Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Blue Flower Bundle

On the third day of the new semester, Lei Xiang skipped class.

“The theoretical knowledge they teach is far too abstruse. Is it really supposed to help with Foundation Establishment? And as for those cultivation methods passed down through the years, they’re decent, but compared to my Divine Spirit Refining Manual, they’re a whole grade lower. Why bother learning them?”

Of course, Lei Xiang wasn’t the only one skipping class. Even Du Gu Yixiao, the quiet boy in the bunk above him, hadn’t bothered to attend the opening ceremony. His apricot-yellow school uniform had been collected on his behalf by Liu Tian. This fellow spent his days sitting silently, clutching a blue-flowered bundle, which stirred immense curiosity among Lei Xiang and the others. But Du Gu Yixiao never spoke, leaving even Liu Tian, who prided himself on being the best communicator, completely at a loss.

Lei Xiang could only shake his head in resignation and decided not to bother with him any further. He went straight out to the Library Pavilion to read. During the opening ceremony, the white-haired teacher had rambled on with a lot of nonsense—like “enrolling in Hongji Academy doesn’t mean you’re in a safe haven”—but one point did catch Lei Xiang’s interest. In the Eastern Yue Kingdom, and indeed across the entire Wuji Continent, there was a rule: every cultivator who had achieved Foundation Establishment was issued an identification token, unique to each individual, which was necessary for travel to other regions.

A cultivator’s identification!

The lure of Foundation Establishment was all the more powerful for cultivators, but Lei Xiang knew that his own dantian was like a bottomless pit, requiring even more spiritual energy than usual. Hongji’s Foundation Establishment Academy was known for its expertise in this area—perhaps there were some relevant texts he could consult.

The Library Pavilion was a two-story building. “Such a small place—can it really hold a hundred thousand books?” At the entrance, there was a wooden guardhouse. Lei Xiang handed his student ID through a small window. The elderly gatekeeper, peering through his cloudy eyes, inspected it carefully before giving Lei Xiang an application form. Once it was filled out and a low-grade spirit stone deposited, the old man raised a hand. Green light shot out, striking the tightly shut main door.

The door swung open without a sound. The old man handed Lei Xiang a green token. “Turn left after entering. You have three hours.”

This place was enormous!

That was Lei Xiang’s first impression. Room after room lined up, each bearing a sign on the door. He passed more than thirty before settling on one labeled “Foundation Preparation.” Inside, bookshelves lined the walls. By eye, the room held at least three thousand volumes.

Lei Xiang calmed himself and began leafing through them one by one.

Meanwhile, back in Dorm 412, Ma Zhiyuan and Liu Tian returned from class to find Chen Junxi lounging on his bed, holding a rectangular jade device, utterly absorbed. The stone flickered with five-colored lights.

“What’s that?” Liu Tian scratched his head, while Ma Tao, who had followed them in, looked on with envy and confusion. Only Ma Zhiyuan sneered, “Don’t you even know this? Country bumpkins! In the upper echelons of the cultivation world, this immortal pinball machine is all the rage. It’s a game based on instant-win competitions.”

Liu Tian grinned. “Senior Ma, what’s ‘immortal pinball’ and ‘instant-win’? Are they fun?”

Ma Zhiyuan waved him off impatiently. “It’s a competition in the cultivation world. You wouldn’t understand. It’s a game for the elite.” Then, ingratiatingly, he sidled up to Chen Junxi. “Only a dashing hero like Young Master Chen deserves such a game. I’ve heard these immortal pinball machines cost ten high-grade spirit stones, right, Young Master Chen?”

Chen Junxi, completely absorbed in the game, replied absentmindedly. Ma Zhiyuan didn’t mind. He kept flattering, “You must have just come back from your own apartment, Young Master Chen. It’s so much better outside—the academy’s too strict, nothing fun… Shoot, shoot! Ah, missed. What a pity.”

Seeing Chen Junxi ignore him, Ma Zhiyuan kept talking. “That Nine-Transformation Divine Dragon Team really did me in. Last time they played the Phoenix Mountain Warriors, the odds were 7.56:2.17:4.69. I got clever and bet on the Divine Dragons to win—a dark horse, right? Thought I’d hit it big, but I ended up losing my shirt.”

Suddenly, the pinball machine’s lights flared, then went dark. The picture on the jade vanished. Chen Junxi tossed the device aside. “It’s your fault—jinxed it! Look, the spirit stone’s used up. Anyone here got a high-grade spirit stone?”

But where would these broke students get such a thing? Ma Zhiyuan’s eyes suddenly darted. He sent a message to Chen Junxi: “Look at Granite up there, hugging that blue bundle all day—could it be a treasure? Or maybe he’s got spirit stones in there? Ask to borrow one.”

Chen Junxi nodded with a sly grin and replied, “Alright, Junior Brother Ma, I’ll leave it to you.”

Ma Zhiyuan cursed inwardly. “You’re scared of Granite too, with that murderous air about him—it must come from killing too many people. Yet you make me go first, huh.” With no choice, he approached, baring his teeth in a forced smile. “Brother Du Gu, Young Master Chen’s pinball machine is out of spirit stones. You have any high-grade ones? Lend us one?”

Du Gu Yixiao remained motionless in meditation, clutching his blue bundle. Nothing but training and that bundle seemed to matter to him in this world.

“Hey, brother, I’m talking to you.” Seeing no reaction, Ma Zhiyuan spread his hands helplessly at Chen Junxi. “Young Master Chen, he’s just ignoring you.”

Chen Junxi’s handsome face turned pale with anger. “Granite’s tough to handle, but this is too much. Even if not for me, he should give my father face.” With this thought, he shoved Ma Zhiyuan aside and strode up. “Granite, are you deaf? Say something if you have any! Hugging that ragged bundle every day—what are you, some crazy widow? Even a stray dog wouldn’t want that thing!”

A slit of Du Gu Yixiao’s eye opened, and Chen Junxi felt a chill rush over him. “You… what are you trying to do?”

“Kill,” Du Gu Yixiao uttered a single word. Suddenly, a snake-shaped sword appeared in his hand. The golden blade, though only five feet long, was at Chen Junxi’s eyes in a flash. Chen Junxi was a formidable cultivator in his own right, but the strike was so swift he couldn’t react.

In an instant, the golden snake sword changed from a stab to a strike, slamming heavily into Chen Junxi’s right shoulder. He staggered back three steps and fell hard onto the floor, a lump rising on his shoulder.

Just as suddenly, the golden snake sword vanished. “This is a warning. Insult my bundle again, and you die.” With that, Du Gu Yixiao resumed his meditation, clutching his bundle.

Chen Junxi was stunned, as was everyone else in the room. The timid Ma Tao even slipped out quietly. Du Gu Yixiao was a monster—silent most of the time, but when he spoke, it was with deadly menace, and his actions were even more ruthless.

Ma Zhiyuan hurried to help up Chen Junxi. “Young Master Chen, that wild kid…” But Chen Junxi shook him off, face ashen. “You just wait.” He spat the words and stormed out, nearly colliding with Lei Xiang, who was just coming in.

Lei Xiang had just returned from the library, frustrated. After three hours and two hundred books, he hadn’t found a single useful one. It seemed even at Hongji Academy, Foundation Establishment would be no easy feat for him.

By then, Liu Tian had recounted the whole scene. Lei Xiang flashed his little tiger teeth in a grin. “Serves him right! That spoiled brat needed a lesson.” He turned to Du Gu Yixiao above, “He’s lost face—he’ll definitely bring his gang. You’d better be careful.”

Du Gu Yixiao, as always, remained silent.

But outside, voices were rising—one in particular, shouting hoarsely, “Granite! If you’ve got guts, come down here! I’ll kill you!”

“So soon? I’m going to look,” Liu Tian said, dashing out. He quickly returned, his face flushed with anxiety. “Granite, you’d better hide! Downstairs… Young Master Chen brought not just his thugs, but several senior students from the intermediate class—all Foundation Establishment experts!”

Lei Xiang’s eyebrow arched. “Just because they’re Foundation Establishment, they think they can bully people? I’ll go meet them.” With that, he strode out first. Du Gu Yixiao suddenly leapt down from his bunk and followed. Liu Tian hesitated, then ran after them.

No one noticed Ma Zhiyuan’s face darken with calculation. He pulled out a sound-transmitting talisman, whispered a few words, and tossed it out the window.

Downstairs, a dozen or so people stood waiting, most in apricot-yellow uniforms. Chen Junxi, at their head, sneered as Lei Xiang appeared. “What are you, the big hero now? Get Granite down here.” Before the words were cold, Du Gu Yixiao was already at Lei Xiang’s side.

Chen Junxi instinctively stepped back, the dull ache in his right shoulder warning him how dangerous this opponent was. He turned to a fat man beside him. “Senior Zhou, that stubborn bastard—help me teach him a lesson.”

The fat man’s head looked like a meatball. He nodded at Chen Junxi and stepped forward, his jowls quivering. “So you’re looking for death? A mere Qi Refining rookie dares to disrespect Young Master Chen? Hand over the bundle for inspection, or else…”

Chen Junxi egged him on from the side, “And that kid with the tiger teeth—disrespecting our Eastern Yue Sect? Yank those fangs out!”

Du Gu Yixiao stood ramrod straight, eyes narrowed and cold on Chen Junxi. Lei Xiang lounged at ease, flashing his tiger-tooth grin.

The fat man rapidly formed seals, then ten fireballs shot from his hands, splitting in the air—twenty, forty, eighty—until a hundred and sixty fireballs surrounded Lei Xiang and the others. The crowd behind cheered, convinced these two fledgling Qi Refining cultivators stood no chance against “Locking Fire Mountain,” the fat man’s famed technique.

Now a sea of fireballs raged around them. Lei Xiang, unhurried, unfurled his beast-hide shield, pulling Du Gu Yixiao inside. Then he sent out a black rain talisman. With a snap of his fingers, the talisman burst, and a torrent as thick as a barrel crashed down, dousing the flames in an instant.

“What? How is that possible?” The fat man was stunned. Behind him, Chen Junxi urged, “Senior Zhou, use your weapon!”

Jolted, the fat man reached into his storage pouch. A silver spear flew out, transforming into a silver serpent that lunged at Lei Xiang and the others, jaws wide.

Du Gu Yixiao’s eyes snapped open, a flash of cold light within. Everyone around involuntarily shivered. The golden snake sword appeared in his hand—a flash of gold, and all the silver light vanished.

He sheathed the snake sword. The silver spear clattered to the ground far away.

No one quite knew what had happened, nor how the golden snake sword had beaten the silver serpent. Only Lei Xiang, with the blue gleam in his eyes, had seen it: the sword had struck at the exact spot—the serpent’s seventh inch—at precisely the right moment and force, taking advantage of Du Gu Yixiao’s superior speed to break the weapon’s transformation.

“Enough!” A yellow radiance fell from the sky, revealing a middle-aged man in an apricot robe. “This is the academy! How dare you brawl in public? Which classes are you from?”

Liu Tian rushed forward, trying to smooth things over. “We’re new students in the beginner class, just sparring, that’s all.”

“Sparring? Like this—oh, Young Master Chen! Haha, how is your father? Honored to see you sparring with these juniors.” Upon seeing Chen Junxi, the man’s face lit up with flattery.

Behind Lei Xiang, Ma Zhiyuan seethed. “Father, you’re a disgrace! I wanted you to come rein them in, but instead…”

The fat man chimed in, “Director Ma, we were just sparring. Our Young Lord Chen is very well—he’ll send your regards to the clan leader.”

Director Ma grunted. “Class will begin soon. All of you, disperse.” Watching Chen Junxi and his group swagger away, he felt a twinge of irritation. “That brat throws his weight around too much, just because of his father. But his father really isn’t someone to offend.”

He turned to Lei Xiang and the others. “You’re new—remember to follow the academy’s rules. You, Du Gu Yixiao—what’s in that bundle? Let me see it.”

Du Gu Yixiao narrowed his eyes. He intoned, word by word, “Anyone who looks in my bundle must die.” With that, he strode away.