The hall was filled with silence as soon as the question was posed. Many people—who had never realized this problem because their attention had been on the supreme Yuan instrument—were suddenly aware of it.

That’s right! That’s a very important question! The barrier has always been heavily guarded, and it’s all the more so today. After we realized that the Golden Wings Sect’s people had chased us all the way to Fangzhou, we sent several elders out to provide assistance and guard the barrier. Nobody can easily get past the barrier, but Chu Yue… somehow did it! Everyone’s eyes turned to Chu Liuyue, their gaze filled with suspicion and scrutiny.

The atmosphere was tense as if the air around them was frozen.

“According to the elders guarding the barrier, they didn’t feel any unusual activity at the time.” Elder Hua Feng stared closely at her. “Only the Xuan Master elders responsible for guarding the barrier can open the barrier without raising any commotion, so how did you manage to do that?”

It should be known that all students of the academy had to report to the elders when entering and exiting the barrier. If not, their black jade plaque would emit a warning sound and leave behind evidence when they attempted to cross the barrier. However, that didn’t happen to Chu Yue. It was like he suddenly appeared outside the barrier, and he even managed to get past all the obstacles and arrived next to Rong Xiu in a flash.

All of this would be explainable if she were a true god, but she was only an intermediate stage-seven warrior. The fact that a freshman—who had only entered the academy less than a month ago—was able to do this was suspicious.

Chu Liuyue’s body was tense as she looked down at the ground in front of her, trying to quickly come up with a reasonable explanation. She didn’t think so much when she was exiting the school premises, for she had been so worried about Rong Xiu at the time. But from the time she had regained her consciousness, she knew that the elders would surely question her about this. Part of her worries stemmed from this.

How should I explain this matter? Do I have to say that I learned it from a fragmented memory of mine? That’s just making things worse! I obviously used to be a student here, or I wouldn’t have had those memories. But how am I going to explain things clearly to them when I can’t remember anything from that time? Besides, not many students would know how to open the barrier, and that would make my identity even more suspicious.

It was so quiet in the hall that one could’ve heard a pin drop, and everyone’s breath was held. Even Elder Wan Zheng’s eyebrows were tightly knitted together. “Chu Yue, you… What exactly happened? Just tell us what you know.”

Chu Yue was his student after all. It’d be a lie to say that he didn’t feel bad for him and that he wasn’t biased toward him. Even now, he still wanted to believe in his student, even though the latter seemed really suspicious. “I’ll believe you no matter what.”

Chu Liuyue looked up in surprise and saw Elder Wan Zheng sitting in the chair with one hand on the armrest and the other hand tightly clenched in front of him. She could see the nervousness and worry in him. Despite the hints of resignation in his eyes, there was even more gentleness and leniency in the way he looked at her, and it warmed her heart.

“Wan Zheng, it doesn’t matter if you believe him or not,” said Elder Guan He after keeping quiet for a while. “I told you that this kid has a problem. Why don’t you believe me? There’s no way he’d do all those things if he’s really an ordinary student as well as an ordinary intermediate stage-seven warrior! Even if he’s your disciple, you have to open your eyes wide, Wan Zheng!”

Elder Wan Zheng clenched his fists even tighter, but his gaze remained on Chu Liuyue.

Understanding that everyone was waiting for her explanation, she took a deep breath and opened her mouth…

“I taught her that,” said Rong Xiu before she had the chance to say anything.

Chu Liuyue looked at him in shock, only to see him standing calmly with his hands behind his back and with a faint smile on his face.

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His words, however, caused a commotion in the quiet hall. The elders looked at each other in what seemed to be surprise.

Even Elder Bo Yan—who had remained calm so far—showed a hint of shock and disbelief. “What did you say, Rong Xiu?! Did you just say… you taught him that?!”

Rong Xiu frankly nodded his head as he met the elders’ skeptical gazes. “That’s right.”

Like a bowl of cold water poured into a pan filled with hot oil, his answer sparked a huge commotion.

“What do you mean by that, Rong Xiu?!” Elder Guan He couldn’t help but jump to his feet and stare closely at Rong Xiu and Chu Liuyue.

Rong Xiu, however, didn’t seem to realize how big of a shock his words were to the people present. He said with a smile, “I’m sure everyone here should know that I’m able to open the barrier, right? I taught that to Chu Yue, and that’s how she was able to open it. What’s so strange about that?”

What is so strange about that? Everything, of course! Rong Xiu was the best student in the academy, and it’s true that he was able to open the barrier starting a few years back. However, that isn’t where the problem is!

“Take a seat, Guan He. Don’t get so agitated.” Elder Bo Yan raised his hand and motioned him to sit down.

Elder Guan He angrily sat back in his seat and gave the two a deep look. Let’s see what they have to say!

“Rong Xiu.” Elder Bo Yan, being the person with the highest status here, was naturally the most suitable person to question him about this matter. “That’s your business if you can open the barrier, but why did you teach it to Chu Yue? What’s your relationship with him, and when did you teach him that?”

He paused before continuing, “It’s only been about a month since you came back, but you left with Elder Shu Feng and the others not long after that. By right, there’s no chance for the two of you to cross paths with each other.” Other than the monthly assessment day where they sort of met each other, I don’t think there was any chance for them to meet. Unless these two have known each other from way back!

“Chu Yue… and I do know each other.” Rong Xiu didn’t deny it, but he gave an ambiguous answer.

The elders fell silent for a moment.

Elder Bo Yan frowned. “Why didn’t you mentio—”

His words suddenly cut off though. Oh right, Rong Xiu did take a few looks at Chu Yue when we were at Dong Huang Clock Tower that day. I didn’t pay attention to it back then because Chu Yue, having become Wan Zheng’s disciple, was the focus of attention at the time. Nothing seemed unusual about Rong Xiu taking a few more looks at him, but now that I think about it, it turns out that they knew each other even then!

“I taught it to her before she came to the academy, thinking that she would take a while before she could master it. I didn’t expect her to comprehend it so quickly.” As Rong Xiu said that, he turned his head and flashed Chu Liuyue an appreciative smile. “Not bad.”

As expected of the woman I love.