[A/N: Maybe another chapter will come out this afternoon. If you're enjoying it, or have any ideas you'd like to see happen, leave them in the comments.]
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Chapter 3° Planning.
...
As Xiang Yun approached the Institute, he came across vast paved courtyards, stone buildings adorned with ancient inscriptions, and curved rooftops typical of traditional architecture.
At the entrance, two stone dragons decorated the gate, each with a jade sphere in its mouth. The atmosphere buzzed with life, with students arriving and strolling through the grand gates.
'It doesn't look much different from what I remember, but people seem a bit more attractive than when they were shown in the donghua.' Xiang Yun shook his head and passed through the gates, entering the Institute. He soon reached his classroom.
Some of the students from the novel were already present—Du Ze, Lu Piao, Ye Ziyun, and Xiao Ning'er.
In the far back row sat Nie Li. And well… he still looked far too immature to be the reincarnation of his future self, but perhaps that would come later.
As Xiang Yun arrived, he immediately felt a cold, disgusted stare fall on him. He didn't need to think twice—he knew it had to be Shen Yue.
Aside from Shen Yue and Xiao Ning'er, few in the class knew that Ye Ziyun was the daughter of the City Lord. Xiang Yun naturally knew, as she had visited his house a few times with the City Lord to buy weapons and inscriptions.
He stayed polite and nodded to Shen Yue before smiling and greeting Ye Ziyun. She returned the gesture, but Shen Yue turned his face away, unwilling to be courteous.
Xiang Yun and Ye Ziyun were somewhat familiar with each other, but not truly friends. So he just passed her and sat at one of the single desks.
He pulled out an inscription book: The Art of a Thousand Basic Inscriptions, and began reading, bored. This was the foundational book every member of the Xiang family was expected to memorize.
Originally, he was supposed to study in another class, but since Ye Ziyun, Shen Yue, and Xiao Ning'er were in this one, his parents decided to place him here too, believing that a better teacher meant a better future for their son. Unfortunately, they didn't know Shen Xiu was so egocentric.
Just as he thought about her, Shen Xiu suddenly entered the classroom, her heels clicking with each step. She was tall and wore a lilac dress that hugged her body, emphasizing her proud bust. Her long, pale legs and refined makeup made her appear beautiful and elegant.
With every step, her hips swayed seductively, and her chest moved up and down, drawing the boys' eyes like magnets.
To Xiang Yun, her only flaw was her eyes, which seemed to overflow with pride and arrogance. But overall, she was very attractive—far more mature than Xiao Ning'er and Ye Ziyun, who were still developing.
Shen Xiu scanned the students, pausing briefly on Xiang Yun, who was still reading, before a scroll flew from the shelf into her hand.
This scroll was linked to each student's soul force, so she could see how much they had improved over the past month of vacation.
However, when she opened the scroll, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at the first name. It wasn't unexpected—he was the most talented student—but what truly shocked her was the soul force value: 116!
He had already become a Bronze-ranked Spiritualist!
She looked up, now with less arrogance, and saw that he had lowered his book and was staring back at her with a knowing smile.
Shen Xiu bit her lip.
'Damn! Is another Ye Mo going to rise in Glory City? No! I have to warn my older brother about this as soon as possible.' She clenched her fists before looking down at the other names.
Ye Ziyun: 57 soul force.
Xiao Ning'er: 43 soul force.
Shen Yue: 43 soul force.
Looking at those names, the gap in talent was laughable. Xiang Yun had more than double the soul force of everyone else—even while dividing his time between cultivation and inscriptions.
And yet these were the heirs of powerful families. It was absurd.
She stored the scroll and stood before the class, saying coldly, "Everyone be quiet. We will begin the lesson with inscription patterns…"
The class continued, and despite her inner turmoil, Shen Xiu maintained her composure. She explained the power levels, demon spirits, and the fundamentals of cultivation with clarity that contrasted her usual arrogance.
Her voice flowed with a touch of superiority, but the disdain for commoners—so clear in Xiang Yun's memory of the novel—was absent.
And that intrigued him.
Was it his presence and abnormal soul force that kept her from openly displaying her scorn? Or would her true personality only change after Nie Li "awakened" and started interfering?
Either way, the lesson passed without incident.
Xiang Yun stood, gave a small wave to Ye Ziyun, and left for the library. In his memories, he had never visited the Institute's library, but knowing about Xiao Ning'er's illness, he wanted to find a way to cure her before Nie Li did.
The Holy Orchid Institute's library was quiet, spacious, and surprisingly well maintained. Row after row of shelves stretched down deep corridors, and every shelf held books with worn covers, new copies, duplicates, and even some extremely ancient tomes that looked untouched for centuries.
Xiang Yun walked calmly between the rows, his eyes sweeping over the titles engraved in gold, silver—and, in many cases—unreadable letters… to anyone except him.
Even without consciously realizing it, his mind flowed through the words as if they were second nature. Complex symbols from forgotten eras restructured into simple phrases in his mind, as if an invisible filter instantly translated everything. Some of the oldest works weren't even written in the current language of Glory City. But for him, it made no difference.
He picked up a few books, read briefly, then returned them—unaware that many were from the Dark Era or Ancient Era. But he understood them as if they were written in his native tongue.
Finally, walking past a corridor, he found the book he was searching for: [Daoyin Technique].
A discreet title, hidden between two thick volumes, caught his eye. He carefully pulled it out. The cover was cracked, but the content still gleamed despite its worn state. This was the technique Nie Li would use in the future to treat Xiao Ning'er's Arctic Disease.
Xiang Yun sat at one of the isolated desks and began reading. The Daoyin Technique wasn't directly for cultivation but for realigning soul flow through bodily manipulation. A delicate and precise method designed to ease blocked blood vessels and the strain of poorly compatible techniques—exactly what Xiao Ning'er needed.
Besides the technique itself, it also included herbs that could accelerate recovery. If the symptoms weren't too severe, the technique alone would suffice.
'With a bit of time, I can learn this and help her.' He smiled, realizing it wasn't very difficult, and then dove into other books.
…
Five hours later, Xiang Yun's table was covered in open books. Meanwhile, he sat in a trance.
Suddenly, his left hand moved, and with his index finger, he began tracing intricate symbols with soul force on his right arm. The symbols were strange, stretching from his forearm to his wrist, like a glowing tattoo.
In total, there were twenty-seven small inscriptions, aligned and interwoven, forming a shining tattoo across his arm.
Woom!
Suddenly, the symbols lit up and sank into Xiang Yun's skin, vanishing into his flesh and embedding themselves into his bones.
He immediately felt the strength in his arm double.
This was a [Bone Fortification Inscription] he had found in one of the inscription books. However, he had never heard of inscriptions being applied directly to the body. No one in his family had ever taught that.
'Has no one ever come here to look for ancient inscriptions?' he wondered, but it felt impossible.
His own father said the family's rise came from frequently visiting this library in search of decipherable ancient inscriptions.
'Maybe this book was overlooked by them…'