Chapter 499: Goodbye Qingnv

After Chen Mobai chose his school, Che Yucheng was satisfied.

"After you form your Golden Core, you'll need to report to Kaiyuan Hall. While you're at it, also make a trip to the Ministry of Education to complete the process for assuming the position of President of Qingsang Academy."

The Martial Arts Academy is considered one of the Immortal Sect's major factions. After Che Yucheng finished writing Chen Mobai's transfer order and stamped it with the academy's official seal, he also called a few friends at the Ministry of Education to inform them.

Upon Chen Mobai's arrival at Wangwu Grotto-Heaven, he was naturally greeted by Sun Daoji.

"Junior Brother Chen, there aren't many people I admire in my life, but you are now the one I respect the most," Sun Daoji said with an expression of reverence. He even offered to take Chen Mobai's belongings.

"Senior Brother Sun is also a young genius; I've merely taken a step ahead." Chen Mobai, as always, remained humble with his own people.

The two first went to the Ministry of Education to handle the simple matters. Because Che Yucheng had already made arrangements, the entire process for Chen Mobai to assume the presidency of Qingsang Academy was completed in just one morning. If a certain leader hadn't been away on business in another department, it would likely have taken only half an hour.

Next, they headed to Kaiyuan Hall. Here, they had to wait. After all, it was one of the Immortal Sect's Three Great Halls and its core center. In addition to the 374 Golden Core True Persons, the fourteen Nascent Soul Grandmasters were also council members of this hall.

The current Hall Master of Kaiyuan Hall, Qi Yuheng, was renowned as the Immortal Sect's foremost Nascent Soul cultivator. A century ago, he had already reached the ninth layer of the Nascent Soul realm and was considered the most likely person to achieve Spirit Transformation after the Immortal Sect's Dual Sages. However, figures of such a high cultivation level generally did not concern themselves with worldly affairs. After Chen Mobai's documents were submitted, the Vice Hall Master Ye Yun'e was responsible for their approval.

"Greetings, True Person Ye." Chen Mobai received the notification on the third day and arrived at Kaiyuan Hall.

"Sit," Ye Yun'e said.

Ye Yun'e was a beautiful woman with a proud figure and a serious demeanor. When Chen Mobai entered, she was processing documents. Dressed in a woman's suit shirt, she pulled a file from a large stack. Chen Mobai took it and saw that it was his personal profile and information. However, some issues were circled in red pen, and small notes next to them indicated how to revise them.

"Take it back, revise it, and submit it again," Ye Yun'e said. After Ye Yun'e spoke, she lowered her head and resumed her work.

Chen Mobai paused, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

"Do you have a grudge with True Person Ye?" Back at their residence, when Chen Mobai recounted the incident to Sun Daoji, the latter looked at the red-marked document, furrowed his brow slightly, and asked with some surprise.

"How could that be? It was our first time meeting. Could it be that she just doesn't like our Martial Arts Academy?" Chen Mobai immediately shook his head. His personal profile and documents had been prepared by experienced staff from the Martial Arts Academy stationed in Wangwu Grotto-Heaven, so there should have been no issues. Yet, Ye Yun'e had nitpicked it and insisted on returning it. There must be some underlying reason they weren't aware of.

"In that case, let's wait a few days," Sun Daoji suggested. "True Person Wang hasn't returned yet from his visit to Xixuan Grotto-Heaven. He and Ye Yun'e are both rotating committee members of Kaiyuan Hall. If he steps in, we won't need to guess what's going on."

The Martial Arts Academy also had a Golden Core True Person overseeing matters in Wangwu Grotto-Heaven named Wang Shuye. He had once competed for the position of Vice Hall Master of Kaiyuan Hall but had unfortunately lost to Ye Yun'e. Chen Mobai didn't particularly mind. After all, his future was promising, and with the Sky River Realm as his backing, he wasn't overly concerned with the Immortal Sect's resources. Even if he didn't enter Kaiyuan Hall, it wouldn't be a big deal.

While waiting for Wang Shuye to return, Chen Mobai also took the opportunity to invite Qing Nü to meet for a meal. He called her, and after a moment, she picked up.

Qing Nü: "Hello?"Chen Mobai: "Are you free? I haven't seen you in years."Qing Nü: "Oh, are you in Wangwu Grotto-Heaven?"Chen Mobai: "To see you, and to handle some matters while I'm here."Qing Nü: "That's right, you formed your Golden Core! By the rules, you have to come to Kaiyuan Hall. Congratulations!"

Chen Mobai humbly replied a couple of sentences, and then the two agreed to meet on a conveniently located street.

In an underground space in the suburbs of Wangwu Grotto-Heaven, Qing Nü, with a smile on her face, hung up the phone.

"Who was that, making you so happy?" Zhong Li'yi, wearing a white lab coat and glasses, looked up from observing experimental data of a piece of flesh on the operating table and asked.

"An old friend I haven't seen in a long time has come to Wangwu Grotto-Heaven." Qing Nü picked up her data-processing tablet, walked over to Zhong Li'yi, and began operating the current experiment.

"That guy!" To her surprise, Zhong Li'yi instantly knew who it was. After all, Qing Nü's social circle was very limited; she had joined the Heaven-Mending Team even before graduating, and having dealt with numerous secretive and dark matters, she found it difficult to relate to students living in ivory towers. Thus, apart from the Heaven-Mending Team, the only friend Zhong Li'yi knew Qing Nü had in the Immortal Sect was her boyfriend. Qing Nü's only few leaves of absence had always been to see him.

"Yes, I'll go ask the team leader for leave later. I won't be in this afternoon, so you'll have to work a bit harder by yourself."

"That's wonderful! Your boyfriend formed his Golden Core independently, and you have a Celestial Spiritual Root, so forming your Golden Core is also a certainty. In the future, if you two practice the Purple-Green Demonic Refining Scripture together, you might just become the second pair of Qing Shi and Qing Jing!" Zhong Li'yi said enviously to Qing Nü, pouting slightly. Qing Nü, on the other hand, blushed with embarrassment and repeatedly waved her hands, explaining that she and Chen Mobai were only friends.

"Among Immortal Sect members, love is free; what's there to be shy about? He rarely comes here, so you must seize this opportunity, let him know how wonderful you are, and take a few more days off to spend time with him. He's such a good man; now, every female cultivator with connections in the Immortal Sect is looking for his contact information. I know of several unmarried women from Spirit Transformation families alone!" Zhong Li'yi was Zhong Li Tianyu's cousin. Although she had also successfully reached Foundation Establishment, the remaining Golden Liquid Jade Core Pills and Infantile Transformation Pills in her family were reserved as foundational resources, which even Zhong Li Tianyu could not consume. Therefore, if she wanted to form her Golden Core, she still needed to serve the people of the Immortal Sect. However, as an descendant of a Spirit Transformation family, her connections were different. She had been assigned to the Heaven-Mending Team, where she could acquire Golden Liquid Jade Core Pills in the shortest time possible. Moreover, her squad, Heaven-Mending Squad Four, was a medical unit, which meant she rarely needed to participate in combat, ensuring her safety. Because of her family background, she had many close friends from other Spirit Transformation families. Recently, in their small group chats, they had all been discussing how to win over Chen Mobai, the Immortal Sect's foremost genius.

"I'm leaving now!" Qing Nü, still a bit thin-skinned, couldn't stand Zhong Li'yi leaning in to offer dating tips. She immediately put down her tablet and ran out of the laboratory.

Because the Heaven-Mending Team was highly specialized, every member's phone calls and movements had to be reported in meticulous detail, specifying how long their leave would be, when they would depart, and when they would return. After Qing Nü had three leaders sign her leave request, she finally obtained a card allowing her to exit. The Heaven-Mending Team was located underground, so a special card was required to take the elevator to the surface.

*Beep!* The elevator doors opened, and Qing Nü saw two people already inside.

"Good day, Deputy General Leader Lan. Good day, Team Leader Lin." Qing Nü immediately greeted them.

Lan Haitian and Lin Yin glanced at her, nodding slightly in response.

"Which floor?" Lin Yin stood at the elevator entrance, her face masked, and pointed a finger as she asked Qing Nü.

"Ground floor!" Qing Nü hesitated for a moment but still replied.

As expected, Lan Haitian and Lin Yin's gazes immediately turned to her after hearing her reply. Under their watchful eyes, Qing Nü took out her authorized card and walked over to swipe it before a small magical artifact. After the green light illuminated, Lin Yin lowered her head and pressed the ground floor button.

When the elevator reached the third underground level, Lan Haitian and Lin Yin exited. Qing Nü quietly let out a sigh of relief. Within the Heaven-Mending Team, the Sixth Squad was the combat department, and every member had blood on their hands. Therefore, members of other departments instinctively felt uneasy when encountering them. Their gazes seemed to instantly assess every vital point on a person's body.

After Lan Haitian had been sitting in his office for a while, Lin Yin came over with the information she had gathered and said, "She's probably going to see Chen Mobai."

"I never expected that young qi cultivator to be at my level now," Lan Haitian remarked thoughtfully after reading Qing Nü's leave application, recalling the recent fervent online discussions about Chen Mobai's successful independent Golden Core formation.

"It's a pity. If we had been more insistent about recruiting him into the Heaven-Mending Team back then, I wouldn't have to work so hard now." Lin Yin also had a deep impression of Chen Mobai. Back in Danxia City, when he had just formed his Foundation, he had unleashed a purple flame sword light that had utterly astonished her. At the time, she hadn't understood Chen Mobai's flat refusal, but now she finally did. He clearly had absolute confidence in forming his Golden Core and wasn't impressed by the minor benefits offered by their Heaven-Mending Team.

Lan Haitian: "Even if he had joined the Sixth Squad then and filled the vacancy after my departure, and now succeeded in forming his Golden Core and getting promoted, you would still take over as the Sixth Squad leader. You'd still be working hard."

Lin Yin: "At least the first twenty years would have been easy."

This comment made Lan Haitian shake his head without speaking. He looked at Qing Nü's leave request and, using his authority as Deputy General Leader of the Heaven-Mending Team, began to retrieve Chen Mobai's file within the Immortal Sect. Soon, a newly approved appointment caught his attention.

"This hereby appoints Chen Mobai to the position of President of Qingsang Academy in Yumu City - Ministry of Education XXXX."

Lan Haitian stared at the words "Yumu City" for a long time in silence, then took out his phone. He opened his contacts, found Chen Mobai's phone number, and then dialed.

"Alright, you arrange it." Although Chen Mobai was a bit puzzled as to why Lan Haitian would suddenly invite him to meet, Lan Haitian had helped him a lot, so he certainly had to grant him this favor.

*Ring, ring, ring!* Just as he hung up with Lan Haitian, Qing Nü's call came through.

A short while later, the two, having confirmed their location, finally met. After six years, Qing Nü was still as beautiful and captivating as ever.

She sat on a roadside chair, her clear and elegant face now possessing a touch of allure from her years in the workplace. Her white inner shirt subtly revealed her delicate collarbone, and her black jacket clung closely to her shapely upper body. A dark blue skirt perfectly covered her fair, rounded thighs, while her long, straight calves were adorned with a pair of black high heels. The contrast of black and white further enhanced her skin, making it appear as pure and white as fine jade.

"You haven't changed at all; you're still so beautiful," Chen Mobai genuinely praised her when he saw Qing Nü. Years had not diminished her beauty; instead, they had added a touch of mature elegance.

"You too," Qing Nü said with a smile, standing up and looking at the refined young man before her. Due to his early breakthroughs in cultivation, Chen Mobai's physical body remained at its youthful peak, and his appearance had barely changed. After forming his Golden Core, at 44 years old, he would maintain his youthful appearance for over a hundred years, compared to his lifespan of 560 years.

"While my appearance hasn't changed, my heart feels older," Chen Mobai said self-deprecatingly. Qing Nü couldn't help but chuckle at his self-deprecating remark.

The two walked together through the streets of Wangwu Grotto-Heaven. Although they hadn't seen each other in six years, their conversation flowed as easily as if they had been constant companions.

"Hey, aren't you...?" Unfortunately, their relaxed mood only lasted for a moment before Chen Mobai was recognized. Before the crowd could gather, Chen Mobai swiftly led Qing Nü away from the scene. They then found a coffee shop with a private room, finally securing a space for a private conversation.

"My brother mentioned earlier that you gave him a coffee cup, seemingly for identifying some kind of medicine," Qing Nü said. Qing Nü's words made cold sweat suddenly break out on Chen Mobai's back. He silently cursed Kong Feichen but quickly thought on his feet. His expression turned serious, and he gently shook his head. Then, he extended a finger and, using Water Manipulation Art, used the coffee in his cup as ink to write a sentence in the air. Upon seeing the sentence, Qing Nü's pretty face subtly changed, but she immediately nodded in understanding and reached out to erase the coffee characters Chen Mobai had written in mid-air.

After that, the two began to discuss normal topics. They talked about their cultivation and work experiences over the years. Qing Nü had also reached the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment recently. This was because she had deliberately held back her breakthroughs to solidify her foundation; otherwise, with her Celestial Spiritual Root aptitude and the resources from the Heaven-Mending Team, she could have fully achieved Foundation Establishment Perfection.

Chen Mobai: "Aren't you planning to cultivate the Everlasting Spring Technique?"

Qing Nü: "There's only one Wood Spirit Talisman. After Senior Sister Wenren cultivates it, it's essentially impossible for anyone else in the academy to master the Everlasting Spring Technique."

The Immortal Sect's resources were limited; even the Jumang Academy could only support one person in cultivating the Everlasting Spring Technique. Both Qing Nü and Wenren Xuewei possessed Celestial Water Spiritual Roots and were born in the same era. With some issues noted in Qing Nü's Immortal Sect file, Jumang Academy would easily make its choice.

They talked until sunset. If not for the concern that Qing Nü returning late might lead to gossip and affect her reputation as an unmarried young woman, Chen Mobai would have wanted to talk with her all night. He had few friends in the Immortal Sect, and Qing Nü was, without a doubt, at the top of that list. Their connection was truly one of genuine hearts.