The day of the final test was drawing increasingly near. In fact, the new recruits were right in the midst of the Eighteen Weapons Mechanical Puppet trial. Just like Cao Yun had done last year, they would have an entire week to try and understand a martial art of their choosing as thoroughly as they could. While many people were gossiping about any piece of news, Cao Yun wasn't particularly interested in the trials. Elder Tang had sent word to him that he would probably fight only one candidate during the final test. Contrary to other first-years, Cao Yun wouldn't fight several of them.

The reason was simple, Cao Yun was probably unbeatable by anyone under Mortal Warrior. As such, he would only face the best of the candidates. Elder Tang had even insisted on the fact that he should hold back in the fight as it was just a way to welcome the new first-years. Of course, Cao Yun was not at all like Luduo Bu and he would not try to humiliate or crush a new first-year. However, there was no way he would lose. This wasn't arrogance, but fact. Even though he couldn't control it completely, his 'Dragon's Heart' was powerful enough to allow him to beat anyone who couldn't manifest their Qi, both in terms of speed and strength. But he did not believe he would have to resort to him. Even if he had to, he would not as this was just some kind of exhibition, more so than an actual duel.

Moreover, he was confident enough about his technique and his fighting sense.

But these last couple of days, Cao Yun got increasingly more worried as he had no news about his servant. Because he had been busy with his moving into the Heavenly Swallow Faction residence, he had had no time to investigate about her. And just as he was about to ask about her, Xiao Xuefeng sent word to him.

Kang Cai, the little servant of Xiao Xuefeng, came into his personal chambers. Cao Yun was surprised because she was now wearing the uniform of the Wubei Sect. Until now, he had always seen her in different clothes, probably the uniform of the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. Or perhaps, they were uniforms made specifically for Xiao Xuefeng's servants. Right now, she was clothed as though she was a servant of the Wubei Sect.

"Young Master Chen, my master asked me to serve you from now on."

"What?" That was completely unexpected. Huang Cixi should still serve him. Wait! Maybe, with her increased cultivation, she was part of this year's recruits. But then, why wouldn't she say so? Quickly, Cao Yun decided not to try and make assumptions.

"Where is Mei Yuzhi?"

"Unfortunately, she left the Wubei Sect. Spirit Master Xiao would like to discuss it with you. Apparently, Mei Yuzhi wrote a letter to you and gave it to her."

"Is she available right now?"

"Indeed. I may lead you to her if you wish."

"No need. I won't trouble you for this. While I go to see her, you may use this space as you see fit." In the corner of the room, there was a wooden sliding door leading to another, smaller room. This was the quarter of the servant.

"Thank you, Young Master. I'll get right to it."

After some more pleasantries, Cao Yun left Kang Cai alone and headed toward the alchemy pavilion to meet with Xiao Xuefeng. The moment he arrived, he met with Zhong Ling, the receptionist who had given him his first furnace.

"Brother Chen, welcome. I'll call Instructor Meng right away."

"No need for that. I'm actually here to consult Spirit Master Xiao. Her servant came to me, so she should be expecting my visit, I imagine."

"Oh?" The name of 'Spirit Master Xiao' was now legendary among alchemists. Even before she succeeded in refining a Spirit pill, she was renown. But now, she was a goddess among mortals. "I'll go find her myself."

Zhong Ling was elated by this opportunity. In fact, she could have sent a servant, but she couldn't stop herself from wanting to see Xiao Xuefeng. Every occasion to both be close to her and curry favor was a good occasion.

After several minutes, she came back down with Xiao Xuefeng behind her. Both women were talking very friendly. No matter what her reputation was, Xiao Xuefeng was always extremely open with the younger alchemists.

"Thank you for all these insights, Spirit Master. I can't wait to try them out. You really are incredible!"

"You're praising me too much. I wasn't the only one who refined the Life Boiling Cradle pill. Without Spirit Master Hua and the elders from the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute, I would have failed. So always remember this. We humans need to help each other as much as we can. This is true for cultivators and this is true for alchemists. If you stay isolated, you won't amount to much. What help I gave you, give it back to your juniors when you rise through the grades."

With sparkles in her eyes, Zhong Ling bowed. "Spirit Master is so wise and benevolent."

"Chen Guo. I was waiting for you. I guess that you've met with Kang Cai, right?"

Bowing to salute her, Cao Yun answered. "That is correct, Spirit Master. She told me that you had a letter from Mei Yuzhi."

"Yes. Come with me."

Contrary to what he thought, she didn't take him into the Universe Engulfing Sparrow array formation. This meant that she didn't want to tell him confidential informations. She wasn't worried that some powerful Spirit Warrior would overhear them. Of course her office was also protected. The walls were lined with Void Nurtured Platinum, an extremely rare metal. In fact, even the entire Hongchen Kingdom only produced less than around three to four fen* a year. This metal was used as a way to block spiritual senses. If someone tried to expand his spiritual senses through this metal, they would sink into the ore and be consumed. Of course, you could still try to control your spiritual senses to resist the suction force. But unless you were very talented or your cultivation was high enough, this was more difficult the more Void Nurtured Platinum there was.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Moreover, this metal was also considered extremely beautiful and was used to make ornaments and jewelries as well.

"First of all, I'll tell you what happened to Mei Yuzhi." As she was speaking, a small letter flew from her desk and arrived into Cao Yun's hands. "Mei Yuzhi is not her real name. I won't tell you everything because some of it should be told by her in person. But I will tell you that she's from a noble family. It's not rare for nobles to be sent as servants and hide their lineage so as to avoid what they perceive as humiliation. When her family learned about her Qi deviation, they immediately wanted her back. But she still decided to stay by your side. However, she couldn't put her departure off any longer. She will not come back to the Wubei Sect. Many matters need her attention in her own family. I hope you understand."

Cao Yun was not that shocked. In fact, he had a small hunch that Mei Yuzhi was not an ordinary girl. With his mind cultivation, he was very perceptive and he had sensed several times that she wasn't absolutely truthful about minor details. But as she was competent and loyal, he never questioned her. After all, he couldn't blame someone if they wanted to hide their true identity.

After hearing Xiao Xuefeng's explanations, he opened the letter.

"Young Master Chen,

"I must apologize as I couldn't speak with you in person. In truth, I don't know if I could have found the strength to do it. So please, excuse my cowardice. This year has been extremely important to me. You've helped me several times and showed a great kindness to me. You even saved my life against Luduo Bu and you gave me a second life with the help of Spirit Master Xiao. Do not believe that I disregard any of it.

"I swear that I will never forget everything that you did for me. However, I also realized that coming here was a mistake. You made me understand something that I already knew deep down. For several months I have been walking a wrong path. Some emotions were clouding my judgment. Paradoxically, my inner demons have allowed me to realize my mistake. But you also played a huge part in it. For that, I thank you sincerely. But this also means that I won't be able to stay by your sides any longer...

"I hope you can forgive my sudden departure. You gave me so much and yet I left you without a proper explanation. I'm sorry.

"The truth is that Mei Yuzhi has never existed, either her name or her behavior. I joined the Wubei Sect under a false name to protect the honor of my family. All this year, I have been playing a role. Right now, I'm going back to my family. Do not worry about me, I am perfectly fine. Thanks to the Pure Golden Dantian, I'm even more than fine. And your mind cultivation is also incredible. No matter what happens in the future and how we meet back, I swear that I will repay this to you in some sort.

"Truthfully, I also fear our next meeting. For there are things that I'll have to express and I don't know how you will react. In a way, I'm looking forward to this day, but in many other ways, I dread that day...

"One last time, your little servant, Mei Yuzhi."

Reading the letter several times, Cao Yun was able to perceive some things through the handwriting of Huang Cixi. For him, it was clear that she was sincere. However, he wasn't entirely sure of what she meant in the last part of the letter. Actually, Cao Yun could never have figured out that Mei Yuzhi was in fact Huang Cixi. The first reason was because he had never met her. Even Feng Yingyue had not. But he still knew that all the members of the Huang family had pure white hair and he didn't know about their blood seal. Indeed, this was a technique that was almost never used. The members of the Huang family had almost no reason to hide their identity considering the prestige of their name.

Seeing that Cao Yun was done reading the letter, Xiao Xuefeng decided to talk to him about other matters.

"I won't elaborate more on what Mei Yuzhi told in her letter. There are things that she should talk to you in person. Considering your talent, you'll clearly meet with her again in the future. To be honest, I have no idea how this will go... But I didn't ask Kang Cai to invite you only for this. There is also the matter of the upcoming year. In only a few days, you'll be a second-year. And as such, I am sure that you'll go outside. And Mei Hua should have already told you that she wanted to do so as well."

"Indeed, I talked with her about it."

"Fine." Xiao Xuefeng kept talking but while she did so, she sent a telepathic message to Cao Yun.

"I racked my brain for weeks. But the truth is, I don't see a nice way to protect your identity. Initially, I thought about a mask to protect you from spiritual senses with some Void Nurtured Platinum. But the use of a mask would only increase everyone's suspicions about you. And any Spirit warrior who would feel Void Nurtured Platinum in your mask, could just tear it off with no problem.

"Thus, the only thing I can tell you is to be incredibly careful. I used all of my contacts within the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall to make sure that your identity was solid. Even if someone recognizes you, the Myriad Hall's reputation should be enough to instill some doubts in them. But demonic cultivators may try to kill you. Well, to be fair, just what you did for our Wubei Sect may warrant their attention anyway. So I'll warn you again. Do not hesitate to use my shielding charm, the Spirit Condensation Barrier. Just crush the small sphere and you should be protected from most Spirit Warriors.

"In fact, if your opponent is powerful enough to go through it, there really was no hope to begin with."

After her telepathic message was over, she continued to talk about more trivial matters.

"I also wanted to add a few words about your alchemy. After many years, I finally convinced Meng Jia to break through to Spirit Warrior. Thus, he won't be available for quite some time. As will I. All this matter with the demonic cultivators will keep me busy in the foreseeable future. Thankfully, you will travel with Mei Hua. If you have anything to ask, I'm sure she'll be glad to help you. And being a teacher is also a great way to strengthen one's understanding. So it will also be beneficial for her.

"About Mei Hua, I just want to tell you that she's still a bit shaken about her little sister. For several years now, they have never been separated, due to events I prefer not to divulge, related to their family. I'm sure you understand. Leaving her behind for several days or weeks may be hard on her. Even though her mind is strong, I know she won't be overjoyed about this. Having to teach you will also allow her to take her mind off of it.

"Finally, Meng Jia asked me to transmit a personal gift to you. It's meant to celebrate your achievements all year long. I have no doubts that you've realized how competent he was, despite his propensity to slack off. The gift should already be in your new chambers, Kang Cai should have taken care of it by now. Even though I'll be busy, do not hesitate to come and visit me.

"Is there anything you'd like to add?"

Still a bit stunned by the news of Huang Cixi's departure, Cao Yun didn't think of anything more to ask. Xiao Xuefeng had already told him so much, and done so much for him as well. With utmost sincerity, he bowed down.

"Spirit Master, as I said several times, I'll always be grateful for all your help. Do not worry about Mei Hua, I'll treat both her and Mei Ying as though they were my kin. And, although I don't know how yet, I will repay both you, the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute and the Wubei Sect for their generosity. So many people helped me here that I couldn't live with myself if I failed them."

Sensing a great honesty in his words and his attitude, Xiao Xuefeng was satisfied. She knew she had been right about him for a long time. But she couldn't imagine how right she had been.

* 1 fen = 373 mg