Chapter 9 - There Is Springtime Even for Losers
After three days, An Lin and Liu Dabao were finally released from the darkness of the detention facility.
Due to the more abominable crime of peeping on bathing girls, Zhao Huaiyin and Da Bai had a detention of four days longer than An Lin.
To this fact, An Lin and Liu Dabao expressed their regret.
They reluctantly parted ways with the two brave warriors in the detention room and returned to their normal university cultivation life.
An Lin looked towards the schoolground which was luxuriant and bathed in sunlight. Occasionally, a gentle breeze blew over and brought with it the faint fragrance of flowers. Everything appeared to be splendid and mesmerizing.
His mind was at ease as he greedily sucked in the fresh air.
“This is freedom!” An Lin let out a sigh filled with emotion.
“Yeah, I almost feel as if I’ve been reborn!” Liu Dabao also sighed emotionally.
“An Lin, I need to check up on my class first.
“Being detained for three days right after becoming the class captain, I’ve got quite some explaining to do,” Liu Dabao chuckled.
“Sure thing. Take care!” An Lin nodded.
“Yeah, you too!” Liu Dabao patted An Lin’s shoulder before he left.
Three days of living together made An Lin realize that Liu Dabao wasn’t in fact a detestable person.
That said, there were still times when he didn’t consider the consequences of his actions, such as with his battle declaration.
He was an open-minded and sincere person, and once he and An Lin had become familiar, he was very open and straightforward.
Just like this, an ‘out of blows friendship grows’ scenario took place between An Lin and Liu Dabao.
As Liu Dabao disappeared into the distance, the surroundings once again fell into a state of tranquility.
An Lin looked into the distance and found that the evening sun was just about to descend into the clouds. The school grounds appeared all the more golden as light from the golden clouds drifting above scattered down.
The occasional cry of white cranes flying amongst the clouds was also vaguely discernible.
An Lin was in a trance as he and stood atop a hill located in the school grounds and looked towards the distant scenery.
Akin to an ancient scene, his body was covered in a faint yellow glow as the last rays of the setting sun beamed upon his body.
“Mhm, it’s getting late. Today’s classes are probably about to finish anyway. I’ll go back to class tomorrow,” An Lin sighed after finally coming back to his senses.
The United University of Cultivation was built upon a continent floating far up in the sky. Whenever school finished, he would witness a beautiful and colorful scenery as the sun descended into the clouds.
He had heard that on some special occasions, one could witness from within school grounds the marvelous spectacle of the seven-colored clouds spanning tens of thousands of meters across the sky.
However, An Lin had only been at the university for a short while and thus hadn’t had the fortune of witnessing such a marveling scene.
Regardless, even the scenery during a typical dusk was incredible. Every time he witnessed it, he would feel absolutely stunned.
…
Once he arrived back at his place, An Lin immediately started to meditate and cultivate.
He never slacked off when it came to cultivation.
He didn’t know when he would be able to break through to the Fourth Stage Dao Body. It could be tomorrow, or it could be in ten years. Perhaps he might never even make it to the Fourth Stage Dao Body.
Even though the path ahead was shrouded in the unknown and An Lin was unable to determine how far he could reach, the thought of giving up never occurred to him. Because, wasn’t this world magnificent?
He wanted to witness more things that common people couldn’t witness; he wanted to meet more interesting people; he wanted to truly set foot upon the path of cultivation. Thus, even if he only had a ten-thousandth of a chance to succeed, An Lin would try his hardest to achieve his aims.
That night, for some reason unbeknown to him, An Lin felt as if his cultivation base was building up quicker than ever before.
The next morning, An Lin knocked on Xu Xiaolan’s door.
“An Lin, you’ve finally been released!” Xu Xiaolan’s sleepy eyes lit up as she opened the door and realized that it was An Lin standing outside.
An Lin was the first friend Xu Xiaolan had made after entering The United University of Cultivation and was also the person she got along with best.
She felt really unaccustomed during the days when An Lin was locked up.
“Let’s go to class,” chuckled An Lin in greeting.
“Hang on a second, let me change first.” Xu Xiaolan didn’t wait for An Lin’s reply before slamming the door shut.
An Lin was dumbfounded when Xu Xiaolan reappeared, and he stared at her stupidly.
“W-where did that princess dress come from?” An Lin was so surprised that he started to stutter.
Xu Xiaolan gracefully walked out in a white gauze dress.
Below her beautiful, soft, swan-like neck was her pale collarbone. The white dress-girdle further highlighted her thin and dainty waist.
The hem of her dress fluttered in the wind, and she looked like an other-worldly fairy who had just descended from the highest heavens and was drifting amongst the clouds.
Xu Xiaolan was extremely beautiful naturally, and with her dress on, she looked like a princess who had just wandered out of a painting. Her appearance was mesmerizing.
However, what An Lin was most surprised about now was not her beauty, but rather the fact that her style of clothing was evidently different from before.
This princess dress was clearly something unique to Earth!
Why would such an item of clothing appear in the Immortal cultivation realm? It was way too odd!
“What’s wrong? Isn’t this dress from your native planet, Earth? Do you really need to be so surprised?” Xu Xiaolan was puzzled as she saw the look of disbelief on An Lin’s face. His mouth hung open so wide that an apple could definitely fit inside.
“My native planet…” An Lin stared at Xu Xiaolan and gasped in surprise, “You know about Earth?!”
An Lin had always thought that the world he had teleported to existed in an independent realm.
To his knowledge, the Heavenly Court only had jurisdiction over those in the Nine States and shouldn’t have had any concept regarding Earth.
He had never revealed to anyone that he had come from Earth either.
He never would have imagined the name ‘Earth’ leaving Xu Xiaolan’s mouth so calmly. This instantly created waves in his mind.
“Oi… Oi! What madness are you going through again?” Xu Xiaolan had her hands on her hips and appeared a bit annoyed. “Earth is just a mortal world under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court. Why would I not know about it?”
An Lin tried his best to calm his raging emotions. After digesting Xu Xiaolan’s words and processing the thoughts in his mind, he slowly opened his mouth, “Then why do the people on Earth not know of the Heavenly Court’s existence?”
“Oh, that’s because we exist in a different space. When we go down to the mortal world, we need to use a space teleportation gate.”
“Ah! So that’s how it is. Then how did you find out that I’m from Earth?”
“Our mortal studies teacher Earth Immortal Yue Ying told us!
“She’s in charge of teaching us knowledge and cultures relating to the mortal world. I’m also wearing this dress as she required us to do so for her class today.
“Speaking of which, does this dress look good on me?”
Xu Xiaolan smiled daintily at An Lin and even swayed her dress.
“I’ve never seen anyone look so beautiful wearing a princess dress,” An Lin answered honestly as he came to his senses and looked at the girl in front of him.
Xu Xiaolan was extremely satisfied with An Lin’s response and the smile on her face grew larger. After all, there wasn’t any girl that would be displeased when others complimented their beauty.
“Oh, that’s right, there’s something else I need to tell you. I didn’t have the chance to tell you since you were being detained.”
It appeared as though something had occurred to Xu Xiaolan and she smiled and clapped her hands together.
“What?” An Lin asked curiously.
“Yesterday, Earth Immortal Yue Ying appointed you as the subject representative for our class!” Xu Xiaolan grinned.
“Subject representative…” An Lin was initially surprised upon hearing this. Once he recovered, he raised his head to a forty-five-degree angle and stared dazedly at the sky.
The blue sky was clear, and the blazing sun was radiant…
Everything appeared to be so glorious. Have I finally been given a new lease on life?