Just as Li Yang finished speaking, her phone beeped, and she received a message: “Sunflower lady has transferred 70 merit points to you.”
Li Yang was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.
Si Kui: “…………” I haven’t used it for so long, I forgot to change the name.
She glared at Li Yang, who quickly stopped laughing and became serious:
“Teacher, is this the code for our Department of Agronomy? Do I need one too?”
Support the cause when it’s time to support it, especially when you earn 400,000 in anger.
Si Kui actually responded, asking her:
“What do you want to be called?”
Li Yang quickly thought of something and replied:
“Quinoa!”
Si Kui: “Ugly. I thought it was Little Pear Blossom.”
When Li Yang snapped back to reality, she was already sent back to the East Wing by the teacher. Li Yang pouted and muttered in her heart:
“What’s wrong with Quinoa? It represents the deep bond between Li Yang and wheat… isn’t it much better than Sunflower?”
Li Yang couldn’t help but laugh out loud again.
No way, Ice Mountain Teacher’s “online name” is Sunflower!
Who would have guessed!
The East Wing was clean and tidy, the wooden house had a unique fragrance, and everything was well-arranged without being old-fashioned.
The bed was still laid with pure white, soft bedding, with subtle patterns of pear blossoms embroidered on it.
It was only today that Li Yang finally felt how comfortable and pleasant the East Wing was.
“It’s just that the starlight is a bit too intense…” Li Yang murmured happily, “Once I open more star apertures, I can cultivate while sleeping!”
With the happy thought of having more star apertures, Li Yang drifted off to sleep.
Si Kui had said she would go to request the “Tree Tower” tomorrow, but she actually went to the Academic Affairs Office overnight.
People above the fourth rank don’t need to sleep every day. Old Qian probably stayed overtime, busy with all sorts of trivial matters.
Old Qian was indeed busy.
As the head of the Academic Affairs Office, she had too many things to handle every day, wishing she could open a star realm entrance in her office to make a day feel like a year… Of course, that was just a wishful thought. If she actually opened it, something big would happen.
“Old Gan.” Si Kui’s voice suddenly appeared.
Old Qian was startled, hurriedly standing up from her desk and looking toward the half-step Supreme who had entered.
Old Qian clearly didn’t expect Si Kui to step out of the Department of Agronomy… after all, this deity hadn’t left that small courtyard for a full 28 years.
“Kui Jie, what are you doing…” According to their cultivation level, Old Qian should call Si Kui “Senior,” but they had grown up (and attended school) together, and later Si Kui advanced much faster and farther while Old Qian stopped at the peak of the sixth rank.
Si Kui furrowed her brow, looking at her and saying, “Stop acting old in front of me. It’s annoying.”
Old Qian’s outward image was that of an elderly woman, dressed seriously and rigidly, full of authority.
But at this moment, after hearing Si Kui’s words, her white hair turned black instantly, her wrinkled skin regained its luster and tightness, and even her slightly plump body became slender and graceful.
Old Qian wasn’t used to it and said, “After all, I’m the head of the Academic Affairs Office, and being older gives me more authority. Besides, my age is really enough; according to the average person, I should have been buried several times already.”
Seeing her restored appearance, Si Kui softened, her expression filled with some nostalgia, and her voice became less cold:
“I took in a student.”
Old Qian smiled, “Li Yang, right? She’s a good kid.”
“Is she really just an orphan from Donghua Province?”
“This is her information,” Old Qian handed her a file and continued, “Her background is clean, and she hasn’t interacted with any star cultivators… However, around May this year, she had a ‘fateful encounter.’ In one night, her physical strength skyrocketed, and her talents gradually emerged.”
Si Kui took the file and carefully read it. She didn’t think much of Li Yang’s “fateful encounter.”
Since the Star Realm descended, all sorts of fateful encounters were happening on Earth.
There was no pattern to it, and whoever encountered it became the “Heaven’s Chosen.”
The “Heaven’s Chosen” was an extraordinary existence for ordinary people, but in the world of Masters, it was quite common.
Which Master didn’t have some sort of fateful encounter?
The path of star cultivation was not easy.
Old Qian continued: “From her resume, she’s clean and pure. You must have checked her spiritual sea, right? There’s no mark, is there?”
“No,” Si Kui replied.
Old Qian said, “That’s good. In your old age, you’ve picked up another ‘fateful encounter.’”
But this was not the same as other encounters.
At their level, encountering a highly talented junior and passing down their will was the most valuable kind of encounter.
Si Kui sneered: “The Department of Natural Science is gone. What is there to pass on?”
Old Qian understood her temper and knew that this statement should be interpreted in the opposite way.
She was clearly annoyed by the Department of Natural Science’s disappearance but had likely already taken a liking to this student.
Old Qian was about to ask what Si Kui came for when Si Kui dropped a bombshell:
“Tell the Star Magic Department, I want the ‘Tree Tower’ back.”
Old Qian nearly fell over.
“What?! Oh my god, Ancestor, what are you trying to do now?”
Old Qian cautiously asked, “Why did you suddenly want the ‘Tree Tower’? It’s a hassle to maintain. Over the years, the Star Magic Department has been taking care of it, or else it would have…”
“Stop talking,” Si Kui quickly interrupted.
“I never agreed to let them use it. They took it from me shamelessly, and I didn’t bother to pursue it. Now I want to use it, so they should return it to me!”
Si Kui finally explained the situation to her, “I can’t afford to completely fall out with Shen Binghua just yet, so I only asked for a spot. Tomorrow, you’ll enter with the Star Law Department.”
Si Kui found this arrangement frustrating, but Li Yang didn’t mind.
She had always been adaptable and nodded, saying, “No rush. It’s been almost thirty years now—probably no one even remembers which department the Tree Tower originally belonged to.”
In fact, the younger teachers didn’t even know the school had an Agricultural Department. Of course, Li Yang didn’t dare say this out loud—she didn’t want to anger them.
Si Kui hesitated, feeling that her little student was thinking along the same lines as that sly old fox Niu Laoqian.
No… Impossible. Niu Laoqian was a cunning veteran, while her student was only eighteen—pure and adorable.
Then, her “pure and adorable” student suddenly said something shocking:
“Teacher, explain to me the correct way to use the Tree Tower. Tomorrow, when I go in, I’ll record everything… Oh, by the way, is recording allowed inside the Tree Tower?”
Si Kui: “You don’t need to record it. The Tree Tower automatically logs the last three entries so that teachers can later review and summarize them with students.”
Li Yang asked, “So, these records are stored in the Star Law Department?”
“They’re inside the Tree Tower,” Si Kui replied.
“But Shen Binghua doesn’t have the authority to access them.”
“So that means only you can retrieve them?”
“Yes.”
“That makes things easier!”
Li Yang said.
“Once I’m inside tomorrow, I’ll show everyone the proper way to use the Tree Tower. Let the entire school see who it really belongs to!”
Si Kui did consider taking the Tree Tower back by force, but she knew that approach came with too high a cost. It had to be done properly.
Against Shen Binghua, brute force wouldn’t work.
They needed to take the moral high ground.
As long as they made it clear to everyone that the Tree Tower rightfully belonged to the Agricultural Department, Shen Binghua would be forced to return it under pressure.
Si Kui simply didn’t like dealing with all this scheming, but if she had to, she was curious to see which side the school board members would take.
Did they really think she, Si Kui, was weak?
If they pushed her to the brink, nobody would get to live in peace.
Li Yang urged again, “Teacher, quickly tell me—how do I use the Tree Tower properly?”
“Gather all the creatures. Kill them all.”
“…Huh?”
“As long as someone from the Agricultural Department enters, they will naturally attract the Star Plants inside.
Once you’re in, run around three times to activate every Star Plant you see. Then, work with your teammates to take them all down.”
Li Yang shuddered and asked, “Teacher, are these real Star Plants? Do they… eat people?”
“Of course.”
“They don’t eat people?”
“They do.”
After a long silence, Li Yang caved in, whispering, “Teacher, maybe we should reconsider…”
“My students don’t back down. You’re going in tomorrow, whether you like it or not.”
“But, Teacher! I only have one attack-based Star Technique, and you always say it’s useless… How am I supposed to lure the creatures? I’m going to get eaten alive!”
Si Kui: “You’re too weak.”
Li Yang sighed.
“I’m only eighteen! I’m still just a kid!”
Si Kui thought for a moment, then stood up and said, “Forget it. I’m done playing around. I’ll just blow up the Star Law Department, take back the Tree Tower, and take you into exile in the Star Realm.”
Li Yang: “!!!”
The sheer amount of information in that statement almost knocked her unconscious.
Was Sunflower Lady joking?
She had to be joking, right?
No normal person would say something like that!
A half-step Supreme could treat the Star Realm as a refuge, but for a rookie like her, just breathing there would be toxic!
“Teacher, let’s calm down!” Li Yang clung to Si Kui’s arm, pulling her back.
“Let’s think this through again…”
“Oh.”
“So, what’s the benefit of gathering the creatures?”
“If you lure the Star Plants together, they’ll start devouring each other.
That makes them easier to kill, and the drop rate for rare Star Cores increases.”
“How many Star Plants are in the first level of the Tree Tower?”
“Twenty.”
Li Yang sucked in a breath but forced herself to keep asking, “What level are they?”
Si Kui rolled her eyes and said, “Peak First-Tier.”
Li Yang’s vision went dark. Still, she pressed on, “Can these Star Plants attack from a distance?”
“It depends on what’s been put inside… Hmm, probably. The Star Law Department’s Executors prefer ranged Star Techniques.”
The more Li Yang learned, the less hope she saw.
“Teacher…” she asked again, “can you teach me… um, a few Star Techniques for safely gathering creatures?”
“Only the Star Techniques you comprehend yourself will truly suit you. If you rely on those passed down by others, they will eventually cause mental backlash.”
“I’ll just learn them for now and forget them later.”
“You think I’ll teach you some useless technique? Any technique I pass on will be imprinted into your mental sea. It will take you decades to forget it.”
“Ah…”
Li Yang suddenly got an idea. “Teacher, how long do you think it would take me to forget ‘Fist Burst’?”
“With your current mental strength? About three years.”
“Three years, huh?”
Li Yang hesitated, then summoned her system panel.
Si Kui remained unbothered, showing no reaction—she clearly couldn’t sense the Longevity System.
Li Yang whispered to the system in her mind, “System, can I forget a Star Technique?”
System: 【Please specify the Star Technique you wish to forget.】
“Fist Burst.”
System: 【Would you like to consume your lifespan to forget the Star Technique ‘Fist Burst’?】
“Consume three years.”
【You have invested too much lifespan into forgetting this Star Technique. The process is excruciating, like parting with a beloved lover. Forgetting progress: 50%.】
Li Yang: “What kind of nonsense is this?!”
Frustrated, she continued sacrificing another three years, finally succeeding in forgetting “Fist Burst.”
Throughout the entire process, Si Kui’s expression remained unchanged—clearly, she couldn’t perceive the existence of the Longevity System.
Li Yang sighed in relief. “Teacher, I’ve already forgotten ‘Fist Burst.’”
Si Kui narrowed her eyes and looked at her. “Is this your ‘fortuitous encounter’?”
Li Yang: “!”
Si Kui said, “What’s there to be so shocked about? You think you’re the only one with a fortuitous encounter? Forget Grandmasters—even Fifth or Sixth-Tier Executors have had big opportunities in their lives.”
Li Yang hadn’t considered that. “Oh… I see.”
But she still felt that the Longevity System was special. Even if it was a “fortuitous encounter” like her teacher said, it had to be an extremely rare one.
“There’s no need to always hide your abilities,” Si Kui added. “Anyone above the Sixth Tier wouldn’t bother stealing another person’s fortuitous encounter.
That’s called ‘Heaven’s Fate.’ If you try to take it, you might end up becoming a stepping stone for the ‘Fated One’ instead.”