Volume One: Entering the Dao Chapter Fourteen: "Ying Ze"

After returning to the dormitory, Ye Junze accepted Wang Dongdong’s invitation, and the two gathered once more for a meal. As they ate, Wang Dongdong couldn’t help but ask, “Ye, what were you thinking back then? You stood up without a word. I was still hesitating, but when I saw you, it was like I was bewitched—I just got up and followed. I still kind of admire you for that.”

Ye Junze laughed and replied, “What, are you regretting it now? If you regret it, maybe it’s not too late. Why don’t you give it a try? I’m genuinely curious how they erase someone’s memory.”

“Come on, Ye, don’t tease me,” Wang Dongdong said with a slight sigh. “I’m not regretting it, I’m just worried. If something happens in the future, I’m the only son in my family. If I run into trouble, who will take care of my parents?”

“Don’t talk like that. Relax—you look like someone blessed with good fortune. Nothing bad will happen,” Ye Junze said seriously.

“You’re right, Ye. I’m just overthinking it. Whatever happens, at least for now, we should enjoy ourselves. Come on, eat up—the steak today is pretty good.” With that, Wang Dongdong resumed his enthusiastic attack on the food.

Ye Junze watched him helplessly, shaking his head, as if the earlier moment of sentimentality had been nothing but an illusion. Yet, to Ye Junze, this version of Wang Dongdong—focused entirely on eating—was the one he knew best. He hoped Wang Dongdong could live like this every day, carefree and untroubled. There was nothing wrong with that.

As the two ate and chatted, suddenly the sound of “ding~” rang out as both their phones vibrated at the same time. Ye Junze picked up his phone to see a message: “All new students, please log in to the following website to complete your registration.” The message included a web link.

“Hey, Ye, you got it too? Looks like this is sent to all of us new students,” Wang Dongdong said, turning to Ye Junze.

“Probably. Let’s see what’s inside.” With that, Ye Junze opened the link. The page’s layout was starkly black and white, and as the two wondered where the registration section was, the webpage suddenly changed. A dialog box popped up with only the word “Register,” asking for name and student ID. It was straightforward enough. Following the instructions, they filled in the information, and a new dialog box appeared: “Welcome to Anze.” Nothing else. After closing the box, the page transformed again, revealing an array of sections—forums, trading, chat groups, and more.

Ye Junze began browsing through the site, while Wang Dongdong, clutching his phone, seemed busy contacting someone, his fingers flying across the screen. After a while, he seemed to have discovered something, and turned to Ye Junze, saying, “Ye, I checked. This site is an internal platform for Anze. It’s mainly used by students to discuss cultivation issues or to buy and sell cultivation resources. People usually call it ‘Yingze,’ meaning it’s got everything you could want, and all your needs are met.”

Ye Junze nodded, “That’s quite apt. Come, take a look.”

Wang Dongdong quickly opened the site as well.

At that moment, Ye Junze was browsing the forum, searching for information about tomorrow’s test. As he scrolled, he kept refreshing his understanding of this school. He never expected that even in a school full of cultivators, the forum would be just like any other—filled with spam posters and those infuriating clickbait titles. Some clickbait posts had impressive titles, but inside there was no useful information, and some were simply blank.

Then Ye Junze noticed a post entitled “A Few Stories About the Principal.” Though he suspected it was more clickbait, curiosity got the better of him, and he clicked it. Yet, the content had become invisible. Wondering why, he scrolled to the comments. The top comment was from a user named Bai Ze—undoubtedly the principal himself. The principal’s comment was just one sentence: “Yang Qinghan, come to the principal’s office tomorrow.” Below, the replies were a sea of candle emojis, with people saying “mourning,” and others joking, “It was a sunny afternoon; Yang Qinghan departed peacefully, without a trace of pain. Please allow me to offer my deepest condolences!” Reading these comments, Ye Junze couldn’t help but smile. He thought, even as so-called cultivators, the people at this school still maintained the spirit of ordinary people. It made him like the school all the more.

With that thought, Ye Junze continued browsing the website. Suddenly, a post titled “Selling Reference Answers for the New Student Entrance Test” was quickly bumped up. Puzzled, Ye Junze wondered if even the entrance test had business opportunities. Clicking in, he saw the poster had simply left their contact information, along with “Buy now, offer ends soon.” In the comments, there was a chorus of denunciations: “Team up to take down the poster, 5/100, quickly!” “Heartless poster, cheating us out of money—you must pay!” and so on, nothing but insults. From his observation, Ye Junze guessed these were all new students, while the older students were gloating, saying things like “Deepest sympathies to the freshmen,” “Learn from your mistakes, and be more cautious in the future.”

As the comment section erupted in chaos, a user named “Enforcement Department—Tao Ping” replied, “Student, please return the money you scammed from the freshmen immediately. Otherwise, the Enforcement Department won’t mind inviting you for a chat.” This comment was quickly pinned to the top, and the new students all responded, “Thank you, senior, for upholding justice. May you live a long and peaceful life…” The older students shifted their mockery back to the poster: “Let me offer three seconds of mourning for the poster, and then—hahaha!” Watching this, Ye Junze shook his head helplessly, thinking, “Can’t these cultivators act a little more like cultivators?”

Seeing that the forum wasn’t yielding any useful information, Ye Junze thought of Lin Xin. Maybe she could help. He messaged her: “Senior, the entrance test is tomorrow. Any advice? Please help.”

Soon, Lin Xin replied, “Not much advice, really. The test is simple. My experience is—just follow your heart.”

After reading her reply, Ye Junze thought for a moment and responded, “Alright, thank you, senior.”

“No problem, don’t mention it. Good luck tomorrow!”

Reflecting on her words, Ye Junze mused, “Looks like the test won’t be too difficult. I’ll just wait for tomorrow to find out.” With that, he turned and said to Wang Dongdong, “Dongdong, I’m heading back. Get yourself ready for tomorrow’s test.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow, Ye.” Wang Dongdong got up to escort Ye Junze out.