A fine spring rain was falling, a steady patter as the carriage creaked its way forward on the muddy road.
"Uncle Liu… do we have flying swords in the Yunqin Empire? Do immortals really exist?"
Inside the carriage, Lin Xi leaned on one arm, gazing at the white-haired old man resting in the corner opposite. His voice was serious.
Lin Xi had been polite and quiet the entire journey, so the coachman—this battle-hardened elder—had softened a lot toward him. He hadn't once shown the brutal aura of someone who'd walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
But now, hearing Lin Xi ask this question again, the kind-faced elder—calm just a breath ago—suddenly looked a bit annoyed.
"Lin Xi, don't forget what your father told you. Once you've left Lulin Town, don't speak nonsense like that. Just these ten days, you've already asked me that question thirty times. If we were in Zhongzhou's royal capital, you might've been thrown into prison for less."
"Why? Just saying something like that could get me locked up?" Lin Xi acted surprised, but deep down, he was laughing.
After these ten days, he'd already figured Uncle Liu out. He was just like his mom back on Earth—stern on the outside, soft on the inside. As long as you didn't cross the line, the old man wouldn't truly get angry.
"I'm tired," the old man said, stiffly. He shut his eyes. He really didn't know how to deal with this overly polite, frail boy. In the army, a mouthy new recruit would've been taught a lesson long ago. But here? What could he do?
"Uncle Liu, since you promised my father to take care of me, you wouldn't want me to say something wrong and get in trouble, right? We're already halfway through the journey. I've seen a lot of scenery, sure… but I still don't know anything about this Azure Phoenix Academy. You could at least tell me a little about it…"
Lin Xi's voice drifted softly into the silence. "And besides, if you don't talk to me soon, I'm going to die of boredom. Even if I'm not sick now, I'll go crazy and get sick."
Hearing the first half of that, the old man's brows furrowed again. But by the end… the cold edge in his heart slowly melted, and he relaxed.
Right. This kid had never left Lulin Town in his life. Strange as he might be, he wasn't some hardened soldier who could stay silent through ten days of marching with a blade on his back.
In fact, even among veteran troops, the harshest punishment wasn't flogging—it was solitary confinement in a black cell for half a month. And those cells weren't much bigger than this carriage.
That thought made even the old man's heart, toughened by countless brushes with death, start to soften.
He realized something. In these ten-plus days, aside from his odd questions, this rich merchant's son had surprised him. Even when they missed an inn and had to sleep on the grass, the boy never complained. Even when all they had was cold, tasteless water and dry hard biscuits, he still seemed full of curiosity and interest.
"Could it be… that the noble who recommended him saw this quality in him after just a short meeting? Is that why he was sent to Azure Phoenix Academy?"
The thought struck him hard. His body gave a slight jolt, and the rainwater gathered in the roof's corners spilled off with a splash.
The carriage fell into silence again.
The old man—his hair all white, his face carved with deep, wind-cut lines—looked steadily at the boy across from him.
Lin Xi's eyes were clear and bright, full of curiosity and wonder.
Outside, two gray old horses trudged along the muddy road. On both sides, fresh green bamboo forests stretched out. Spring rain whispered down, soft and steady. Shoots of bamboo were poking through the damp mountain earth—tender and full of life, just like Lin Xi.
"Why are you always asking such strange questions?" The old man stretched his legs, relaxing into a more comfortable position.
Lin Xi saw that his soft words had finally broken through. He got a little excited inside. This whole world was new to him. Everything was fascinating, and he wanted to know it all.
"They're not that strange, really," he smiled. "I've read a lot of stories—ones where masters could send flying swords hundreds of miles to take off someone's head. They could fly, vanish into thin air, move mountains, fill oceans. I mean, I've never left Lulin Town before, and there aren't many worldly folks there. But now the two of us are traveling halfway across the Yunqin Empire. There's bound to be danger, right? Just a few days ago, my father said a merchant caravan in East Lulin got ambushed by bandits. And yet here you are, calmly driving me all this way, not the least bit worried. You even seem to know every stretch of road. So I figured… Uncle Liu, maybe you're one of those people from the stories."
The old man blinked.
That wild tale… somehow sounded completely logical coming from Lin Xi's mouth.
"You're sharp." The old man gave him another look and shook his head. "But it sounds like you've read one too many of those fantasy books."
"So… you mean those powerful cultivators don't really exist?" Lin Xi asked.
"Flying swords and flight—those do exist," the old man said slowly. "But not to the degree those books claim. If it were really that easy to fly a sword a thousand miles and kill someone, wouldn't that mean no noble or general was ever safe?"
"So they do exist?" Lin Xi's eyes widened.
"How far can a flying sword go then? How many people in our Yunqin Empire can actually use them?"
"The weak? Maybe a hundred paces. The strong—can kill from a thousand paces," the old man said. "I've only seen three people in my life who could do that."
"Even just a hundred paces is amazing…" Lin Xi murmured. Just knowing that flying swords were real changed everything for him.
"Uncle Liu… what about you? Can you use a flying sword?" Lin Xi asked seriously, lifting his head.
"If I could," the old man said with equal seriousness, "would I be here driving this carriage?"
The two looked at each other—and burst out laughing.
"What kind of place is Azure Phoenix Academy, then?" Lin Xi asked after their laughter faded.
"It's the place that trains the kind of masters you just talked about," the old man said, his tone turning solemn. "A place where great figures are forged. Half the powerful people in the Yunqin Empire… came out of Azure Phoenix."
Lin Xi's jaw dropped. For a while, he was speechless. He hadn't imagined the academy would be so important.
So this world… just got a lot more interesting.
He took a breath and asked, "Can you tell me more?"
"Most people don't know much about Azure Phoenix—unless they came from there. And to be honest, I'm not qualified to talk too much about it either. But you mustn't mention what I tell you today to anyone else. Even a careless word could bring us trouble."
Lin Xi nodded firmly.
"Among the Empire's three great academies, Azure Phoenix hasn't been the strongest in recent years, but it's the oldest. If not for its headmaster fifty years ago, the Yunqin Empire might not even be as large as it is today."
"Three academies?" Lin Xi blinked.
"The others are Immortal One Academy and Thunder Academy," the old man said. "Like I said, half our empire's important figures come from Azure Phoenix… the other half, mostly from those two."
"Is there a difference between the three?" Lin Xi asked.
"No one knows for sure," the old man replied. "Because anyone who comes out of one is already at the level of a regional commander. They rise fast. Ordinary people like us aren't meant to understand them. But you don't need to worry. If you get into Azure Phoenix, you'll see it for yourself."
"Coming out already as a commander?" Lin Xi thought to himself. Commander, mayor… same thing to him.
"If they're that powerful, why'd they let someone like me apply? Do you know who recommended me?" he asked.
"I know you won't stop bugging me if I don't answer," the old man sighed, "but truth is, I don't know either. Normally, common folk can't even take the entrance exam. So whoever recommended you… must be someone with great power. That's why—"
"Why we'd better not guess or talk too much," Lin Xi finished for him, chuckling and sticking out his tongue. "Wouldn't want to upset someone above our heads."
The old man froze for a moment, then nodded. "Exactly."
Silence returned, broken only by the gentle rain tapping the roof.
"Uncle Liu…" Lin Xi said suddenly.
"Hm?" the old man looked over.
"I think… I'm really starting to look forward to this Azure Phoenix Academy."