Return to the Inner Academy and Catch Up with Han Yue

Outer Academy pavilion, vice dean's study.

When Lu Heng pushed the door open and entered, Hu Gan was hunched over his desk, reviewing a stack of documents with exhaustion written all over his face.

"You're back?"

Hu Gan set down his brush and gestured for him to sit.

Lu Heng did not stand on ceremony. He pulled over a chair and sat down, then gave a brief account of his experiences at Soul-Falling Cliff over the past few days: the ambush site, Demon Flame Valley's troop deployment, the strength of the three Seven-Star Dou Kings, Yan Hao's injuries, and Zhao Ping's alteration of the route.

After listening, Hu Gan rubbed his brow.

"Zhao Ping has already been arrested by the Enforcement Team."

Hu Gan's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"We interrogated him for two days, but he was stubborn as hell. It took three rounds of soul probing to pry open his memories. Demon Flame Valley gave him a fifth-grade pill and several hundred thousand Gold Coins to alter the mission route toward Soul-Falling Cliff."

"What about whoever was behind him?"

"Just an outside contact from Demon Flame Valley. He has already fled." Hu Gan shook his head.

"The trail ends here. Zhao Ping was only a Four-Star Da Dou Shi, a squad leader in the intelligence division. He had no access to Demon Flame Valley's inner circle."

Lu Heng leaned back in his chair without speaking.

Hu Gan rose and walked to the window, bracing both hands against the sill.

"The academy's feud with Demon Flame Valley did not start yesterday."

That was indeed the truth.

Demon Flame Valley had occupied the northwestern Black-Corner Region, overlapping Jia Nan Academy's sphere of influence for nearly a century. Conflicts between the two sides never ceased, yet they had always maintained a delicate