Shopping was secondary; the main goal was to understand her new home.
Zhu Yanyi walked slowly. The Sage Academy was vast, seemingly endless. It had its own shops, restaurants, teahouses, and playgrounds. It felt like an independent kingdom. One could live here forever without starving or freezing.
She went to buy seeds but saw a bookstore first.
The Academy had a library, but reading there required payment. Many students preferred bookstores to find specific books.
Zhu Yanyi had many books from the Azure Sovereign Qingdi. Even the simple ones were masterpieces. However, she needed to browse. The alchemy books in her inheritance were simple for her, but difficult for others.
She needed to understand the basic processes of pill refining. She needed the most basic materials. Seeing the bookstore, she went in.
A clerk greeted her with a smile. "Immortal Sister must be new. I haven’t seen you before."
Zhu Yanyi nodded. "I just registered. I have free time today."
The clerk smiled. "Feel free to look. If you like a book, bring it here. We can copy it for one low-grade spirit stone. If you want the original, it costs three high-grade spirit stones. This price applies to all books."
Zhu Yanyi didn’t care about the cost. "Okay. I’ll look. I’ll come to pay when I choose."
"Please, go ahead."
Zhu Yanyi liked the clerk’s attitude. The way she spoke suggested she might not be a cultivator, but an ordinary person. This guess was soon proven right.
A girl entered. Zhu Yanyi sensed no cultivation in her. The girl bought a basic introductory book, a copy, for one low-grade spirit stone.
Seeing this, Zhu Yanyi became curious about the Sage Academy. Perhaps its name had deeper meanings.
There was plenty of time. Since she was here, she would learn everything.
She browsed slowly. The books covered everything, including basic martial arts. She wasn’t interested in those.
She found Basic Points of Alchemy. She picked it up and flipped through it. It explained how pills form, their grades, and refining precautions. It was truly basic, but exactly what she needed.
She took the book to the counter and handed over three high-grade spirit stones. "I’ll take this one. No need to copy."
"Okay." The clerk was happy. Few people bought originals. Copies were a promotion, but selling an original brought good profit.
The clerk packed the book and handed it to her. Zhu Yanyi took it, walked out, and stored it in her Ruyi Space.
She walked forward. A few steps later, someone called her. She knew few people here. To her surprise, she knew the caller. It was Mi Xiao.
"Sister Mi Xiao." Two young men stood with Mi Xiao.
Mi Xiao came over and held Zhu Yanyi’s hand. "Junior Sister Yanyi! You’re really here! Senior Brother Gu Jun said you came, but I didn’t believe it. What’s your ranking?"
"Fifteen." Zhu Yanyi said helplessly.
"Great. I’ll call you Little Fifteen. You call me Ninth Sister. It’s our tradition."
Mi Xiao pointed to the two men. "These are my good friends. This is Eighth Brother Jin Gui. This is Eleventh Brother Shi Chengchen, who arrived a year earlier. Eighth Brother is in the Medicine Preparation Department. Eleventh is in the Medical Department."
Zhu Yanyi greeted them. "Hello, Eighth Brother. Hello, Eleventh Brother."
"Hello, Fifteen." Jin Gui and Shi Chengchen had heard of Zhu Yanyi. Her world had contributed much to the Academy’s development. That’s why they knew her.
"Fifteen, why are you shopping alone?" Mi Xiao asked curiously.
"Can’t I shop alone?" Zhu Yanyi didn’t know this was strange. The jade slip hadn’t mentioned it.
Mi Xiao giggled. "Of course you can. But don’t you know shopping alone is boring? You grew up in the mortal world. Don’t you usually shop with friends?"
"Others don’t know me, but you do. I don’t like shopping." Zhu Yanyi smiled.
Mi Xiao paused. She had forgotten that. "Well, since we met, let’s eat. You fed me for years in the mortal world. Today, I’ll treat you."
"You ate there for years. Are you sure one meal is enough?" Zhu Yanyi blinked.
Mi Xiao coughed. "Fifteen, I’m your senior sister. Respect your elders."
"Hmm. Ninth Sister is really old. Compared to me, you are indeed older." Zhu Yanyi said with an innocent face.
"Hahaha, Little Nine, you finally get it."
Gu Jun and a strange young man walked out. Gu Jun smiled at Zhu Yanyi.
"I thought you’d stay in your dorm to tidy up. Since you’re out, let’s gather. This is Third Senior Brother Ouyang Tianyun. He’s your direct senior in the Alchemy Department."
Zhu Yanyi hadn’t expected to meet so many people on her first day. Some she knew, some she didn’t.
"Hello, Third Senior Brother. Please guide me in the future."