On the eve of the Beginning of Spring, the winter chill in Qingyun World did not arrive as expected.
Instead, a sudden heavy snow fell, covering thousands of miles in white.
In Youzhou, northern Yunzhou, and the entire Feng Province, starving people froze to death in roadside ditches, their bodies later hastily collected by officials and thrown into mass graves.
Meanwhile, the Disciples of Tianshu Academy lived exceptionally peaceful and leisurely lives.
This leisure came partly from Ji You's departure; the Immortal Sect, composed entirely of Worldly Family Disciples, finally had no more dazzling anomalies like Ji You, who came from the countryside.
It was also because Chu River had entered the Tong Xuan Realm, and yesterday he even went to tour the Inner Courtyard.
Regarding this matter, all the students in the academy were discussing it, wondering if the Inner Courtyard spots were already decided?
But the autumn competition hadn't even started; this didn't follow the rules.
However, as Chu River gracefully arrived at the Wudao Field, such voices quickly ceased, as if they had never existed.
They had been in the academy for half a year, and their temperaments and dispositions had been ascertained. They knew that Chu River was very vengeful, and many things could not be mentioned in front of him.
For example, sensing the Heavenly Book, and also the two words 'Ji You'.
However, with a piece of news coming from the ruins, the Outer Courtyard still stirred up a huge discussion.
"Have you heard? There was a conflict in the ruins. Lingjian Mountain teamed up with Asked the Dao Sect to besiege our Tianshu Academy."
"Huh? Our Tianshu Academy and Lingjian Mountain have never had any enmity. Why would this happen?"
"It's said that Senior Sister Pei and the others brought a lot of Spirit Stones before entering the mountain, and because the Spiritual Qi circulation in the ruins was not smooth, they were coveted in front of the central Immortal Mountain."
"What was the result?"
"Naturally, we won."
"Damn, as expected of our Tianshu Academy, so powerful!"
"It's said that one of our academy's Junior Third Realm Completion suddenly arrived, and with seven swords alone, he turned the tide of the battle, almost killing a Rongdao Realm Sword Cultivator from Lingjian Mountain!"
"?"
The Immortal Fate within the ruins, especially the Immortal Light in the central Immortal Mountain, had always stirred the nerves of the Seven Great Immortal Sects and countless Worldly Families.
Families like the Yunzhou Lu Family, Liang Province Du Family, and Youzhou Bai Family all had their clan experts and external retainers secretly infiltrating the mountain.
The direct descendants of these Worldly Families in Tianshu Academy didn't need to venture into it, but the news was exceptionally well-informed.
At this moment, on the Wudao Field of Tianshu Academy, upon hearing "Junior Third Realm Completion," "one person, seven swords," and "almost killed a Rongdao Realm," everyone fell silent.
Coincidentally, they all recalled a name that had almost faded from memory.
But after thinking carefully, they chuckled and shook their heads.
However, the news that followed confirmed what everyone was thinking, causing a huge uproar.
Ji You took action in the ruins, with one person and seven swords, almost killing a Rongdao Realm Sword Cultivator from Lingjian Mountain...
During this time, all the students cultivating in the Wudao Field looked towards the front, at Chu River, who was wearing a purple brocade robe and had just returned from the Inner Courtyard yesterday.
"Almost killed a Rongdao Realm? Hehe."
"Don't you think the amount of exaggeration in the words 'almost' is perhaps as vast as Xuán Hǎi?"
Chu River spoke with a cold Face, instantly rendering everyone speechless.
Yes, it wasn't that he actually killed a Rongdao Realm, but 'almost,' which is a huge difference.
The word 'almost' is similar to 'nearly,' but how much 'nearly' is, no one knows.
"Perhaps Senior Sister Wen and Senior Brother Ban from the Inner Courtyard beat the person half to death, told him to finish the job, but he still couldn't kill the opponent, and as a result, it was rumored as 'almost'."
"Our Tianshu Academy still needs to care about its Sect's prestige. Being besieged has already made us lose Face, so exaggerating a bit about him is normal."
"So that's how it is..."
In the Outer Courtyard's Wudao Field, as Chu River made a big deal out of the word "almost," the surrounding Worldly Family Disciples began to constantly agree.
Lu Qingqiu sat not far away, and after hearing this, she exchanged glances with Lou Siyi and Sun Zhiqiao, all feeling that Chu River's words made sense.
Although Evil Qi was pervasive in the ruins and would suppress Spirit Origin, Ji You would also be suppressed.
Killing someone across two realms was truly too exaggerated; it had never happened in the entire Qingyun World.
However, just as the discussions were about to cease, two figures suddenly walked onto the white jade bridge of Bi Shui Lake, one in front and one behind.
Everyone looked closely and found that one of them was Chu River's Instructor Ding Ang, and the other was Du Zhu's Instructor Wu Kai.
They were in a hurry, with serious expressions, and separately came to the Wudao Field, whispering to Chu River and Du Zhu.
Soon, Chu River's expression became extremely ugly, and a hint of disbelief immediately appeared in his eyes. He then followed Instructor Ding to the Trial Sword Forest.
Seeing this scene, all the Disciples on the Wudao Field were somewhat bewildered, not understanding what had happened.
The Trial Sword Forest was a place for martial Dao cultivation, which everyone knew.
But for decades, only Ji You would go there every day.
Lu Qingqiu also felt puzzled, but before she could think deeply, she saw her own Instructor Ma Zhiyuan also arrive at the field. Although his expression was better than Instructor Ding's and Instructor Wu's, it was still very solemn.
"Instructor, why are you here?"
Ma Zhiyuan heard the question and spoke, "Qingqiu, do you... still want to contend for an Inner Courtyard spot?"
Lu Qingqiu was stunned by the question, and after a moment of silence, she shook her head.
When she entered the academy, she had indeed aimed for the Inner Courtyard, but after Ji You sensed the Heavenly Book, Chu River broke through to the Tong Xuan Realm, and Du Zhu caught up later, she had also recognized reality.
Talent, in such matters, has never been reasonable.
Although she currently had four Mystic Light, she was still far from the Tong Xuan Realm and no longer harbored excessive pipe dreams.
Ma Zhiyuan nodded upon seeing this: "In that case, you don't need to go to the Trial Sword Forest."
"Instructor, what exactly happened? Why go to the Trial Sword Forest?"
Ma Zhiyuan stood with his hands behind his back: "I was going to tell you that if you still intend to compete for an Inner Courtyard spot, you'd best go for martial Dao Dual Cultivation now. After all, who is ultimately chosen still depends on the competition results."
Lu Qingqiu and the surrounding Disciples all looked puzzled: "Even if we want to contend for an Inner Courtyard spot, we don't necessarily have to go for martial Dao Dual Cultivation, do we?"
"Haven't you heard that Ji You almost killed a Rongdao Realm from Lingjian Mountain in the ruins?"
"But that Rongdao Realm didn't die. The word 'almost' has too much leeway; couldn't it be interpreted however one wants?"
Ma Zhiyuan was silent for a moment: "He didn't die not because he couldn't be killed, but because Ji You, for some unknown reason, showed mercy and spared that Rongdao Realm's life."
As his words fell, the Outer Courtyard Disciples were slightly stunned, then a commotion erupted.
That's right, the word 'almost' always means 'a little short,' and it can be explained in any way.
But they had discussed it for so long, yet they had never thought that the word 'almost' actually referred to showing mercy.
A Junior Third Realm Completion showing mercy to a Rongdao Realm expert—this condescending feeling instantly made countless people's scalps tingle.
And at this moment, Lu Qingqiu and the others looked towards the Trial Sword Forest, suddenly understanding why Chu River and Du Zhu were taken there.
When Ji You was initially listed for the mountain exploration, countless people thought he would miss out on the Inner Courtyard spot and return to mediocrity; even worse, he might even die in the ruins.
But it wasn't until he spared the Rongdao Realm's dog life that everyone realized things were never like that.
The Inner Courtyard selection still had a final competition. Even if Chu River entered the Tong Xuan Realm first, everyone still believed that when he faced Ji You, he would lose terribly.