Mysterious mirror hanging high

"I was wondering why the Qi family members in this academy are so outstanding. It turns out they are relatives of the Divine Transformation Supreme from Songfeng Pavilion!"

Jing Yu sighed inwardly, "This isn't surprising. After all, they're the Transformation God Immortal Clan. Students from such aristocratic families have been provided with cultivation conditions since childhood, so naturally they're far superior to students from less privileged backgrounds. There's even a Transformation God ancestor in the family, so I'm afraid their spiritual roots are much stronger!"

Just as he was thinking of this, he suddenly saw a group of foundation-building students arguing under the cliff of the foundation-building list. Jing Yu and Qi Baisheng sent their spiritual thoughts over and saw that the quarrelers were two groups of cultivators. The robes of one group were just ordinary styles, slightly better than those of the foundation-building cultivators, but only slightly better. The robes of the other group of cultivators were obviously of much higher quality, and it was obvious that they came from aristocratic families.

"Sun Quanxi, you're a defeated general, why bother getting entangled with me?"

A Foundation Establishment cultivator dressed in finery, resembling a young gentleman, said calmly, "Isn't it just a failure in the [Martial Arts Test]? What's there to be unconvinced about?"

A poor disciple looked indignant and retorted, "Qi Changpei, although I lost to you in the [Martial Arts Test], my score in the [Literary Test] was higher. If you weren't from a prominent family, you wouldn't be my match in a fight!"

"What a joke!" The Qi clan member named Qi Changpei sneered, "The Zhongyue Ranking is a comprehensive evaluation of both civil and military examinations. My combined score from both examinations is higher than yours, Sun Quanxi. Why are you dissatisfied?"

"Besides, the Grand Priest has already banned magical weapons in this [Martial Arts Test]. It's simply a competition of magic and supernatural powers. You can't really blame your own magical weapon for being disadvantageous, right?"

Sun Quanxi said bitterly, "Yes, magical weapons are indeed prohibited in combat. But you are from the Qi clan. How many profound Taoist traditions have you inherited from your clan? Children from humble backgrounds like us can only learn the ordinary traditions taught publicly in the academy. How can we compete with you in terms of magical skills?"

Qi Changpei was furious. "Then, according to you, the martial arts test shouldn't even involve comparing magical powers. Instead, both sides should just compete in mana to see who has the stronger foundation! How can that even be considered a battle of magic?"

Jing Yu, standing by, sighed inwardly, "Even if it's just a competition of immortal foundations, how can a poor disciple compete with the offspring of aristocratic families? How many rare treasures have they used since childhood to strengthen their foundations? There are even elders in the clan who constantly cultivate their Dharma bodies and nourish their meridians... It seems fair, but in reality, it's still unfair..."

As expected, Sun Quanxi flicked his sleeves and snorted coldly, "Is the foundation-building competition really that fair? The Qi family members make up only a small percentage of the academy, yet they occupy three of the top ten spots on the foundation-building list, and half of the Golden Core list..."

"I think we should change the name of Zhongyue Peak to Qiyue Peak as soon as possible!"

"Such a large Songfeng Pavilion has become a place for private plots..."

"Sun Quanxi! What did you say!" Qi Changpei's face changed drastically, and he was about to take action immediately, but a spiritual pressure of the perfect golden elixir leaned towards him at this moment, causing this Zhongyue student from the Qi family to suddenly bend over.

"Qi Changpei! Private fighting is forbidden within the academy. Are you planning a rebellion?" Qi Baisheng's expression was gloomy as he cursed, "A gentleman should use words, not fists. What did your teacher teach you?"

When Qi Changpei saw Qi Baisheng, the anger on his face instantly disappeared, leaving only a bit of panic. He said softly, "Uncle..."

"Inside the academy, you should call me Senior Brother!" Qi Baisheng shouted angrily, "Are there any rules? I punish you by making you copy the Book of Rites a hundred times. You are not allowed to use puppets, and you must copy by hand!"

"But, Senior Brother, Sun Quanxi's words were rude, slandering my Qi family for their own selfish schemes..."

"Shut up!" Qi Baisheng shouted, "Go and copy!"

Jing Yu jokingly said in his heart, "I've already done it, so why should I be afraid of being scolded? I think being scolded is actually a good thing. If I can't even be scolded, then there will be a real mess."

After sending all the onlookers away, Qi Baisheng turned to look at Jing Yu and said apologetically, "I'm sorry for making Xuan Jing laugh... Now that you've seen the Zhongyue Ranking, why not come with me to pay homage to the Zhongyue True Lord?"

"Of course I have to pay my respects."

The two left the cliff, climbed up the stairs, and came to a three-story library, which was the place where Qi Liyan, the True Lord of Zhongyue, practiced and lived.

When the two stepped into the library, they saw Qi Liyan, dressed in a green robe, sitting upright at the desk, holding a scroll of bamboo slips in his hand, reading it carefully. He was surrounded by literary energy and seemed to be practicing some extraordinary magical powers.

"Grand Priest!" Qi Baisheng said respectfully, "Daoist Xuan Jing has arrived."

"Greetings to the Grand Priest." Although Qi Liyan's honorific title was [Zhongyue], he was also the Grand Priest of [Zhongyue Academy]. Jing Yu followed the local customs and called him by this title.

"I'm sorry to have made Xuan Jing laugh." Qi Liyan's eyes did not leave the bamboo slips in his hand. He simply said: "The disputes between the noble families and the poor families in the academy have been going on for a long time. Now... it's a mess."

Jing Yu was slightly startled and thought to himself, "So Master Qi has been keeping an eye on the entire Zhongyue Academy the entire time... The scene on the cliff just now was all within his field of vision!"

Qi Liyan muttered to himself, "I'm aware of the current power of the Qi family. Previously, the annual [Martial Arts Test] didn't prohibit the possession of magical weapons and treasures. I instituted this ban to balance the wealth gap between students from different families, but it had little effect..."

"Later, I did consider other ways to restrict students with the surname Qi, but... I am also a member of the Qi family after all." Qi Liyan said quietly, "There was a big uproar within the clan, and with the Supreme Lord listening in, there was really only so much I could do."

Jing Yu thought to himself, "It seems this Zhongyue Zhenjun also knows the disadvantages of the Qi family's dominance... What a pity..."

Qi Liyan added, "I even considered calculating the Qi student's two test scores at 95%, but that doesn't seem appropriate."

Qi Baisheng smiled bitterly and said, "Of course it's inappropriate. The Qi family is such a large clan, with tens of thousands of members who have the aptitude to cultivate. Among them are direct descendants and offshoots, and their family backgrounds vary greatly. If we cut off the percentage of anyone with the surname Qi, it would be too unfair to the offshoots."

"It's unfair no matter what." Qi Liyan slowly closed his eyes: "How can there be any fairness in this world?"

Then he asked:

"Xuan Jing has been in my Songfeng Pavilion for four years, and has seen the scenery of the Four Mountains. I wonder what you think?"

"The inheritance of the Four Mountains each has its own merits..." Jing Yu naturally knew the importance of each, and only evaluated the inheritance of the Four Mountains' martial arts, without mentioning anything else.

But Jing Yu was actually already furiously complaining in his heart: "I originally thought Zhongyue would be stronger and more capable of coordinating the overall situation, but considering the far-reaching impact of the accumulated problems, the conflict between the aristocratic families and the poor is probably far greater than that of the other four mountains... If anything happens to that Transformation God Supreme, I'm afraid there will be a big chaos! I really can't stay in Songfeng Pavilion any longer!"