Chapter 147: Each One's Future

Mo Simin found the meal unappetizing. Qing Nü also had a somewhat strange expression. Only Chen Mobai and Yan Bingxuan remained oblivious, eating with great relish. This was spirit fish Chen Mobai had specially caught from Yunmeng Marsh, known for its delicious meat. Combined with the owner's secret recipe, the taste was truly outstanding.

"By the way, when are you planning to leave?" Chen Mobai was naturally asking about their departure for the Daoist Academies. The Scarlet City Grotto-Heaven he was heading to was not too far from Danxia City; a special express train would take about one day and one night.

"I might have to go early because I'm directly recommended and need to complete some procedures," Qing Nü said while eating, glancing at Chen Mobai, though he didn't notice at all.

"Me too, I'll go early," Yan Bingxuan added. She had also been directly recommended to the Natural Academy by her great-aunt.

"I might go a bit later since it's close," said class monitor Mo Simin. She was quite lucky; despite her average entrance exam scores, she was still admitted to the Heavenly Book Academy.

Chen Mobai then asked about the others. Song Zheng, unfortunately, did not receive an admission notice from the Grand Origin Academy and ultimately went to the Heavenly Book Academy, like Mo Simin. Shi Jingjing and Cao Yaling agreed to go to the Spirit Treasure Academy. It was said that Cao Yaling originally received an admission notice from the Star-Gazing Academy, but she chose the Spirit Treasure Academy to stay with Shi Jingjing. As for Xu Yuan and Shi Yuanqing, the latter originally wanted to go to the same academy as Xu Yuan, but Xu Yuan refused. Eventually, after repeated persuasion from family and friends, Shi Yuanqing still went to the Grand Origin Academy, making him the second-best student in this graduating class from Fifth High School, only after Chen Mobai.

"Can my sister go with you? She'd have a companion," Qing Nü suddenly asked Yan Bingxuan, who was momentarily stunned. Chen Mobai immediately explained that Qing Nü's sister was Yang Jing. Yan Bingxuan and Mo Simin's expressions upon hearing this were exactly like Chen Mobai's when he first heard it—utterly shocked.

"No problem. My master told me to bring her along when she left," Yan Bingxuan replied. Hearing this, Qing Nü nodded to Yan Bingxuan in thanks.

Actually, Qing Nü had initially intended for Yang Jing to go to the Grand Medicine Academy, but during the arena competition, Ning Anning said, "A healer cannot heal themselves." After much thought, the three decided to send Yang Jing to the Natural Academy to find a way to solve her problems through cultivation methods. As for Kong Feichen, he chose the Grand Medicine Academy, and with his grades, he quickly received an admission notice. Yan Qiongzhi of the Natural Academy greatly regretted Kong Feichen's choice, but understanding he did it for his sister, she expressed her comprehension.

Additionally, Chen Mobai's two opponents, Gong Xiangyu and Yan Feng, went to the True Spirit Academy and Mountain and Sea Academy, respectively. Both of them had long chosen their paths. Unable to enter the Four Great Daoist Academies, they didn't go to the most renowned Grand Origin or Pure Yang Academies, but instead chose the academies best suited for the advancement of their cultivation methods. They were truly individuals with firm Daoist hearts! It was said they were very unwilling to accept their defeat at someone's hands.

"I hope by the time we meet again, we've all reached Foundation Establishment," Chen Mobai said as they parted ways, offering a sincere blessing.

"Okay," Qing Nü said with a smile.

"Then we might not meet again for another ten or twenty years," Yan Bingxuan remarked, wiping her mouth expressionlessly, making a dry joke. It would take her at least several more years to improve her Ice Spirit Root, and by the time she attempted Foundation Establishment, it might indeed be that long. As for class monitor Mo Simin, though her confidence was low, she still nodded. No one didn't want to achieve Foundation Establishment, even if it was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

After chatting for a while longer, the four of them went home. In the following days, Chen Mobai also gathered with his deskmate Lu Hongsheng, front-row classmates Yu Shupu and Jiang Xue, Song Zheng, and other classmates, bidding each other farewell.

Meanwhile, in the Tianhe Realm, after three days of drifting, Chen Mobai finally reached the island operated by the Nanxi Market. Signs of demonic beast attacks were clearly visible there, but fortunately, there were still people present. As Chen Mobai's raft approached, it was immediately stopped by two cultivators. After some negotiation and explaining the situation, he was allowed to go ashore.

"Brother, you're truly lucky. Twenty-four of the sixty-six outer markets in Yunmeng Marsh have been breached by demonic beasts. Very few have managed to escape after their islands fell; you're the third one we've encountered here," a cultivator said with a sigh of relief after confirming Chen Mobai was human and not a shapeshifting demonic beast.

"I didn't expect the situation to have deteriorated to such an extent. I'm ashamed to admit, after Green Light Island was breached, I hid in a self-dug burrow for half a year, and only dared to come out when my supplies ran out."

"Oh, it seems the demonic beast horde that breached Green Light Island didn't have any Spirit-Seeking Birds," the cultivator, surnamed Liu, who was from a cultivation family of the Nanxi Market, commented.

Chen Mobai asked what a Spirit-Seeking Bird was.

"This type of demonic beast, like a treasure-seeking rat, is extremely sensitive to spiritual energy," the cultivator explained. "Demonic beasts of the second tier and above already possess sentience and know that powerful spiritual items can bring about their transformation, so powerful demonic beasts usually capture and keep a Spirit-Seeking Bird by their side. Each time demonic beasts breach our cultivators' markets, they bring Spirit-Seeking Birds to every corner, sweeping away all items with spiritual energy. We cultivators are even more so mobile sources of spiritual power, unable to escape the Spirit-Seeking Birds' detection." It was precisely because of this that the cultivator surnamed Liu believed Chen Mobai was able to escape after Green Light Island fell, likely because that particular group of demonic beasts didn't keep Spirit-Seeking Birds.

Chen Mobai truly hadn't known this. No wonder he only found a few things after searching on Green Light Island for half a year; it turned out the demonic beasts had already swept through it. The magic artifacts he found were merely scraps left behind by the demonic beasts.

"Is the teleportation array within the market still functional?" Chen Mobai dared not continue speaking, fearing he might reveal more flaws, and immediately changed the subject.

"It's unusable. It was destroyed by demonic beasts. The array master who can repair it won't be available for another year. If you want to return to the Nanxi Market, you'll have to take our Liu family's boat, then transfer to the Luo family's spirit camels after landing, or walk on your own," the cultivator surnamed Liu shook his head.

Unlike the Seven Great Sects, these cultivation families weren't so unyielding. Upon realizing demonic beasts were about to attack the island, they immediately packed their spirit stones and tactically retreated to the mainland via the teleportation array, simply surrendering the island. After the demonic beasts landed on the island, they could only destroy the buildings, but no spiritual items were left behind for them. The teleportation array was the only valuable thing, but demonic beasts didn't understand array formations and wouldn't dare use it to go to the cultivators' stronghold on the mainland, so they merely destroyed it. Chen Mobai was quite lucky; the Nanxi Market's returning team had only just arrived this month. If he had come earlier, he would have only seen a ruined, desolate island.

"Has Fengyu Wu in the center of Yunmeng Marsh fallen? Otherwise, why would the demonic beasts be so rampant?" Chen Mobai's words made the cultivator surnamed Liu shake his head and sigh.