Chapter 851: Unexpected Acquaintance

The tutor opened his mouth, intending to counter, but the words withered on the tip of his tongue.

It seemed Lu Yang’s logic possessed a perverse sort of sense.

“Then how do you explain the Sky-Cleaving Axe? Immortal Ying Tian could not possibly have chopped a path through the heavens with an axe, bellowed ‘This sky was cleared by me,’ demanded a toll, and thus christened the weapon the Sky-Cleaving Axe!”

The tutor recalled the origins of the Sky-Cleaving Axe; not a single ancient chronicle recorded why Immortal Ying Tian had bestowed such a title upon his immortal weapon. It remained an enigma that vexed scholars of antiquity, prompting a chaotic swarm of theories.

Some asserted that Immortal Ying Tian had used the divine weapon to hack the heavens asunder, separating chaos and dividing yin from yang. Others claimed that upon the axe’s completion, an omen of heavenly genesis manifested, drawing the worship of all living spirits. Still others argued that with this axe in hand, Immortal Ying Tian could reforge the universe, commanding earth, fire, wind, and lightning… Historians of antiquity had wrangled over this indefinitely, never reaching a consensus. Every claim was mere conjecture, starved of evidence.

“Because Immortal Ying Tian thought the name sounded magnificent. Does one truly require any other reason?” The Immortal Fairy gazed at the tutor, her expression laced with bewilderment.

Though she had always believed that techniques and magical treasures required no flamboyant titles—preferring the elegant simplicity of things like the Death-Feigning Art or the Fairy’s Fist Technique—Immortal Ying Tian had remained fiercely adamant that the names of his arts and treasures must possess a grand, sweeping majesty. Hence, names like the Sky-Cleaving Axe, the Chaos Cauldron, and the Universal Bell.

“Absurd! What manner of supreme figure was Immortal Ying Tian? His nomenclature must surely harbor profound intent!” The tutor clearly refused to credit the Immortal Fairy’s rhetoric, deeming it utterly preposterous.

“Take the legendary Chaos Cauldron, for instance. It is written with absolute clarity in the ancient texts: Immortal Ying Tian once used this very vessel to refine the primal chaos, and thus it was named the Chaos Cauldron!”

“Oh, you mean the Chaos Cauldron? That was because this Immortal…” The Immortal Fairy nearly exposed her identity out of sheer reflex. Catching herself halfway, she sensed the impropriety and swiftly amended her words, “That was because Immortal Ying Tian once used that cauldron to stew a chaos beast, so he simply named it the Chaos Cauldron.”

Chaos—one of the four great perils of antiquity, sharing equal renown with the Qiongqi.

The Immortal Fairy actually found herself rather missing the Chaos Cauldron; whenever she cooked without it, she always felt the flavor lacked a certain depth.

The tutor hesitated, failing to offer a rebuttal. He suddenly recollected that Immortal Ying Tian seemed to have penned a tome titled *The Encyclopedia of Culinary Arts*, within which the method for preparing chaos beast was indeed detailed. It appeared, remarkably, to align with her words.

Could it be that Immortal Ying Tian’s aptitude for naming was truly so wretched?

“Lu Yang, since you pride yourself on possessing some measure of insight into ancient history, do you dare accompany me to the Imperial Academy for an academic discourse?”

The tutor was named Ye Gu. He was no scion of the Meng clan, but rather a historical scholar of the Imperial Academy; his presence as a private tutor for the Meng family was born purely from the fact that they paid handsomely.

“Right now?”

“Right now!” Battered continuously by the Immortal Fairy’s revelations, Ye Gu sought to retreat to the Imperial Academy to enlist reinforcement.

The moment those words were uttered, a wave of jubilation swept through the Meng clan disciples seated below.

The tutor’s return to the Imperial Academy meant that today’s lessons were effectively canceled.

Ye Gu glared fiercely at the young whelps and commanded that the printed examination papers be distributed, instantly plunging the room back into a chorus of mournful groans.

The Emperor of Xia had not entered the private schoolhouse; he had been waiting outside, and now he watched as Lu Yang emerged.

“Where are we bound?”

“To the Imperial Academy. This gentleman believes my grasp of ancient history is quite formidable and wishes for me to deliver a lecture there,” the Immortal Fairy declared, practically beaming with delight.

The Emperor of Xia cast a bizarre look at her. The Imperial Academy was populated by a pack of stubborn, foul-tempered old pedants; would they truly invite Lu Yang to give a lecture?

“I invited you to my Imperial Academy for an academic discussion!” Ye Gu corrected sharply.

“A reverse-psychology provocation. I understand perfectly,” the Immortal Fairy said, instantly seeing through the nonexistent scheme Ye Gu had conjured.

As Lu Yang’s companion, the Emperor of Xia naturally followed along to the Imperial Academy.

The Imperial Academy was an institution of towering renown within the Great Xia Empire, though its pursuits lay not in cultivation, but in history. The vast majority of historical data regarding the Great Qian and Great Yu dynasties was the fruit of the Imperial Academy’s labor.

Furthermore, the most inscrutable and legend-shrouded era of all—ancient history—also fell within the domain of the academy’s research.

Along the way, the Immortal Fairy observed numerous disheveled scholars locked in furious dispute, each clinging tenaciously to their own views, refusing to yield an inch.

“It is recorded with absolute clarity in *The Encyclopedia of Culinary Arts* that cooking requires time measured precisely in seconds. How could this possibly be an error!”

“A phonetic loan character! It must certainly be a loan character!”

“What loan character? It is entirely because Immortal Ying Tian harbored a passion for salt! Have you not read that after vanquishing a formidable foe, he would invariably look down from on high and proclaim, ‘This sovereign has consumed more salt than the roads you have trodden’? This is ironclad proof!”

The three scholars bickered with such intensity that they looked poised to trade blows at the slightest provocation.

Within the mental space, Lu Yang watched this spectacle in silence, privately concluding that Immortal Ying Tian’s historical reputation was likely beyond salvation.

Lu Yang then noticed another group of scholars engaged in debate.

“According to my analysis, Immortal Ying Tian’s Dao Fruit is highly likely to bear a close relation to the Heavenly Tribulation.”

“Indeed, it is quite possible… What did you just say a moment ago?”

“I was saying Immortal Ying Tian… Wait, what *did* I just say?”

The two scholars stared at one another in blank confusion, neither able to recall the words that had just left their lips.

Ye Gu escorted Lu Yang and the Emperor of Xia into the deepest recesses of the Imperial Academy, arriving before a spartan thatched cottage.

Inside the cottage, an elder with a face withered by time was locked in a spirited discussion with someone, his features alive with animation as his excitement mounted.

This white-haired elder was none other than Qi Xiuyi, the Dean of the Imperial Academy. A man of towering reputation, he possessed an unparalleled mastery over history both ancient and modern, his scholarly attainments rendering him second to none. The outside world reverently addressed him as “Dean Qi” or “Elder Qi.” He rarely showed his face in public, living a life of profound seclusion; even Lu Yang, whose fame currently soared, had never heard of him.

It could even be said that he harbored no grievances whatsoever with Daoist Buyu, which served as a testament to the sheer depth of his isolation from the world.

The individual seated opposite him had their back to the door, obscuring their appearance.

Seeing Ye Gu enter, Qi Xiuyi expressed a touch of surprise and asked with a genial smile:

“Little Gu, at this hour you ought to be instructing the Meng family. What brings you here?”

“Teacher, while delivering my lecture at the Meng household, we chanced upon the origins of the Mountain-Cleaving Axe. This fellow Daoist named Lu Yang offered an alternative possibility regarding its genesis.”

Ye Gu recounted the Immortal Fairy’s words in full. Qi Xiuyi stroked his long white beard, sinking into a contemplative silence.

“That is indeed an intriguing perspective, though it lacks corroborating evidence.”

Unable to discern whether the Immortal Fairy’s words held truth, Qi Xiuyi turned to the figure seated across from him for counsel.

“Daoist Jin, what is your estimation?”

Qi Xiuyi solemnly introduced the person opposite him: “Allow me to introduce you. This is a fellow Daoist I have recently befriended. Though young in appearance, her insights into ancient history are uniquely profound. A mere half-day of conversation with her has broadened my horizons considerably.”

The individual addressed as Daoist Jin lowered her head in thought: “I have indeed heard tales from the early years, before Immortal Ying Tian had risen to prominence. Suffering from a dearth of cultivation resources, he resorted to extracting tolls. At that time, he did indeed wield a Mountain-Cleaving Axe, and would mutter phrases like ‘This mountain was cleared by me…’ or some such.”

“Strange. People of the current era should possess no knowledge of such matters.”

Daoist Jin rose and turned to face Lu Yang, her gaze tinged with a faint note of astonishment.

Only then did Lu Yang discern Daoist Jin’s appearance—she was a petite girl of exceedingly lovely countenance, her small face set in a frigid, unsmiling expression.

Lu Yang did not recognize this Daoist Jin, but the Immortal Fairy knew her instantly.

The young ancestor of the Qiongqi clan, Jin Caiwei.