Hu Jia gently patted Xun Er's arm with her fingertips, as if comforting her. "I just saw how preoccupied you've been lately and wanted to cheer you up. If that brat Xiao Yao doesn't hurry back, then when he returns to the Inner Academy, I'll be the first to settle the score with him for you."
Xun Er fell silent for a moment before softly humming in acknowledgment. As she lowered her eyes, she could see the concern and worry she could not hide reflected in the teacup.
At that moment, more than twenty black figures were rapidly approaching from the distant skies above the Inner Academy.
They rode entirely black Magical Beasts. Each had a silver horn atop its head, wrapped in wind and lightning, while four enormous wings stretched from its back.
They were unbelievably fast. In less than a moment, they had arrived above the Inner Academy, causing the students below to look up in alarm.
Their eyes were fixed upon the dark shadows that blotted out the sky. Anyone could see that the Dou Qi surrounding those Magical Beasts was not something an ordinary faction possessed. Not to mention the wind and lightning crackling around those silver horns—merely looking at them from afar sent chills down one's spine.
"What is that?!" someone could not help shouting. Before the words had fully left his mouth, the person beside him hurriedly covered it. "Damn it, don't talk nonsense! My family is from the Central Plains. Even there, I've never seen any faction with such a formation. Didn't you see their clothing? It looks like the style worn only by ancient reclusive clans!"
The moment those words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent.
Although most Inner Academy students came from ordinary factions, a small number hailed from the Central