Chapter 43: Why are you here

　　“I see.” Chu Liuyue nodded and asked confusedly, “That so-called Pit of Heavenly Origins is that formidable?”

　　“But of course!” Bai Chen raised his hand and pointed at a specific direction. “Do you see Jiuyou Tower over there? That’s the closest place to the Pit of Heavenly Origins. The Heaven and Earth force is even more concentrated there! It’s a few times stronger! It takes half the amount of effort to cultivate in there!”

　　Chu Liuyue pointedly looked at it before she smiled. “If that’s the case, won’t spending a year in there be the equivalent of cultivating for years outside?”

　　“Haha! That may be true, but no one has been able to spend that much time in there to date! The force is really concentrated in Jiuyou Tower, but it’s precisely because of this that it puts a lot of pressure on the cultivators! Even a stage-three warrior can only last a maximum of three days in there! If you remain in there forcibly, not only will it not be beneficial to your cultivation, but it will also cause a great deal of harm to your body, even to your life!”

　　At this point, Bai Chen’s expression was much more serious. “You should know the idea of being unable to digest too much food.”

　　Chu Liuyue nodded.

　　“But you can’t just randomly enter Jiuyou Tower either. You just need a basic understanding of these places for now.” Bai Chen looked like he wanted to say something as he looked at Chu Liuyue. “It’ll be better for you to look at this Xuan formation if you have time.”

　　Chu Liuyue smiled and did not say a word. She knew what Bai Chen was trying to say: It would be futile for someone with a damaged Yuan meridian to enter that place.

　　Only Xuan Masters did not have a requirement for the Yuan meridian. All they had to do was to feel the inner workings of the force.

　　What Bai Chen said was in consideration for her.

　　Chu Liuyue did not explain much either. It was not necessarily a bad thing to enter as a Xuan Master. It would make a lot of things easier in the future while leaving her with a backup plan. It killed many birds with one stone.

　　“That’s the academy’s martial arts center. Students will usually spar there. To the side is the fighting ring. Students usually use it to challenge one another.” As Bai Chen led her towards the academy, he explained many things to her. “Today can be considered your admission day. As you know, the academy only takes the most talented prodigies to develop them to their greatest potential. The academy is also rather particular about the way it teaches.”

　　Bai Chen raised three fingers “Warriors, Xuan Masters and heavenly doctors! The academy is divided into three main sections, but the number of Xuan Masters is only one-tenth that of the warriors. As for heavenly doctors… there are even fewer of them. There’s only about a dozen of them.” And only less than a third of them will become true heavenly doctors.

　　“Students will be assigned to different teachers based on their results after they enter the academy. People with different talents will naturally have different teachers. But… if the student is extremely talented, sometimes a few teachers will fight over a student. We always let the student make the choice in cases like this,” said Bai Chen as he coughed.

　　“Take me for example. Even though I’m a stage-five warrior, I’m also a Xuan Master. I usually teach Xuan Masters as well.

　　Chu Liuyue nodded in understanding.

　　Warriors were not rare. In comparison, Xuan Masters had a more prestigious status. It was normal that he would choose to teach Xuan Masters.

　　At the same time, Chu Liuyue finally understood why his attitude shifted when she exhibited her Xuan Master talent.

　　He clearly wanted to take her as his student! However, Chu Liuyue did not want to rush into a decision too early, so she did not say anything. She just maintained a smile on her face.

　　Bai Chen was a little disappointed by her reaction, but he knew that he did not have any grounds to ask Chu Liuyue to choose him as her teacher because of his earlier attitude toward her.

　　Chu Liuyue changed the topic. “Teacher Bai Chen, why is the academy so quiet? We’ve been walking around here for a while, but I haven’t seen anyone?”

　　Bai Chen paused, then laughed out loud. “Haha! That’s because the academy’s three-day-long mid-term exams have begun. Today is the first day. All the students and teachers are in the back mountain!”

　　Mid-term exams? That sounds a little familiar… If I recall correctly, Chu Xianmin aimed to place first in this exam earlier?

　　At this point, there were a few female voices.

　　“Minmin, let’s walk faster. The exam is about to start!”

　　“Why are you so anxious, Peipei? Don’t we still have time? Besides, Minmin has always been well-liked by our teachers. They won’t reprimand us even if we’re late. Right, Minmin?”

　　“Even so, it’s not good to be late. We better hurry up. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t been delayed by a family matter, we wouldn’t have been this late.”

　　Chu Liuyue looked towards the voice and saw a few girls walking further up. Chu Xianmin was the one at the front.

　　“Minmin, you’re just too kind. I heard that you got punished by your father because of that Chu Liuyue! That loser is clearly just taking revenge on you because you’re better than her!”

　　At the mention of Chu Liuyue, Chu Xianmin’s expression froze for an instant but quickly reverted to the way it was earlier. “No matter what, she’s still my older sister…”

　　“Hmph, her? I remember today is the day she’s taking the entrance exam, right? She really isn’t afraid of embarrassing herself. If I were her, I would have killed myself out of shame already! Minmin, you’re capable of placing first in our academy, and she’s just a loser who can’t even get into our school. What can she use to compete with you?”

　　Chu Xianmin pursed her lips and kept her glee to herself. She suddenly felt that something was wrong at this point. She turned her head and saw a familiar face. Chu Liuyue?!

　　“You… why are you here?!”