Chapter 378

What is that?

Wait…

I saw it…

I comprehended the Little Little Tian Shu! I comprehended the Little Little Tian Shu!

Outside the Little Little Tian Shu Tian Shuyuan, on the Awakening Platform.

As a surge of energy exploded outward, a newly enrolled student from the outer court opened his eyes, trembling hands raised to the sky as he let out a roar.

This young man from Zhongzhou was named Zhang Jue, admitted due to his elder brother's military merits, and now had just awakened his spiritual sense.

Though his cultivation base was extremely low, his talent was still decent—he had crossed the threshold of the Three Lower Realms without any spirit stones, outperforming many others admitted through military merit.

Yet even so, among the sea of aristocratic youths in the outer court, he remained an outsider.

Who could have expected that, at this very moment, he had sensed the Little Little Tian Shu?

Just as he rejoiced, Zhang Jue's left front also saw a noble youth named Zhang Zhang Shilong suddenly tremble, his body wreathed in layers of Dao patterns.

Immediately after, another student named Ding Chen also saw radiant immortal light blaze from his forehead to the crown of his head.

Seeing this, all the outer court students on the Awakening Platform opened their eyes, their faces filled with shock.

Three students sensing the Little Little Tian Shu at once—this event exploded instantly through the outer court of the Little Little Tian Shu Tian Shuyuan.

Soon after, countless instructors from the Teaching Courtyard flew in.

When they saw the students weeping with joy, tears soaking their cheeks, their hearts trembled, then their faces lit up with wild delight as they gazed at the lingering Dao resonance.

"Did they truly sense the Little Little Tian Shu?"

"Yes, this is how it happens—the Dao resonance surrounds them, lasting roughly half a cup of tea."

"Four years—finally, someone senses the Little Little Tian Shu again, and three at once!"

Among the excited instructors, Ding Ang, who had taught Chu He; Ma Ma Zhiyuan, who had taught Lu Lu Qingqiu; and Wu Kai, who had taught Du Zhu, showed the hardest-to-conceal expressions.

Because these three students were all recruited by them—Ding Chen, in particular, was Ding Ang's own nephew.

Four years had passed; they had watched Cao Cao Jingsong rise steadily thanks to Ji You's presence, now even becoming an Elder. Though they said nothing aloud, their hearts had long been filled with complex, unspoken emotions.

Now, finally, their own students had produced prodigies—this surge of emotion was beyond what others could understand.

But this joy did not last long, for when Ding Ang, Ma Ma Zhiyuan, and Wu Kai urged them to immediately cultivate using the Little Little Tian Shu, nothing happened.

No divine light, no Dao resonance—everything as if it had never occurred.

"What's going on?"

"I… I can't sense it anymore…"

"???"

As Zhang Jue's excitement froze on his face, the three's expressions changed, and they turned to look at Zhang Zhang Shilong.

The two slowly opened their eyes, their faces suddenly pale.

Within the Purple Bamboo Meditation Grove, countless inner court students, who had been looking upward in confusion, now felt even greater astonishment.

Their sense of the Little Little Tian Shu was far clearer than the outer court's, especially since many among them had previously established contact with it.

But before they could find the cause, the unusual energy they sensed with their spiritual sense receded like a tide.

At this moment, Ji You in the Little Little Tian Shu Hall waved his hand, returning the Little Little Tian Shu to its place, then stilled his breath and retracted his spiritual sense, severing his resonance with it.

The arrogant ghost's guess was right—the Night Watcher truly could control the Little Little Tian Shu.

Perhaps his closeness to the Sacred Artifact's origin stemmed from this.

Yet he did not know whether such control had triggered disturbances, awakening those outside.

As Yan Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi had said, the Sacred Artifact was the greatest authority in this world; a change of ownership would bring blood and storm. And now, besides Lingjian Mountain, three other insatiable factions still lingered in Shengjing—caution was not excessive.

Yet as the divine light faded and the turmoil settled, Ji You, who had planned to leave, suddenly froze.

Because he realized the connection he had felt upon touching the Little Little Tian Shu's core had not vanished, even after severing his resonance with it.

On the contrary, as the wind and divine light's roar faded and external perception receded, the connection grew clearer.

After a brief pause, Ji You gently shifted his thoughts.

Before him in the Little Little Tian Shu Hall, a new beam of immortal light flickered in and out, spreading like a fan across his vision—but its source was no longer beneath the seven-colored luminous dome.

Thud. Thud. Thud—

The pure white Little Little Tian Shu Hall was vast and empty, like an echo valley.

Footsteps moving outward echoed between walls and dome, gradually fading.

Ji You now stood outside the Little Little Tian Shu Hall, observing the surroundings for a long while. Thankfully, he saw no swarm of cultivators from the mountain rushing toward the academy—his heart eased slightly.

Controlling the Little Little Tian Shu was good for him—he had always intended to turn the academy into a bandit stronghold. But if this became known, it could also become a disaster.

Because regardless of the academy's intentions, the three major immortal sects currently in Shengjing would surely move against him—they would never allow someone like him to hold authority equal to theirs.

He withdrew his gaze and stepped down the mountain, yet failed to notice the bamboo courtyard behind the Little Little Tian Shu Hall.

The fence gate of that courtyard had been tightly shut, but now stood open.

You You Yingqiu, who had been in seclusion, stood before the gate, gazing after him as he descended, her eyes deep as a starry river beneath midnight.

Coo-coo-coo—

Before the main hall of the Wulü Trading House, a tall chin tree hosted a constant call from a cuckoo bird.

The sun was warm, the breeze gentle; the cold, haughty little Xiao Jianzhu sat upright, eyes lowered, holding a tiger-head shoe in her hands, mimicking walking motions on her lap.

The tiny shoe tapped tap-tap on her knees, the copper bell tied behind it chiming softly, making her gaze grow increasingly luminous.

But as she "walked," she heard the front gate open—she instantly summoned a shimmering light, swiftly stowing the tiger-head shoe into her storage gourd, her eyes turning icy as a blizzard.

At this moment, Ji You stepped through the gate.

From Nishan to here, he had been pondering the connections between the Night Watcher, the Little Little Tian Shu, the Sect Master, and the immortal sects—even weaving in theories about ruins and nightfall, trying to link past knowledge with recent revelations.

As he pieced together cause and effect, he seemed to sense the traces of a century-spanning history.

Yet for some reason, those traces felt like mere surface impressions to him, unable to reach the core.

It felt like watching celebrity gossip headlines from his past life—divorces, affairs, endless topics for public frenzy—but deep down, he knew these were distant, unreachable, blocked by an invisible wall.

At this moment, Yan Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi lifted her head, watching the rogue slowly approach.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the little Xiao Jianzhu was swept up in his arms—she instinctively wrapped her jade arms around his neck.

Perhaps because their relationship was now public, she noticed the little Little Little Tian Shu Tian Shuyuan student had grown fond of hugging her these past few days.

Entering the room, Ji You set her down before the tea table.

He had intended to tell her about what happened at the academy, but his thoughts were jumbled—he didn't know where to begin.

Though Yan Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi often called him "stranger," she truly understood him—his expressions, his thoughts. Seeing his distant gaze upon entering, she knew he hadn't merely received a promise from Zuoqiuyang regarding the Yu Dan Sect.

"Did you try?"

"Mm."

"How was it?"

"As you suspected—I received a response from the Little Little Tian Shu, and briefly took control of it."

Upon hearing this, Yan Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi's eyelashes trembled slightly.

Years of high status had taught her to remain unperturbed by anything—except when Ji You came and went, she sometimes lost her composure.

But hearing the rogue had truly taken control of the Little Little Tian Shu, the little Xiao Jianzhu's eyes flickered with surprise.

The Night Watcher controlling the Sacred Artifact had been her bold guess—but such a notion defied logic, for Sacred Artifacts should not randomly choose masters.

Yet she never imagined this impulsive guess, upon testing, had become reality.

After a long silence, the little Xiao Jianzhu spoke softly: "I never thought you, a mere Little Little Tian Shu Tian Shuyuan student, had such talent. If Fang Fang Ruoyao, Zhao Zhao Yunyue, Qiu Hanyue, He He Lingxiu, Yu Yu Shiliu, Zhang Yao, Xu Fenglian, Gao…, Yu… ever found out, they'd regret it to their bones."

Ji You blinked in surprise: "Who are the last few?"

As soon as he spoke, a fragment of memory flashed in his mind—he recalled those women had all sent him marriage proposals during the Heavenly Dao Assembly or after he awoke from slumber following his killing of Chu Chu Xian.

He himself couldn't even remember their names—yet Yan Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi remembered them so clearly.

The key point was, when they delivered those marriage proposals, this arrogant ghost of his was still at Lingjian Mountain, far from his side.

Instantly, his assessment of the little Xiao Jianzhu as a jealous fiend rose another notch.

Yan Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi hadn't expected him to forget the women who'd sent him marriage proposals—her eyes narrowed slightly as she swiftly changed the subject: "Tell me the details."

"There were no details."

"?"

"I've only had details with you and Yuan Yuan Caiwei."

"I mean the process of you taking control of the Little Little Tian Shu!" Yan Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi snapped, her face stern, sword qi surging in her eyes.

Ji You paused, thinking: What's there to tell about such a process?

But his wife wanted to hear it, so he recounted in full—from leaving Zuoqiuyang, ascending the Little Little Tian Shu Peak, encountering the Little Little Tian Shu, then departing.

"You mean you took control of it without refining it, without forcing its will to submit?"

"There was no such process."

"How could this be…"