As a cultivator, keeping face was important but it wasn't always the way it seemed. Lin Feng had been asked to leave for failing the test but he hadn't. Everybody was looking at Lin Feng in a strange way. Even if some people found him ridiculous and thought that he was humiliating himself, Lin Feng kept smiling and asked for a second chance. That smile showed that he didn't care about the fact that he was losing face by requesting a second attempt.
However, the teacher understood that Lin Feng wasn't acting this way because he didn't care about dignity. On the contrary, Lin Feng was stubborn and only stubborn people persevered and never gave up.
The crowd was surprised. The teacher had suddenly accepted and gave Lin Feng a second chance. On top of that, the teacher's voice sounded like he really had faith in Lin Feng's future due to his stubborn beliefs.
"Thank you very much, teacher." said Lin Feng while nodding his head. Lin Feng had a good impression of the teacher. He seemed friendly and easy to approach. Besides, he didn't look arrogant at all.
"I'm going to start playing the zither again, this time you are the only one who is going to listen to it." said the teacher indifferently. Immediately, he started playing again. However just as he said, the crowd couldn't hear the music at all. The teacher could surprisingly control the flow of his music to make it audible to only the people whom he selected.
"How strong." thought the crowd stupefied. The teacher had never displayed such a masterful control in front of them before. At that moment, Lin Feng had the feeling that the melody was a river flowing into his ears. He could already feel that his eyes were starting to feel heavy under the hypnosis. He focused his entire attention on the music and tried to abandon himself to the illusion. He could feel himself slowly drifting into the illusion with each passing moment.
However, something strange was happening.
"How cruel… if my celestial spirit remains like this then I will not be able to fall into the illusion." thought Lin Feng. A cold Qi had invaded into Lin Feng's body and he no longer was affected by illusion and the music had no power over him. Everything around him was extremely clear and calm, his eyes were wide open.
Even though the melody was the same as before, his eyes remained wide open and were staring at the teaching playing the zither.
"Huh?" the teacher was astonished when he saw that Lin Feng was surprisingly not falling asleep and was not struggling to stay awake in the slightest. He suddenly started playing a completely different tune. This time the rhythm was faster and the power was much greater. However, Lin Feng's eyes were wide open as before.
He had been staring at the teacher from the beginning. He still wasn't falling into the illusion. The teacher played another tune with an even faster rhythm and its power was on another level compared to the original test. His fingers were moving at full speed above the strings of the instrument as they elegantly created the music. Lin Feng seemed completely unperturbed and unaffected. A short moment after, the teacher smiled as he started playing slower and slower and finally stopped.
He then looked at Lin Feng and asked: "What's your name?"
"Lin Feng."
"It seems that you didn't fail the test originally. Congratulations on passing the test." said the teacher. The crowd was stunned. Lin Feng had passed the test? Why and how was that even possible?
Why hadn't Lin Feng been hypnotized even though the teacher had played for him. What did that mean?
"Thank you for having given me a second chance, teacher." replied Lin Feng with a big smile on his face. If the teacher hadn't given him a second chance, he would have had no other solution.
"Teacher, what does that mean? He woke up from the dream the first time. Why did he pass? Besides, he insolently asked for a second chance. How could you let him pass after being so shameless!" asked a tall and robust guy walking towards the teacher.
"The thing that you do not understand is that during the first test he hadn't fully fallen into my illusion and could not be fully hypnotised. He had just closed his eyes and fallen into a very light sleep, at most it would have only given him a brief look into the illusion, and he was never under its control. The second time, he wasn't even affected by the melody and stayed awake the whole time even when I increased the strength of the melody. This is the first time I have seen such a remarkable display and I have been working in the academy for many years." said the teacher while smiling and shaking his head.
"He wasn't affected by the melody?!" asked the people in the crowd stupefied. They were strangely looking at Lin Feng wondering if he was even a human being. Wen Ao Xue couldn't imagine it either. He was really puzzled at how Lin Feng had rejected the hypnosis.
The tall and robust guy's eyes were wide open. Immediately after, he scratched his head and walked towards Lin Feng before saying: "I'm sorry. I said unpleasant things about you without thinking. I have misunderstood you. If you are angry at me then please tell me what I can do for you to forgive me."
Lin Feng raised his head and saw the huge guy standing before him. Lin Feng wasn't angry at him. That guy was really huge though, almost as big as Han Man. He was probably like Han Man and spoke without thinking because he was one of the simple and honest types. When Lin Feng thought about Han Man, a cold feeling invaded his heart. Duan Tian Lang… Duan Han…
"What did you say a moment ago? I have already forgotten." said Lin Feng while smiling. That tall and robust guy was surprised and then smiled. He stretched his big hands towards Lin Feng and said: "Yuan Shan."
"Lin Feng." Both of them shook hands and smiled at each other.
"Perseverance, willpower, courage and strength are the required skills to become a great commander." said the teacher while nodding his head. He packed up his instrument and said: "Lin Feng, if you want to learn how to play the zither or the guqin. Come to me and I will teach you." When he finished talking, he turned around and left.
Lin Feng was stupefied as well. He was smiling and, while looking at the silhouette of the teacher in the horizon, said: "Teacher, I will do my best to show you that you did not make the wrong decision."
Everybody in the crowd was staring at Lin Feng with eyes full of admiration and envy. These musical cultivation skills were extremely powerful.
"Lin Feng, congratulations. I've always wanted to learn how to play the zither or the guqin but the teacher will not teach me his methods." said Wen Ao Xue while smiling sat Lin Feng.
"I'm just lucky." replied Lin Feng while shaking his head and smiling.
"It seems like you are often very lucky." said Wen Ao Xue and added: "Now, you are also a student of the academy. I will show you where we sleep."
"Alright. Thanks."
"I'm coming too." said Yuan Shan who seemed to be very easy going.
"Alright, you are also a student of the academy, I do not see why you cannot join our group of friends."
Wen Ao Xue brought them to the next palace. They quickly went inside, Lin Feng raised his head and was amazed. That castle had about twenty floors. From the center, one could see the sky through the open roof of the palace in the center.
"These are all rooms for the students. You should choose your rooms first. The middle is dedicated to practicing cultivation under the open sky."
The palace was huge. There was a lot of free space within. Lin Feng found out that all the rooms were extremely large and had multiple living quarters inside as if it was a large house, it even had a large living area which was shared by the multiple living quarters within that room.
"All the rooms are the same. If you want to choose a room where nobody else is occupying a living quarters, that is not a problem. Do as you wish inside the palace. There's only one thing that you should note. Men and women all live here so please be respectful. Besides, there are some people who like peace and do not enjoy being disturbed. Don't move yourself into the same shared living space as them until they have given you their permission. Doing so is forbidden."
"Of course." said Lin Feng while nodding. He didn't have any special requirement when it came to his living quarters. He hoped to find a place with a few empty rooms though so that he and his friends could live next to each other.
"Let's choose this one. I want this room." said Lin Feng pointing at a stone door. Jing Yun and Duan Feng chose the living quarters which were next to that of Lin Feng. Yuan Shan chose the living quarters which were next to Duan Feng's.
"What about you?" asked Lin Feng to Meng Qing.
"I can stay with you. It's not as if space is lacking here." said Meng Qing indifferently. She sounded calm as always. However, Lin Feng was surprised.
Wen Ao Xue looked at Lin Feng while smiling. The expression in Wen Ao Xue's eyes made Lin Feng feel very uncomfortable....
"Hahaha, that's not a bad idea!" laughed Yuan Shan wholeheartedly. Lin Feng glanced at him and felt even more uncomfortable.
"Alright, that's a good idea. I will be able to take good care of you." said Lin Feng. Duan Feng was astonished. Lin Feng wanted to take care of Meng Qing?!
"Lin Feng, big brother, you're truly great." thought Duan Feng but the words didn't come out of his mouth.
"If we live together, you will be able to tell me at least ten stories a day." whispered Meng Qing which made Lin Feng's legs go weak to the point that he almost fell down. What a cruel girl!
...
The next day during the morning at the Celestial Academy, people kept arriving one after another but there were less people than the day before.
In the Imperial City, there was a large public square where people were gathering. There was already a large group of people but people continued to rush over.
At the end of that public square, there was a huge gate which had a few words engraved: Xue Yue Holy Courtyard.
That was precisely the day on which the inauguration of the Holy Courtyard of Xue Yue was occurring. After the news had spread, a myriad of people had rushed over to that place. Some of them were hoping to study at the Holy Courtyard while some others had just come to watch the ceremony. The creation of the Holy Courtyard of Xue Yue was a grand event in the history of the country. It would possibly change the destiny of the Xue Yue Country.
This day was probably not going to be a tranquil one!