Journey to Jia Nan

Inside the room, Xiao Qing sat cross-legged on the bed, his consciousness sinking into the Storage Ring in his hand.

After a long while, Xiao Qing withdrew his consciousness and let out a complicated sigh. "They've practically emptied out the family treasury!"

Before Xiao Zhan and the three elders, Xiao Qing had been curious, but he had not been able to inspect what was inside the Storage Ring.

Now that he had returned to his quarters, he naturally checked it immediately.

The results were somewhat unexpected.

Xiao Qing had originally thought that Xiao Zhan and the three elders would at most give him cultivation resources such as gold coins and medicinal herbs.

Yet aside from those, there were also various cultivation methods and Dou techniques stored in the Xiao Household's Scripture Pavilion, as well as a Qi Gathering Powder.

Although the cultivation methods and Dou techniques were not of a high grade, there was a wide variety of them.

Other than uncommon attributes such as darkness, there was at least one cultivation method for every attribute.

Clearly, Xiao Zhan and the three elders had been planning ahead for when he advanced to the Dou Zhe realm.

But since they did not know what attribute Xiao Qing possessed, they could only copy down cultivation methods of every attribute stored in the Scripture Pavilion.

As for the Qi Gathering Powder, it was meant for Xiao Qing to consume when he broke through to the Dou Zhe realm.

It could prevent the risk of failing the breakthrough and having his Dou Qi regress.

Just because Qi Gathering Powder appeared repeatedly in the original work did not mean it was not precious.

Qi Gathering Powder was a fourth-tier medicinal pill. Compared to other fourth-tier medicinal pills, its effects might seem somewhat lackluster, but that did not change its nature as a fourth-tier pill.

Throughout the entire Jia Ma Empire, there were only a handful of alchemists above the fourth tier, and even fewer who could refine Qi Gathering Powder. Its value was easy to imagine.

For the Xiao Household to obtain this Qi Gathering Powder, they must have paid quite a price.

Xiao Qing felt somewhat moved. Although he might not need these cultivation methods or the Qi Gathering Powder,

the thoughtfulness Xiao Zhan and the three elders had shown for him still touched him deeply.

"They're really afraid I'll run away, aren't they?"

Xiao Qing shook his head with a bitter smile, silently keeping this kindness in his heart. He secretly vowed that in the future, he would never allow Soul Hall to find an opening against the Xiao Household!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

At the recruitment square, all the students who had passed Jia Nan Academy's test had gathered together, ready to depart for Jia Nan Academy.

In the crowded square, the students who had passed the test gathered in groups of two or three to chat. Before long, the noise drowned out the entire square.

Just then, a patch of tiny black dots appeared in the distant sky.

The black dots grew larger and larger, and the vague outlines of birds could be seen.

The enormous airflow kicked up dust from the ground, forcing people to cover their faces with their hands.

A row of broad-winged Griffin Beasts slowly descended, their enormous bird faces staring fixedly at the crowd.

The new students in the square immediately turned pale with fright. Some were so scared that they collapsed onto the ground.

Xiao Qing remained calm. His youthful figure stood out sharply amid the frightened crowd around him.

Xiao Qing curiously examined the flying magical beasts before him.

This was the first time he had personally seen a real magical beast since arriving in the Dou Qi Continent.

Ge Long stepped out from the recruitment party and explained to everyone in the square,

"Don't be afraid. These are magical beasts specially raised by the academy. They won't harm anyone."

With that, Ge Long circulated his Dou Qi, leaped into the air, and landed atop the leading Griffin Beast.

There were already people on those Griffin Beasts. Ge Long was not the only instructor who had come to the Jia Ma Empire to recruit students.

Before long, Ge Long appeared again and called down to the crowd below,

"Come up. We're leaving."

The older students showed no fear and climbed onto the Griffin Beasts one after another.

The new students trembled where they stood. Seeing that the older students had already climbed onto the Griffin Beasts, they gritted their teeth and followed.

Once all the new students had reached the backs of the Griffin Beasts, they collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiao Qing calmly studied the Griffin Beast beneath his feet, inwardly marveling at the convenience of flying magical beasts. Traveling between two places could save a great deal of time.

Ge Long watched everyone's reactions from the side. When he saw Xiao Qing's demeanor, a thought inexplicably surfaced in his mind.

This child will surely achieve greatness in the future!

Once everyone had boarded the Griffin Beasts, the leading one let out a long cry, spread its wings, and flew toward Jia Nan Academy.

The other Griffin Beasts around it also cried out in succession and flapped their wings after it.

At the Xiao Household,

Xiao Zhan and the three elders watched the Griffin Beasts disappear into the distant sky, all feeling as though they did not know how many years would pass before their return.

Only after the figures vanished beyond the edge of their sight did they withdraw their gazes.

"I wonder what Qing'er's cultivation will be when he returns from Jia Nan Academy?"

Xiao Zhan stood with his hands behind his back, his expression complicated and his tone somewhat wistful.

"Perhaps a Da Dou Shi, perhaps a Dou Ling? Who knows?"

A sharp glint flashed through the First Elder's eyes.

"As long as his cultivation surpasses ours, that will be enough!"

The Third Elder stroked his long beard, a smile resting on his wrinkled face.

With a monster like Xiao Qing born into their family, it seemed the Xiao Household was destined to rise again!

Once Xiao Qing had matured, perhaps the Xiao Household might even return to the imperial capital someday!

Thinking of this, the few of them exchanged glances and smiled.

Across the azure sky, more than a dozen enormous Griffin Beasts beat their wings as they swiftly flew onward.

Watching the clouds streak past outside the window, waves of emotion rose within Xiao Qing's heart.

When would he reach the Dou Wang realm and be able to fly through the sky alone?

Although for many people, Dou Wang was a realm they could never reach even after exhausting their entire lives,

for Xiao Qing, Dou Wang was merely one stage of his cultivation.

With the lottery panel, he was destined not to be trapped at a single realm, unable to break through.

His thoughts were in turmoil, but Xiao Qing quickly steadied himself, closed his eyes, and entered cultivation.

The days spent riding flying magical beasts toward Jia Nan Academy were exceedingly dull. Other than the unchanging sea of clouds around them, there was no scenery to behold.

Though looking down allowed them to see the outlines of mountain ranges and cities below, it was inevitable that they would lose interest after watching for too long.

Just as the new students who had recently joined Jia Nan Academy grew restless because of this, Xiao Qing stayed in his room cultivating as though he never left home.

This left many people who had heard of Xiao Qing's deeds and wished to befriend him helpless.

Ge Long watched all of this and sighed inwardly.

No wonder Xiao Qing had attained such cultivation at his age. Aside from his monstrous talent, his own diligence was equally indispensable.

This was how the gap was created: those more talented than you were even more hardworking than you.

As the days passed and they drew closer and closer to Jia Nan Academy, the recruiting instructors began introducing Jia Nan Academy to the new students.

Ge Long also woke Xiao Qing from cultivation to listen to the introduction of Jia Nan Academy.

What was described in books was ultimately only the surface. It was impossible for every detail to be recorded within them.