I trust you.
The stone hall lay in stillness, broken only by Lin Xi's cough echoing on the earthen floor and Jiang Xiaoyi's labored breaths at the entrance.
Jiang Xiaoyi wished to witness Lin Xi's cultivation, yet all he encountered was a profound shock and the unimaginable.
The peril of the piercing spear array was well understood by him and his fellow students from the Art of Engineering; none had managed to endure beyond eighty steps during their previous attempts, prompting them to abandon training here in favor of combat with others.
If they could not even triumph over a single opponent face-to-face, how could they possibly hope to charge through a crowd? Their reasoning was straightforward and sound.
However, Lin Xi's performance completely upended his expectations; the bronze door appeared almost within his reach... and Lin Xi seemed to be exerting far less than his full strength; otherwise, he could not possibly enter this stone hall for training every day.
As he watched Lin Xi gradually regain his composure, he could not help but ask, "How on earth did you accomplish this?"
"Foolish child... I have already done it twice before you; you simply remain unaware," Lin Xi replied.
Beneath the silver mask, Lin Xi's face was exceptionally pale from enduring two harrowing trials, yet he could not reveal his thoughts to Jiang Xiaoyi. After a few light coughs that alleviated the pain in his chest, he merely said, "I believe it is best that this remains a secret."
Jiang Xiaoyi paused at the entrance, then solemnly declared in the vast hall, "I understand... I vow upon my life."
...
Wen Xuanyu entered the yellow-walled enclosure, his steps faltering due to the considerable injuries he sustained in the spear array the previous day.
As a prodigious talent destined to engage with the true machinations of power, and the sole heir of the Wen family, his time was far more precious than that of others. Yet, despite knowing that his current condition rendered him incapable of entering the stone hall for training, he still wasted considerable time making his way there.
The stone hall was dimly lit, and Wen Xuanyu squinted, striving to see more clearly.
His pupils contracted as he noticed clear spear marks on the ground not far from the bronze back door.
After a lengthy silence, Wen Xuanyu made his decision; he crouched down and crawled slowly towards the bronze door.
Suddenly, his body jolted, and he exclaimed in disbelief and fury, "How is this possible? Who on earth is it! How could he progress so swiftly? He was here yesterday, and today he is already training!"
This proud golden-spooned youth, a rare talent in the Yunqin Empire, was consumed by rage and resentment.
He had crawled to the spot where he had fallen the day before, and the ground bore fresh spear marks. Compared to yesterday's traces, he had advanced by over ten steps, now less than thirty steps from the bronze door!
...
The following day, Wen Xuanyu returned to the spear array, once again crawling to the spot where he had fallen, before silently departing.
A day later, he re-entered the spear array wielding a black longsword, only to collapse from exhaustion.
Yet another day passed, and a weary Wen Xuanyu entered the stone hall again. As he crawled closer to the bronze back door, observing the traces in the mud around him, the invisible pressure from the Wen family and the unknown opponent weighed heavily upon him, prompting him to unleash his frustration in a furious shout within the vast stone hall: "If you can achieve this, why don't you show yourself! Why don't you come!"
There were no new traces in the mud surrounding him.
This indicated that the opponent had not trained in the stone hall during these past few days, yet even so, Wen Xuanyu found himself still significantly behind the records left by his rival.
He was not merely a prodigy with a fifth-level soul power; in fact, the Wen family had discovered his exceptional talent in martial arts since he was ten years old. He mastered any technique he learned, leading the Wen family to forgo imparting martial skills in advance, as no instructor they could find could rival the academy's lecturers. They merely feared that any erroneous guidance might adversely affect his future training.
He was destined to be an extraordinary talent at Qingluan Academy, and thus he possessed ample grounds for pride. He believed that if anyone could break the records within, it would surely be him. Yet, his rival seemed to have granted him a few days, and he still found himself unable to surpass them, which only deepened his sense of injury and anger.
The traces left by those ahead of him, which were not new spear marks, felt like a silent mockery to his proud self.
However, Lin Xi's absence in recent days had a simple explanation.
For these past few days, he and the new students of the Art of Stopping War had been taken to the Tianfeng Mountain Range, a day's journey from Qingluan Academy, to engage in wilderness survival training.
While Wen Xuanyu shouted in frustration within the empty hall, Lin Xi, his eyes glimmering with hunger, was contemplating a black-furred mountain rat, hesitating over whether to follow the instructor's advice and roast it for a meal.
It was indeed a difficult choice.
According to the instructor's teachings, this type of mountain rat had a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, and the recommended method was to roast it whole, without skinning or gutting it. Once the skin was charred and the fat infused into the meat, the burnt exterior and internal organs could be removed. The instructor claimed that, when approaching the limits of hunger, consuming the rat in this manner could sustain a person for half a day longer... Yet, the thought of roasting it without removing the skin or entrails was rather off-putting.
Observing Lin Xi's indecision by the fire, Hua Jiyue, who had just returned from a nearby stream with a few small fish, shouted in exasperation, "Lin Xi... do you have some sort of affection for that mountain rat? You've been staring at it for at least five moments. Although the instructor has stipulated that each of us can only consume what we catch or gather ourselves, if you truly do not wish to eat it, release it, and I shall catch it myself."
Hearing Hua Jiyue's words, Lin Xi sighed in resignation and finally placed the hard-won plump mountain rat onto the fire to roast.
In this semi-frozen wilderness of the Tianfeng Mountain Range, there were few available game and useful plants, and with another day's journey ahead, their appetites as cultivators were substantial. His stomach was already cramping with hunger, so he indeed needed to eat the mountain rat. However, as he watched it sizzling on the fire, swelling slightly, he couldn't help but mutter, "But this is indeed rather disgusting..."
...
Lin Xi was indeed quite busy. Sustained by the mountain rat and some plant tubers he had collected along the way, he had barely returned to the new students' hall when Instructor Mu Qing brought him two pieces of news. The first was a message from Luo Houyuan in the Trial Valley, indicating that the instructor responsible for the reception had conveyed Lin Xi's desire to meet him, and Luo Houyuan would be waiting for Lin Xi upon his next entry into the Trial Valley. The second piece of news was that An Keyi needed him to come to her pharmacy immediately.
There was no rush regarding Luo Houyuan, as the peculiar tremors that occasionally manifested in his arms and fingers had not yet resulted in any noticeable changes. However, An Keyi's matter was quite urgent, for Lin Xi was well aware that someone like her, a bookish assistant professor, would only remember what was in the texts unless there was something particularly pressing.
Without waiting to finish his meal, Lin Xi grabbed some food and hurriedly made his way to An Keyi's pharmacy, eating along the way.
As he pushed open the door to An Keyi's pharmacy, he was momentarily taken aback.
An Keyi was doing nothing; she merely sat with a furrowed brow, staring blankly at the medicine furnace, not reading, simply remaining quiet.
It was highly unusual for the usually book-absorbed assistant professor to be so idle. This scene was certainly out of character for someone familiar with her like Lin Xi.
"Professor An, what are you doing?" he involuntarily asked.
An Keyi glanced at Lin Xi and replied in a tone reminiscent of reading, "I am waiting for you."
"Doing nothing but sitting here waiting for me? What has caused this change?" Lin Xi thought it odd, recalling that he had neglected to greet her, and he instinctively bowed to the assistant professor, asking, "Is there something urgent that you need to discuss with me?"
An Keyi explained, "My course material was prepared a day ago. Now that you have returned, we can begin."
Lin Xi was momentarily stunned. "So soon?"
An Keyi nodded. "The last item we needed was expected to take some time to arrive, but it fortuitously arrived yesterday."
"What do you need me to do?" Lin Xi asked as he closed the door to the pharmacy.
"Please sit across from me," An Keyi indicated to the bamboo mat opposite her. Once Lin Xi sat down, she carefully produced a piece of sheepskin scroll from her sleeve, followed by a white jade box, which she opened with great caution before him.
Inside the jade box was a transparent glass vial, similar in size to the medium-sized bottles in the pharmacy, sealed with a layer of clear wax. It was filled with a thick black liquid, containing a bead the size of a pigeon egg, which appeared as hard as stone yet emitted a faint yellow glow.
"Professor, is this all you need my help with?" After examining the contents detailed on the sheepskin scroll, Lin Xi was even more bewildered, staring at An Keyi and the vial in the white jade box, asking, "If this is all that remains, why did you wait for me for a whole day? Surely you could have found someone else to assist you?"
The sheepskin scroll outlined a straightforward process involving the preparation of two medicinal liquids. One was designated for An Keyi to make, while the other was for Lin Xi.
Both preparations were not difficult for either of them; they merely required mixing previously prepared ingredients in specific proportions and sequences, akin to crafting a cocktail.
The only slight challenge lay in the strict time requirements for both preparations, which demanded that they be completed simultaneously before being combined.
However, for the more meticulous students of the Medicine Division, this should pose no significant issue.
"I have been waiting for you here for a day. This item, along with several rare ingredients from our previous mixtures, is exceedingly precious. If we make a mistake, it could take years to gather them again. I am somewhat apprehensive about relying on others," An Keyi replied calmly, her tone still reminiscent of someone engrossed in study. "I trust you."