The next morning, as the clear and serene sound of the morning bell rang out in the Warfare Department's Freshman Hall, Lin Xi, sitting cross-legged on his bed, blinked. "Cultivation is indeed interesting... but replenishing soul force is truly slow…" After mumbling this for a few breaths, he finally opened his eyes and got up to wash and dress.
There was still a flicker of excitement in his eyes.
To him, cultivation in this world was genuinely fascinating.
Last night, after the day ended, he had followed the method taught by the one-eyed black-robed instructor—whose name he still didn't know—and meditated in cultivation. As a result, he had unknowingly sat in meditation on his bed the entire night, only waking up with the dawn.
Except for his slightly numb legs and a terribly hungry stomach, he felt completely refreshed—as though he'd just had ten hours of good sleep. At this moment, there was again a warm stream of energy in his dantian, though Lin Xi could sense it was thinner than the one he'd produced the night before.
After washing and getting dressed, Lin Xi settled down to sense the stream of energy in his dantian again. No matter how hard he mentally tried to guide it, the stream only flowed slowly on its own, bringing a gentle warmth to his entire body—completely out of his control.
He assumed it had to do with the black bow, which had caused the soul force to escape his body the previous night. Not wanting to waste more time, he quickly grabbed the letter he had written before his meditation, stuffed it into his sleeve, and left his room after being called by his neighbor, Tang Ke.
All the new students rushed like starving ghosts to the dining hall on the western side of the first floor. Lin Xi and Tang Ke didn't speak a word until they sat down in front of the food-laden table.
"I knocked on your door once last night. You didn't answer, so I figured you might be cultivating and didn't bother you again. That Instructor Tong made you and Bian Linghan stay behind yesterday—he didn't give you a hard time, did he?" Tang Ke asked in a low, muffled voice as he bit into a meat bun nearly the size of his head.
Before Lin Xi could even ask how he knew the instructor's surname was Tong, five girls—Hua Jiyue, Bian Linghan, and others—along with Li Kaiyun came over and sat at the same table. They also grabbed meat buns without any ladylike manners and bit into them.
"He and Linghan are clearly sweet on each other, but ended up annoying Instructor Tong. Luckily, no credits were deducted, but they have to do hard labor for a month," Hua Jiyue answered for Lin Xi as she chewed.
"Cough, cough..." Lin Xi nearly choked on his jujube cake.
"Hua Jiyue, don't spout nonsense," Bian Linghan blushed and protested, "Instructor Tong only said we're to work an hour daily in the Medicine Valley."
"How do you know his surname is Tong?" Lin Xi asked once he had caught his breath.
"We met a few Civil Studies seniors on the way back yesterday," Hua Jiyue said, chewing happily. "They said Instructor Tong is notoriously strict. If you can reach the level of a low-tier Soul Warrior, you can earn two credits from him—but many freshmen also lose credits under him every year."
"Oh right, Lin Xi," she added, turning to him. "Those seniors said that the academy's student organizations will be recruiting new members from the Freshman Halls the evening after tomorrow. Don't miss it."
Thinking of all the clubs and societies that had pestered him during his freshman days in college, Lin Xi wasn't surprised. He rolled up a meat pancake, bit into it, and asked, "What kind of clubs are there?"
"Poetry and Art Club, Sword Club, Body Arts Club, Stealth Club… there are dozens. Those Civil Studies seniors just listed a few."
"Stealth and Traps… aren't those compulsory Warfare Department courses in our second year? What does the Stealth Club do? And the Body Arts Club?" Lin Xi asked curiously. On their way back yesterday, he and Bian Linghan had met several new students from the Spirit Ritual Department. One of them, Liu Yingting—someone Lin Xi recognized—was a "Golden Spoon" and chatted with them on the walk back.
Liu Yingting had said their dorms were in a strange black building on a nearby hillside, filled with secret rooms and bizarre symbols. Some empty rooms even had eerie creaking sounds.
From that conversation, Lin Xi had learned that their second-year Warfare Department courses included "Stealth" and "Trap Setting"—the former being disguise and infiltration, the latter for setting and disabling mechanisms. Very useful in mountainous battlefield terrains.
"Most clubs are for students with strong interest in specific subjects. The Stealth Club goes deeper into stealth techniques beyond what's taught in class. The Body Arts Club is for unarmed combat."
"Joining these clubs won't earn you credits, but you'll meet more seniors and maybe get helpful guidance."
"Tang Ke, do all cultivators eat this much?" Lin Xi asked.
"Yep, in the Frontier Army, cultivators typically eat ten jin of meat per meal."
"Didn't you guys eat all the mountain rats clean by now?" Lin Xi joked.
"Can you not crack jokes while we're eating?" someone laughed. "We might choke to death. Not everyone gets to be a cultivator. Even in famous academies, those who manage to take the first step are one in a thousand."
In between casual conversation, Lin Xi devoured a jujube cake, five meat pancakes, three big buns, a pile of roasted meat, fruits, and other foods.
Maybe it was because all the ingredients were clean and carefully selected—even the jujube cake was so soft and fragrant that the taste far surpassed the "green" food from his previous life.
"This might not be ten jin, but at least two or three… and here I am, becoming a rice bucket first," he thought, rubbing his round and satisfied stomach.
He considered packing some food to take to class. Given Instructor Tong's comment, today's soul force training was likely still in that mountain valley. Plus, he and Bian Linghan had an hour of Windwalker training afterward—climbing back on an empty stomach would be miserable.
But after two days, Lin Xi realized that although Qingluan Academy's meals were abundant, they were precisely portioned based on each table's numbers and appetite. Besides Hua Jiyue, the other four slower-eating girls hadn't finished yet, and there wasn't much food left on the table.
"Lin Xi!"
Just then, someone shouted. Lin Xi turned and saw Qiu Lu waving at him from a nearby table.
Qiu Lu had just arrived, still holding a meat pancake and drinking mare's milk. He wore a friendly smile, as if he and Lin Xi were old friends. Just as Lin Xi was wondering about the sudden friendliness, Qiu Lu grinned and said loudly:
"Good morning, Qingluan Academy's most wasteful and useless 'Heaven's Chosen' who squandered a Mingzhen Pill!"
Li Kaiyun and the others instantly darkened their expressions. So this wasn't a greeting—it was open mockery.
But to their surprise, Lin Xi didn't get angry. He just smiled and replied, "Good morning."
Qiu Lu blinked, surprised, then sneered, "Didn't expect you to have the thick skin of a dead pig in boiling water, huh?"
"Watch your mouth," Hua Jiyue said coldly. "Lin Xi was chosen by Vice Dean Xia and the six departments' professors. To insult him is to insult their judgment."
"I never denied he's a Heaven's Chosen," Qiu Lu grinned. "I'm just saying he's the worst one—a waste of spirit pills."
"I found out yesterday we can enter the Freshman Trial Valley starting today. If you've got guts, how about we have a fight there?"
Before Lin Xi could speak, Tang Ke stood up. "If you want to bully people just because your pill raised your cultivation, come fight me first."
"Lin Xi, are you scared? Letting others fight your battles?" Qiu Lu shouted loudly, making sure everyone could hear.
"Hey, look out the window—there's a senior flying!" Lin Xi suddenly exclaimed with surprise.
"Where?" everyone turned to look out the window—but all they saw were distant mountains and clear skies with the occasional bird.
"Lin Xi, you—!" Qiu Lu's voice exploded in disbelief.
"Pfft!" Hua Jiyue and the others burst out laughing.
Qiu Lu's table was now completely empty. While they'd all been distracted, Lin Xi had stuffed the remaining food into two large bundles, making his sleeves bulge absurdly.
Because he'd arrived late, only his friends had saved him some food, and the other tables were already wiped clean. Worse still—he'd only eaten one pancake and wasn't even close to full.
"Lin Xi, hand it over!" Qiu Lu bellowed.
But Lin Xi, still smiling innocently, walked off without flinching. Qiu Lu lunged to grab him but stopped short—he suddenly remembered: using violence outside the trial valley carried severe punishment.
"Lin Xi, you shameless scoundrel! In the trial valley, I'll beat you until even your mother won't recognize you!" Qiu Lu screamed, shaking with rage.
Amused, Lin Xi thought of the chicken wings in his bag, and couldn't help but hum a tune as he walked off: "Grilled chicken wings… my favorite snack…"