"Yin Fei, may I enter ?"
Yuki's heart skipped a beat. The voice was… Jian Tong Xuan's.
"Why does that child threatening guy here of all times. Does he know that I copied his sword intent ?" Yuki grumbled.
But her grumbling was cut short by another "May I come in ?" from the door.
She froze, then quickly straightened herself up on the bed. Her right hand tugged at the sheet out of habit, trying to smooth the wrinkles.
"Co..come in."
Then the door opened fully. Master Jian stepped in, his long robes rustling with each step. He was still carrying his sword at his waist, and it's presence was sharp beneath the surface of the silver scabbard.
He paused near the bed. Eyes hovered between the bed and the little girl who was sitting in front of him.
Yuki quickly broke the silence between them by politely addressing him as Master Jian and courteously thanking him for his visit.
He looked at her in amazement for a while, then gave a slight chuckle. It sounded awkward.
"…You don't have to be that formal," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I came to solve the misunderstanding."
Yuki's brows lifted slightly, but she stayed quiet.
"So this arrogant person can still be embarrassed after all." Yuki thought.
Master Jian glanced at the window, then looked back at her.
"I had someone look into what you said. About your mother," he said.
Yuki's heartbeat quickened.
A certain part of her brain was currently scurrying, searching for ideas on how to solve the issue if her lie got exposed.
"Sh..should I just apologize and tell them about the primordial system? But what if they mistook me for an alien… or maybe… will they treat me like a lab rat ?" But before she made any weirder ideas, Master Jian spoke.
"Yin Zhi Yan," Master Jian continued. "There was a student by that name. Blue Rock Martial University, Southern region. Twelve years ago, she left the university because of an unborn child in her stomach."
Yuki blinked.
"She wasn't particularly famous," he went on, voice slower now. "Low-profile. She had reached the 8th layer of the Foundation Stage before she left and her academic performance was also consistent. Her background was also clean, with no scandals or enemies. Until she secretly dropped out of the martial university pregnant."
A pause followed.
Then he lowered his gaze just slightly while covering the faint blush that was creeping on his rigid face.
"I apologize. For what I said and the pressure I released."
Yuki was flabbergasted about the situation right now.
About how the supposedly very arrogant and domineering person bowed his head to a child. Moreover, he felt slightly embarrassed about his past action, something that a cold-blooded killer wouldn't feel.
Yuki paused for a few seconds, then nodded softly. "Thank you… for checking. And for saying that," answered Yuki awkwardly.
A beat of silence passed. Jian Tong Xuan didn't seem to know what else to say.
Then, as if remembering something mid-thought, he spoke again.
"Do you know about the Three Martial Academies?"
"There are three main martial academies in the Celestial Empire," Jian Tong Xuan said, his voice steady and clear.
"They're not universities, but elite institutions for children with cultivation talent—usually for children between the ages of ten and eighteen."
He looked at her, measuring.
"Northern Wall Institute, Blue Lake School, and Central Martial Preparation School."
Yuki didn't say a word, but deep down she knew those names well.
Jian Tong Xuan continued.
"They take students from across the Celestial Empire. Entrance requires either proven talent or a recommendation. And those who graduate from these institutions have a chance to be directly admitted into the top martial university and receive better resources, better instructors, and better future job prospects.
He folded his hands behind his back, his gaze returning to the window with a gaze of melancholy.
"Even though almost every school provides a special cultivator class, but those three? They provided the best graduates."
Yuki said nothing. But her mind was already running.
She knew them.
In her notes—back when this world was just a setting, some of the main character's future rivals and antagonists had come from those academies.
When these top academy graduates first attended university, they were always stronger, more refined, and sometimes even arrogant. The Three Academies were known not just for their resources, but for the type of people they raised.
Talented prodigies… or rich, well-connected elites.
Getting in required either exceptional spiritual talent or a family name that mattered to the government.
Right now, Yuki doesn't have either.
Yin Fei, the identity she now wore, was a nobody. A girl with no record, no backing, and no spiritual root on paper.
And if Jian Tong Xuan was asking her about the academies now…
Yuki kept her eyes lowered, her thoughts carefully guarded.
The silence in the room stretched once again.
Then Jian Tong Xuan spoke again.
"If given the opportunity… would you accept a recommendation to one of the Three Academies?"
Yuki's breath caught in her throat at that sentence.
Her head lifted slightly, eyes meeting his for a second.
Jian Tong Xuan wasn't smiling. He wasn't even looking at her directly—his gaze was still half turned toward the window, as if the offer was simply an afterthought.
But his words were clear.
She hadn't expected it.
Not from him.
Not after the harsh interrogation, the sword intent, and the fact that Yuki didn't write him as such a compassionate person.
She blinked slowly. Her heart still hasn't recovered from the shock.
Before Yuki even uttered a single word, Jian Tong Xuan cut her with a sentence.
"You have potential."
"You survived something that should have killed you. That means you have a natural combat and survival instinct. Just that alone was enough qualification."
"Furthermore, from our conversation this morning and recently, I saw that you have a stable and broad-minded personality."
He finally looked at her, expression unreadable.
"As for your cultivation, that can be corrected with enough teaching and resources."
"Think wisely. Report to Director Wen when you are ready to decide. I will leave tomorrow."
After he finished saying that sentence, he swiftly disappeared from the room. Leaving Yuki shocked and dumbfounded.
Yuki said nothing at his sudden departure.
Inside, her thoughts churned.
This was a huge opportunity. A personal recommendation from one of the Six Martial Sages?
Even with an unknown background, just Jian Tong Xuan's name could place her anywhere.
And that made her nervous.
Because she didn't trust him. Not when she had already known one of his darkest secrets.
Moreover, the top academy students were always the cream of the crop. The talented. The connected. The wealthy with resources worth bragging about.
She had none of that. Just a borrowed name and a system she couldn't reveal.
But if she refused…
Would that raise more suspicion?
She paused for a moment.
Yuki sat silently on the bed. Then the tip of her mouth curled upwards and she let out a soft laugh.
"Why do I need to be afraid.
"Just like my face paralysis, which recovered after I died. Every opportunity and disaster always come side by side. Now that an opportunity was given to me, I of course need to accept."