The moment Xu Yi first saw Teacher Li, she knew this elderly man had taken a liking to Yu Xiaoyu.
His gaze towards Yu Xiaoyu was far too obvious.
How to describe that look? It was like a cat seeing fish, or a dung beetle seeing... ahem, well, something along those lines.
Knowing she was only called along as an afterthought, Xu Yi felt as if her bones had been removed, her posture listless, a stark contrast to the rigid Yu Xiaoyu.
Seeing this, Teacher Li cast a disdainful glance at Xu Yi, then smiled warmly at Yu Xiaoyu, "Xiaoyu, come, sit here."
Yu Xiaoyu walked with stiff steps and sat cross-legged opposite Teacher Li.
Without any invitation from Teacher Li, Xu Yi plunked herself down beside Yu Xiaoyu, propping her chin with her hand, watching their interaction with keen interest.
"Xiaoyu, how long have you been studying artifact refining? Who is your master? Have you ever thought about finding another master?"
The old man didn't try to hide his intentions at all, throwing a bombshell with his first question.
When Yu Xiaoyu heard the last question, her small face turned red, and she quickly waved her hands, "Te-Teacher Li, I, I already have a master."
"Eh, you can still change masters if you have one. I refuse to believe your master is more powerful than I am."
The old man puffed out his chest, naturally exuding the pressure of a high-level cultivator.
"Teacher Li, I will not change masters. Please do not say such things anymore."
Yu Xiaoyu was angry.
Her master was very good, and she would never change masters.
She grabbed Xu Yi and prepared to get up and leave, but Teacher Li called out to them.
"Hey, hey, don't go, I was just joking with you."
Teacher Li panicked, his eyes carrying a hint of guilt. His words were actually meant to test Yu Xiaoyu's character.
Now that he knew the result, he had only managed to anger her. He regretted speaking like that just now; he should have been more tactful.
Yu Xiaoyu pursed her lips tightly. Although she didn't walk further out, she had no intention of speaking.
Teacher Li scratched his ears and tugged at his cheeks in exasperation, so he could only signal Xu Yi.
Xu Yi smiled at Teacher Li, then lowered her head to look at the hem of her clothes, as if there was something magical present.
Hmm, it seems a bit plain. Perhaps a decorative border?
Teacher Li was almost angered to the point of toppling over by Xu Yi's refusal to help.
As expected, all these people were here to make him angry; only Yu Xiaoyu was a considerate and good disciple.
At this moment, he reaffirmed his resolve to take Yu Xiaoyu as his disciple.
He tossed a jade slip from his storage bag and hurled it at Xu Yi, saying impatiently, "You can leave."
Xu Yi caught the jade slip with her backhand, probed it with her divine sense, and her lips curved upwards madly.
"Xu Yi."
Hearing Teacher Li's words, a hint of panic flashed across Yu Xiaoyu's face.
If Xu Yi left, she would have to face this somewhat annoying Teacher Li alone.
"Xiaoyu, it's alright. Remember what I told you before, believe in yourself."
Xu Yi nodded to Yu Xiaoyu and got up to leave.
If she wasn't more tactful, the old man would probably throw her out directly.
Xu Yi, who had walked out of the Artifact Hall, did not return to study the jade slip given by Teacher Li. Instead, she changed her path and went to the Talisman Hall.
She planned to tackle the areas she was confident about first, and then proceed to the Endless Trial and the Ascension Tower.
As Xu Yi stepped into the Talisman Hall, not many people paid attention, or rather, those who saw her didn't take it seriously.
However, ten days later, when they noticed an unfamiliar name on the outermost stone tablet ranking soaring rapidly, they finally couldn't sit still.
Thirty-third place, Xu Yi, two hundred and sixty-three points.
"It's only been ten days, how does this Xu Yi already have two hundred and sixty-three merit points!"
"She's a new disciple, how can she be progressing so fast!"
"Could she have cheated!"
"Bullshit, she definitely didn't cheat!"
Beneath the stone tablet, a group of disciples gathered, chattering noisily.
All eyes turned to the last person who spoke, their gazes filled with suspicion.
"Sui Bian, how do you know she didn't cheat!"
All the Kunlun Academy disciples knew that merit points were easiest to obtain at the beginning, but became progressively harder to gain later on.
For disciples like Xu Yi who had just entered Kunlun Academy, the fastest they could earn was about two hundred merit points, as seen from the rankings of disciples who entered with her.
But Xu Yi had clearly surpassed this limit by a large margin and was still increasing, naturally arousing everyone's suspicion.
"I just know!" Sui Bian snorted. Xu Yi was their sect ancestor from Xuanji Sect; she definitely wouldn't cheat.
"Since you say she didn't cheat, then tell us how she managed it." someone pressed.
Sui Bian choked up. He stiffened his neck and stubbornly said, "In any case, Xu Yi didn't cheat!"
"If you don't even know, why are you bragging? While she has some talent in alchemy, it's not enough to earn other merit points this quickly!"
"What are you talking about? Xu Yi is a formation cultivator!"
"Are you mistaken? Xu Yi is an artifact refiner!"
"No! No! You're all wrong, Xu Yi is clearly a talisman master!"
A group of people argued until their faces were red, each swearing they weren't mistaken. In the end, an incredible thought gradually formed in their minds.
"Could this Xu Yi have cleared several towers in a row?"
"Talismans, Pills, Artifacts, Formations! Gods, what else doesn't she know! Won't she be overwhelmed learning so much!"
The person who first questioned Sui Bian exclaimed in amazement.
"Uh, can I say I also saw her in the Sword Pavilion?" a cultivator with a long sword tied at his waist twitched his mouth, feeling somewhat suffocated.
"Her ranking is also on the Buddhist Pagoda stone tablet."
"The Saber Tower is the same."
"..."
The crowd, initially indignant, gradually fell silent.
Xu Yi's method of rapidly gaining merit points was fully pieced together through their conversation.
Finally enlightened, the group felt no relief but instead grew more frustrated.
The sudden emergence of Xu Yi made the proud talents, accustomed to competition, feel immense pressure.
At this moment, they seemed to understand the helplessness ordinary disciples felt when looking at them in the past.
If Xu Yi only had two or three specialties, they wouldn't have been too bothered. But Xu Yi's performance far exceeded that; they didn't even know if she would continue to challenge further.
Moreover, Xu Yi hadn't even gone to the Ascension Ladder or attempted the Endless Trial.
After she emerged from these two places that could yield high merit points, her ranking would likely climb even higher.
This meant Xu Yi was about to become the first disciple to enter the top fifty rankings within her first month at Kunlun.
And when December arrived and Xu Yi entered the Time Mirror, they couldn't imagine how much more she would improve.
The name Xu Yi was officially etched into their sea of consciousness from this moment on, becoming an indelible presence for centuries to come.