Settling In

"Creak."

A wooden door was slowly pushed open, and a ray of sunlight streamed through the crack, finally forming a thin line of light across the floor.

As the wooden door opened fully, the beam rapidly widened. Several figures, their shadows stretched to varying lengths by the sunlight, walked inside. The elderly man leading them swept his gaze over the spacious little building 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, you are members of the Inner Academy. Let me remind you: unless your strength is exceptionally formidable, it won't be easy to get by alone in the Inner Academy... Due to the environment here, the older students have all carved out their own factions and territories. I imagine you'll encounter such things soon enough," Elder Su said thoughtfully.

"We discussed it before entering the Inner Academy. We plan to establish a faction ourselves," Lin Xiuyai interjected at the right moment.

"Then the relationship between you is indeed quite good. That was clear from your performance in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition. The reason you were arranged to live together was precisely to help you form a team. During the hunt competition, you must have realized just how much combat power a team can produce, right?" Elder Su smiled. "Starting today, I hope the few of you will become a team that faces every difficulty 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 cannot compare to that of a team, can it?"

Xiao Ling smiled. "Don't worry, Elder Su. We all understand that. Meeting a few like-minded friends truly adds a few colors to an otherwise ordinary life."

"Hehe, it is naturally 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. "Alright, it's getting late. Tidy up the place yourselves and rest for the night. Starting tomorrow, you may freely look around the Inner Academy. I'm sure it 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 sufficient 'Fire Energy,' you can enter the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower. Cultivating there is more effective than any course. Oh, right, I nearly forgot. Every week, the academy organizes a group entry into the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower for the students. If you insist on calling that a class, then I suppose it counts..."

Elder Su chuckled. "In addition, the Inner Academy has places such as the Dou Technique Hall and the Technique Pavilion. If you wish to obtain Cultivation Techniques or Dou Techniques, you can go there and take a look. Of course, that is only possible if you have enough 'Fire Energy' to exchange for them. Compared with the Outer Academy, the Inner Academy is actually much freer.

"If you feel that you don't have enough 'Fire Energy' and your hands are itching for a fight, you can earn some at the arena. Of course, that is only if you possess sufficient strength. Otherwise, you'll only lose everything you have."

Lin Yan, who had been listless until then, instantly brightened. "Now that's something I'm not sleepy enough to ignore. Sparring with those older 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 legs or arms broken. Otherwise, it'll take several days to repair them." The Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor's Trunk Bone skill, "Wildfires cannot burn it all; spring breezes bring it back to life," was indeed ridiculously powerful. As long as the opponent's cultivation was not too far above his own, its effects were remarkable. While it could not bring back the dead or regenerate flesh from bare bones, regenerating severed limbs was no problem at all.

"If you have no further 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 through 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 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 plate, and stars filled the sky.

Soft moonlight poured down from the heavens, bathing the entire enormous basin in its radiance.

Accompanied by the evening breeze and draped in the gauzy veil woven from moonlight, 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 passing figures, and the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower in the distance, he could not help but sigh inwardly. The Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy that I used to dream of day and night back at the Xiao Family in Wutan City... I've finally entered it.

He thought again of the Xiao Family's situation. Now that he possessed the Myriad Soul Banner, he would be able to 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 some Xuan Rank Cultivation Techniques and Dou Techniques to the Xiao Family, so the family's strength should be far greater than before.

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

Hearing that, Xiao Ling smiled. "Nothing is troubling me. I just feel that my strength is still too weak, and there are too 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 fly with Dou Qi Wings."

Xiao Xun'er comforted him, "Brother Xiao Ling, you're still young. Your current 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 wish to follow you and join your ranks."

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

"Thank you for the praise, Xun'er. Don't worry, I won't disappoint you." Xiao Ling felt quite pleased upon hearing Xiao Xun'er's praise.

A flash of inspiration struck him, and he suddenly recalled a friend who loved playing with guns. He spoke up:

"At the pinnacle of Dou, I stand above the world; with me, Xiao Ling, there is heaven."

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

Hearing this, Xiao Xun'er saw the grin pulling crookedly at Xiao Ling's lips 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 will always be a time to use those lines."

As the moon rose higher and higher, the two returned to their own courtyards amid laughter and conversation. Their first day in the Inner Academy passed just like that.