In this situation, Director Chen hurriedly came out to play the mediator, reaching out to press down on Liu Wu’s shoulder, using the overwhelming power of someone at the Great Completion of Foundation Establishment Stage to completely suppress him, not allowing him to make any move.
But none of this showed on the surface. Director Chen’s face was still all smiles and warmth as he spoke gently to Li Yunxian, “Student Li, please don’t get upset.”
“The reason we have students tested in public and set up the examiner’s table is to prevent any unfairness. Reasonable doubt is allowed.”
“At the Jincheng Academy Bureau, everything relies on evidence. We guarantee we won’t wrong a single good person, nor let a single bad person go.”
As he spoke, Director Chen even patted Liu Wu’s shoulder. “Even Director Liu’s own nephew is still being held in custody.”
“Now, can you tell us the reason for your rapid improvement in cultivation in such a short period of time?”
Director Chen’s tone was quite friendly.
Li Yunxian looked at Liu Wu’s dark expression, and thought back to two days ago when the Liu family came to process Liu Chen’s withdrawal from school—Liu Chen himself wasn’t even present.
Director Chen’s words, spoken so publicly, also carried the weight of a promise and seemed trustworthy.
“It was a stroke of fortune,” Li Yunxian put away her Spirit Sword and answered, “I was in my room when a void suddenly appeared before my eyes.”
“A blood-red bone, about the size of a palm, fell out from it. It looked like the main ingredient for a Medicinal Bath Recipe, so I decided to give it a try.”
Li Yunxian described everything honestly, only making it sound like the Medicinal Bath Recipe had fallen out together with the Bloodbone.
Director Chen asked Li Yunxian what the void looked like, and what the blood-red bone was like.
After hearing Li Yunxian’s answers, Director Chen’s expression turned thoughtful.
This “void” she described—why did it sound so much like the effect of the Interstellar Teleportation Gate he’d heard about at Academy Bureau headquarters?
As for the blood-red bone, Director Chen didn’t have any doubts.
It sounded just like an ordinary spiritual material—‘Bloodbone’.
Director Chen mused to himself, guessing that some unlucky fellow out in the interstellar world must have entered the wrong coordinates while teleporting something, and accidentally sent it right to Li Yunxian.
This… really was quite a stroke of luck.
Director Chen didn’t believe Liu Wu’s claim that Li Yunxian was planted by the Hunters.
The reason was simple.
That sword strike from Li Yunxian just now was far too convincing!
With swordsmanship like that, it’d be far more promising to go kill Hunters and exchange the merits for resources at the Special Administration Bureau than to become a Hunter.
Besides, all Director Chen wanted was for Li Yunxian to give a reasonable explanation that would put all doubts to rest.
When it came to personal opportunity, Director Chen had no intention of pressing further. He was about to nod in approval, ready to let the matter drop.
But the other cultivators present keenly caught onto the mention of the Medicinal Bath Recipe in Li Yunxian’s words.
They thought about how, just a few days ago, Li Yunxian had been an ordinary person, and now she’d opened up twenty-eight meridian points.
Someone couldn’t hold back their excitement and eagerly asked Li Yunxian, “What’s the Medicinal Bath Recipe like? Let me see it!”
Once someone started, the rest could no longer suppress their restlessness.
A Medicinal Bath Recipe that could allow ordinary people to step into the world of cultivators—that was something they’d dreamed of for a long time.
Even Liu Wu, who wielded power in Jincheng, only had Liu Chen among his younger relatives who could cultivate.
This Medicinal Bath Recipe instantly filled countless people with hope.
Even knowing they might be scolded, they couldn’t help but want to try for it.
The crowd grew increasingly chaotic.
Director Chen frowned, preparing to step in and suppress those whose greed was starting to show.
At that moment, Li Yunxian simply turned her head, glanced at the crowd casually, and said, “The Medicinal Bath Recipe? Sure, I actually already gave it to my classmates before.”
“That blood-red bone was for activating and revitalizing the flesh, but since I didn’t know where to find it, I swapped it for the Ten-Year Pi Technique.”
“This is something used by wealthy women for beauty and health in the Cultivation World. If you need to, just switch it back.”
After speaking, Li Yunxian generously asked the stunned crowd, “Are you able to write it down right now? If you are, I’ll just recite it for you.”
Everyone present:
Whether they’d wanted to make a scene, were swept up in the atmosphere, or were trying to calm things down, all of them looked like they were doubting their own ears.
Huh?
She’s just giving it away like that?
Is this for real?
Director Chen hadn’t expected Li Yunxian to do this either. Once he recovered, he looked at Li Yunxian with a complicated expression.
Is… is this really okay?
He tried to persuade her tactfully.
Li Yunxian didn’t mind at all. “What’s the problem? It’s not even mine.”
“In the Cultivation World, everyone has a copy of this basic recipe. Legend says the alchemist who first developed it chose to make it public, benefiting countless ordinary people.”
“There’s no reason I should be stingier than people in the Cultivation World, hoarding it so that people here can’t enjoy it.”
Director Chen was at a loss for words by Li Yunxian’s matter-of-fact response. Under the crowd’s resentful stares, he chose to shut up.
…Who knows which unlucky person from the interstellar world accidentally sent the recipe along.
Director Chen looked up at the sky.
He’d tried to stop it, after all.
As for Li Yunxian…
As everyone knows, ignorance is no crime.
She was sharing the recipe out of kindness, not charging a single cent—what a good kid, how could anyone blame her?
So, after Li Yunxian finished reciting the recipe, everyone took it down—some using their phone’s memo app, some recording it directly.
If you ignored Liu Wu’s terrible expression, the scene was one of complete harmony.
Director Chen happily raised his hand and announced to the crowd, “Then I hereby declare, there are no doubts regarding Li Yunxian’s character score.”
Liu Wu, enduring the pressure Director Chen was exerting on him, raised his hand again. “I don’t accept this.”
“She didn’t provide any concrete evidence. It’s just empty words.”
“She’s even trying to bribe everyone—she must have some hidden agenda!” As he finished, Liu Wu glanced around, signaling to certain people hidden in the crowd to make a move.
He wanted them to seize Li Yunxian using escape-type artifacts in front of everyone, while shouting, ‘We’ve been exposed, run!’
This would make it look like Li Yunxian really was working with the Hunters, just as he’d claimed.
With what he’d said earlier, there would be no clearing Li Yunxian’s name after this.
But Liu Wu found that the people he’d arranged were all avoiding his gaze!
The cultivators Liu Wu had bribed were just in it for the money.
They were all at the Qi Refinement Fifth or Sixth Layer, and figured that forcibly taking away a Qi Refinement beginner would be no problem.
Even after discovering that Li Yunxian was at the Qi Refinement First Layer, it didn’t seem like a big deal.
However… just now, Li Yunxian had casually sliced off Liu Wu’s hair with one sword stroke, and that instantly cooled their money-driven heads.
That sword could probably really kill them!
So now they were thinking… if someone else wants to risk their life, let them—none of them were going to do it.
This wasn’t TV, after all. Where’s the loyalty among people who work for money?
Liu Wu’s mouth twitched, his eyes filled with even more resentment.
As one of only two Foundation Establishment cultivators in all of Jincheng, these people actually dared to betray him!
It was all because of Li Yunxian!
It was all her fault that he had no prestige left in Jincheng!
Li Yunxian looked at Liu Wu’s twisted expression and thought that he really was Liu Chen’s uncle—the same malicious heart, just as relentless in harming others.
She glanced at the anxious examinees waiting in line behind, and considered the approaching time for the written exam. She realized she couldn’t keep deadlocking with Liu Wu any longer.
The written test for cultivators was just like the college entrance exam—everyone took it at the same time, with the same papers. If you missed it, you’d have to wait another year.
Seeing Director Chen’s furrowed brows, Li Yunxian spoke up directly, “How about this, may I ask the examiners—do you have any device that can detect Hunters?”
“I’m willing to be tested.”
Liu Wu sneered, “There’s no such thing.”
Director Chen, however, seemed to think of something and gave a different answer: “The Special Administration Bureau does have something like that.”
This made the other examiners look like they remembered as well.
Director Chen looked at Li Yunxian. “The device is called ‘Inquiry of the Heart’. Anyone who wants to enter the Special Administration Bureau and monitor cultivators must first pass this test.”
“Anyone who’s ever done something wrong—even as small as petty theft, or as large as harming others or betraying their own kind—will trigger a warning.”
Li Yunxian agreed without hesitation. “That’s fine.” After answering, she looked up at Liu Wu. “But I want Examiner Liu to be tested alongside me.”
“I want to know if all of Examiner Liu’s accusations against me were out of a sense of duty, or if he was deliberately trying to frame me.”
***
After speaking, Li Yunxian turned to Director Chen. “Chief Examiner, may I ask—if an examiner is found to have framed a student, what punishment would they face?”
Director Chen was silent for a few seconds before replying, “The Academy Bureau does not accept those of poor character. They would be expelled and sent to the Special Administration Bureau for judgment.”
Li Yunxian didn’t ask what the judgment would be—she just turned back to look at Liu Wu, her eyes seeming to carry a hint of a smile. “So, Examiner Liu, will you accept the test?”
Li Yunxian didn’t care whether he agreed or not.
Even though sword cultivators tended to be straightforward, Li Yunxian had lived nearly ten thousand years—she wasn’t clueless about schemes.
Her question now put Liu Wu right on the spot.
Whether he agreed or refused, it would be bad either way.
Seeing Liu Wu’s shifting expression, the cultivators who’d previously wanted to stay out of it now started booing.
Everyone knew what was going on between Liu Wu and Li Yunxian.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator bullying an eighteen-year-old at the Qi Refining Stage was already disgraceful enough, not to mention Liu Wu had just accused Li Yunxian of bribing them with the Medicinal Bath Recipe.
Well, since they’d accepted her favor, it was only right to support her.
They couldn’t beat Liu Wu, but they could at least jeer at him.
Liu Wu cared a lot about his reputation, and being mocked by the entire crowd left him unable to refuse any longer.
“Fine, let’s test!” Liu Wu slammed the table angrily.
With that settled, Director Chen immediately had someone contact the Special Administration Bureau to borrow the device.
While waiting, Li Yunxian sat off to the side, watching the other examinees continue their tests.
As she watched, Li Yunxian was surprised to find that while these examinees’ cultivation wasn’t high—most were just beginners at Qi Refining or at the First Layer—their talent was actually quite good.
Most were at C-Rank or above, with several B-Ranks as well.
Their spiritual roots were mostly Three Spiritual Roots or Dual Spiritual Roots.
Based on her experience just a few days ago as a B-Rank herself, this kind of aptitude would make them promising candidates for Golden Core or even Nascent Soul in the Cultivation World.
In a major sect, they’d easily be accepted as inner disciples.
But here…
In this world, they’d all just be sent to ordinary academies, or even just city-level schools.
How extravagant was that?
Li Yunxian was taken aback, then remembered the vast population difference between the two worlds, and the problem of thin spiritual energy.
Those with slightly worse aptitude probably couldn’t cultivate at all here.
She wondered if, now that the Medicinal Bath Recipe was out and more people could cultivate, it would be a good thing or a bad thing for this world.
Li Yunxian pondered all sorts of things. When she came back to herself, the Inquiry of the Heart device from the Special Administration Bureau had already arrived.
The staff from the Bureau had been briefed, and after looking at Li Yunxian and Liu Wu, asked, “Who will go first?”
Before Liu Wu could say anything, Li Yunxian stood up.
“I’ll go first.”
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