Volume One, Chapter One: First Arrival in Lin'an

Lin'an City, Spirit Appraisal Academy, Stone Drum Tower.

The morning sun filtered through the mist, casting a soft glow into the second-floor classroom of Stone Drum Tower. The air held a faint, lingering haze. A group of eight or nine-year-old students sat inside, shaking their heads as they chanted along with their tutor’s lecture.

In the corner of the room, a tall, well-built young man lay slumped in his seat, looking at the falling leaves outside the window with utter boredom.

Si Nanxi could never have imagined that just a year ago, he had been bathed in blood on the battlefield of the Other-Wilds, and yet, one year later, under the guidance of a "system," he would find himself in this small coastal city, living such a dull and mundane life.

Of course, that was far from the only thing that had taken him by surprise.

"In the lands of the Other-Wilds, there are not a few who can perceive the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and wield innate cultivation techniques. They are collectively known as Spirit Cultivators! Spirit Cultivation! It consists of four great realms: Spirit, Rank, Feather, and Relic. To reach the pinnacle, what can one achieve?"

After a brief pause, the female tutor on the platform answered in unison with the students.

"Correct—to shed the mortal coil and ascend to immortality, standing alone above the world."

"Ahem! You in the back row! Don't look at anyone else—I mean you."

The woman in the pink robe standing before the podium pointed at Si Nanxi, causing everyone in the hall to cover their mouths and giggle as they turned to look at him.

Si Nanxi kept his head buried, ignoring their gazes, and sighed to himself.

In the Central Plains of the Other-Wilds, he couldn't claim to be among the absolute top-tier cultivators, but he was at least a person of status and reputation. Now, he was a fellow student among a group of foundationless brats, learning the most basic theory of spirit cultivation! Sigh...

Seeing that he didn't reply, the female tutor put her right hand on her hip and pulled his exam paper from a stack on the desk.

"You are inattentive during the day and talk nonsense during exams. Look at your last paper. This question: 'As a cultivator, what should you do when you encounter a commoner being persecuted and in peril?'"

"Step in and help when injustice is seen," all the students blurted out.

"Even a three-year-old knows the answer. Look at what you wrote: 'Cultivators should weigh their strength, avoid acting rashly, stabilize the injured, and report to the authorities promptly, or seek rescue in areas guarded by the city defense forces.' Tell me yourself, does this answer make any sense?"

Hearing this, the students burst into laughter, only quieting down when the woman tapped her desk.

Si Nanxi curled his lip, ignoring the mockery of his younger peers, and muttered to himself. His answer was comprehensive, well-argued, and logically sound—what was there to laugh at?

Seeing that Si Nanxi remained indifferent, as if he didn't care about her authority at all, the tutor felt a surge of anger. She crumpled his paper into a ball and threw it at him.

"You are listless all day long. I suppose you were indulging in some unspeakable business again last night?"

Awakened by the projectile, Si Nanxi wiped the drool that was about to hit the wooden desk, straightened his posture, and grinned.

"Oh, Tutor, you're being mischievous again. How can you discuss such obscure topics in front of so many young, innocent junior students? If you really wish to know the specific details of my romantic escapades, you can wait until the bell rings, and we can find a private place for me to describe them in detail..."

"Si Nanxi! You! You! You are truly disrespectful, utterly shameless, and beyond redemption..."

"Fine, fine, Tutor, don't be angry. I know the rules of the Spirit Appraisal Academy. Insulting a teacher and ignoring discipline—penance facing the wall for half a day and one day of fasting. I'm going, I'm going."

Si Nanxi pulled up his sleeves, kicked aside the stool blocking his path with practiced ease, and walked toward the Wall-Facing Cliff with a yawn, unhurried and calm.

The tutor, whose surname was Yan, was the daughter of one of the academy's vice-deans and had only recently arrived. She had intended to use Si Nanxi as a cautionary tale to improve class discipline, but instead, she had been teased by him. A girl who had been pampered all her life had never suffered such indignity. Watching his carefree back as he left, she began to shed tears.

Si Nanxi had arrived in this world called the "Central Plains Other-Wilds" six years ago. It wasn't that he enjoyed being a rebel or teasing respectable women.

It was just that two months ago, Si Nanxi had encountered some strange events that left him with no spiritual power, turning him into an ordinary person without a shred of cultivation.

As luck would have it, it was the season for the Lin'an City Cultivation Academy's spring admissions, and he was assigned to the Spirit Appraisal Academy, becoming a fellow student in an introductory class with a bunch of children who possessed no spiritual power at all.

In this world, those with first-class talent practice Spirit Cultivation; second-class talent practice Body Refining; and those with nothing at all enter the Spirit Appraisal Academy to strive to become "scholars" of the spirit world.

In Si Nanxi’s understanding, the Spirit Appraisal Academy was a place for cultivating "walking encyclopedias." Most who stayed here remained undistinguished, but those who mastered the curriculum could become experts in major sects or honored guests of nobles. After all, there were so many types of cultivation in the Other-Wilds that even top experts couldn't know the characteristics of every "Five-Spirit" technique. In a duel between experts, an extra bit of intelligence could mean the difference between life and death.

Si Nanxi strolled leisurely until he reached the foot of the Wall-Facing Cliff. Though called a cliff, it was only about twenty or thirty zhang high.

Although his spiritual power had been crippled by a strange old man two months ago, leaving him unable to activate most of his techniques, his physical foundation remained. It took him less than half a stick of incense to scale the cliff with his bare hands.

At the edge of the cliff, Si Nanxi took a deep breath, his hair still slightly damp.

Over the past few years, he had completed eight tasks under the system's guidance. Logically, the Spirit Appraisal Academy "dungeon" should be his second-to-last task in this world. According to the last system notification, the new task was scheduled to be released on this day, the fifth of the fourth lunar month.

...

"He's here. That's the guy. He openly teased Senior Sister Yan Jin just now."

"Got it. As for what happens next, when we get back..."

"Understood! Understood! Senior Brother Mo, you don't need to say more! Once we leave the cliff, we'll pretend we were never here and never saw you."

The man who asked was named Mo Daoke. He was originally an ordinary person with mediocre talent. Whether it was due to his ancestors' merits or just sheer luck, at the age of twenty-five, he had obtained some spirit pills from an expert and was admitted to the Cultivation Academy. Relying on forming factions and flattery, he had gained quite a reputation in this small city of Lin'an.

Mo Daoke had grown up with Yan Jin and was her fanatical pursuer. Of course, that was a polite term; in Si Nanxi’s words, a man like him could be summed up in two words: "Simp."

Si Nanxi, who was waiting for the system to issue his task, suddenly felt a chill down his spine, followed by a voice drifting from afar.

"Ignoring academy rules, showing disrespect to superiors, and acting without shame—give him two lashes."

Mo Daoke waved his hand against the light. A burly, fat man beside him immediately grabbed the long whip at his waist, swung it, and struck Si Nanxi across the back.

*Snap—Snap!*

Before Si Nanxi could react, a wave of pain surged to his brain. The man hadn't used his full strength, yet the tip of the whip had already whistled through the air. An ordinary person would have been howling in pain, but Si Nanxi was different; his long experience in the military had taught him to observe his surroundings whenever he was ambushed.

Si Nanxi gritted his teeth and looked back. There stood three men. Judging by their attire, the one in the middle was from the Cultivation Academy, with faint traces of spiritual energy swirling around him. The man who wielded the whip wore gray martial arts robes, likely from the Body-Hardening Academy.

Before Si Nanxi could speak, Mo Daoke took the initiative, hands behind his back, and kicked at him three times in rapid succession.

Si Nanxi used his reflexes to block the lightning-fast kicks. Mo Daoke realized then that this man was not as pathetic as he had thought. He instantly mobilized a fraction of his spiritual power and slammed Si Nanxi against the cliff wall behind him.

"Senior Brother Mo is attacking you, and you still dare to resist?" The fat man whipped the ground. A stone slab the length of an arm cracked and shattered instantly.

Si Nanxi finally realized that the female tutor he had back-talked likely had significant backing.

Mo Daoke reached out with his left hand, pinning Si Nanxi against the cliff wall, and sneered.

"Kid, if you do something wrong, you have to be punished. Come back with me and kneel down to apologize to Junior Sister Yan, or don't blame me for being a senior bully!"

Mo Daoke applied a hundred pounds of force, "gently" squeezing Si Nanxi's shoulder. The sound of bones shifting made Si Nanxi break out in a cold sweat.

"If you dare to offend again, next time it will be your skull that makes that sound!"

Si Nanxi snorted coldly. So this was the famous Mo Daoke from the Spirit Appraisal Academy? His strength was mediocre, but his arrogance was quite something. If his spiritual power hadn't been completely lost, he would have killed this Mo Daoke—and even the head tutor of the Lin'an Cultivation Academy—without hesitation.

Remembering the academy's strict ban on fighting, Si Nanxi knew that if he acted now and things got out of hand, he would surely be expelled. Suppressing his rage, he suddenly recalled that there would be a dueling arena at the Immortal Spirit Pavilion in five days, so he devised a plan and smirked at Mo Daoke.

"Senior Brother Mo is worthy of being the tenth-ranked expert in the Cultivation Academy. After these few moves, I am truly impressed."

"Good! As long as you're impressed." Mo Daoke nodded, satisfied.

"I’ve long heard that you are a legend here, Senior Brother. I’ve always wanted to get to know you but lacked an introduction. This time, please let me formally apologize to Tutor Yan and you. Five days from now, how about I treat you two, and these two senior brothers, to a small drink at the Immortal Spirit Pavilion?"

"This... this..." The two disciples from the Body-Hardening Academy behind him gasped at the mention of the "Immortal Spirit Pavilion."

"The Immortal Spirit Pavilion isn't a place for just anyone. Even our own master only gets a chance to dine there when powerful figures from major sects or high-ranking officials from across the provinces arrive. This kid has such connections?"

"Who knows? I heard he bought his way into the Spirit Appraisal Academy with money."

Mo Daoke frowned at the mention of the Immortal Spirit Pavilion. He knew exactly who could go there and what it cost. To get into the Cultivation Academy, his father had hosted many banquets there. But then he thought, this was just a small punishment, and it would help Senior Sister Yan Jin regain face while allowing him to curry favor with her. His heart soared.

Realizing he was losing his composure, Mo Daoke cleared his throat and acted stern.

"You insulted the tutor today. By rights, you should face the wall for half a day and fast for a day. I've had you whipped, so we'll call that even."

"These two lashes are nothing. I hope you and Tutor Yan will do me the honor of attending," Si Nanxi replied with a forced smile, thinking to himself: *Laugh away. You pigs will have a hard time when the time comes!*

"It's settled then. I will convey your sincerity to Junior Sister Yan. I'm sure she won't refuse your good intentions."

"Then I’ll be troubling you, Senior Brother Mo."