Chu Tianle spoke, his brow furrowed. With a wave of his hand, he erected a spirit energy barrier around Bai Shengyi and himself, muffling any sound.
"You might not know this, but on our Shenqi Continent, besides Shenqi Academy and the four top powers of Great Ning Dynasty, Golden Sparrow Kingdom, and Qi Zhou Kingdom, there are actually eighteen hidden families."
"Li Shiqing, whom your sister knows, is the heir of the Li family for this generation. As far as I know, besides Feng Wuya, this time Xun Meng from the Xun family, Luo Feihua from the Luo family, and Ximen Hongchun from the Ximen family have also arrived."
Chu Tianle rested his chin on his hand, seeming to recall.
"Li Shiqing is likely at the second level of Foundation Establishment. Xun Meng and Luo Feihua are at the ninth level of Qi Gathering, and Ximen Hongchun is at the third level of Foundation Establishment. You need to be careful when facing them, as these families all have unique spirit skill inheritances."
Bai Shengyi was truly enlightened.
Looking at Chu Tianle, who spoke so knowledgeably about these families as if reciting a familiar tale, a flash of inspiration struck her. She guessed, "Are you also from a hidden family?"
"Yes," Chu Tianle did not conceal it. He gave Bai Shengyi a very complex look. "I am from the Chu family. Do you really not remember me at all?"
Bai Shengyi shook her head. "I might have lost some memories."
Chu Tianle frowned slightly, but he felt it was Bai Shengyi's private matter. Given their current level of familiarity, it wasn't his place to interfere so casually, so he didn't dwell on the topic.
He took a sip of wine and continued to explain the assessment matters that he had previously forgotten to mention.
"From what I know, this assessment has five stages. Boarding the ship is the first stage, spending three days on the ship is the second stage, and disembarking is the third stage."
As Chu Tianle spoke, he became serious. "The next two stages are the most important, and the least information is available about them."
"Currently, even with the Chu family's resources, we only know that the location is near Qianlian City. It allows for two-person teams. Not only is the assessment different from the usual treasure hunting and beast hunting scoring, but it is also more dangerous..."
Bai Shengyi listened very attentively, and she asked Chu Tianle to elaborate on the past assessment methods. She felt she had a better grasp of the situation.
Overall, this year's assessment was more difficult, and it was not without casualties, so it was best to proceed with caution.
"Let's leave these people here; it will serve as a warning. No one should dare to provoke us later. Let's take advantage of the time to rest," Bai Shengyi told Chu Tianle.
Chu Tianle had no objections and went into the house with the wine pot.
Bai Shengyi also entered the house.
After returning to her room, she closed the door and collapsed onto the bed. She was exhausted!
"Little Samsara?" Bai Shengyi silently called out to the Samsara Brush in her mind.
After calling several times, she finally received an impatient reply, "What is it?"
"I just wanted to ask if you know if there's something wrong with my brain," Bai Shengyi said helplessly.
If her spiritual power had recovered to SS-class, she could have conducted a more detailed examination on herself.
It was a pity that she was no longer the top healer of the Federation, and her spiritual power was only C+.
It was sufficient to help kill low-level cultivators or perform simple treatments for wounds reaching the bone, but any more detailed scanning of the body was impossible.
Moreover, although she possessed some memories from the original owner regarding the upper part of the Bai family's medicinal canon, those were all theoretical knowledge about ordinary spiritual herbs.
There was still so much she didn't know!
Just like now, Bai Shengyi was certain that she had indeed lost a period of memory.
She desperately wanted to know if this amnesia was due to an organic lesion in her brain or an external influence, such as some toxic substance or radiation.
"Shake your head. Do you hear anything?" the Samsara Brush said speechlessly, word for word. How did it end up being contracted by such an unreliable master!
The Samsara Brush snorted lightly. "If there were something wrong with your brain, the brush wouldn't have chosen you! However..."
It paused. "The last time you lost consciousness, I noticed a trace of Yingjin energy in your meridians. But the brush is not a physician, how could it know so much! Figure it out yourself!"
As it spoke, it became agitated again and unilaterally severed communication with Bai Shengyi.
Bai Shengyi paid no heed to it, as the Samsara Brush's words gave her a new direction.
She had always thought the problem lay in her brain, and had examined herself countless times, but had never considered the issue with her meridians.
This was also due to her past experiences, which led her to believe there was a problem with her brain whenever she thought of amnesia.
Bai Shengyi lost her drowsiness. She got up and once again used her spiritual power to comb through her meridians one by one...
While Bai Shengyi was occupied with this, her and Chu Tianle's fearsome reputation had spread throughout the entire Liuxian ship.
"That Bai Shengyi is not to be trifled with now. I heard that Princess Mingyu and Prince Gong are still in the corridor, freezing!"
"Indeed, Princess Mingyu brought two Foundation Establishment guards! Fortunately, we didn't provoke her."
"Didn't Sun Wuyi also fall? Has Bai Shengyi already reached Foundation Establishment?"
...
In room 3999.
Li Shiqing changed into cleaner red clothing and smiled at Bai Murong. "See, Murong, I was right. Is your sister alright? Someone like your sister, teaming up with Chu Tianle, she'll definitely pass the first three stages."
Bai Murong noticed Li Shiqing's increasing admiration for Bai Shengyi.
She twisted her fingers, hesitating to speak.
"What's wrong?" Li Shiqing asked, sitting beside her. "Did my spiritual energy accidentally injure you during the fight just now?"
She had promised to take good care of Bai Murong during the journey, and injuring her would be her fault.
Bai Murong remained silent. After Li Shiqing inquired twice more, she said with difficulty, "I think I did something wrong, Sister Li."
"Before we left, Grandpa told me the specific details of the assessment and asked me to pass them on to Shengyi. But Shengyi left too late, and she was resting along the way, so I forgot to tell her. I intended to tell her after boarding the ship, but then the incident with Princess Mingyu happened..."
"Now we have to guard the room and cannot leave until dawn tomorrow. I... I'm worried Shengyi's assessment will be affected by this."
As Bai Murong spoke, her eyes turned red, but she maintained a facade of strength, not shedding tears.
"You..." Li Shiqing never expected Bai Murong to forget such an important matter.
Although not much information about this assessment had been leaked, the less information there was, the more crucial it became. Even knowing a little could allow for prior preparation.
For example, as Li Shiqing knew, the hidden families, upon learning that the first stage was related to boarding the ship, had shrewdly sent Foundation Establishment cultivators to escort their participating clan members.
For example, she herself had managed to secure a room with little effort due to her preparedness and quick reactions.
"I didn't do it on purpose," Bai Murong said, her voice trembling with tears.
Li Shiqing's heart softened immediately. She patted Bai Murong's back and said, "It's alright. Your sister should have already learned about this from Chu Tianle. She probably won't hold it against you. It's also my fault for not protecting you both."
Under her comfort, Bai Murong gradually calmed down and asked softly, "Sister Li, is Chu Tianle also from a hidden family?"
Li Shiqing nodded.
The flames of jealousy in Bai Murong's heart suddenly flared uncontrollably.
How could Bai Shengyi be so lucky?
Why were there always so many people willing to help her?
Even Grandpa and Li Shiqing, whom she had finally managed to secure, had now changed their attitude towards her. What was so good about a blind cripple?