“Perfect!”
Yù Quán had been gathering heavenly energy and expanding his dantian like crazy, day and night. He had nothing to compare his dantian size to, as Rèn Chāngmíng had a similarly significant dantian, and it wasn’t possible to see the dantian, anyway. But, he still felt his dantian should be significantly above average. He had run out of Dead Dantian Pills, but all of his refined eyes had reached top quality. Now, he could begin refining essence.
He had thought about going out to obtain more eyes but decided against it. The speed he could manage now should be enough; looking for more eyes would just end up being a waste of time. He sat down and prepared himself to refine his essence. As he activated his refined eyes, he felt a tingling sensation in fourteen different locations on his body. The tingling became strong until he felt what felt like a thick, viscous liquid coming from the inside of the eye. When a drop had formed, it fell from each eye into the meridians and traveled to the dantian.
Yù Quán was surprised at how simple it was. He was excited until he realized he was sweating and slightly trembling. He must not have noticed since he focused on the essence, but refinement took a lot from him. It may take less effort since the eyes carry it out, and he only has to focus on his intention, but that doesn’t mean it's any easier. Yù Quán guessed that he could refine essence three times daily before being completely worn out. However, he was sure some resources could help revitalize him quickly. And he knew the place he could probably get them. Which meant it was now time to head to the academy.
Yù Quán checked the refined cores, and some remained for him, Rèn Chāngmíng. Enough, he could make a makeshift bag out of boar hide and some other wilderness materials and take them with them. They also collected all the other valuable parts of the boar with Rèn Chāngmíng’s basic knowledge. They packed everything they needed, left the cave, and stopped at the entrance. After living there and growing for months, they had grown slightly sentimental. But they had to carry on. They had goals to achieve, and that couldn’t be done here.
…
Yàn Lìqín had his fingers pinching the top of his nose. Before him was Liàng Píng and Yin Mengxia. Everyone in the room looked solemn. They were sitting in Yàn Lìqín’s office. It was simple and elegant, as he was, with the exception of a mess of papers all over his deck.
“Where could he be…” Liàng Píng sighed.
“Maybe he’s cultivating?” said Yin Mengxia.
“Why would it take him weeks to get started, then? I knew he would let us down. Nothing but trash!” Liàng Píng said while grunting.
Yàn Lìqín waved his hand. “Both of you calm down. I trust my gut. Even if I’m wrong, I took a gamble. I can only blame myself. Whether he comes or not doesn’t change the date of the Blossom Tournament.”
At this point in time, it had been long since Yàn Lìqín invited Yù Quán. With no word from
him, they feared he had run off, or something happened to him. They made it seem like Yù Quán needed them, but he didn’t realize they also needed him.
Liàng Píng stomped his foot. “Let me go find him, Grand Elder. I’ll be sure to-”
Liàng Píng was cut off by Yàn Lìqín’s hand being raised. Yàn Lìqín waited a few moments before a wide grin appeared on his face.
“He’s here!”
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…
Yù Quán and Rèn Chāngmíng strolled over to the gate. The gate was made of dragonwood. It wasn’t painted or detailed; it was a pretty simple gate. This worried Yù Quán, wondering if the academy he had gotten into was even the slightest bit prestigious. But, even if it weren’t, he would still stay. He had accepted the quest; he must make the Eccentric branch the best.
Yù Quán was about to knock when the doors slowly opened outwards, causing him and Rèn Chāngmíng to step back. When the doors were open enough to see, Yù Quán saw a familiar, elegant face and a familiar oaf. There was also a girl he recognized as the girl who was stolen from the day he visited Blossom Falls.
Yù Quán bowed and greeted Yàn Lìqín. “Greetings, Great Elder.”
Seeing Yù Quán greet him as such, Rèn Chāngmíng bowed and quickly said the same. Yàn Lìqín was surprised; Yù Quán had entered the Essence Refinement Stage and showed up with a Body Tempering realm cultivator.
“You finally had the time to show up.” Yàn Lìqín said with a warm smile.
Yù Quán had seen proper manners and etiquette in the Xianxia web novels he read, so he knew how to act and speak. “Apologies, Grand Elder, my junior brother and I got held up in cultivation and couldn’t arrive until now.”
Yàn Lìqín laughed. “You act much differently when you’re my student. Alright, now that you’re here, all is well. We must get to work immediately.”
When Yù Quán looked confused, Yàn Lìqín turned and began walking. Liàng Píng and Yin Mengxia followed so Yù Quán and Rèn Chāngmíng followed.
“Who is this junior brother?”
“Rèn Chāngmíng greets Grand Elder!”
“Well, Rèn Chāngmíng. Would you join my Eccentric Branch of the Yellow Qilin Academy?”
Rèn Chāngmíng looked at Yù Quán. He has heard from him that he had joined an academy. Rèn Chāngmíng usually wouldn’t join so quickly, but if Yù Quán wanted to be there, so would he. Yù Quán met his gaze, smiled, and nodded. Seeing this, Rèn Chāngmíng returned to Yàn Lìqín, still walking ahead.
“It would be an honor, Grand Elder!”
“Good! Then from today on you are the fourth disciple.”
Fourth? Yù Quán was confused. Shouldn’t this have been a branch? How could a branch have so few disciples?
As if sensing Yù Quán’s confusion, Yàn Lìqín spoke. “This branch is fairly new. The branch I grew up in ended up being under the control of a man I didn’t quite want to work under. So, I went to the Academy Head and requested to start a new branch.”
Yàn Lìqín stopped in front of a building. It was stone gray on the bottom half, with the top made of some white stone-like material. It was a pavilion with three floors. Yàn Lìqín turned to face Yù Quán.
“Disciple Yù Quán, as a reward for reaching the Essence Refinement Stage, I will allow you to enter the cultivation library’s first floor and select a manual of your choice. Since you have made a great contribution to the branch and the academy by bringing a Body Cultivation realm talent, I will permit you to enter the Inheritance Archive.”
‘Essence Refinement?!’ Liàng Píng and Yin Mengxia exclaimed to themselves.
‘Inheritance Archive?’ Yù Quán thought.
…
Yù Quán
Realm: Qi Focusing Realm
Stage: 1st Level Essence Refinement
Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 1)
Techniques:
[Mùmùlián Eye Stealing](Level 1)
[Mùmùlián Eye Refining](Level 1)
Attributes:
[Star Gazing Eyes](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Mortal Avarice Eyes](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Mortal Avarice Eyes](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Three-Finned Boar Aggression Eyes](Level 5)
[Top-Quality Three-Finned Boar Aggression Eyes](Level 1)(x5)
[Top-Quality Five-Finned Boar Aggression Eyes](Level 1)