Chapter 2

"Mr. Mosun really cares about you," Lu Ping said to Su Tang as they walked down the tree-lined avenue.

"Yes, Mr. Mosun is a good person," Su Tang replied.

"Very good," Lu Ping said.

"So, can you try to step on his flowers a bit less in the future?" Su Tang asked.

"In fact, I know my limits. I only step on the weeds for him," Lu Ping said.

"Are water lilies weeds too?" Su Tang glanced at him sideways.

"Maybe!" Lu Ping's gaze seemed to avoid Su Tang's, and he looked back toward the flower beds.

As they walked and chatted, they attracted the attention of other students and even some mentors. The two of them were the famous "flower and bubblegum" duo at Zhaifeng Academy. Originally, people wanted to call them "flower and manure," but a senior student strongly disagreed. He believed that although manure was ugly and disgusting, it was still nourishment for flowers. On the other hand, bubblegum was a sticky, useless mass that had no benefit for flowers, making it a more fitting description.

Some people thought calling Lu Ping "bubblegum" was too flattering, while others who liked bubblegum considered it a slander. Regardless, the nickname spread and was eventually accepted.

Lu Ping and Su Tang were used to such gazes and didn't pay much attention. Before they knew it, they had walked to the main building of Zhaifeng Academy—the Zhaifeng Tower.

Zhaifeng Tower had six floors. The first to fourth floors were classrooms for the first to fourth years, the fifth floor was for the mentors, and the sixth floor was where the principal resided. It was said that many valuable books and mysterious techniques were stored there.

Lu Ping looked up at the tallest building in the academy and remained silent for a long time.

"Why did I end up here for no reason?" he muttered.

"How long has it been since you last came? You should show your face occasionally," Su Tang said.

"Alright..." Lu Ping reluctantly followed Su Tang into the building.

On the first floor, there was a bright hall.

On the left wall, the academy rules were hung. The content was quite brief, and the only rule that students truly knew and valued was that failing the final exam would result in retention, and failing three times would lead to expulsion.

Such lenient and simple rules were based on the eight-character motto established by the principal when the academy was founded, which was hung next to the rules.

"Strict with oneself, kind to others."

These eight large characters embodied the spirit of Zhaifeng Academy. However, this "spirit" hadn't been around for long. On the other side of the motto, the history of Zhaifeng Academy was hung, which was even briefer.

There were 442 academies with clear records on the entire continent, and Zhaifeng Academy was not among the worst, but it certainly couldn't be considered ancient. Only four academies could claim a long history. The principal of Zhaifeng Academy himself was a graduate of the 327th class of Xuanwu Academy, one of the four major academies. After years of traveling, he returned to his hometown and founded Zhaifeng Academy, which has been running for 24 years. The principal, Guo Youdao, now resided on the sixth floor of Zhaifeng Tower.

On the left wall were the rules, motto, and history of the academy. On the right wall, the names of outstanding talents who emerged over the 24 years were listed. Some were mentors, some were students, some were still alive, and some had passed away. None of them were world-renowned, but four were particularly talked about by the students. They all graduated from Zhaifeng Academy and were recommended to continue their studies, eventually entering the four major academies.

Even among academies, there was a vast difference. Everyone knew that most of the famous heroes and geniuses over the past few centuries came from the four major academies.

The four major academies were destined to be extraordinary. The four students from Zhaifeng Academy who entered the four major academies would no longer be known as Zhaifeng students. Even so, just being able to enter the four major academies was considered a great achievement and honor, and they were seen as the most promising students of Zhaifeng Academy.

The students were already familiar with the content on the walls and rarely stopped to look. Su Tang was about to go up the stairs to the third-year classroom when he noticed Lu Ping was heading to a classroom on the first floor.

"Where are you going?" Su Tang called out.

"I'm a retake student, so I'm going to the first-year classroom. You go on ahead," Lu Ping waved.

"You're just too lazy to go upstairs, right?" Su Tang was speechless. Zhaifeng Academy had a free and open atmosphere, and a first-year student could attend a third-year class without any hindrance, but Lu Ping had already found a first-year classroom and entered it.

Many students were already seated, and Lu Ping was a new face to most of them. However, with such a free and open atmosphere, they were used to new faces and didn't pay much attention. But a few students, after a closer look, finally recognized him.

"Lu Ping?"

"Who's that?" someone still didn't know.

"Lu Ping, the bubblegum!"

"Oh, oh, oh!"

Once the nickname was mentioned, everyone knew who he was. All eyes were on him, filled with surprise and disdain.

"That's the Lu Ping who always clings to Senior Su Tang!"

"Right, he failed the final exam for two consecutive years and is still a first-year student, our classmate!"

"Because he has no talent, he clings to Senior Su Tang!"

"How shameless!"

"The thought of him taking the final exam with us this year is disgusting!"

"But this is the last time."

"Senior Su Tang can finally get rid of this thug."

Various cold glares and disdainful remarks were directed at Lu Ping, but he acted as if he didn't hear them and chose a seat by the window in a corner.

The bell for class rang. The mentor hadn't arrived yet, but the classroom immediately fell silent. Each student returned to their seat and began to cultivate their soul force.

The class schedule at Zhaifeng Academy was said to be an advanced practice brought back by the principal from Xuanwu Academy. These ordinary students might never have the chance to enter the four major academies, but they cherished the practices said to originate from the four major academies. As soon as the bell rang, they immediately devoted themselves to cultivation without wasting a moment.

Soon, the mentor, Luo Wei, entered the classroom. He was pleased with the students' attitude toward time. However, in the far corner, he saw a lone figure gazing out the window, clearly not focused on cultivation.

Luo Wei stared at him for a while, hoping the student would notice, but the student didn't even turn to look at him. Luo Wei felt a bit annoyed and was about to approach to remind him when the student finally turned his head.

As soon as he saw the student's face, Luo Wei turned away.

Lu Ping, that waste of space...

He hadn't been seen for a long time, yet he appeared in his class today, but Luo Wei didn't feel honored at all. Descriptions like "unfit for carving" and "unfit for support" seemed tailor-made for Lu Ping. Luo Wei felt that talking to this student was a waste of time, and it would be better to focus on other students.

Looking at the other diligent students, Luo Wei's mood improved. These students might not have outstanding talents, but at least they knew how to work hard and cherish their opportunities. The lenient rules of Zhaifeng Academy were meant to give these students more opportunities, but they had been exploited by Lu Ping, which was truly disgusting.

Luo Wei gave Lu Ping a cold glance and then ignored him, turning to the blackboard and writing six large characters.

Rush, Ming, Qi, Shu, Li, Jing.

The six characters were arranged in a circle, with a blank space in the center, but the six characters seemed to point to this blank space.

The students perked up, sensing what the mentor was about to teach. Although they hadn't formally studied this content, they had heard some from senior students or higher-level classes due to the academy's open and free atmosphere. Now, they were finally going to delve into it.

In the expectant gazes of the students, Luo Wei smiled and wrote the seventh character in the blank space.

Ying!

The seven souls were the source of power for cultivators. In the first year, all students were taught to perceive the six souls: Rush, Ming, Qi, Shu, Li, and Jing.

What was the seventh soul? Why wasn't it part of the cultivation curriculum? The students were curious and had heard some theories, but nothing compared to a formal explanation from their mentor.

"The seventh soul, the Ying soul!" Luo Wei pointed to the blackboard. The arrangement of the six souls surrounding the seventh soul highlighted its importance. The students were excited but remained quiet.

"I believe everyone now has a clear understanding of the first six souls," Luo Wei said.

The students nodded. The six souls corresponded to the six senses: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Each soul had six levels, totaling 36 levels. Reaching the second level in one soul or the first level in two souls both counted as the second level, but the second level in one soul was much stronger and more difficult to achieve.

Currently, the first-year students were mainly focused on perceiving the soul force, regardless of which soul. The goal was to sense the existence of this force, not to reach a specific level.

Most first-year students could achieve this, and some could even perceive multiple soul forces. But breaking through to the first level was extremely rare.

"Here, everyone has already perceived the soul force. Outstanding students like Bo Yong have even perceived five soul forces, and the second soul, Ming, is on the verge of breaking through to the first level, which is very impressive," Luo Wei continued. Bo Yong looked proud, and the other students looked at him with envy.

"However, even for an outstanding student like Bo Yong, it's still too early to touch the Ying soul," Luo Wei suddenly changed the tone.

"Why are we mentioning the Ying soul so early? Because the Ying soul is the future, the ultimate goal after the six souls reach the sixth level," Luo Wei said, circling the six souls and drawing six arrows pointing to the Ying soul.

"Jingguan, a term you might have heard, refers to the connection between the six souls and the Ying soul. To achieve this, a prerequisite is reaching the sixth level," Luo Wei said, marking a "6" on each arrow.

"Only by cultivating a soul to the sixth level can you connect with the Ying soul. Once connected, our abilities will enter a new realm," Luo Wei said.

"What is that, teacher?" a student asked eagerly.

"Let me demonstrate. You all know that I am a Rush soul connector, right?" Luo Wei said, closing his eyes and then opening them, revealing a faint white light.

"Wow!" the students exclaimed. Luo Wei smiled, glanced around, and said, "Yuan Min, did you only bring three snacks today? That might not be enough."

"Ah?" Yuan Min was surprised, and the other students were puzzled. Snacks? What snacks?

"Kang De, is your button on your vest wrong? No, not your coat, but the fourth button on your beige vest."

All the students looked at Kang De. Beige vest? Where? But when Kang De took off his coat, everyone saw that the third button was indeed fastened to the fourth buttonhole.

"Teacher..." Bo Yong, the smartest student, was the first to react, looking at the white light in Luo Wei's eyes in surprise.

"Yes, this is the new ability I gained after connecting with the Rush soul—X-ray vision! So I can see the snacks Yuan Min put under her desk and the vest Kang De is wearing underneath," Luo Wei said, but his expression suddenly changed. He had intended to demonstrate more, but when he looked at the right wall, he saw a suspicious figure moving cautiously along the wall outside.

Who is it?

Luo Wei focused to enhance his X-ray vision, but he caught a glimpse of a slightly raised corner of a mouth.

Before he could enhance it, a voice came from that corner of the mouth.

"Mr. Mosun, what a coincidence?"

Mosun? Is it Mosun? Luo Wei's X-ray vision finally enhanced, and the wall became transparent. He clearly saw Mosun outside, looking panicked.

Who is speaking?

Lu Ping?

Lu Ping was leaning out the window, half his head outside, smiling and talking to Mosun.