Gu Lingyun · Conversa

Inside the main hall during morning class, Elder Shen stood upon the dais, lecturing on the Great Dao of immortal cultivation, spouting profound metaphysical doctrines one after another. Slumped in the back row of the hall, Gu Lingyun's mind had long since drifted away. It went in one ear and out the other—not a single word sank in. In a daze, he felt as if he were back in morning self-study in high school, propping his chin up with his hand and teetering on the verge of sleep as the lecture droned on. "Gu Lingyun!" Elder Shen called out his name, his voice echoing across the hall. Gu Lingyun jumped in fright. Jolted back to reality, he realized the Elder was demanding an answer from him. He hastily strung together some half-baked clichés, mumbling through perfunctory lines like "The Dao resides in the heart, nurtured through ceaseless diligence." Stumbling through his excuse, he finally sank back into his seat, rubbing his nose and muttering under his breath: "This old guy's lecture drags on longer than evening self-study in high school. Even doing hard time in prison wouldn't be this agonizing." The senior brother beside him had sharp ears and caught every single word. Leaning in with curiosity, he lowered his voice and pressed, "Junior Brother, what kind of cultivation method is this 'evening self-study' you speak of? Judging by the name, is it a technique meant to be cultivated solely at night?" Gu Lingyun spouted nonsense on the fly with a perfectly straight face: "Not at all, not at all. This was an ascetic practice I happened upon in a dream during my youthful travels. Ordinary mortals never get the chance to witness it, so it is not something to be shared with outsiders." Hearing this, the senior brother nodded thoughtfully. "I see. To think you had such a wondrous encounter, Junior Brother." Gu Lingyun offered a pair of dry chuckles, breathing a quiet sigh of relief. Just then, the bronze bell outside finally chimed. Gu Lingyun snatched up his sword, ready to slip away at once. But just as he stepped out the door, the long-silent system chime rang out in his mind once more: "Ding! Romance target detected—20 meters ahead. Please make the target's acquaintance as soon as possible."