After finishing their mischief, Ling Guang slipped back into the small pouch, acting as if nothing had happened, leaving Jiang Baiyu grinding his teeth while fixing the bed board.

The materials provided by the academy for the bed were sturdy, but after all, it was just a student dormitory bed, not built to withstand their antics. He didn’t want to find someone to change the bed right after starting school, so he had to fix it himself.

Fortunately, the bed’s structure was simple, without any complex craftsmanship, so repairing the collapsed bed board was relatively easy. There were even materials readily available; the players’ backpacks were truly magical, stuffed with all sorts of random items. This was exactly the feeling he wanted—being able to pull things out directly from the bag when needed. Naturally, the bigger the backpack, the better, to hold more stuff.

With the help of his life skills, fixing the bed board went smoothly. The simple processing was a breeze. After a flurry of banging and clattering, he patched up the collapsed bed board and laid the mattress and sheets back on. By now, the night had deepened.

Jiang Baiyu kicked off his shoes, taking them off one by one, and headed to the bathroom with just the last layer left. Not only was there a bathing pool, but it also maintained a suitable temperature for bathing, with hot water continuously flowing from the outlet. However, the pool never filled up; it was always fresh water. Fragrant powders and flower petals were essential items, and the bathroom was filled with mist and a delicate fragrance. He jumped into the pool after shedding his clothes—what a relief! The frustration of fixing the bed board vanished into thin air, and his mood lifted.

After enjoying a nice bath, Jiang Baiyu came out in a bathrobe, his hair still wet and dripping. Just as he was about to dry his hair and go to bed, he caught sight of a glowing orb floating on the balcony.

He walked over while drying his hair, gazing outside. The sky was adorned with a bright full moon, and the night was beautiful.

Being away from the hustle and bustle of modern society and returning to nature made him understand why ancient people loved moon-gazing so much.

As he dried his hair and looked at the moon, he thought: This world has only one moon too.

“In the bathing pool, there’s fresh water. Do you want to take a bath?”

Ling Guang moved slightly, as if turning to “look” at him, but remained silent.

Jiang Baiyu was puzzled, “What’s up?”

Ling Guang: I thought you were angry.

Jiang Baiyu: “Of course I’m angry! We both broke the bed, so why am I the only one fixing it?”

Ling Guang: …

Jiang Baiyu continued drying his hair, his face full of indignation: “You caused trouble and ran away, how ungrateful! Even if you can’t fix the bed board in this form, at least you could hand me the materials and help out. I’m telling you, I have a temper too!”

Ling Guang: …

After a long silence, Ling Guang flew over and circled Jiang Baiyu twice. His wet hair visibly dried, so there was no need to keep drying it.

Jiang Baiyu touched his hair and said modestly, “Fine, I’ll forgive you this time.”

He casually placed the towel he used to dry his hair on the railing, leaned against it, and gazed at the bright moon. The night breeze brought a slight chill, and the sound of plants rustling filled his ears. The two-story building wasn’t very tall, but the courtyard was elevated, allowing him to see the scenery below while leaning on the railing.

This was a complex of buildings, with one independent courtyard after another, each uniquely designed along the terrain, making it impossible to find two that were exactly the same.

It was clear that they were built along an entire mountain, with varying distances between the courtyards, depending on the designer’s ideas at the time, fully utilizing the advantages of the terrain. Each courtyard was beautiful on its own, and together they formed a stunning view, arranged in an orderly manner.

Upon closer inspection, he could even spot some hidden buildings, with a corner of a flying eave peeking through the trees.

From this angle, he couldn’t see the entire mountain’s grandeur, but he could appreciate the majestic atmosphere of the Deng Xian Academy, which was enough to leave Jiang Baiyu in awe.

“The Deng Xian Academy is really wealthy!”

Ling Guang: It’s not bad.

Jiang Baiyu was surprised, “You think this is just ‘not bad’?”

Ling Guang: It’s just an ordinary residence, nothing extraordinary. For cultivators, it’s merely a trivial matter. Any sect that occupies a mountain range wouldn’t lack this kind of space. Even the lowest-ranking servant disciples can get a single-person residence. After all, cultivating and meditating requires tranquility, and a separate residence ensures that one isn’t disturbed while practicing. What’s truly rare is the spiritual vein; only the most outstanding disciples in the sect can enjoy special treatment, having access to an entire independent spiritual vein.

Ling Guang: The spiritual vein of this mountain is shared among the students living here, and the spiritual energy is decent, more generous than that of small families and sects. However, in top-tier families and sects, the treatment is just ordinary. The only outstanding advantage is that your courtyard is better situated than the others, with the most abundant spiritual energy, making it very suitable for stargazing.

Ling Guang: As the first qualified examinee, the academy has given you some privileges.

Jiang Baiyu was confused; he still didn’t know what the entrance exam for the Deng Xian Academy was about.

“Are you saying the beam of light surrounding the examinees draws on the spiritual energy of the Immortal Pool?”

Ling Guang: Didn’t you feel particularly smooth while cultivating in the illusion, as if aided by divine power?

Jiang Baiyu: “I did.”

Not only had he mastered the “Wen Xing Tu” heart method, but he had also thoroughly studied the skills of the Observation Pavilion. Not to say he was a master, but at least he was competent.

Compared to nearly going mad from cultivating in seclusion for a month, this was incredibly smooth, a true delight.

Ling Guang: I traced the spiritual energy and found it came from a certain pool, where the spiritual energy was even denser and contained a certain Dao rhythm that could help those cultivating there gain insights and elevate their state of mind. If it weren’t for the many eyes watching, with the elders of the academy keeping an eye on me, I would have definitely taken the opportunity to cultivate well using the power of the Immortal Pool.

Ling Guang: Even so, it has already benefited me greatly.

Jiang Baiyu asked the question that had been bothering him: “What exactly is the entrance exam for the Deng Xian Academy?”

Ling Guang: You entered the academy and don’t even know what the exam questions are? It’s obvious; it’s a test of the heart. Didn’t you feel anything in the illusion?

Jiang Baiyu: “No.”

Ling Guang: …

Ling Guang: What did you see?

Jiang Baiyu: “A snow mountain. I stood at the peak, looking out at a world covered in snow. The vast land was blanketed in ice and snow. No one ever told me what the exam was about, and after waiting for a long time with no follow-up, I simply sat down to continue practicing the heart method.”

He thought for a moment and added, “Later, a lot of snow lotus flowers bloomed, covering the mountains and fields, particularly beautiful. Hmm, when the dark clouds dispersed, the starry sky was also particularly stunning.”

Ling Guang: I’ve heard that fools have no worries; that’s pretty good.

Jiang Baiyu: “Do you believe I’ll turn against you and toss you into my bathwater?”

Ling Guang: Hehe.

“What does ‘hehe’ mean? Are you mocking me, or do you think I won’t dare?”

Ling Guang: Fool.

Jiang Baiyu reached out and grabbed Ling Guang, squeezing a bit, and found it surprisingly soft, which was a bit relieving.

He couldn’t help but squeeze a few more times, kneading and pinching until it was flattened.

Ling Guang: Let go.

Jiang Baiyu: “Not letting go.”

Ling Guang’s surface flashed with lightning, and Jiang Baiyu immediately felt his hand go numb, jolted by the shock.

Shaking his hand, he quickly recovered.

“It’s getting late; time to sleep.”

Jiang Baiyu casually took out the pet bed for the skull and placed it on the table. He raised his hand and summoned the small pouch from the ground, placing it in the bed. After thinking for a moment, he also took out a scallion pancake, put it on a plate, and placed it in front of the pet bed.

“Let’s call it a day.”

He lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

Ling Guang hovered in place for a moment, seemingly “looking” at the moon for a while before slowly flying back to the room, circling around Jiang Baiyu’s bed, and then diving back into the small pouch.

He had a dreamless night, sleeping until dawn.

Jiang Baiyu was awakened by something pecking at him, gently tapping his nose. It didn’t hurt or itch, and he thought it was Ling Guang messing with him, so he groggily waved his hand.

After a while, it pecked his nose again.

Jiang Baiyu turned over with difficulty, “Stop messing around.”

That persistent thing kept bothering him, forcing him to open his eyes, and what came into view was a paper crane.

Jiang Baiyu’s mind went blank for two seconds as he stared at this unexpected guest in confusion.

Ling Guang floated at the head of the bed, urging: It should be a notification from the academy; hurry and receive it.

Only then did Jiang Baiyu sluggishly reach out to touch it. The moment his hand made contact with the paper crane, it emitted a glow and transformed into a golden card. At the same time, a piece of information flowed into his mind.

The academy had completed class assignments, and this golden card was his student ID, recording his name and class, as well as various notices from the Deng Xian Academy, which were essentially the student rules. Classes would start in five days, during which students could freely explore the academy environment, make friends, and choose the courses they wanted to study.

Once the courses were selected, they would be recorded on the golden card, reminding him of the class times for each course.

Five days to familiarize himself with the academy environment—this was quite a lot of information to take in.

Every student could be assigned a single-person residence, and he still didn’t know how large the academy’s grounds were; it must be at least several mountain peaks.

In five days, he would have to explore several mountain peaks—what a huge task!

The golden card was very simple to use; he just needed to focus his thoughts on it. When he held the golden card, the binding was complete, and no one else could use it. Jiang Baiyu looked through the student rules and indeed found a regulation stating that flying between mountains was allowed, but flying within the mountains was prohibited to avoid collisions.

Jiang Baiyu got up and walked to the balcony, gazing at the distant mountain outlines. Conservatively estimating, everything in sight belonged to the Deng Xian Academy.

He hadn’t even exchanged a few words with Lou Yuzhu and Bai Xianzhu before being teleported to the dormitory entrance. With such a large mountain, he had no idea where the two of them had been assigned. The same went for course selection; they couldn’t gather together to discuss it. Whether they could meet again in the future would depend on luck?

Jiang Baiyu rubbed his sleepy eyes, yawned, and returned to his room, lying back on the bed, feeling utterly lethargic.

Starting school and immediately having a break made him not want to move at all.

He didn’t want to climb mountains either.

His gaze inadvertently caught Ling Guang, and suddenly, an idea struck him.

He sat up, hugging a pillow, his eyes sparkling with energy, “Let’s make a deal.”

“How about you explore the academy and draw me a map?”

Ling Guang showed no reaction.

Jiang Baiyu raised his voice, acting cute: “Come on, just agree to it, okay?”

Ling Guang: Shut up.

Jiang Baiyu immediately changed his tone, using a cutesy voice: “You’re the best, climbing mountains is so tiring, please help me out~~”

Ling Guang: …