Chapter 164

Every year, the day new students enter the courtyard is very lively. Looking down from the mountainside, one can see countless white robes fluttering in the courtyard.

Some junior sisters have been well-nourished since childhood, and their bouncing and jumping appear very delightful.

Others have long legs and slender waists, with fair, powdery faces, and love to draw a golden Immortal pattern between their brows, looking beautiful and magnificent.

Ji You stood on the mountainside, observing solemnly, his Dao heart clear.

Looking doesn't hurt; being so plump is meant for people to look at, isn't it?

This batch of students entering the courtyard were all newcomers and didn't recognize his appearance, so there wouldn't be any rumors spreading that Ji You was standing on the mountainside, lecherously watching the junior sisters, only to be recorded by some enthusiastic mountain-walking disciples and passed into someone's ears.

However, very quickly, his expression stiffened slightly amidst his gazing.

At this moment, on the Bai Yu Platform for Ascending Immortals, a man in fluttering white robes walked over, carrying seven swords on his back like a peacock spreading its tail, his expression indifferent as he strolled around the outer courtyard, approaching any junior student with a plump bottom to strike up a conversation.

"Junior sister, you have just entered the courtyard. Have you found your room? Do you need your senior brother's help?"

"Ah, you... seven swords on one person? Are you..."

"Shh, junior sister, no need to say more. I am just strolling through the outer courtyard this time, and at a glance, I feel that junior sister is quite pleasing to my eyes."

"?"

"Bai Rulong, I'll kill you!"

Seeing the junior sister's eyes brimming with emotion, Bai Rulong suddenly felt a chill surge up from his back, but it didn't reach his head; instead, it surged toward his chest.

That wasn't the position of his heart, but the position where he kept his money pouch...

This clamor continued until evening, and the night color began to surge in slowly.

There were already many students sitting in the Dao-Enlightenment Field, attempting to sense the Little Little Tian Shu, when they heard a scream from the dense forest not far away.

However, the road from the Divine Dao to the Bai Yu Platform was even more clamorous, because from sunset, various carriages surrounded by pearls and jade arrived one after another.

At this moment, the taverns in Shengjing City were bustling with noise, with singing and dancing between the clinking of cups, reflecting the brightly lit long streets.

Princess Changle of the Chong Prince's Mansion, Lu Qingqiu of Yunzhou, and other noble descendants in the capital were all gathered on the second floor of the Hongding Tower.

The second floor of the tavern had been cleared out in advance since the hour of the monkey. The original square tables had been changed into long tables, and the tables were filled with countless mountain delicacies and sea treasures. The spiritual wine brewed from spiritual herbs and Immortal seedlings had not yet been opened, but the fragrance of the wine had already begun to faintly diffuse.

The Heavenly Tian Shuyuan students invited to attend arrived at the building one after another, then cupped their hands in greeting, their faces full of smiles.

"It is said that students from previous years were invited to the Chong Prince's Mansion to eat?"

"This year is different. It is said that this banquet is jointly hosted by Miss Lu of Yunzhou and Princess Changle."

"Does the Lu family of Yunzhou have an old friendship with the Chong Prince's Mansion?"

"That's not the case; they just have some business dealings. Princess Changle didn't seem willing to jointly host the banquet with Lu Qingqiu at first, but later, for some reason, she agreed..."

"That is indeed strange."

The Lu family was far away in Yunzhou, thousands of miles from Shengjing. The Chong Prince's Mansion only had some spiritual stone business dealings with them; they weren't families bound to each other.

If this banquet was to make more friends with Heavenly Tian Shuyuan students, the fact that the two were not in the same camp made people feel awkward.

Could this be considered an olive branch from the Lu family of Yunzhou? Or should they accept the favor of the Chong Prince's Mansion?

The crowd whispered to each other, some unable to fathom the purpose of this grand banquet, and then they saw Fang Jincheng and Pu Yangxing walking up the stairs in fluttering white robes, thinking to themselves that there was no need to think about this anymore.

Because whether they accepted the favor of the Lu family or the Chong Prince's Mansion, these were not things they should consider.

After all, the protagonists of this banquet should be Fang Jincheng and Pu Yangxing; they were, after all, both contenders for the inner courtyard quota.

The Pu Yang family, like the Lu family, also came from Yunzhou. The Lu family had been making friends everywhere for the sake of business over these years, so this banquet must be to befriend the Pu Yang family through Pu Yangxing.

As for that Fang Jincheng, it was even more so.

He had already gathered three rays of spiritual light, and his progress was much faster than Pu Yangye and Lu Hanyan; his chances of entering the inner courtyard were the greatest.

Such a person, in the eyes of the Chong Prince's Mansion and the Lu family, was the best candidate to win over and unite with.

Of course, Lu Hanyan was also among them, but she was born a Lu family member, so naturally, she didn't need to consider these things.

"Miss Lu, please take the seat of honor."

"Princess Changle is too polite. You should please take it; I will sit to the side."

After some polite exchanges, Princess Changle sat in the main seat, and Lu Qingqiu was on her left.

Because of the Great Xia's new policies and the influx of demon race spiritual stones into the Nine Provinces, the two of them had met once at the behest of their families and shouldn't have been distant.

But meeting again this time, both felt an inexplicable sense of avoidance.

At this moment, Pu Yangxing and Fang Jincheng were arranged in the middle position opposite the long table, while Lu Hanyan sat side-by-side with her elder sister.

Then there were Xiang Fu, Liu Jian'an, and Cong Yi, the three students from Fengzhou.

The class hierarchy in the Azure Cloud World had always been clearly defined.

The commoners are not as good as officials, and officials are not as good as Immortals.

Therefore, although all three of them came from official aristocratic families and had been well-fed and well-clothed since childhood, they still appeared somewhat constrained in this occasion full of aristocratic descendants.

Their cultivation was not top-notch, and their background could be considered non-existent, but they were arranged in positions right next to Pu Yangxing and Fang Jincheng.

And after that were the Condensation Realm disciples who came from various prefectures and counties.

Dou Yuankong, the son of Minister Dou, was also among them. After sitting down, he looked at the three students who were the focus of attention at the table: "Young Master Pu Yang, Young Master Fang, and Miss Lu, after you three entered the courtyard, have you tried to sense the Little Little Tian Shu?"

"We have tried."

"What was the result?"

Fang Jincheng glanced at Pu Yangye and Lu Hanyan, the corners of his mouth lifting lightly: "It seems I have gained some insight. It seems I still have a connection with this Little Little Tian Shu."

Dou Yuankong opened his mouth: "You gained insight on just the first day of sensing it?"

"It was a bit blurry and I couldn't quite grasp it, but just as Brother Dou said, this is only the first day, so I am not in a hurry."

Fang Jincheng had postponed entering the courtyard for a year and had already gathered three rays of profound light, so his ability to gain insight was naturally incomparable to Pu Yangye and Lu Hanyan.

And there had always been a saying in the outer courtyard of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan that sensing the Little Little Tian Shu meant one foot had already stepped into the gate of the inner courtyard.

Although the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan didn't have a requirement that one must sense the Little Little Tian Shu to enter the inner courtyard, there had actually been no exceptions for thousands of years.

"Young Master Fang, are you very confident about entering the inner courtyard this year?"

"With my current cultivation, naturally no one can stop me."

Pu Yangye couldn't help but speak at this moment: "I am a bit eager to try and want to compete with Brother Fang."

Fang Jincheng picked up his wine cup, his gaze somewhat sharp as he spoke: "You should have postponed entering the courtyard. Then you could be my junior brother. If you can enter the inner courtyard, I can even recommend you to enter the Longevity Hall to become a personal disciple of an Elder."

Hearing these words, the aristocratic descendants sitting at the banquet all couldn't help but discuss it among themselves.

This sentence was spoken politely, but in reality, it was extremely domineering.

Postponing entering the courtyard meant asking others to avoid his sharpness, and the latter sentence revealed the connections their Fang family had in the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan.

Because many people present knew that Fang Jincheng's great-grandfather was currently an Elder of the Longevity Hall, and his two cousins were also in the Longevity Hall, so the foundation was actually very deep.

The people at the banquet couldn't help but discuss it, and many turned to look at Princess Zhao Yunyue and the eldest Miss Lu of Yunzhou.

In their view, they must be about to throw out an olive branch or something.

But unexpectedly, both of them appeared somewhat absent-minded, their gazes following the stairs.

So some people also began to look toward the stairs.

Just at this moment, the sound of footsteps rang out on the stairs, and then Ji You, dressed in white, walked up the stairs, fixing everyone's gaze here.

The upstairs was quietly silent, with Zhao Yunyue and Lu Qingqiu in the lead, watching him for a long time, no one speaking.

"Sorry, some private matters, I'm late."

Ji You cupped his hands, observed left and right, and found a seat near the Fengzhou disciples on the right side and sat down.

He had just taken Bai Rulong to the silver shop in the west of the city to withdraw his living expenses for this month, so he was a bit late. At this moment, he picked up his chopsticks.

Late, should he punish himself with two dishes?

Among the people at this table, the only ones who could recognize his appearance were these aristocratic descendants from the capital and the new students from Fengzhou this year.

Besides that, many people only knew his name but not his appearance.

So one could still see some blank, searching eyes at the banquet, and at this moment, they couldn't help but look at each other.

Zhao Yunyue and Lu Qingqiu were holding their wine cups at this moment, unable to help but purse their red lips.

Ji You had returned to Fengzhou with Cao Jingsong in the name of recruitment, returned to the courtyard after tax collection began, and had been in the inner courtyard ever since, rarely coming out.

So even Lu Qingqiu was seeing him for the first time at this moment.

A Heavenly Tian Shuyuan inner courtyard disciple, a twenty-one-year-old Profound Understanding Realm expert.

Slaying a Merging with the Dao expert with a sword, and by the time he returned, he was already the head of the only local aristocratic family on the land of Fengzhou...

The two of them watched him reach out to pick up his chopsticks, their expressions unable to help but become somewhat dazed.

Xiang Fu was also staring at Ji You at this moment, then glanced at Zhao Yunyue and Lu Qingqiu, unable to help but hold her breath.

Because on the day of recruitment, she had heard from Governor Liu that after the Autumn Battle of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, many women wanted to "bear him endless offspring," including the two hosts today, but none had received a response.

Just at this moment, Lu Qingqiu leaned into her sister's ear: "This is a fellow disciple; go toast him."

"?"

Lu Hanyan opened her mouth, raised her eyes to look at Ji You, and although she didn't know why, she still stood up and raised her cup according to her sister's instructions: "Lu Hanyan of Yunzhou, a student who entered the courtyard this year, Lu Qingqiu's younger sister, here to meet you, Senior Brother."

"Nice to meet you, Yan Shimei."

Ji You picked up his wine cup and drank, thinking to himself, "Even the younger sister is this big."

Zhao Yunyue also picked up her wine cup at this moment, her eyes looking at him coldly: "A noble person whom I have invited in every way but could not meet, to be able to meet by chance here today is truly Yunyue's honor. Yunyue toasts you a cup here; I hope you will do me the honor."

Princess Changle was born of the imperial clan, and her temperament was not quite the same as that of a spiritual stone merchant family like Lu Qingqiu's.

It was as if the only thing she included when she sent a letter to Ji You was a hairpin, while Lu Qingqiu dared to send a worn bodice to Ji You; her bones were still more conservative.

So after hearing rumors everywhere in the capital that Ji You had not responded to her, she had always harbored resentment in her heart.

It was precisely because of this that when she learned Lu Qingqiu was going to invite Ji You to a banquet, she insisted on coming to see him.

Ji You looked up at her at this moment, hearing the sarcasm in her tone.

This sarcasm should stem from the fact that she wanted to form a marriage alliance with him, but he didn't reply to her letter.

A beauty who brings disaster...

Ji You ruthlessly belittled himself in his heart, but then his brow furrowed slightly, and he felt it couldn't be called those four words.

He hadn't met this Princess Changle many times; to say she was attracting bees and butterflies because she was good-looking wasn't very logical. It would be better to say it was because he had entered the inner courtyard, built an aristocratic family, practiced a rock-hard body, or what the outer courtyard had been spreading as his so-called "procreative constitution."

Marriage alliances in the Azure Cloud World seemed to be like this, always formed for the sake of profit.

What kind of "innate stallion holy body"...

But since this banquet was hosted by others, he shouldn't reject their face, so he picked up his wine cup to return the toast.

At the same time, among the new students surrounding them, except for the three from Fengzhou, a trace of confusion appeared in everyone's eyes.

Previously, they felt that Pu Yangxing and Fang Jincheng were the protagonists of this banquet, but this Princess Changle and Miss Lu seemed somewhat absent-minded.

Until this person arrived, first Miss Lu had her younger sister toast him, then Princess Changle toasted him personally, like stars surrounding the moon, which made people astonished.

The crowd suddenly realized at this moment that although the protagonists of this banquet appeared to be Fang Jincheng and Pu Yangxing, in reality, it was this person.

So whether it was jointly hosting this banquet or Lu Qingqiu and Princess Changle being distracted earlier, it was all because they were waiting for this person.

"This should be a senior brother from the inner courtyard of our Heavenly Tian Shuyuan..."

"No wonder, so it's an inner courtyard senior brother."

The new students whispered to each other, not only feeling a sense of sudden realization.

Given the status of the Lu family of Yunzhou and Princess Changle, making such a gesture of repeated toasts, this must definitely be an inner courtyard senior brother.

And Fang Jincheng, listening to the whispers on both sides, couldn't help but furrow his brow tightly.

It was not a rare thing for inner courtyard disciples to appear at a banquet of aristocratic descendants; he had met several through family introductions when he came to Shengjing yesterday.

But he felt that since he was the protagonist of this banquet, this person shouldn't be stealing the limelight like this.

In addition, he felt that Lu Qingqiu and Princess Changle's actions were also wrong.

This inner courtyard senior brother coming to the banquet must have been on good terms with them on weekdays; why would they be toasting one cup after another at such a banquet, neglecting the guests?

And completely different from him was that Pu Yangxing.

He also confirmed that this person was an inner courtyard senior brother through the attitudes of the eldest Miss Yun and Princess Changle, but his first thought was to take this opportunity to get to know him.

"Pu Yangxing of Yunzhou, just entered the courtyard, Lower Three Realms perfection cultivation, here to meet you, Senior Brother. May I ask your name?"

Ji You turned to look at him, his wine cup suspended in the air: "Ji You of Fengzhou."

"?"

Pu Yangxing was startled upon hearing this, and then his pupils suddenly contracted, his heart trembling violently.

And Fang Jincheng couldn't help but widen his eyes, then suddenly straightened his waist, looking toward this place along with the other students, his eyes filled with astonishment.

Heavenly Tian Shuyuan inner courtyard disciple—this was indeed a title that would make people look at him with high regard.

Heavenly Tian Shuyuan inner courtyard disciple Zhang San.

Heavenly Tian Shuyuan inner courtyard disciple Li Si.

No matter what the name was, adding such a prefix was enough to make people know his extraordinariness.

Because no matter which Immortal sect it was, those who could enter the inner courtyard were all proud talents.

But there were always some names that didn't need any prefix at all; just a single name was enough to make people tongue-tied.

Ji You was one of them.

A wild private cultivator who entered the courtyard, broke the hand bones of the Chu family's second son, killed eighteen Profound Understanding experts in a row at Ye Cheng Mountain, killed a Merging with the Dao expert while transcending realms with a sword, and built the first aristocratic family in Fengzhou.

Such a name didn't need the seven words "Heavenly Tian Shuyuan inner courtyard disciple" at all.

But this seemed to be very different from what they had imagined.

Because they felt that this Ji You should have had a green face and fangs, ready to draw his sword at the slightest disagreement, or be gloomy and cold to be able to kill so ruthlessly.

They didn't know he would be as refined as a scholar, harmless to humans and animals.

Lu Hanyan was stunned for a long time, then turned to look at Lu Qingqiu: "Elder sister?"

Lu Qingqiu looked at her: "How does the genius you mentioned during the day compare to him?"

Lu Hanyan suddenly understood why she had toasted him just now, and immediately stood up to raise her wine cup again: "Senior Brother, please teach me how to sense the Little Little Tian Shu!"

As the words fell, all the new students couldn't help but widen their eyes and hold their breath, and even Fang Jincheng and Pu Yangye were the same.

That's right, the Little Little Tian Shu—this was the purpose.

Fame and prestige sounded like thunder, but they actually had little to do with them.

And the only thing that was related was that he was the only person last year who had sensed the Little Little Tian Shu!

At this moment, Ji You raised his head slightly, looked at Lu Hanyan and Lu Qingqiu, and thought to himself, "Sure enough, in this world, except for my brother Rulong, there is no such thing as a free meal."

He gently put down his chopsticks: "Sensing the Little Little Tian Shu requires seeking toward a high place."

"Senior Brother, how should I seek toward a high place, and where should I seek? What kind of faint light is it?"

Lu Hanyan's eyes blinked, her gaze brimming with emotion.

Everyone present was an aristocratic descendant, and they had long known about "seeking toward a high place" and "seeing a faint light."

But everyone had said this since ancient times, yet there were no details. The second Miss Lu asking this was to know the details.

Ji You was silent for a moment, thought for a long time, and then spoke: "I only know that one must try to seek toward a high place; as for what comes after... I don't know."

"?"

As the words fell, everyone couldn't help but be astonished.

Before Lu Hanyan could speak, Fang Jincheng had already frowned first: "Senior Brother, how could you not know?"

"I really don't know."

"This..."

The disciples at the banquet couldn't help but look at each other, their expressions changing several times in a brief moment.

A person who sensed the Little Little Tian Shu says he doesn't know how to sense the Little Little Tian Shu? Who could believe this?

So everyone thought about it and felt that it was just him being selfish and not wanting to say.

And Fang Jincheng sneered unceremoniously, losing interest at this moment, thinking to himself, "If you don't want to say, just say you don't want to say; why do you have to sell a mystery?"

His great-grandfather was an Elder of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, and he knew some details about sensing the Little Little Tian Shu, so he didn't covet his guidance.

Since things had come to this, let's eat first.

Everyone's interest suddenly weakened a lot, and there wasn't much talking.

"The roast goose is actually quite delicious..."

"The wine is also not bad."

"The fried spiritual beans are cooked to perfection; they go perfectly with this jar of spiritual wine..."

Lu Qingqiu stared at Ji You for a long time at this moment, her expression somewhat strange.

Because based on her understanding of Ji You, she didn't think Ji You was someone who would be selfish.

And he had already entered the inner courtyard, so there was no competition between him and the outer courtyard disciples. Even if he really taught them, it wouldn't do him any harm.

Is he going to charge a fee?

At the third quarter of the hour of the pig, the large wine jar was already empty. Outside the Hongding Tower at this moment, thunder suddenly began to rumble.

Some students near the window pushed open the window and saw rain coming from the sky, drifting down.

In these past few days, there had been quite a lot of rain in the Azure Cloud World, often sunny during the day, but overcast as soon as night fell.

Seeing that the banquet was almost over, everyone left the table one after another and walked toward the outside of the tavern.

Ji You also stood up from his seat at this moment, intending to go downstairs, but before he could step out, he was called by Lu Hanyan behind him.

"Senior Brother, wait a moment."

Ji You turned to look at Lu Hanyan: "What's wrong, Yan Shimei?"

Lu Hanyan pursed her lips, cupped her hands, and leaned forward: "Senior Brother has already entered the inner courtyard and no longer needs to fight for a quota, so I hope Senior Brother can teach me how to sense the Little Little Tian Shu."

She knew that Fang Jincheng's progress in charging toward Profound Understanding was much faster than her own, and with her family elders still serving in the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, she was naturally anxious.

At this moment, Princess Changle, Dou Yuankong, and other descendants from the capital couldn't help but stop and turn to look.

They also felt that Ji You didn't want to say, but they didn't expect this second Miss Lu to be so straightforward, not only bringing up the old matter again but also knowing how to break the matter that Ji You didn't want to say.

Zhao Yunyue had harbored resentment toward Ji You, and at this moment, she couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, wanting to see how he would answer.

Lu Qingqiu couldn't help but look at her younger sister at this moment, her face filled with blame: "Hanyan, do you know that speaking like this is very rude?"

"But Elder sister..."

Lu Qingqiu interrupted her: "Even if Young Master Ji knows, why should he teach you? You are not his wife's younger sister; what right do you have to ask for guidance with just these empty words?"

Zhao Yunyue turned to look, looking at this eldest Miss from Yunzhou in disbelief, thinking to herself, "Why is there still selfishness in these words?"

Lu Hanyan's eyes lit up, and she immediately reacted: "If Senior Brother is willing to teach, Hanyan will definitely have a generous reward and will definitely not let Senior Brother down."

"If I knew, I definitely wouldn't not say."

Ji You looked at Lu Qingqiu: "Your elder sister knows that I like silver very much, but I haven't even mentioned silver now, which means I really don't know."

Lu Hanyan's brow furrowed slightly, still not believing: "Senior Brother clearly sensed the Little Little Tian Shu, so how could you not know?"

Dou Yuankong usually couldn't stand Ji You, but he couldn't beat him either, so at this moment, he couldn't help but chime in: "Brother Ji being so selfish is meaningless. You are all fellow disciples; what is there that cannot be said?"

Ji You turned to glance at him, the corners of his mouth lifting: "What, tired of living?"

Dou Yuankong narrowed his eyes: "That's not it."

"Actually, even if I said it, it would be useless to you, because this method is not applicable to others. You might as well go ask other inner courtyard disciples."

"Why is that?"

"Because that night, it wasn't me who sensed the Little Little Tian Shu; it was the Little Little Tian Shu that sensed me."

As the words fell, Lu Qingqiu was instantly stunned, and Lu Hanyan's pink lips also parted slightly.

As for Zhao Yunyue, who was waiting to see how he would clumsily fob off the Lu sisters, at this moment, she couldn't help but turn to look, a trace of astonishment and confusion flashing in her eyes.

(End of chapter)