Li Muyangâs heart sank but he maintained a calm outward appearance and replied with a smile on his face: âThen you saw demons?â
Qiandu circled around Li Muyang two times, before she said: âLi Muyang, have you ever thought that youâre special?â
âMe?â Li Muyang smiled. âExcept for a little talent in martial arts, there isnât anything else special about me.â
âYou were enrolled into Starry Sky Academy based on the best results of West Wind Kingdom, that is very special itself. I have read your information. Before that exam, you never had any good grades nor any outstanding performanceâââ
âIt seems your words are full of hidden meaning.â Li Muyang smiled and said. âBefore achieving the best results in West Wind Kingdomâs imperial exam, not only did I not have good grades or other outstanding performance, I was simply a useless trash. All the students in my school called me âpigâ, yes, I also have another nickname âBlack Charcoalâââyou canât tell, right? I used to be very dark; my little sister always used my face as a mirror. I donât know what happened but now Iâm getting whiter.â
âOn your way to Starry Sky, you killed Cui Zhaoren who is from one of Tianduâs noble familyââYou were ambushed and attacked countless times, many are well-known vicious people but you still arrived safe and sound at the foot of Starry Sky.â
âMaybe my luck is good.â
âYou were the first freshman to pass the four trials, wine, women, avarice and temper, and arrive at the peak of Broken Mountain.â
âMy luck this year has been pretty good.â
âYouâve never learnt dragon language before but you could understand Teacher Yangâs pronunciation of the dragon languageâââ
âI also did not know that Iâm so gifted in Dragon Language.â
âSo many miracles have happened on the same person, isnât that suspicious? Moreover, your changes happened so suddenly. If nothing strange happenedââ then itâs hard to explain everything.â Qiandu walked right in front of Li Muyang, staring into his eyes. Qianduâs eyes were flashing while Li Muyangâs eyes were as calm as Sunset Lake in autumn. âLi Muyang, are we friends?â
âIâve always treated you two as my friend.â Li Muyangâs line of sight hovered between Qiandu and Lin Canghai as he exclaimed earnestly.
âShouldnât friends be honest with each other?â Qiandu said, a smile pulling up the corners of her mouth. âYouâre too mysterious, I feel that countless secrets are hidden within your body, youâre difficult to predict and get close to.â
Li Muyangâs smile gradually faded into a serious look as he stared at Qiandu: âYou say youâre called Qiandu, then what about your surname?â Qiandu is your name but it does not include your surname, right?â
Qiandu smiled and replied: âIf you ask, I will tell you.â
âYou didnât tell us your surname but everyone accepted your self-introduction. Including Teacher Yang. Is he not a little curious?â
âPerhaps, teacher Yang is only concerned about studentsâ talent in martial arts and does not care about their background?â
âTeacher Yang shows a certain degree of care and concern towards you, although he does not say exactly whatâs on his mindââbut, believe me, as a trash who has been bullied and discriminated against for tens of years, I can sharply sense even a slight change in emotion.â
Qianduâs long, beautiful eyelashes fluttered as she blinked and said with a smile: âIt seems youâre an attentive boy.â
âAlso Canghai, you two donât seem to have any obvious relationship on the surface but I can see that heâs very respectful to you and dependent on youââDo you two know each other already?â
Lin Canghaiâs smiling face still looked cute but there was a light flashing in his eyes.
âQiandu, you also have a lot of secrets. Canghai also have many secrets. Which student in Starry Sky Academy does not have secrets? If you donât tell us, then we should not ask. There isnât a lot of things that I have learnt before but there is one thing thatâs called ârespect the privacy of othersâ.â
Qiandu stayed silent for a moment, before her lips curved into a sweet smile. âOkay. Youâve manage to persuade me. Whether or not youâre possessed by a demon or is hiding a demon in your bodyââno matter how curious I am, I wonât ask anymore.â
âFriends should trust each other, right?â Li Muyang said with a smile.
âOf course. I believe youâre a good person and will never do anything to hurt your friends. Although we only spent little time together but this is my initial opinion of youâââ
âThanks.â Li Muyang said earnestly. He had always been a sincere and straightforward person. There are many things that he wants to tell but there is no way he could say it out loud.
Because he endured loneliness for so long, he longed for friends. Since Qiandu was willing to put aside her doubts and still treat him as a friend, he suddenly felt a very warm feeling filling his heart.
âThank you for what?â Qiandu quietly chuckled. âThen I should also thank you for not asking?â
Li Muyang also chuckled before he asked: âI see you two are dressed up, are you two going out?â
âThatâs right.â Qiandu replied with a smile. âIn front of Starry Sky Academy is the endless Flower Language Plains and behind is towering red Nujiang. It is said that the Starry Sky Academy is a land of mysteries. There are many mysterious places that need us to explore it. We have came to Starry Sky Academy for some time now but we have not yet went out to explore. Since we have nothing to do today, we were just thinking about walking around. Do you want to come with us?â
Li Muyang was tempted.
As the saying goes: âTraveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of booksâ. Starry Sky Academy is a mysterious place; Broken Mountain is high and surrounded by clouds so itâs difficult to get a glimpse of its true face. No matter whether for the landscape alone or for the secret caverns, it was always worth an exploration.
Besides, Li Muyang always felt that he and this Broken Mountain have an inexplicable connection, just like when tears dropped from his eyes the first time he saw Nujiang.
Li Muyang stayed silent in thought, before he replied: âOkay. Wait a little bit, Iâll go and change into more suitable clothing for walking.â
Seeing Li Muyang went back in to change his clothes, Lin Canghai walked over to Qiandu and whispered: âWhy is Sister Wang especially kind to him?â
âBecause, he is a man with a story.â Qiandu chuckled silently, gazing intently and smiling at the bunch of bamboo in the courtyard.
âDo you really believe him?â
âYour perception is the best, do you think he can be trusted?â
âIt depends on the situation.â Lin Canghai said, smiling. âIf heâs a friend then thatâs obviously a good thing, right? But Iâm really curious. A guy who killed Cui Zhaoren, someone at the Free Clouds realm, and made his body disappear into dust, what kind of secrets are hiding in his body?â
Under the red plum tree, above a giant boulder.
Lu Qiji sat cross-legged, practicing an unknown martial technique.
A white crystal ball hovered low over her head at a rapid pace, dragging a long tail behind it. It looked like a small white animal scuttling in mid-air.
As though the white crystal ball is a powerful magnetic pole, it absorbed the essence of the sun scattered all around.
In the entire small courtyard, all the visible light that the naked eye could see darted towards the direction of Lu Qiji and then was instantly swallowed by the white crystal ball.
The sun was fierce and the air was hot, providing an endless source of light for the white crystal ball to absorb.
Just now sunlight was being absorbed into the white crystal ball and then instantly, additional new light flashed over. There were only fleeting moments of darkness, which were instantly expelled into daylight again.
The area around Lu Qiji was surrounded by light and was the brightest place in the entire small yard.
Like a box full of jewels opened in a lamp-lit room, the jewels in the box were the brightest source of light in the entire house.
Lu Qijiâs beautiful face was illuminated into a transparent colour, the white dress on her appeared more pure and holy like sheâs a fairy that descended to this world.
As though she sensed something, her closed eyes suddenly sprung open.
Her purple eyes were flashing like two burning red suns.
She opened her mouth, and with a swoosh, the white crystal ball darted in.
âRed, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet; violet is the peak state of the Phoenix Heart, it can destroy the sky, rise and rebirth. Now my Phoenix heart is still white and thereâs still some time before it reaches red. Unfortunately, itâs not possible to absorb sunlight on a large scale, since it will arouse the suspicion of the old monsters in the academy. The absorption range can only confined to this small courtyard. The progress is too slow, Li Muyang might surpass meâââ
Knock, knock, knockââ
Somebody knocked at the door.
Lu Qijiâs body moved without wind, soaring up into the air in a graceful posture.
By the time she landed, she already stood up fully.
She walked over to pull open the door, where handsome youngster Chu Xun, dressed in a black outfit, was standing at the doorway.
The youngsterâs face was as pretty as jade and at his waist was a sword strapped tightly. He stood upright at the door, tall, thin and smiling: âQiji, do you want to go for a walk?â
âGo for a walk?â Qiji asked in a slightly hesitant voice: âWeâre at the peak of Broken Mountain, where can we go for a walk?â
âWhen weâre at Tiandu, we always went horse-riding around the beautiful plains. Since weâre at Broken Mountain now, we canât go horse riding. But we can take a walk around; after all, the scenery around Broken Mountain is still pretty good, itâs quite impressive. If you donât like the mountainous areas, we could go explore Flower Language Plains. Itâs one of the top ten dangerous places in the divine continent, we might encounter some strange beast or treasureâââ
Lu Qiji thought for a moment before she replied: âOkay.â
âThen letâs go now?â
Lu Qiji nodded: âHowever, the date of your battle with Li Muyang is near, are you ready?â
Chu Xun sneered: âA one-sided battle.â