Chapter 77

The next morning, all members of the Free and Easy Society gathered at the dock at the foot of the mountain, where a boat from the academy was waiting to pick them up.

Upon arriving at the gathering point, they found that many other students had also chosen to go out for fun today, far more than just the Free and Easy Society.

It seemed that everyone had been cooped up for half a year and had spontaneously decided to take a break today. Unfortunately, the academy's holidays were not cumulative; otherwise, everyone would have taken a few days off to play.

Tang Jie boarded the boat and saw Liu Hongyan, Ping Jingyue, and others already on the deck, waving to them. He walked over with Wei Tianchong and Shi Meng, still holding a small white flower in his hand.

A student saw Tang Jie holding the white flower and laughed, "Why did Brother Tang pick a flower? Are you planning to give it to a beauty?"

Tang Jie replied, "Brother Lin, you misunderstand. On my way here, I noticed this flower had a trace of spiritual energy. If nurtured carefully, it might bring some benefits, so I picked it. I'll need to buy a vase for it on the way back."

Hearing this, someone looked at the flower, felt it, and nodded, "It does have some spiritual energy."

Just as they were about to feel it more carefully, Tang Jie put the flower away.

Someone saw Wei Tianchong and Tang Jie come together and laughed, "Tang Jie, why did you bring two lackeys along for the trip?"

Wei Tianchong was very upset and shouted, "I am his young master, and he is my lackey!"

The student coldly snorted and ignored Wei Tianchong.

Tang Jie frowned. This student was Hua Yang, also a member of the Free and Easy Society, from a prominent family.

The Free and Easy Society, initiated by Ping Jingyue and others, mostly consisted of commoner students, with few noble young masters. Hua Yang was an exception, having joined because he admired Ping Jingyue. Therefore, in his eyes, anyone close to Ping Jingyue was an enemy.

Logically, the one closest to Ping Jingyue was Cai Junyang. However, Cai Junyang had already completed the eighth level of the Jade Gate cultivation, and his progress was fast. He also had a solid martial arts foundation before entering the academy, making him one of the top students in the first year. Hua Yang didn't dare to provoke Cai Junyang, so he targeted Tang Jie instead.

At this moment, Hua Yang was clearly trying to sow discord between Tang Jie and Wei Tianchong. Therefore, Tang Jie calmly said, "My young master is always generous. Upon hearing that the servants were going out, he came to join us for fun, which also adds to my face. I am truly grateful. As for not being a member of the society, Brother Hua need not worry; my young master joined yesterday."

With this, Wei Tianchong was portrayed as a caring and generous young master, while Hua Yang was subtly belittled as a "servant on a trip." Hua Yang was furious but couldn't do anything about it, so he just huffed and ignored them.

Wei Tianchong, however, was excited and secretly asked Tang Jie, "Am I really that good?"

"..." Tang Jie barely restrained himself from kicking him into the lake.

The boat glided across the lake and soon reached the opposite shore. The students cheered as they disembarked, stepping onto the land as if they were long-lost travelers returning home.

A recent snowfall had covered the forest in white frost, turning the ground into a snowy white expanse. The students realized it was already deep winter.

Looking back, they saw the lake's surface gently rippling, while the Green Cloud Mountain remained lush and green, as if it were always in spring.

Just a lake apart, it felt like two different worlds.

At this moment, they truly realized that they were no longer ordinary people.

The melancholy and sighs lasted only a moment. The students quickly regained their spirits and set off towards their destination.

Most members of the Free and Easy Society had never visited Ten Thousand Springs City, so they decided to go there.

A local student from Ten Thousand Springs City led the group, walking through the city's various scenic spots and historical sites, stepping on the winter snow.

Despite wearing light clothing, the students didn't feel particularly cold in the harsh winter. Their bodies had already begun to change as they could absorb spiritual energy.

"Up ahead is the most famous Long Dike Snowfall in Ten Thousand Springs City. Pine and cypress trees line the dike, and when winter snow falls, the heavy snow presses down on the pines. When the wind blows, it creates a snow powder that fills the sky. Combined with the beauty of the dike, it forms the famous Long Dite Snowfall, one of the Ten Scenic Spots of Ten Thousand Springs City..." The student acting as the guide spoke eloquently, and to prove his point, he used a bit of spiritual energy to shake a nearby snow pine, causing a mist of snow to fall, creating a beautiful scene.

Everyone stood in the snow mist, looking at the white expanse. They unconsciously used their spiritual energy to hold the snow mist in the air, making it slowly rotate, creating a magnificent spectacle.

The guide student felt helpless, "You need to feel the cold to appreciate the beauty. What are you doing?"

Liu Hongyan smiled, "I think this is more fun."

As she spoke, she extended her hand, and a gust of wind lifted the snowflakes. Suddenly, she clenched her hand, forming a snowball and pointed at Shu Mingyang, "Catch!"

The snowball flew towards Shu Mingyang, moving slowly.

Shu Mingyang raised his hand, and a book blocked his face. The snowball curved in the air and hit Tang Jie. Tang Jie made a hand sign and pointed at the snowball, releasing a finger wind, which was actually a Primordial Energy Needle.

Unexpectedly, the snowball was very agile, suddenly speeding up and circling in the air to avoid it, then flying towards Cai Junyang. Cai Junyang smiled and, without any visible movement, suddenly drew his sword and slashed, causing the snowball to explode into a cloud of snow.

Liu Hongyan, surprised by his move, glared at him and pushed her hands, sending a large cloud of snow mist towards everyone. The group burst into laughter and started playing together on the dike.

Fortunately, it was mid-winter, and there were few tourists. Those who did see the group in their white robes recognized them as students from the Moon Washing Academy and were not surprised, only pointing and whispering, their eyes filled with envy.

After a while, Liu Hongyan laughed, "Alright, stop playing. Look, Zhiyuan is about to cry."

The guide student, Yang Zhiyuan, looked frustrated and dejected, seeing that no one was paying attention to his "work."

Ping Jingyue said, "It's strange. I thought we would be bored to death after entering the academy, spending every day on cultivation. It's hard to have a good time. But now that we're out, it feels like our own magic is more interesting."

"Right!" the others agreed.

"Right!"

Despite having fun, they didn't feel much for the surrounding scenery. They mostly enjoyed interacting and joking with each other, but even then, they often discussed cultivation, making it feel like they were just studying in a different place.

Even Liu Hongyan, hearing this, propped her chin up, "Right, I used to love snowball fights. Why am I not as excited this time?"

"You're not excited? You were the one causing the most trouble," Shu Mingyang glared at her.

Tang Jie laughed, "Because it no longer belongs to us."

"It no longer belongs to us?" everyone looked at Tang Jie.

"Right, it no longer belongs to us," Tang Jie said calmly. "Today, we can still stand here, enjoy the winter scenery, and play together. In the future, when our cultivation is higher, we won't even have such interests."

"Why?" someone asked.

"Because we are no longer ordinary people! Whether you like it or not, whether you admit it or not, we are moving further away from ordinary people. The things ordinary people dream of will become easy for us. For example, the winter scenery. In the future, we can have winter when we want it and summer when we want it, just like Green Cloud Mountain, which is always in spring. If we like, we can have it always in winter. The material things that people pursue, we no longer care about silver. Without goals, it's hard to feel happy... We are freeing ourselves from the pain of ordinary people, but we are also losing their joys."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Today, they were still young students, enjoying the winter scenery and dreaming about the future. In the future, even before graduation, they would lose this interest. Then, higher realms and greater strength would become their only goals.

This trip to the Long Dike would become one of their last memories and nostalgia.

Thinking about this, everyone felt a bit melancholic.

Only Liu Hongyan laughed, "This sounds so boring. Are we cultivators pursuing a life without desires?"

Tang Jie replied, "If we reach the end, it might be so. Fortunately, reaching the end is very difficult."

"From what you say, the long path to immortality is a good thing?" Ping Jingyue was speechless.

"At least it gives us something to pursue. At least it allows us to find our own joys... like this." Tang Jie said, grabbing a snowball and tossing it into Ping Jingyue's white neck.

Ping Jingyue yelped, realizing that the cold from the snow was much less than she expected. She laughed, "You're right. The pain is less, and so is the joy. But you dared to sneak attack me, so you'll get a palm thunder from me!"

She pushed her palm, and a bolt of lightning shot towards Tang Jie.

Tang Jie laughed and dodged, running forward.

"Don't think you can run!" Ping Jingyue chased after him, leaping onto a tree. The other students looked at each other and joined in, making a lot of noise on the dike.

As Tang Jie said, the joys of cultivators are different from those of ordinary people, but it amazed many passersby.

In the midst of the play, Liu Hongyan suddenly stopped and looked to one side.

Everyone followed her gaze and saw a woman standing on the riverbank, gazing at the river.

The woman wore a peach-red brocade robe, a white mink fur around her neck, and pink-bottomed floral shoes. Her face was delicate and charming, and she held a branch of peach blossoms, which bloomed in the cold winter, standing out in the snow.

Not far away stood a young