"Wait!"

A cool yet slightly gentle voice called from behind, making Su Yuan pause his steps. He turned his head in confusion and saw a young woman's face that left a deep impression—not because of extraordinary beauty, but because he clearly remembered she was Liu Muwan, one of those with supreme Spirit Roots.

He hadn't expected to encounter her on the road, let alone have her call out to him. Su Yuan glanced around—there were indeed only the two of them on the path.

"Were you calling me?" Su Yuan asked.

"Yes," Liu Muwan nodded.

Observing Su Yuan up close, she could sense the faint spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from him. With her supreme Spirit Root's sensitivity to spiritual energy, she vaguely perceived that Su Yuan's cultivation was indeed at Qi Refining Second Layer, and not just at the initial stage at that!

This astonished Liu Muwan, because she distinctly recalled Su Yuan's test results from yesterday—confirming he only had two Spiritual Nodes. Yet in just one day, he seemed to have reached four or even five nodes!

This was utterly abnormal!

"Was there something you needed?" Su Yuan asked when she remained silent.

Liu Muwan smoothed her hair and said, "I'm curious. The next scripture lecture is about water attribute techniques. You have metal, wood and fire Spirit Roots—why are you attending?"

Su Yuan was surprised she knew about his Spirit Roots. "Oh, the Scripture Pavilion's senior brother told me that in the path of cultivation, understanding one method leads to understanding all methods. Many principles in water attribute techniques form the foundation of cultivation. It's always beneficial to listen more!" Su Yuan casually explained.

Liu Muwan blinked, her expression turning thoughtful.

"Time's almost up—I need to get to Scripture Hall. Latecomers won't get seats! I'll take my leave first!" Su Yuan quickly excused himself and hurried away.

Liu Muwan paid little attention to Su Yuan's unconventional reasoning. She kept pondering the mystery of his rapid progress, but with her current knowledge and experience, she couldn't fathom the reason—unless Su Yuan explained it himself.

Suddenly sensing something, Liu Muwan turned her head.

A figure approached—seemingly slow yet incredibly fast.

Soon, Ye Bufan appeared.

"What did you say to him?" Ye Bufan asked calmly.

"Nothing much, just casual questions," Liu Muwan paused before replying. "Why do you care about my business?"

Ye Bufan said impassively, "If he caught your attention, he must be unusual."

"Oh? Surely not as remarkable as you," Liu Muwan retorted.

"Naturally," Ye Bufan smiled faintly.

"But the future remains uncertain!" Liu Muwan added.

Ye Bufan said indifferently, "You should focus on your own efforts—don't fall too far behind."

With that, Ye Bufan continued forward and soon disappeared from view.

Liu Muwan shook her head. "I won't consider romantic affairs until reaching Nascent Soul stage."

Lightening her steps, she leaped onto a roadside tree and traveled via the treetops, taking an unconventional path.

After Liu Muwan left,

The Valley Master appeared atop a stone, writing in a notebook.

"Liu Muwan shows firm cultivation determination and sharp observation."

"Ye Bufan may face a romantic tribulation in the future and is overly arrogant."

"This Su Yuan... his aura feels off. The boy is deliberately hiding his abilities!"

After some hesitation, the Valley Master moved Liu Muwan's name to first place, demoted Ye Bufan to second, and kept Su Yuan at third.

Then the Valley Master vanished like a wisp of smoke.

As Su Yuan walked, he heard a system notification.

[Ding, Fame Value +4]

"Oh? Another 4? My Fame Experience has reached 24 now!"

Su Yuan glanced back the way he came.

"Was it because of Liu Muwan?"

He'd discovered that while ordinary people required many knowing about him to increase Fame Value by one point, those with high talent or strength could provide multiple points individually.

This "knowing" wasn't merely hearing his name—it required some understanding and genuine interest in him.

This was his speculation, but probably close to the truth.

Shaking his head, Su Yuan continued walking.

Suddenly sensing an approaching presence behind him,

He turned to see Ye Bufan, the other supreme Spirit Root holder, rapidly closing the distance.

Su Yuan naturally moved aside to yield the path.

Ye Bufan swept past, glancing briefly at Su Yuan's face before looking away disdainfully.

Su Yuan didn't notice Ye Bufan's expression—his focus was on the green whirlwinds swirling around Ye Bufan's feet, clearly a wind spell for enhanced movement speed.

In moments, Ye Bufan was gone.

"Tsk, I should learn a spell too. Raw spiritual energy isn't very useful," Su Yuan mused, thinking of the Scripture Pavilion where techniques and spells were stored. He remembered reaching Qi Refining Second Layer granted one free spell exchange, but he couldn't go yet—he'd wait awhile longer.

Soon,

The Scripture Hall was again filled with disciples.

Sitting in a corner, Su Yuan watched enviously as Liu Muwan arrived late yet casually took one of the two reserved front-row seats for supreme Spirit Root holders—no one dared occupy those spots even when the hall was full.

"The perks of supreme Spirit Roots are truly impressive!" Su Yuan thought. "Though having one wouldn't help me—being in the front row under direct observation would make slacking impossible!"

Suddenly, a thunderous boom echoed!

Looking up, disciples saw layers of white clouds forming a staircase in the sky!

Zhuge Jian descended step by step, each footfall causing the clouds behind him to explode into radiant multicolored light.

Su Yuan's mouth twitched.

Only after Zhuge Jian landed and sat cross-legged did the disciples recover.

Even Ye Bufan's stern expression nearly cracked—he detested such flamboyant displays, but Zhuge Jian's strength forced him to endure. "In ten years, I'll surpass him!" he vowed.

"Junior brothers and sisters, I'm pleased to see you again!" Zhuge Jian smiled. "This is my second lecture. Some attended my first session—I greatly value karmic connections. Therefore, I'll give you a test. Those who pass will receive a reward!"

Eyes brightened throughout the hall.

Even Ye Bufan looked up intently.

Zhuge Jian, satisfied by their reactions, continued, "The test is simple—five questions based on my first lecture's content. You have fifteen minutes to answer. Perfect scores earn rewards!"

With a wave, 290 scrolls flew from his sleeve, landing precisely before each attending disciple. The remaining 70 who missed the first lecture received nothing, their disappointed expressions showing they felt cheated.

Su Yuan unrolled his scroll to find five questions. A quick glance gave him the answers—the first four were straightforward, while the fifth required combining lecture content with broader cultivation knowledge, posing significant difficulty.

But to Su Yuan, this was trivial. Having thoroughly studied hundreds of Scripture Pavilion texts, his knowledge far surpassed ordinary disciples.

[Q: If heaven-earth energy is spiritual energy and cultivator energy is spiritual power, what differentiates them?]

[A: Refining essence into energy, refining energy into spirit—spiritual energy is heaven-earth's breath, unusable by ordinary people. Only when spiritual energy enters the body, merging with human essence, energy and spirit, do the four unite into spiritual power—controlled, used and commanded by people.]

[Q: Spiritual energy divides into five elements, wind, cloud, thunder, snow, ice, mist, illusion etc. Yet observed directly, spiritual energy appears colorless, odorless, intangible and attribute-less. Why?]

[A: Energy transforms easily—metal becomes water, thunder becomes fire. Spiritual energy attributes interconvert—this is heaven-earth's natural principle! The human body works similarly—spiritual power entering the heart transforms to fire, entering lungs transforms to metal. Transformation is the unchanging truth! Heaven-earth's vastness embraces all energies, unifying them—presence is absence, invisible to show! Seemingly attribute-less, actually all-attribute! Heaven-earth's wonder runs broad and deep!]

Su Yuan answered freely, filling all five questions with his understanding.

For such "literary questions," Su Yuan saw no need for concealment—cultivation valued realm advancement and spell mastery above all. Answering questions? Merely a minor skill. Showing some ability here seemed safe. He coveted Zhuge Jian's reward—as inner sect senior brother, Zhuge Jian had surely qualified for core disciple status long ago. Such figures shouldn't be judged as ordinary inner sect disciples—their sights set on true disciple status. The reward from someone like this should be substantial, right?

Su Yuan mused silently.

Before he realized, he'd finished all five questions.

Soon, time was up.

Zhuge Jian waved his hand, recalling all 290 scrolls into neat stacks.

Then white light flashed mysteriously from his hand!

The papers divided into five piles—one largest, another sizable, then progressively smaller, the smallest containing just a few sheets.

Su Yuan stared wide-eyed—this was "grading papers"?! Just a white flash and done? This was truly cultivation-style efficiency!

Zhuge Jian lifted the smallest pile—clearly just five scrolls visible to all.

Under everyone's gaze, he reviewed them with satisfaction until reaching the last scroll, where his gaze fixed and brows slightly furrowed.