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"Grandpa?" Li Xiaonan was taken aback. His mother indeed came from the Alchemist Family, and Mei Qingdan also shared the surname Mei; what a coincidence.
"Little Crazy, you can take everyone downstairs now. I have some words to say to my grandson alone." An awkward silence fell in the Reception Hall as the Grand Elder led everyone out. Li Dogdan was reluctant to leave; he was enjoying his flight too much.
Bai Fengfeng chuckled, "Dog Egg, haven't you always wanted to visit Xiao Hai City? Uncle Bai will take you there, okay?" Li Dogdan's eyes sparkled as he nodded eagerly, bouncing off Li Xiaonan's shoulder with surprising agility.
Once everyone had left, Mei Qingdan spoke up, "Xiao Nan... Li Family Fortress..."
Li Xiaonan sighed and nodded. "There’s no one left. By the time I arrived, only my mother was alive; everyone else, including my father, had died..." His gaze drifted away. Even someone as carefree as him couldn't easily let go of the pain of losing his entire family.
Mei Qingdan grabbed his arm urgently. "Your mother is still alive?" Li Xiaonan nodded but then shook his head, pulling out Mei Yingluo's Ice Crystal Coffin.
Mei Qingdan held Mei Yingluo's wrist and murmured, "Her body is fine; how could this be…"
"The soul is gone. Grandpa, have you ever heard of the Underworld?" Li Xiaonan squatted down, staring blankly at his mother.
Mei Qingdan nodded. "It is said that after death, souls are drawn to the Underworld. Do you want to go to the Underworld?"
Li Xiaonan smiled lightly. "I do, but I don't know how to get there." Mei Qingdan shook his head as well, and a heavy silence fell between them.
Mei Qingdan had once been furious with Mei Yingluo for forcing her to marry Li Xiaonan's father, which strained their relationship. Later, when she gave birth to her foolish grandson Li Xiaonan, Mei Yingluo focused all her efforts on concocting pills to awaken spiritual intelligence and neglected her cultivation. Naturally, this infuriated Mei Qingdan, leading her to sever ties with her daughter.
But how could there be lingering grudges between a father and daughter? In no time at all, Mei Qingdan achieved great success in his cultivation but still couldn't let go of his daughter and that foolish grandson. He personally crafted the Open Spirit Pill in hopes of reuniting with them. However, upon arriving at Li Family Fortress, he was met with a chilling silence—graves dotted the landscape like haunting reminders. Fortunately, Mei Qingdan did not find any tombstones for Mei Yingluo or Li Xiaonan.
He inquired along the way and eventually learned that Li Xiaonan had gone to study at the Outer Academy, prompting him to fly over immediately.
"Grandpa, what are your plans now?" Li Xiaonan felt a pang of regret. If only he had recognized Mei Qingdan sooner, perhaps his mother could have awakened by now.
There were no remedies for regret in this world, so Li Xiaonan pushed those thoughts aside. As long as there was still a glimmer of hope for Mei Yingluo, he just needed to find a way to access the Underworld.
Mei Qingdan touched the cold, icy coffin and said lightly, "I have nowhere else to go, so I might as well stay here with you."
Li Xiaonan smiled and replied, "That sounds great. The courtyard I'm staying in is a bit small, so I'll have to trouble you for a while. Once the competition at the Outer Academy Arena is over, I'll invite you to stay in a bigger house."
Mei Qingdan waved his hand dismissively. "At my age, I've long since let go of such things. These are my lifelong insights into alchemy. I originally intended to pass them on to that girl Yingluo, but now... passing them on to you is just as good. How did you cure your foolishness?" Mei Qingdan handed a Jade Eye Tablet to Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan was taken aback and didn't know how to respond; he couldn't exactly say he was cured by getting hit by a fan, could he? He awkwardly scratched his head and said, "I don't really know; I just suddenly woke up."
Mei Qingdan nodded with satisfaction and patted Li Xiaonan on the shoulder. "You're my grandson; that's wonderful!"
From that day on, Li Xiaonan's small courtyard had one more person. The Grand Elder of the Outer Academy wanted to get closer to Mei Qingdan and offered him a separate courtyard, but he declined.
For the sake of his grand dream of having a big house, Li Xiaonan stood out in the Outer Academy's Arena competition and entered the contest for the only true disciple spot in the Vermilion Bird Hall.
Li Xiaonan left all his friends behind in the small courtyard and went alone to the Vermilion Bird Hall. The fiery red Vermilion Bird perched on the roof glimmered sharply under the sunlight. Li Xiaonan thought that this Vermilion Bird resembled the Fire Phoenix itself somewhat. He shook off his thoughts and wobbled into the Vermilion Bird Hall.
Upon entering, he saw Huang Yan seated in the main position and nodded at him with a smile. However, Huang Yan pretended not to recognize him. Li Xiaonan shrugged with a slight smile and found a cushion to sit on.
Once all nine cultivators who made it to the finals were present, Huang Yan spoke up: "First of all, congratulations on making it to the final selection for the Vermilion Bird Hall. However, only the most outstanding one will be chosen in the end. The theme for this round of artifact crafting is 'benefit.' You have one week to create your artifacts here, using materials of no higher than medium quality. The final results will be decided by me and two other elders."
Li Xiaonan sat in a corner, stroking his chin as he watched the other cultivators begin their crafting. He wasn't in a hurry; instead, he carefully analyzed the word 'benefit.' Benefit could either bring personal gain or benefit the Outer Academy. But what exactly is benefit? It ultimately boils down to increasing one's strength. The first four words that came to Li Xiaonan's mind were "clothing, food, shelter, and transportation."
These four words were applicable on Earth and naturally also made sense in the Starry Illusion Continent; everyone needed them.
Clothing referred naturally to armor, but Li Xiaonan quickly dismissed that idea. No matter how powerful armor was, it could only protect one's interests without bringing any benefits.
Food referred to pills; while they were related to crafting artifacts, it was still too far-fetched.
As for shelter, cultivators didn't have high demands for housing. However, some supportive cushions for cultivation were indeed sought after by cultivators. Unfortunately, Li Xiaonan had never even seen one before, let alone crafted one himself.
In Li Xiaonan's mind, only one word remained: "Okay."
Cultivators could fly using objects starting from the Foundation Stage, but the speed was too slow—on Earth, it would barely be faster than a bicycle. Upon reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, they could fly without relying on tools, achieving a significant increase in speed, yet it was still only comparable to that of a small car. This was why, after acquiring the Nine Phoenix, Li Xiaonan no longer flew with his own fan; the Nine Phoenix was like an airplane!
If there were a spiritual tool that could enhance flying speed and had no level restrictions for Cultivators, it would undoubtedly bring immense benefits to the Outer Academy, as it would be unprecedented and in high demand.
The first man to send flowers to a girl was surely a genius; now Li Xiaonan wanted to be the first! But the question arose: how should he practice? Li Xiaonan fell into deep thought.
Huang Yan and two other elders descended from their seats to observe this year's batch of disciples. Noticing that Li Xiaonan had yet to take action, Huang Yan frowned slightly and said, "You have five days left."
Li Xiaonan was startled; he had spent two days just contemplating. He looked up at Huang Yan and smiled before taking out some low-grade materials. Huang Yan's frown deepened. "Li Xiaonan! I have faith in you, but if you can't produce anything worthwhile, this opportunity won't be yours."
Li Xiaonan grinned foolishly. "Thank you for your concern, Elder Huang. I understand."
As the premier academy on the Starry Illusion Continent, the Outer Academy not only recruited disciples from various sects for cultivation and exchange but also aimed to cultivate its own strength. The establishment of the four halls served this purpose; every three years, an Arena competition was held to select promising disciples who had no sect affiliation.
If this year's batch of disciples performed poorly, the Outer Academy would adhere to its principle of being selective rather than indiscriminate, leaving the spots vacant for the next competition.
Once selected as true disciples, they would receive unprecedented training for a period of twenty years. After twenty years, the Outer Academy would encourage these disciples to venture out into the world for experience, thus freeing up new spots for future disciples in a continuous cycle.
Huang Yan observed Li Xiaonan's serious yet confident expression and shook his head helplessly before continuing to watch other cultivation disciples.
When the seven-day deadline arrived, Li Xiaonan's High-Quality Spirit Weapon was finally completed. The nine cultivation disciples lined up their crafted items for evaluation by Huang Yan and the other two elders.
"This Flying Sword is quite good—a High-Quality Spirit Weapon. How do you understand the concept of 'benefit'?" asked an Elder with White Hair to the Cultivator standing third in line.
"Benefit means advantage. The blade of this Flying Sword is thin and lightweight; whoever possesses this Flying Sword can gain more advantages with their weapon," replied the disciple.
The elder nodded and continued down the line.
Li Xiaonan looked around and noticed that aside from the spirit tools he had crafted, the other seven items were Flying Swords, and one was Armor. It seemed that the Cultivators had developed a fixed mindset regarding crafting, lacking any innovation.
Another elder approached the creator of the Armor and asked, "What does your Armor have to do with benefits?"
"The Armor can protect one's interests from being plundered by others."
At the end of the line, Li Xiaonan was pondering the phrase "self-contradiction" when Huang Yan stepped in front of him, frowning. "What have you crafted? How is it related to benefits?"
Li Xiaonan smiled slightly and replied slowly, "Benefits refer to the different needs expressed by people through their environment and interpersonal relationships. Since needs are multifaceted, there are various kinds of benefits. What I have made, the Jade Dragonfly, can satisfy the needs of most mid to low-level Cultivators. That is what I call benefits."
Li Xiaonan paused for a moment before continuing, "I believe the elders have also noticed that the refining materials I used are all very common and inexpensive, which allows for greater profits—both for myself and for the Outer Academy."
The other two elders turned their attention to Huang Yan's High-Quality Spirit Weapon, which resembled a bamboo dragonfly. Huang Yan chuckled and said, "Li Xiaonan, don't make it sound so good; you still haven't told me what this thing is useful for."
Li Xiaonan smiled again and took out his Carefree Fan. He frowned slightly and then put it away; he had forgotten that his Carefree Fan had been broken for quite some time. With a sigh, he said, "Elders, may I borrow a Flying Sword from you?"
Huang Yan reached out with one hand and directly handed over the previously mentioned high-grade Flying Sword to Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan nodded in thanks and flew around the room on the red Flying Sword. Then he picked up the Jade Dragonfly from Huang Yan's hand and placed it on the hilt of the Flying Sword. To his surprise, the Jade Dragonfly firmly adhered to the Flying Sword, allowing Li Xiaonan to fly once more.
Everyone in the room understood; there was a significant difference in speed between Li Xiaonan's two flights—at least twice as fast.
The three elders exchanged glances before Huang Yan finally spoke up: "The new master of Vermilion Bird Hall and Liuxu Palace—Li Xiaonan."
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