The creak of a wooden door slowly being pushed open echoed through the air. A sliver of sunlight seeped in through the gap, eventually forming a thin, elongated line on the floor. As the door was fully opened, the light rapidly expanded, and several figures, their shadows stretched by the sunlight, entered one by one. The leading elder, with a glance over the spacious small pavilion, smiled and said, “Xiao Yan, from now on, this will be the residence for the four of you.”
“Four?” Upon hearing this, Hu Jia, who was following behind, couldn’t help but be startled, and then she exclaimed in surprise, “Elder Su, do you mean to have me and Xun’er, two girls, living with these two men?”
“Hehe, little Hu Jia, this pavilion is quite large, and there are many rooms. We’re not asking you to share a bed; what’s the rush?” Elder Su shook his head with a smile, gazing at the four individuals, and continued, “By the way, where is your other team member?”
“Uh…” Hearing Elder Su’s question, Xiao Yan paused, shrugged his shoulders, unsure how to respond.
“Ran away… He saw the Black Fiend Squad’s overwhelming power and abandoned us.” Hu Jia spread her hands and sneered, without any of Xiao Yan’s reservations, showing no mercy to Baisan. Clearly, Baisan’s act of abandoning his comrades to flee alone left her very disdainful.
“Ran away? What a short-sighted person,” Elder Su also paused, then shook his head with a faint smile.
“From now on, the four of you will be part of the Inner Academy. I should remind you that within the Inner Academy, unless your strength is exceptionally formidable, it’s quite difficult to get by alone… Because of the environment, the senior students in the Inner Academy have divided their own territories and factions. You’ll likely encounter these soon enough,” Elder Su mused.
“There are even such things in the Inner Academy? Don’t you guys prohibit them?” Hu Jia frowned slightly and asked.
“Hehe, why would we need to prohibit it? This kind of competition is exactly what the Inner Academy needs. If you don’t want to be bullied, then you must strive to enhance your strength. Otherwise, there’s nothing to discuss. Strength is paramount in this world, and we don’t want the Inner Academy to become an ivory tower free of worries because such an environment cannot produce true powerhouses,” Elder Su said calmly.
Hearing Elder Su’s explanation, Hu Jia pouted, while Xiao Yan and Wu Hao nodded in agreement. They had both experienced real trials and knew very well what kind of environment could birth true powerhouses.
“So, having you all live together is actually to foster a sense of teamwork. In the hunting competition, you should have realized how strong a team can be, right?” Elder Su smiled and continued, “From today, I hope the four of you will stand together, face all challenges, and never abandon each other. If you can achieve this, life in the Inner Academy will be much easier. After all, the power of one person, no matter how great, can never match the strength of a team, can it?”
“I don’t mind, and I have no objections to Xiao Yan’s strength,” Wu Hao hesitated for a moment, nodded slightly, and spoke coolly.
Xun’er chuckled softly, naturally happy to be with Xiao Yan.
“Sigh, alright. Though I don’t want to admit it, staying with these guys does give a bit more security,” Hu Jia shrugged, nodding helplessly.
“You guys are really relying on me…” Seeing the three’s reactions, Xiao Yan couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, but despite his expression, he felt a peculiar sensation in his heart. For nearly three years, he had been alone. Perhaps it was in his nature, but he was used to facing difficulties alone. Now, with Wu Hao and the others handing over team leadership to him, it was a sign of trust and recognition, a feeling he had never experienced before.
“Hehe, if you can work like this, that’s for the best.” Seeing the four coalesce seamlessly into a team, Elder Su nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand, saying, “Alright, it’s getting late. You can arrange your living quarters and rest tonight. Starting tomorrow, you can freely explore the Inner Academy. I believe it won’t disappoint you.”
“No training courses?” Hu Jia hurriedly asked.
“The Inner Academy doesn’t need such things. As long as you have enough ‘Fire Energy,’ you can enter the ‘Heavenly Flame Training Tower,’ and training there is far more effective than any course. Oh, by the way, I almost forgot; the Academy organizes a group entry into the ‘Heavenly Flame Training Tower’ once a week. If you want to call that a course, then I suppose it qualifies…” Elder Su chuckled, “Additionally, there’s the ‘Fighting Skill Pavilion’ and the ‘Cultivation Technique Hall.’ You can go there to acquire cultivation techniques or fighting skills, but, of course, you need sufficient ‘Fire Energy’ to exchange for them. Compared to the Outer Academy, the Inner Academy offers much more freedom.
“If you feel short of ‘Fire Energy’ and have an itch to fight, you can earn it in the Arena, provided you have the necessary strength. Otherwise, you might end up losing everything.” Xiao Yan and the others nodded in understanding.
“If there are no issues, go ahead and rest. If anything comes up, you can come find me.” Waving to the four, Elder Su turned and walked out the door, disappearing from their sight.
Watching Elder Su leave, Xiao Yan clapped his hands and smiled at Xun’er and the others, “Let’s sort out the rooms. This place might just be our long-term base from now on.”
“Okay.” Xun’er and the others nodded with a smile and then dispersed to find their respective rooms.
Night fell, and the silver moon hung high in the sky, its soft glow enveloping the vast basin. In a quiet room, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on the bed, his hands forming a cultivation seal. With each breath, visible streams of energy drifted from the air, flowing into his body continuously…
Beside Xiao Yan, a tiny, colorful snake coiled in mid-air, its body twisting in a peculiar rhythm. As it twisted, ripples formed in the surrounding space, and energy ten times thicker than Xiao Yan’s surged out, pouring into the snake. Strangely, despite absorbing such immense energy, the tiny creature made no sound, like dropping pebbles into a bottomless pit, causing not even a ripple.
The cultivation lasted about an hour, with the energy gradually slowing down. Xiao Yan’s brows trembled, and after a moment, he opened his eyes, exhaling a breath of stale air from his chest.
“Finally recovered. The consumption of the Buddha’s Wrathful Lotus was too great, but the week of forest battles did have some benefits.” Xiao Yan murmured, his pale face now regaining its rosy hue. His eyes, in the dark, seemed wrapped in a layer of warm jade, quite peculiar.
Not long after Xiao Yan finished his cultivation, the Seven-Colored Heaven Devouring Snake also concluded its night of practice, hissing at Xiao Yan. Seeing this, Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly and retrieved a bottle of half-matured Purple Crystal Essence from his storage ring, dripping a few drops into its mouth. Satisfied, the snake wagged its tail and slithered into Xiao Yan’s sleeve.
“This greedy little thing…” Rubbing the snake coiled around his arm, Xiao Yan laughed bitterly. Just as he was about to speak, the black ring on his finger quivered, and the old, ethereal figure of Yao Lao emerged.
“Teacher? How is it? Did you find any leads on the Falling Heart Flame?” Seeing Yao Lao, Xiao Yan’s spirits lifted, and he eagerly asked.
“Not exactly…” Yao Lao smiled, glancing around, and seeing Xiao Yan’s disappointed look, he chuckled, “But not without gain. After you entered the Inner Academy, I sensed a faintly unusual aura. However, the Inner Academy is the core of the Canaan Academy, and it is full of powerful experts, so I dared not probe too deeply.”
“An unusual aura?” Pausing, Xiao Yan asked with surprise, “Is it related to the Heavenly Flames?”
“Shouldn’t be a false lead… There may indeed be what you seek in the Inner Academy.” Yao Lao pondered and nodded, “Based on my speculation, the source of the unusual aura seems to be in the northern part of the Inner Academy. If you have time, you can go there and look around; you might find a clue.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan quickly nodded. Any clue was good; he feared wasting effort only to find nothing related to the Heavenly Flames.
“In the Inner Academy, you must rely on yourself. If I intervene, I might be discovered…” Yao Lao sighed.
“Yes, yes. You’ve always said I relied on you too much. This environment isn’t entirely bad for me,” Xiao Yan said with a smile.
“That you can think this way is good… Here in the Inner Academy, you don’t need to worry about the mysterious ‘Soul Temple’ coming after you. So, you can focus on improving your strength here with peace of mind,” Yao Lao said, nodding in approval.
Mentioning the mysterious “Soul Temple” made Xiao Yan’s heart sink. This eerie force, even making someone as powerful as Yao Lao wary, was unimaginably formidable.
“Don’t worry, Teacher. I understand,” Xiao Yan said, nodding. Seeing this, Yao Lao flickered back into the ring.
“It seems I need to find the second type of Heavenly Flame as soon as possible and create a body to house Teacher’s soul. Otherwise, the ‘Soul Temple’ will always be a lurking venomous snake, ever ready to strike,” Xiao Yan thought, tapping his fingers on his hand, then exhaling a long breath.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage