The next morning, at the hour of the Dragon.
Xu Yan had been in Dragon City for a month. When he had first arrived, summer had already begun; now, the weather was growing ever more sweltering.
Dawn had broken long ago, and the sun hung high in the vault of heaven, baking the earth.
Great Yin had both a Literary Academy and a Martial Academy, both located in the northwest of Dragon City, separated only by a main road.
The Martial Academy covered a vast area. Pavilions and halls stood row upon row within it, though there were even more training grounds, all paved with black stone and hard as iron.
Before the main gate of the Great Yin Martial Academy stretched a broad white-stone avenue, a hundred zhang long, grand and imposing.
Beyond the white-stone avenue lay more than twenty tiers of bluestone steps. At their summit stood the Great Yin Martial Academy's enormous arched gate, its carved beams and painted rafters exquisitely magnificent.
A massive stone lion stood on either side, radiating boundless majesty.
It was time for morning lessons, and quite a few disciples were arriving one after another.
They all wore fitted red-and-black martial uniforms and brimmed with vigor. They were either children of the imperial nobility or offspring of high officials and wealthy merchants. They traveled in groups across the white-stone avenue, climbed the bluestone steps, and headed into the Martial Academy.
Among the approaching youths, one person was especially conspicuous, because he wore an ink-black robe that set him completely apart from everyone else.
It was Xu Yan. His face was expressionless, as though covered by a layer of frost. His gaze was sharp, making him particularly eye-catching.
Quite a few people passed by him, casting him surprised looks as they whispered and discussed