Battle Through the Heavens: Obtaining the Extraction System at the Start — Chapter 19

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

"Hehe, it's best that you think this way." Seeing the four of them come together seamlessly as a team, Elder Su nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand. "All right, it's getting late. Tidy up the rooms yourselves and rest for the night. Starting tomorrow, you may look around the Inner Academy as you please. 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 doesn't need such things. As long as you have enough Fire Energy, you can enter the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda. Cultivating there is more effective than any course. Oh, right, I almost forgot—the academy organizes a collective entry into the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda once a week. If that counts as a course, then I suppose that's one..."

Elder Su chuckled. "Besides that, the Inner Academy also has places such as the Dou Technique Hall and the Cultivation Method Pavilion. If you want to obtain Cultivation Techniques or Combat Skills, you can go have a look. Of course, that is only possible if you have 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 isn't enough and your hands are itching for a fight, you can earn Fire Energy in the Arena. Of course, that's only if you have sufficient strength. Otherwise, you'll lose everything."

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

Xiao Ling curled his lip but did not refute him. He 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, "Wildfires Cannot Burn It All; Spring Winds Bring It Back to Life," was indeed absurdly powerful. As long as the other person's cultivation was not too far above his own, its effects were remarkable. It could not bring back the dead or regrow flesh from bare bones, but regenerating severed limbs was no problem.

"If there's nothing else, you should rest. If anything comes up, you can 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.

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

"Mm." Lin Xiuyai and the other two nodded with smiles before dispersing to find their own rooms.

The moon hung like a silver disk amid a sky full of stars.

Soft moonlight spilled down from the heavens, draping the enormous basin in a veil of silver radiance.

Accompanied by the evening breeze and clothed in a gauzy shawl woven from moonlight, Xiao Ling and Xiao Xun'er strolled along the tree-lined paths of the Inner Academy, chatting about trivial matters.

As Xiao Ling looked at the various facilities of the Inner Academy, the passing figures, and the distant Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda, he could not help sighing inwardly. The Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy that I used to dream about 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 could obtain another opportunity when he returned to the Xiao Family next time. He wondered how Xiao Yan was doing. With Xiao Ling and Xiao Xun'er gone, Xiao Yan was now the Xiao Family's number one genius. Xiao Ling had already sent several Mysterious Grade Cultivation Techniques and Combat Skills to the Xiao Family, so its strength should be much greater than before.

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

Xiao Ling smiled when he heard that. "It's nothing troubling. I just feel that my strength is still too weak, and there are 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 excellent, and you're also an Alchemist. Once you grow stronger, there will definitely be many people who want to follow you and join your ranks."

She was not simply flattering him. In the Central Plains, talent like Xiao Ling's was already among the very best even among geniuses. Even some members of the Ancient Clan who had not awakened their bloodline were far inferior to him. In Xiao Xun'er's eyes, with the potential Xiao Ling had displayed so far, becoming a Dou Saint in the future would not be a problem. At worst, she could cultivate until she became the Clan Leader of the Ancient Clan 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 her praise.

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

"At the pinnacle of Dou, I stand proud beneath the heavens; with me, Xiao Ling, there is heaven."

"In this life, I, Xiao Ling, am destined to be invincible in this world."

Hearing this, Xiao Xun'er saw the crooked grin on Xiao Ling's face and could not help laughing as well. She rolled her eyes at him. "The words are good, but the occasion is wrong."

Xiao Ling replied stubbornly, "Don't worry. There'll always be a time when those words come in handy."

As the moon climbed higher and higher, the two laughed and chatted before eventually returning to their respective courtyards. Thus passed their first day in the Inner Academy.

The next morning, Xiao Ling woke from his sleep.

He went to a seat in the living room and began reading books related to Alchemy Art.

The others came down the stairs one after another and exchanged greetings.

Once Lin Yan, the last one, arrived, Lin Xiuyai asked, "Let's settle the matter of establishing our faction today, so it won't become troublesome later."

Xiao Ling nodded without objection. "You can handle recruiting members and managing the faction. I'll only be responsible for refining pills for you. Faction members can get a discount when they ask me to refine pills—it can count as one of the benefits of joining."

"Don't worry. I'll handle these matters seriously. It'll also serve as training for my abilities," Lin Xiuyai replied.

"Fine, I'll leave it to you. I'll go look around on my own and test the effects of the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda while I'm at it." After saying that, Xiao Ling waved to everyone and left the dormitory.

Outside the building was a broad, tree-lined avenue. On both sides stood the residences of the other new students from this year. Han Yue and Xiao Xun'er shared a room, right next to Xiao Ling and the others' dormitory.

Of course, compared to Xiao Ling's group's small building, the other residences were somewhat simpler. It seemed that not everyone received such treatment.

There was not a single new student on the road at the moment. The Fire Energy Hunt Competition had probably exhausted them badly, so none of them had risen so early.

Xiao Ling headed toward the two girls' dormitory and casually looked around. He found Han Yue already practicing Combat Skills in the courtyard, while Xiao Xun'er was likely still asleep, as he did not see her. Seeing this, Xiao Ling did not intend to interrupt Han Yue's cultivation and went off to explore elsewhere.

Nearly ten minutes later, Xiao Ling, who had been walking at an unhurried pace, slowed down and looked toward the end of the road. A group of people had appeared there, blocking the exit.

Seeing this, Xiao Ling frowned. He guessed they were old students collecting Tribute Fees.

When he reached the exit of the avenue, Xiao Ling had no intention of paying them any attention and headed toward a direction that no one was blocking.

At that moment, seven or eight old students wearing Tower-shaped badges on their chests surrounded him. Their faces were fierce and menacing.

Xiao Ling had not wanted to waste time, but these people had actually taken him for easy prey. He clenched his hand, and a long spear appeared within it. In an unfriendly tone, he said, "Don't waste my time, or you'll regret it."

A rather burly man in black sneered arrogantly at Xiao Ling. "Kid, hand over your Fire Energy Card now, or you'll suffer for it." As he spoke, he threw a punch at Xiao Ling.

Xiao Ling shifted slightly and easily dodged the man's punch. He then swept his spear backward, knocking him to the ground. Activating the Suction Palm, he pulled the man back in front of him and lifted him by the throat with one hand.

Seeing this, the others activated their Dou Qi, preparing to gang up on Xiao Ling.

At that moment, an old student rushed over from afar and shouted at them, "All of you, stop!"

He then smiled at Xiao Ling. "That guy was talking nonsense. Junior Xiao Ling, you can go. And you lot, hurry up and make way."

Xiao Ling nodded slightly. He did not want to waste time on such trivial matters, so he said coldly, "What you do to others has nothing to do with me. But don't waste my time or my friends' time, or don't blame me if I stop holding back in the future."

Watching Xiao Ling's departing back, the burly man in black pried apart his companion's hand and asked in confusion, "Why did you let that kid go? Didn't Brother Li Zhengyu say that every new student's Tribute Fee had to be collected? Although this guy is young enough to enter the Inner Academy, so his talent must be decent, his strength should still be low. He probably got in at the bottom. Why should a few Da Dou Shi like us be afraid of him?"

The young man who had just arrived rolled his eyes and said sternly, "Got in at the bottom? You weren't there yesterday. You didn't see Xiao Ling lead five people and rob every old student of their Fire Energy. Otherwise, you wouldn't be saying that."

"Really? How is that possible?" The man in black could hardly believe it. There had been Dou Ling experts among the old students in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition, people who ranked in the upper-middle tier of the entire Inner Academy. Yet they had all been robbed by a child who looked more than ten years younger than them, leading a few people? He found it hard to accept.

The other man shook his head. "It's true. Especially Xiao Ling—he's only ten years old this year, yet he's already a Da Dou Shi and a Tier 4 Peak Alchemist. That kind of talent is beyond anything people like us can compare to. Now do you understand why I stopped you from making another move?"

"And his friends are all very strong and talented as well. There's no need to provoke them. From Xiao Ling's attitude, he probably doesn't intend to interfere with the other new students. We can just collect from them."

"I... understand." The man in black was left speechless.

The other old students who had not known Xiao Ling's circumstances also placed him firmly on the list of people they could not afford to provoke.

Xiao Ling did not care much about such a minor incident.

He knew a little about Tribute Fees. They were paid by new students to factions formed by old students.

This was probably one of the unwritten rules of the Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy.

This tradition was not mandated by the academy. The academy merely encouraged competition, and this was an unwritten rule that had emerged under that encouragement.

Xiao Ling had long noticed that, for some reason, old students in both the Outer Academy and Inner Academy liked to put new students through their paces.

After each batch of new students had been taught a lesson by the old students, they would target the next batch once they became old students themselves, simply to balance their own feelings. The cycle repeated endlessly.

Xiao Ling did not care about such things and had no intention of interfering. Nor would he be like Xiao Yan in the original story, establishing a faction to clean up after the new students. Every time his subordinates were bullied, they would come looking for Xiao Yan to seek justice. It was purely a waste of time and effort with no benefit.

Xiao Ling and the others intended to establish their own faction merely to make cultivation more convenient. If they wanted to find something in the future, they would only need to send their subordinates to search for it, and gathering information would be more convenient as well.

No longer thinking about these trivial matters, Xiao Ling took out the Inner Academy map he had asked Elder Su for yesterday. After confirming the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda's location, he sped off in the direction indicated by the map.

The Inner Academy's area was indeed as vast as Xiao Ling had expected.

He sprinted at full speed for nearly half an hour, yet still had not reached the boundaries of the Inner Academy.

Along the way, Xiao Ling gained an even clearer sense of the Inner Academy's atmosphere.

On the road to the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda, he often saw students fighting openly in public. Plenty of spectators surrounded these circles, clearly accustomed to the sight. Some particularly talkative people even shouted out the occasional openings revealed by the two combatants. This made the fighters increasingly alarmed, until in the end they could only withdraw with frustrated expressions.

Xiao Ling could not help sighing inwardly. The Inner Academy's culture really is fierce. Sparring matches this frequent aren't forbidden in the Outer Academy either, but unless there's a grudge, few people seek others out to spar. After Lin Yan comes to the Inner Academy, he should be able to fight to his heart's content.

After another twenty minutes of running, Xiao Ling swept his gaze around and discovered in surprise that, for some reason, more and more people were crowding onto this northbound path. Each of them pushed their speed to the limit. Xiao Ling could see figures constantly flashing past atop the trees on both sides, accompanied by the whistling sound of wind being torn apart.

Seeing this, Xiao Ling roughly understood. They should be about to reach the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda. He accelerated again and rushed forward.

Stopping atop a small hill, Xiao Ling looked ahead. What appeared in his vision was a sunken stretch of terrain. Within that depression, an enormous Black Tower was buried deep underground, with only its spire and a single dark entrance exposed above the surface. This was the essence of the Inner Academy—the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda.

The entrance of the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda was already packed with a dense mass of people. The sight made Xiao Ling realize anew just how popular the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda was within the Inner Academy.

Without further hesitation, Xiao Ling squeezed straight into the crowd. Relying on his formidable physical strength, he soon pushed his way to the front and found an open spot with few people to stand in.

Seeing the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda from closer up, Xiao Ling noticed that the space around the tower seemed faintly distorted and wrinkled.

This Space Lock must have been left behind by Mang Tianchi long ago. After all this time, he still hasn't come back to maintain it. Han Feng only needed to bring a few Dou Huangs to break the Space Lock. Remembering the plot of the original story, Xiao Ling grumbled inwardly.

Time passed bit by bit as they waited.

Dong!

An ancient bell rang out mightily through the area. As its toll sounded, the noisy clamor in the crowd abruptly ceased.

"Open the tower!"

After the bell's echo faded, an aged voice seemed to emerge from within the tower.

Not long after the old voice fell silent, the tightly shut black gates slowly opened with a creak. A faintly scorching aura seeped out, raising the temperature of the area slightly.

"Enter the tower!"