As she mulled over the opportunity she needed for her breakthrough, Yun Ruoyan decided to call Yun Moxiao over to her cottage and spar with him.

Because Yun Moxiao’s cultivation was beyond Yun Ruoyan’s, she wasn’t worried that she would hurt him. She infused as much spiritual energy as she could into each and every attack, depleting almost a quarter of her stockpile in an instant.

Yun Moxiao didn’t understand why his sister had suddenly seemed to go crazy, and it made him wonder if he had somehow offended her.

But that didn’t seem to be the case—after all, ever since his return, he had doted on her and given her everything she wanted, bestowing upon her the care and affection that he’d neglected for all these years. How could he bear to offend her?

“Brother, what’re you thinking about? Be more serious!” Yun Ruoyan frowned grumpily as she noticed Yun Moxiao’s distraction.

Yun Moxiao had both a stronger cultivation and more combat experience than his sister, so he wasn’t on the losing end despite his inattention. After Yun Ruoyan’s remark, Yun Moxiao really did start focusing on the match. As he defended against his sister’s blows, he pointed out the deficiencies in Yun Ruoyan’s attack, as well as methods to better utilize her spiritual energy in battle.

After their match, although Yun Ruoyan didn’t feel as if she were about to break through, she did learn a lot more about combat in general.

Xi Lan brought a tray of snacks and tea for the two Yun siblings, who were resting and chatting in a nearby pavilion.

“Qiuqiu, I gave my all during this battle, so why don’t I feel any different?”

If Yun Ruoyan were to enter her bracelet’s pocket dimension, she would have seen Qiuqiu covering its face with a claw.

“Mistress, you’ve misunderstood me,” Qiuqiu explained patiently. “What I meant by ‘giving it your all’ was a battle of life and death, just like the one you had with Wang Kuang within the imperial territory.”

Yun Ruoyan instantly understood the distinction, but such an opportunity really wasn’t common.

“Mistress, don’t worry. Right after entering Kongming Academy, there’ll be another such expedition. Allegedly, it’ll be even more strenuous than within the imperial territory, so I’m sure you’ll get your opportunity then.”

Strictly speaking, it was inaccurate to refer to the imperial expedition as the selection process for entering Kongming Academy; more accurately, it was only the first of multiple such trials. Once new students entered Kongming Academy, the trials that followed would be the true test of their mettle. Only after passing through those trials would they be considered official students.

“Brother.”

Yun Moxiao, who had been glancing at his sachet, turned to his sister when he heard his name.

“Why didn’t you enter Kongming Academy when you had the chance?” Based on Yun Moxiao’s talent, Yun Ruoyan was quite confident that he would have managed to pass through the trials without a problem.

“General Huang didn’t let me.” Actually, Yun Moxiao had wanted to enter Kongming Academy, just like every scion on the Chenyuan continent. However, General Huang had advised against the idea, and even convinced Yun Lan to allow General Huang to train Yun Moxiao himself.

“However, my master’s cultivation isn’t any lower than that of any of the instructors in Kongming Academy, so it didn’t much matter to me,” Yun Moxiao replied. “I was just curious what the academy of everyone’s dreams would be like. I’m sure it must be an inspiring sight!”

Kongming Academy was located on the Kongming Summit, a location inaccessible to most. As a result, one of Yun Moxiao’s regrets was not being able to visit Kongming Academy for himself.

“It really is quite magnificent…” Yun Ruoyan thought back to the night when Li Mo had brought her up to the tallest tower in Kongming Academy to see the sunrise, one of the most beautiful sights of nature she had ever encountered.

“Ruoyan, you’re making it sound as if you’ve already been there,” Yun Moxiao joked.

Yun Ruoyan smiled as she corrected herself. “I’m sure it must be magnificent!”

The siblings were laughing as a servant came up to them, informing them that they were being summoned to the great hall. Envoy Ding had come with further information regarding their admissions to Kongming Academy.

When the siblings arrived at the great hall, Yun Ruoyao, Yun Ruoyu, and Yi Qianying were already present.

Envoy Ding and Yun Lan both sat in seats of honor, and they were chatting amiably.

When everyone was present, Envoy Ding read out the names of all the Yun scions who had been accepted; as expected, nothing much had changed there. He then handed each of them the wooden tokens that the guards had reclaimed once they’d left the imperial territory.

However, the color of the tokens had changed, and they were now all a bright red.

Envoy Ding didn’t speak of the change, and no one asked him anything about it. It was only later that Yun Ruoyan found out that that wooden token now represented their identity within Kongming Academy. The color of the token signified their standing; red was the lowest, and violet the highest.

As soon as Envoy Ding finished speaking, he headed off to the next noble family on his list, as Yun Lan and the rest of the crowd sent him off. Envoy Ding couldn’t help glancing at Yun Ruoyan a moment or two longer than anyone else, doubting his eyes. How had she changed so much from before?

He was so deep in thought that he almost tripped by the raised entrance to the Yun manor. Luckily, Yun Moxiao was walking right behind the envoy, and had quickly reached out and stabilized him. He then retracted his hand quickly and continued walking as if nothing had happened.

Envoy Ding couldn’t help turning to Yun Moxiao, thinking that neither of these two Yun siblings were ordinary.

After sending off Envoy Ding, the Yun scions went back to the great hall to have an audience with their father. As usual, Yun Lan encouraged them to keep up their hard work, then brought up Yi Qianying’s marriage. Over the last few days, the Yi family’s servants had been hounding him about having Yi Qianying return to the Yi family in preparation for her marriage to the crown prince.

Although Yi Qianying had been living in the Yun family from a young age, she wasn’t strictly a member of the Yun family, and it would be inappropriate for her to be married off from the Yun manor.

Yun Lan’s intention was to send her off to the Yi family to avoid spurious rumors. Naturally, Yi Qianying acquiesced, stating that, no matter where she was married off, she would always think of the Yun family as her own home.

Her words left Yun Lan quite gratified.

Yi Qianying left that day. Freed from the burden of worrying about Yi Qianying’s marriage, the Yun manor was as quiet as always.

It was only the next day, when Yun Ruoyan and Yun Moxiao headed to the Lin manor, that they found out that Zhuo Lin’er’s admission to Kongming Academy had been rescinded.

When Zhuo Yifeng confronted Envoy Ding indignantly, he informed him that Zhuo Lin’er’s physique was too poor to handle the remaining trials to be held in Kongming Academy. If she were to attempt the trial as she was, she had a significant chance of dying.

Given that Zhuo Lin’er was still recovering from her cold, this rationale was quite compelling. Even Zhuo Lin’er herself gave up on attending Kongming Academy. It was a rare chance that Zhuo Yifeng had seized for himself, and Zhuo Lin’er didn’t want to become his burden.

As a result, when Yun Ruoyan came to visit, Zhuo Yifeng’s face was cold and troubled. This time, however, it wasn’t on account of her relationship with the Slaughtering King, but rather with his imminent separation with his sister.

He felt so poorly about the entire affair that he had even entertained the idea of not attending Kongming Academy at all, but it was the only place that could train him to be strong enough to seek revenge.

“Brother Zhuo, you don’t have to worry about Lin’er,” Lin Qingxue piped up. “She’ll be safe in the Lin manor. Without my sister and I around, Lin’er can help us take care of our grandfather. He’s a far better physician than even my sister, and by the time you’re ready to leave Kongming Academy, I’m sure Lin’er’s constitution will be much improved!”

“Brother, don’t worry about me,” Zhuo Lin’er added. “Even with all of you gone, there’ll still be the magical beasts in Sister Qingchen’s bamboo gardens to keep me company.”

Finally, heeding everyone’s advice, Zhuo Yifeng relaxed.

Yun Ruoyan pulled Zhuo Yifeng aside and handed him the box of tiger-canine arrows that she’d finally obtained for him. She had wanted to hand him the arrows as soon as she received them, but she didn’t have time to visit. When she finally found time, the situation with Li Mo had left their relationship on tenterhooks.

Knowing that Zhuo Yifeng wouldn’t have accepted the arrows at that time, she hadn’t brought them up. Now, however, seemed like a good time to do so, and it would ease a burden that had long been on her mind.

When Zhuo Yifeng looked at the tidy arrows in the box, his eyes lit up with excitement. He brushed over each and every arrowhead, liking the gift more and more. And as he held out the arrows, so fervently did he believe that the arrows were a perfect match for him that thanking Yun Ruoyan didn’t even cross his mind.

Yun Ruoyan had expected to receive a rather awkward and effusive expression of thanks, but Zhuo Yifeng had only expressed his happiness about the arrows before walking off while embracing them.

Yun Ruoyan looked back at Zhuo Yifeng, swallowing her prepared “You’re welcome.” back down her throat. This reaction was unexpected, but it wasn’t bad. She smiled gently as she watched him walk off into the distance.

Just as Yun Ruoyan was getting ready to leave the Lin manor, she coincidentally met Pei Ziao outside. He had seized her out of nowhere while she was preparing to get into her carriage. Sensing that Pei Ziao didn’t have good intentions, Yun Moxiao shielded his sister.

Yun Ruoyan peeked at Pei Ziao from behind her brother’s sturdy frame. His body was thin, his complexion sallow, and his face wan. Yun Ruoyan smiled internally as she observed his appearance.

“Get out of my way. I have a few questions for Yun Ruoyan,” Pei Ziao hissed at Yun Moxiao.

“Young Master Pei, you’re welcome to air whatever grievances you have right here.”

Pei Ziao stood out from the crowd, but he was nothing compared to Yun Moxiao. After a moment’s silence, he finally asked, “Was it you?”

“What do you mean, was it me? I don’t understand what you’re saying!” Yun Ruoyan naturally knew what Pei Ziao was referring to, but she had to pretend not to know. “Young Master Pei, you don’t look very good. I suggest you get some medication for your mental well-being.”