“Won’t taking these medicines during the match count as cheating?”
“Cheating? Who’s going to know?” the deskmate said smugly. “The medicine is gone once you take it; who can find any evidence? He’s not going to run a body search!”
You could do that too?
Fang Jueqian asked again: “Were past years like this too?”
The deskmate touched his head, struggling to recall: “Past years? Seems not. Back then, everyone didn’t have as many channels, so they couldn’t get this much medicine.”
Turns out this was the first year.
Fang Jueqian swallowed hard. Thinking of the spectacular sight when they were buying medicine, he felt that the development of events might not be as optimistic as his deskmate imagined.
Soon, the matches officially began.
Because the martial trials were basically fought against people with similar cultivation levels, the students of Class Wu and Class D heavily overlapped.
Whenever inter-class matches were involved, Class Wu’s students were full of ferocious vitality, winning consecutive battles and blooming with unique brilliance in the arena. Meanwhile, Class D’s students frequently lost, even when their cultivation was higher by a layer or two.
Such abnormal performance drew the attention of Class D’s students, and before long, they marched in a group toward the chief proctor.
Following that, the chief proctor announced that the martial trials were temporarily suspended, previous match results were voided, and all examiner pairings were completely scrambled, to be decided by his temporary drawing of lots.
A wave of wailing instantly erupted from Class Wu, with many looking as if they had lost their parents.
No matter how unwilling they were, at the proctor’s demand, the martial trials restarted just like that.
And this time, Class Wu’s students were generally not as dashing as before. The small minority of students who happened to be unlucky enough to be in the middle of their drug side effect periods were even more wretched, getting beaten like dogs by their opponents, carried onto the stage standing up, and carried off horizontally.
Gradually, whenever a Class Wu student stepped onto the stage, a chorus of boos would rise from the audience. The moment their performance faltered even slightly in combat, the jeers and heckling would roll in like tidal waves.
A contestant’s mental state during a match had a massive impact on them. Some Class Wu students who were originally performing quite well found themselves growing increasingly flustered amid the barrage of boos, eventually losing matches they could have broken even in or even won.
“Next match, High Qi Refining, Fang Jueqian of Class Wu versus Xu Ningning of Class D.”
Hearing that it was his turn to take the stage, his deskmate, bruised and swollen black and blue, and other Class Wu students swarmed over, tears streaming down their faces as they choked out:
“Fang Jueqian, you’re our only hope! Give them a taste of our color. Let them know that while taking drugs was our bad, our Class Wu is no bunch of cowards.”
Abruptly shouldering everyone’s expectations, Fang Jueqian grew extremely nervous. He took several deep breaths, then put on a deadpan expression, clenched his fists, and declared with a solemnity and seriousness he had never felt before:
“I’ll do my best to win the match!”
On Fang Jueqian’s way toward the fighting ring, Class Wu classmates whose faces looked like they’d been hit by a paint factory lined up one after another, joining arms and bodies to form a flower path of escort:
“Hang in there a bit longer, Jueqian.”
“It’s all riding on you.”
“You’re the strongest person in our Class Wu.”
The earnest, cheering voices of his classmates rang in his ears. Compared to the boos echoing across almost the entire arena, though faint, they were firm, resembling little white flowers growing out of a desolate wasteland, full of hope and redemption.
As Fang Jueqian walked, his vision gradually grew damp.
No matter when it was, he was always easily moved by genuine emotional connections between people.
But right now was no time for crying.
Fang Jueqian wiped away his tears. This match, he was going to win!
When he reached the edge of the ring, the chief proctor glanced at him a few extra times while checking the roster:
“You’re Fang Jueqian? Qi Refining tenth layer?”
“Yes.” Fang Jueqian nodded heavily, his voice still laced with a nasal twinge.
He was naturally born with an obedient, well-behaved appearance. With his reddened eye rims looking as though someone had bullied him, standing next to that tiger-built Class D student was like comparing mud to the clouds; no matter how you looked at it, he didn’t look like someone who could win.
The surrounding boos grew even louder.
The chief proctor shook his head and said to the tiger-built Class D student beside him:
“Xu Ningning, Qi Refining thirteenth layer?”
“Yes, Uncle-Master, I am Xu Ningning. Half a month ago, I was fortunate enough to encounter an opportunity and successfully breakthrough, just recently stepping into the Qi Refining thirteenth layer,” Xu Ningning said, brimming with excitement.
When mentioning the thirteenth layer of Qi Refining, he deliberately heightened his tone and cast a provocative, disdainful glare toward Fang Jueqian.
Fang Jueqian raised his head in surprise.
This was the thirteenth layer of Qi Refining!
There were only thirteen layers in total during the Qi Refining stage. His opponent was higher than him by a full three entire realms, and was only a few steps away from reaching the Great Circle of Qi Refining to advance to Foundation Establishment!
Yet the proctor didn’t seem to like his attitude:
“Too much nonsense. Did I ask you when you broke through?”
Xu Ningning hastily bowed and said, “Yes, Uncle-Master, it was my loose tongue, my loose tongue.”
The chief proctor gave a cold snort and said no more, gesturing with his gaze for them to step up directly.
Xu Ningning’s trip up the ring was met mostly with cheering and morale-boosting shouts. But once Fang Jueqian stepped onto the ring, the surrounding boos turned practically into a tidal wave, with only faint, sparse cheering from Class Wu’s students audible in some corner, bobbing up and down like a tiny boat amidst giant waves.
Clearly, upon learning that the opponent actually led by a full three layers, even those Class Wu students who had previously held hopes for Fang Jueqian had basically lost confidence.
Taking advantage of the fact that the match hadn’t officially started, Xu Ningning loosened his joints, his gaze scanning Fang Jueqian from head to toe like someone looking at freshly cut meat, his face filled with a malicious smile:
“I heard you’re supposed to be the strongest one in your class. Just this? Admit defeat early; I don’t want to fight trash.”
Going too far in bullying others!
Fang Jueqian clenched his fists.
He decided to make him pay the price.
Come to think of it, although the opponent’s cultivation was somewhat higher than his, couldn’t one win by a weaker force overcoming a stronger one?
He had experienced a similar situation before.
When he sparred with Senior Brother He previously, he had achieved victory precisely when everyone thought he had no chance of winning.
What routine had he used back then?
Fang Jueqian recalled what the Daojun had once told him:
“If you want to win fair and square, you must act during the early stages. Meeting them head-on gives you zero chance of winning; you can only rely on acting to lower their guard.”
Then he would just act a little bit.
Having found his train of thought, Fang Jueqian wanted to play dumb just like last time, but then he thought better of it: this time he was fighting representing Class Wu’s highest strength, so no matter how much he played dumb, the opponent probably wouldn’t believe it.
Therefore, he had to go with a counter-routine, and luckily, he had a very reliable and referenceable template.
Fang Jueqian retrieved his long sword from his storage pouch, took half a step forward, recalled the Daojun’s disdainful, world-conquering expression and posture when looking at people from his memories, and spoke out loudly:
“You’re the one who should be admitting defeat!”
To add enough momentum, Fang Jueqian raised his long sword, tried his best to tiptoe, and said arrogantly:
“Invincible below Foundation Establishment, trading one-for-one above Foundation Establishment!”
Five minutes later, the match ended.
Fang Jueqian dismounted the ring with a dejected expression, holding his sword.
Class Wu’s students swarmed around him in layer after layer, but no one spoke; silence spread through the crowd.
Looking at their expressions, Fang Jueqian managed to squeeze out a smile.
The next instant:
“Fang Jueqian, you are too awesome! Where on earth did you learn such badass swordplay?” came his deskmate’s voice, trembling with excitement.
“Fang Jueqian, why didn’t we know you were this amazing usually? You rascal, hiding so deep.” Accompanied by the sound of choked sobbing came a heavy punch to his shoulder.
“Fang Jueqian, we won! We actually won!” shouted someone who squeezed in with difficulty, revealing the figure of Xu Ningning being carried off like a dead fish behind them.
Amidst everyone’s cheering voices one after another, Fang Jueqian flashed a weak smile.
The Daojun and Qiu Haoqing had harmed him too miserably; turns out he didn’t even need to act cool at all to win.
This match finally gave Class Wu a good start, and in the several matches that followed, Class Wu’s win rate spiked by a massive margin.
By the time the day’s schedule ended, Fang Jueqian managed to escape the encirclement of his classmates and wanted to sneak away quietly, only to be intercepted by the chief proctor, who popped out of nowhere.
With a palpitating heart, Fang Jueqian followed the chief proctor to a secluded path, running through all sorts of guesses along the way, anything from the proctor suspecting him of cheating, but not a single guess turned out right.
The chief proctor spoke coldly: “I’宁ve already found out.”
Fang Jueqian: “Huh?”
“Your relationship with Qingjing Peak.”
“And I also know about the recent rumors.”
Fang Jueqian drew a sharp breath and said cautiously, “Um, I can explain.”
“You don’t need to say another word!”
This iron-hard, icy man suddenly let out a fierce roar, and just as Fang Jueqian wanted to turn and flee for his life, the proctor flicked the hem of his robe and dropped to both knees:
“If Your Lordship does not abandon me, this halberd is willing to be sworn as your adoptive son! Adoptive Father is above, please accept this child!”
Fang Jueqian: “Oh no.”
Classmate D, who unfortunately stumbled in by accident: “What on earth is happening.”