Chapter 60: 60. Chapter Sixty

60. Chapter Sixty

Guan San is currently stroking the server; please complete your subscription to defeat him! "Morning, Senior Brother Song." She called out Song Zhicheng's new title with good adaptability, sat directly in another seat, and pulled one from the small mountain of stacked steamer baskets to place in front of herself.

"Ah," the man whose name was called looked up, a half-eaten bun still in his mouth, "Junior Sister Bai, morning."

"……Excuse me, who are you, brother?" Bai Tian was completely stunned when she saw the man's face.

"What's wrong? I'm Song Zhicheng!" The man revealed a bewildered expression.

"Liar! Senior Brother Song is clearly a magnificent man with a full beard!" Atian slapped the table and stood up.

"I do have one! Ah……" The man also stood up excitedly, even dropping his bun into the plate. Halfway through speaking, as if remembering something, he reached out to touch his chin. Naturally, there was only smooth skin there, "Oh right, my beard is gone……"

"My beard is gone!"

Sweeping the steamer baskets on the table away, the young man suspected to be "Song Zhicheng with his beard shaved off" sprawled on the table and let out a wail. Atian swore she could hear a sobbing tone in his trembling voice.

"S-Senior Brother Song?" The timid question she asked received a pitiful "En" from the other party, which immediately terrified her, "It really is Senior Brother Song? How did you…… become like this?"

It was no wonder she was surprised; anyone who discovered that the burly man who loved stinky feet and the clean-shaven youth before her were the same person would be shocked.

Song Zhicheng, having had his beard shaved off, raised his head upon hearing this, his face full of desolation and hopelessness, "Last night, they told me to go pay respects to the Senior Brother, so I stood outside the Stone Chamber waiting and waiting, and only after much difficulty did I wait for you to come out……"

He only said half of his words, but Atian had already understood completely. She pursed her lips and asked in a low voice: "You…… fainted?"

Song Zhicheng's answer to this was a weak nod, and he couldn't help but shiver, "That guy…… is too terrifying. I couldn't hold on. When I woke up, I found myself lying on the bed, with Uncle-Master Guo standing beside me. He was cleaning the remains of my beard. Not only that, he wouldn't let me call myself 'Old Man' anymore, saying the Beihai Sword Sect doesn't need embarrassing bumpkins……"

A feeling of mutual sympathy spread between the two. Atian's eyes were full of pity, and her hand holding the chopsticks quietly reached toward the steamer basket, snatching a bun and stuffing it into her mouth with lightning speed.

"That is truly excessive……" Atian agreed incoherently.

"……Hey," Song Zhicheng looked at her mouth covered by her sleeve, "The one you're eating, is that my bun?"

"Your eyes are playing tricks on you." Atian swallowed what was in her mouth, gave him a shy smile, and picked up another one to put in her mouth.

Song Zhicheng watched in a daze as the buns in the steamer basket disappeared into thin air, then looked at Atian, who was still covering her mouth with her sleeve. He was completely shocked by her shamelessness, "……Can you move your sleeve and let me see?"

Atian gave him an embarrassed look, and because she didn't control her strength well, the chopsticks were snapped into several pieces.

"No, Big Boss, I shouldn't have asked, please go ahead……"

Song Zhicheng pulled a long face and pushed the entire steamer basket in front of the young girl.

Thus, after Su Ying finished her morning class, she saw Atian sitting in the middle of the cafeteria, being served hand and foot by the newly promoted Junior Brother.

"What are you two doing?" she asked.

Atian covered her mouth and smiled, put down the chopsticks in her hand, and said gently: "Senior Brother Song saw that I worked hard yesterday and couldn't bear for me to be tired anymore. He really is a good person."

A good person?

Su Ying looked at Song Zhicheng, who was running back and forth, her eyes filled with suspicion.

This guy, he wouldn't be trying to poach the Senior Brother's corner, would he?

Song Zhicheng felt so wronged he could have had snow fall in June.

The disciples who finished their morning class entered the cafeteria one after another. They carried their food and sat down at the long tables in turn. The legendary immortals all lived in the open, but in reality, cultivators who had not yet achieved Bigu still needed to eat, and even those who had successfully achieved Bigu were often happy to satisfy their appetites.

Watching the number of people in the cafeteria increase, the string in Atian's brain tightened. The more people eating, the more people there would be attending the Enlightenment class with her later, and her sense of crisis grew stronger.

"Senior Brother Song, shall we go first?" She frowned.

"Eh? Why? I still want to eat a little more……" Song Zhicheng looked at the porridge in his hand with reluctance.

Atian showed a difficult expression, and because she didn't control her strength well, the chopsticks in her hand followed in the footsteps of their predecessor.

Song Zhicheng, who witnessed the whole process, immediately nodded his head like a chick pecking at rice, "Sorry, Big Boss! I'm going! I'm going right now!"

Having finished breakfast at high speed, the two Junior Sister and Senior Brother followed the errand route from last night and found the location of the Classroom. It was a small, unremarkable palace, even looking a bit shabby compared to other buildings, but the plaque hanging on it proved that the two had not found the wrong place.

The door of the Classroom was tightly shut, and a stone statue of a Jiaotu was coiled at the entrance; at first glance, this thing looked like a large lion carrying a snail shell. Atian unfolded the class schedule given by Su Ying, found "Enlightenment" among the courses offered today, placed her hand on the head of the Jiaotu statue at the door according to the prompt on the schedule, and loudly recited the name of the teaching Elder.

The majestic-looking Jiaotu statue seemed to be startled by the sudden voice; it actually jumped up directly from the entrance, the whole lion shrank into the snail shell, and then rolled away, clearing the path to the interior, with the six large characters "Path to Enlightenment Course" written on it in gold.

The two entered one after another, and then, they both saw a raised buttock.

Immortal Elder Zhao Kuo, who had disappeared without a trace after bringing Atian to Shengxian Town, was crawling forward bit by bit between rows of desks and chairs, clutching a handful of Yellow Talismans in his hand and muttering incantations that could not be understood.

"This person…… is sick?"

Song Zhicheng looked surprised, but Atian waved and greeted him enthusiastically: "Zhao~ Immortal~ Elder~"

These three words, like a death-summoning talisman, reached his ears. Zhao Kuo shivered all over, his mouth stuttered, and he recited the incantation wrong. By the time he realized it, it was too late to save it.

"Boom!!"

A mushroom cloud rose slowly over the Classroom. The disciples who saw it continued their work as if it were nothing unusual.

"Cough cough, cough cough cough," a series of coughs came from the smoke. When the smoke and dust that obscured the view dissipated, Zhao Kuo, who had been blown to a soot-covered mess, hunched his waist like a shrimp, coughing while patting the dust off his body, still muttering, "Thunderbolt Bomb from Leihuo Mountain…… you bastards, this is going to get someone killed."

"Immortal Elder Zhao?" Atian looked at him with concern.

Hearing the death-summoning talisman again, Zhao Kuo subconsciously shivered again to show respect, turned his head mechanically, and revealed a smile that was uglier than crying to Bai Tian, "……Junior Sister Bai."

As soon as this address came out, he wanted to slap himself twice. Why call her Junior Sister, why call her Junior Sister! This sounded like a lecher trying to get close; hadn't that beating been painful enough?!

Atian was naturally unaware of the dramatic changes in his heart. Thinking that it was indeed inappropriate to call him Immortal Elder so distantly after she had already joined the sect, she immediately changed her words, "Senior Brother Zhao, are you also here to attend this class?"

As soon as this question came out, the smile on Zhao Kuo's face became even stiffer, "Reviewing the old to learn the new, reviewing the old to learn the new! Every time I listen to Elder Li talk about the content of Enlightenment, I have new insights."

He said this with his mouth, but his heart was weeping. Because of his poor performance during the mission, he didn't dare to go to the Senior Brother to claim the mission reward, fearing that if something went wrong, he would lose his life. He never expected that Bai Xinli would enthusiastically deliver the goods to his door! If it were just being beaten until his face was bruised and swollen, it would be fine, but after receiving a beating disguised as "Apprentice Guidance," before Bai Xinli could say anything, his dear Master had already taken the lead.

Although the Beihai Sword Sect had abolished the one-on-one master-disciple system, if you were particularly compatible with a certain Elder, you still had the opportunity to become their true disciple. On weekdays, you would attend classes with others as usual; the only difference was that true disciples could also enjoy private lessons from their own Master from time to time.

To date, the Beihai Sword Sect had three major true disciples. The position of the Grandmaster's true disciple was naturally firmly occupied by the Senior Brother Bai Xinli. Under Elder Tan Tianming, who was responsible for managing mission releases, was Senior Sister Su Ying, and Zhao Kuo, who couldn't do anything right and couldn't finish eating anything, had actually squeezed into their ranks. His Master was none other than the jolly Guo Huai.

Due to his truly terrible performance during the mission, Zhao Kuo, who could have already accessed more advanced courses, was kicked by his Master to be remade.

Of course, this could not be told to Bai Tian.

"Senior Brother Zhao, what are you doing crawling on the ground?" Atian continued to ask.

"I'm dismantling traps," Zhao Kuo wiped his face, "In our sect, there is an unwritten rule: as long as you can crack the defenses and traps left by the other party on their seat, you can occupy their position. It's just that these bastards often use some dangerous goods to occupy seats, so you still have to be vigilant."

"So that's how it is!" Atian clenched her right fist and tapped it against her open left hand, "Then how dangerous is it exactly?"

"A group of brats who just joined the sect got their hands on Thunderbolt Bombs from Leihuo Mountain. In terms of power, they are only slightly inferior to the Soul-Chasing Arrow of the Tianxing Sect," Zhao Kuo waved his hand, "Hmph, but these are just petty tricks that rely on external forces. Don't be afraid, let Senior Brother take you to fly."

"It's inferior to the Soul-Chasing Arrow..."

Atian seemed lost in thought, then, under Song Zhicheng's horrified gaze, she walked straight toward the table and chairs, stepped over Zhao Kuo who was sprawled on the ground, reached the spot with the best view, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"Hey, hey, hey! That's very dang...!"

Zhao Kuo's anxious warning was only half-spoken when he saw the little black ball that had just given him a pot of trouble suddenly pop out; at the very instant it was about to explode, it was tightly gripped by a slender, jade-like hand, and the expected sound of an explosion did not come, but instead, black debris leaked out from between her fingers.

"I like this spot," Atian said, taking out a handkerchief to wipe her hands and turning to the two men who were dumbstruck, "snatching a spot isn't very hard, is it?"

"Fine, Big Boss, whatever you say is right."

Zhao Kuo replied while covering his face, with Song Zhicheng standing beside him, his face a complete blank.

Bai Tian sat up abruptly from the bed; she had not dreamed of this scene for many years, likely because hearing too much news about the Fangxian Dao yesterday had stirred up distant memories.

Wiping the cold sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, she had no intention of going back to sleep. She jumped off the bed, picked up the silk dress from the clothes rack to change into, then used a hair ribbon to tie up her long hair, and Atian took the Ten Thousand Realms sword placed at the head of the bed and pushed open the door to walk out of the room.

At this moment, the first rays of morning glow had not yet pierced through the clouds, and the surroundings were enveloped in a hazy, not-yet-bright feeling; she stood alone on the twenty-story high platform, gazing at the Floating Island covered by a thin layer of mist, the slightly fishy sea breeze blowing the loose hair at her temples, and Atian lifted the Sword in her hand and threw it toward the ground, while simultaneously tapping her toes lightly, swooping down following the trail of the Sword.

The image of other disciples leaping between the courtyards played in her mind, every landing point overlapping with those in her memory; Atian rose and fell as if dancing, and finally, with a powerful push, her whole body leaped high into the air, her wide skirt transforming into a peony blooming in mid-air.

"Who is it, so early..."

Hearing the noise, Song Zhicheng pushed open the door with sleepy eyes, only to see Bai Tian's gracefully drifting figure landing right on the Ten Thousand Realms sword that had been thrust into the soil; he was about to call out a greeting when he saw the young girl nimbly jump off the sword hilt and lift the black longsword, the golden morning light hitting her profile, gilding her with a layer of gentle makeup.

Song Zhicheng was stunned and opened his mouth subconsciously, but until the former's back disappeared from his line of sight, the words "Junior Sister Bai" remained stuck in his throat and could not be uttered.

After leaving the courtyard, Atian went straight to the cafeteria; the head cook of the Beihai Sword Sect was a middle-aged woman dressed in gaudy jewelry, with more rings on her fingers than could be counted, and she was long accustomed to early-rising disciples, so upon seeing Atian, she gave her a large bowl of porridge and a few steamed buns, and the latter did not complain after receiving them, finding a place to sit down and beginning to wolf them down.

Today would be an exceptionally difficult day; she had to consume enough energy in a short amount of time.

The first technique Atian learned at the Beihai Sword Sect was the Sword Controlling Art. Saying she "learned" it was actually not accurate; it was just like her sword moves, contained within her very bones, and only needed a little stimulation to surface in her mind.

Unlike the Duanyue Sword, which threw tantrums all day and tripped Zhao Kuo up, the Ten Thousand Realms sword could be described as "handy" to drive, just like Atian herself, wrapping a lethal interior with a docile appearance, yet even so, she almost crashed into the ground while climbing to the suspended Martial Arts Arena, making everyone who saw it break into a cold sweat for her.