Chapter 152: Boss?

Li Yunxian collected all the gifts, opening each one to take a look.

None of them were particularly expensive, but it was clear that each had been chosen with care after thoughtful consideration.

Some letters expressed thanks, others congratulated her on her graduation.

All of them were utterly adorable.

Li Yunxian read them with a smile, then specially found a storage artifact to put them away. Right after, she rummaged through her own belongings.

She was preparing return gifts.

At present, Li Yunxian herself wasn’t lacking in money, but she knew that most students at the academy were rather strapped for cash.

Very few, like Shen Bofeng, had family resources; most were like Li Yunxian herself when she first enrolled, fretting over a single spirit stone.

Even then, Li Yunxian was in a better financial situation than many.

At least she still had some money on hand.

Many students’ families weren’t wealthy either; their living expenses were barely a thousand or two at most.

To give her these gifts, many probably scrimped and saved for a long time.

Li Yunxian sifted through her things—items that were only useful for the Qi Refining stage, or some leftover, useless scattered academic credits.

She snapped her fingers, and with ease, Li Yunxian packed everything up.

These things would be perfect for those who needed them.

Just like when Duan Qiu gave her that spare spirit sword.

After finishing up, Li Yunxian took another inventory of what she had left.

Quite a trove, actually.

The most valuable was the Dragon Blood Fruit from Fu Ling, which could serve as the main material for the fourth tempering of her body.

It was just that collecting the auxiliary materials would still take some time.

But there was no rush.

Her body would need at least another year to stabilize before she could handle the aftereffects of two consecutive temperings.

As for magical artifacts, Li Yunxian had too many—she was a sword cultivator, after all, and hardly needed most of them.

Li Yunxian kept some auxiliary types, while the rest she dismantled for formation materials.

She had no idea what this interstellar era might bring, but compared to artifacts that required a person to operate, formations were far more versatile.

***

Afterward, Li Yunxian restocked herself with a batch of pills and talismans.

The ones she’d prepared before were only suitable for the Qi Refining stage; now, she packed ones for Foundation Establishment and higher, even those suitable for Nascent Soul cultivators.

If she couldn’t use them, they could always help a companion in a pinch.

She busied herself for quite some time, and only when Duan Qiu came calling, saying it was time to depart, did Li Yunxian snap out of her preparations.

Looking at her now completely depleted dozen or so storage artifacts and the restocked supplies, Li Yunxian felt much more secure inside.

Li Yunxian never forgot—every time she left home, something always seemed to happen.

Stepping out of the villa, Li Yunxian glanced back at the place she hadn’t even lived in for very long.

Next time she returned, it would be to the academy, and this would no longer be her home.

Thinking of this, Li Yunxian lifted her hand.

The prepared return gifts in her storage ring flew out, vanishing into thin air in the blink of an eye.

All across Tiantong Academy, startled cries arose.

Beautifully wrapped gifts suddenly dropped in front of many people.

Holding the gifts, everyone exchanged glances; soon someone noticed the name written on the packaging.

–Li Yunxian.

Everyone was stunned.

They all understood—these were Li Yunxian’s return gifts, and also her way of saying goodbye.

She was graduating, leaving the academy.

This sense of daze was strongest in Shen Bofeng.

He opened his gift, which turned out to be a simple pendant.

It had the effect of calming the mind.

Just a low-grade Yellow Tier magical artifact, but its black-and-gold coloring made it perfect for hanging on his fan.

Shen Bofeng stared at it for a long time before removing the original pendant from his fan and hanging this one in its place.

He’d never cared much for the people around him, always rebellious and doing things his own way.

After all, in his mind, he was heaven’s favored son; those around him would eventually be ruthlessly left behind.

Who’d have thought, in the end, he’d be the one left behind first.

And perhaps…

Thinking of Li Yunxian’s already mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation, Shen Bofeng took a deep breath and stepped back onto the stage.

He would catch up!

He had to!

***

Meanwhile, outside Li Yunxian’s villa, Duan Qiu clicked her tongue.

The layman watches the excitement, the expert sees the method.

Li Yunxian had tracked people by their aura and sent the gifts straight to them—what a spell.

Sending gifts this way seemed romantic, but if it was weapons being sent instead?

That would be long-range pursuit and kill.

“Where’d you learn that?” Duan Qiu couldn’t help but ask.

Li Yunxian answered honestly, “From the interest group over at Jifa—learned some application principles for spells, combined a few together and improved them a bit.”

Duan Qiu: …

“You sure you’re still a sword cultivator?” Duan Qiu couldn’t help but say.

Li Yunxian smiled.

Of course she was.

It was just that her swordsmanship had few avenues left for progress, so learning something else in her spare time was perfectly normal.

Besides, if the spell delivered sword energy, wasn’t that still an attack from a sword cultivator?

Sword cultivators could be quite versatile!

Li Yunxian gave Duan Qiu a little shock. When they arrived at the capital and saw the chosen participants for the exchange, it was Li Yunxian’s turn to be surprised.

Standing at the very front with an indifferent expression, announced as the exchange team leader, was Su Wenjing.

Li Yunxian: …

She went numb.

Li Yunxian wasn’t thinking about “combining bad luck” or anything like that.

In her view, her own luck was terrible, but Su Wenjing’s luck should be pretty good.

At least when they went to Jifa everything went smoothly.

Li Yunxian just felt, this time the exchange actually needed Su Wenjing to oversee it.

That was basically a sign that things would not be peaceful.

But Duan Qiu was delighted. “Professor Su is leading the team!”

To her, having a senior faculty member lead meant the academy’s own would be better looked after.

A good thing, in other words.

And none of the other exchange members found anything odd about it.

They were all at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages; previous exchanges had also been led by someone at the Spirit Severing stage.

If it wasn’t someone from this academy, it’d be someone from another; totally normal.

Other than Li Yunxian, no one present knew Su Wenjing’s true situation.

Su Wenjing was always low-key, and with Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivation, they weren’t privy to any high-level secrets from official organizations.

Realizing she was the only one nervous, Li Yunxian thought:

Whatever, I’m used to it.

The storm always comes anyway.

With that thought, Li Yunxian quietly placed her supplies within easy reach.

As the leaders on stage finished outlining important points, Li Yunxian quietly took a deep breath.

The next second, the planetary teleportation array activated.

White light enveloped Li Yunxian and the others; she felt the surrounding space twist, as if she were leaping toward some destination.

Li Yunxian wasn’t sure if this was expected or unexpected.

She sensed that the end of this twisted space channel seemed to flicker for a moment.

Then, the previously stable tunnel trembled ever so slightly.

She turned to look at Su Wenjing, unsurprised to meet Su Wenjing’s calm, somewhat numb gaze.

Alright, eye contact confirmed—they’d both noticed something was off.

But wasn’t this happening too fast?!

Didn’t she usually get a little time to react before trouble struck??

Li Yunxian wordlessly cast several layers of protective spells on herself. Meanwhile, Su Wenjing quietly cast a spell to cover all the exchange members.

…In any case, save yourselves first.

Only after the two of them had made their silent preparations for nearly ten minutes did alarm bells sound at both ends of the teleportation array.

[Officer! Insufficient energy! Insufficient energy! Remaining energy is not enough for transfer to the designated location! Please replenish energy!!]

The maintenance personnel outside the array were stunned by the warning.

Once they realized what was happening, someone couldn’t help but curse, then rushed to the rescue.

“Did some powerful figure sneak in?! The originally estimated energy isn’t enough!!!”

At once, someone refuted: “Impossible, this teleportation array could handle even a Tribulation-Transcending cultivator. The newly discovered planet only has one Dacheng cultivator.”

“Stop discussing—fix the array!”

“What do we do now?! There are still people inside!”

“Just find the nearest place and land them safely!” The teams at both ends quickly communicated and, within seconds, reached a decision.

[Let them land on Qingxing first!] That was the closest possible destination.

So those within the twisted space felt a dizzying whirl, and then suddenly, their vision brightened.

A brand-new city, completely different in architectural style from their home planet, appeared before them.

[Welcome to Qingxing. The teleportation area has clear directional signage. If you need any assistance, our staff is always happy to help.]

[Thank you all for coming to Qingxing at this time of rebuilding, and for your support and assistance!]

The exchange participants were stunned.

In past experience, teleportation for exchanges took forty minutes.

This time, they’d emerged in less than half an hour.

And…

Weren’t they supposed to be going to Kuixing? Why did the announcement say Qingxing?

And where were the usual welcoming staff? Why was there nobody at all?

With Su Wenjing’s protection, they hadn’t felt the spatial distortions inside the array, but as exchange candidates, they were all highly perceptive.

No words were needed; after a moment of dazed confusion, everyone became alert and quickly surveyed their surroundings.

Immediately, everyone’s hairs stood on end.

They realized that the “passersby” around them—people who had just been standing there—were all staring wide-eyed at their group.

Soon a second person followed the first’s gaze, also freezing in place and staring, not even blinking.

Then a third, a fourth… and soon, countless more.

Other than the broadcast looping above, the whole scene was silent.

Everyone was watching them.

Staring directly.

Those eyes seemed to be confirming something.

With their cultivation, they’d all experienced strange events before.

But to be watched so uniformly—they’d only seen that in horror movies!!

Everyone’s expressions turned grave, weapons at the ready.

Except for one person.

Su Wenjing, face calm, sensed someone very close within her perception range quietly moving.

She was stealthily edging toward the middle of the group.

Trying to hide behind everyone else.

It was Li Yunxian.

Face wooden, looking for all the world like “she was doomed,” Li Yunxian.

Su Wenjing: …

This reaction—Su Wenjing just wanted to say…

Why is it always you?!

It was obvious—the culprit behind this bizarre scene had already confessed.

How did Li Yunxian do it?

They’d just arrived, hadn’t spoken a word to each other, and she hadn’t used any artifact or item.

How did she pull this off?!

Very soon, Su Wenjing understood.

“Boss?” a tentative voice rang out, breaking the silence.

Someone shifted and walked over.

Or rather, walked toward Li Yunxian.

As she drew closer, Li Yunxian’s features became clearer to her.

“Boss?!” Her voice was full of shock.

Li Yunxian forced a smile, looking at the mostly familiar faces in front of her—many of whom she’d met online, and some she knew quite well. She raised her hand.

“Long time no see…” Li Yunxian greeted everyone weakly.

She’d considered many possible dangerous scenarios if something went wrong with the teleportation.

But not this!!

Why were her cross-world online friends suddenly standing right before her?

So this time, was it the exchange team who’d collectively crossed worlds?!