Chapter 10

After a grand ceremony, Xu Ziyyan and the others officially entered the Outer Hall. The next day, they each packed their belongings, gathered on the playground, and left the academy to enter the Outer Hall.

Each person was assigned a small courtyard. Xu Ziyyan quickly cleaned her house and sat on the bed, pondering. Although her cultivation was higher than that of the other disciples who entered the Outer Hall, her foundation might not be as solid, and it might even be slightly weaker. After all, they had started systematic training from the age of three, while she had only been practicing for a few months.

She lowered her head in thought and then took out a few cosmetics she had bought from her bag, wrapped them in paper, and walked out of the courtyard gate. She remembered that a girl lived next door and thought she would visit her to build a relationship for future exchanges.

To her surprise, the girl next door was very cold. She accepted the cosmetics without hesitation and chatted with Xu Ziyyan for a few moments, but when the conversation turned to cultivation, she dodged the topic and refused to discuss it. Helpless, Xu Ziyyan had to take her leave and returned to her room, feeling depressed.

"Ah~~"

Back in her room, thinking about what had just happened, Xu Ziyyan sighed heavily and shook her head, thinking:

"It seems that people in this world are also very closed off and unwilling to communicate! If I had known, I might as well have kept those cosmetics for myself!"

She took out talisman paper, a talisman pen, and cinnabar from her bag, laid the paper flat on the table, ground the cinnabar, picked up the pen, calmed her mind, and silently circulated her true qi, bringing her cultivation to the peak of the second level of the Qi Condensation stage. The spiritual energy in her body flowed evenly through the pen, and she wrote swiftly and fluidly.

Putting down the pen, she carefully examined the talisman in her hand. The talisman paper shimmered with a brilliant light, and Xu Ziyyan was overjoyed. Her talisman-making skills had finally advanced from the first to the second level. She carefully stored the second-level Water Thunder Talisman and then decided to make a few more first-level talismans to complete her family's task.

Of course, Xu Ziyyan would not tell her family that she could make second-level talismans. As the saying goes, it's not good for a weak person to be too wealthy. Similarly, for Xu Ziyyan, it would not be good to have a low cultivation level but possess superior talisman-making skills.

At that moment, she heard a knock on the door. Wondering who it could be, she quickly tidied up the things on the table, straightened her clothes, and walked to the door.

Opening the courtyard gate, she saw that it was not just anyone, but the four classmates from her class at the family academy. These three boys and one girl had once looked down on Xu Ziyyan. She was taken aback, not knowing why they had come to her, but since they were guests, she politely invited them in. However, they shook their heads with a smile, and the girl named Xu Li said brightly:

"Ziyyan, since we are classmates who entered the Outer Hall together, why don't we go out to a restaurant to celebrate today?"

The four of them no longer had the arrogance they once had and instead looked hopeful. Xu Ziyyan was initially surprised but quickly became happy. She was not familiar with the family situation and had just tried to talk to the girl next door, but the girl had ignored her. Now that someone had come to invite her, how could she refuse?

They all knew each other's names: the three boys were Xu Tienu, Xu Ling, and Xu Dezhi. Since they were from the same academy and the same class, they quickly became familiar with each other and walked out noisily.

"Ziyyan, you are so amazing. Ten days ago, you were at the fourth level of the Later Heaven stage, but yesterday's test showed you at the sixth level. How did you cultivate so quickly?"

Xu Li could not hold back the question that had been on her mind for the past two days and asked urgently. Xu Ziyyan smiled bitterly, having been thinking about how to explain this. She had not come up with a good answer, so she stammered:

"Maybe it was a sudden breakthrough. I accidentally jumped a level and reached the sixth level."

The four of them secretly rolled their eyes, thinking, "Accidentally? How come I never had such an accident?"

Seeing their obvious disbelief, Xu Ziyyan could only smile bitterly again and said, "I know it seems strange, but I don't know why it happened. It was my first time experiencing it, and I was also surprised."

Seeing that Xu Ziyyan did not seem to be lying, they exchanged glances. Xu Tienu gruffly said:

"If Ziyyan says it's true, then it must be. Let's not speculate anymore."

The other three looked a bit awkward and fell silent for a moment. But since they were all fifteen years old, they quickly forgot about it and started joking around again.

The five of them walked to the main street of Zhongdu City and chose a restaurant called Hongfei. They went to a private room on the second floor, and the young people did not bother with formalities, sitting around the table casually. They each ordered a few dishes and started chatting.

Soon, the waiter brought the dishes one by one. They all drank a cup of wine to celebrate entering the Outer Hall. Xu Ling put down his cup and looked at Xu Ziyyan, asking:

"Ziyyan, did you take any extraordinary treasures?"

Everyone looked at Xu Ziyyan curiously. Xu Ziyyan knew they still doubted her rapid cultivation, which was why Xu Ling asked this question. She shook her head lightly and said softly:

"No."

Seeing that Xu Ziyyan did not look like someone with a lot of money, they believed her. In this continent, elixirs were extremely expensive luxury items. Even the Spirit Nourishing Pill that Xu Ziyyan had refined could not be bought with money; it required spirit stones. One low-grade spirit stone could only buy one Spirit Nourishing Pill, and the value of spirit stones could not be measured in gold or silver. No matter how much money you offered, a smart person would never sell their spirit stones.

"Ziyyan, how long have you been cultivating?"

Xu Dezhi asked softly. His question drew everyone's attention. At that moment, they all felt that Xu Dezhi had hit the nail on the head. If Xu Ziyyan had started cultivating at the age of three like them, her breakthrough would be suspicious. But if she had started cultivating later, it could only mean that her talent was exceptional. In that case, her rapid breakthroughs would not be surprising.

Seeing everyone's eyes, Xu Ziyyan had a thought. If she said she had only started cultivating recently, they would probably think she had good talent and not suspect her further. In fact, Xu Ziyyan knew her talent was not that great. Her breakthrough to the second level of the Qi Condensation stage was largely due to the Spirit Nourishing Pill. Who in this continent could take elixirs as casually as Xu Ziyyan, who took them like candy? So, she quickly pretended to be a bit embarrassed and said:

"I lived in a very remote village where no one cared about cultivation. It was only recently that my uncle, who visited my home, discovered that I could cultivate. He taught me some cultivation methods, and I unexpectedly broke through to the fourth level of the Later Heaven stage after one year. Two months ago, my uncle came to visit me again. When he saw that I had reached the fourth level, he was overjoyed and immediately brought me to the family and arranged for me to enter the academy."

"You can't be serious, you only started cultivating a year ago?" Xu Li's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Xu Ziyyan.

"That's right, I only started cultivating a year ago!" Xu Ziyyan added, pretending to be embarrassed, "I lived in a mountain village and didn't know anything. I didn't even know I could cultivate. Thinking about it now, I feel ashamed."

The four of them were inwardly frustrated, thinking, "You feel ashamed? You reached the sixth level of the Later Heaven stage in just one year. Do you even let others live?"

Seeing the strange looks on their faces, Xu Ziyyan waved her hand and asked worriedly:

"Are you okay?"

"Of course not! It's too much! It's too discouraging. How can we live with this?" They all stomped their feet and pounded their chests in unison.

"It's not that bad, right?" Xu Ziyyan stammered.

"Not that bad?" Xu Li's eyes widened as she stared at Xu Ziyyan, dramatically grabbing her shoulders and shouting, "Do you know when we started cultivating?"

Xu Ziyyan shook her head blankly.

"Three years old!" Xu Li held up three fingers and said painfully, "Three years old! We started cultivating in the family at the age of three. Every day was about cultivation, afraid of not breaking through to the fifth level of the Later Heaven stage by the age of fifteen. We lived under constant pressure."

She released Xu Ziyyan's shoulders, raised her hands to the sky, and shouted in pain, "My childhood! My childhood!"

Xu Ziyyan was amused by Xu Li's exaggerated expression, and the others laughed as well. However, their laughter was tinged with bitterness. It was inevitable. After working hard for over a decade, they still could not match someone who had only cultivated for a year. How could they not feel bitter?

After everyone had laughed enough, Xu Ziyyan asked curiously, "Xu Li, is my cultivation speed really that astonishing? Is there no one else who cultivates as fast as I do?"

The room fell silent. Xu Li said softly, "There is!"