Gazing at Han Xue, who had temporarily set aside her fastidiousness to shake hands with Xiao Yan, Elder Liu was also somewhat taken aback. After a moment, he recovered and looked at Han Xue with a meaningful glance before smiling and saying, “Xiao Yan, in the Inner Academy, you are one of the few male students who can shake hands with Little Moon.”
“Indeed, it is an honor,” Xiao Yan smiled faintly. Though it was quite comfortable to hold that white-jade-like hand, he only held it politely for a moment before letting go and said, “Sister Han Xue, this year’s batch of freshmen has certainly made a splash under your guidance.”
“If I had known there would be such trouble later, I might not have… let them steal the show.” Xiao Yan sighed and laughed bitterly.
“It seems that some senior students have already come to cause you trouble?” Hearing this, Han Xue couldn’t help but be surprised, and then she nodded, a faint smile on her lips.
Xiao Yan nodded helplessly.
“Xiao Yan, do you know about the dynamics within the Inner Academy? You should understand the advantages of having a powerful faction backing you. Do you have any interest in joining one of the factions?” Han Xue fixed her bright eyes on Xiao Yan and asked casually.
“Uh…” At these words, Xiao Yan spread his hands helplessly and smiled, “I’m afraid I can’t. This year’s freshmen all insisted on me forming a new faction called ‘Pan Gate,’ so I can only appreciate your kindness, Sister Han Xue.”
“You formed a faction yourself, and all the members are freshmen?” As soon as Xiao Yan finished speaking, not only was Han Xue stunned, but even Elder Liu, standing beside her, looked at him with a very surprised expression.
“Um.” Seeing their expressions, Xiao Yan smiled awkwardly and nodded.
“Xiao Yan, this action of yours… might bring a lot of trouble,” Han Xue frowned and said after a moment.
“Uh? There doesn’t seem to be any rule against forming a faction with all freshmen in the Inner Academy, right?” Xiao Yan was startled, and seeing Han Xue’s serious expression, he couldn’t help but frown slightly.
“Alas, there is no such rule. However, every year, the freshmen make up nearly sixty percent of the new blood in the Inner Academy. Therefore, many factions in the Inner Academy absorb new students each year to increase their strength. This has become a tradition over the years.”
“Now, you have gathered all the freshmen together. This means other factions can’t absorb any new blood this year. Your actions will surely draw the dissatisfaction of many factions. In secretly offending so many factions, your ‘Pan Gate’ will likely face significant pressure. Thus, I say, you will bring a lot of trouble…”
Han Xue shook her head helplessly, explaining for Xiao Yan. Beside her, Elder Liu also nodded, indicating that what Han Xue said was true.
Hearing Han Xue’s explanation, Xiao Yan’s face became increasingly grave. Due to his unfamiliarity with the Inner Academy, he had overlooked this. Now, ‘Pan Gate’ had just been officially established, and he had already offended half of the factions in the Inner Academy. With its current strength, ‘Pan Gate’ was not strong enough to deal with so many potential enemies.
“Ah, this was indeed rash…” Xiao Yan sighed and pondered for a moment before smiling at Han Xue, “But now that it’s done, I have no choice but to deal with it. If any faction wants to destroy ‘Pan Gate,’ I, Xiao Yan, will not stand idly by.”
Han Xue sighed and nodded. She hadn’t expected Xiao Yan to form his own faction so quickly, leaving her to swallow her thoughts of luring him.
Xiao Yan’s potential was good, but he had only just entered the Inner Academy and was still at the level of a Great Battle Master. Such actions would undoubtedly create many enemies, yet their ‘Pan Gate’ was not strong enough to handle so many opponents.
“If you need help in the future, you can find me. I’ll do my best,” Han Xue said after a moment of silence, looking at Xiao Yan.
“Thank you, Sister Han Xue,” Xiao Yan smiled and nodded.
No matter how things stood, Han Xue’s offer to help despite their isolated situation was appreciated, though he didn’t know if her words were sincere. At least, she seemed like someone worth befriending.
“Don’t thank me too quickly. What I can do may not be much, and it’s all because of your potential,” Han Xue shook her head and said coldly.
“I understand. If I were just an ordinary freshman, you two wouldn’t treat me so kindly,” Xiao Yan smiled faintly.
He wasn’t foolish. He knew that if it weren’t for his talent and potential, Elder Liu, who held a high position, and Han Xue, who had considerable power in the Inner Academy, would never have treated him so specially.
In the Inner Academy, the rule of strength governed everything. Although Xiao Yan’s words were straightforward, both Han Xue and Elder Liu nodded. They were all sensible people, and there was no need for pretense.
“Well, Xiao Yan, why don’t you go explore the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower with Elder Liu first? I have to go to the sixth floor, so I won’t stay any longer. We can talk more in the future,” Han Xue bowed slightly to Xiao Yan and then turned to walk towards a part of the ancient tower.
Smiling, Xiao Yan watched Han Xue leave, and when her figure disappeared in the soft glow, he withdrew his gaze.
“Hehe, Xiao Yan, what do you think of Little Moon?” Elder Liu, standing beside him, smiled and asked.
“She’s very nice. I’m sure there are plenty of suitors for her in the Inner Academy,” Xiao Yan smiled.
“Indeed, she has many suitors, but very few catch her eye. Her attitude towards you seems like a good start. With your talent and the cultivation in the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, I’m sure you could reach the Dou Spirit level in a year, and maybe become a strong contender,” Elder Liu said playfully.
“Haha, Sister Han Xue is indeed great, but I don’t have those thoughts,” Xiao Yan smiled and shook his head. Seeing Elder Liu’s surprised expression, he quickly changed the subject, “Elder Liu, you haven’t introduced the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower to me yet.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. Haha… follow me,” Elder Liu, reminded by Xiao Yan, patted his head apologetically and led the way, with Xiao Yan following closely behind.
The Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, buried deep underground with only the tip of the tower visible, was surprisingly spacious inside, exceeding Xiao Yan’s expectations. As they walked, he noticed that the first floor alone could accommodate five hundred people for cultivation.
Within the circular space, various-sized cultivation rooms were built, but most were occupied, and small red signs hung above the doors. The words on the signs varied, and Xiao Yan paused to look. The signs bore the words ‘High,’ ‘Medium,’ and ‘Low’ representing the different levels of cultivation rooms, which must be the classification Tai mentioned.
As they walked from east to south, Xiao Yan noticed that all the high-level cultivation rooms were near the center, with medium-level rooms surrounding them, and low-level rooms further out.
“In the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, these high, medium, and low-level cultivation rooms are usually fought over based on individual strength. The stronger you are, the better the conditions; the weaker, the outermost low-level rooms,” Elder Liu pointed to a high-level room and said lightly.
“Regardless of the level, the cultivation fees are the same. For example, in the first floor, a low-level room costs one ‘Fire Energy’ per day, and a high-level room is the same… Yet, the effects are vastly different. Wouldn’t this create a situation where the strong get stronger and the weak can’t catch up?”
“People’s potential is fully unleashed only when they face difficulties. We need this kind of pressure. When it reaches its peak, some students will burst forth and catch up to the strong ones. This happens almost every year in the Inner Academy,” Elder Liu shook his head and smiled.
Nodding, Xiao Yan suddenly stopped and, following his gaze, discovered a deep, endless black hole in the center of the tower. He cautiously approached the edge and peered down. The darkness, almost without any light, made Xiao Yan feel slightly dizzy.
This black hole seemed to run through the entire Heavenly Flame Refining Tower. If not for the tower’s tip, this dark abyss might be visible from the sky.
In the depths of this dark hole, the air seemed much hotter than in other places, as if something was continuously providing heat to the entire tower.
Reaching out to grab the hot air, something within Xiao Yan suddenly fluttered.
His throat moved slightly, and Xiao Yan leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the deep darkness. After a while, a green flame surged into his eyes, turning his pupils into green fire pupils.
As the green flame filled his eyes, the infinite darkness below began to fade.
Just as the darkness was fading, Xiao Yan’s hair stood on end.
Under the gaze of the green-flame pupils, the space in the darkness began to twist, and then, like invisible snakes, the twisted space climbed upwards at an alarming speed.
“Xiao Yan, step back!” Just as the distorted space was about to climb up, a voice shouted in Xiao Yan’s ear. An old, bony hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away from the black hole.
Not long after Xiao Yan was pulled away, he felt the temperature rising rapidly. Then, a sharp hissing sound came from the depth of the hole. He looked up, his face frozen, and his lips trembling, a hoarse voice escaping from his clenched teeth, “What… what… is… this?”
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