LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 36: Registration
Standing outside the alchemy room, Zhen Yuan frowned.
It was registration day but Shen Xu was still in retreat.
'What to do?' Zhen Yuan wondered, barely suppressing the urge to pace outside the door.
He and Shen Xu were sixteen and fifteen.
If they didn't register this time, they could still register the following year.
However, that would disrupt a lot of their plans.
Just when Zhen Yuan was at a loss, the door suddenly opened and a beautiful double walked out of the alchemy room.
"XiaoXu." Zhen Yuan happily called.
At the same time, he took a few steps and pulled the person into his arms.
In real-time, it was half a month since they saw each other.
However, in space-time, they hadn't seen each other for five months.
Thinking about it, since their marriage, they had spent more time apart than together.
"Did you miss me?" Shen Xu asked with a teasing smile on his lips.
"Mmmm." Zhen Yuan didn't deny it.
"I missed you too." The double said, tightening his arms around his husband's waist.
After his mother died in his previous life, Shen Xu lived alone.
After years of being alone, he forgot the feeling of missing someone and the comfort of having someone to come home to.
However, when he saw Zhen Yuan after several months of separation. Shen Xu was happy.
His heart suddenly felt at ease and his smile came easier.
'I really missed you.' He thought and closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling of reunion.
Twenty breaths later, Shen Xu suddenly pinched Zhen Yuan.
"Are you hungry?" Zhen Yuan asked.
"How did you know?"
Hearing the question, Zhen Yuan smiled, pulled away from the hug, held the double's hand, and led him to the sitting room.
"I prepared a lot of food." He said, removing more than twenty plates from his storage bag.
Looking at the food on the table, Shen Xu smiled.
"Ayuan, thank you." He said.
"Sit down and eat."
After that, the two sat next to each other and began to eat.
Because Shen Xu hadn't eaten for several months, he was famished and didn't talk until he was half full.
"What are these dumplings? They are so tasty." He asked, pointing to a plate.
"Five-flavour dumplings. I bought them at Dayan restaurant." Zhen Yuan said and quickly continued.
"Don't worry, I bought a lot. There is enough for several days."
Hearing this, Shen Xu was ecstatic.
With renewed enthusiasm, he continued eating while Zhen Yuan filled him in on everything that happened when he was in retreat.
"Are you saying the Shi family is looking for me?" Shen Xu asked with an indifferent expression.
"I suspect Xiao Weimin has something to do with the matter. Anyway, there is a one million spirit stones reward."
"Just one million, where is their sincerity?" Shen Xu snorted and continued to eat.
"We won't be able to avoid them when we enter the academy."
"I know." Shen Xu said and a trace of displeasure flashed in his eyes.
"Ayuan, other than the body, I have inherited the original owner's grudges and gratitudes. When I came through, several people were beating me and wanted to kill the original owner. I will have to avenge this matter."
"I will help." Zhen Yuan said without hesitation.
"Okay." Shen Xu didn't refuse.
After all, they were a Taoist couple.
In the future, they would share weal and woe.
Considering that, there was no need to keep scores or draw lines between them.
A quarter of an hour later, Shen Xu stopped eating and Zhen Yuan finished his retelling.
After putting the plates away, the two left the space and appeared in their inn room.
Looking around, the room was as they had left it and Shen Xu nodded in satisfaction.
"This inn is more secure than I expected." He said.
"I was also surprised."
Originally, they wanted to live in a better inn but failed to find one.
In the end, they settled for the medium-sized inn located on the outskirts of the city.
However, the outskirts were less safe than the inner parts of Dragon City.
Because of this, the two expected to encounter robbery and disturbances.
Fortunately, the reality was far better.
"We can stay here again whenever we visit Dragon City."
"Mmmm." Zhen Yuan agreed.
After dismantling the formation disks Zhen Yuan had previously arranged, the two left the inn and soon arrived outside the City.
"We should have prepared a map." Shen Xu suddenly said with an annoyed expression.
Geographically, the Divine Rainbow Academy was located in Dragon City.
However, it wasn't within but several kilometres away from the city centre.
Recalling this, Shen Xu was annoyed that they forgot to prepare a map.
"We have a map." Zhen Yuan said and took out a monster skin from his storage bag.
Seeing the skin, Shen Xu smiled and leaned over to study the map with Zhen Yuan.
After mapping the best route to the Divine Rainbow Academy, the two got on their demon horses and galloped away from Dragon City.
"Xiaoxu, how was your retreat?" Zhen Yuan asked.
"Well…" Shen Xu chuckled with a happy smile in his eyes.
"You will know later." He said.
Hearing this, Zhen Yuan glanced at the double with a helpless look but didn't insist on getting to the bottom of the matter.
Since Shen Xu wanted to surprise him, Zhen Yuan was willing to play along.
One hour later, the two arrived at the gate of the Divine Rainbow Academy.
"What a tall gate." Shen Xu exclaimed as soon as he saw the ten-metre-tall gate.
The Divine Rainbow Academy was built at the foot of a mountain range.
In the rear, this mountain range was a natural barrier that deterred intruders and monsters.
On the remaining three sides of the Academy, a ten-metre tall wall was built and the main gate was the only way in or out of the Academy.
"There are so many people." Shen Xu continued while looking around.
At a glance, there were more than one thousand people outside the Academy gate.
Like Zhen Yuan and Shen Xu, most were young and looked particularly excited.
However, the excitement was mixed with nervousness.
After all, the Divine Rainbow Academy was the best school in the Divine Rainbow Empire.
If one didn't get into the Academy, they would have to settle for second or third-rank academies.
"Let's line up." Zhen Yuan said and jumped down from his demon horse.
Similarly, Shen Xu jumped down and both put away their demon horses.
After that, they stood at the end of the queue and waited for their turn to register.
Fortunately, although there was only one queue, there were six registration tables.
From where they stood, Shen Xu could see the front and eagerly nudged his husband.
"The registration tables correspond to the different schools. I will register at the fourth table and you will be at the second." He said.
"I…" Zhen Yuan started but a voice interrupted his words.
"I am also registering for the school of weapon refining. My name is Song Wancheng. What's your name?" The voice asked.
Hearing this, Shen Xu and Zhen Yuan turned around.
Without their notice, several people had lined up behind them.
Among the few was the male cultivator named Song Wancheng.
'Song Wancheng...' Zhen Yuan thought and a hint of recognition flashed in his eyes.
From gossip, Song Wancheng was the young master of the Myriad Treasures Pavillion.
This year, the person was seventeen and his cultivation was at the peak of the twelfth level of the qi refining realm.
"My name is Shen Xu and this is my Taoist partner, his name is Zhen Yuan." Shen Xu introduced himself.
"Fellow Daoist Shen..." Song Wancheng started but his eyes widened before he could finish.
"Are you the fourth young master of the Shi family?" He urgently asked.
Hearing this, Shen Xu almost rolled his eyes.
However, he forcibly suppressed his annoyance and smiled at Song Wancheng before he spoke.
"I am the fourth young master." He acknowledged.
"If you are the fourth young master, then he is…the wild man?" Song Wancheng blurted out.
At the same time, he stared at Zhen Yuan and couldn't help but be surprised.
When he first saw the two, he subconsciously ignored Zhen Yuan.
However, now that he carefully looked at the person, Song Wancheng was confused and surprised.
On one hand, he couldn't understand why he ignored such a person.
After all, Zhen Yuan was tall, handsome, and had an unfathomable aura that set him apart from everyone else.
On the other, Song Wancheng vaguely understood his involuntary oversight.
In his heart, he suddenly felt that Zhen Yuan did not belong in the world and his existence was like the Tao; omnipresent but beyond reach.
'What a strange feeling.' He thought.
Unfortunately, before he could dwell on it, a voice broke the silence.
"Wild man?" Shen Xu looked at Zhen Yuan and then burst into laughter.
Listening to his wife's laughter, Zhen Yuan couldn't say anything.
"Do you also have a day when someone describes you as a wild man?" Shen Xu asked amidst chuckles.
"I am only willing to be your wild man." Zhen Yuan whispered into the double's ear.
When he heard this, Shen Xu trembled.
For some reason, his ear felt itchy and a hot flush crept over his face.
At the same time, his heart skipped a beat and he subconsciously lowered his head to hide his embarrassment.
"Did you really elope?" Song Wancheng asked with an incredulous look.
"Is there anything wrong with eloping?" Shen Xu rolled his eyes and pulled Zhen Yuan forward.
'Interesting.' Song Wancheng thought as he looked at the two.
Originally, he just wanted to make superficial small talk.
After all, he and Shen Xu were registering for the same school and would likely be classmates.
However, after the small talk, Song Wancheng couldn't help but be interested in the two, especially the unfathomable Zhen Yuan.
"It's said fellow Daoist Shen is an alchemist. Why do you want to enter the school of weapon refining?" Song Wancheng asked with a curious expression.
"I prefer weapon refining." Shen Xu carelessly shrugged.
"Did you learn weapon refining since your disappearance three months ago?"
"I don't have a weapon refining inheritance so I only know the basics."
"I have inquired and the allocation test isn't difficult. The basics are enough to pass the test." Song Wancheng encouraged.
"I hope so." Shen Xu said but his brows creased in a frown.
Although he had worked hard over the past few months, his lack of inheritance was a fatal flaw.
If the allocation test covered beyond the basics, Shen Xu didn't know if he could pass it. Even if he did, his score may not be enough to attract a master.
"Don't fret, just do your best." Zhen Yuan whispered and Shen Xu nodded.
When it came down to it, there was nothing he could do but try his best.
As the three talked, the queue shortened and they soon reached the front.
When it was his turn, Shen Xu walked to the weapon refining table, paid two thousand spirit stones, registered his name, and received a wooden token with the 'qi' character on its front side.
After that, he walked behind the table and soon reunited with Zhen Yuan and Song Wancheng.
"The next stage is the age test followed by the cultivation level test." Zhen Yuan said.
Fortunately, the three were less than twenty and their cultivation was above the seventh level of the qi refining realm.
Without much delay, they passed these tests and walked towards the next testing area.
After the cultivation level test was the spiritual root test.
Looking at the crystal ball on the table, Shen Xu was not calm.
Although he and Zhen Yuan had special cultivation techniques that could disguise their spiritual roots, Shen Xu couldn't help but worry.
After all, he had yet to cultivate the god-level chaos flame technique hence his spiritual root was undisguised.
Most importantly, Zhen Yuan did not have a spiritual root.
If someone discovered this, he and Zhen Yuan would end up in a lot of trouble.