The matter regarding Tao Yaoyao will be set aside for now. The story continues with Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang).
At the hour of chen on the second day, Yan Jiuxing, as promised, brought them two admission notices for the "Tongling Academy." "It's currently the enrollment period for the academy. You two pack your things and head over to register with these notices!"
Yan Jiuxing thoughtfully prepared some spirit stones and medicinal herbs for them. Noticing that Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) didn't have a spatial ring, he gifted her one.
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) knew this was a valuable item. She thanked him politely and happily accepted it. The spatial ring appeared as a delicate silver band on her finger, completely inconspicuous. Following Yan Jiuxing's instructions, she dripped her demonic blood onto it, and soon the interior layout appeared in her mind.
It was a space about thirty square zhang. Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) placed the prepared spirit stones, medicinal herbs, and other items inside, which occupied only a small portion. Looking at the remaining space, she resolved to fill it up well in the future.
With all preparations complete, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) and Yan Qinghuai followed Yan Jiuxing to the mountain where the "Tongling Academy" was located.
"You two go up. The rest of the journey is up to yourselves!" Yan Jiuxing patted Yan Qinghuai's shoulder and waved them goodbye before leaving.
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) gazed at the long staircase. She roughly counted at least two thousand steps, and it stretched out of sight.
Fortunately, neither of them were ordinary mortals and could use their demonic energy to climb.
However, just as she was about to unleash her demonic energy, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) discovered a restriction that prevented the use of demonic power.
"It seems we'll have to climb on our own!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) looked at Yan Qinghuai.
"Yes, I can't even spread my wings!" Yan Qinghuai also noticed.
The two demons could only use their human legs to ascend the stairs. After half an hour, they finally reached the main gate.
The gate of the "Tongling Academy" was grand, with carved railings and jade pillars, exuding magnificence, yet there were no guards. However, as they approached, an aged voice suddenly emanated from ahead: "Two little demons, what brings you here?"
Yan Qinghuai and Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) looked around and at each other, but could not locate the speaker.
At this moment, the voice continued, "Where are you looking? Your Grandpa Gate is right in front of you."
Only then did Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) realize that the gate itself had become a sentient being, and its cultivation was even deeper than theirs, which was why they hadn't perceived it. Knowing this, they each produced the admission notices prepared by Yan Jiuxing.
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) placed the notice in front of the gate and replied sweetly, "Greetings, Grandpa Gate. We are here to register."
A flash of green light passed, and the two notices suddenly vanished.
"The notices are verified as genuine! Come in!" the Gate Demon confirmed and slowly opened.
"Alright, thank you, Grandpa Gate." Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) thanked it politely and secretly reached out to touch the patterns on the gate.
The Gate Demon said nothing further, only a faint "Mm."
However, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) could still hear the Gate Demon's inner thoughts, "I didn't expect this little demon to be so polite!"
Upon entering, they finally saw two people, seated one on the left and one on the right behind the gate.
Seeing Yan Qinghuai and Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) enter, the man on the left's eyes lit up. "Haha, Jian Baiquan, you lost! It's our demonic race this time! Hurry and hand over the spirit stones!"
Jian Baiquan on the right pouted unhappily but still honored the bet, producing spirit stones and tossing them to the other. "Hu Wantong, what are you gloating about? Your demonic race only has a few people today. More humans will definitely come later!"
Hu Wantong, who received the spirit stones, was not angered by this. He grinned, put the spirit stones back into his spatial ring, and then said to Jian Baiquan, "Regardless, I won this round, haha!"
After his triumphant display, Hu Wantong carefully looked at the two demons who had just entered. "Hmm... a little swallow, you go find Elder Tong Mu later; and a little rabbit, haha, you're the same category as me, so you go find Elder Tong Rui first."
Hu Wantong conjured two blank tokens out of thin air and asked, "What are your names?"
"Senior Brother, hello, I am Bai Qiushui, and this is Yan Qinghuai." Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) quickly answered proactively.
Hu Wantong nodded, flicked a spell, and the two tokens displayed text. One read "Feathered Hall, Yan Qinghuai," and the other read "Beast Hall, Bai Qiushui."
The two demons thanked him, took their respective tokens, and turned to find that different passages had appeared before them. Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) and Yan Qinghuai said goodbye and walked into their respective passages.
Neither of them expected that this parting would last for over a year.
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) had never been to such a strange academy. After entering the passage, it was like a teleportation array, and in an instant, she arrived at the Beast Hall.
It immediately became lively. Various demons were all around, bustling past with hurried steps.
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) realized how weak she was, unable to discern the true forms of these demons. Spotting a refined and beautiful woman, she quickly stepped forward and asked, "Hello, Sister, could you tell me where to find Elder Tong Rui?"
The woman was on her way to the library to look for cultivation techniques and was initially displeased at being stopped. However, seeing that the person was a very cute little rabbit, she suppressed her annoyance. "You're new, aren't you? Go straight ahead to the end, then turn left, and you'll find Elder Tong Rui's residence."
"Thank you, Sister. My name is Bai Qiushui, and my true form is a little rabbit. May I know your name, Sister?"
The woman replied with a hint of amusement, "My name is Mao Peilan, and my true form is a cat. However, little rabbit, in the future, remember not to reveal your true form when introducing yourself. It could lead to danger."
"Thank you, Sister Peilan. I thought you looked kind and wouldn't be a bad person. Besides, Sister's cultivation is higher than mine, so you could tell anyway even if I didn't say anything!"
Mao Peilan couldn't help but reach out and pat her head. "You have a sweet tongue. Go find Elder Tong Rui to arrange your accommodation first. I'll come find you when I have time." With that, she hurried off like the other demons.
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) touched her slightly disheveled hair, thinking that Mao Peilan was indeed a diligent demon. Her true thoughts just now were: "What a cute little rabbit, I really want to play with it for a while. No, I need to cultivate diligently; playing will impede my progress!"