Chapter Six: I Love Myself More Than I Love Him

Su Yunqing furrowed her brows slightly and turned around. She saw a young girl in yellow, leaning on a cane and staggering as she approached, glaring at her with bared teeth.

“Zhu Shishi, get to the point quickly. My time is very precious,” Su Yunqing said impatiently, eager to return to her cultivation.

“Su Yunqing, you did this to me on purpose!” Zhu Shishi spat bitterly. If she hadn’t taken some spiritual elixir, given her injuries, she wouldn’t have even managed to make it to the academy. She hated Su Yunqing deeply.

“Zhu Shishi, give me Spirit Stones, and I’ll tell you the location. I never forced you to go. Besides, how could I have known you’d be ambushed?” Su Yunqing waved her hand in exasperation.

“Then why didn’t you come? You must have known in advance!” Zhu Shishi’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, unwilling to believe her.

“My spirit pet was feverish, and I was busy taking care of it. Naturally, I had no time to go. I even thought I was doing you a favor. I never expected something like this to happen!” Su Yunqing replied calmly.

“Enough. Now that I see him clearly, I’m breaking our engagement. If you like him, you can go after him all you want. After all, he wanted to kill me, not you. If I were you, I’d take this chance to make him marry me. Tsk tsk, look at you—can’t even seize the opportunity.” She deliberately mocked Zhu Shishi, making her face turn dark red with anger.

“You’re being so kind?” Zhu Shishi admitted she was tempted, though she didn’t believe Su Yunqing had such goodwill to warn her.

“He wanted to kill me, so I’m naturally done with him. After all, I love myself more than him.” Su Yunqing’s words were tinged with the bitterness of her past life’s tragic death, filling her chest with anger.

Zhu Shishi, originally skeptical, relaxed upon seeing Su Yunqing’s expression, and her mind started to churn with new plans. She had no desire to confront her further—she had more important things to attend to. “Hmph, just as well.”

With that, she left. Su Yunqing smiled with satisfaction and returned to her room, preparing to sit cross-legged on her neatly made bed to cultivate.

At that moment, besides her, two others were in the room. When they saw her, their brows furrowed. One was a girl dressed in pink, about sixteen years old, delicate and refined in appearance but sharp-tongued. “Why am I stuck with a waste like her?”

“No choice—this was the arrangement from above,” the other girl said disdainfully.

“That won’t do. I, Ye Zhaozhao, may not be as good as Su Yunqi, but I’m better than Su Yun Yue. Why should I live with a waste? If I stay with her too long, what if I become a waste too? What will others think of me? They’ll think I’m a waste too! No way! I want to change rooms!” She didn’t bother to hide her disdain from Su Yunqing—after all, she was already considered a waste, so what was to fear?

The other girl, who had been holding back her resentment, decided not to endure it anymore after hearing that. “No way! I’m coming with you! We should warn others to be careful about this room!”

The two stormed out. At first, Su Yunqing had planned to teach them a lesson for their insults, but seeing their determination to switch rooms, she changed her mind.

If they could keep others from coming here, wouldn’t that mean she could have a single room to herself? With that thought, she felt she could endure the situation a little longer. After all, living with others was inconvenient; having a private space would be ideal.

They returned quickly, packing their belongings. Ye Zhaozhao shot a cold glance at her. “Hmph, so what if you have the Third Prince as your fiancé? Everyone hates you. No one will live with you. Ha ha ha! No one here will stand by your side, and you won’t make any friends!”

With that, she strutted away. Su Yunqing knew Ye Zhaozhao well—she was a lady of one of the four great families, the Ye family. Although Su Yunqing had little social interaction in her past life, she knew Ye Zhaozhao liked Xiao Jinghuai. After all, when Su Yun Yue had tormented her before, she often mentioned him.

She lowered her gaze in thought. After a moment, a faint smile curved her lips. “Perhaps I can use this.”

Putting these thoughts aside for now, she closed the door and began her cultivation. On the first day at the academy, classes were not held; students were to acclimate to the environment. Unwilling to waste a moment, she closed her eyes and sensed the spiritual energy around her, drawing the fire attribute energy into her body.

Ever since Xiao Wu helped her, she had successfully drawn energy into her body, and absorbing spiritual power had become much easier. She circulated the absorbed energy within her body through a minor cycle and sent it to her dantian.

This process repeated endlessly as she cultivated tirelessly until dusk, when a knock at the door pulled her from her meditative state. She was reluctant to stop.

The Phoenix Perch Academy had hired an array master to set up a gathering energy formation, making the spiritual energy here denser than elsewhere. This was one reason many sought admission.

She rose to open the door and found a woman in white, about twenty-seven years old, standing outside. Upon seeing Su Yunqing, she handed her a map and academy uniform. “This is the layout of Phoenix Perch Academy. Memorize it. Tomorrow at the hour of the dragon, come to the Spirit Reading Hall for class. Don’t be late! Remember to wear the academy uniform.”

After Su Yunqing accepted the items, the woman left without looking back. Closing the door, Su Yunqing placed the light blue clothing on her bedside and studied the map until she had memorized it. Then she put it away, bit into a prepared dry bread cake, and resumed cultivation.

She found that even cultivating through the night did not harm her body; instead, it made her feel more vigorous. She longed to spend every waking moment cultivating rather than sleeping.

After an entire night of cultivation until dawn, sensing the time was right, she tidied herself and donned the blue uniform before heading to the Spirit Reading Hall.

Her cultivation had stabilized greatly after last night, and her travel speed improved. Though still frail, she was much stronger than before.

Her excellent memory meant she needed no map and reached the hall easily. As she stepped to enter, a sharp voice stopped her.

“Su Yunqing, what have you done?”

The shout startled not only her but also the students inside, who all turned to look toward the entrance, curious who it was.

As for Su Yunqing, they paid no mind—just a waste who would probably be asked to leave after a few days. No one cared about her.