Chapter 94: She shouldn’t have to pay for it, right?

“Yun Xian, what a coincidence!” The other party waved at Li Yunxian with genuine delight.

She truly was surprised.

From the other’s perspective, they had met before even reaching the ground this time.

It really was fate.

Perhaps because they always ran into Pei Dongyuan, the Wenwu side worried that Li Yunxian might feel strange.

So this time, someone else led the team.

Li Yunxian recalled her impression of the girl—she was a rather shy young lady named Yu Anle, very approachable in appearance, somewhat similar in looks to Yu Qiyao.

Since she wasn’t very talkative, Li Yunxian kindly took the initiative to start a topic. “What a coincidence. Where are you guys headed?”

Yu Anle’s mind was still replaying the various opening lines Pei Dongyuan had kindly provided just moments before.

Upon hearing Li Yunxian’s question, her eyes lit up instantly.

Happily, she said to Li Yunxian, “I’m going over to the teachers’ side, where our Wenwu lead teacher is.

“We’ve already won over three matches today, and he promised to let us use that artifact that detects obsessions.”

“Knowing what your obsession is, what your weakness of heart is—only after finding the problem can you overcome it.”

“Do you want to come with us?” Yu Anle’s eyes shone brightly as she looked at Li Yunxian.

This was the Plan B the Wenwu students and teachers had come up with.

Since Li Yunxian had no particular need to return home from the academy, they had to find something where Wenwu excelled over Tiantong.

That was the heart and mind.

Hadn’t they already given Li Yunxian a Wenwu Credential before?

If Yu Anle brought Li Yunxian to the detection, and they found problems, naturally, they would think about how to refine themselves.

What could be more suitable than the Wenwu’s Tian Ladder for this?

Yu Anle then casually mentioned how problems should be dealt with sooner rather than later, suggesting a walk on the Tian Ladder at Wenwu.

Perfect!

Li Yunxian didn’t know the specifics of Wenwu’s plan, but she knew to cooperate.

She nodded willingly and agreed cheerfully, “Sure!”

Yu Anle’s eyes widened in surprise—she hadn’t expected her mission to be completed so easily.

She was so happy she could have jumped up, joyfully grabbing Li Yunxian’s hand as she led her toward the Teacher’s Dormitory Area.

Behind the scenes, Pei Dongyuan, clutching his voice transmission device and eavesdropping, ready to support Yu Anle at any moment, wore an expression of utter indignation.

What?!

Why!!

He recalled the first time he met Li Yunxian—her very first words were demanding compensation.

Well, that was on him.

The second time, he was assigned by Li Yunxian and ended up beaten by Shen Bofeng, and afterward verbally abused.

Fine, that was intentionally arranged by Wenwu.

But the third time just yesterday, he had been very polite and said a lot, yet Li Yunxian barely responded.

How come with Yu Anle, it was completely different?!

Such favoritism!!

No one cared about Pei Dongyuan’s feelings as everyone happily arrived at the destination.

The Wenwu teacher was not Qi Ke, but a Yuan Ying cultivator named Lan Xinzi.

Seeing Yu Anle and Li Yunxian so close and friendly, Lan Xinzi inwardly gave them a silent thumbs-up.

***

After a brief exchange of words, Lan Xinzi readily produced the artifact.

It was a crystal orb-like artifact, with the sphere part looking crystal clear and beautiful.

Yu Anle and the others were seeing it for the first time and couldn’t help but exclaim in awe.

Lan Xinzi placed the artifact on the table. “When using it, just place your hand on the orb, close your eyes, and focus intently on sensing the artifact in your hand.”

Then Lan Xinzi looked at Li Yunxian kindly. “You can try it too, student.”

Li Yunxian replied lightly, “Okay, thank you!”

But inwardly, she couldn’t help but marvel again.

She had already reached the Wenwu territory, surrounded by Wenwu people, yet their way of buying her trust still took so long.

The Wenwu people, upon hearing Li Yunxian’s response, all felt quietly relieved, thinking, ‘This time it’s going smoothly.’

Everyone was in a good mood.

Yu Anle was the first to step forward, placing her hand on the artifact.

She closed her eyes.

Soon, the artifact lit up mottledly.

Red, black, yellow, and green spread across most of the artifact’s surface.

After about ten seconds, the colors stabilized.

The other colors gradually faded, leaving only a single brightest red beam.

“You may open your eyes,” Lan Xinzi said.

Then he gave a brief explanation to everyone, “The colors displayed represent the things you’re confused or troubled by inside, or your obsessions.”

“The ‘Mingnian’ will only show the deepest and strongest point in your consciousness.”

Lan Xinzi then reached out and touched the red beam.

Yu Anle’s sobbing voice echoed from the artifact.

“I won’t let anyone stand in my way anymore!!”

Yu Anle was stunned upon hearing this, and her eyes welled with tears.

This was about four years ago, when she went to participate in the Qingteng selection.

There’s nothing new under the sun.

Her vehicle had also been attacked at that time.

During her time at the Wenwu academy, she worked hard and experienced many things—some happy, some sad.

She thought she had forgotten.

But it turned out… she never had.

How touching.

Lan Xinzi looked at Yu Anle’s expression and gently patted her shoulder, silently comforting her.

He said nothing further and calmly said, “Alright, next.”

One by one, the Wenwu students stepped forward.

They were selected to participate in the academy’s exchange event because they were excellent in certain aspects and had no major flaws in personality—after all, they represented the academy’s face when going out.

The requirement of three or more wins was just an excuse.

They were all confident in themselves and didn’t expect their heart obsessions to reveal anything embarrassing.

And indeed, it was so.

Everyone’s obsessions were diverse, except for one who shouted in his heart, ‘I’m so poor, I want a pile of spirit stones to fall from the sky and crush me.’

This earned muffled laughter from the others.

He was furious and shouted at them.

“I don’t believe you don’t have this obsession!! It’s just that I live better, so this regret is stronger!!”

The others were speechless.

Well, it was true.

After boasting arrogantly, this same fellow was secretly given a good pinch by everyone.

Let him truly understand what it means to suffer.

Li Yunxian was arranged to be last.

Lan Xinzi looked at her with a gentle expression. “Student, please come up and try.”

Li Yunxian stepped forward.

She was a bit curious whether this artifact could detect her strongest obsession.

“Teacher, what is the highest cultivation stage this artifact can be used for?” Li Yunxian asked.

Seeing how the ‘Mingnian’ worked, it seemed to act on the spirit.

Lan Xinzi hadn’t expected this question first, but still answered, “I’m not sure. It’s been tested up to the Fen Shen stage and can still detect.”

“But by that stage, various heart weaknesses have already been refined. Even if they detect their obsessions, it’s not easy to resolve.”

Li Yunxian responded with a hum.

Her first thought was that if this were used as the core of an illusion and combined with a killing formation, it should be quite powerful.

She then dismissed the thought.

She reached out and placed her hand on the orb like the others.

Cautiously, she attached her mind a little to it.

Faintly, Li Yunxian seemed to hear some cracking sound.

She hurriedly pulled back half of her attached mind.

This time, there were no strange sounds.

Sensing the artifact lighting up, Li Yunxian breathed a silent sigh of relief.

But the others present were completely stunned by the light on the artifact.

The sphere glowed with a pure and clear white light, with only about ten scattered red beams sprinkled within.

Such a transparent heart and mind.

Lan Xinzi was dumbfounded.

He was already a Yuan Ying, and even using the Mingnian, he had never seen such a result, from Qi Jing to Fen Shen stages.

Was this truly possible, for a person to possess such a clear heart?

If it weren’t for those red beams, the purely transparent heart could be regarded as having reached the divine level.

This was exactly the kind of heart color the Wenwu academy, which revered heart cultivation, loved most.

Lan Xinzi’s gaze lingered on the red beams, his expression growing slightly serious.

He hadn’t explained clearly before what the colors of the beams meant.

Red… represented the killing nature.

What kind of person, besides having a completely transparent heart, has nothing left but killing obsession?

Lan Xinzi couldn’t help but ponder this.

Yet his face remained calm, and his voice stayed gentle, “Alright, you may open your eyes.”

Li Yunxian opened her eyes and looked at the results on the artifact without surprise.

Though her eyes were closed before, her divine sense had been observing.

It really had detected her obsession.

Seeing the final red beam displayed, and noticing Lan Xinzi hesitated before reaching out to touch it, Li Yunxian decisively stretched out her hand herself.

She was always frank and didn’t think an obsession was anything to hide.

The red beam lit up, and Li Yunxian’s hoarse, resentful voice echoed from the artifact.

“I will survive, and bring everyone else along with me!”

The voice was extremely infectious.

Everyone present was stunned by that hoarse roar, their heads ringing.

It was as if they were facing a great evil, with endless flames of vengeance burning within, eager to devour its bones and blood.

Li Yunxian herself was taken aback.

She did remember this phrase.

It was the shout she made in Great Vehicle Late Stage when betrayed by a newly made tribulation-crossing friend and when she learned the truth of the world.

That person had been dead for over a thousand years. Why was she still obsessed with this?

Li Yunxian felt confused.

This artifact must be faulty.

She lowered her head to look at the Mingnian, and then she saw what looked like a crack appearing on the crystal-clear orb.

Soon, there was no “looked like” anymore.

A crisp sound of glass shattering rang in everyone’s ears.

The artifact cracked in two.

Li Yunxian:

It seemed this artifact could withstand detection from Fen Shen stage cultivators but not the roar of someone in Great Vehicle Late Stage.

But she was only at Qi Jing stage.

Hmm, Qi Jing stage!

Surely she didn’t have to pay for this?

Li Yunxian looked innocently at Lan Xinzi, who was staring blankly at the Mingnian, seemingly not yet comprehending what had just happened.