Less than a month had passed, but when Han Beng returned to the academy, everything felt strangely unfamiliar.
He went straight to the Han Gate he had founded. After hearing his subordinates report what had happened recently, he quickly understood why.
The Flame Alliance was a faction formed by newcomers. It included every student who had joined the Inner Academy this year and was rapidly drawing in senior students as well.
When Han Beng learned that its leader, Xiao Yan, was an alchemist who had refined large quantities of pills to sell, he sprang up before his seat had even warmed. Alarm bells rang in his head: Han Xian!
Han Xian had some talent for alchemy. Better still, he was not clever. If Han Beng took control of the Black-Corner Region someday, he would need someone like him.
Because Han Xian belonged to the Alchemy Department, which stood apart from both the Inner and Outer Academies, he had still entered the Inner Academy to study despite losing the Inner Academy Selection Tournament.
But he had taken Purpleheart Barrier-Breaking Pills one after another to raise his strength, leaving his cultivation unstable and his Dou Qi hollow. Xiao Yan had dealt him a devastating blow in that state. His strength had fallen below where it had been before he took the pills, and he still had not fully recovered.
Han Beng went to Han Xian's quarters in the Inner Academy and was surprised to find quite a few people in his room.
Compared with the others, Han Xian was as pale as paper. He looked ready to breathe his last at any moment, with none of the bearing of a Da Dou Shi.
"Brother, what happened to you?" Han Beng hurried forward. Though he already knew the reason, the emotion in his