Mysterious mirror hanging high

A year later, when Jing Yu left Beiyue Peak and came to Songfeng Pavilion to study, it had been exactly four years.

"Four years... Now I have seen the inheritance of the four mountains in the east, west, south and north. The only one left is the Central Mountain."

Jing Yu gazed at the majestic Zhongyue Peak towering before him and thought to himself, "The four peaks of Songfeng Pavilion each have their own strengths and weaknesses. If they could work together sincerely, they would probably have already become the number one of the [Three Pavilions of Zhongzhou], and who knows, they might even surpass the [Two Guans]."

"Zhongyue Zhenjun, as the leader of the Five Peak Masters, should be resolving disputes and healing rifts. Why is he doing nothing?"

With such doubts in mind, Jing Yu sent a communication talisman into the Zhongyue formation.

Soon, a bronze chariot with a platinum halo descended from the peak. A young scholar drove the chariot to Jing Yu and laughed loudly:

"Brother Xuan Jing, how are you? You've been in Songfeng Pavilion for four years. Why haven't you come to Zhongyue to find me and see an old friend?"

This person is none other than Qi Baisheng, the golden and purple genius of Zhongyue Academy and the grandson of Qi Liyan, the True Lord of Zhongyue!

"Brother Qi, you are over three hundred years old now, right? I don't deserve to be called Brother Xuanjing." Jing Yu said with a smile, "Besides, you know my itinerary. If I don't come looking for you, won't you come looking for me yourself?"

Qi Baisheng shook his head. "I've been in seclusion these past few years, cultivating my magical powers. It's a critical period now. I just came out of seclusion a few days ago with some minor success. How could I have the time to go out and visit friends?"

Jing Yu looked intently and saw that Qi Baisheng's aura was indeed dense and profound, with a faint ray of divine power imbued within it. Only those with astounding spiritual perception could detect it. "Congratulations, Brother Qi, on your great advancement in cultivation! I see that you are approaching the perfection of the Golden Core. I wonder if you have set a date for the Infant Conjugation?"

"No rush." ​​Qi Baisheng said, "We have to wait until the Penglai meeting thirty-six years later before we can form a baby."

"This [Penglai Meeting] is about an opportunity to enter the immortal cave, and it only opens every two hundred years. I'm three hundred and thirty-four years old this year, so I can still wait for thirty-six years. I have to try to get a spot. These years are a good opportunity to hone my magical skills..."

Jing Yu smiled and said, "Brother Qi is a true disciple of Zhongyue Jinzi, so I think you should be able to secure a spot."

Qi Baisheng sighed and said, "That's easy to say... The intensity of this Penglai Gathering is far greater than ever before. If Brother Xuanjing reaches the late Jindan stage by then, he'll practically have a spot reserved. I have no confidence in defeating those two weaklings from Juntian Temple and Liangyi Temple."

"Not to mention Chu Jingsheng from the Sword Pavilion, who is a pure swordsman in the late Jindan stage. His killing power is probably even higher than those two little calves, so he is not easy to deal with either."

"There are only three spots to enter the Immortal Cave, but I'd be lucky enough to be in the top five this time!"

"Forget it, the conference is still a long way off. Xuan Jing, come here and I will introduce Zhongyue Academy to you!"

Qi Baisheng led Jing Yu up the mountain. After a long journey, they finally reached a vast complex of buildings. Jing Yu looked up and saw four large characters carved into a stone plaque on the archway above his head:

[Zhongyue Academy]!

This is the holy land of Confucianism in Zhongzhou... Jing Yu thought silently.

"Although Zhongyue Peak's Taoist traditions are diverse and diverse, Confucianism is the most prevalent. Almost eight out of ten disciples cultivating at Zhongyue Peak are students from the academy."

Qi Baisheng smiled and said, "I usually study the techniques and magical powers that evolved from Confucian classics, but at heart it's still the Daoist [Foundation Building Alchemy Dao]. Although there are side branches like [Haoran Qi], most of them are just tinkering with the [Foundation Building Alchemy Dao], without any major innovations."

Jing Yu thought to himself, "Indeed, most cultivation systems in the world today are inseparable from the foundation-building elixir and Nascent Soul system. Even if a monk modified the path of [Incense and Vow Power] and achieved Buddhahood, isn't it still the foundation-building elixir? If someone can make some innovative contributions to the Confucian system, their talent is probably enough to achieve Buddhahood!"

Qi Baisheng continued, "One difference between Zhongyue Academy and the other four mountains is that students take the annual exam every year. It consists of a civil service exam and a martial arts exam. The two exams are combined into a comprehensive list called the Zhongyue List, which is posted throughout the academy."

"This annual ranking is divided into the [Golden Core Ranking] and the [Foundation Building Ranking]. As for Qi Cultivators, they are still strengthening their foundation and do not participate in the annual examination."

Qi Baisheng smiled and said, "Come on, Xuan Jing, I'll take you to see the annual list."

Jing Yu followed Qi Baisheng through several squares. Many cultivators were practicing archery and imperial techniques in the squares. When they saw Qi Baisheng, they all looked solemn and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Senior Brother!"

Qi Baisheng just nodded lightly and led Jing Yu to a smooth and flat cliff, where the two Zhongyue lists were actually engraved on the cliff.

At this time, a group of students had gathered under the cliff. When they saw Qi Baisheng, they bowed and greeted him. Qi Baisheng turned to Jing Yu and said:

"The annual exams at the academy just ended a few days ago, and these days are the days when the results are announced, so so many students have gathered to watch. In the past, there weren't so many people."

Jing Yu looked up at the cliff. On the left side was a brilliant golden light, as if the cliff was coated with a layer of gold foil. It was the [Golden Elixir List], while the [Foundation Building List] on the right side was shining silver, not like ordinary rocks. Obviously, this cliff was also an extraordinary treasure.

"Golden Core Ranking... Number One..."

"[Qi Baisheng]!"

As expected... Jing Yu nodded. As the only golden and purple genius of this generation in Zhongyue Academy, Qi Baisheng might as well kill himself if he couldn't get the first place in the Golden Core List in the annual exam.

"Second place... [Qi Baishui]."

"Hmm?" Jing Yu frowned and looked at the third place: "Third place, [Qi Guxi]..."

"This……"

"Fourth place, [Hu Xinying]."

"Fifth place, [Qi Guyuan]..."

Jing Yu looked down and saw that on the Zhongyue Academy's annual exam [Golden Elixir Ranking], the Qi family actually occupied six of the top ten spots! And they even took the top three spots.

The [Foundation Building Ranking] wasn't quite as exaggerated, with only three seats held by the Qi family. However, considering the number of students at Zhongyue Academy, this proportion was still quite astonishing...

Jing Yu's mouth twitched as he asked Qi Baisheng, "Brother Qi, I'm not sure if I should ask you this. Are all the students with the surname Qi on this list from the same clan?"

"That's right." Qi Baisheng transmitted his voice, "They are basically all members of my Qi family..."

"This... I only know that the Zhongyue True Lord is named Qi Liyan. There must be more than one late Nascent Soul Great True Lord in the entire Songfeng Pavilion. Could it be that the Qi family has already developed to the point of dominating the world in Zhongyue?" Jing Yu secretly wondered, and suddenly thought of a possibility, and asked abruptly:

"Brother Qi, could you please tell me the name of your Supreme Master of Transformation?"

Qi Baisheng seemed to have anticipated Jing Yu's question, and with a rather awkward expression, he hesitantly replied, "Taishang is indeed the ancestor of our Qi family, named Qi Tianhua."

"I see..." Jing Yu smiled with relief.