When the woman in white arrived at Cold Mountain Academy, Headmaster Cun Caiguang swept his wide sleeve and immediately activated the mountain-protecting formation, completely concealing the academy’s heavenly secrets from top to bottom.

With that, even an Ascension Realm cultivator would have no way of knowing exactly what was happening inside Cold Mountain Academy.

Then Cun Caiguang brought Chaoxi and Xian Xichun with him to welcome this Lord of the Four Seas.

“Cold Mountain Academy respectfully welcomes Your Majesty.”

Cun Caiguang led the others before the woman in white. Together, they bowed with deep respect.

The woman in white slowly looked over Cun Caiguang and the two teachers behind him with her peach-blossom eyes.

After a moment, she spoke in a calm voice. “Please rise, everyone. There is no need for such ceremony.”

“Yes.”

Only then did Cun Caiguang and the others straighten.

And when Chaoxi and Xian Xichun truly saw the Lord of the Four Seas clearly, both of them froze where they stood.

They had never seen such a beautiful woman.

The Lord of the Four Seas wore only a plain white dress, yet that simple gown set off her figure perfectly. One fraction more would have been excessive; one fraction less would have been lacking.

Her pure, elegant bearing was like a snow lotus blooming in the heavenly court, flawless and immaculate, without the slightest blemish to be found.

Especially those peach-blossom eyes of hers. They were born with a natural allure, the corners slightly upturned like the tip of a cat’s tail. Even an unintentional glance from her seemed to brush lightly across one’s heart, leaving behind an indescribable lingering trace.

In figure and appearance, they felt that perhaps only Tushan Jingci of the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox clan could be compared with this Lord of the Four Seas.

The problem was that Tushan Jingci was only a young woman who had just come of age.

But the aura radiating from this Lord of the Four Seas—the depth and charm that could only settle after thousands of years of worldly vicissitudes—how could that be something a twenty-year-old girl could compare with?

Yet the pressure radiating from her body also gave both Xian Xichun and Chaoxi an indescribable fear.

It was the innate suppression that true dragon bloodline exerted over ordinary living beings.

Especially when they remembered the many things this Lord of the Four Seas had once experienced, their hearts filled with complicated emotion.

It could be said that her name was known to all between the demon-race world and the Ten Thousand Arts world.

“This is not a convenient place to speak. Your Majesty, please come with us,” Cun Caiguang said respectfully to Bai Ruxue, turning slightly aside.

“Very well.” Bai Ruxue gave a light nod, her expression indifferent.

Half an incense stick later, the group arrived in Cun Caiguang’s courtyard.

Bai Ruxue sat gracefully on a stone stool. Xiaoqing stood beside her sister and spoke first. “Headmaster Cun, hurry up and get to the point. Since you want my sister’s help, don’t dawdle.”

“Xiaoqing, do not be rude,” Bai Ruxue said softly, turning her head to chide her younger sister.

Xiaoqing opened her mouth as if she still wanted to say something, but in the end she closed it again and did not speak.

“No matter, no matter.” Cun Caiguang smiled and waved a hand, not minding at all.

He took a jade pendant from his sleeve and presented it with both hands. “This is the roster of Cold Mountain Academy’s disciples, one thousand three hundred twenty-five people in total. Please look it over.”

Bai Ruxue accepted the jade pendant and infused it with a wisp of spiritual power.

In an instant, the names and faces of more than a thousand Cold Mountain Academy disciples appeared swiftly before her eyes, passing one by one.

“I have remembered them.”

With a light flick of her fingertip, Bai Ruxue sent the jade pendant back through the air. “Three days from now, they will leave with me.”

“This...”

A trace of difficulty appeared in Cun Caiguang’s voice.

“Your Majesty, there are still quite a number of children from distinguished clans studying at Cold Mountain Academy. They have not yet returned to their own clan lands. I was thinking, could Your Majesty perhaps wait until the children of those great families have all left safely before taking these thousand-plus students away?”

“Moreover, I have not informed everyone of this matter yet. The students on the roster currently know nothing about it, and they will need some time to prepare.”

“So... could Your Majesty grant us a little more time?”

“You Cold Mountain Academy people are truly...” A hint of anger appeared on Xiaoqing’s face, and obvious impatience entered her tone. “My sister has already agreed to shelter Cold Mountain Academy, and yet you have not even prepared on your side?”

“It is fine.” Bai Ruxue softly interrupted her sister, her expression calm as she turned to Cun Caiguang. “How many days does Headmaster need?”

“Perhaps... thirty days...” Cun Caiguang said after weighing his words, his tone carrying some apology. “That truly is the fastest we can manage.”

“Then I will give Headmaster forty days.” Bai Ruxue nodded, her tone unhurried. “I will stay here for a little over a month. Headmaster may prepare at ease.”

“Many thanks, Your Majesty. This courtyard is located on Crescent Moon Peak, a quiet place. I fear it will inconvenience Your Majesty.” Cun Caiguang let out a breath of relief and quickly took out a key to a separate courtyard from his sleeve, offering it to Bai Ruxue with both hands.

“Headmaster is too courteous.”

Bai Ruxue accepted the key, gave a nod in return, and then left the courtyard with Xiaoqing.

...

“Sister... I really think you should not have agreed to Cun Caiguang in the first place.”

As they walked through the forest, Xiaoqing’s voice held a trace of grievance. Clearly, she had been holding this resentment in all along.

When Cun Caiguang had previously gone to the Four Seas to ask Bai Ruxue for shelter, Xiaoqing had opposed it from the start.

There were simply too many tangled matters involved with Cold Mountain Academy. If her sister intervened to help, she would inevitably offend many forces in the demon-race world.

But in the end, her sister had still agreed.

She had been unable to persuade her and could only let it go.

Yet now, her sister was actually going to stay here for a full forty days.

And as far as Xiaoqing knew, quite a few forces were already sharpening their blades in the dark, preparing to make a move against Cold Mountain Academy.

What if those forces attacked early within these forty days?

Would her sister not be dragged down in the demon-race world and unable to extricate herself?

“Since I have already promised someone, how could I take it back?” Bai Ruxue smiled gently and said in a warm voice, “Do not worry. Nothing will happen. Your sister will handle it.”

“Sigh...” Xiaoqing sighed softly, her tone carrying a trace of incomprehension. “Sister, I truly cannot understand it. You have always hated Confucianism. What do these demon scholars of the demon-race world have to do with you?”

“Not much,” Bai Ruxue said evenly. “It is only that every scholar in Cold Mountain Academy must read one book...”

She extended a slender finger and pointed lightly ahead.

Not far away, quite a few scholars were walking with books in hand, reading even as they moved.

And written on the covers of those books were four words:

A Unified Exegesis of Knowledge and Action.

Bai Ruxue withdrew her finger and smiled faintly.

“This is my reason.”