As soon as her voice fell, the students below the stage looked at her with a subtle look, not exactly friendly, but more of scrutiny and disdain.
"Crossing the underworld and communicating with spirits? Isn't this the most energy - consuming faction? Daring to practice this with Yellow - rank spiritual power. How overconfident!"
"Tsk, transferring here at this time. Must be some idle person stuffed in by a noble family..."
"Quiet!" The old gentleman rapped on the table with his ruler. "What idle talk is this? Where has your camaraderie gone? Clap your hands! Show some vigor, all of you!"
Only then did a sparse and listless round of applause ring out from below the stage. There was not a trace of vigor; instead, it sounded more like someone on their last breath...
The old gentleman frowned and was about to say something more, but Shen Cuiyu beside him smiled as if she hadn't heard anything:
"Thank you all. I'll ask for your guidance in the future."
Someone below the stage gave a soft snort and said in a sarcastic tone, "We wouldn't dare to give guidance. A rich young lady is so delicate. If we say something a bit too harsh, we couldn't bear the consequences!"
Shen Cuiyu's gaze swept over in the direction of the voice indifferently but didn't stay on that person's face for a moment. As if she hadn't heard it, she simply ignored this clumsy provocation.
She turned her eyes to the old gentleman and said gently, "Sir, where should I sit?"
The person who had spoken felt a sense of powerlessness, like punching at cotton, when Shen Cuiyu ignored him. His face turned pale then red, and finally he had to shut up resentfully.
The old gentleman looked around the classroom. The front rows were already full, so he pointed with his long arm. "You can sit next to that classmate for now."
Shen Cuiyu looked in the direction he pointed, and unexpectedly, a familiar figure came into view!
By the window in the last row of the classroom, a young man was casually leaning against the back of his chair, playing with a jade - boned folding fan in his hand. Although he was wearing the same disciple's robe as the others, there was an inexplicable air of ease and elegance about him. The morning light flowed over him like water. At this moment, he raised his eyes and looked over, with a faint smile on his lips, as if he had been waiting for a long time.
Shen Cuiyu's almond eyes widened slightly. "Pei..."
Before the words "Young Prince Pei" could come out, the other person slightly shook his head.
Shen Cuiyu had a guess in her mind—could it be that Pei Yu hadn't revealed his identity at all?
She concealed the surprise in her eyes and calmly sat down next to Pei Yu.
Everyone turned their heads curiously at the sound, but Pei Yu snapped open his folding fan with a swish. The sudden glint of light scared those who were looking around into turning their heads back.
Only then did Pei Yu speak:
"Long time no see, Master Shen."
Sitting in his seat, he hooked his lips into a faint smile, and his voice was as lazy and soft as ever.
Pei Yu hadn't arrived at the academy much earlier than Shen Cuiyu, but few people in the academy dared to provoke him.
This young master always came and went alone. Not only did he sit by the most well - ventilated and well - lit window during class, using his own purple - haired brush and pine - soot ink, but he also never crowded with everyone else under the corridor during the lunch break. Instead, he would return to his comfortably - furnished student quarters, close the door, and decline any disturbances.
Looking at everyone's reactions, Shen Cuiyu twitched the corner of her mouth slightly.
It seemed that the male junior disciple that Xu Qingfeng had gritted his teeth and talked about before was Pei Yu.
The old gentleman on the podium started the lecture again. His long - drawn - out voice was like a lullaby. Gradually, the room became much quieter. Even the little cat under the eaves outside the window stretched lazily, tucked its paws, and continued to doze off.
Only then did Shen Cuiyu turn her face and ask Pei Yu in a voice that only the two of them could hear:
"Young Prince, why are you here?"
"The cases in the Supreme Court of Judicature are hard to solve. I want to switch careers and become a spiritual master," Pei Yu replied quite naturally, without blushing or showing any signs of nervousness.
Shen Cuiyu: ...
Even if Pei Yu didn't say anything, she could more or less guess that he had probably come for the Seven - Star Soul Nails.
There were many talented people and many opportunities in the Myriad Phenomena Academy. Maybe he could really find a way to gather all the souls.
However, the Myriad Phenomena Academy was no ordinary school. Pei Yu didn't have a single bit of spiritual power. How did he get in?
As if seeing through what Shen Cuiyu was thinking, Pei Yu said softly, "I donated a lecture hall to the Myriad Phenomena Academy."
Shen Cuiyu: ...
Was this the power of gold and silver?
The morning passed in a flash.
Shen Cuiyu neither dozed off like others nor scribbled down what the teacher said. She was very quiet most of the time. Her slender white fingers slowly flipped through the books. Her posture was so leisurely that it was as if she was reading a storybook. Only when the old gentleman on the podium suddenly raised his voice and repeatedly emphasized some obscure content would she slightly lift her eyelids and concentrate for a moment.
After the difficult point was covered, she would lower her eyes as if nothing had happened and continue reading.
Pei Yu's gaze landed on Shen Cuiyu beside him from time to time. His eyes swept over the jade plaque tied around Shen Cuiyu's slender waist. The words "Yellow Rank" were especially eye - catching under the dappled light.
He was just an ordinary person and couldn't see the depth of others' spiritual power at a glance like Shen Zanghai. But after the terrifying incident of the human - skin scroll in the Qin Mansion, he was absolutely sure that this Second Miss Shen beside him couldn't possibly have only Yellow - rank ability.
Shen Cuiyu was just hiding her strength for now.
The more he looked, the more he felt that Shen Cuiyu was like a snow - lion cat he had raised when he was a child.
Both looked so lazy and harmless. Most of the time, they liked to find a comfortable corner to stay in and were so quiet that people almost ignored their existence. But beneath that quietness was a sensitivity and spirituality far beyond the ordinary.
She didn't compete, didn't grab, and didn't like to show off. But once her territory was touched or a critical moment came, she would show her sharpness and turn the situation around...
Pei Yu calmly withdrew his gaze and began to rest with his eyes closed.
With a clang, the large bronze bell was rung on time. Along with the old gentleman's words of "class is over", the students immediately streamed out and crowded around the bulletin board outside the lecture hall.
It turned out that today was the day when the Myriad Phenomena Academy announced the grouping list of the students.
According to the tradition of the Myriad Phenomena Academy, students were usually divided into several groups. Firstly, it was convenient for daily study and communication. Secondly, the groups could later go to the Inquiry Hall together to receive tasks and thus earn points.
Outside the room, it was noisy. Almost everyone had squeezed out to look at the list. The classroom, which had been noisy just now, suddenly became quiet, with only a few people left.
The sunlight shone through the window lattice and cast warm light spots on Shen Cuiyu's book pages. Just then, the delicate - looking little girl with twin buns in front of her slowly turned around. After hesitating for a moment, she whispered, "The list is out. Aren't you going to take a look?"
Hearing this, Shen Cuiyu looked up and met Cui Rui's smiling face, which was both inquisitive and bright.
Cui Rui was feeling a bit nervous at the moment. On the first day of school, she got up late and couldn't choose a seat with the other girls. She had to sit among the boys and couldn't chat with them. As a chatterbox, this had been torture for her. Now that there was finally a girl beside her, she naturally couldn't help but strike up a conversation.
Although she knew that Shen Cuiyu had entered the academy in a different way from them, Cui Rui didn't really care. She always liked good - looking people.
After observing for half a day, she found that the girl in the back seat not only looked good but also spoke softly. She was not as annoying as the rumors said.