"Are you hungry?"
"Mm…"
"Looks like we'll need to bring more food for class next time. You hadn't practiced cultivation before, had you?"
"Mm…"
Lin Xi and Bian Linghan were walking along the mountain path.
On a calm evening like this, walking beside a girl from the misty water towns, under a sky clear and spotless, on a scenic slope—it should have been a soul-soothing experience.
But right now, the pressing issue was that both Lin Xi and Bian Linghan were starving. The kind of hunger that felt like they'd missed four or five meals.
As Professor Qin had said earlier, when one gets too hungry, the body simply gives out.
It seemed cultivation not only made people eat more, but also digest faster... Thinking of this, Lin Xi couldn't help but feel a bit sympathetic toward the Yunqin Empire.
To resist foreign threats, they had to train powerful cultivators. But these cultivators weren't just naturally gifted; they were cultivated with pills worth a fortune—and they ate a lot too.
Just feeding these cultivators… how much grain would that take?
Lin Xi plucked a tender thorn branch from the roadside and chewed on it, his mind wandering with naive worries.
"Crap, that teacher told us so much... and we didn't even ask for her name." He furrowed his brows, suddenly remembering something. Turning to the slightly stiff Bian Linghan beside him, he added, "I just thought of something—the Dean's rule about not entering others' rooms might have another reason."
Bian Linghan turned to him, curious. "What other reason?"
"The academy has its own secrets," Lin Xi said quietly. "Just like how you can't reveal your Windwalker talent... What if someone overheard something in your sleep after wandering into your room?"
Bian Linghan lowered her head, her voice heavy. "Honestly... I don't even want to be a Windwalker. I didn't even want to come to this academy."
She immediately felt a pang of regret. She wasn't sure why she had spoken so freely to Lin Xi—and feared he might look down on her for saying so. But unexpectedly, Lin Xi just nodded, and replied in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"I know. Not everyone wants to be in this academy. Sometimes, we don't even choose to be born into this world. But meeting people, seeing the wonders of life—doesn't that sound kind of fun? We can't choose how we come into this world, but we can choose to live it well."
Bian Linghan stared at him in surprise. They continued walking in silence, but the unease and confusion in her heart began to slowly fade.
"If I could visit home sometimes in secret… being a Windwalker might not be so bad. It could be fun. But without trains or planes, traveling in this world is just too much of a hassle…" Lin Xi, breathing slightly heavier from hunger, glanced up at the setting sun between the mountain peaks, and mused wistfully.
In a shadowy room draped in black curtains and filled with armor fragments and strange items, Lecturer Mu Qing was reading over a parchment scroll.
This scroll recorded detailed observations from the first day of cultivation lessons for new students in the Warfare Department—including their behavior, spoken words, and even classified information like Bian Linghan's Windwalker talent.
Anyone able to read such secrets had to be deeply trusted by the academy. To earn that trust, one had to serve the academy in life-and-death missions countless times—something the new students like Lin Xi couldn't possibly understand yet.
"Wang Xinglun: rose once at night, trapped in east wing's fourth-floor study… Peng Ying: rose once, ventured to the wine cellar in the basement…"
After reviewing the contents, the plain-looking, black-robed woman picked up a fine brush and began writing more notes at the bottom of the parchment.
Across the entire Yunqin Empire, only those at her level within Qingluan Academy knew the academy's strength wasn't just built on powerful legacies or training methods. Hidden within the Ailao Peak were instructors who processed massive volumes of data daily.
These instructors had a strange title given by the Headmaster himself—Galactic Billion-Times Lecturers. A name even Deputy Headmaster Xia couldn't understand, and one that would make Lin Xi laugh if he heard it.
These lecturers, selected over decades, had a knack for organizing and analyzing oceans of information. They processed intel from across the empire, sorting and archiving it. From the data, they could detect patterns and trends—offering insights to professors across all departments, helping everything from crafting weapons to studying cultivation techniques.
The academy's true strength lay not just in courage and loyalty—but also in its quiet sacrifices.
Suddenly, the black-robed woman paused. A few breaths later, Lin Xi's voice came from outside: "Professor Mu Qing, are you there?"
She rolled up the parchment, opened the door, and stepped outside. Lin Xi stood in the corridor, bowing respectfully when he saw her.
"Are you here because you didn't understand something in class or about course selection?" she asked, nodding in return.
Lin Xi replied warmly, "Today's cultivation lesson wasn't hard to understand, and I'm sure you'll explain more in the coming days. I'm not here about studies, actually. I have a personal request."
Mu Qing asked, "What is it?"
"I'm still young and have been away from home for a while. I know my parents and little sister must miss me," Lin Xi said sincerely. "I was wondering if the academy allows letters home?"
Mu Qing's expression softened as she nodded. "The academy allows correspondence, and it's actually faster than mail outside. Letters should reach your Deerforest Town in about half a month. Just write it and give it to me. Likewise, any letters from your family should also reach the academy in about two weeks. But academy rules require all letters to be inspected, meaning you won't be the only one reading them."
"That's fine. I just want to share some trivial things and hear how my family's doing," Lin Xi said, smiling with relief. There weren't any secrets between him and his family.
Looking at the smiling boy, Mu Qing felt a warmth in her heart. Her tone became gentler. "Regarding course selection, besides the four compulsory courses for first-year Warfare Department students—soul force cultivation, wilderness survival, mounted archery, and martial techniques—which four electives did you choose?"
"I chose medical treatment, toxicology, spirit communication, and speed-reading," Lin Xi answered.
Mu Qing frowned slightly. "Medical treatment and toxicology are from the Medicine Department. One is for healing yourself or allies; the other is for identifying or using poisons—both useful in battle. Spirit communication is from the Spirit Cultivation Department and can help you tame spirit beasts, which can greatly boost your combat power. But speed-reading… that's from the Civil Studies Department. It's used to quickly extract useful information from books or memorize large volumes of material. Why choose that?"
Lin Xi gave a sheepish smile and lowered his voice. "Some courses are fun but time-consuming and hard to pass. I've got a decent memory, so I figured speed-reading might be an easy way to earn some credits…"
His words were plain: he picked it to earn easy credits. It sounded lazy, but Mu Qing felt relieved. She reminded herself that he was still just a pure and innocent boy—not someone planning to become a deep-cover spy.
But honestly, with Lin Xi's calm demeanor and average aptitude, if he were to infiltrate an enemy state, he might rise to high office and accomplish great things. Still, she knew well that most spies ended up heartless and cruel—twisting their minds from years of deception and betrayal.
"Thank you, Professor. I'll trouble you tomorrow with the letter," Lin Xi said happily as he took his leave.
Watching the cheerful boy walk away, Mu Qing added, "If you have time, try auditing other courses. You won't earn credits, but you'll still learn useful things. And if a professor notices your help with their research, you might earn extra credits anyway."
As Lin Xi's light footsteps faded down the corridor, Mu Qing felt as if she weren't looking at a student of the solemn Qingluan Academy—but a happy youth walking down a sunny street in a small town.