Chapter 329

Chapter 329: Qing Zhi!

Ye Tianming looked toward the crumbling statue — a figure of a woman, only the lower half remaining, the upper half long since vanished.

　　Those kneeling before the statue wore solemn expressions, deeply reverent.

　　A deity!

　　Ye Tianming studied the statue for a moment, feeling rather curious.

　　Whatever could make the people here kneel in such worship was clearly nothing other than a deity.

　　This statue undoubtedly belonged to a divine being — though whether it was a living true god or an ancient god who had already fallen, he could not say.

　　In that great war of the gods long ago, many deities had perished.

　　Without lingering, he continued on his way.

　　Along the path, he came across many ruined structures that, judging by their scale, had once been breathtakingly magnificent.

　　After passing through the ruins, he saw range after range of unbroken mountains stretching endlessly before him. The peaks soared impossibly high, their summits reaching into the river of stars, as though they were the very pillars of heaven and earth — majestic and awe-inspiring.

　　The Divine Mountains!

　　Gazing upon this vast mountain range, Ye Tianming was struck with wonder. What a sight to behold!

　　The Divine Mountains carried special restrictions, so he could not draw upon his cultivation at all and had no choice but to climb on foot.

　　He made his way up the mountain slope step by step, and when he reached the halfway point and turned to look back, the view was breathtaking — all the other peaks seemed small beneath him.

　　Ye Tianming smiled and pressed on.

　　Before long, he came across a young man and woman. By appearances, both seemed quite young — somewhere in their twenties — dressed simply and plainly.

　　At that moment, the two also noticed Ye Tianming. The young man smiled at him and said, “Friend, are you here to join the Divine Academy as well?”

　　Ye Tianming nodded. “I am.”

　　The young man said with some excitement, “What a coincidence — my sister and I are here for the same reason. Hello, I’m Yuan Qing, and this is my sister Yuan Zhi.”

　　The young woman glanced at Ye Tianming and gave a slight nod as a greeting.

　　Ye Tianming smiled. “My name is Ye Tianming.”

　　Yuan Qing said, “Brother Ye, let’s walk together!”

　　Ye Tianming smiled. “Sure.”

　　The three set off together.

　　Along the way, Yuan Qing asked curiously, “Brother Ye, what cultivation level are you at?”

　　Ye Tianming thought for a moment and said, “Human Spirit.”

　　He named the lowest level.

　　Yuan Qing smiled. “Same here — though I’m at Human Spirit Fifth Stage. One more stage and I’ll reach Earth Prayer.”

　　Then he suddenly brightened. “My sister Yuan Zhi is already at Earth Prayer Fifth Stage — she’s almost at Star Vault!”

　　The pride on his face was plain to see.

　　Ye Tianming glanced at the girl called Yuan Zhi, who simply offered a faint smile and said nothing.

　　Yuan Qing let out a sigh. “The only problem is we’re too poor. Otherwise, my sister would definitely be at Star Vault by now.”

　　Yuan Zhi tugged lightly at his sleeve and shook her head.

　　Yuan Qing grinned. “But it doesn’t matter — once we join the Divine Academy, my sister is sure to soar to great heights!”

　　He then looked at Ye Tianming. “Brother Ye, don’t be discouraged either. You may only be at the Human Spirit level, but you’re still young — the future is full of possibilities.”

　　Ye Tianming smiled. “Thank you.”

　　Yuan Qing laughed. “Come on, we need to hurry to the Divine Academy. I’ve heard they even serve meals infused with incense spiritual energy!”

　　The three picked up their pace.

　　Before long, they reached the summit, and as they did, a sense of awe unlike anything Ye Tianming had ever felt surged through him. He saw mountain ranges stretching without end, a boundless river of stars spreading in all directions, and ancient halls standing tall within that stellar expanse.

　　”Wow!”

　　Beside him, Yuan Qing stared with eyes wide as lanterns. “It’s… it’s incredible.”

　　His sister Yuan Zhi’s eyes were likewise filled with amazement.

　　Ye Tianming shook his head and smiled. He had to admit — this was truly breathtaking.

　　Hall after hall stood amid the river of stars, each one encircled by constellations. Bathed in starlight, they radiated a dazzling brilliance, and farther in the distance, a great Milky Way stretched from south to north across the stellar sea, like a ribbon of flowing silver light, adorning the entire starscape with even greater splendor.

　　Just then, an elderly man appeared before the three of them. Yuan Qing quickly bowed with respect and said nervously, “We… we’d like to join the Divine Academy.”

　　The elder said kindly, “There’s no need to be nervous. I’ll take you to the assessment. Follow me.”

　　With that, he turned and walked off to the side.

　　The three followed, all of them looking around with curiosity as they went.

　　Shortly after, the elder led the three to a grand hall, in front of which stood a star-stone pillar with six compartments.

　　On the way up, Ye Tianming had learned from Yuan Qing that this was the testing pillar — its six compartments each corresponding to a different root-bone grade: lower-tier aptitude, middle-tier aptitude, upper-tier aptitude, genius, prodigy, and divine fated.

　　The elder looked at the three of them and smiled. “Do you all understand the rules here?”

　　Yuan Qing nodded quickly. “Yes, yes — first we test root-bone and soul.”

　　The elder nodded. “Who would like to go first?”

　　Yuan Qing looked at Ye Tianming. “Brother Ye, after you?”

　　Ye Tianming smiled. “All right!”

　　He walked up to the star-stone pillar. The elder said gently, “Simply place your hand on it.”

　　Ye Tianming nodded and pressed his hand against the pillar. It began to tremble, and a moment later, the lowest compartment lit up.

　　Seeing this, Yuan Qing broke into a grin beside him. “Good, good!”

　　But almost immediately, the compartment went dark.

　　Yuan Qing’s smile froze. Only lower-tier aptitude?

　　Ye Tianming glanced at the testing pillar, then looked at the elder. The elder thought for a moment and smiled. “Would you like to try once more?”

　　Ye Tianming nodded. “Sure.”

　　He placed his hand on it again. The first compartment lit up once more, but it didn’t hold for long before going dark again.

　　Ye Tianming smiled ruefully.

　　Lower-tier aptitude!

　　It seemed he would have to rely on Lu Ren’s letter of recommendation after all.

　　Beside him, Yuan Qing didn’t quite know what to say to comfort him.

　　After a brief pause, the elder turned to Yuan Qing and smiled. “Your turn?”

　　Yuan Qing nodded. “Okay!”

　　He stepped up to the pillar and pressed his hand against it. Quickly, the first compartment lit up.

　　Lower-tier aptitude!

　　The pillar trembled faintly.

　　After a good while, the second compartment suddenly flickered to life — but the light was dim and faded almost instantly before going out entirely.

　　Middle-tier aptitude!

　　Yuan Qing looked somewhat disappointed, for it was understood that middle-tier aptitude was not enough to gain entry to the Divine Academy.

　　The elder turned to Yuan Zhi. She stepped forward and placed her hand on the pillar.

　　Boom!

　　In an instant, the pillar erupted with a brilliant burst of starlight, and the first through fifth compartments all lit up at once.

　　Prodigy?

　　The elder’s expression shifted visibly at the sight.

　　Yuan Qing froze for a moment, then broke into wild laughter.

　　Just then, the pillar shuddered violently again, and the final compartment began to glow as well — with a force that seemed ready to burst free.

　　At that sight, the elder’s pupils suddenly contracted. He swiftly pulled Yuan Zhi back, and the pillar returned to normal.

　　When the elder looked at Yuan Zhi again, his eyes held unmistakable shock. His expression grave, he asked, “What is your name?”

　　Yuan Qing immediately said, “Her name is Yuan Zhi!”

　　”Yuan Zhi!”

　　The elder smiled gently. “Very good — you are accepted.”

　　Yuan Zhi did not look happy. Instead, she asked anxiously, “What about my brother? What about my brother?”

　　The elder glanced over at Yuan Qing, hesitating.

　　Whether it was Yuan Qing or Ye Tianming, both were clearly unqualified.

　　Yuan Qing understood this well. He quickly said, “Yuan Zhi, it’s enough that you get into the Divine Academy. Your big brother will be fine, really……”

　　”No!”

　　Yuan Zhi shook her head firmly. “Brother, if you don’t get in, I won’t go in either.”

　　”What are you saying?”

　　Yuan Qing panicked immediately. He looked urgently at the elder. “My sister is young, she doesn’t think before she speaks — please don’t take her seriously……”

　　With that, he grabbed Yuan Zhi’s arm and said anxiously, “You silly girl, what kind of nonsense is that? This is the Divine Academy — it’s the one chance to change your destiny……”

　　Yuan Zhi kept shaking her head, gripping his hand tightly.

　　Yuan Qing was about to say more when the elder suddenly spoke. “All three of you, join together!”

　　Yuan Qing was stunned.

　　Ye Tianming was stunned as well.

　　The elder looked at Ye Tianming and Yuan Qing and smiled. “Talent is indeed important, but what matters even more is hard work and character. Join together, all of you!”

　　With that, he took out two jade tokens and handed them to Ye Tianming and Yuan Qing. “You two go register at the outer courtyard first. As for your sister — she is quite exceptional, and I’ll need to consult those above.”

　　Yuan Qing said with emotion, “Really……?”

　　The elder smiled. “Yes.”

　　Ye Tianming suddenly asked, “Senior, how shall we address you?”

　　The elder glanced at Ye Tianming and smiled. “My name is Zhu Bai — and I’ll also be your mentor from now on!”

　　Just then, a middle-aged man came running over. When he saw the elder, his expression changed at once. “Elder Zhu, why are you here?”

　　Elder Zhu!

　　Chief mentor of the outer courtyard!

　　A figure of extraordinary standing!

　　Zhu Bai smiled. “I was just passing through and ran into these three, so I brought them along for testing.”

　　The middle-aged man said hurriedly, “I had to step out for a moment just now, I — I — I……”

　　Zhu Bai smiled and said, “It’s all right. These three, from this moment on, belong to our Divine Academy. Take these two young ones to register!”

　　The middle-aged man nodded at once. “Of course, of course!”

　　With that, he led Ye Tianming and Yuan Qing off to the side.

　　Zhu Bai, meanwhile, walked away with Yuan Zhi. Along the way, he suddenly looked at her and smiled. “Do you know why I agreed to take them in?”

　　Yuan Zhi hesitated, then said, “Because of me?”

　　Zhu Bai smiled gently. “Yes.”

　　Yuan Zhi said softly, “Thank you.”

　　Zhu Bai said, “Strictly speaking, they have no qualification to enter the Divine Academy at all. But if I only took you and turned them away, you would never feel true gratitude toward our academy — you might even come to resent it. That would be a poor trade for us.”

　　He then looked at Yuan Zhi. “Do you know why I’m telling you all this?”

　　Yuan Zhi said quietly, “You want to teach me something.”

　　Zhu Bai nodded. “Going forward in life, never focus solely on immediate gains and losses. Keep your eyes on the horizon, and broaden your perspective.”

　　Yuan Zhi suddenly looked up at him. “And if I were without value……”

　　Zhu Bai smiled and ruffled her head gently. “If you have value, then by all means strive for better conditions and benefits. But if you don’t, you must keep a level head. When certain things are not meant to be yours, you must learn to let go. Never let your ambitions exceed your ability and worth — do you understand?”

　　After a moment of silence, Yuan Zhi nodded. “I understand.”