Reborn and Remade

The atmosphere on the plaza was taut as a drawn sword.

Xiao Lang and the Heavenly Wolf Society members behind him slowly closed in like a pack of hungry wolves eyeing their prey. The chilling killing intent radiating from them seemed to freeze the very air. The students who had just been immersed in the joy of advancing fell silent as cicadas in winter, instinctively retreating to leave a large open space.

Everyone's gaze converged on the heart of the conflict about to erupt. On one side stood the famed, incomparably domineering rising star of the royal city; on the other was the mysterious, unfathomable dark horse who had only just risen to prominence.

"Lin Xiao, I admit that I underestimated you." Xiao Lang stopped three steps away from Lin Xiao. All traces of frivolity had vanished from his handsome face, replaced by the cold malice of a venomous serpent. "You are quite scheming, and you know how to exploit the rules. But before absolute strength and power, your little tricks are worth less than a penny."

"The assessment is over. Here, your token cannot save your life." The Heavenly Wolf Society members behind him let out a string of malicious sneers and gripped the weapons at their waists.

Shi Lei and Su Yue's expressions changed as they immediately stepped in front of Lin Xiao.

"Xiao Lang! What do you think you're doing?!" Shi Lei glared furiously, every muscle in his body tensed like a wild bull ready to charge. "This is the academy plaza. Three vice presidents and hundreds of instructors are watching. Do you dare make a move here?"

"Make a move?" Xiao Lang scoffed, his eyes full of disdain. "Why would I need to deal with the likes of you personally? Once we enter the academy, I will have plenty of ways to make you beg for life yet be unable to die. Especially you, Lin Xiao. I will make you understand that offending me, Xiao Lang, was the stupidest decision you have made in your life."

It was a naked threat, without the slightest attempt at concealment. He wanted to declare Lin Xiao's "ownership" before everyone, to make it known that this boy was Xiao Lang's enemy. Whoever dared associate with him would become an enemy of the entire Heavenly Wolf Society and Marquis Wuwei's Estate in the royal city!

This was an open scheme, a crushing force of momentum.

Yet, to everyone's surprise, Lin Xiao showed not the slightest fear in the face of a threat that would have made any newcomer tremble.

He gently pushed Shi Lei and Su Yue aside, stepped forward, met Xiao Lang's icy gaze calmly, and slowly spoke.

"Are you finished?"

Four simple words, yet they carried a calmness that made hearts palpitate.

Xiao Lang's brow furrowed unconsciously.

The corner of Lin Xiao's mouth curved into an almost imperceptible smile, one that held both mockery and disdain.

"First, if I could make you afraid to act in the mountain range, then I have even less reason to fear you here. Because I know you are more afraid than I am of breaking the rules." "Second, you speak of power. Perhaps Marquis Wuwei's Estate is an insurmountable mountain in your eyes. But in mine, it is nothing." "Third..." Lin Xiao paused, and his voice abruptly turned cold. A bone-piercing killing intent erupted from within him without warning, locking precisely onto Xiao Lang!

"...If you dare look at my companions that way again, next time I will twist your neck off with my own hands. Whether it is in the academy or in the royal city."

That killing intent was so pure, so condensed! It was the aura of death truly tempered amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood!

Xiao Lang's pupils suddenly contracted!

At that moment, he felt as though he had been targeted by a prehistoric ferocious beast from the Nine Nether Hell. Every hair on his body stood on end. He even had the illusion that if he dared utter one more word, the other party would truly pounce on him without regard for anything and tear him to pieces!

How was that possible?!

He was a Body Refinement Fifth Level Peak genius! How could he be suppressed by the aura of someone at the Body Refinement Third Level?!

Just as the situation stood at sword's point and could explode at any moment, an aged yet imposing voice rang out over the plaza like an evening drum and morning bell.

"Everyone, stop!"

It was Vice President Chu Tianxing!

At some point, he had appeared at the edge of the high platform. His seemingly cloudy old eyes were now sharp as an eagle's as they swept coldly over Xiao Lang and Lin Xiao.

"Cloud Creek Academy is not an arena for you to compete in strength and ruthlessness! The assessment is over. Put all grievances aside for now! Any further offense will be punished without mercy!"

An invisible pressure descended from above, instantly washing away the sword-drawn tension surrounding the two of them.

Xiao Lang's face shifted between green and white. He knew that since Chu Tianxing had spoken, there was nothing more he could do today. He shot Lin Xiao a venomous glare, snorted coldly, and led the Heavenly Wolf Society members away in fury.

Thus, the disturbance came to an end.

Lin Xiao withdrew his killing intent and cupped his fists toward Chu Tianxing on the high platform, neither servile nor overbearing.

Chu Tianxing gave him a deep look, a trace of imperceptible approval flashing through his eyes before he announced, "All students who have advanced, proceed immediately to Merit Hall to collect your entry rewards!"

Inside Merit Hall, the thousand students who had successfully advanced collected their rewards in order according to their final rankings.

The rewards were not particularly generous: each person received a set of azure robes representing the status of a Cloud Creek Academy outer court student, a jade token recording their identity information and merit points, and an introductory handbook detailing the academy's rules and map.

With his rank of thirty-fifth, Lin Xiao received one thousand initial merit points. That was a considerable fortune among the newcomers.

After distributing the rewards, the academy gave all new students three days off to rest and familiarize themselves with the surroundings. Classes would officially begin only after three days.

Lin Xiao and the other two declined the invitations and banquets offered by other students and returned to the inn at once.

"That was far too dangerous! Xiao Lang definitely will not let this go!" Shi Lei said with lingering fear.

"When soldiers come, generals block them; when water comes, earth dams it." Lin Xiao remained calm. "Our most pressing priority is to raise our own strength as quickly as possible. Only strength is the foundation for dealing with every kind of trouble."

As he spoke, he took out the enormous crocodile hide and said to Su Yue, "Su Yue, you are a native of Cloud Creek City, so I will leave the matter of finding an artifact refiner to you. Money is not an issue. There is only one requirement: the finest craftsmanship, to tailor three inner armors for the three of us."

"Don't worry! Leave it to me!" Su Yue promised, patting her chest, her face glowing with excitement.

After arranging this matter, Lin Xiao said to the two of them, "For the next three days, I will enter seclusion. The successive battles during the assessment gave me some insights, and I need time to settle them. You two should not idle about either. Familiarize yourselves with the academy as soon as possible, find out what merit points can be used for, and learn how to earn them quickly."

Neither Shi Lei nor Su Yue doubted him, and both immediately nodded in agreement.

After seeing them out of the room, Lin Xiao immediately hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door and braced it shut with heavy objects.

He walked to the center of the room, took a deep breath, and unprecedented heat and anticipation burst from his eyes.

He carefully took out the waterskin filled with Earth Core Body Tempering Milk from his robes.

The moment he pulled out the stopper, an indescribably strange fragrance instantly filled the room. The scent seemed alive; merely taking a breath of it made his limbs and bones feel far more comfortable, while the Spiritual Energy within his body began to stir.

He slowly poured the milky-white liquid from the waterskin into the inn's bathing tub.

The liquid was thick as slurry, yet after entering the water, it did not disperse at once. Instead, it slowly squirmed like a living creature, dyeing the entire tub of water milky white. Waves of incomparably pure life energy and earthly essence radiated from it.

Lin Xiao hesitated no longer. He removed his clothing and stepped into the tub.

The instant his body touched that milky-white liquid, unimaginable agony swept through his entire body like a tidal wave!

"Urgh—ah!"

He could not help letting out a muffled groan. Every muscle in his body spasmed and twitched beyond his control.

It felt as though hundreds of millions of ants were gnawing at his flesh, bones, meridians, and even his soul!

The energy of the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk was simply too tyrannical! In the most brutal and direct manner, it forcibly remade his body, crushing, burning away, and expelling every impurity and every shackle within him!

Layers of black, foul-smelling viscous matter began seeping from Lin Xiao's skin. Those were the deepest impurities within his body.

His bones crackled and popped as though an invisible sledgehammer were shattering them inch by inch before reassembling them!

The violent energy stretched his meridians to the verge of rupture, and the burning agony nearly made him faint.

Yet he clenched his teeth tightly and endured through sheer willpower tempered across two lifetimes. He knew that this was his only chance to be reborn and remade. If he gave up, all his previous efforts would go to waste!

He frantically circulated the Qi Gathering Art, guiding that tyrannical energy to scour his limbs and bones over and over again.

Time slowly passed amid the utmost agony.

After an unknown amount of time, the heart-rending pain finally began to fade, replaced by an unprecedented sense of ease and lightness.

He felt as though his body had become as pure and translucent as crystal, filled with explosive strength. His once-resilient meridians had widened several times over, and Spiritual Energy surged through them like rivers flowing into the sea, without the slightest obstruction.

Meanwhile, the system panel on his retina had long since been drowned beneath a frenzy of rapidly refreshing data.

[System Notification: You are absorbing Earth Core Body Tempering Milk. Your body is being remade...]

[System Notification: Constitution increased! Bone structure increased! Meridian resilience increased!]

[System Notification: Detected that an aptitude shackle is being broken...]

[System Notification: Aptitude increased! Current aptitude: Mortal Grade Superior!]

[System Notification: Aptitude increased! Current aptitude: Mystic Grade Inferior!]

[System Notification: Aptitude increased! Current aptitude: Mystic Grade Intermediate!]

[System Notification: Energy overflow. Realm breakthrough begins!]

[Current Realm: Body Refinement Fourth Level!]

[Current Realm: Body Refinement Fifth Level!]

When Lin Xiao opened his eyes again, the milky-white liquid in the tub had turned completely clear. As for him, it was as though he had been granted new life.

He slowly rose to his feet, lowered his head to look at his skin, which was like white jade and emitted a faint precious glow, and felt the surging power within him that was more than ten times stronger than before. His eyes brimmed with shock and wild joy.

He immediately summoned his attribute panel.

[Name: Lin Xiao]

[Realm: Body Refinement Fifth Level (1/1000)]

[Level: 5 (121/200)]

[Strength: 15 (Extraordinary)]

[Agility: 15 (Extraordinary)]

[Spirit: 15 (Extraordinary)]

[Aptitude: Mystic Grade Intermediate]

[Technique: Qi Gathering Art (Perfect)]

[Martial Skill: Cloak Axe Technique (Minor Mastery)]

Body Refinement Fifth Level!

He had actually broken through two levels in succession, soaring directly from the Body Refinement Third Level to the Body Refinement Fifth Level! He now stood at the same realm as Xiao Lang!

What made him even more ecstatic was the change in the [Aptitude] section!

Mystic Grade Intermediate!

He had finally broken free of the shackles of "Mortal Grade" and gained cultivation aptitude no worse than any genius!

He could clearly feel that his affinity with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth had increased more than a hundredfold! Cultivating before had been like drinking water through a straw, but now it was like opening his mouth and swallowing the ocean whole!

"This is my true beginning!"

Lin Xiao clenched his fist, feeling that unprecedented power. Blazing flames burned in his eyes.

Xiao Lang? The Heavenly Wolf Society?

A cold curve touched the corner of his mouth.

The next time they met, who would be the hunter and who would be the prey remained to be seen.