His companion swept his divine sense over and gasped. “It really is. I heard from my uncle that at the Disciple Recruitment Assembly, the Peak Masters of all five peaks summoned her at the same time, and even Elder Zhou personally led the way.”
“The Shen family of the Northern Region—have you ever heard of them?”
“The fact that we haven't is what's terrifying. They must be a truly hidden, reclusive noble house. The so-called great families of our Southern Region probably aren't even worthy of carrying their shoes.”
The two spoke in hushed whispers, their heads huddled close together, terrified of being overheard. When the speaker reached the last sentence, he even instinctively took half a step to the side, as if afraid his words would get out and bring trouble.
Shen Qingci walked past them, her expression calm, her gaze not even wavering. The two immediately shut their mouths, straightening their backs and pretending as if nothing had happened, only huddling back together once she had passed.
Gu Qingyi stood in the center of the plaza. Spotting Shen Qingci from afar, her eyes brightened slightly. Just as she was about to step forward to greet her, a fellow disciple beside her tugged on her sleeve.
The female cultivator leaned in and whispered in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, “My dear Miss Gu, this Senior Sister Shen's background is even greater than we anticipated. News leaked out yesterday that her personal sword cultivator attendant has been registered at Wanjian Peak's Hall of Enshrined Guardians.”
Gu Qingyi's steps paused. Her gaze lingered on Shen Qingci for a moment before she drew back.
It wasn't that she didn't want to make her acquaintance, but she was afraid that being too eager would make her look desperate. After some thought, she merely nodded in greeting from afar without approaching.
To the side, Yin Ruozhuo fanned himself a couple of times with a folding fan, whispering to Chen Zian, “Brother Zian, do you think it would be too obvious if I went up to cozy up to Senior Sister Shen right now?”
Chen Zian slowly smoothed his cuffs. “What do you think?”
Yin Ruozhuo snapped his fan shut and smiled sheepishly. “Fair point. With her status, pushing our way over would just look like we're trying to curry favor. Once class starts at the Dharma Academy, we'll naturally have opportunities to interact.”
As they spoke, their eyes drifted toward Shen Qingci from time to time before quickly darting away, looking exactly like guilty thieves.
Shen Qingci stopped at the bottom of the stone steps in front of the Dharma Academy's main entrance, in no hurry to enter. She turned her head slightly, her peripheral vision scanning the surroundings, taking in everyone's reactions.
Those whispers, shifting gazes, and hesitant expressions were all delivering Belief Value to her, bit by bit.
This feeling was even more satisfying than system notifications!!!
【Hehe~】
A middle-aged deacon walked out from the main gate, wearing the slate-gray robes of an inner sect disciple and carrying a bronze plaque at his waist. He swept his eyes over the new disciples in the plaza, and just as he was about to start calling names, his divine sense suddenly landed on Shen Qingci.
The deacon froze for a moment, then quickly walked down the stone steps and stopped in front of Shen Qingci. Bowing with cupped hands, his tone was noticeably more polite than it would be toward others. “Are you perhaps Junior Sister Shen of Wanjian Peak? I am Fang Mingyuan, a deacon of the Dharma Academy, and I am in charge of the new disciples today.”
Shen Qingci nodded in return. “Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother Fang.”
“You are too polite.” Fang Mingyuan stepped aside to clear a path and gestured with his hand. “Junior Sister Shen, please come inside. Your seat has already been arranged. According to the rules of the Dharma Academy, personal disciples sit in the front row for easier listening.”
He spoke in a moderate volume, just loud enough for the dozen or so people nearby to hear. The new disciples in the plaza exchanged a round of looks—some envious, some wary, but most with a look of understanding that said, “As expected.”
Shen Qingci walked up the steps, the moon-grasping stones on her skirt casting fragmented light onto the stone stairs.
The conversation drifting from behind made it clear that some people simply couldn't hold back anymore.
“Personal disciples really are different; even a deacon personally welcomes them in. When we came in just now, did anyone even look at us?”
“Shh, keep your voice down. Her ears are sharp.”
“What is there to fear? Can she really hear from this far away?”
“Fool! Do you know what her cultivation is? If she hears you and holds a grudge, you won't even have a place to cry.”
The person immediately shut up.
The corners of Shen Qingci's mouth curled up.
The moment she stepped through the gates of the Dharma Academy, she added a crisp “ding-dong” sound effect in her mind and flipped through a ledger in her head: today's earnings were easily seven to eight hundred points.
The main hall of the Dharma Academy was spacious and bright, capable of accommodating over two hundred people. In the center was a high platform with a long table holding brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and several jade slips—the seat for the lecturing deacon.
Below the platform, dozens of rows of meditation mats were laid out. The closer to the front, the sparser they became, until only eight remained in the very front row, spaced half an arm's length apart, specifically reserved for the personal disciples of the five peaks.
When Shen Qingci stepped into the main hall, it was completely empty. Her divine sense swept over the arrangement of the meditation mats, and she walked straight to the leftmost seat in the front row. Just as she sat down, she sensed a flurry of rustling from the mats behind her.
Gu Qingyi lifted her skirt and walked over, sitting down one seat away to her right-rear. Zhao Yu followed closely behind, holding his folding fan, and took the third mat to her left-rear. Yin Ruozhuo, his round face piled with smiles, sat down next to Gu Qingyi and even cupped his hands to greet her.
Xiao Yan sat down next to Zhao Yu with his arms crossed. Chen Zian slowly smoothed the corners of his robes and chose the empty seat beside Yin Ruozhuo.
Through various maneuvers, the five of them packed the mats behind Shen Qingci. They kept a perfect distance from one another, not touching, yet all landing in the circle closest to Senior Sister Shen.
Shen Qingci did not look back, but her divine sense captured the movements behind her with absolute clarity.
Zhao Yu snapped his folding fan shut and leaned close to Xiao Yan's ear, lowering his voice. “Did you see that? Miss Qingyi picked that spot exactly two mats away from Senior Sister Shen. Not too far, not too close—clever.”
The corner of Xiao Yan's mouth twitched. “Aren't you the same? Your folding fan is almost poking my face.”
“I'm just fanning myself.”
“The main hall is incredibly cool!”
Yin Ruozhuo craned his neck to steal a few glances at Shen Qingci's back before quickly pulling back and winking at Chen Zian. “Brother Zian, do you think Senior Sister Shen will take notes later? My handwriting is honestly too embarrassing to show.”
Chen Zian said unhurriedly, “With your status as a young master of a merchant alliance, do you lack people to copy notes for you?”
“How is that the same? The closeness between the person who copies and the person who takes the notes is worlds apart.”
Listening to the muttering of the few beside her, Gu Qingyi secretly shook her head. She had chosen this spot with deliberate intent: not too far and not too close to Senior Sister Shen, allowing her to observe her behavior without appearing to be desperately currying favor.
As for Zhao Yu and the others, their thoughts were written all over their faces. Still, that was fine. With them leading the charge, she could observe calmly from the sidelines.
Just as she was thinking this, someone walked out from the side door of the high platform.
A female cultivator, appearing to be in her early thirties, wearing slate-gray robes. The bronze plaque at her waist was of the same style as Fang Mingyuan's earlier, except it had an additional silver stripe along the edge.
She possessed a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivation. Her features were proper and regular, with a hint of sternness between her brows, immediately marking her as an old deacon who had spent years disciplining disciples.
She stood in the center of the high platform and swept her gaze across the hall. The whispering in the hall ceased instantly, as if cut by a blade.
“My name is Jiang Rui. I am a deacon of the Dharma Academy, and starting today, I will be in charge of the foundational coursework for this term's new disciples.”
“The first three days will cover the sect's rules and common knowledge of the cultivation world. The following seven days will cover basic techniques and the use of spiritual energy. There will be a quiz every ten days and a major exam at the end of the month. Those who fail will have half of their monthly allowance docked.”
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