Settling In

Settling In

"Creak."

A wooden door was slowly pushed open, and a ray of sunlight spilled through the crack, eventually forming a thin strip of light across the floor.

As the wooden door opened fully, the beam swiftly widened. Several figures with shadows stretched to varying lengths by the sunlight walked in. The elderly man at the front swept his gaze over the spacious little pavilion and smiled. "Xiao Ling, this will be the residence for the four of you from now on. Since there aren't enough rooms, Han Yue and Xiao Xun'er were probably taken next door. The two of them will be living in the neighboring courtyard from now on."

"From now on, you will be members of the Inner Academy. Let me remind you: unless your strength is extraordinarily formidable, it won't be easy to get by alone in the Inner Academy... Due to the environment here, those Senior Students have all divided up their own factions and territories. You'll likely encounter such things soon enough." Elder Su said thoughtfully.

"We discussed it before entering the Inner Academy. We'll establish a faction of our own," Lin Xiuyai promptly said from the side.

"Then the relationship between you is indeed quite good. It was clear from your performance in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition. The reason you were assigned to live together was precisely to encourage you to form a team. During the hunt competition, you must have understood just how much combat power a team can produce, right?" Elder Su said with a smile. "And from today onward, I hope you will become a team that faces every hardship together and never abandons one another. If you can achieve that, life in the Inner Academy will be much easier. No matter what, one person's strength can never compare to that of a team, can it?"

Xiao Ling smiled. "Don't worry, Elder Su. We all understand that. Meeting a few compatible friends really does add a bit of color to an otherwise dull life."

"Hehe, it's naturally best if you think that way." Seeing the four of them come together as a team without any barriers between them, Elder Su nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand. "All right, it's getting late. Tidy up the place yourselves, then get some rest tonight. Starting tomorrow, you can take a look around the Inner Academy at your leisure. I'm sure this place won't disappoint you."

"Does the Inner Academy not have any cultivation classes?" Lin Xiuyai hurriedly asked.

"The Inner Academy has no need for such things. As long as you have enough 'Fire Energy,' you can enter the 'Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower.' Cultivating there is more effective than any class. Oh, right, I nearly forgot. Every week, the academy organizes a group entry into the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower for the students. If you insist on calling that a class, then I suppose it counts..."

Elder Su chuckled. "Additionally, the Inner Academy has places such as the Dou Skills Hall and the Technique Pavilion. If you wish to obtain Techniques or Dou Skills, you may go there and take a look. Of course, that is only on the premise that you possess enough 'Fire Energy' to exchange for them. Compared to the Outer Academy, the Inner Academy is actually much freer.

"If you feel your 'Fire Energy' is insufficient and your hands are itching for a fight, you can earn Fire Energy at the arena. Of course, the prerequisite is that you possess sufficient strength. Otherwise, you'll only lose everything you have."

Lin Yan, who had been listless until then, instantly lit up at those words. "Now you're talking—I'm not sleepy anymore. Sparring with those Senior Students sounds interesting. As long as they don't beat me to death, Xiao Ling can heal me anyway."

Xiao Ling curled his lips but did not refute him. He merely said calmly, "Just don't get your arms or legs broken. Otherwise, it'll take several days to repair them." The Hundred Thousand Year Blue Silver Emperor Torso Bone skill, "Wildfire Cannot Burn It All; Spring Breezes Bring It Back to Life," was indeed outrageously powerful. As long as the other party's cultivation did not surpass his by too much, its effects were exceptionally noticeable. While it could not bring the dead back to life or regrow flesh from bare bones, regenerating severed limbs was not a problem.

"If there are no more questions, then rest. If anything comes up, you may come find me." Elder Su waved to the four of them, then turned and walked out the door, eventually disappearing from Xiao Ling and the others' sight.

Watching Elder Su leave, Xiao Ling clapped his hands and smiled at Lin Xiuyai and the other two. "Let's clean up the rooms. Before we establish our faction, this may well be our long-term base. Let's make the place nice and clean, so the few of us can live and cultivate more comfortably."

"Mm." Lin Xiuyai and the other two nodded with smiles, then scattered to find rooms of their own.

The moon hung like a silver disk, and stars filled the sky.

Faint moonlight poured down from the heavens, shrouding the enormous basin in its silvery glow.

With the evening breeze and a gauzy veil woven from moonlight draped around them, Xiao Ling and Xiao Xun'er strolled along the shaded paths of the Inner Academy, chatting about trivial matters.

As Xiao Ling looked at the various facilities of the Inner Academy, the figures coming and going, and the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower in the distance, he could not help sighing inwardly. The Jia Nan Academy Inner Academy that I once dreamed of day and night back in the Xiao Family of Wutan City—I've finally entered it.

He then thought of the Xiao Family's current situation. Now that he possessed the Myriad Soul Banner, he might gain another opportunity when he returned to the Xiao Family next time. He wondered how Xiao Yan was doing now. With Xiao Ling and Xiao Xun'er gone, Xiao Yan had become the Xiao Family's number one genius. Xiao Ling had already sent several Xuan Tier Techniques and Dou Skills to the Xiao Family, so the family should be much stronger than before by now.

Seeing Xiao Ling deep in thought, Xiao Xun'er asked curiously, "Is something troubling you, Brother Xiao Ling?"

Hearing that, Xiao Ling smiled. "Nothing's troubling me. I just feel that I'm still too weak, and there are so many things I can't do. I want to break through to the Dou Wang realm as soon as possible. Then I'll be able to form Dou Qi Wings and fly."

Xiao Xun'er comforted him, "Brother Xiao Ling, you're still young. Your cultivation speed is already outstanding, and you're also an Alchemist. Once you grow stronger in the future, there will definitely be many people who want to follow you and join your ranks."

She was not merely flattering him. In the Central Plains, talent like Xiao Ling's already placed him among the very best geniuses. Even some members of the Ancient Clan who had not awakened their bloodlines were far inferior to Xiao Ling. In Xiao Xun'er's eyes, based on the potential Xiao Ling had shown so far, becoming a Dou Sheng in the future would not be a problem. At worst, she could cultivate until she became the Ancient Clan Leader and support Xiao Ling herself.

"Thank you for the praise, Xun'er. Don't worry, I won't disappoint you." Xiao Ling was in quite a good mood after hearing Xiao Xun'er's praise.

A flash of inspiration struck him, and he suddenly remembered a fellow who liked playing with guns. He then said:

"At the peak of Dou, I stand above all; with Xiao Ling, there is heaven."

"In this life, I, Xiao Ling, am destined to be invincible beneath the heavens."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xun'er saw the corner of Xiao Ling's mouth curling up crookedly in amusement at his own words and could not help laughing as well. She shot him a sidelong glance and said, "Not bad words, but the occasion is wrong."

Xiao Ling replied stubbornly, "Don't worry. There'll always be a time to use those lines."

The moon climbed ever higher. Amid their laughter and conversation, the two returned to their respective courtyards. Thus, their first day in the Inner Academy came to an end.