Chapter 2: He Will Be a Man of the Tian Xiang Outer House

"Here I come!" Yu Qingtan recognized it as Shen Wanning's voice and replied.

Even though Yu Qingtan had already grown accustomed to her own voice now, the equally crisp response still made her shiver.

This was a cultivation world, and although rare, there were instances of body snatching, which were considered forbidden by the demonic path and not tolerated by the masses. If it were discovered that she had a different soul within her, the consequences were unpredictable.

Shen Wanning was the original body's close friend, admitted to the Tianxiang Pavilion the same year and of the same age as Yu Qingtan. Given that the original body had a somewhat withdrawn personality, Shen Wanning was a rare person she communicated with more frequently, and she was also the one who knew the original body best, which meant Yu Qingtan couldn't help but respond carefully.

Although she had lost her little brother, the memories of the explosion made Yu Qingtan aware that it was definitely impossible for her to return to her previous life, so she wanted to live well.

Cultivation could grant longevity, and moreover, if her realm became high enough, she might be able to find her little brother or even find a way to return to Blue Star if she became an immortal.

Calming her breath, Yu Qingtan opened the door to her room, and towering mountain peaks greeted her sight.

A twitch appeared at the corner of Yu Qingtan's mouth—as girls of the same age, why was there such a big difference between them.

Raising her eyes slightly, she saw a delicate oval face with handsome eyes and well-groomed eyebrows, full of expression—it was Shen Wanning.

"You're really slow today~," Shen Wanning said, pouting.

"I missed a few moves while practicing the dance for the last time, which held me up," Yu Qingtan explained with a smile.

"I know you're diligent. Let's go fill our stomachs first, I'm starving!"

"What can I do, with my limited talents and comprehension, I have to work harder than others."

"You can definitely do it! Even if you don't get selected, just follow me, big sister will cover for you."

…

The Lichuan Cultivation World is divided into Nine Domains, with the East, West, South, North, Southeast, Northeast, Southwest, and Northwest Realms forming the Lower Realms, where the maximum cultivation is up to the Divinity Transformation Stage. After Divinity Transformation, cultivators must traverse the Lichuan Inner Sea to reach the Central Domain. The Central Domain belongs to the Upper Realm, where one can cultivate up to the Tribulation Crossing Stage. Success in Tribulation Crossing signifies a True Immortal, eligible for ascension to the True Immortal Realm.

The nine stages of immortality cultivation: Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Divinity Transformation, Void Refinement, Body Integration, Tribulation Crossing, and True Immortal. The path of cultivation is fraught with difficulty at every stage, filled with arduous challenges and dangers.

The Tianxiang Pavilion, where Yu Qingtan resided, is located in the Suichuan Immortal City of the Southeast Region. Suichuan Immortal City lies at the border of the influence of two great Nascent Soul Sects, the Tri-Sun Sect and the Qunfang Pavilion, and it's next to the Yunhua Mountain Range, where Demonic Beasts roam rampant, making the situation exceptionally complex.

Tianxiang Pavilion is an external power of Tianxiang Valley, which is an external force of the Qunfang Pavilion— a brothel in the Cultivation World.

The Tianxiang Pavilion is divided into an outer pavilion and an inner pavilion: Disciples of the outer pavilion need to practice dual cultivation techniques and then entertain guests; the inner pavilion disciples are allowed to sell their arts without selling their bodies, and they even have a slight chance of entering Tianxiang Valley.

Like Yu Qingtan, reserve disciples nurtured by the Tianxiang Pavilion since childhood face an assessment at the age of fourteen, which will decide their fate.

An assessment score of 90 and above grants direct admission to Tianxiang Valley, 70~90 points for inner pavilion disciples, 50~70 points for outer pavilion disciples, and below 50 points become servants outright.

The assessment consists of points for cultivation level, appearance, Dance Artistry, assorted arts (such as zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting), and daily performance.

For cultivation level, Qi Cultivation first layer scores 30 points, second layer scores 50 points. Those with higher cultivation levels wouldn't remain in Tianxiang Pavilion with such potential.

Appearance scores range from 1 to 10 points, with anyone trained as a reserve in Tianxiang Pavilion scoring no lower than 4. Yu Qingtan estimated she could score 6 points, while Shen Wanning would have at least 8 points.

Dance Artistry starts with 10~15 points for beginners, reaching 20 points for slightly more advanced levels. Yu Qingtan was just a little short of that level, whereas Shen Wanning had achieved it last year.

Assorted arts range from 1 to 10 points, with Yu Qingtan guaranteeing herself a score of 4, while Shen Wanning, with her well-developed flute artistry, would score at least 8 points.

Daily performance can score between 10~20 points, mainly decided by the instructor. With Yu Qingtan's inward nature and average study performance, she estimated to get around 15 points, while the lively and quick-learning Shen Wanning, who was favored by instructors, could easily score 20.

That meant Yu Qingtan's estimated minimum score was a precarious 65 points. Shen Wanning's estimated score stood at 86 points—unfortunately, her Spirit Root was even poorer than Yu Qingtan's, so there was no possibility of breaking through to the second layer of Qi Cultivation before the assessment.

Yu Qingtan, on the other hand, held the potential to break through in cultivation or achieve minor success in Exquisite Dance before the assessment. Achieving either would securely place her within the inner pavilion, which is why the person she was before was so assiduously practicing and cultivating.

Regrettably, as fate would have it, her former self fell.

Now, Yu Qingtan did not want to serve guests in the outer pavilion—she too must rise up.

After finishing breakfast with Shen Wanning, the two went to their respective Dance Artistry classes.

The dances they were learning were also different.

In class, Yu Qingtan was exceptionally serious and even thanked Instructor Wen with a smile after the guidance, which made Instructor Wen a bit surprised.

Brushing up on goodwill temporarily, perhaps her performance score could be higher on the usual days.

Indeed, aside from the first two rounds of movements in her room practice where she made some mistakes, Yu Qingtan's Exquisite Dance was error-free afterward, and Yu Qingtan even somewhat enjoyed the feeling of dancing.

After an hour and a half of Dance Artistry teaching, there was half an hour of Zither Art instruction.

The instructor was still Instructor Wen, a middle-aged beautiful woman.

Because she was not yet adapted, Yu Qingtan made mistakes on the zither several times at the beginning.

"Your zither skills still have a long way to go. Recently, practice the Exquisite Dance more and try to achieve minor accomplishments!" Instructor Wen said to Yu Qingtan with some rarity after the lesson had ended.

Yu Qingtan naturally responded with a smile.

However, Yu Qingtan's heart was heavy. After Instructor Wen left, taking advantage of the presence of other Reserve Disciples from the same batch around her, she glanced at the system panel, confirming that only she could see it, but there was no change in the progress of the Exquisite Dance and Zither Art on the panel.

Yu Qingtan planned to return to her own room to practice the Exquisite Dance some more. Lunch was not provided, with only two meals in the morning and evening, but they were large and filling.

Before entering the courtyard where the Reserve Disciples lived, she was stopped by someone.

"Qingtan, I'm going to participate in the trial in the Yunhua Mountain Range tomorrow. This is for you!"

This was a gray-clothed youth, tall and slender with a handsome and spirited face, but wearing a nervous look. He handed Yu Qingtan a small cloth bag.

Based on the previous host's memory, Yu Qingtan recognized him, Reserve Protecting Disciple Fang Ling.

Tianxiang Pavilion also nurtured Protecting Disciples, all of whom were male cultivators and were the important martial force of Tianxiang Pavilion.

Most of them were cultivated from a young age, with the primary focus being on combat capability.

When Fang Ling first arrived, he was disciplined by older Reserve Protecting Disciples from previous batches because he did not conform and was beaten up, and even had his food stolen.

Huddled in a corner, he was encountered by Yu Qingtan, who gave him a pancake and a bottle of externally applied wound medicine.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"..."

"Your hand is bleeding, take this medicine, and have this as well!"

On that day, it was Yu Qingtan's once-a-year rest day; she had just gone shopping with others in the market, and her mood was very good.

That year, Yu Qingtan was ten years old, and Fang Ling was eight.

Later on, the two met a few times and could be considered acquainted.

But they weren't close, they both were very busy, and the Protecting Disciples had even greater pressure with their cultivation.

After they turned twelve, they had to participate in trials annually, and the usual content was to hunt Demonic Beasts in the Yunhua Mountain Range, which was life-threatening.

"Fang Ling, this..." Yu Qingtan was just about to refuse, but Fang Ling turned around and quickly walked away before she could.

"Good luck~" Yu Qingtan shouted towards the disappearing figure around the corner.

Back in her room, Yu Qingtan opened the small cloth bag.