Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing’s grand Dao Companion Ceremony undoubtedly brought a huge influx of people to Shenzhou.
Afterward, Li Yunxian took the opportunity to utilize the various auxiliary secret realms across Shenzhou as paid attractions, making them the most stable source of income for the planet’s economy.
Additionally, the Li family headquarters was gradually established on Shenzhou.
With two Transcendence Stage cultivators on the planet, as long as they weren’t the type who only knew how to cultivate and not manage affairs, it was easy for the planet to become the core of the surrounding star systems. Without a doubt, Shenzhou had entered a period of rapid development.
Xuantong Academy’s graduates used to work primarily at the Academic Office, the Special Administration Bureau, or the Military Guards.
Now, the available options were much more diverse. Even many people who had originally chosen those three positions were gradually switching roles.
This was because many of those positions were no longer necessary. For example, the several-times-renamed Military Guards.
It was originally a permanent frontline force against other races. Now, because of Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing’s presence, no other races dared to show their faces on Shenzhou, and the vast majority of the personnel had been laid off.
The Special Administration Bureau was much the same. Without other races causing disturbances, the bureau didn’t need as many people.
Furthermore, as the spiritual power on Shenzhou recovered, more and more people were able to cultivate, so cultivators were no longer in such short supply.
Consequently, some of the laid-off personnel stayed, while others went to the broader interstellar world to develop.
The people who were once in Li Yunxian’s group chat had scattered to the four corners of the world, and the chat had been silent for a very long time.
But today, it pinged.
“I’m back from begging on Planet Ya!! Baozhu, Chenchen, my dear roommates, are you on Shenzhou? Let’s get together! [dog head emoji]”
An emotional message popped up. This was the group created for those who participated in the Qingteng Ranking and chose to enter Xuantong early to familiarize themselves with the environment.
After school officially started, other students who came later were also added by their friends. There were quite a few people in this chat, about 100 in total.
Someone responded immediately.
“Songya, I’m on Shenzhou too! I want to meet up too!! Count me in!!”
The sender quickly realized she had sent the message to the wrong place, but no one cared. Many things just needed a leader to get started. As they chatted, the plan for a collective gathering was finalized.
“Come to think of it, this group has been around for over 50 years. Rounding up, it’s our fiftieth graduation anniversary. Let’s have a big dinner! My treat!”
“A gathering is fine, but it has to be my treat!”
After they joked around for a while, Yu Qiyao eventually spoke up.
“What are you all babbling about? Forget about whose treat it is. Just come to my place. You can eat and play as much as you want!”
As Professor Chen Bujian’s student, Yu Qiyao was undoubtedly no longer the person she used to be.
After 50 years, she had entered the Golden Core Great Perfection. Someone with this cultivation level was not weak anywhere.
In a city where land wasn’t quite as expensive as gold, buying a small lakeside villa was no problem at all.
Yu Qiyao’s social circle had always been good, and compared to eating and drinking outside, her villa was indeed more attractive.
By the time Li Yunxian picked up her phone to check the messages, the matter had already been settled.
Not just Yu Qiyao, but Shen Bofeng and Ying Qian also said they would go, even though they weren’t on Shenzhou.
People from Qingdao who were close to Yu Qiyao would also participate. Yu Qiyao told her this directly in a private message.
“Yunxian, are you coming?” Yu Qiyao asked bluntly.
Over the years, the connection between Li Yunxian and Yu Qiyao had never been broken. Yu Qiyao even used to visit Li Yunxian frequently at Xia Congyun’s house.
However, after the Dao Companion Ceremony, Tribulation City was completed, and Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing eventually moved there.
That place was a bit far, and since Yu Qiyao was only at the Golden Core stage, traveling back and forth was troublesome, so she stopped going.
Instead, Li Yunxian started visiting her. Songya would occasionally join them, but the ones who came to play most often were still the others from Qingdao, like Jiang Qiqing and Fei Cui.
Lin Xiufeng had also come at first, but later, seeing that it was always a gathering of girls… he started coming with a flushed face.
At this, everyone would look at Yu Qiyao teasingly. Since the two were very familiar, Yu Qiyao didn’t use any formalities with Li Yunxian.
Li Yunxian’s answer was also straightforward: “I’m going. Of course I’m going!”
“Can I bring a family member?” Li Yunxian asked even more directly.
“You can bring family, but you can’t bring a teacher!” Yu Qiyao said mercilessly.
Li Yunxian replied with an “OK” gesture.
And so, at the scene of the fifty-year class reunion, everyone looked at Li Yunxian in shock. The shock wasn’t because Li Yunxian had actually come.
After all, Yu Qiyao was the organizer, and everyone knew they were close, so it wasn’t strange for Li Yunxian to attend.
What was strange was the person Li Yunxian had brought by the hand. It was a completely strange man. He had short black hair and a handsome, cold face.
Just standing there, he possessed a kind of captivating, otherworldly beauty. In terms of appearance alone, it was a different kind of handsomeness than Su Wenjing’s.
Yet, that particular aura of his seemed almost identical to the Professor Su Wenjing in everyone’s memories.
‘Did she have a change of heart?’
‘A substitute?’
‘The fifty-year itch?’
Countless storms of thought flashed through the minds of the shocked crowd.
Only Yu Qiyao, who had come out after hearing the commotion, calmly looked at Li Yunxian and then at this “strange” man. After a few seconds of silence, Yu Qiyao asked steadily, “What is his name today?”
“You said I could bring family, but not a teacher,” Li Yunxian said calmly. “Just call him You Su.”
Yu Qiyao: “…”
She turned and looked solemnly at Su Wenjing. “Professor Su, sometimes you shouldn’t listen to Yunxian so much!”
Su Wenjing calmly deactivated his disguise. “No, she said that if we came out like this, your expressions would be very interesting.”
Having said that, Su Wenjing gave a slight smile to the dumbfounded people in front of him. “It is indeed very interesting.”
Yu Qiyao: “…”
The other classmates: “…”
“In this kind of thing, please don’t let birds of a feather flock together,” Yu Qiyao said weakly. “Don’t be assimilated by Yunxian!”
Li Yunxian leaned on Su Wenjing’s shoulder and laughed loudly. When they first met Li Yunxian, she clearly looked like a reliable and considerate older sister! Why had she turned into this!
However, looking at the laughing Li Yunxian, Yu Qiyao couldn’t help but laugh along.
An environment that allowed one to laugh heartily was always better than one where one had to be reliable and considerate, wasn’t it?
Yu Qiyao waved at the two of them and said enthusiastically, “Alright, come in quickly. The ingredients are all ready. We’re just waiting for the two of you to cook.”
Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing: “?”
The divine sense of the two Transcendence Stage cultivators immediately scanned the entire villa. Li Yunxian let out a thoughtful sound. “Did you say that to everyone?”
“In theory, yes. Since it’s a group dinner, it’s more fun if everyone makes something.” Yu Qiyao’s expression was grave.
“But I realized that, when everyone is added together, they only seem to know how to make hotpot.”
The people here were all excellent students from various regions who could participate in the Qingteng Ranking back then.
They either focused on studying or on cultivation. As for cooking… the school cafeteria was actually quite well-developed.
Sensing how chaotic the group in the kitchen was, performing a “one plus one plus… one equals a negative number” act, Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing: “…”
“Their technique for slicing ingredients is actually not bad,” Li Yunxian finally said sincerely.
Making hotpot was indeed fine.
“Let’s just have hotpot. Everyone can eat that. Wenjing and I will just whip up a few extra dishes. Those who don’t want hotpot or are tired of it can switch flavors,” Li Yunxian said briskly.
Everyone else was shocked as they looked at Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing. At this moment, the radiance emanating from the two was even more dazzling than their Transcendence Stage cultivation.
“You actually know how to cook!!”
Li Yunxian smiled. “A little.”
In the cultivation world, they didn’t have the good conditions of the modern world. Before reaching the Bigu stage, cooking was a basic life skill.
Su Wenjing was much the same, though he had been able to reach Bigu as a young fox. He had only learned because his family controlled his diet when he was young, but he was a gluttonous fox who taught himself 100 ways to cook chicken.
Other dishes were just a matter of applying the same principles. When they were home, the two would occasionally make something the other liked when they were in a good mood.
With magic to assist, it wasn’t very complicated, and they understood each other well.
After the two stepped into the kitchen, everyone who had been busy inside showed an expression of having found their savior. They had smelled enough charred scents!
Shen Bofeng arrived around that time. His cultivation was much higher than Yu Qiyao’s. He had been at the Nascent Soul Great Perfection for a long time but had not made any progress.
Perhaps for this reason, the expression on Shen Bofeng’s face was somewhat cold. His original arrogant manner had almost completely vanished, making him look much more composed.
He looked at the group of people happily bringing out several plates of food not far away and asked Yu Qiyao, “What? Did someone finally figure out how to cook?”
“Yeah. Guess who?” Yu Qiyao smiled.
Seeing Yu Qiyao’s proud expression, Shen Bofeng’s heart stirred, and his divine sense reflexively covered the kitchen. There were many people in the kitchen, but he couldn’t perceive a single presence at the stove.
To this day, Shen Bofeng was still the one with the highest cultivation among those from their five years of study, except for Li Yunxian. So, the person he couldn’t sense could only be Li Yunxian.
“That’s cheating.” Seeing Shen Bofeng’s stunned expression, Yu Qiyao knew he had used his divine sense.
Shen Bofeng no longer had the foul temper he used to flaunt everywhere.
He accepted Yu Qiyao’s accusation and took several bottles of drinks from his magic tool. “My mistake. These are specialties I brought from Planet Du. Consider them an apology?”
Yu Qiyao took them readily. “Fine, I’ll let you off then.”
***
After a brief chat, Shen Bofeng didn’t keep Yu Qiyao from greeting others at the door. He walked toward the interior of the villa.
Whether intentionally or not, Shen Bofeng’s steps took him past the kitchen. He glanced inside. The kitchen was bustling, and there were many students helping out besides Li Yunxian.
The smile on Li Yunxian’s face was different from what Shen Bofeng remembered; it was clearly much brighter.
Shen Bofeng looked a few more times, and his gaze couldn’t help but turn to the person beside Li Yunxian, whom he also couldn’t perceive.
Su Wenjing, Professor Su.
Shen Bofeng knew many things about him and Li Yunxian. For example, he had substituted for Li Yunxian’s classes.
For example, he had blocked a Nascent Soul stage whip for Li Yunxian on the Practice Arena. The person Li Yunxian liked and had already entered a Dao Companion Ceremony with.
In Shen Bofeng’s impression, this Professor Su had always been icy and indifferent. But now… although Su Wenjing’s aura still had a hint of coolness, his eyes were clearly soft as he stood beside Li Yunxian.
There was even a faint smile on his lips, and his expression carried a trace of spiritedness. The whole person seemed to have almost nothing to do with the word “cold.”
Shen Bofeng couldn’t help but fall silent. For some reason, he suddenly felt a bit lost, and he also felt a sense of self-mockery.
‘So, the person Li Yunxian likes isn’t cold at all…’
This was the thought that surfaced in Shen Bofeng’s mind. ‘She just likes him.’
Li Yunxian also noticed Shen Bofeng’s presence. she peeked out and asked, “Shen Bofeng, what are you doing standing at the door? Is there a problem?”
Shen Bofeng responded calmly, “Just seeing if there’s anything I can help with.”
“No! You Wind Mages get out of the kitchen! Don’t ruin the freshness of the ingredients!” Li Yunxian shouted.
The other students in the kitchen suddenly burst into muffled laughter, winking at each other. Hehe, after all these years, some things seemed never to have changed.
For example, Shen Bofeng would always be shut down by Li Yunxian.
Shen Bofeng: “…”
He walked toward the yard. Since he couldn’t work in the kitchen, he would clear tables and arrange plates for others.
There were already many people in the yard. Seeing Shen Bofeng’s arrival, Ying Qian waved to him. “Shen Bofeng, bring those ribbons on the ground up to these lines. Your wind control is the most reliable!”
Nowadays, Ying Qian was no longer obsessed with having to defeat Shen Bofeng once. He had already achieved a mental victory anyway.
He was the first one in the entire group to marry! He fell in love while studying at Xuantong and married right after graduation!
He was number one! Not only did he defeat Shen Bofeng, but he also defeated Li Yunxian!
Hmph!
Shen Bofeng: “…”
He wanted to say that spells weren’t meant to be used like that, but before he could speak, Shen Bofeng suddenly remembered the scene he had seen in the kitchen where Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing used magic to cook.
If spells weren’t meant to be used like that, then how were they meant to be used? What had he been so proud of?
Thinking this, Shen Bofeng gave a light wave of his hand. The ribbons floated up, and one by one, they were lightly and accurately hung on the silk lines.
His heart suddenly felt light, as if he had sensed something.
Immediately afterward, Shen Bofeng heard Ying Qian’s scream.
“How did you just advance!”
“I just asked you to hang some ribbons! How did you just advance!”
“Agh! I really do hate Shen Bofeng the most!!!” Ying Qian shouted.
The familiar scene immediately drew a burst of cheerful laughter from everyone.
A group of people with cultivation levels at least at Foundation Establishment or above worked quickly, and soon the entire party area was fully decorated.
Everyone sat down casually. The hotpot in front of them was steaming. Everyone raised their glasses high and laughed. “Happy fiftieth anniversary!”
“Happy anniversary!”
After the cheers, one by one, they started using their chopsticks. There were no surprises. The result of a group of culinary failures gathering together was…
“Sss—it’s so spicy!!”
“Who added the insane spice level to this pot?!”
“Ice cream! Who has ice cream?!”
Hearing the keyword, the DNA of those from Qingdao began to twitch. They all looked toward Lin Xiufeng.
Lin Xiufeng, who was sitting next to Yu Qiyao pretending to be calm, said: “I told you, I’m not an ice cream maker!!”
“So, do you have any?”
Lin Xiufeng: “…”
“I do.”