Ten Directions Sword Master

A large, obese figure rampaged through the scholars' building, drawing the attention of the disciples along the way, but no one dared to stop him.

All I could do was cast a disdainful glance at him after he had gone.

Or, lowering his voice, he mocked his companion: "Both are direct descendants of the Luo family, but Luo Liben is far inferior to Senior Brother Luo Yunqi... Not only is his cultivation poor, but he also lacks ambition and is as bloated as a pig."

"Yes, I heard that Senior Brother Luo Yunqi has already reached the half-step Foundation Establishment stage and may cross it at any time... In the future, Senior Brother Yunqi will be the one to take charge of the Luo family. We should befriend him as soon as possible so that we can benefit from the Luo family's success in the future."

"But it seems that this fat boy is the eldest son of the main branch. Luo Yunqi's lineage of Luling Luo has been separated for almost a hundred years."

"They're both from the same Luo family, why make such a clear distinction? Even a blind man could see the difference between them. How could the elders of the Luo family choose rotten wood over a pearl!"

Luo Liben, panting heavily, rushed to the front of the house and pounded on it forcefully.

After a few seconds, seeing the door open, he complained at the top of his lungs, "I'm exhausted! First I went to Jian Ge and found you weren't there, then I ran back to the Scholar's Building... It's like the sun rose in the west, you didn't even go to practice your sword today."

"I was a bit tired yesterday, so I got up late."

Lu Li welcomed his friend in. Although Fatty Luo was unruly, loved fine wine and singing girls, he spent his days dreaming of a life of poetry and romance with beautiful women in his left hand and pearls and jade in his right.

Considering Luo Zhenyu's background, he can be described as pure and kind.

Born into a prominent family and the only son of the eldest son's direct line, he was showered with love and affection, but as he grew up, he became extremely dull-witted and suffered constant ridicule from other branches of the family.

In this environment, he didn't become corrupted, nor did he wield a knife to abuse the weaker; he simply spent his days venting and complaining to his friends.

This is also an important reason why Lu Li became closer to him and considered him a true friend.

"Young Master Lu, you really stole the show in yesterday's battle! Everyone in the academy is talking about it. Let's see who dares to underestimate the White Deer Twin Swords now!"

After Luo Liben sat down, he danced with joy, feeling honored.

"What White Deer Twin Swords? Your sword is inlaid with hundreds of pearls and tourmalines. I feel sorry for it and I would shatter two of them with one strike... Hurry up and cultivate. You need to draw in Qi before the New Year, otherwise you won't be able to graduate and you won't be able to explain it to the clan."

Lu Li shook his head helplessly. Fatty Luo had poor aptitude and only had a short attention span, and he seemed to be giving up on himself.

"Don't worry, the dean will give my family face."

After a few playful exchanges, Luo Liben's expression turned serious, and he began to discuss important matters.

"Young Master Lu, I've found out that Jiang Linyuan, who lost to you, has an older brother who is none other than Jiang Linhai, currently ranked thirty-first on the Human Ranking. He is at the early Foundation Establishment stage and is the undisputed number one among the younger generation of Yuelu Academy."

"No wonder he's so arrogant, turns out he has a powerful older brother... Jiang Linhai only ranks thirty-first, what kind of monsters are ahead of him!"

Those who are over twenty-four years old are automatically removed from the list, and there are very few spots available.

Therefore, some people exaggerate and say that it is even more difficult to get on the human list than the earth list.

"They're nothing more than young talents from Buddhist temples, Taoist sects, and the five great families. Some of them are almost at the level of refining the spirit... I really wonder if those people started cultivating in the womb. They're completely different species."

Luo Liben said mysteriously, "Someone also told me that yesterday Dean Lin, that old fogey, criticized you in public, saying that you neglected the essentials and ended up with nothing."

"That's normal. He can't stand us spending our time practicing martial arts. He wishes we could spend every single hour of the day honing our internal energy and increasing our cultivation."

Lu Li smiled wryly. A person's energy is limited, and being distracted by martial arts will indeed affect one's cultivation.

However, everyone's aptitude is different. For someone like him, once he has circulated his inner strength for one cycle each day, there is no room for further improvement. What can he do with the rest of his time?

Moreover, the world of Compass is fraught with danger; without powerful martial arts skills to protect oneself, one will die young and mysteriously.

"After all, the old antique is the vice dean and has too much seniority. When he took this position, the dean was still a young disciple. He is stubborn and no one can stop him... How about I go back to the clan and ask for two Life-Giving Jade Pills to improve your cultivation?"

Luo Liben's eyes lit up, and he made a suggestion.

"No, it's one thing if you use it yourself, but to give such a precious elixir to a classmate will only make the clan have a bigger problem with you."

Lu Li was touched, but still politely declined, adding a joking remark.

"If you really want to help me, hurry up and reach the Qi Refining stage. Then you can say that you took all the pills but they had no effect, and I'm sure no one in the Luo family will suspect anything."

The situation is very different now compared to the Northern Wei Dynasty. The cost of refining elixirs has increased significantly, and only someone with Luo Zhenyu's illustrious background could have such a boastful tone.

The ancestors of Yuzhang Luo were originally from the south. When they migrated to the border, they were appreciated for their intelligence and ability and stayed here.

Over several decades, he became a wealthy merchant in the region, monopolizing the ceramics business in several counties.

Several generations later, a true immortal appeared from the ancestral grave, wafting auspicious smoke. During the change of dynasties, he sided with an insignificant branch of the royal family.

Having made a successful bet, the Luo family of Yuzhang rose to prominence in the new dynasty.

That Dharma Body True Man had eight sons, all of whom were Refining Spirits, which became a popular story at the time.

The eldest son was Luo Liben's great-grandfather.

"Okay, okay, I'll work hard next month and try to improve our family's situation next year."

Lu Li sighed. Compared to many disciples in the academy, his subsidy was already quite generous, but compared to Luo Liben, it was less than one-fifth.

This was still the case where one of them was tempering their body and the other was drawing in qi.

I can't even imagine what the standard is for the next step he's talking about.

"Junior Brother Lu, hurry to the Forestry School, Dean Yu has summoned you."

The people coming in from outside are graduating students of the academy. They will do some academic assistance work, and those who pass the assessment will be able to stay in the academy.

For disciples who are not outstanding enough and do not have a family background, this is already the best way out.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

After becoming Gu Jingyu's academic assistant, Lu Li saw this senior twice at the Forestry School. He was indeed working alongside Vice Dean Yu Ziqi.

"Young Master Lu, what do you think Dean Yu wanted to see you about... Could it be that he knows the old fogey criticized you and wants to back you up, to offer you a favor?"

Luo Liben wasn't stupid; he immediately made the connection.

It is common knowledge that there is an irreconcilable conflict between the two vice deans of Bailu Academy.

Since Lin Ruoxu said that Lu Li was putting the cart before the horse and went astray, then I, Yu Ziqi, will cultivate him vigorously and make him bear great fruit.

"Dean Yu isn't as boring as you think. You'll see when we get there."

That's what he said, but Lu Li still had some doubts. He looked in the mirror, made sure his clothes were appropriate, waved, and set off.

Yu Ziqi was in the middle stage of the Refining Spirit realm, around forty years old.

He did not grow up on the grounds of Bailu Academy. He came from Louguantai and became close friends with the academy's dean while traveling the world, which led him to join Bailu Academy.

This situation only arises in the relatively open and free atmosphere of the four major academies; it's simply unimaginable in other sects.

He was indifferent to worldly affairs and did not contend with others, but he had an absolute insistence on swordsmanship, which led to a serious conflict with Lin Ruoxu.

Lu Li reviewed the information he had gathered about Vice Dean Yu Ziqi in his mind before slowly knocking on the door of the Forestry School.

Rays of sunlight streamed in, casting dappled shadows inside.