Chapter 778: Goodbye White-Clothed Woman

"Oh? What do you mean by that?" Zhang Xuan was unconcerned by the threat, asking with a smile.

"The academy's resources are limited each year, as are the number of trials," the young man explained. "Even work-study opportunities aren't easily acquired! If you offend our Azure Moon Society, we have the power to ensure you don't get a single trial or any academic credits for an entire year!" As a large student organization, making life difficult for a group of freshmen was quite simple.

"Unless..." The young man paused after his threat, then continued, "Join our Azure Moon Society! If you join, you'll be protected, and no one else will dare trouble you. The society also actively applies for many trials and leads members in completing them. Most importantly... if you join now, we'll give you a detailed guide to the faculty, so you won't need to buy it."

"So many benefits for joining the Azure Moon Society? Then... we must have to do something in return, right?" Young Master Ruohuan couldn't help but ask. There's no free lunch in the world; they wouldn't believe it if the other party offered so many benefits without an ulterior motive.

"It's simple," the young man nodded. "Once you're a member, you must show respect to Senior Long Cangyue, pay one academic credit as membership dues each year, and help manage the society's business in your free time."

"Pay membership dues? Manage business?" Everyone was speechless. As they had guessed, benefits naturally came with obligations. They didn't have any academic credits to begin with, and even if they did, earning them was extremely difficult. Paying one each year would be a huge sum. While they found the dues exorbitant, they were also somewhat shocked. If the society had a hundred members, wouldn't that mean Long Cangyue could earn a hundred academic credits a year without doing anything? No wonder such societies were formed, and people were willing to spend time offering guidance; this was the underlying reason. As for the business, it was easy to understand. Running the society, including daily expenses and managing relationships, incurred costs. Since everyone was a master teacher and many had numerous auxiliary professions, helping to refine pills or artifacts could generate income. Just like the young man in front of them, selling that detailed guide to the faculty, the profits would surely have to be turned over.

"Precisely. Now you have two choices: either buy it, or join the society. Otherwise, just wait for trouble later!" the young man snorted after explaining.

"Teacher Zhang..." Young Master Ruohuan, Song Chao, and the others all turned to look at Zhang Xuan.

"Sorry, we won't be buying or joining!" Zhang Xuan shook his head. He had no interest whatsoever. How could this "broken" society be more convenient than being a junior disciple of one of the Ten Elders? He'd already turned that down; there was no way he'd join this.

"You've got guts! But, I hope you find some powerful backing after you apprentice yourselves to a teacher. Otherwise, just wait for our Azure Moon Society to cause you trouble!" Seeing that these freshmen completely ignored his terms, the young man let out a fierce snort and stormed off.

"Teacher Zhang, what if they really cause trouble?" Song Chao and the others looked worried. They didn't have Zhang Xuan's abilities or connections, and offending such a senior student organization could truly lead to significant trouble if they sought retaliation.

"Let's focus on finding a teacher first. Even if they are senior students, this is the Master Teacher Academy; they wouldn't dare go too far. If they really try to cause trouble, I'll go to Principal Mi and Principal Zhao," Zhang Xuan waved his hand dismissively. Everyone here was a master teacher. Even if the other party wanted to cause trouble, it would certainly be within the rules. If they wanted to play by the rules... he could absolutely play them until they broke! Not to mention just one society, even if the Ten Master Teachers combined, they probably wouldn't be a match for him.

"Alright, we're relying on you then..." Hearing his promise, everyone felt much more at ease and continued walking towards the passage.

Along the way, they encountered several more groups: the Shenyue Society, the Demonic Beast Society... all student organizations, inviting them to join or buy information. Zhang Xuan casually touched a few more books, found that they were not much different from the Azure Moon Society's, and politely declined them all. Seeing a few freshmen foolishly rush to attend the public lectures without buying anything, the senior students from the information-selling societies all looked at them with pity. For freshmen, the first priority was choosing a teacher, and the second was joining a society. Otherwise, if isolated, they would face all sorts of trouble, and might not even be able to earn academic credits, let alone remain in the academy.

Too lazy to bother with these self-important senior students, the group arrived at the passage leading to the public lectures. The passage was crowded with people, forming a long queue.

Looking up, on a platform to one side, a teacher was lecturing. His voice was clear and resonant, and despite the large crowd below, it still echoed clearly, as if transmitting directly to each person. He was a middle-aged man around forty, and his name and academy were displayed on the platform. "The path of cultivation lies in focus. In the Spirit Unification realm, spirit and body merge. To refine the soul, one must first refine the mind..." He was a teacher from the Pill Forging Academy, a mid-tier 6-star master, and he was lecturing on cultivation techniques for the Spirit Unification realm. Zhang Xuan listened for a few moments and secretly nodded. Although his lecture was far inferior to Zhang Xuan's and contained many errors, it had to be said that he presented a unique approach, offering a fresh perspective. Anyone else listening would surely be greatly inspired and progress further in the Spirit Unification realm. For Zhang Xuan, however, it was of no use.

"This is a teacher from the Pill Forging Academy. His lectures are quite detailed, and he's quite wealthy. As his student, you can buy pills from him much cheaper than outside..." Zhang Xuan lowered his voice and thoroughly explained the teacher's profile from the book to Ruohuan and the others. Having experienced the Master Teacher Tournament with Teacher Zhang, they knew he had the ability to discern information without even opening books. So, they weren't too surprised by his words and diligently committed everything to memory. For public lectures, most people would listen once and then carefully consider their choices back home. There was no need to rush, as long as they successfully apprenticed themselves within three days.

"Let's keep going!" After listening for a while and understanding the teacher's lecturing style and skill level, the group continued forward. The next teacher was from the Medical Arts Academy, combining cultivation with medical knowledge to help students avoid hidden dangers. "Learning from him, your progress might not be as fast as with a Pill Forging Academy teacher, but your body will certainly not have major issues. Your foundation will be more solid, which will be more beneficial for future cultivation!" Zhang Xuan explained.

Master teachers all had auxiliary professions, and these auxiliary professions led to the establishment of the Ten Great Academies. Once a student chose one, they were destined to prioritize that profession after their master teacher identity. There were benefits to this. As he had just said, entering the Pill Forging Academy meant pills would definitely be cheaper and easier to obtain. Entering the Medical Arts Academy, one would gain a more thorough understanding of the body, and cultivation would focus more on fundamentals. The Artifact Forging Academy emphasized body tempering; the Beast Taming Academy focused on cultivating beast companions; the Calligraphy and Painting Academy refined one's temperament, making mental cultivation faster. In short, each academy had its strengths, and students only needed to choose based on their preferences and aptitudes, without overthinking it.

After another round, Zhang Xuan grew increasingly uninterested. He found a less crowded spot, stopped, took out a blank book, and meticulously copied all the correct information he had just obtained from various societies. "This contains information about many teachers giving public lectures. Pass it around among yourselves, and you can use it to find a suitable teacher!" With the organized and accurate information, free of errors, they could avoid detours in finding teachers, and Zhang Xuan wouldn't need to keep guiding them.

"Understood!" Young Master Ruohuan and the others nodded. With this information and their own listening to the lectures, they indeed wouldn't need to trouble Teacher Zhang anymore.

"Alright, take a look for yourselves. I'll wander around too!" Handing them the book, Zhang Xuan stretched, planning to leave and check out the Startle-Flight Academy or the Demonic Music Institute. Suddenly, he saw something that made his entire body tremble. "Could it be... her?"

In the crowd, an elegant figure slowly moved forward. It was a back view, a figure in white. Although she walked through the bustling crowd, there was no sign of awkwardness or unease. Instead, she exuded a sense of calm and tranquility. This feeling was identical to that of the white-clad woman who had left no name behind in the forests of the Mirage Feather Empire. After that parting, there had been no news. He had thought they would never meet again in this life. Could this be her?

Fearing it was his imagination, he looked more closely. The white-clad figure slowly advanced, and the surrounding crowd, as if pushed by a special force, parted to create a path, yet these people seemed completely unaware. "What powerful ability!" His pupils contracted. This was a mastery of space. The people around her clearly moved aside, yet perceived themselves as standing still. Such a profound ability was beyond even him.

"Could it not be her?" Zhang Xuan felt a flicker of doubt. Initially, he had felt the white-clad woman's strength wasn't great, which was why he had selflessly rushed to save her. But later, she had perfectly merged her soul and body without flaw. This ability exceeded his imagination. It was clear she had been concealing her true strength; exactly how strong, he genuinely didn't know.

"Flaw!" With a thought, Zhang Xuan was immediately taken aback. "Did she not use a combat technique?" He had assumed that her manipulation of space surely involved a combat technique, and he'd wanted to investigate her background. However, he found that nothing formed in the Library of Heaven's Path. This meant... the person in front likely hadn't used a combat technique. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for the Library of Heaven's Path not to detect it! So far, there was nothing it couldn't detect.

Filled with doubt, he was about to walk closer to get a better look when the woman ahead, as if sensing his gaze, turned her head. A beautiful face appeared in his sight. Who else could it be but the white-clad woman! Although her face seemed to bear some special disguise at the moment, it couldn't fool his Eye of Insight. He could easily see that it was indeed the girl who had been surrounded by countless spirit beasts in the mountain range back then.

Unable to suppress his excitement any longer, he quickly walked up to her. When he reached her, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but speak. "You... what are you doing here?"

The girl seemed to be searching for something. Upon hearing his voice, she finally noticed him, and her eyes lit up. She smiled gently, as if a hundred flowers were blooming.