Twelve thousand and twelve
As for the purpose of this book, it concerns a ripple in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, signaling a once-in-a-hundred-thousand-year opportunity for ascension to immortality. However, the entire cultivation world has forgotten how to ascend, specifically lacking the ancient secret inheritance required to activate the Ascension Platform.
Legend holds that ancient musical arts are the key to unlocking this secret. This is why all these scions of dragons and phoenixes have flocked to the Azure Sword Sect; the sect indeed possesses a portion of this ancient musical heritage. This knowledge is held by the master and disciple siblings, Venerable Xueqiao and Venerable Tonghua. Two other portions exist: one is sealed within the Ascension Hall of the Immortal Alliance by its founding leader, Immortal Lord Liuyue, and the other has been lost to the world. It is said that even this lost portion was partially deciphered by the Azure Sword Sect’s founder, Immortal Lord Qingxiao, and remains hidden somewhere within the sect, awaiting one destined to find it.
Consequently, these high-born scions are willing to set aside their pride to study at the Azure Academy, hoping to encounter this fated musical secret. In the book, the protagonists—Ye Qingyu and the heroine, both possessors of the rare triple-element spiritual roots—stumble upon Immortal Lord Qingxiao’s sealed study while browsing the library. They uncover his personal notes and solve the mystery.
However, according to the ending outlined by the notoriously lazy author, the protagonists’ efforts remain flawed. They only manage to partially unseal the Ascension Platform, severely limiting the number of ascendants to forty-nine and causing the resulting "immortal grade" to be degraded. This leads to a brutal struggle for those forty-nine spots, ending only when the male protagonist awakens his divine dragon bloodline and suppresses the cultivation world by force. Yet, the male lead, Su Yu, seems unimpressed by this diminished immortal destiny. The final scene depicts his stern, handsome face as he reads ancient musical texts by lamplight—a rare moment of detail from the author. Readers were furious, cursing the author for crafting such a frustrating and unsatisfying conclusion.
Song Chi has absolutely no interest in this ascension business. She would consider it a victory just to reach the Nascent Soul stage like the original owner of her body. Of course, she also needs to acquire heaven-sent treasures to purify her family’s spiritual roots. Based on the book, she sees a path to achieve this. Her cousin, Song Jun, is a handsome man with a true passion for alchemy; she hopes to find a way to obtain spiritual fruits for him in a secret realm. These plans require long-term deliberation.
With these thoughts occupying her mind, Song Chi barely pays attention to the morning lecture. She is glared at several times by Mo Shubai’s suspicious gaze, but she ignores him. This is the most critical moment of her life; everything else must yield to her survival plan. As soon as the morning session ends, she bolts from the classroom without even stopping for lunch, rushing back to her dormitory to transcribe the key points from the book before the memories fade.
Mo Shubai, still in the classroom, watches the small figure dash out the back door, speechless. He then notices the darkened expression on Ye Qingyu’s face and the sudden chill radiating from the boy of the Mo clan. He finds it somewhat amusing; it seems the feelings of these two have yet to be noticed by the girl herself. Furthermore, he suspects that with the arrival of the Crown Prince of the Taixuan Dynasty, Song Chi’s attention has already been captured by the young prince. Throughout the morning, she glanced at Su Yu repeatedly, along with occasional looks at Cui Xueruo and Ji Minghuang of the Canghai Kingdom.
The young prince possesses a natural, majestic aura and the striking good looks characteristic of the Su family; he is truly a dragon among men, a standout even in Mo Shubai’s estimation. Yet, he never imagined that Song Chi would be attracted to such a man.
Previously, Mo Shubai had twice made things difficult for Song Chi, simply because he felt the girl was playing coy and hiding her true abilities, and he wanted to tease her. The girl, however, seemed to hold a grudge. For the past two months, she hadn't looked at him once, treating him like air. Her temper is surprisingly stubborn for someone who seems so cheerful. Yet, all morning, she had been radiant, her cheeks flushed with joy whenever she caught a glimpse of Su Yu. It was clearly love at first sight.
Mo Shubai glances at Su Yu, who is staring at the back door where Song Chi had vanished. Su Yu’s gaze then sweeps over Ye Qingyu and Mo Feiyun. Although the two have regained their composure, Mo Shubai suspects Su Yu has sensed something. The Ninth Princess, Ji Minghuang, also seems to have noticed, offering a faint smile. Though young, these children are all sharp-witted, raised in the cutthroat environments of ancient clans or royal palaces. Only Cui Xueruo remains truly innocent, just as her aunt, Fairy Yilan, had mentioned in her letter.
Mo Shubai sighs inwardly. He is a man with a heart of ice, a trait he once shared with his dear friend, Fairy Yilan. It was only years ago, when she nearly died due to a cultivation deviation, that he learned she had been in love with him all along. The regret has left him in a dark place, his cultivation stagnating for two years. His master had recently sent word that a "lucky star" would be born among the new disciples, which is why he was sent to teach at the Azure Academy.
"Your class is quite lively today, Brother Shubai," Shen Wenyan remarks as he exits the Gengshen class. Mo Shubai merely smiles. They both know the scions are here for the ancient music, but neither speaks of it.
Song Chi spends the lunch hour memorizing the essentials of the book, ignoring the love lives of the protagonists. By the time she rushes back to the academy, she is famished. Her storage ring is empty, and her stomach is growling loudly.
"Did you go out to rob someone during lunch? You didn't even eat!" Qi Zhenmo teases, holding out a lotus-leaf-wrapped rice ball filled with seared spiritual beast meat. Song Chi’s eyes light up; she is ravenous. However, as she takes it, she notices Qi Zhenmo glancing toward the back of the room with a mischievous glint. She looks over to see Ye Qingyu staring at her with a dark, menacing expression. She ignores him and begins to devour the rice ball, but, in her haste, she begins to choke.
"Are you a starving ghost reincarnated?" Ye Qingyu scoffs coldly, though he tosses a jade bottle of spiritual spring water toward her. It is clearly high-quality, but Song Chi hesitates—it’s someone else’s bottle. Seeing Ye Qingyu’s annoyed look, and desperate for air, she grabs it and takes several large gulps. The spiritual energy is refreshing, and she feels much better.
When Instructor Mo Shubai enters, he begins the lesson with a new piece of music. Surprisingly, he skips the introductory levels and moves straight to a piece for Metal-element spiritual roots. Usually, students train in Water and Wood elements for a year before touching the Metal element, which is essential for offensive techniques. Song Chi suspects Mo Shubai is testing the musical prowess of the three "golden phoenixes" in his class, as Metal-element mastery is the benchmark for an音修 (musical cultivator).