Cultivation begins with the Druid panel

Behind the city gate was a wide road, ten zhang wide, paved with bluestone slabs. There were many taverns on both sides of the road just inside the city, and the aroma of wine and food wafted out, making people's appetites increase.

Looking out the window from inside the carriage, Lu Lin noticed that the streets of Guling City were bustling with people, but few were concealing their identities or auras. Lu Lin even saw that many people were wearing disciple robes, clearly disciples of cultivation forces.

Ancient Spirit City truly lives up to its reputation as a major city; the difference between it and Feng City is immediately apparent.

The carriage pulled by two Fiery Sun Horses was inconspicuous on the streets of Ancient Spirit City. Sang Leng determined the direction and then drove the Fiery Sun Horses onto another street that was only three zhang wide. Finally, it stopped in front of a wide vermilion gate.

Above the vermilion gate is a golden plaque.

"Cliffside Academy"

Lu Lin stepped off the carriage and looked up at the gate in front of him. The gate was three zhang wide and one zhang high, with side gates on both sides, through which people could freely enter and exit. It seemed that the Cliff Academy allowed all cultivators to enter and exit.

Sang Leng said, "Young master carries a token, so the Cliff Academy will make other arrangements. I will not disturb you any longer. If you have no other requests, I will take my leave now."

After seeing the token in Lu Lin's hand, Sang Leng's attitude towards Lu Lin changed, becoming noticeably more respectful and distant than before.

Lu Lin didn't care about her attitude towards him, and waved his hand, saying, "Miss Sang, please do as you please."

Sang Leng drove away and soon disappeared at the end of the street. Lu Lin watched her leave before turning around and looking at the vermilion gate of the Cliff Academy.

Whether it was a misperception or not, Lu Lin felt a distinct sense of familiarity upon seeing the four large characters "Cliff Academy" on the plaque, as if something about him had once belonged to those four characters. Lu Lin thought about it but couldn't figure out why, so he simply put this strange feeling out of his mind.

Stepping through the side door on the left, a gentle breeze caressed my face. The world behind the door seemed to be a different world from the outside. In the branch of the Cliff Academy, the concentration of spiritual energy had increased, indicating the presence of a spirit-gathering formation.

"As expected of a sacred place for cultivation, even a branch academy has such good cultivation conditions." Lu Lin breathed a sigh of relief, looked around after passing through the gate, and saw a long cobblestone street in the middle, about three zhang wide. On both sides of the road were two bamboo groves, swaying in the wind and rustling. On the left and right sides were two arched corridors that passed through the bamboo groves.

The wind here can soothe the restlessness in people's hearts, and the air has a special fragrance, a fragrance of books, a fragrance of nature, and a fragrance of purity.

Lu Lin, who was a Druid and had a natural wood elemental root, loved this kind of environment and immediately became immersed in it.

"Fellow Daoist, may I ask if you are here to participate in the assessment?" At this moment, a soft voice came from Lu Lin's side.

Lu Lin immediately turned his head and saw a man dressed in a plain-colored robe walking along the corridor. The words "Mountain Cliff" were embroidered on his chest, clearly indicating that he was a disciple of the Mountain Cliff Academy.

Lu Lin dared not be negligent and quickly cupped his hands, saying, "That's right. I've come to participate in the Spirit Plant Master assessment."

The young man quickly stepped forward and lifted Lu Lin's back as he was about to bend down: "Fellow Daoist, there's no need for such formality. We are about the same age, peers. A simple greeting is enough; there's no need for such formalities. Besides, you are so young yet already have the confidence to participate in the assessment. You must be an outstanding individual. Such politeness would be too much for me."

After listening to the young man's words, Lu Lin couldn't help but sigh at the methods the Cliff Academy used to cultivate its disciples.

Logically speaking, shouldn't young geniuses be arrogant and conceited?

"Fellow Daoist, please follow me. Our Cliff Academy has set up accommodations on this side of the Spirit Plant Path. There are still three days until the assessment. You can stay here for the next three days." The young man turned to Lu Lin and continued, "Please show me your token."

Lu Lin took the token out of his Qiankun bag.

The young man glanced at the token, and his smile became even more sincere: "Please."

Lu Lin nodded slightly and followed the young man through the corridor.

After walking for about 15 minutes, Lu Lin discovered that many cultivators were sitting on the seats on both sides of the corridor. Some were painting, some were playing the zither, and some were leaning against the supporting pillars of the corridor reading books.

Lu Lin couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are these people also here to participate in the assessment?"

The young man shook his head: "No, they all come to the Cliff Academy to cultivate. There are spirit-gathering arrays and enlightenment bamboo here, which makes it convenient for them to cultivate. In addition, the books of the Cliff Academy can also be borrowed for their cultivation."

Lu Lin was stunned for a moment, finding it hard to accept the young man's answer.

"Free?" Lu Lin asked.

"Of course." The young man's expression was a little strange, as if he hadn't expected Lu Lin to ask such a question.

"What if they use the skills they learned at the Cliff Academy to launch a counterattack?" Lu Lin then asked.

The young man laughed heartily: "If everyone in the world had this ability, it would be a blessing for the world."

Lu Lin was at his wit's end.

Cliff Academy truly lives up to its reputation as a sacred place for cultivation!

Those who were cultivating in the corridor also raised their heads at this moment, looking at Lu Lin with strange eyes, not understanding why Lu Lin would think this way.

Feeling uncomfortable under their gazes, Lu Lin quickened his pace as he crossed the corridor. Once everyone was alone, he asked, "Are all cultivation factions in the world like this?"

"That's not it," the young man shook his head. "But all cultivation forces of any considerable size are like this. If you want to become a powerful force that commands the hearts of the world, that's how it should be, isn't it?"

Lu Lin didn't say anything more.

This trip down the mountain first showed him the true nature of humanity through that scholar, and then the cliffside academy demonstrated the responsibility of a sacred place for cultivating immortality.

Just as they were talking, the young man led Lu Lin to a lake, where a large number of two-story pavilions stood on the surface.

The young man said, "This is the accommodation prepared by the Cliff Academy for fellow cultivators participating in the assessment. Fellow cultivators can enter by presenting their tokens."

Lu Lin stood on the shore, looked up at the pavilions on the lake, and then looked around. There were no boats, no corridors, and nothing but the pavilions. To get close to those pavilions, one would have to fly over.

The young man smiled and said, "This pavilion can be lived in, but only those with the ability can live there. Otherwise, even if you have a token, you won't be able to participate in this assessment. Did you not prepare in advance, fellow Daoist?"

Lu Lin shook his head and chuckled. If he were a mortal, this test would be really difficult, but for a cultivator, riding the wind is not a difficult thing.

Thinking this, Lu Lin was about to take off on the wind, but then he realized something was wrong. Every time he was about to leap up, a huge pressure would press down on his shoulders.

The young man explained, "There's a no-fly formation here. Of course, if you have the ability to break the formation, then disregard what I said."

Lu Lin frowned.

Can't it fly?

He then only had two choices: either swim across using the cumbersome method, or cross the river using the "one reed to cross the river" method.

The former is somewhat embarrassing, while the latter requires a very high level of control over spiritual power; otherwise, falling into the water halfway through would only make things more embarrassing.

But... what if I did that? Lu Lin thought, squatted down on the shore, placed one hand on the lake surface, and released emerald green spiritual energy.

You used nature magic to plant a large number of lotus flowers in the lake with your spiritual power.

The young man, witnessing this scene, was taken aback: "?"

clever!