However, Qiu Chuzi was not good with money and had a stubborn yet kind-hearted nature. The enrollment situation in the Outer Court got worse every year, and over the years, it has turned into a dismal state with only three students struggling to hold on.
This time, because of the incident with Shalman, he had offended Madam She Xiang, and the Outer Court would inevitably be affected. Given the current situation, even if the antique egg was worth ten thousand pills, it would be difficult to continue running the operations.
After returning from the Xuan Technique Pavilion, Yue Jinghua never mentioned the matter of the one hundred fifty-first stele to anyone, not even in the letter to Lie Rou, where she merely skimmed over it lightly.
Nobody knew that the anomalies that day were because of Yue Jinghua.
Just as Madam She Xiang, accompanied by Yao Xin, barged into the Xuan Technique Pavilion, that particular jade tablet had vanished even earlier without leaving a trace, as if it had never appeared.
"My situation isn't much better than yours. That day in the Xuan Technique Pavilion, I wandered around aimlessly, and in the end, I only had half an hour left. I settled for sitting in front of the first jade tablet. I figured the first tablet must be the simplest and then I managed to learn an auxiliary Dark Technique called 'Spirit Wood Pattern', which involved etching Dark Runes onto the spirit wood to help it absorb the Dark Energy between heaven and earth," Yue Jinghua half truthfully recounted what happened that day.
"A Spirit Wood Pattern that can't attack or defend, and only works on spirit wood? Isn't that too useless?" Shalman couldn't believe that Yue Jinghua's luck was even worse than hers.
"Better than nothing," Yue Jinghua said, her fingertips quivering slightly.
The effect of the Spirit Wood Pattern hadn't been thoroughly studied yet, but Yue Jinghua had a premonition that this auxiliary Dark Technique, recorded on the mysterious jade tablet, might help break the Demon Mark on her right cheek.
The one hundred fifty-first jade tablet seemed tailor-made for her, as the most basic application was a set of techniques for etching Spirit Wood Patterns, which Yue Jinghua had been practicing repeatedly in her room and had now mastered quite proficiently.
In these past few days, the Inner Court seemed quiet, but in reality, they had been closely surveilling the Outer Court the whole time.
It seems that Madam She Xiang still harbored doubts about what happened that day in the Xuan Technique Pavilion.
Now that Shalman has also come out, and tomorrow just happens to be the Academy's monthly return home day, all the students will go back home, except those who live too far away, and most of the Xuanji Academy's students would return to their families for a number of days.
Yue Jinghua planned to use this opportunity to return to the Lie Family Mansion and break away from the Inner Court's surveillance.
"Maybe next time we enter the Xuan Technique Pavilion, we can choose the right Dark Techniques. Shalman, I remember you said that you always stay in the Outer Court during the return day. Are you interested in coming home with me? My mother is very kind and will definitely welcome you," Yue Jinghua knew that because of the poor relationship with her father, Shalman always stayed in the Outer Court during the return day each month.
Shalman's eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope, but then she bit her lip, feeling a bit embarrassed. She had also heard about Yue Jinghua's situation at the Lie Family Mansion, "Better not, I don't want to trouble you."
"I've already mentioned you in my letter home, and my mother welcomes you to come with me to the Jingxin Courtyard. Look, she wrote that she would be very happy to have you visit," Yue Jinghua didn't tell Shalman that she had already come up with an idea upon hearing that the Ancient Spirit Breeding Technique required an antique egg, but this matter was something she couldn't reveal to Shalman just yet.
Qiu Chuzi clearly underestimated the role of Ancient Profound Beasts, and Shalman was completely unaware that she is now a walking gold mine.
The living environment in ancient times was far more severe than today's Canglong Continent, and any creature that could earn the title of an Ancient Profound Beast must possess unique Dark Techniques of an Ancient Super Dark Beast.
Yue Jinghua still vividly remembered, when she set up the first Summoning Array under the Qing Pu cloth, in the void, those majestic and ferocious Ancient High-level Dark Beasts appeared, moving as if dragons soared and tigers leaped, and the Phoenix Proud Song, all were Ancient Profound Beasts.
Shalman, somewhat skeptical, looked at the letter from Yue Jinghua's family and seeing the warmth and enthusiasm expressed between the lines by Lie Rou, she finally let go of her worries and accepted Yue Jinghua's invitation.