Bai Ke left in high spirits, clearly not thinking very far ahead.
If he ran the trial for soone else, the Elixir Viscera went to that person. What would he do when he eventually needed one of his own?
That was a problem for later.
If he hadn't thought that far ahead himself, Li Qiuchen couldn't be bothered to worry on his behalf.
He had enough to manage with his own affairs.
With his ntal stamina restored, Li Qiuchen was almost imdiately due for his third round of trials.
He generally preferred a low-key and steady approach, but this was not the mont for that.
There was only one threshold left. Cross it, and the carp would leap through the dragon gate.
From Yellow Fox Maiden to Pig-Slaughter Lane, the difficulty curve of the illusory realms had clearly been climbing in sharp jumps.
There was no telling what manner of creature or complication the third one would throw at him.
At the very least he could be certain that the illusory realm would not present a situation of pure overwhelming force with no way out.
If it was simply a matter of destabilizing one's composure, Li Qiuchen felt his composure was fairly well seasoned by now.
Having been thoroughly washed by the internet in his previous life, what kind of unsettling thing hadn't he encountered?
There was nothing left to be afraid of.
Carrying this thorough confidence, Li Qiuchen presented himself before Master Qin and applied for his third trial.
"You don't want a few more days to rest?"
"I think I'm fine. No need."
"Very well."
Master Qin nodded and said, "You co from a different background than the other students, and your composure is more seasoned than theirs. That is your advantage, but you shouldn't rely on it too heavily."
"The tempering of the Dao Heart in the illusory realm trials goes considerably beyond the everyday trials of ordinary life. You should be ntally prepared for that."
"Your student understands!"
Master Qin was genuinely pleased to see his student pressing forward, so he said nothing more to dissuade him.
On the third draw, the bamboo slips had been replaced by copper ones, heavy in the hand when he picked one up.
Li Qiuchen took the copper slip and read the three characters on it, "Embracing Stone Academy."
Master Qin took the slip back, and a faint, odd expression flickered across his face.
Li Qiuchen caught the subtle change imdiately.
"Master, is there sothing problematic about this slip?"
"It will be very difficult."
Master Qin looked at Li Qiuchen. "Under the inner hall's rules, a drawn slip cannot be exchanged afterward. This one is the exception."
Then I want to exchange it!
Li Qiuchen was just about to say so when he noticed Master Qin studying him with a contemplative look.
What did that an? That he didn't want him to exchange it?
For a mont, he genuinely couldn't read the master's intentions.
"Do you want to exchange it?"
"..."
Do I want to, or don't I?
Li Qiuchen said helplessly, "Your student has no experience to judge by. I leave it entirely to the master's arrangent."
"Then don't exchange it. Go and give it a try."
Master Qin nodded, stood up, and said, follow .
The inner hall occupied a vast area, with pavilions and galleries beyond counting. Li Qiuchen, as a newly enrolled student, had until now barely ventured beyond his classroom and the surrounding vicinity, and rarely even encountered upper-year students.
Following Master Qin deeper into the inner hall's grounds for the first ti, he discovered that it was indeed a world unto itself.
Master Qin pointed to the small courtyards lining both sides of the path and said, "Once you formally advance to the Qi Refining realm, you'll be able to apply for your own private courtyard here for cultivation purposes. Not free of charge, of course."
They arrived at one of the courtyards, and Master Qin pushed the door open to reveal a room that was entirely bare, with only a stone ditation cushion placed at the center, roughly the size of a millstone, its surface carved with dense and cryptic inscriptions.
"Insert the copper slip into the hole at the center of the stone disc, then sit quietly and wait."
No need to go anywhere outside this ti?
That was welco news. It would save ti.
Li Qiuchen followed Master Qin's instructions, settled everything in order, and sat down to ditate in place.
In a vague, drifting state, he felt the surrounding space begin to shift in so undefined way. The stone disc before him seed to slowly rotate along with it.
A flash of white light, and he found himself standing outside a clean, bright classroom.
...
[First-Grade Illusory Realm: Embracing Stone Academy]
[Entry Restriction: First-grade illusory realm cleared, two consecutive first-class ratings achieved]
[Maximum Participants: 1]
[Current Participants: 1]
[Background: The first lecture offered to students from all regions by Embracing Stone Academy, foremost among the ten great academies of the Central Continent.]
[Trial Rule 1: You may not disclose the contents of this illusory realm to other participants.]
[Trial Rule 2: You may not re-enter once you have left.]
[Additional Notes: None]
[Creator: Luo]
A lecture? An open class?
Li Qiuchen understood at once. This resembled the third-grade illusory realm he had encountered the first ti.
Though on that occasion the sage giving the lesson had happened to be his own clan ancestor, speaking on the dicine Master's path of longevity.
This ti, it was the foremost of the ten great academies of the Central Continent, wherever that was.
Seeing other students already walking past him and heading inside, Li Qiuchen fell in behind them.
The classroom inside was immaculately clean and tidy, filled with bright sunlight, and there was an incense burner at the entrance with fragrant incense burning within.
On the environnt alone, it was considerably more refined than the inner hall's own classrooms.
There weren't many students, only about twenty or so. They appeared to be sitting wherever they liked, so Li Qiuchen found a seat sowhere in the middle toward the back.
No sooner had he sat down than a neatly dressed little serving maid brought over a cup of tea, placed it respectfully in front of him, and stepped back.
Good heavens, are we really here to study? They even serve tea?
Li Qiuchen was genuinely taken aback.
Were conditions for studying in the Central Continent really this good?
It made the northern frontier feel positively primitive by comparison.
What must the annual tuition cost here?
The tea was a floral blend with rose petals, dried plum, and hawthorn, tasting light and refreshingly fragrant.
Unable to gauge the situation yet, Li Qiuchen observed quietly. When he saw soone else pick up their cup and take a sip, he did the sa, taking only a small taste without drinking any more.
After another short wait, a young master entered from outside, took his seat at the front of the room, and gave a slight nod to the students below.
Then he raised a hand in a casual gesture, and the lectern vanished.
In the space where the lectern had stood, there now appeared a charcoal brazier, and upon it a grilling rack.
Li Qiuchen stared in bewildernt.
I ca here for a lesson, didn't I?
What in the world are you doing?
"The ancient peoples discovered fire. From that mont, civilization and wisdom were born, and the boundary between humanity and the beasts was drawn."
While Li Qiuchen was still puzzling over this in his mind, the master at the front had already begun his lecture.
He reached behind him and produced a piece of raw at, placing it on the grill.
Then ca a jug of oil, various seasonings...
"Humanity's most primal desire was never the pursuit of so distant and intangible immortal path. It was nothing more than food enough to fill the stomach."
"The natural cycle, the survival of the fittest. The mantis stalks the cicada while the sparrow lurks behind. In the beginning, all of us sought food for one reason only, because we were hungry. Until the day our ancestors used fire to cook the raw at they had hunted."
"And they discovered that food could be this good."
Golden fat dripped into the brazier. The scent of roasting at spread through the air.
The master produced a small knife, carved a thin slice of the roasted at, laid it on a dish held by a serving maid at his side, and had it presented to the student nearest to him, gesturing for him to taste it.
Li Qiuchen looked on blankly.
Nobody had ntioned this part of the proceedings beforehand.
The student ate the at, chewed twice, clasped his hands and said, "It tastes good."
The master shook his head. He picked up the at with his chopsticks and tossed the rest aside, whereupon a large yellow dog ca bounding in from outside and swallowed it in a single gulp.
Then he produced a second piece of at.
This ti, as he grilled it, he not only brushed it with fat but also scattered it with fine salt.
When the at was sizzling with juice, he repeated the process, carving a slice and presenting it to the second student.
Li Qiuchen instinctively glanced at his own position, sowhere in the middle toward the back.
The second student was sowhat more perceptive, and after finishing said, "Truly delicious. Though your student feels there is still sothing lacking."
The master nodded, and the rest of that at went to the dog as well.
The third ti, he added cumin, sesa, chili, and a range of other seasonings to the at.
The entire classroom was by now saturated with the sll of a full barbecue.
The third student, having eaten, said, "In your student's view, the flavor is now sufficient. But the quality of the at itself is sowhat lacking."
The master nodded again, and fed the remainder to the dog.
This ti he produced a beautifully marbled cut of pork belly, three layers of fat and lean.
Then ca what looked like a snowflake-cut premium steak.
Then the seasonings were upgraded to a complex layered sauce combining multiple flavors.
Even then the master remained unsatisfied, and proceeded to marinate raw at and fry a seasoning oil.
One could only imagine what the classroom slled like by that point.
Each round of grilling took considerable ti, and as the preparatory work grew more and more involved, so did the waiting.
Until finally, the master had a live ox led in.
Co on now, this has gone far enough!
Li Qiuchen had been sitting in the back suffering through two full hours of this, feeling wrung out in both body and mind.
He could clearly feel his composure draining away, point by point.
It wasn't that he particularly needed to eat any of it.
The trouble was that the waiting had gone on for so long. Watching everyone else eat mouthful after mouthful while he sat at the back swallowing dry, breathing in a roomful of grilling aromas, watching whatever remained get tossed to the dog.
Who could endure that?
And the most insidious part wasn't even the at. It was the cup of tea on the table.
The students nearer the front were waiting to eat. Those further back had nothing to eat at all, and could only drink tea to settle themselves.
Li Qiuchen had already drunk several cups before the realization hit him.
This tea... was a stomach-stimulating blend, wasn't it?
What kind of person designs sothing like this?
Was this really the foremost of the ten great academies of the Central Continent, or was it the foremost of the ten great barbecue establishnts of the Central Continent?
With only three or four people left before his own turn, the master had the ox led forward.
He stood looking at the ox in silence for a long mont, then turned back to the students and said, "Let us pause the lesson here for now. Take a short rest... a quarter of an hour. Co back in a quarter of an hour and we'll continue."
Free at last!
Li Qiuchen walked out of the classroom and drew a deep breath of fresh air, forcibly suppressing the acid churning in his stomach.
This was pure psychological tornt.
The highest difficulty of the first-grade illusory realm was terrifying in ways he hadn't anticipated.
He had drilled through so many problems from the archive. Yet this type of question was one he hadn't thought to prepare for.
No, wait. Co to think of it, he had seen sothing like this.
Wasn't this just a variant on the Millet Dream?
He had no idea how far his composure had dropped during all of that, or whether he could hold together through another lesson.
[NEXT CHAPTER]
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