People are often fond of compromise. Although Lin Jingqiu was well-intentioned, she also knew not to force Chen An too much, so she settled for a fallback plan and suggested they wait a few more days.
"Alright then, bye," Chen An nodded and turned toward the stairwell.
He hadn't eaten lunch yet.
"Hey, wait." Lin Jingqiu called out and caught up to him. "What's your phone number? Give me your contact info."
Chen An spread his hands. "I don't have a phone."
But Lin Jingqiu had clearly anticipated this. She smiled and pulled a phone out of her pocket. "Here, take this. The SIM card's already set up. If anything happens, just call me."
Before he could refuse, she turned and walked away.
After taking a few steps, she stopped, looked back at him seriously, and said, "I hope you'll take what I said seriously. It won't be long before the truth about spiritual energy revival is revealed. Our college entrance exams won't just be ordinary school tests anymore."
She looked up at the blue sky, a trace of longing on her face. "That's a world full of mysteries, and the college entrance exam might just be your only ticket into it."
Chen An looked at her and suddenly said, "If it's that amazing, how'd you almost get stabbed?"
Lin Jingqiu froze, then a flicker of embarrassment and irritation flashed through her eyes. "That's because I haven't learned any techniques yet!"
"Do you even know how rare it is to have a Foundation Establishment aptitude? Right now, everyone's only just beginning to explore cultivation."
"For someone like me, who's just one step away from reaching the first layer of Qi Refinement, there probably aren't more than twenty in the whole country my age!"
"And that's including those raised in temples and taught from birth! Besides, who could've guessed the officials would mess up? They promised nothing would happen in Qingshi City!"
She looked a bit annoyed at herself. "Though it's true I was careless too…"
What she didn't notice was that when she mentioned "Foundation Establishment aptitude" and "Qi Refinement First Layer," Chen An's expression became somewhat odd.
Foundation Establishment… aptitude?
Chen An recalled the path of cultivation—Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul Realm, Tribulation Realm, Divine Transformation, and finally Mahayana.
Foundation Establishment aptitude? He wasn't sure what to say. The people he used to know wouldn't bother bragging unless their starting point was at least the Nascent Soul Realm…
This was the first time he'd seen someone so proud of just Foundation Establishment aptitude…
Lin Jingqiu narrowed her eyes at him, as if seeing through his thoughts. "You're not underestimating Foundation Establishment, are you?"
Her lips curved into a smirk, and her hair tuft perked up. "Bet you didn't know. Even though spiritual energy has only revived for a year, the concentration has stabilized. A Foundation Establishment cultivator can already move mountains and seas!"
"As of now, the only confirmed Foundation Establishment experts in the country are the patriarchs of Qingcheng Mountain and Longhu Mountain."
She puffed her chest proudly, hands on her hips. "Now you understand how amazing I am, right?"
Chen An chuckled inwardly. Still just a teenage girl—she probably held this in for a long time, waiting for someone to show off to.
So he cooperated and gasped dramatically. "Wow… so terrifyingly powerful!"
Lin Jingqiu saw through his perfunctory tone and huffed, turning to leave.
Naive little Chen An. Clueless about the world!
This time she really left without turning back, leaving Chen An standing alone.
The boy let out a quiet laugh and headed down the rooftop stairs. That pose of hers, hands on her hips begging for praise, sure looked familiar…
——
In Divine Continent.
On the road to Luoyang, a tall man and a small girl walked side by side.
The man stood straight, clad in a simple Daoist robe, his features elegant and distant, like someone untouched by the mortal realm.
Holding his hand was a bright-eyed little girl in a matching, albeit much smaller, Daoist robe. Her curious expression bounced between playful and shy as she nibbled her fingertip.
"Master, where are we going?" Su Chichi tilted her head and asked. Childish emotions came and went quickly, and thanks to Chen An's earlier spell, the brutal memories had been sealed away.
In her mind, she was merely an abandoned child, picked up by a kind immortal who took her in as his disciple.
Chen An glanced at her and gently squeezed her hand. "Somewhere peaceful where no one will bother us."
"But Master, aren't you an immortal? Can't you just fly us there? Why are we walking?"
Her naive question made Chen An pause. He had only been cultivating for under three months and had just barely reached the Core Formation stage.
Though he could fly with a sword since Foundation Establishment, he had exhausted his energy wiping out the demonic Su Clan, using a berserker technique that left his Spiritual Sea depleted and his core dim.
Of course, he wasn't going to explain that.
After thinking a moment, he said, "Chichi, as the saying goes, reading ten thousand books is not as good as walking ten thousand miles. Traveling on foot is a kind of cultivation too."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Oh…"
Bored already, Su Chichi spotted a rock and ran off to kick it. The pebble sailed through the air and struck a passing carriage with a thud.
The ornate carriage stopped, and the driver peeked out.
Crap!
Su Chichi froze and ran back to Chen An, latching onto his arm with big innocent eyes. When she looked up into his deep, beautiful gaze, her heart dropped.
Oh no, I just got picked up, and now I've messed up…
But to her surprise, there was no scolding.
Chen An simply smiled. "Su Chichi, you've caused trouble."
She drooped her head in shame. "Sorry, Master… I'll be careful next time…"
A warm hand ruffled her hair.
"It's alright. Come on, let's apologize together. If you make a mistake, you just have to make it right."