"May I ask who you are?" Li Qi looked at the purple-clad girl.
Her skin was clear and radiant, her eyes bright and clear, without any makeup or adornments.
She was dressed very simply.
However, her demeanor seemed incredibly...
How to describe it...
Very 'proper'.
Nevertheless, she was indeed a young girl in age, although her serious expression made her seem mature. In reality, she appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, very young, almost like a high school student.
She exuded an aura of youthfulness.
If they were outside, Li Qi might have thought she was a cultivator pretending to be younger, deliberately crafting such a youthful appearance for herself.
But this was the Imperial Academy; it was normal to see people of her age here.
This was a gathering place for the geniuses of Humanism, unparalleled by the outside world.
Li Qi didn't respond but merely observed her.
The solemn girl also did not reply but stared back at Li Qi.
At that moment, Liu Canzhi quickly stepped between them and introduced them to each other.
He smiled and pulled them apart, warmly saying:
"Oh, I forgot to introduce you, Brother Li. This is also our classmate, named Yu Zao. We just happened to meet, so we chatted for a bit. She is also a practitioner of Humanism, a genius of the Miscellaneous School(School of Eclecticism), known for her extensive knowledge and broad horizons. Even among the students here, she's one of the youngest, only seventeen years old! But she's already at Eighth Rank, having reached Ninth Rank when she was nine years old—a famous prodigy."
Then, he pointed at Li Qi:
"Yu Zao, let me introduce you. This is our new classmate, Li Qi. By the way, you mentioned Li Qi being a Shaman—what do you mean?"
"The divine bodies within him, his control over mountain and water qi, and his influence on the surrounding environment all suggest an independent realm, likely indicating a Shaman... However, there's also a hint of Daoist Five Elements magic, which is curious," the girl named Yu Zao said, scrutinizing Li Qi with her beautiful eyes.
For some reason, Li Qi felt a chill, as if something was trying to penetrate his body.
Was it a supernatural ability in her eyes? Or something else?
Li Qi gently waved his hand, enveloping himself in a layer of earth qi.
Solid ground could isolate detection.
Only then did he feel better.
However, Yu Zao didn't seem to know when to stop. Her eyes suddenly changed from black to golden, with mysterious runes flashing within, piercing through Li Qi's earth qi and thoroughly scanning him!
"A personal microcosm with its own circulation... Yes, indeed a Shaman." The girl nodded in satisfaction and returned her eyes to their normal black color.
Li Qi frowned.
Even Liu Canzhi looked troubled, patting Li Qi's shoulder but saying nothing.
It wasn't appropriate for him to say anything now. Comforting Li Qi would make him seem like the good cop to Yu Zao's bad cop.
Supporting Yu Zao outright was also out of the question since her actions were somewhat rude.
Li Qi shook his head and then gave a polite smile, saying, "Fish among algae, leaning on its reeds, fish among algae, with its long tail waving gracefully—what a lovely name."
The phrase described a joyful and peaceful atmosphere, likely the origin of her name.
By reciting the ancient poem, Li Qi shifted the topic away.
She was just a child, and he wasn't one, so there was no need to get upset, though he still needed to be cautious given the sensitivity of his identity as a Shaman.
"You've read books too, haven't you? That's correct—it comes from that source. Do Shamans read books? But perhaps my understanding is wrong—I've never met a living Shaman before. Well... I have things to attend to today, but let's chat more another time."
After speaking, Yu Zao turned to Liu Canzhi and lifted her chin, saying, "Master Liu, I've reserved something to be ready when school starts. Make sure it's done by then. I came here to find Teacher Bai, and if you need me later, come find me there."
Without even bidding farewell to Li Qi, Yu Zao turned and left.
Interestingly, she didn't walk or use ordinary escape techniques but vanished into thin air.
Even True Dao Resonance couldn't detect it!
Li Qi was stunned, his annoyance vanishing.
Seeing Li Qi's surprised look, Liu Canzhi thought he was uncomfortable and patted his shoulder, sighing, "Come on, she's seventeen, and she only awakened her intellect at six. What can you expect? By our standards, she's only eleven. Don't take it personally; she's just a kid. You can't fight her, don't let it bother you."
Li Qi nodded, "I'm not angry, just curious about how she grew up. By the way, what do you mean by awakening her intellect at six? Isn't it usually around one year old?"
Awakening intellect refers to gradually becoming conscious and starting to remember things after emerging from a state of confusion.
Humans typically start this process around one year old, but she was six?
"Well, how else could she grow up? Oh, you probably don't know—let me explain. Yu Zao has no parents; she's an experimental subject of the Miscellaneous School, still undergoing tests," Liu Canzhi explained, releasing his grip on Li Qi's shoulder and walking ahead.
"An experimental subject?" Li Qi was surprised, asking as they walked, "What does that mean?"
"Not exactly a secret, but best not to mention it in front of her," Liu Canzhi considered carefully, choosing his words wisely, and then explained to Li Qi, "You know the Miscellaneous School, right? They claim to 'gather all schools, embrace everything'."
"Yes, I know," Li Qi nodded.
He had a basic understanding of the various schools of Humanism.
Miscellaneous School absorbed characteristics from other branches of Humanism and even other paths, integrating their thoughts and techniques into a unified whole.
But don't think of the Miscellaneous School as a patchwork monster.
It is recognized as a distinct school because it has its own path and principles. Adopting traits from others is merely a means to an end, thus qualifying it as a unique school.
Their principle is practicality—regardless of where your methods or ideas come from, as long as they benefit the current situation, they will learn them. If forbidden, they will steal or deceive to achieve their goals.
This characteristic defines the Miscellaneous School and allows it to stand alone.
They have their core principles and selectively incorporate elements from other paths, maintaining a clear hierarchy rather than being a chaotic mix.
Liu Canzhi continued:
"As you know, the Miscellaneous School doesn't shy away from unconventional methods. One faction envisioned a future where..."
"Currently, attributes like talent, intelligence, personality, and physical condition can be adjusted to some extent, but ultimately, much depends on luck."
"So, the Miscellaneous School proposed creating newborns directly within artifacts instead of relying on maternal gestation, customizing their talents, gender, and even special constitutions as needed. They envisioned replacing natural childbirth with this method, establishing an official position to manage 'baby production' based on societal needs, producing individuals tailored to specific roles."
"The founder of the Miscellaneous School believed that by controlling the overall talents, qualities, and numbers of the population, human civilization could flourish. Yu Zao is part of this experiment, a person whose talents and physique were entirely controlled and crafted by the Miscellaneous School."
"However, being the first generation, many aspects are still immature, hence her delayed awakening at six years old. Also, as you can see, she's quite naive due to her young age, and we're unsure of any other defects."
"But aside from these issues, she's a truly flawless genius, capable of memorizing everything instantly, reaching cultivation rank in three years, and achieving Eighth Rank in six. Since her body was artificially created, it perfectly matches cultivation techniques, with bottlenecks pre-addressed. It's a fully customized approach."
"Whether this is good or bad, there's only one case, so it's hard to say."
Listening to Liu Canzhi, Li Qi was astounded.
Artificial wombs, socialized upbringing, adjusting baby production based on societal needs.
Such advanced experimentation, and they were already conducting trials, aiming to expand these practices into society.
Was this initiative self-driven by the Miscellaneous School, or did it receive approval from higher authorities?
Regardless, hearing about it was enough. The founder of the Miscellaneous School must be a powerful figure, one of the founders of the Hundred Schools of Humanism, unimaginably influential.
Clearly, Humanism had various ideological factions internally, but the Miscellaneous School's approach was particularly audacious.
No point dwelling on it—there was nothing he could do about it anyway.
As for Yu Zao...
He didn't know what to think.
Later, Li Qi followed Liu Canzhi to visit other places.
He visited Liu Canzhi's Refiner's Second College, where Liu was the only one present, the rest having gone on holiday.
Li Qi saw Liu Canzhi's water refining technique.
Completely different from fire refining.
Using water hammers and water blades to refine artifacts, the water hammer struck powerfully, sometimes turning into soft force, transforming fierce waves into boundless oceans, deep and immeasurable, rolling endlessly!
Li Qi watched Liu Canzhi demonstrate, seeing waves rising and falling, water ripples overlapping, dense like rain, yin and yang converting, softness and hardness interchanging, both complementing each other.
The materials refined in water gradually transformed into the desired shape, marvelously.
By the time the tour ended, night had fallen.
Liu Canzhi waved goodbye to Li Qi and left.
Li Qi thanked him multiple times and returned home alone.
Interacting with Liu Canzhi was pleasant because he was tactful.
Throughout, Liu Canzhi showed no curiosity about Li Qi's identity, not even questioning the term 'Shaman' used by Yu Zao.
Li Qi believed Liu had guessed something, as he clearly was intelligent.
The Imperial Academy was full of smart people, unlikely to have many fools.
But precisely because they were smart, they didn't pry.
Moreover, Liu Canzhi seemed exceptionally well-informed. Despite being a Refiner of Reason Dao, he knew detailed backgrounds of many academy students, which was somewhat unsettling.
However, it was possible that such information was common knowledge within the academy. He only revealed general origins without divulging critical details, limiting its usefulness.
Still, knowing someone's background allowed targeted identification of weaknesses and vulnerabilities, such as with the Plague Lord.
Without knowing the Plague Lord's background, killing him would be nearly impossible. Now that Li Qi understood his background, he knew targeting the virus's special connections was crucial.
This significantly narrowed down the range for finding weaknesses.
For people like Li Qi, this was especially important.
Honesty aside, everyone possessed top-tier techniques with similar powers and wonders. Absolute strength couldn't guarantee victory, so exploiting weaknesses and characteristics was key.
Reversing suppression and defeating stronger opponents was rare; facing equally matched foes, exploiting weaknesses often determined the outcome.
Saying goodbye to Liu Canzhi, Li Qi left the academy, filled with new insights into Martial Dao and the academy, returning to his residence in Tang Kingdom.
On the way, he encountered the elder who had given him a red envelope earlier.
The elder was walking his grandson, and Li Qi exchanged pleasantries before returning home to record his observations.
Many things he witnessed at the academy were unheard of before, expanding his horizons.
Staying at Wu Deity Mountain for just a few days felt like a huge loss. As a power rivaling Tang Kingdom, Wu Deity Mountain surely held unique and unseen wonders.
Thinking of this, Li Qi felt a surge of excitement.
Curiosity filled his heart, driving him to explore more of this world, witnessing unimaginable sights.
That night, Li Qi spent half the night recording his experiences.
By midnight, he put away his pen and rested.
Shen Shuibei's treatment required seven days, and it was only the first day.
School started in nearly a month, and Shen Shuibei would recover in six days. There was plenty of time for solitude.
The next morning, Li Qi saw a news alert on his terminal:
"Wu Deity Mountain delegation arrives in Chang'an, three Young Masters to join the Imperial Academy!"