However, it was a pity that the students from the Imperial Academy wore the same attire and mask. There were also changes to their auras, causing it to be very difficult to identify their true identities from their voices and appearances.
Even their gender couldn't be seen.
Hence, although Xu Qing was vigilant, he couldn't immediately confirm the identity of the person in front of him.
After all… with such a big event related to the Variant Immortal School occurring, and with increasing attention from the outside world, there were naturally more than just one person coming to probe.
Hence, Xu Qing's gaze swept past the student and he spoke softly.
"I just joined the Variant Immortal School and don't know much about it. However, from what I've seen since I arrived, the school head is indeed like that."
When the student heard this, she fell into deep thought. After sizing up the school head carefully, she retracted her gaze and looked at Xu Qing.
While this was the first time she had paid attention to Xu Qing, the Variant Immortal School had so few members that after this incident, some information had already been dug up.
Even though the true identities of these disciples of the Variant Immortal School were unknown, most of the observant individuals knew about the time they had joined the Variant Immortal School and their usual performance.
Hence, the information she had contained details of this disciple who called himself Xuan Leizi.
She knew that the other party had just joined recently, and this fact, while it made her speculate, also indirectly dispelled suspicion.
From what she knew, it was impossible for the person from the day before to be someone who had just joined the school.
As for Xuan Leizi's true identity, she wasn't interested. At that moment, what she was paying attention to was the person who had mastered the Variant Immortal School art. Hence, after a few simple questions, she simply walked out and arrived in front of the school head who was sitting there with his eyes closed. She then bowed.
"School head, I want to join the Variant Immortal School."
Her actions attracted the attention of everyone in the white tower. After such a major event happened to the Variant Immortal School, while many students came to inquire, she was the first to formally propose joining.
Xu Qing raised his brows under the mask and the vigilance in his heart grew even stronger. This person's probing earlier could be explained but it was a little strange for them to enter so decisively.
Hence, even the school head of the Variant Immortal School opened his eyes and looked at the student in front of him.
His eyes were filled with dignity as he swept his gaze across them. He was clearly overjoyed, but his voice was still calm as he calmly spoke.
"My school has an agreement. We won't teach anyone other than the core disciples."
"Sure! However, I have three questions. I hope the school head can clear my doubts." The mysterious woman from that day revealed determination as she bowed and spoke.
The school head's gaze swept across the students in the white tower. After discovering that everyone was paying attention, he smiled slightly.
"Okay."
"Disciple's first question is that I heard that the technique of our school to condense soul threads requires the continuous strengthening of the soul. I wonder if there are any profound methods for nurturing the soul in the Variant Immortal School?"
As she spoke, she carefully observed the gaze of the school head in front of her.
There was no fluctuation in the school head's eyes. His voice calmly echoed.
"The thought of the Summer Immortal can transform into an immortal body; when this thought falls into the sea, the soul can also be formed."
Everyone in the white tower hesitated. If it was any other time, they would have scoffed at it. After all, this statement seemed more like a metaphor than anything else.
However, with such a major event happening and a master of Variant Immortal School art appearing with hundreds of thousands of soul threads, it had already proved everything. Hence, everyone couldn't help but think seriously.
Even the three core disciples fell silent.
Only Xu Qing blinked.
The mysterious woman fell silent and frowned under her mask. After some thought, she asked the second question.
"School head, may I ask if the formation of the soul threads of the Variant Immortal School is really as slow as the rumors say?"
This sentence was also the focus of the attention of the other students in the white tower. Even the three disciples of the Variant Immortal School listened attentively.
The school head lifted his chin with a hint of pride in his eyes. His voice was filled with confidence as it echoed.
"A thousand years ago, our school had already changed our cultivation art and divided it into two parts, inner and outer. Moreover, the ancestor left a rule that only core disciples who have reached a certain seniority can be taught the inner methods."
"Outer methods are indeed slow but inner methods are fast!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expressions changed. Although they were suspicious, when they thought of the mysterious master of the hundreds of thousands of soul threads, all of them hesitated.
The mysterious woman was the same. Her frown deepened. She felt that this school head in front of her wasn't simple. His answer was watertight and didn't reveal any useful clues.
Hence, after a while of silence, she didn't ask the third question. Instead, she made up her mind and immediately bowed.
"Disciple has no more questions. I'm willing to become a core disciple and join the Variant Immortal School."
The school head nodded slightly and thought to himself, 'You want to test me with just this?'
In reality, as the school head, he naturally discerned the implications behind the student's questions. However, he remained composed. Even though he didn't know the identity of the mysterious adept, it didn't deter him from seizing this opportunity to enhance the prestige of the school.
After all, no matter what, the mysterious person did indeed display the soul threads of the Variant Immortal School.
That was enough.
As for the identity of this mysterious master, he felt that the other party would definitely appear at the appropriate time.
He didn't care about the dissatisfaction of the Star Emperor Supreme Sect caused by the other party's theft.
As a school of Imperial Academy, their status was extraordinary.
At the thought of this, he waved his hand and a jade slip flew over, landing in front of the mysterious woman.
The woman caught it and imprinted her identity without hesitation.
"Go and join your four senior brothers."
The school head calmly spoke and closed his eyes in silence.
Xu Qing watched the entire process. At that moment, the vigilance in his heart was extremely high.
'With such questions, it can be said that this person's really interested in the Variant Immortal School. It can also be said that they have ulterior motives. It's very difficult to distinguish.'
'However, there's an explanation that can explain everything and is logical as well. That is… this person has fought with me before.'
'Could it be her?'
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and calmly glanced at the student.
Just like that, the day passed.
On this day, this new woman, together with Xu Qing and the other three, received hundreds of students. During this time, she observed Xu Qing and the others and occasionally asked some seemingly casual questions.
However, she soon placed her attention on the school head.
She was observing the school head while Xu Qing was observing her.
The more he looked, the clearer Xu Qing's guess was. When night fell, Xu Qing felt that the possibility of the other party being that mysterious woman was about 50 to 60%.
Xu Qing felt that as time passed, he would definitely be able to see more details. After all… the other party was someone with motives, and so was he.
Hence, when night fell, Xu Qing bade farewell to the school head and his fellow disciples and left the white tower, returning to the mansion.
to the mansion.
Recalling his experience during the day, Xu Qing closed his eyes and took out the flesh of Crimson Goddess before starting to cultivate.
Time flowed by and half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
The storm surrounding the Variant Immortal School's mysterious master, lacking second incident, remained more of a castle in the air, despite the school head's repeated public declarations attempting to reignite it.
In the end, the storm still slowly dissipated with the flow of time.
The number of students heading to the Variant Immortal School's white tower every day also gradually increased from a few hundred to dozens.
Even so, compared to the past when there was no one around, it was a tremendous change.
There were also nine more students who joined. Now, there were a total of 13.
The backgrounds of these people were very complicated. Their daily inquiries also became more direct with time. As for Xu Qing and the other three earliest disciples, they were even more united and would occasionally chat with each other.
In addition, through his observations in the past half a month, Xu Qing was basically certain that the fifth disciple… was that mysterious woman from back then.
He still remembered the aura of the other party's attack. It felt like a cultivator's energy but not, seemingly divine but not, as if it were another kind of power, more domineering than cultivator's energy, more fierce than divinity.
'What is it?'
Xu Qing recalled the schools of the Imperial Academy he had checked but couldn't find any clues. Hence, he kept this matter in his mind.
As for his cultivation and the refinement of the soul threads, they had reached a new height in this half a month.
The Variant Immortal School indeed had a profound soul refinement technique, and its cultivation speed was indeed faster than the ordinary cultivation art. In order to prove his words back then, the school head of the Variant Immortal School brought out this cultivation art but only gave it to Xu Qing and the other three.
He stated that this was only transitional and not the true inner technique.
He intended to provide subsequent parts based on different lengths of time the disciples had joined the school and different aptitudes.
These words had a certain effect, causing the spies from all directions, who were originally a little dissatisfied, to pay attention and be tempted again.
This cultivation art could indeed increase a certain level of efficiency but in reality, it didn't increase much. To the other three core disciples, it was just refining one or two additional soul threads every month.
However, it was different with Xu Qing.
Using this even additional profound Variant Immortal School art, he obtained even more soul threads when refining the flesh of Crimson Goddess.
This way, after half a month passed and he refined all the flesh of Crimson Goddess to the limit, Xu Qing's soul threads had reached nearly a million.
He was solely short of three.
Tonight, Xu Qing planned to condense the remaining three in one go.
As Xu Qing looked into his sea of consciousness at the divine source soul threads that almost filled up all the areas, he fell into deep thought.
These soul threads weren't as active as before. They had become a little heavier and emitted an aura of transformation.
Xu Qing fell silent. He had a feeling that once the number of soul threads reached a million, a new change might appear.
He didn't know what it stood as exactly and there were no such records. After all, since ancient times, no one from the Variant Immortal School had piled up their own soul threads to such a terrifying extent.
Even the creator of the cultivation art didn't expect someone to be able to refine it to such an extent.
Xu Qing's eyes gleamed. The feeling that he stood as about to undergo a transformation was very intense.
"What changes will happen…"
Xu Qing closed his eyes and began to cultivate according to the cultivation method of the Variant Immortal School.
After about fifteen minutes, a soul thread manifested in his sea of consciousness.
As it appeared, all the soul threads trembled in unison.
The aura of transformation became even denser.
Xu Qing continued. An hour later, the second soul thread stood as formed. Xu Qing's sea of consciousness began to rumble and churned intensely.
Two hours later, when the last soul thread manifested in his sea of consciousness, the million soul threads instantly became complete.
An unprecedented huge change suddenly occurred in Xu Qing's sea of consciousness!
