You promised yourself to be a caged bird, but you became the supreme young master?

The moment Lu Heng got his hands on the jade pendant, he sensed that he seemed to have developed a faint connection with it.

However, he didn't think too much about it. He simply put the jade pendant into his pocket and turned his gaze to Lu Qingyan, whose expression was complicated.

Having come to the Changyun Mountains for training, the girl had already changed out of her usual sky-blue dress and put on a neat black outfit.

Her long, raven-feather-like hair was loosely tied up, with a few stray strands falling to the side of her neck, making her jawline appear even more fair and delicate.

At this moment, however, the previous thin layer of snow-like coolness had faded considerably, replaced by a sense of panic and entanglement, a hesitant expression that was somewhat amusing.

Having just experienced a life-or-death crisis, the girl showed no trace of her usual aloofness and arrogance.

"Say what you want to say," Lu Heng said with a light laugh, just like the other person had done before.

"Thank you..." Lu Qingyan hesitated for a moment, then spoke somewhat awkwardly.

It was always others who thanked her; this was the first time in her life she had expressed gratitude to someone other than her family.

"No need. I think that with your personality, if you had the ability, you would have acted without hesitation in the same situation just now."

Lu Heng waved his hand casually.

Seeing this, Lu Qingyan's eyes flickered slightly, she bit her lip, and said no more.

"With such a huge turn of events this time, the trial participant who was supposed to be in the mid-stage of Body Refinement has actually mastered a secret technique and has become a late-stage Body Refinement participant. What will the outer academy say about this?"

Lu Heng asked with great interest.

Under normal circumstances, based on his understanding of the Lu family, he would most likely not say anything.

In this world, the strong will not admit their mistakes to the weak, and the weak have no right to do so.

unless…

That's a weakling with connections!

Therefore, the same thing happening to Lu Qingyan would be completely different.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: ①⓪①ⓚⓚⓢ.ⓒⓞⓜ]

With a grandfather who is a cultivator at the peak of the Qi Refining Secret Realm, she is fully entitled to speak out and demand an explanation.

"That's exactly what I was thinking too..."

"I'd like to ask my grandfather why a demonic cultivator in the mid-stage of Body Refinement could possess the Life-Burning Secret Technique!"

Recalling his situation just now, if Lu Heng hadn't chosen to stand in front of him, he probably wouldn't have been able to escape this calamity.

Lu Qingyan's face turned icy cold. Her personality was indeed not bad, thanks to the teachings of her grandfather, the Second Deacon.

But she is by no means without a temper.

"So what do we do next?"

Feeling that there would be some interesting things to see in the outer courtyard later, Lu Heng asked curiously.

"Let's go straight back." Lu Qingyan looked at Lu Heng, her expression softening slightly.

"You don't want the combat rating and the secret realm spot?" Although Lu Heng thought it was impossible, he was worried that the young lady in front of him might make an impulsive decision in the heat of the moment, so he still chose to remind her.

"With such a major change, my grandfather will step in to resolve the issues of combat rating and the number of spots in the secret realm."

Actually, even if I hadn't met the hidden conditions this time, I should still have been able to get a spot in the secret realm.

Now that we have a reason, our spots in the secret realm are naturally no problem.

As for the practical assessment, it was originally only intended to test the practical abilities of the foreign language department.

Since you can contend with a late-stage Body Refinement cultivator with your mid-stage Body Refinement cultivation, there's naturally no need for testing.

Lu Qingyan explained patiently.

"besides…

If you ever need any help in the future, you can come to me, as long as you don't cross my bottom line.

"Well, I'll do it for you, since you saved my life this time."

After explaining, Lu Qingyan suddenly said something else.

"Okay, I understand."

Lu Heng was at a loss for words. If one really wanted to win people's hearts, there was no need for that last sentence.

It's completely like trying to make amends for myself.

"I need help with something right now."

There was no need to be coy, Lu Heng said straightforwardly.

"What's wrong?"

I'm telling you, don't cross my bottom line.

Looking around, Lu Qingyan couldn't help but say something.

"I need knowledge on how to make spiritual food..."

After that, I plan to try my hand at practicing martial arts.

So I want to know more about it in advance.

"This shouldn't cross your bottom line, right?" Lu Heng replied jokingly.

Lu Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt inexplicably disappointed.

Yeah, that's always been his personality.

When we first met, I felt a connection with him and didn't dislike him, so I asked him to be my sparring partner.

And the first time I made a promise, my intention was to get the other party to take the initiative to follow me.

But this guy always manages to give unexpected responses.

No problem.

"But you want knowledge of spiritual food? Do you want to get involved in alchemy later?"

Lu Qingyan immediately said no problem. For her, it might be a bit difficult to give Lu Heng a set of alchemy skills knowledge that he could learn.

However, there is no problem with simply knowing how to make spiritual food derived from alchemy.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with my choice?"

Lu Heng asked in confusion.

"That's not a problem. In fact, if you can master any cultivation technique, you can live very comfortably anywhere."

However, if you want to choose alchemy as your cultivation technique, I don't really recommend it.

There's a reason why alchemy and formation are considered the two most difficult cultivation techniques.

Even if the former possesses the relevant talent, they still need a massive accumulation of resources to achieve success.

While the latter doesn't require as many resources, even just getting started requires top-notch comprehension, at least genius-level talent.

Even those with exceptional talent for enlightenment will feel despair afterward in their cultivation.

If you were to choose a cultivation skill, I would suggest you choose talisman making.

The cost is low, but the returns after learning it are substantial.

After speaking eloquently, Lu Qingyan looked at Lu Heng, intending to see how he would respond.

"Why do you know so much about formations?" Lu Heng asked an unexpected question.

He had just noticed with remarkable sensitivity that when the topic of learning formations came up, Lu Qingyan's pretty face showed a rare hint of fear.

"Your focus is really unexpected."

It's quite simple. Since the family doesn't have a way to test comprehension, they can only settle for second best by testing a person's comprehension talent through learning formations.

Anyway, I've heard that in the last ten years or so, not a single one of the family members, even those from the main branch, has been able to pass the exam.

Lu Qingyan couldn't help but complain irritably, and then replied.

"I see."

Lu Heng nodded to indicate that he understood and silently made a mental note of it.

For someone with his proficiency in panel skills and extraordinary wisdom, improving formations, which doesn't require too many resources, is probably the most suitable of all cultivation techniques for him.

But the problem is...

His reason for wanting knowledge of spiritual food preparation was not because he planned to learn alchemy later, but to prepare for his own spiritual practice.