Lan Xinzi wasn’t unaware—he just refused to acknowledge it.
Ming Nian!!!
How could this happen!!!
Lan Xinzi almost wailed aloud.
But seeing the several young faces before him, his throat twitched and he forced the feeling down.
He was a teacher. He could not cry in front of his students!
Lan Xinzi barely managed a half-cry, half-smile expression.
“It’s nothing, nothing.” His words seemed meant for them, yet also for himself. “Since the tests are all done, you all can go back now.
I want to cry alone for a while.”
Yu Anle, seeing Ming Nian shattered, stood stunned. Hearing Lan Xinzi’s words, she hurriedly obeyed, quickly leading everyone out.
After all, it was her group that had caused the damage, and she was worried about taking responsibility!
Li Yunxian came obediently, and was just as obediently taken away. Then, watching Wenwu’s students scramble off to find other teachers, she was left standing alone.
Li Yunxian stood there blankly.
So… they’re not buying her over anymore?
They only called her over just to test her Obsession and then that’s it?
Li Yunxian was confused, unable to make sense of it.
Could she have misunderstood?
Li Yunxian was starting to doubt her own judgment because of Wenwu’s strange behavior.
For Wenwu Academy, Plan B was undoubtedly abandoned.
How were they supposed to help Li Yunxian resolve her obsession?
Yu Anle’s obsession was understandable—accepting her own weakness, protecting others, and accepting protection in return; all normal things.
But what about Li Yunxian’s obsession?
Not wanting to live so hard? That death is okay? Not dragging others along in life? Everyone dying together?
Why do some people’s obsessions become such utterly unspeakable things??
It’s just too much!!
That night, Wenwu’s teachers and students looked at the ruins of Ming Nian in stunned silence.
Finally, Qi Ke forced out, “It’s okay, we can repair Earth-Grade Artifacts ourselves.”
“We can.”
He gritted his teeth.
“Should we keep discussing Plan C?” Qi Ke asked.
The Wenwu teachers and students:
Why is it so difficult and troublesome to just win over one student!!
***
On the third day, Li Yunxian went out and once again ran into Wenwu’s students.
This time she hesitated, wondering whether to approach them.
Could it be that they wanted her to pay for the damages?
But since it was indeed her fault, she accepted it; these people really came for her, and Li Yunxian wouldn’t shirk responsibility.
She walked over again.
Because the situation had improved since yesterday, Yu Anle was still leading the group.
Seeing Li Yunxian come straight toward her, Yu Anle tensed for a moment, then heard Li Yunxian’s concerned greeting.
“Anle, is Teacher Lan okay?”
Yu Anle recalled last night’s meeting and Lan Xinzi’s withdrawn state, giving a dry laugh. “He’s fine, really. Nothing’s wrong.” Mentally, though, he was hanging on by a thread.
Li Yunxian waited a moment, but heard no more from Yu Anle.
She immediately understood that Wenwu Academy hadn’t realized Ming Nian’s damage was her fault.
Clearing her throat nervously, Li Yunxian straightened her back.
So Yu Anle was here to continue yesterday’s purchase, which was temporarily halted due to the incident?
Though the assumption was wrong, the conclusion was correct.
Yu Anle was indeed here to continue the buyout.
Only, after a long discussion among the teachers and students, no better Plan C had emerged.
They had never imagined someone could be this difficult!
In the end, it was Yu Anle who timidly spoke up.
“How about… we just ask her what she needs?” Yu Anle had found Li Yunxian easy to talk to during their interactions yesterday; straightforward and open.
So… why not just ask directly?
Anyone on the cultivation path always has things they need.
Compared to others speculating here in silence, the person herself surely knew better.
The Wenwu teachers and students, completely inexperienced in buying over people, all agreed:
“Th-That makes perfect sense.”
Thus, this glorious task naturally fell to Yu Anle.
“Yunxian, we’ve been discussing the Obsession Test from yesterday—you took it too—want to come listen in?” Yu Anle invited cheerfully.
Li Yunxian naturally accepted without hesitation.
They found a small room where Wenwu’s students started babbling all at once.
Some suggested Yu Anle try an adventurous task, teaming up with others to clear out beasts on the academy’s outskirts.
Others analyzed why a certain greedy person craved money so much—was it for power, or something else?
Once they concluded it was for power, Li Yunxian quietly guided the conversation.
After spending time together, they all began pointing out shortcomings that spirit stones couldn’t solve, then discussed how to fix them.
Spirit stones couldn’t compare to friends!
Clearly, this was just an excuse to get Li Yunxian to reveal her cultivation troubles, but under her occasional guidance, the chat became lively.
When the talk finally ended, everyone felt unsatisfied, wanting more.
Lingering on this feeling for a while, Wenwu’s students suddenly realized they had ignored the main topic.
The atmosphere turned awkward.
Yu Anle cleared her throat and asked Yu Li directly, “Yunxian, what about you? You’ve said a lot just now. Is there anything we can help with?”
The current mood was perfect for this question!
Perfect!
Li Yunxian blinked when she heard it.
Three days!
Three whole days!
After so much hemming and hawing, Wenwu Academy finally asked her this question!
Suddenly, she felt strangely moved.
But Li Yunxian had only imagined them giving her something; she had never considered what she might need.
It wasn’t that Li Yunxian had nothing she needed, but that she needed too much!
She thought back to the equipment she had once carried: Celestial-Grade Robes, Cave-Dwelling powerful enough to condense water from spiritual energy, her sharp Innate Spiritual Sword that could cut through the void, and so forth.
She needed every single one!
But none of these were things Wenwu Academy could provide.
After pondering, she said, “I want to refine a Heart-Calming Artifact, but I’m missing some materials.
I don’t know why, but many materials have recently become hard to find.”
Li Yunxian picked the simplest problem from her troubles and told Yu Anle.
Consider it her silent compensation to Wenwu Academy for Ming Nian’s damage.
Yu Anle’s eyes lit up.
This was easy!
They had the backing of a whole academy; a few materials were nothing.
Yu Anle immediately patted her chest confidently. “That’s a small problem. Whatever you need, just tell me!”
Li Yunxian answered, “Interspace Divine Fruit and Profound Frost Lotus.”
Yu Anle: ..?
Her eyes filled with confusion.
She wasn’t into artifact crafting and had never heard of either material.
What were these things?
“Are these for Qi Refinement stage?” Yu Anle couldn’t help asking.
Both names sounded very high-grade.
“They’re okay, Earth-Grade Spiritual Materials. Qi Refinement stage can use them.
After all, most artifacts are backward compatible.
These materials are in the in-game shop, but Li Yunxian noticed their prices have gone up a lot; now she hesitated to exchange such rare treasures.
Why did no one tell her that releasing so many proxies caused the interstellar world’s material prices to rise, affecting the game shop prices too!!
“Just help me ask around for the sources,” Li Yunxian said.
Earth-Grade.
Yu Anle clicked her tongue, already imagining a string of spirit stone numbers.
“Is this for your teacher?” Yu Anle curiously asked.
Would a professor at Li’s level really need students to find materials?
Li Yunxian denied it: “It’s for the other teachers at the academy.”