Chapter 342: Great Family

"Who are you?" Zhong Litianyu finally reacted, raising a hand to touch his forehead as he looked at the delicate-looking young man before him.

"I'm Chen Mobai. We enrolled in the same year and met once, though you were on stage during the entrance ceremony as the freshman representative, and I was in the audience, so you likely didn't notice me," Chen Mobai said with a smile.

"You are Chen Mobai!" Zhong Litianyu clearly recognized the name. Although he had spent the last seven years cultivating in the Myriad Treasures Cave, he still emerged annually for exams to earn credits, so he had naturally heard of this classmate, who had gained the most renown in the past two years.

"That's right. As you know, I'm the student council president, but I'll likely be interning in two years. After looking around the entire Daoist academy, I believe you're the only one suitable to succeed me, so I want to take you along this time."

"But we're in the same year," Zhong Litianyu couldn't help but point out. He was already a seventh-year student, so in two years, he'd likely only serve as president for a single year at most.

"It's fine; even one year is still a year." Chen Mobai had decided to shift his focus to inter-realm trade over the past two years. The student council no longer provided him with much assistance, so he planned to emulate Zuo Qiusi by finding a suitable successor and stepping down gracefully.

"You defeated me, so I agree. However, I demand that you fight me once a year." Zhong Litianyu pondered for a moment, seemingly experiencing an internal shift, and proposed a rather unusual condition.

"Alright. In half a month, come to the student council's headquarters, and we'll depart together."

"I don't know where the student council's headquarters are." As Chen Mobai prepared to leave, Zhong Litianyu suddenly uttered a remark that surprised him.

"Have you been cultivating for all seven years in the Myriad Treasures Cave?"

"Mostly. When there's thunder, I leave the Myriad Treasures Cave to experience the evolution of lightning." Zhong Litianyu replied candidly. Chen Mobai looked at his clear, unclouded eyes and couldn't help but marvel that such a person existed in the world.

"Do you have any other hobbies besides cultivation?"

"Does reading manga count?"

"Yes." Chen Mobai finally understood why Zhong Litianyu had developed such a unique personality; he was a recluse.

"Are you going to open this artifact sphere?" Before Chen Mobai left, Zhong Litianyu pointed to the one nestled between the Fire Spirit Tree's roots and the scattered rocks. This made Chen Mobai wonder if he had overlooked some treasure.

He activated his Void-Piercing Spiritual Eye and examined it again, confirming his previous assessment: it was a triangular formation plate.

"It's not very useful to me, so I'll leave it here."

"Because the formation plate inside is alive-sealed, it has absorbed a significant amount of the Li Trigram's power. If your mirror can absorb it, it should be highly beneficial." Zhong Litianyu's words made Chen Mobai stop abruptly.

"You can see through artifact spheres too?"

"Previously, I could only perceive the natural energy condensed by 'wind and thunder,' but now 'fire' has been added." As Zhong Litianyu spoke, he pushed back his bangs, revealing his right eye, where a Li Trigram faintly flickered within his pupil.

"You haven't even opened this artifact sphere, and you can already use the power of the Li Trigram fragment?"

"The artifact spheres that seal the Eight Trigrams Mirror fragments were created by my family. I don't need an 'artifact chip' to summon divine fire light to open them; the seal is essentially lifted once the item is in my possession."

The artifact sphere containing the mirror fragment ignited in Zhong Litianyu's palm, then melted into a white jade liquid, revealing an irregularly shaped mirror shard. A Li Trigram faintly appeared within its surface.

Zhong Litianyu held his Eight Trigrams Mirror and pressed the fragment into one of its corners like a puzzle piece. Instantly, the Eight Trigrams Mirror radiated a fiery red spiritual light, emitting a joyful pulsation.

"Your family seals the Eight Trigrams Mirror fragments within artifact spheres. Aren't you worried other students might open and take them?"

"If someone does open and take it, retrieving it is also part of my training," Zhong Litianyu said calmly, uttering words that left Chen Mobai bewildered.

"What do you think of my cultivation speed?"

"Very fast. Throughout the entire Immortal Sect, I doubt anyone cultivates faster than you," Chen Mobai said honestly, though in his mind, he added, 'Except for me.'

"With the Eight Trigrams Mirror, the *Can Tong Qi*, and the Daoist academy's resources, my cultivation speed will remain this rapid until I achieve a breakthrough to a higher realm. However, our family's ancestor passed away a millennium ago, and since then, no one has been able to form an Infant Soul. The reason is that our cultivation speed is too rapid, and we lack sufficient tempering."

As Zhong Litianyu spoke, Chen Mobai had already walked over to the Fire Spirit Tree and reached out to retrieve the artifact sphere.

"Therefore, a century ago, my family cultivated the Eight Trigrams Mirror, which had fallen in grade and shattered into pieces, in various locations throughout the Immortal Sect. Subsequently, they chose me as the Eight Trigrams Mirror's host to embark on a trial called 'Reassembly.'"

"My family requires me to gather all the Eight Trigrams Mirror fragments, believing this will both slow my cultivation speed and temper my foundation. It was agreed that no matter what difficulties or challenges I encounter, I must rely on myself to resolve them."

"Additionally, I must find a way to acquire the spiritual items necessary for forming a Golden Core."

As he finished speaking, Zhong Litianyu's expression remained impassive. Chen Mobai's immediate thought upon hearing this was, "Is this what it means to be from a prominent family?"

"From what you're saying, does your family possess elixirs that aid in Golden Core formation?"

"Before our ancestor passed away, he refined a batch of Golden Liquid Jade Reversion Pills and a batch of Infant Transformation Pills, leaving them as a family legacy."

"Are they for sale?" Chen Mobai asked directly.

"They cannot be used by non-family disciples, and only one of each remains now." Zhong Litianyu's words made Chen Mobai shake his head in regret. However, on second thought, if they were for sale, many prominent figures in the Immortal Sect would have acquired them from the Zhongli family long ago. For example, Gongye Zhixu became the Deputy Hall Master of the Immortal Affairs Hall solely to obtain spiritual items for forming an Infant Soul, yet only managed to secure a single Infant Nurturing Pill.

"It's a pity I don't have an artifact chip for exchange, otherwise I could open this artifact sphere right now." While Chen Mobai's Void-Piercing Spiritual Eye could see through the surface, he still needed to open an artifact to confirm its true nature. This year, he earned 186 credits from appraising artifact spheres. He spent 90 credits on three Vermillion Fruits and one Minor Barrier-Breaking Pill, leaving him with 96. Since final exams hadn't begun yet, he hadn't received the credits for his enrolled courses, meaning he wouldn't be able to exchange for an artifact chip until the end of the year.

However, considering he would soon be heading to Jumang Daoist Academy, Chen Mobai decided it would be better to open this artifact sphere before his departure. So, he led Zhong Litianyu toward the student council's headquarters.

"Shouldn't we go deep into the Myriad Treasures Cave to find Teacher Duanmu for artifact chips?" Zhong Litianyu asked, following him as they flew upwards within the cave, a curious expression on his face.

"Only Golden Core cultivators can access Teacher Duanmu's location. So, to avoid delaying the opening of artifact spheres, we usually go to Teacher Luo Hezheng to exchange for artifact chips." Chen Mobai knew that Zhong Litianyu was largely unfamiliar with common knowledge outside of cultivation, so he patiently explained.

"I see. It's a pity my Eight Trigrams Mirror has only just regained the power of the Li Trigram and I can't yet use it proficiently; it only affects myself. Otherwise, I could take you down to see Teacher Duanmu." Zhong Litianyu looked regretful, but Chen Mobai's heart stirred upon hearing this.

Soon, the two arrived at the student council's three-story building.

To their surprise, all three vice presidents were present, along with the former president, Hua Zijing. They were all on the first floor, looking serious, as if they were about to leave.

"President." Everyone's faces brightened upon seeing Chen Mobai enter. However, their expressions turned peculiar when they noticed Zhong Litianyu accompanying him.

"Are you alright?" Mi Yudao asked from the side.

"What's wrong? Why the long faces? I merely had a friendly spar with student Zhong Li. You didn't really think we'd have a full-blown fight, did you?" Chen Mobai saw their expressions and instantly knew what was happening, shaking his head with a smile.

"Did you win or lose?" Only Hua Zijing would ask such a question. She was the boldest and had already stepped down, though she likely visited frequently out of habit to pet cats.

"I'd say it was a slight victory by half a move. Student Zhong Li's lightning techniques are so powerful that he would likely hold his own even against the top students of the other three Daoist academies." Chen Mobai's words caused Zhong Litianyu's tense expression to soften slightly.

"I told them there's absolutely no need to worry about your combat skills, yet they were still afraid you'd get hurt." Hua Zijing's words made the other student council members present feel uncomfortable. Mi Yudao even hung his head in shame; it was he who had exaggerated the situation, leading the student council to mistakenly believe Zhong Litianyu was enraged and that the spar might turn bloody, causing everyone else to become nervous.

"How rare it is to hear words of praise from you," Chen Mobai quipped playfully upon hearing Hua Zijing's remark, earning an eye-roll from her as she continued to pet the cat.

"Tiansuan." Chen Mobai beckoned to Lu Tiansuan, who managed Myriad Treasures Chart credit inquiries and had been promoted to vice president this year.

"President, is something wrong?" Lu Tiansuan walked over, looking puzzled.

"I recall that the 5 welfare credits for the student council haven't been distributed yet this year, have they?"

"That's right. The list is usually finalized after the final exams, and then sent to the Academic Affairs Office for confirmation."

"Yes, I'm just short of enough credits to exchange for an artifact chip. Could you issue my 5 credits first?"

"This... Alright, President." While Lu Tiansuan was principled, he wasn't rigid. Each year, ten outstanding student council members received these 5 credits as a reward, and the president and the three vice presidents were always on that list regardless. Furthermore, everyone knew that the Director of Academic Affairs was the president's teacher. Therefore, Chen Mobai receiving them early was entirely reasonable.

Over the past two years, thanks to Chen Mobai's help in appraising artifact spheres, many students became more active in consulting the Myriad Treasures Chart. After all, once an artifact's external appearance was identified, one still needed to cross-reference it with the chart to determine its precise grade and function. As a result, other student council members also reaped considerable benefits from Myriad Treasures Chart credits during this period. Recently, in particular, Chen Mobai helped appraise 186 artifact spheres. Each Myriad Treasures Chart Consultation cost 2 credits, leading to a direct net gain of 372 credits. After deducting half for the Daoist academy, and distributing the remainder among the 36 student council members, each person received 5 credits.

It was precisely for this reason that even though Chen Mobai had been largely absent from the student council for the past two years, everyone wholeheartedly respected him as president. Simply put, the benefits were significantly better than during Zuo Qiusi's tenure.

"You all carry on as usual. Two graduating seniors might visit in the next few days. Zijing, please help entertain them."

"I've already stepped down," Hua Zijing said tartly, still petting the cat. Chen Mobai couldn't help but slap his forehead, realizing he had grown accustomed to her presence.

"Then Jia Lan, please bear the trouble. Student Zhong Li and I are going to meet another senior student." Zhong Litianyu, standing nearby, looked up with a puzzled expression after hearing this. He wondered when they had decided to meet a senior female student. However, he disliked speaking much in front of strangers, so he simply remained by the door, observing since they had entered.

After accumulating 100 credits, Chen Mobai left the student council with Zhong Litianyu.

"I'm not interested in senior students," Zhong Litianyu suddenly declared as they crossed the dark river, nearly causing Chen Mobai to stumble.

"What?"

"Didn't you say we were going to meet a senior student? Weren't you going to introduce me?"

"What kind of thought process is that? I'm going to Teacher Duanmu's place to exchange for artifact chips. It just so happens that a senior student who will be joining us for the offline exchange meeting is currently in seclusion there, so we can get acquainted."

"Oh, then I misunderstood," Zhong Litianyu said, without a hint of embarrassment.

Chen Mobai was incredibly curious about Zhong Litianyu's upbringing. What kind of family was the Zhongli family, to cultivate such an eccentric personality?

Zhong Litianyu: "The temperature deep inside the Myriad Treasures Cave is very high. My Eight Trigrams Mirror can only protect me. Can your mirror protect you too?"Chen Mobai: "It's fine. My physique is unique; I'm resistant to high temperatures. By the way, you open artifact spheres without using artifact chips. Is that tacitly allowed by the academy? Wouldn't two fragments save you 200 credits?"Zhong Litianyu: "These were originally sealed by my family members. My taking them is simply returning them to their rightful owner. Now that you mention it, I just remembered: do I need to pay additional credits?"Chen Mobai: "We're going to see Teacher Duanmu anyway; we can ask her later."

With one protected by the Li Trigram and the other possessing a Fire Spirit Body, they quickly descended above the underground lava flow.

In this furnace-like environment, hot enough to scorch even Foundation Establishment cultivators, they effortlessly and comfortably descended before the dark red island at its center.

Just as they were about to land, an earth-shattering dragon roar echoed.

The surrounding lava began to boil, then violently dispersed, as a white dragon surged from the magma, ascending into the sky with a terrifying aura.

Chen Mobai's expression subtly changed. The five fingers of his right hand, held behind his back, lit up with a five-colored radiance. As the five-element sword light circulated, an incredibly formidable sword array was already poised for action.

Beside him, Zhong Litianyu also gripped his Eight Trigrams Mirror. The Zhen Trigram began to materialize, enveloping his entire body, as purple lightning flickered into existence.

However, the white dragon did not charge at them. It seemed weakened after its purification in the lava. After a glance in their direction, it flew into the island.

"You two, come over." About a quarter of an hour later, Duanmu Longrong's voice echoed in their ears.

Chen Mobai and Zhong Litianyu dispelled their respective spiritual energies and descended.