Ji Zhaoxi was nervous too.
She still remembered Gu Wuyou's lesson from just now—the more you hesitate, the more afraid you become.
Before the Instructor Elder could even speak, Ji Zhaoxi gritted her teeth and stepped straight into the Jade Pool.
She recalled what Wen Shubai had said, spread her spiritual power flat across her feet, and lightly tapped the lotus leaves...
But the moment she stepped out, her force was nowhere near a light tap. Every lotus she stepped on burst apart under the overwhelming spiritual power.
Ji Zhaoxi left a crater with every step she took, water splashing up all around her. The disciples nearby screamed and scattered to dodge.
Ji Zhaoxi was frantic.
Concentrate the spiritual power at your toes! Concentrate!
Instead, the spiritual power shot her forward like a cannonball.
"Ouch, my robe!"
"Who is this?!"
"Stop shoving, let me back off!"
Out of the corner of her eye, Ji Zhaoxi caught the Instructor Elder's pitch-black face. She looked closer—the Instructor Elder was soaked through, water dripping from her robes, her fists clenched tightly.
Ji Zhaoxi was truly losing it.
Another wave of explosive force shoved her forward. Ji Zhaoxi struggled desperately to control her energy. Toes, toes!
All her spiritual power gathered at her toes, but the craters she made only got bigger with each step, the waves around her splashing higher and higher, and the cries from the shore growing relentless.
The disciples at the finish line stared at Ji Zhaoxi in horror. Don't come near!
Ji Zhaoxi was terrified too. Was this artifact insane? Why did it have so much power?
The wind blew so hard she couldn't keep her eyes open. She clutched her face tightly and shouted, "Get out of the way—!"
The disciples on the shore finally snapped out of it and scrambled away on all fours like their lives depended on it, every single one fleeing faster than the last.
It was the most emotionally turbulent day for the disciples of Tianjue Sect.
Just when Ji Zhaoxi thought she would slam into the row of ancient pines, Wen Shubai followed her momentum and guided that surge of spiritual power into the ground.
"Bang!"
Ji Zhaoxi crashed straight into Wen Shubai's chest, her nose slamming against his torso, pain bringing instant tears to her eyes.
Wen Shubai's front robes were wrinkled and crumpled from her grip, and Ji Zhaoxi was soaked through, water streaming from her forehead into her eyes. She couldn't help but shake her head to flick it off.
"Senior Brother, I'm sorry..." She let go of Wen Shubai's clothes and stood beside him, dejected.
Wen Shubai looked at Ji Zhaoxi, whose face was pale from fright. He handed her his handkerchief, a hint of amusement in his voice: "Little Junior Sister, are you trying to stomp straight through the Jade Pool?"
Ji Zhaoxi kept her head down, wiping the water off her in silence.
The Instructor Elder had already dried off completely, her tone stiff and cold: "You made it across, that's true, but you can't even control the most basic spiritual power. You get a passing grade, and that's it."
Ji Zhaoxi listened to the Instructor Elder's words, her head sinking lower and lower.
The Instructor Elder frowned deeply. "Shubai, what's this disciple's name? Why haven't you brought her to see me?"
Normally, every disciple was supposed to be brought to her for review.
Wen Shubai said gently, "Elder, Junior Sister's foundation is quite weak, so I'm having her train under me first. She'll come to you once she's improved somewhat."
The Instructor Elder nodded quickly. That was fine, too.
Better she first practice under Wen Shubai—the Instructor Elder felt nothing but frustration when it came to new disciples now.
"Gu Wuyou, what are you spacing out for!" the Instructor Elder snapped.
Gu Wuyou jumped at the Instructor Elder's sharp voice and once again stood hesitantly at the edge of the Jade Pool.
That person just now was really impressive...
Although her spiritual energy was gathering a bit excessively, it was still better than him being too nervous to gather any at all.
In the end, Gu Wuyou never managed to make it across, but the Instructor Elder let him off anyway.
Because they were about to move to a new location.
Now all the disciples had arrived at the back mountain of Tianjue Sect, where sunlight filtered through the leaves and cast a trail of shimmering light onto the ground.
Ji Zhaoxi was growing happier and happier with each lesson—she had just passed, and there was someone who hadn't.
Even though it wasn't really her spiritual energy.
"Controlling objects is about going with the flow." The Instructor Elder stood among the trees, her fingertip giving a gentle flick as strands of spiritual energy flew from her fingers and coiled around several bamboo leaves in the distance.
Those leaves seemed to suddenly gain souls, tracing a silky arc through the air.
The other disciples began to practice as well, and Ji Zhaoxi took it very seriously—for a while, leaves were swirling all over the grove.
Carefully, Ji Zhaoxi stirred the spiritual energy in her body. The spirit stones she had picked were all high-grade ones.
"Crunch."
Amidst the graceful bamboo leaves nearby, the leaf Ji Zhaoxi was controlling stood out awkwardly. There was absolutely no smooth transition to her movements.
Her leaf jerked along in fits and starts, making sharp right-angle turns at every corner. One moment the tail of the leaf would flick up, the next the tip would droop down—stiff, clumsy, twitching in jolts.
The Instructor Elder: ...
Just what kind of spiritual root did this disciple have?
The disciples around her stared at Ji Zhaoxi's leaf, utterly dumbfounded.
But the Instructor Elder didn't say anything, since there were still a few disciples who couldn't even lift an object at all. She turned and coldly scolded those students instead.
Finally, all the disciples sat down in meditation, feeling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
The other disciples breathed a sigh of relief—finally, they could rest for a bit.
But Ji Zhaoxi's spiritual energy came from her magical instrument. She had no spiritual root and couldn't sense anything at all. So she snuck off to the side and started practicing with the leaf again.
The leaf still moved in jerky, clumsy motions, looking utterly inept, but she patiently kept coaxing the spiritual energy through her body—and eventually, the leaf became noticeably smoother.
Ji Zhaoxi froze. She tried controlling the leaf again, and this time it moved just as silkily as when the Instructor Elder had demonstrated it.
Wen Shubai stood in the shade of a tree, noticing a pair of fervent eyes on him, and followed the gaze.
He saw Ji Zhaoxi in the crowd, secretly waving at him. Sweat had gathered on her forehead from the sun, her face flushed red, and her whole body trembled slightly with excitement as she desperately showed off the now-smooth leaf to him.
Wen Shubai looked at her and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Seeing him smile, Ji Zhaoxi started showing off even more proudly.
He watched her rosy cheeks and chuckled, then gestured toward the side.
Ji Zhaoxi didn't catch on. She looked at Wen Shubai in the distance and scratched her head—what was the senior martial brother pointing at?
The light in front of her suddenly dimmed. A sense of dread crept into Ji Zhaoxi's heart. She cautiously looked up.
The Instructor Elder narrowed her eyes, staring at her with a less-than-friendly expression.
Ji Zhaoxi gave the Instructor Elder an awkward smile and quickly closed her eyes.
Wen Shubai's gaze drifted back to Ji Zhaoxi, who was now obediently sitting in meditation. This time, she didn't dare touch those leaves again—hands folded neatly on her knees, sitting perfectly still.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering fragmented light across her slightly tense face. Watching her clumsily try to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, a hint of amusement lingered in his eyes.
To be able to wield a magical artifact like that, calling the junior sister a prodigy wouldn't be an overstatement.
