Out of the alley on the side of the wetland, Ning Que noticed two schoolgirls giggling by the lake. A slender figure smiled absentmindedly, and he could tell some sadness and admiration in her eyes.

Chu Youxian once told him that the girl's uncle served in the imperial court, which meant that no one dared to offend her. Therefore, he wondered where her melancholy came from.

Following their gaze across the tranquil lake, frolicking ducks and soft grass, Ning Que saw a young man and woman standing side by side. The handsome man and the beautiful woman are none other than Xie Chengyun and Jin Wucai. The two seemed to be enjoying themselves. A soft flutter lifted their tumbling clothes slightly, making them look almost like a pair of goddesses. It's truly a treat for the eyes.

Ning Que looked at the enviable couple, the jealous girl who looked at it from afar, the picturesque lake and the students by the lake watched quietly. He smiled, shook his head, and left. Left.

These days, he has become more and more calm and composed, deliberately disdainful of the ostracism and contempt of his peers. He found that he even liked this tranquility because of the radical change in his mentality. He's not who he used to be.

On the path of cultivation, after going through tribulations, compared to the world he once lived in, now, a world that is getting wider and wider is unfolding in front of him. Like, hatred and jealousy, these emotions on the plains of the earth became prosaic to him. On the path of cultivation, he had the confidence to go further on this path. Those hidden towers, misty mountains, and formidable foes will eventually become decorative landscapes in his path. If that's the case, why not calm down and move on?

There is no shortage of beauty, and there is no shortage of eyes to find beauty. As long as you have a cool head, beauty is easy to come. The lake, the husband and wife, the academy, all these are beautiful in Ning Que's eyes, even Xie Chengyun. The scenery of the academy is beautiful, although he is almost forgotten by the academy.

Due to being ostracized by his peers, Ning Que has been busy reading and cultivating in the old library. He wandered through the academy alone. While this may seem desolate to others, he's the only one who knows how great the academy is, and when you're savoring it alone, especially where only he knows.

Along the path next to the wetlands, there is a trail that leads to the hill near the old library. Behind a row of lush old trees, Ning Que found a large area of unknown meadow, in which stood a forest of unknown trees, tall and straight. Most tree trunks have no branches, probably due to strong winds. Only a few branches and branches sit on top. Hundreds of tall trees sit next to each other, giving the impression of countless wooden swords upside down on the grass, jagged and magnificent.

Walking carelessly among these trees, Ning Que sat under one of them, leaning against the trunk. He took out his notes and began to read the first part of A Brief Treatise on the Five Trimming States. Not long ago, he finally managed to use the "Yong Calligraphy" of the "Eight Strokes" to reassemble the books from the old library and recite them all. This note is one of the replicas he made for himself from memory.

The woods are far away from the college, separated from the wetlands by two meadows, which few people know about. Therefore, Ning Que was not worried that someone would see what he was looking at. He buried himself in his notes and muttered, "I can now hold up the paper and move the candlelight and silverware with willpower, so does that mean I'm in a state of doubt?" If so, why were those students so excited when Xie Chengyun broke into the state of doubt?

A soothing and soft voice flowed behind him, "Xie Chengyun is not yet twenty years old, so it is quite difficult for him to enter the Traceless State. It makes sense that they cheered for him. As for your strange experience, Pipsqueak is a kind kid and willing to help you, so your entry is a fact.

Ning Que was startled and came back to his senses after recognizing the voice. He quickly stood up, dusted the grass off his clothes, and bowed to the female professor standing by the tree behind him. "It turned out to be you."

The female professor walks up and down the tree. She has a delicate figure and a kind face, but she can feel a sense of maturity and gentleness. Her appearance and demeanor do not help to guess her age, which gives her an air of fascinating mystery.

She looked at the young man and sighed, "I've been practicing the regular script in the old library for about twenty years, and you're the only intruder in my seclusion. This Unyielding Sword Forest is my favorite place in the academy, you are here, your neck hurts!

Ning Que looked at the female professor, although he had known her for half a year, he still didn't know her name. His eyes lit up suddenly.

"Don't think that every encounter is accidental."

The female professor smiled and said, "I won't teach you." If one day I'm going to do this, you don't need to ask.

Ning Que scratched his head and smiled awkwardly, knowing that the female professor had seen through his intentions.

The female professor smiled and said, "Don't hide from me, I'm just here to hang out."

Ning Que took over the topic and asked respectfully, "May I ask why you like these woods, Professor?"

There was a brief pause. The female professor put her hands behind her back, raised her head, and observed the autumn leaves for a while before answering calmly. "Many years ago, someone cultivated Dao enlightenment in this sword forest. That person was the only person I really admired in the academy. I thought his scent might still linger here, and every time I came here, I felt like I was gay. "

"The only one you really admire?" Ning Que asked suspiciously. "Is it the headmaster who is cultivating the Dao Law here?"

The female professor smiled and didn't say anything.

Ning Que looked at the slender figure with his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky, exuding a breath around his body. He scratched his head and said, "If the master you admire is still there, maybe the two of you will become friends."

The female professor shook her head and said softly, "If we meet, I want to try his sword qi and see with my own eyes if it is really so majestic and incomparable."

Ning Que thought of the book about Haoran Sword in the old library, and when he heard the word "sword qi", it was still a mystery to him.

"There's a real aura in this wood, if you can observe and interpret it, don't waste it, take a closer look."

The female professor turned around, glanced at him, and said, "Although cultivators do not condescend to compete with ordinary people, you should not indulge too much in this simple life of reading books and enjoying the scenery. After all, if they are too unambitious, how can they fulfill their ambitions? The Tang students in your class will all go to the Frontier Fortress next autumn to gain some experience. This year you should lay a solid foundation, otherwise wouldn't it be a pity to die on the battlefield? "

Ning Que bowed wholeheartedly for her enlightened words, noticing the words she used. He asked curiously, "Teacher, aren't you from the Tang Empire?"

The female professor shook her head slightly, and resumed her gentle steps and walked out of the woods.

Ning Que stared at her beautiful retreating figure and asked, "Professor, as your student, I don't know your name yet.

"My name is Yu Lian."

Yu Lian? Ning Que thought to himself: "What an ordinary name, it even sounds a little cheesy!" How could a female professor have such a name? Suddenly, the old question came back to his mind, and he forced himself to ask loudly, "Professor, can you tell us about your age?"

The corners of Yulian's lips curled, but she didn't stop or turn around. Her soft voice drifted through the woods, and she said, "If I'm not mistaken, it's rude to inquire about a woman's age."

Looking at her disappearing figure, Ning Que laughed at herself: "If you don't look like a sixteen-year-old girl, but you exude the mature aura of a thirty-year-old woman, how can I be interested?"

...

...

It was a sunny and refreshing autumn. The sky was high and there were white clouds everywhere. The forest was full of red leaves, like rouge on a girl's face, and the melting frost washed the dusty hearts of every corner of the world. In the academy, Ning Que studied and cultivated as usual, and was not as anxious as before. Slowly immersed in the world of cultivation, Ning Que patiently focused his willpower by establishing contact with candlelight, paper, and silver again and again. However, he is in no hurry to find his natal object. Sometimes, he would talk casually with Chu Youxian, discuss math problems with Situ Yilan in an inconspicuous corner, joke with Chen Pipi through letters, or directly talk to him about more than two bowls of crab porridge at midnight.