Xiao Li hadn't gone to see Xiao Yi Xian. The girl seemed to feel something different toward him, but when he looked at her face, which resembled that of a middle-schooler from his previous life, he truly couldn't feel anything else.
But maybe in a few years, it'll be fine. Looks like I still haven't accepted the fact that people are considered adults at sixteen in this world. Bah, bah, bah, what am I thinking?
Realizing how his mindset had changed, Xiao Li gasped in horror. He was actually thinking about raising a little girl into a wife. He really shouldn't have gone to see Xiao Yan—now he was treating Xiao Yi Xian, whom he'd originally regarded as a little sister, like a wife-to-be he could raise.
Three days flew by. Su Fei walked along the road back to Jia Nan Academy, grinning so broadly her face was about to split, while she kept muttering to herself.
"Fifteen years old, Da Dou Shi, promoted... Hehehehe, fifteen years old..."
Li Fei'er watched her with a shiver of disgust, then looked at the fellow disciples beside her. "Do you think our teacher's gone crazy?"
Li Lin clicked his tongue twice and glanced at the figure behind them, the one who'd left them all reeling three days ago. "Compared to our teacher, isn't the world the crazier one? Before three days ago, I never would've imagined someone reaching Da Dou Shi while I was still at that embarrassing adolescent age."
Another student, Zhou Qi, glanced at him disdainfully. "Come on. You're still embarrassing and adolescent now. Who knows how many times a day you shout 'Dou Qi turns into wings' in the dormitory and fantasize about being a Dou Wang expert?"
Li Lin's face reddened. He gave a couple of awkward huffs but didn't reply.
Xiao Li listened to their conversation helplessly. It wasn't that he wanted to eavesdrop; these people simply didn't bother to keep their voices down. Each one spoke louder than the last, and with Xiao Li's abilities, he could naturally hear them clearly.
Xiao Li was also quite bored along the way. Aside from Su Fei, hardly anyone in the group dared to say more than a few words to him. They just kept sneaking glances at him, making his skin crawl.
Seated on Jia Nan Academy's own flying magical beast, Xiao Li entered a state of cultivation. With Jia Nan Academy's reputation protecting them, they would hardly face any danger in the Black-Corner Region. He only needed to wait patiently for a while.
Seeing Xiao Li cultivating so diligently, Su Fei, who had spent the past few days turning into his biggest fan, immediately drew her brows together. "Look at him! How do you think he got strong enough to qualify for the Inner Academy as soon as he enrolled? Now look at yourselves!"
Su Fei proceeded to berate the students one by one. The new students had seen just how strict she was over the past few days. She worked them to the point of death, never treating them like human beings.
Li Fei'er and the others wore bitter expressions. They could only sit cross-legged and begin cultivating.
Seeing Xiao Li come out of his cultivation state, Su Fei quickly put on a smile again. "Did big sister disturb you? Go on, keep cultivating. I'll be quieter."
Xiao Li shook his head. "No, teacher. I just wanted to see what the Black-Corner Region is like, and whether it's really as chaotic as the rumors say."
At the name Black-Corner Region, Su Fei's expression darkened. She hesitated, but eventually spoke. "All right. It's good to see it for yourself. Seeing the dark side of humanity in this world will help you grow."
After the flying magical beast had been traveling for nearly ten days, the endless, monotonous mountain ranges below suddenly began to thin out. Xiao Li was slightly taken aback, then raised his head and gazed into the distance.
At the very edge of his vision, he saw a pitch-black plain, like a black line that completely divided the outer world from the inner one.
Watching the black line grow larger in his vision, a smile spread from the corner of Xiao Li's mouth. At last, I've made it out of the starter zone. Now that I'm at the Black-Corner Region and Jia Nan Academy, I'm sure I'll cultivate even faster.
This Black Domain Great Plain was the gateway to the Black-Corner Region. Once they set foot here, they would have entered that chaotic world so unlike the outside.
Su Fei's expression turned solemn. "Everyone, be careful. Some lunatics in the Black-Corner Region will attack even when they see a group from Jia Nan Academy."
After Su Fei finished speaking, Xiao Li noticed a lean old man emerge from a room in the corner. His aura was hard to discern, but it was clearly far stronger than Su Fei's.
"A Dou Ling expert..."
Looking at this powerhouse, whom he'd never seen before, Xiao Li narrowed his eyes slightly. Jia Nan Academy had made quite thorough preparations.
The plain stretched as far as the eye could see, a monotonous black beneath the somewhat dim sky. An oppressive, irritable atmosphere hung over it. No wonder a place this eerie gave rise to such chaotic rules.
The scenes below the flying magical beast were an eye-opener for Xiao Li. Almost everywhere he looked, there was a fight; countless people were robbing, stealing, and killing.
Fortunately, when these villains saw Jia Nan Academy's insignia, they grew wary and didn't even dare approach.
The corpses hanging from the Death Spirit Tree in front of Jia Nan Academy were no joke. No one in the Black-Corner Region wanted to end up hanging there.
"Now that you've seen it with your own eyes, you understand, don't you, young fellow? Teacher Su Fei was right. There are no good people here." The old man's voice sounded beside Xiao Li.
"In the Black-Corner Region, don't let anyone see through your background or where you come from..."
"Teacher, can we rob them?"
Xiao Li's question left the old man speechless. Then a dry, croaking laugh came from his throat. "Of course you can, as long as you're strong enough."
"Right now?"
"Anytime, anywhere. There are no rules."
The old man stared at Xiao Li, as though trying to see what was going through his mind.
Xiao Li grinned. "Then, teacher, please have the group wait a few seconds. I'll be right back."
With that, Xiao Li leaped down. He'd just spotted something perfect for him. If he could get his hands on it, he might be able to break through.
The old man was so startled by Xiao Li's actions that he gaped, even tearing off a few whiskers from his chin. "Stop, stop, wait a moment!"
Su Fei and the students gathered around him, asking what was going on. For a moment, the old man didn't know how to explain. Was he supposed to tell them that this year's most monstrous student had jumped off?
"Wait here. I'll be right back."
With that, the old man leaped down too. Xiao Li had dared to jump from a height of over a hundred meters—quite something.
Xiao Li was now staring excitedly at the corpse of a third-tier magical beast below. He landed on its soft body, rolled on the spot, and bled off the force of his fall.
The mercenaries who had just fought over the magical beast's corpse for half a day froze at the figure falling from the sky. The scene fell into an eerie silence.
Looking up at the flying magical beast that belonged exclusively to Jia Nan Academy, the leader of the Ancient Vine Mercenary Group wore an unreadable expression, but in the end, he couldn't help speaking.
"May I ask who you are... Uh, what brings you down from the sky? This magical beast was hunted by my Ancient Vine..."
The leader of the Ancient Vine Mercenary Group choked when he saw the Jia Nan Academy uniform Xiao Li was wearing, and didn't finish what he was saying.
Xiao Li stood up and grinned at the leader of the Ancient Vine Mercenary Group. If he were Xiao Yan, he wouldn't steal from someone who hadn't wronged him. He had principles.
Unfortunately, he was Xiao Li. He could barely read, and all he knew was that he didn't need a reason to rob villains.
He'd watched them snatch this thing with his own eyes. When it came to villains, Xiao Li didn't have many principles.
They were all bad people. Why could they steal from others, but he couldn't steal from them?
No, this was called upholding justice on Heaven's behalf.