"From the Wasteland Realm," Yang Cheng replied calmly.
The moment he spoke, everyone, including Yan Qingzhi, looked surprised.
After all, they were all cultivators from the Horn Constellation Realm. None of them expected to meet a native from such a desolate place as the Wasteland Realm.
Yan Qingzhi's expression instantly cooled.
'Good looks are useless,' she thought. 'With such a lowly background, there's no way he'll ever have a bright future.'
Dongfang Sheng laughed. "Hahaha, being from the Wasteland Realm isn't such a bad thing. In ancient times, this land was once the source of the Great Dao."
Xu Letian also smiled broadly. "That's right, that's right. Don't worry—since you're with us, we'll make sure you get to see the wider world."
He didn't mind if someone beside him came from a humble background—it only made him appear more outstanding by comparison.
Soon, Xu Letian led the group to a tavern just outside the Dao Academy.
The area surrounding the Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy had grown increasingly lively.
Inside a private room on the upper floor of the tavern, everyone took their seats.
A quarter of an hour later, two young women whom Yan Qingzhi had invited finally arrived.
Though not as beautiful as Yan Qingzhi, they were still quite lovely and refined.
"Wei Jia, Ma Ruoruo—you made it."
Yan Qingzhi waved to them with a bright smile.
But before the two could even greet everyone, another woman followed behind them—her beauty surpassing even Yan Qingzhi's. She was breathtaking, elegant, and pure as a celestial maiden descending to the mortal world.
Yan Qingzhi's face darkened immediately. "Lu Lingyi? Why are you here?"
Xu Letian and Zeng Niu's gazes were instantly fixed on the newcomer.
"I happened to run into Wei Jia and Ma Ruoruo," Lu Lingyi said softly, smiling like spring wind on water. "So I decided to come along. You don't mind, do you?"
Her voice was gentle, her tone natural, but every word seemed to ripple through the air like music. Even her faint smile could make one's heart tremble.
Yan Qingzhi's annoyance deepened. "You guys better not get any ideas about Lu Lingyi. Her standards are way too high. She's already got some powerful man's attention."
"What kind of powerful man?" Xu Letian asked, clearly skeptical.
"I don't know exactly who he is," Yan Qingzhi said with a sneer. "But I do know his mount is a Sishiyang beast."
Xu Letian's expression changed slightly.
A Sishiyang—one of the rarest spirit beasts in the world. Not something money alone could buy, only those of great power and influence could command such a mount.
Someone like that was indeed beyond his reach.
Still, he quickly forced a laugh. "What a shame. I was hoping such a beautiful cultivator might have some fate with Dongfang Sheng or Zeng Niu here."
Everyone chuckled, and the tension eased as the conversation turned casual again.
Although their statuses varied, they were all young people. Having just arrived in the Wasteland Realm, everyone had plenty to talk about.
Only Lu Lingyi mostly remained quiet, occasionally adding a few words here and there, but rarely joining in.
Yang Cheng was the same—silent, calm, detached.
No one dared to tease Lu Lingyi, but they weren't about to let Yang Cheng off so easily.
"Little brother, why are you so quiet?" Wei Jia asked warmly.
She had noticed Yang Cheng's striking looks the moment she entered and had been intrigued ever since.
Ma Ruoruo, too, looked him over curiously.
Xu Letian chuckled. "Yang Cheng's from the Wasteland Realm. He hasn't seen much of the world, so go easy on him."
Hearing that, Ma Ruoruo immediately lost interest.
Wei Jia's eyes flickered with amusement, though she still seemed somewhat interested.
But her attitude had clearly changed—from meeting him as an equal to looking down ever so slightly.
She teased, smiling sweetly, "I don't mind that. But Yang Cheng, you're so young—you've probably never even held a girl's hand before, have you?"
Yang Cheng had no desire to waste time with such shallow talk.
"I just remembered I have something to attend to," he said simply. "I'll excuse myself."
He hadn't spent much time around the so-called geniuses from the myriad worlds before.
Now that he had, he found that their minds were no different from ordinary people's—full of vanity and noise. There was nothing truly profound about them. His interest disappeared completely.
Seeing him really get up and leave, everyone stared at one another in surprise.
Wei Jia's expression darkened.
She felt insulted.
Even though she didn't look down on him for being from the Wasteland Realm, and had gone out of her way to speak kindly, he'd simply walked away without even giving her face.
Ma Ruoruo frowned. "Qingzhi, seriously, what kind of people did you bring us to meet?"
Hearing that, Dongfang Sheng and Zeng Niu both frowned.
Even Xu Letian's face sank slightly.
Ma Ruoruo's words clearly insulted not just Yang Cheng—but all of them.
"I'll be leaving too," Lu Lingyi said suddenly.
"What, is that mysterious man of yours looking for you?" Ma Ruoruo teased.
Lu Lingyi nodded lightly. "Mm."
The group escorted Lu Lingyi out of the tavern—an attitude completely different from how they'd casually let Yang Cheng leave earlier.
Outside, they saw a white-robed young man waiting astride a majestic Sishiyang beast.
Lu Lingyi reached out her hand, and the white-robed youth gently pulled her up onto the saddle. In the next moment, the two rode off together and vanished from sight.
"It really is a Sishiyang…" Zeng Niu murmured blankly, still staring after them.
Yan Qingzhi's eyes flickered with jealousy.
Xu Letian wasn't bad-looking, but compared to the man in white, he instantly paled.
Three days passed in a flash.
That day, the Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy was in an uproar.
Today was the day the newly appointed Master Yang would give his first lecture.
Everyone in the academy—teachers, lecturers, and disciples alike—was paying attention.
Of course, most of them weren't here out of respect or curiosity. They wanted to see Yang Cheng make a fool of himself. Many had come hoping to publicly expose his supposed lack of Alchemy skill and watch him embarrass himself off the stage.
Amid the sea of people, two striking figures drew countless astonished glances.
They were two young girls.
The girl on the left wore a tight silver-white martial outfit, her black hair tied high with a dark ribbon. Her slender brows arched slightly, carrying a hint of sharpness and heroic grace—both beautiful and fierce.
She was already stunning by mortal standards, yet the girl beside her was even more breathtaking.
Her skin was fair as snow, delicate and smooth like white jade. Her eyes were clear and bright, shimmering like a spring well under sunlight—full of life and spirit.
As she spoke softly to her companion, her eyes curved into crescents, dimples deepening on her cheeks like drops of honey.
Some scholarly young men nearby froze, utterly entranced. One sighed dreamily, "That must be what it means when the spring breeze falls into the mortal dust—it turns into this lively, ethereal beauty."
That girl was Tang Xingyu.
At thirteen, she had grown even more radiant. No longer a budding beauty—she had already become a true young maiden, charming and refined.
"Xingyu, are we going to the Alchemy Hall or not?" asked the girl beside her.
Her name was Liu Hongfu, Tang Xingyu's closest friend she'd met over the past year at the academy.
"Why go to the Alchemy Hall?" Tang Xingyu asked lazily.
"I thought you were curious about Alchemy," Liu Hongfu teased.
Tang Xingyu shot her a look. "You've dragged me there plenty of times before, and you've never been this eager. Out with it—what are you really up to?"
Liu Hongfu giggled. "Heehee, because there's a new master today."
She lowered her voice, excitement flashing in her eyes. "You've been in seclusion lately, so you might not have heard. They say the new master is incredibly handsome, like someone who walked straight out of a painting!"
"You hopeless romantic," Tang Xingyu said with a mock glare.
Liu Hongfu burst out laughing and reached over to tickle her. Tang Xingyu tried to fight back, the two girls laughing and playfully pushing each other as they walked.
Before long, they found themselves standing outside the Alchemy Hall.
Today, it was more crowded than ever before—people packed shoulder to shoulder, noise spilling like waves.
It was, without a doubt, the most crowded day in the Alchemy Hall's history.
The main lecture hall was already overflowing, every seat taken. Even the corridors were crammed with people trying to peek inside.
But when Tang Xingyu and Liu Hongfu arrived, the crowd immediately made space for them—offering two of the front seats without hesitation.
The Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy was hardly lacking in beautiful girls, but even among them, Tang Xingyu and Liu Hongfu stood out like twin lotuses in full bloom—pure, bright, and unmatched.
Naturally, they received special treatment.
Neither of the girls was shy, and they accepted the seats without hesitation.
Moments later, a commotion stirred outside the hall.
The crowd shifted, parting on both sides to make way.
Everyone fell silent—the Academy's Chief Inspector himself was present, and no one dared to cause trouble in front of him.
Then, a young boy walked calmly through the open path.
He wore a silver-threaded robe adorned with cloud patterns, his black hair flowing like ink. His brows were straight and refined, his eyes bright as stars in a winter night, and his nose perfectly sculpted like carved jade. His whole being exuded a serene, transcendent aura that drew every gaze to him.
A chorus of soft gasps rippled through the hall.
Many of the female students who had come intending to mock him suddenly found themselves speechless.
They had expected an immature boy pretending to be a teacher. Instead, they saw a youth whose presence seemed to belong to another world entirely.
Even if this "teacher" turned out to be useless, they thought, being taught by someone like him wouldn't be so bad.
Liu Hongfu's eyes sparkled like spring peach blossoms. "It wasn't a wasted trip after all. He's even more perfect than I imagined."
Tang Xingyu froze. Her eyes widened slightly, her lips parting as she whispered in disbelief, "Cheng… Cheng?"
She could hardly believe it—the new Alchemy Master everyone had been gossiping about… turned out to be her Cheng Cheng.