TFHS: Chapter 84

What could be done in a month?

Feng Ming didn’t know about anyone else. He only knew that after a month of long traveling, he and Bai Qiaomo only arrived at the boundary where Sihong Academy was located. They entered a city called Lanshui, which was built on the Lanjiang River.

Just hearing the name made people think it was a very beautiful city, and it was true. The scenery along the Lanjiang River was very beautiful. Of course, it wasn’t easy to live beside the Lanjiang River. Even the price of staying at an inn here was extremely high.

But who was Feng Ming? He was a rich man with a net worth of over 20 million. Therefore, he took his father and friends to stay in the largest inn on the bank of Lanjiang River without hesitation.

In their room, they just had to open the window, and they could see the scenery of Lanjiang River outside. If they took a breath, they could smell the water vapor of the Lanjiang River.

The rest of the large team had been picked up by Feng Yue. Only Feng JInlin had to watch Feng Ming and Bai Qiaomo settle down in Sihong Academy before he could leave with peace of mind.

If not accepted, he naturally had to take the two of them away.

The whole inn had 18 floors, and Feng Ming’s room was on the highest floor. Feng Ming lay on the window and looked down at the scenery on the river.

“The money was indeed well spent. Living in this place makes me feel very comfortable.”

Sheng Duo felt a bit sorry about the yuan crystals. After coming out, he found that the yuan crystals didn’t seem worth anything.

He didn’t spend many yuan crystals along the way, but he felt heartbroken when he saw the yuan crystals flowing out of Father Feng and Feng Ming’s hands.

“Just stay for one night and get a feel for it. Then change to a more ordinary inn tomorrow. I don’t know if we can enter Sihong Academy.”

Feng Ming was happy seeing Sheng Duo’s worried expression. However, he couldn’t tell Sheng Duo that he and Bai Qiaomo couldn’t spend all the yuan crystals they had.

“Don’t worry. Sihong Academy might have a set admission time every day, but special talents are exempted and can enter at any time.”

Sheng Duo was dumbfounded and pointed to himself. “Can I enter as a special talent?”

For someone like Bai Qiaomo, the academy’s senior officials just had to know that his dantian had been repaired and he was at the peak of the qi gathering realm. Then they would definitely let him in directly without needing to take an assessment.

Feng Ming was also a second-grade alchemist, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.

He was at the bottom of the three of them. He was still working hard to open the meridians in his body. He didn’t know when he would be able to advance to the qi gathering realm.

He also knew that in his situation, he had nothing to do with a special talent.

Feng Ming said happily, “Of course, Younger Brother Sheng can’t get in as a special talent, but you can be brought in with the two of us. Don’t worry, you definitely won’t be left out.”

Sheng Duo was skeptical, but he was mentally prepared. After Feng Ming and Bai Qiaomo entered the academy, he would stay in Lanshui City and practice while waiting for the time when the academy’s admission exam started.

If he worked hard, he should be able to get in at the bottom of the rankings.

If Feng Ming and Bai Qiaomo were free, they could come out of the academy to see him.

Feng Ming didn’t say anything else. Sheng Duo would know when the time came.

Father Feng went out to find information for the three of them. He was very experienced in this area.

At noon, Father Feng came back and took everyone to the floating restaurant below for dinner.

The water from Lanjiang River was used to create a beautiful floating restaurant. It was located by locals and foreign cultivators. Many cultivators came from outside to experience this floating restaurant.

Sheng Duo sat in the dining position surrounded by water and once again felt extremely luxurious. However, it had to be said that this was also the most beautiful enjoyment.

The dishes they ordered were also delicious aquatic products from Lanjiang River. As they tasted the delicacies, they could enjoy the beautiful scenery and listen to the gossip of other diners.

Sheng Duo sighed. “They are talking about Han Shu again. Han Shu might’ve been a bit unlucky in the secret realm, but the result was still good. She came out of the secret realm alive. The first time I heard the news, I thought she really had died in the secret realm.”

Feng Ming nodded and agreed. “As soon as she showed up, the people who harmed her knew they were going to suffer, and it was too late to escape. In the end, these people suffered the consequences and were expelled from Sihong Academy. Based on this, I think Sihong Academy is quite a good place.”

Sheng Duo also found out a lot of information. He was always a good gossip. “I don’t want to think about her identity. Her master’s master is Senior Yu Xiao, a fifth-grade alchemist. That woman called He Wei is really good. Why did she think of dealing with Han Shu? It is obvious that she can get more benefits from being Han Shu’s friend.”

Feng Ming’s lips curled up. “Why else? Isn’t it just jealousy or resentment? She felt that Han Shu’s kindness to her was just charity, but she couldn’t bear it to death. Therefore, she took advantage of this trust to attack Han Shu. Fortunately, Han Shu’s life-saving methods weren’t bad, and she was smart. It is only by hiding and not showing up again can she save her life.”

Sheng Duo became more and more enthusiastic as he gossiped. “I also heard that this person was called He Wei, and there was another second-grade alchemist who went into the secret realm with Han Shu called Liang Han. Liang Han likes a fellow senior named Duan Ziyue from the academy. That isn’t all. I heard there are many female disciples and ger disciples who admire this Senior Brother Duan Ziyue. However, this Senior Brother Duan is only special to Han Shu. I suspect that Liang Han had a hand in plotting against Han Shu.”

Feng Jinlin and Bai Qiaomo couldn’t help laughing when they heard this. In fact, Sheng Duo wasn’t the only one to have such speculations. The closer they got to Lanshui City, the more rumors they heard.

However, in his last life, Bai Qiaomo didn’t come to Lanshui City after leaving Gaoyang County. Therefore, he didn’t know that Lanshui City and Sihong Academy were so lively.

Feng Ming felt that it wasn’t a good thing that Han Shu was liked by this Senior Brother Duan Ziyue.

The gossip outside didn’t say that Han Shu had any affection for Duan Ziyue. It seemed to just be Duan Ziyue’s wishful thinking.

As a result, Han Shu didn’t get any benefits. Instead, she was implicated in this so-called liking and almost lost her life.

If he was Han Shu, he wouldn’t want this type of liking. Wasn’t it good to be alone?

After returning from dinner at the floating restaurant that day, Bai Qiaomo was ready to rent a cave to retreat and break through.

His cultivation had reached the critical point of promotion when he was in the Xuanyue secret realm. He had been consolidating his cultivation the whole time since coming out of the Xuanyue secret realm.

Now everything was ready. All that was left was the finishing touch.

Feng Jinlin also felt that it would be better to break through first. After Bai Qiaomo advanced to the essence liquid realm and stayed with Feng Ming, he would be more assured of Ming’er’s safety.

Besides, he wasn’t in a hurry to leave. He took advantage of this time to accumulate his newly promoted essence dan realm cultivation.

What could Sheng Duo say about this? He just felt that he needed to look up to Bai Qiaomo even more in the future. He was even more of a genius than before he was abolished.

Sheng Duo felt very happy when he thought about how the entire Bai family was completely kept in the dark and didn’t care about Bai Qiaomo’s whereabouts.

Feng Ming sent Bai Qiaomo into the cave to retreat. Then he mentioned one thing. “It is better not to expose your true level of formation for now.”

Bai Qiaomo nodded, his eyes soft. “I know. Don’t worry, Junior Brother Ming.”

The topic of the Wen and Wu brothers in Lanshui City wasn’t as popular as in places such as Gaoyang County. However, there were still many people searching for the whereabouts of these two people, both covertly and overtly.

On the way to Lanshui City, they had encountered several waves of teams searching for the brothers.

If Feng Jinlin, an essence dan realm, hadn’t been intimidating them, the actions of the searching cultivators would’ve been even more unscrupulous.

Therefore, they did need to be a bit more cautious before they could protect themselves better.

Of course, Bai Qiaomo didn’t regret working with Feng Ming to make money together. On the contrary, he was very happy.

Father Feng also brought back a piece of news from outside. It was also the reason why Bai Qiaomo wanted to advance the promotion time. It was that some forces had started to investigate those who entered the secret realm.

During this investigation, it would be difficult to keep the situation of him and Feng Ming secret. It was because if the leader of the Flying Feathers mercenary group was found, Captain Xie wouldn’t be able to hand over the two people who entered the secret realm. This would be very suspicious.

Of course, the people outside wouldn’t be so quick to suspect him and Feng Ming.

Feng Ming finally patted Bai Qiaomo’s shoulder and said carelessly, “I have the most confidence in you. Have a good retreat. Once you come out of seclusion, I will celebrate your advancement to the essence liquid realm.”

“Okay.” Bai Qiaomo smiled. Then he watched Feng Ming wave, turn around, and leave. Soon, Feng Ming jumped to his father’s side.

Bai Qiaomo sealed his cave.

Such a cave was difficult to break through from the outside unless the person inside opened it. To a large extent, this ensured the safety of the person in retreat.

In the evening, Sheng Duo went back to his room to rest while Feng Ming talked to his father.

Father Feng had been collecting information about Han Shu and Yu Xiao. Based on his analysis and judgment, he was more inclined to Yu Xiao out of the two fifth-grade alchemists.

If there was only one person, he would rather take Feng Ming away than take a lot of risks under the name of one alchemist.

Feng Jinlin had been surprised when he found out that the sixth-grade spiritual plant was actually a sixth-grade soul-condensing plant.

During his period of wandering before, he had heard the names of the soul-condensing plant and soul-condensing pill. They were things that even the peak stage essence dan realm cultivators would be crazy about.

It really wasn’t safe to keep such a thing on hand. It was better to take action as soon as possible and use this spiritual grass to gain a period of shelter.

As long as it took a while, he believed that his Ming’er and Bai Qiaomo would grow up quickly.

“According to my information, the relationship between the two fifth-grade alchemists isn’t harmonious. The competition among their disciples and junior disciples is fierce. Generally speaking, the other fifth-grade alchemist named Cai Jinqiu is more popular. His subordinates have accepted many people from aristocratic families with relatively deep backgrounds as disciples.”

“Yu Xiao’s background isn’t as good as the other one. Perhaps it has something to do with his background. For the disciples that Yu Xiao accepts, he values their character and talent rather than their background.”

“Cai Jinqiu has accepted 18 disciples. 12 of these 18 disciples come from aristocratic families in various counties. The remaining six are either from Imperial City or are related to Imperial City’s forces.”

“Yu Xiao doesn’t have as many apprentices as Cai Jinqiu. Currently, he only has six disciples. Only one of the six came from an aristocratic family and became Yu Xiao’s disciple due to his alchemy skills. One of them is said to be from Imperial City, and his identity is a bit mysterious. The other four have similar backgrounds to Yu Xiao.”

“Their respective apprentices have inherited their master’s nature. The identity of their apprentices is also the same, leading to the result…”

After hearing his father’s analysis and summary, Feng Ming understood. “On the surface, Cai Jinqiu’s side appears to be more illustrious, prosperous, and powerful than Yu Xiao.”

Feng Jinlin nodded. “This time, Han Shu was in danger in the secret realm. According to my judgment, it has some relation to Cai Jinqiu’s faction. However, the academy only dealt with the person who took action directly and didn’t move against the person behind it. It might be related to the lack of direct evidence, but it can’t be said that Yu Xiao’s status in the academy is low. On the contrary, I think Yu Xiao’s voice in the academy and the alchemy department isn’t weak.”