Gu Jin didn’t bother to look at him. Instead, she flipped open a book on guide on Lightning Mountain as if he were nothing more than a passing breeze.
"Your sincerity is irrelevant to me," she replied coolly.
"My time is valuable. If you truly admired me, you wouldn’t waste it."
That single sentence cut deeper than any blade.
Laughter erupted in one corner of the classroom.
Some students tried to stifle their amusement, while others openly enjoyed the young man’s humiliation.
His face turned red with anger and shame.
He opened his mouth to argue further, but a single glance from Gu Jin—calm, indifferent, and completely unimpressed—made him swallow his words.
He clenched his fists, muttered something under his breath, and stormed out of the classroom.
Gu Jin paid no mind to the spectacle she had just caused.
She simply continued reading, her mind already moving ahead to her plans.
Then, from the farthest corner of the room, a pair of amused golden eyes watched her.
Little White, perched lazily on the windowsill in its disguised form, smirked at the rejected suitor’s retreating back.
The blue caterpillar, coiled beside it, snickered.
"Another one down," the caterpillar said, rubbing its tiny legs together in glee. "That makes the 50,547th admirer, including the past life. "
Little White chuckled. "Fools, all of them. Do they really think mere words can move Master’s heart?"
"Right? Unless he has a Mystic Seed or a legendary treasure, he should just pack up and leave," the caterpillar agreed.
Little White flicked its tail, watching Gu Jin with a knowing look.
"She only cares about one thing right now—getting stronger. Anyone who stands in her way is irrelevant."
The blue caterpillar hummed in agreement before adding, "But... you know who won’t give up."
Little White’s smirk widened. "Of course. That idiot will keep trying until the heavens collapse."
Just as expected, Long Yifan arrived in class.
The class was Thunder Element’s class, and Long Yifan was the professor.
He walked up to Gu Jin and placed polythene on her bench,
"It is breakfast. You didn’t eat breakfast before leaving. Eat it before it is cold."
Gu Jin rolled her eyes and ignored him.
Long Yifan didn’t get offended, instead, he walked toward the podium and started his lecture.
His deep voice echoed in the lecture hall, making the women attending the lectures feel as if their ears would turn pregnant.
As Long Yifan continued his lecture, several female students couldn’t help but steal glances at him.
Some batted their eyelashes, others giggled behind their hands, and a few bold ones even tried to catch his attention with flirty remarks.
"Professor Long, your voice is so deep. I feel like I’m being struck by lightning every time you speak," one girl said with a playful smile.
Long Yifan didn’t even look at her. Instead, he calmly picked up a chalk and wrote a complex thunder array on the board.
Then, he turned to the girl and said,
"Explain this formation. If you can’t, leave the class."
The girl’s face froze. She hadn’t expected such a cold response.
She stared at the formation, but the symbols might as well have been a foreign language to her.
After a few seconds of silence, Long Yifan raised an eyebrow. "No answer? Then get out."
The girl bit her lip, embarrassed, and quickly gathered her things before leaving the classroom in a hurry.
The other students whispered among themselves. Some of the girls were still eager, though, and another one tried her luck.
"Professor Long, you’re so young and talented. You must have many admirers. What kind of girl do you like?"
Long Yifan finally glanced at her, but his expression was completely indifferent.
"My type is Gu Jin. Now, explain the difference between a Natural Thunder Core and a Condensed Thunder Core."
The girl opened her mouth, but no words came out. She stammered for a bit before lowering her head in defeat.
"If you don’t know the answer, leave. This is a class, not a matchmaking event."
Flushed with shame, she also fled the room. The remaining girls hesitated. One of them gritted her teeth in frustration and stood up, glaring at Long Yifan.
"Professor Long, this isn’t fair! Why do you always chase us out when we flirt with you? However, there is no problem with you flirting with Gu Jin!" she shouted angrily.
The classroom fell silent. Everyone turned to look at Long Yifan, curious about how he would respond.
Long Yifan remained calm, his golden eyes sharp.
"First of all, I am here to teach, not to entertain. If you want to flirt, do it outside my class. Second, I am pursuing my wife. That is my personal matter."
The girl clenched her fists. "Wife?! Gu Jin hasn’t even agreed to be with you! How can you call her that?!"
Long Yifan smirked slightly.
"It’s alright. I will chase her till the point she won’t have any option but to accept me. As for why I can flirt while you can’t? It’s simple. I became a professor in my third year because I am strong enough to be one."
His gaze turned sharp as he added,
"And you? You are not even at Emperor Rank in the Thunder Element. What gives you the right to stand in front of me and demand anything?"
The girl turned pale. She wanted to argue but found herself speechless.
Seeing her hesitation, Long Yifan simply turned back to the board.
"If you are here to learn, sit down. If not, leave. I don’t have time for useless distractions."
The girl’s face turned red with humiliation, but she had no choice but to sit down in silence.
Gu Jin, who had been flipping through her book, barely glanced up. She sighed internally.
’Another noisy day...’
At the end of the lecture, Gu Jin calmly exited the classroom and left the breakfast behind.
She didn’t want to give any hope to Long Yifan.
By the time Gu Jin attended her last lecture, it was already afternoon. Master Qiao found her and explained to her,
"The preliminary round for the National Alchemy Competition will be held in 2 days, it will be held here.
Then, after a week, the first round will be conducted, it will be conducted in Fujio City.
The participants will be given a day off before the 2nd round is conducted. The final round, however, will be held in Beijing."
Gu Jin was confused and asked,
"Why such distance? Why don’t they conduct it in one place?"
Master Qiao stroked his beard and gave Gu Jin a knowing smile.
"The reason is simple," he said.
"Alchemy is not just about talent; it is also about adaptability. Each location has a different environment, different herbs, and different challenges. If an alchemist cannot adjust to new surroundings, then they are not worthy of being called a master."
Gu Jin nodded in understanding.
"I see. They want to test more than just our alchemy skills. It’s about endurance, strategy, and knowledge of different resources," she mused.
Master Qiao’s eyes gleamed with approval.
"Exactly. You are as sharp as always, Gu Jin. The preliminary round here will focus on theoretical knowledge and basic pill refining. But in Fujio City, the real competition begins.
There, you will need to search for your own ingredients and refine a specified pill within a time limit.
The semi-finals will involve higher-level alchemy techniques, while the finals in Beijing will test your mastery of the Dao of Alchemy itself."
Gu Jin absorbed this information and tapped her fingers lightly against the desk.
"Understood. Then I’ll prepare accordingly."
Master Qiao handed her a jade slip.
"This contains a list of possible ingredients and topics that might be covered in the competition.
Study them well. Also, be wary—many powerful sects and noble families will be participating. The competition is not only a battle of alchemy but also of influence."
Gu Jin accepted the jade slip and stored it away.
"I don’t care about influence," she said coldly. "I just want to win."
Master Qiao chuckled. "Then, win you shall."
Two days later, the day of the preliminary round arrived.
The competition hall was packed with students and alchemists from all over the academy.
Some were nervously going through their notes, while others exchanged hushed conversations about potential questions.
Gu Jin stood calmly at her designated seat, completely unbothered by the pressure around her. She could already feel eyes on her—some filled with admiration, others with jealousy.
The examiners soon arrived, and the competition began. Gu Jin picked up her brush and started answering the theoretical questions with ease.
As she wrote, she could hear whispers around her.
"She is the candidate who is said to have reached the Earth Rank. Do you think the rumor is true?"
"Tch! I don’t think so."
Gu Jin ignored them all. She had only one goal—to dominate this competition and claim the rewards that would further her cultivation.
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