The moment Lou Mu Yan stepped into the Empire Academy's gates, she received numerous types of gazes; of disdain, loathing, jealousy, ridicule, dislike, and of interest, that of which appeared like they were watching a play…
She sighed inwardly. What sort of failure was the original owner of this body that she looked like a pest in everyone's eyes! So many gazes and yet not one of them were looks of friendliness—she was really speechless.
Calmly ignoring all the unfriendly gazes, Lou Mu Yan continued towards the direction of the library.
According to the memories of the original owner, the library of the Empire Academy collected the most comprehensive list of books in the entire Empire, including books that recorded various medicinal herbs and Spiritual Herbs on this Continent. She now wanted to find out if this Continent had the Spiritual Herbs to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill.
She, Lou Mu Yan, a Cultivator with the Heavenly Spiritual Root at the Body Fusion Stage of the Immortal Cultivation World, encountered the battle between two True Spirit cultivators when she was breaking through to the Great Ascension Stage and, unluckily enough, was dragged into the spatial storm caused by their battle. Her physical body was destroyed, while her Soul transmigrated into the body of a natural-born trash with the Terminal Meridians constitution on Tian'ling Continent.
Whether in her former life's Immortal Cultivation World or the current world, both followed the law of survival of the strongest. Lou Mu Yan was currently far too weak—any random cultivator could easily squish her beneath their foot.
She desperately desired to increase her power, but if she wanted to re-cultivate, she was required to unblock all of the meridians in this body, otherwise she couldn't even feel the Spiritual Force of Heaven and Earth in this world, not to mention absorb it to cultivate. And the only way to solve this problem was to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill and improve and eliminate this trash body.
People with Terminal Meridians simply meant that their entire body's meridians were blocked, unable to unclog, and no matter how hard they tried, they wouldn't be able to absorb the Spiritual Force in the atmosphere. At most, they could only cultivate until Advanced-Phase Sword Apprentice in this world.
On the way to the library, Lou Mu Yan could hear people judging.
When one young girl saw Lou Mu Yan had passed by, she immediately went to her friend beside her, whispering, "Isn't that Lou Mu Yan? Why'd she return to the Academy?"
"Other than to chase after Chi Yi Xian, why else would she return to the Empire Academy?" Another person replied in disdain.
"She still has the face to return, how shameless." There was derision in this girl's voice.
"That's right, Chi Yi Xuan never gave her any good looks." Mentioning the name 'Chi Yi Xuan', there existed a sliver of yearning in her voice.
Another person continued: "She shamelessly chases after Chi Yi Xuan every day, the Lou Clan lost all their face because of her."
"Exactly, why couldn't she have just been beaten into a handicap by Gu Yan Ran last time." Then she added: "Pfft. I almost forgot she was already trash."
"Shh, lower your voice, if she heard you, she'd bring her guards to bash people again. Whatever you say, she still has her superior status protecting her, so what if she's trash? Not like we can afford to offend her." There was a hint of bitterness in her voice.
Lou Mu Yan rolled her eyes but didn't bother debating with them. Her most important thing right now was to improve her constitution.
Without power as the premise, her days were truly miserable. Using the barbaric ways of the original owner of this body, as if she had a brain spasm1, to bully others was something she really couldn't do.
But in reality, the original owner of this body wasn't really that unbearable. Since she inherited all the memories and emotions of the original owner, in Lou Mu Yan's eyes, the original owner simply loved a person she shouldn't have and used simplistic and idiotic ways to deal with interpersonal relationships. Her reputation was only ruined by scheming people—she wasn't a bad person.
She actually pitied the original owner. She was born in the Lou Clan that was brimming with prodigies, yet she was a person born with the Terminal Meridians constitution. She didn't belong.
Despite her strong background, it could never fill the loneliness and inferiority in her heart. So she used unreasonable and wilful methods to hide her hopelessness and struggles. She licked her wounds alone; wounds from unobtainable love, eventually resulting in her willingly dispersing her own Soul and relinquished the body to the current Lou Mu Yan.
The library was situated deep within the forest of red maple trees. Within the forest, Arrays were installed, and only those who bore the customised student badge of the Academy wouldn't get lost.
A sea of fiery red maple leaves swayed with the wind. Beneath the sunlight, they were set ablaze, and even more gorgeous, forming a unique scenery within the Academy.
At the very end of the Red Maple Forest stood a profound, ancient building.
Lou Mu Yan's powers were inhibited after her Soul transmigrated, and she had no cultivation base, but her Soul was very strong, so she could use Mental Energy equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Stage of her previous life. As such, she could perceive that there was a layer of energy protecting the library building.
She also discovered that there were currently a few very powerful auras concealed within the building, probably belonging to the guardians of the library.
The entrance to the library was open all year round. When she entered, she took out her student badge and gave it to the manager. After registering, she entered the inner room, followed the signs, and found a book titled "Tian'ling Continent's Flora Record".
Lou Mu Yan took the book from the shelf and scanned a few pages. In it, there weren't just illustrations, but also detailed explanations. A satisfied smile rose on her face—it was precisely what she needed.
Then she arrived at a seat beside the window and began to peruse the book.
The ingredients required for the Marrow Cleansing Pill—Red-Leaf Lotus, Snake Saliva Fruit, Flame Fruit, and Spirit Gathering Grass—were all recorded, only their names were slightly different to what she knew in her previous world.
But Lou Mu Yan frowned slightly. Based on her memories, three of the four Spiritual Herbs were easy to find—they would be present in higher-end apothecaries—but the Flame Fruit was rarely found on the market. If one desired it, they must enter the Blazing Mountain Range that was situated on the border of Yan'zhou Kingdom.
Regardless, she swiftly browsed through the book, imprinting every detail in her mind for future use.
Holding a badge rewarded to him, Chi Yi Xuan entered the library to seek for a suitable support-type technique for himself. Just as he turned to go upstairs, in his peripheral vision, he caught sight of a young girl sitting by the windows, quietly browsing through a book.
The young girl dressed in a simple, elegant purple dress, and her smooth black hair was tied with a black ribbon behind her head. There wasn't a hint of make-up on her beautiful face, only emphasising her exquisite facial features, while her pretty brows were slightly furrowed.
Sunlight spilled on her from behind, and her whole body exuded a faint warmth beneath the soft light, while her temperament seemed as if one who had been baptised, transformed, into another who was peaceful, elegant, tranquil, and pleasant.
Startled, Chi Yi Xuan wondered, was this person really Lou Mu Yan? He couldn't match this girl with the one in his memories who liked to dress in gaudy clothes and adorned mature makeup. He contemplated a little longer, then turned and headed to the second floor.
After finishing "Tian'ling Continent's Flora Record", Lou Mu Yan found a few more books to read on the shelves that introduced Tian'ling Continent, and inadvertently found the "Tian'ling Continent's Demonic Beast Record".
Interested, she read the entire book, and even memorised all the information. After stretching, she placed all the books back in their original places and left the library.
Recalling the location of her residence in the Academy, she quickly walked out of Red Maple Forest. Just as she turned left, a jarring, provocative voice entered her ear.
"Oh, isn't this Young Miss Lou? Why do you run so fast when you see our Yan Ran, were you afraid of being beaten again?"
Lou Mu Yan looked back and found two boys and two girls walking out from another part of the Red Maple Forest. The girl that spoke was considered pretty, wearing a glaring red silk dress that wrapped around her hot figure, with an obviously fake display of charm. At first glance, it was a woman with big breasts and no brain.
Beside her stood a beautiful young girl with fair, tender skin, a shy smile on her face, and who wore a light-yellow dress that gave her a gentle and refined temperament.
Lou Mu Yan recognised them from memory—the red-clothed girl, Zeng Rou, was the official daughter of a wealthy merchant of the Empire while the other was that 'white flower'2, Gu Yan Ran.
Together with the girls, there were two men whose appearances were rather exceptional. One wore a stern face with a tall, straight posture, and was clothed in black which generated a masculine temperament. His whole person exuded a cold and arrogant manly charm. He was precisely Chi Yi Xuan, the original owner of this body's most beloved.
The other wore a luxurious purple robe with a handsome appearance. His pair of peach-shaped, amorous eyes carried a flirtatious charm, but was hardly feminine, as he appeared like an unrestrained and unruly man who followed his passions—the Fifth Prince Yun Jin of Yan'zhou Kingdom.
"Rou Rou, no need to say anymore, I had my faults that day as well." Gu Yan Ran said softly as she gently pulled Zeng Rou's sleeve.
Zeng Rou casted a look of soft anger at her. "You're just too kind, that's why others will bully you."
Lou Mu Yan watched their performance coldly—she really wasn't interested in these sorts of dramas. Her gaze swept over the four people indifferently, turned around, and was about to leave.
This move surprised the four of them, especially Gu Yan Ran. Based on experience, this trash should have immediately charged forward, pointing at Zeng Rou, and erupted into curses. But why did she act so uncharacteristically today? Not to mention her style and make-up, as well as her temperament, seemed to belong to a completely different person. A bad premonition suddenly rose in her heart.
"Lou Mu Yan, you stop for me right now!" Seeing Lou Mu Yan blatantly ignore her, anger rose in Zeng Rou, and she yelled out.
Chi Yi Xuan didn't stop them, his eyebrows furrowed. When he went to the library earlier, he also discovered Lou Mu Yan's temperament was as if it belonged to a completely different person, but when he exited, she was already gone.
After exiting the library, he coincidentally met Yun Jin's group, so they left Red Maple Forest together, not expecting to meet Lou Mu Yan here. Yet today, despite meeting him, Lou Mu Yan actually didn't take the initiative to great and stick to him. He sure wanted to see what sort of tricks she wanted to play.
Meanwhile Zeng Rou's call attracted the attention of the surrounding students, stopping each of them in their steps with the desire to watch a nice 'play'.
[1a screw loose basically.
2probably a reference to 'white lotus' aka a fake female.]