Chapter 26 Protagonist, Restless Mind
Elder Wang had originally planned to have Feng Yu Die stay in his cave dwelling for the seven days of the Sect Selection.
After all, the Sect Master had also asked him to look after Feng Yu Die.
Furthermore, no one would want to stay in those dormitory accommodations.
With fifty people crammed into one room, if even one or two snored or had smelly feet, the room would immediately become unbearable and make sleep impossible.
However, since Mr. Qi had also asked him to prepare good accommodations for the two of them, Elder Wang decided to do it all at once and led the two to the Inner Disciples’ residences.
These were located on a spiritual land halfway up Tianyun Peak in the Xuan Xing Sect.
This spiritual land currently housed ten recently built Three-Bay Houses. Numerous old spiritual plants were grown around them, offering beautiful scenery and abundant spiritual energy. However, it seemed these Three-Bay Houses were not yet completed, as many Xuan Xing Sect craftsmen were still rushing to repair them.
These Three-Bay Houses were prepared for disciples who passed the Sect Selection.
Moreover, only disciples who ranked in the top ten of the Sect Selection could reside in them.
Most disciples were generally assigned residences on other mountain peaks, with usually four to six people sharing one room.
Each Three-Bay House was equipped with a top-grade alchemy furnace and spirit fields for planting spiritual plants. The soil in these spirit fields was even dug from a place with spiritual essence, sufficient to meet most of the daily needs of a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
After Elder Wang landed them with his Flying Sword, he said to Feng Yu Die, “Feng Yu Die, you can choose any of these ten houses to live in. You will stay here until your Late Foundation Establishment. After you reach Late Foundation Establishment, the sect will allocate a piece of land to you, and you can establish your own cave dwelling.”
“One house…”
Feng Yu Die was slightly taken aback. She looked at Pei Lianxue beside her and pursed her lips into a smile. This meant she would be living in the same room with her for a long time to come, didn’t it?
Waking up together, eating together, cultivating together every day…
If Junior Sister Pei got tired from practicing sword, she could help massage Junior Sister Pei’s shoulders.
If Junior Sister Pei wanted to bathe, she could help scrub Junior Sister Pei’s back…
“Hehehe… hehe…”
Pei Lianxue looked at her as if she were an idiot, then asked, “Elder Wang, do I also live here as a companion reader?”
“As long as Feng Yu Die is willing, you can live here with her. Moon Spring Peak also has accommodations specially prepared for companion readers…”
“I’m willing!” Feng Yu Die quickly interrupted. “Junior Sister Pei, you should live with me from now on. We’ll sleep together, cultivate together, and eat delicious food together. Wouldn’t that be great?”
“…”
Pei Lianxue took a step away from her with a look of disdain.
In the past month and a half, this person had tried every means to curry favor with her, even barking like a dog when they first arrived at the mountain.
She felt that Feng Yu Die was doing this undoubtedly to get close to her Senior Brother.
After all, Senior Brother must like his Junior Sister, and if Feng Yu Die wanted Senior Brother to marry her, she would certainly need to maintain a good relationship with her.
At this moment…
—”Elder Wang?”
In front of a Three-Bay House not far away, a woman who was practicing sword saw the three of them and immediately stopped and walked over, bowing to Elder Wang.
The woman was about the same age as Pei Lianxue and the others, with purple hair and golden eyes. She had four ponytails, two in front and two behind, and her clothes looked expensive.
She looked at Feng Yu Die and Pei Lianxue and asked, “Elder Wang, why did you bring them here?”
“Ah…” Elder Wang was suddenly embarrassed, as letting Pei Lianxue and Feng Yu Die stay here was a special arrangement he had made for them. He simply said, “Mr. Qi asked me to find better accommodations for these two.”
“Mr. Qi said so?” The woman frowned and said seriously, “But this is against sect rules. Only those ranked in the top ten of the Sect Selection can reside here.”
“This… these two will definitely make it into the top ten,” Elder Wang paused and replied. “I just wanted to let them move in early, considering the dormitory situation you know about.”
The woman did not seem to appreciate it and frowned in objection, “The sword test and physical test haven’t even started yet. How can you be sure they will pass the Sect Selection?”
The woman was about the same age as Feng Yu Die, but her aura was aggressive, leaving Elder Wang at a loss for words.
“This…”
“Elder Wang, they are from prominent great families, did they give you gifts?” The woman stared into Elder Wang’s eyes and frowned, “Elder Wang, the Xuan Xing Sect’s Sect Selection is held every five years, and you should know the rules. Bribery is an improper practice. If the Grand Elders find out, you will be severely punished…”
Elder Wang sighed, looked at Feng Yu Die and the other girl behind him, stepped forward, and whispered, “Young Miss, it’s not just Mr. Qi; the Sect Master also asked me to look after them.”
“Mother also asked you to look after them…” The woman was stunned, and she looked at Feng Yu Die and Pei Lianxue again, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and asked, “Why?”
“This… this matter, perhaps Young Miss should ask the Sect Master when she returns.”
“…”
The woman bit her lip slightly, seemingly very displeased. However, she didn’t say anything else. She glared at Feng Yu Die and Pei Lianxue before turning and walking back towards one of the Three-Bay Houses.
After she left, Feng Yu Die stepped forward and asked, “Elder Wang, who is she? She’s so beautiful.”
“Beautiful…” Elder Wang was stunned for a moment and replied, “Her name is Xiao Yunluo, she is the Young Miss of the Xuan Xing Sect. From now on, you and she will be disciples of the same cohort. You should call her Senior Sister Xiao on weekdays.”
Feng Yu Die nodded, her lips pursed. She couldn’t help but glance at Xiao Yunluo’s Three-Bay House but was taken aback. She quickly averted her gaze and walked back to Pei Lianxue with a smile, winking at her.
“Junior Sister Pei, she’s not as pretty as you.”
Pei Lianxue was confused. “I don’t care; why are you emphasizing it?”
“You don’t care? That’s good! Phew—” Feng Yu Die let out a breath and giggled foolishly again. “Hehe~ Hehe…”
Elder Wang also came back to his senses and continued to lead the two forward, explaining, “I will tell you some important matters. Each Three-Bay House is equipped with a high-grade alchemy furnace. You will…”
After settling Feng Yu Die and Pei Lianxue, Elder Wang returned to the academy and meditated in the Spirit Gathering Array for a while. When it was sunset and the written test of the Sect Selection ended, he was summoned by Qi Baishi to help with grading.
However, it was said to be grading together.
In reality, he had to grade nearly ten thousand answer scripts all by himself.
Qi Baishi would only select a small portion of the answer scripts that interested him to grade.
Qi Baishi gave Feng Yu Die’s script ninety-five points, with the five points deducted for her poor handwriting.
As for Pei Lianxue, Qi Baishi gave her a perfect score.
Although Elder Wang had already anticipated that their scores would be high, a perfect score was completely beyond his expectations.
In the past, no one participating in the Xuan Xing Sect’s Sect Selection had ever achieved a perfect score in the written test.
After all, essay writing and discussing the Dao were not like astrology or arithmetic, which had standard answers. The score received also depended, to some extent, on the mood of the grader.
Hesitating for a moment, Elder Wang couldn’t help but persuade, “Mr. Qi, isn’t giving a perfect score a bit inappropriate? The answers on this script are indeed irrefutable, but you shouldn’t give a perfect score. Deduct a few points, please.”
Qi Baishi put down the book in his hand and glanced at him, saying, “Hmph! I graded it, and if anyone has an opinion, just have them come and find me personally.”
