Journey to Jia Nan Academy

"Then you can get a good look at it today."

Mentor Ruolin blinked her moist eyes and laughed softly.

Lu Yunxiao smiled faintly and swept his gaze around. Only a handful of new students had arrived so far, each of them standing timidly to one side, looking rather restrained.

His Starry Eyes shifted as Lu Yunxiao looked at Mentor Ruolin and asked gently, "Mentor Ruolin, when will we be setting off?"

"At around nine in the morning. We'll leave a little later to give the new students more time to prepare."

Mentor Ruolin smiled slightly.

"Oh!" Lu Yunxiao nodded upon hearing this and said no more.

Before long, the sun had climbed high into the sky, beginning to spread its light and heat. It was nearly nine in the morning.

All the new students had arrived, along with some older students, Jia Nan Academy instructors, guards, and soldiers. Altogether, there were around eighty or ninety people.

The group began dividing into five teams. Each team had an instructor and military personnel assigned to lead and protect the new students.

"Yunxiao, come with us." Mentor Ruolin smiled gently at Lu Yunxiao and spoke in a soft voice.

"Alright!" Lu Yunxiao answered. He did not know many people here; aside from Mentor Ruolin, he only knew a few senior sisters. Staying with them was naturally the best choice.

Besides, Mentor Ruolin was a great beauty. He was not attracted to her, but at least she was Pleasing to the Eye. No matter what, it was far more interesting than staying with a bunch of grown men.

Moreover, according to Mentor Ruolin, she would be his mentor in the future. It was certainly necessary to build a good relationship with his mentor.

For example, it would make things easier when he skipped class—ptui, when he asked for leave.

As the saying went, prepare for a rainy day. Lu Yunxiao had already begun making plans for his life at Jia Nan Academy.

Having received Lu Yunxiao's affirmative answer, Mentor Ruolin smiled beautifully. Bright ripples shimmered in her moist eyes, and her faint smile carried an alluring charm.

"Everyone, line up. Get ready to board," Mentor Ruolin said softly as she looked over the crowd.

At that moment, a long wooden ladder had been lowered from above the Gryphon Beast. With it, the new students could climb onto the Gryphon Beast's back.

After all, the Gryphon Beast was quite large and stood rather high off the ground. Without a ladder, ordinary new students truly would not be able to get up.

The crowd formed a line and began climbing.

They were all cultivators, so they climbed quickly. Lu Yunxiao was at the very end of the new students' line, but it was soon his turn.

Lu Yunxiao took a glance. When the Gryphon Beast was seated, it stood roughly six meters high. From below, it still looked quite tall.

However, six meters was nothing to Lu Yunxiao. When he used Immortal's Flight Beyond the Heavens, a casual leap could send him several zhang into the air.

After sizing it up, Lu Yunxiao tapped the ground with the tip of his foot and soared upward like a flying bird.

The next moment, he had already appeared on the Gryphon Beast's back.

The Gryphon Beast's feathers were somewhat slippery, so when people first climbed up without being prepared, they would usually slip a little and struggle to stand steadily.

Yet Lu Yunxiao stood above like a javelin, completely motionless, like a Sea-Calming Divine Needle.

"Good kid, he truly is extraordinary." Seeing Lu Yunxiao's movements, Mentor Ruolin pursed her lips in a smile, a trace of admiration appearing in her eyes.

With a casual jump, she too landed directly atop the Gryphon Beast and came to stand beside Lu Yunxiao.

The older students climbed up one after another as well, and soon all the students had boarded.

After the wooden ladder was removed, the Gryphon Beast spread its wings at the driver's signal. Its wings beat, and it slowly began to rise.

Watching the ground drift farther and farther away beneath him, Lu Yunxiao's eyes flickered. This experience seemed rather nice.

After roughly one or two minutes, the Gryphon Beast had risen to a great height, several hundred meters above the ground. The pedestrians below had become tiny figures. At that moment, the Gryphon Beast flapped its wings and began flying steadily in one direction.

Lu Yunxiao gazed into the distance. Several hundred meters in the air, gusts of wind rushed past, fluttering the hem of his clothes and stirring his long hair.

His white robes billowed, his long hair streamed behind him, and paired with that peerlessly perfect face, Lu Yunxiao truly looked carefree and detached, with an ethereal air about him.

"It's your first time flying so high, yet you aren't afraid at all? Some of the new students are trembling with fear."

Mentor Ruolin walked to Lu Yunxiao's side. Though the Gryphon Beast was flying quite high, it was not moving particularly fast, so their voices could still be heard clearly.

"Aren't you unafraid as well, Mentor Ruolin?" Lu Yunxiao said indifferently without turning around.

"I'm used to it. The first time, I was quite nervous too. But you seem very calm. You don't look like someone who has never ridden a flying Magical Beast before."

Mentor Ruolin held the railing at the edge of the wooden basket and smiled gently.

"Perhaps I was simply born without a fear of heights. Standing high above instead makes me feel refreshed and at ease. This feeling of having the whole land beneath my eyes is truly wonderful."

Lu Yunxiao spread his hands, feeling the breeze slip through his fingers, a faintly intoxicated expression on his face.

Mentor Ruolin was first stunned, then the Corner of Mouth curled into a smile. "Yunxiao, you really are different from ordinary people. I suddenly look forward to seeing what happens when you enter Jia Nan Academy and meet Little Demoness and the others. I think it will be very interesting."

"Little Demoness?" Lu Yunxiao's gaze sharpened, and a hint of interest rose within him. He looked at Mentor Ruolin and asked calmly, "What is her strength roughly like now?"

"Mm, she enrolled before you. By now, she should have the strength of a Nine-Star Dou Practitioner."

"A Nine-Star Dou Practitioner..." Lu Yunxiao turned away again and murmured to himself.

The Gryphon Beast flew onward, passing through the various cities of the Jia Ma Empire.

They flew during the day and landed to rest near evening. After more than half a month, they finally arrived at Ghost Suppressing Pass.

Ghost Suppressing Pass was the Jia Ma Empire's final checkpoint. Once they passed beyond Ghost Suppressing Pass, they would be leaving the territory of the Jia Ma Empire.

According to Mentor Ruolin, after leaving the Jia Ma Empire, they would wait for some time to rendezvous with the other recruitment teams within the Jia Ma Empire.

At the same time, Jia Nan Academy's dedicated escort force would accompany them the entire way. After all, the Black Corner Region was famously chaotic. That place had no laws and no morality—only cruel bloodshed and slaughter.

Without a dedicated escort force, passing through the Black Corner Region and reaching Jia Nan Academy would be an extremely dangerous undertaking.

At this moment, Lu Yunxiao and the others had already passed beyond Ghost Suppressing Pass. They would rest outside the pass for two days, wait for the other teams and the escort force to arrive, then proceed together to Jia Nan Academy.