Chapter 4  

◎The Academy (Major Revision)◎  

At the break of dawn, the Academy Envoys from Fusang Academy arrived outside Azure Wave Hall.  

Today marked the formal entry of the hostage into Fusang Academy, and the academy had arranged for two Celestial Maidens to escort her.  

The hour was still early—the two had come to ensure the hostage rose and prepared on time. Yet when they pushed open the slightly ajar hall doors, they found the snow-robed maiden already seated at her desk, deeply engrossed in a pile of texts.  

At the sound of the doors opening, she looked up in mild surprise.  

“Is it dawn already?”  

Zhuoying set down the scroll in her hand, only then realizing her limbs were stiff with cold and her shoulders ached.  

After hearing Chang Meng’s words last night, sleep had eluded her.  

Since she was quite interested in the Celestial Arts Scriptures, she had risen to peruse them. Unbeknownst to her, she had become so absorbed that she hadn’t put them down until daybreak.  

“Please wait a moment, Envoys. I’ll freshen up and then accompany you.”  

The Mermaid Candle on the desk could burn endlessly, but the melted wax revealed it had been lit all night.  

The two Academy Envoys exchanged glances, taken aback.  

Having escorted countless newcomers to the academy over the years, they were accustomed to new immortals who either marveled at the celestial scenery, inquired eagerly about Fusang Academy, or sought to visit the various immortals of the Heavenly Palace upon arrival.  

But someone who dove straight into studying Celestial Arts Scriptures on their first night? This was a first.  

After a quick tidy-up and changing into the Magical Garment Chang Meng had gifted her the previous day, Zhuoying followed the two Celestial Maidens out.  

Fusang Academy was located in the fourth layer of the Nine Heavens—Lingxiao Heaven.  

The celestial terraces were in the midst of spring.  

Peach blossoms adorned Lingxiao Heaven, blooming once every thousand years. Now at their peak, the journey was awash with vibrant spring hues. Beyond the veils of mist, layers upon layers of white jade Celestial Palaces loomed, accompanied by faint strains of Celestial Music.  

And deep within the central sea of clouds, a towering flight of stairs gradually came into view.  

Zhuoying gazed up the Immaculate Long Stairs. Amid the churning clouds, an academy built upon a Divine Tree stood majestic and imposing.  

They had arrived at Fusang Academy.  

The two envoys escorted her to the Lecture Hall, their task complete. From here, an immortal instructor would take over.  

However, before Zhuoying could meet her instructor, she was first approached by a golden-robed immortal.  

“—Are you Chi Shui Zhuo Ying?”  

With the academy’s opening hour approaching, students began trickling into the Lecture Hall.  

The earlier arrivals, though curious about this unfamiliar face, kept their distance. But when the golden-crowned immortal clad in a Gold Embroidered Celestial Robe spoke up, the others openly turned to stare.  

Who?  

Which one was Chi Shui Zhuo Ying?  

Meeting the scrutinizing gaze of the golden immortal, Zhuoying smiled.  

“Indeed. As a newcomer, I’ve yet to learn your esteemed name, Immortal?”  

The golden immortal seemed slightly surprised by her appearance.  

After a pause, he lifted his chin imperiously, his tone sharp.  

“Your father destroyed hundreds of our Palaces, Temples, and Shrines, declaring that the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace sits aloft, forbids immortal-mortal unions, and scorns humanity—unfit to govern the order of heaven and earth. He vowed to overthrow the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace’s rule and return the world to the people.  

“Such bold proclamations, yet now he can only bow in submission, bringing his people to their knees—even sending his own daughter as a peace offering. What kind of Human Emperor is this? To me, he’s nothing but a worthless failure who can neither achieve nor prevent disaster.”

His voice was icy, with a barely concealed undercurrent of anger and resentment, clearly aggrieved on behalf of the spirits whose dwellings had been destroyed.

Zhuoying had anticipated such a scene and was not surprised.

“Is this the Crown Prince of the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace?”

His attire was unusual, making his identity easy to recognize.

The person beside him nodded. “The Princess guessed correctly.”

Zhuoying lowered her gaze and said:

“Mortals worship the immortals of the celestial realm, and the celestial realm protects all living beings. This has been the principle of coexistence between our two races since ancient times. Mortals have never bowed their heads in submission.”

Fu Yao seemed taken aback that Zhuoying dared to refute him. His expression darkened like storm clouds, and he let out a cold laugh.

“Fine. If you refuse to submit, then we can simply resume the war with the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace.”

Whispers spread among the onlookers at the Academy.

A hundred days of heavy snow in the mortal realm had already drained the Great Yong Dynasty’s resources. If war were to break out again, the mortal world would surely face widespread famine and suffering.

The Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace had protected the mortal realm for millennia and had never resorted to such ruthlessness before.

“That is not what I meant.”

The young woman raised her head, her pale, delicate face breaking into a faint smile.

“The human emperor of this dynasty incited the people, provoked conflict between our races, and ignited the flames of war. It is true that mortals acted disrespectfully first, but the fault lies primarily with the emperor himself. His crimes are glaring and too numerous to recount. For generations to come, his name will be cursed and reviled. Your Highness is absolutely right to condemn him.”

Fu Yao, who had been ready to unleash his fury, found himself caught off guard.

He frowned.

What was she playing at?

“…Are you feigning concession to gain the upper hand?”

Zhuoying blinked slowly, her clear eyes brimming with innocence.

“I sincerely agree with Your Highness’s words.”

“You’re clearly pretending to be pitiful to win everyone’s sympathy.”

Zhuoying glanced around and indeed saw the Academy students casting disapproving looks at the Crown Prince.

“Your Highness, she is still a young woman. Your words are too harsh.”

“Exactly! Throughout history, when nations are defeated, women are often pushed forward to appease the victors. She’s traveled all the way here to serve as a hostage—how pitiful is that? Your Highness is overthinking it.”

“However much enmity the human emperor bears toward our immortal race, he is still her father. It’s terribly impolite to insult her father right in front of her.”

Though these were students, they were also bona fide immortals. Yet each of them had an air of guileless naivety, which Zhuoying found surprising.

But upon reflection, it wasn’t so strange.

The immortals of the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace ascended through accumulated virtue—only those who sacrificed for others and made great contributions to the world could amass enough merit to achieve immortality.

How many truly clever people could be found among the virtuous?

The clever ones all ended up in hell.

“…What a bunch of fools.”

Crown Prince Fu Yao swept a cold gaze over them before turning back to Zhuoying, his tone warning.

“Chi Shui Zhuo Ying, I’ll be watching you. If you dare to plot anything against the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace, I’ll be the first to eliminate you.”

Zhuoying smiled. “Understood, Your Highness.”

“…”

Fu Yao turned on his heel and strode away.

As it was nearly time for class, the crowd of onlookers quickly dispersed, filing into the Lecture Hall one after another.

Following the flow, Zhuoying found a desk inside and took her seat. She glanced around and tapped the shoulder of the student in front of her.

“Is Xie Cexuan not attending class here?”

The person in front turned around upon hearing Zhuoying speak to him and couldn’t help but glance at her a few more times before answering:

“He’s here, but as a Dao Child with official duties, he doesn’t attend every class.”

What’s a Dao Child?

Though unclear, she roughly understood it to be a special status. Zhuoying nodded in thanks.

Hopefully, Xie Cexuan had gone to the Celestial Medicine Bureau to gather information for her.

As she pondered this, the previously noisy lecture hall suddenly fell silent. Zhuoying looked up to see a towering figure stride through the door—his stature as massive as a mountain, his skin dark as charcoal, his presence as formidable as one who could uproot peaks.

He stood firm at the podium, his gaze sharp as a blade sweeping over the students below.

Then it settled on Zhuoying.

With just that one look, Zhuoying knew: this was the Divine Lord Feng Li, whose gender she had once reversed.

This matter traced back to when she was fifteen.

At that time, Chen Ye was merely an unfavored prince of the Barren Sea, with shallow roots and an urgent need to assemble a private army loyal to him.

The other Barren Sea princes had already recruited outstanding young masters from the sea’s warrior clans. While some of the remaining were willing to follow Chen Ye, both Zhuoying and he knew these weren’t the elite forces they sought to build.

Then, a genius from the martial god lineage of the Liu family came into their sights.

A true genius in every sense—except for one thing: she was a woman.

The Barren Sea had an unwritten rule: women could not join the military.

While such a rule might have some justification in the mortal realm, among immortals who cultivated Immortal Arts, there was only the distinction of cultivation level, not gender.

This rule existed solely to prevent women from competing with men for military merits.

Given the vast interests tied to this regulation, none of the Barren Sea princes would dare defy convention to recruit her, no matter how brilliant her talents.

Except Zhuoying.

At fifteen, she pored over the Martial God Registry, listing all those who had ascended to the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace from the Barren Sea over millennia. She selected a revered martial god with no living descendants and, with a flourish of her brush—

Fabricated a tragic tale for this ill-fated martial god: “A poor peasant girl, betrayed by her lover, severed all ties to love and devoted herself to serving her country, unwavering even unto death.”

This story exploded onto the scene, its dramatic twists and turns spreading far and wide.

From then on, the statues of this once-male martial god in temples were all replaced with heroic female versions, delivering a massive blow to the Barren Sea’s prohibition against women in the military.

Seizing the moment, Zhuoying had Chen Ye appoint the young mistress of the Liu family as the female commander of his Scaled Armor Guard.

This move, aligning with popular sentiment, earned Chen Ye significant prestige in the Barren Sea.

It was also because of this that the Barren Sea’s ruler, who had never paid Chen Ye any heed, finally took notice of his youngest son.

—In the end, it was all because she had recklessly schemed so much for Chen Ye in the past that she now found herself in this predicament.

The imposing martial god gave Zhuoying a distant glance but said nothing, quickly averting his gaze.

“Today, the Celestial Pivot Prime Minister is occupied. Dao Arts Class is changed to Magic Arts Class. Everyone, assemble at the Martial Arts Stage.”

The lecture hall erupted in collective groans.

Out of seven days a week, there were only two days of Dao Arts Class—and even then, the immortal instructor was often absent.

If Divine Lord Feng Li kept commandeering classes like this, they’d all be worked to death on the Martial Arts Stage!

Amid the lamentations, only one person’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Magic Arts Class.

Martial Arts Stage.

Zhuoying had spent the previous night poring over Celestial Arts Scriptures and had gained a general understanding: Taoist principles were the theoretical foundation, while Magical Arts were their practical application.  

In her past life, she had certainly witnessed Immortal Arts before.  

But everyone in the Barren Sea, from top to bottom, knew of her frail health. Chen Ye had even assigned a squad of Scaled Armor Guards to ensure her safety, allowing her to focus entirely on administrative affairs.  

Yet, those dull and tedious duties had never been her preference.  

She had only taken them on because Chen Ye needed her.  

In her past life, Xie Cexuan had risen to fame at a young age, with tales of his exploits—slaying malevolent demons across the heavens and earth—spread far and wide.  

Though they had been enemies, whenever Zhuoying overheard subordinates discussing his feats, she couldn’t help but pause and listen with a hint of longing.  

Back then, she had often wondered:  

With her photographic memory and the comprehension even the Utmost Subtlety Sage had praised, how would she fare against Xie Cexuan if she could cultivate?  

Now, reborn into this life, she finally had the chance to personally delve into the Magical Arts of the immortal realm.  

Feng Li Shen Jun, walking behind her, observed the figure clad in snow-white robes with raven-black hair.  

Golden Crows were scattered throughout the Academy, allowing high-ranking immortal masters to monitor every corner. This morning’s clash between Zhuoying and Crown Prince Fu Yao had not escaped his notice.  

She showed no fear toward the Heavenly Palace’s crown prince and handled Fu Yao’s aggressive demeanor with effortless ease.  

Undoubtedly, she was a clever one.  

A pity, then, that she was a clever one who harbored hostility toward him.  

Feng Li Shen Jun had no doubts about this. After all, if Zhuoying bore no ill will toward him, why would she have deliberately twisted his gender in the mortal realm—such a bizarre act?  

Therefore, he would not grant her any leniency simply because she was a frail mortal.  

“Today’s trial: the Upper Purity Glazed Realm.”  

Behind Feng Li Shen Jun on the Martial Arts Stage, a deep blue barrier materialized.  

Beyond it lay the renowned Upper Purity Glazed Realm of the immortal world.  

Coincidentally, last night, while flipping through the Celestial Arts Scriptures, Zhuoying had come across a detailed explanation of this very realm.  

It was one of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens of the immortal realm.  

Each of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens held its own mysteries, and this Upper Purity Glazed Realm was a pure land of crystal. Those who entered would find their physical bodies frozen while their souls transcended outward.  

The Glazed World tempered the soul like a blade forged in blazing fire—the longer one endured within, the more resilient the soul became.  

Since it was the soul that was extracted, both immortals and mortals stood on equal footing within. How long one could endure depended entirely on the strength of their spiritual power.  

But the soul was both precious and fragile. Each tempering came with excruciating pain.  

Even immortals with formidable spiritual power avoided the Upper Purity Glazed Realm whenever possible.  

Unfortunately, at Fusang Academy, this torturous ordeal was a weekly inevitability—no one could escape it.  

“Line up and enter one by one. The minimum duration inside is one hour. The first to emerge will spar with me for ten rounds.”  

Feng Li Shen Jun’s merciless voice rang out, and though reluctant, the students had no choice but to obediently form a line.  

A fairy passing by Zhuoying hesitated, having heard of her episode of vomiting blood at the South Heaven Gate the day before. She turned to Feng Li Shen Jun and said:  

“Divine Lord, Princess Zhuoying is a mortal, and her health seems frail. Isn’t it too harsh to send her into the Upper Purity Glazed Realm on her very first lesson—?”  

“Don’t trouble yourself. She’s already cheerfully lining up.”  

Fu Yao remarked indifferently as he strode past.

The celestial maiden glanced toward the end of the line and indeed saw the smiling young girl already queued up, her jet-black eyes shining like stars.  

She couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.  

This was probably the ignorance of the fearless.  

“Perfect timing to put her in her place—let her know that if she harbors ill intentions toward our Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace, there are countless ways to deal with her.”  

Unfortunately, Xie Cexuan wasn’t here today.  

Though he had always disliked Xie Cexuan, when facing their common enemy, Chi Shui Zhuoying, he could reluctantly stand on the same side.  

“Since she has entered Fusang Academy, she should be treated like any other disciple. There’s no reason for special treatment.”  

Divine Lord Feng Li observed Zhuoying’s figure and remarked coolly:  

“Besides, everyone holds a piece of Glazed Jade. If she can’t endure it, she can simply shatter it to escape. No need for concern.”  

Just before entering the Upper Purity Glazed Realm, Fu Yao turned leisurely to a nearby celestial maiden and said:  

“Send someone to the Celestial Medicine Bureau and summon a few immortal physicians.”  

Chi Shui Zhuoying looked so frail that even a gust of wind might scatter her. Even if she stayed inside for just a short while, she’d likely end up in a sorry state.  

No one knew how long Chi Shui Zhuoying could last.  

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn? Or the blink of an eye?  

Fu Yao, along with everyone present at the Martial Arts Stage, never expected—  

Chi Shui Zhuoying.  

Would remain in the Upper Purity Glazed Realm for a full three days.  

Author’s Note:  

Revised~  

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