Jia Nan Academy (Please keep reading!!!)

The Xiao Clan.

Inside a secluded courtyard.

At that moment, however, it was quite lively. A stunning girl with a graceful, slender figure stood in a pale green dress, crimson-gold flames shrouding her body, her long, beautiful eyes slightly narrowed. Facing her from a distance was an equally exquisite girl in white, her figure so delicate and frail that one glance made people want to hold her close and cherish her.

The latter raised a hand and gently wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. Though her lovely face was somewhat pale, a hint of teasing lingered in her light purple eyes.

"Hehe..."

"Something's wrong."

Xiao Xun'er knitted her brows and glanced at her right arm. It hung limply as though it had lost all support, waves of numbness and prickling pain spreading through it.

Narrowing her beautiful eyes, she calmly studied the girl in white across from her. Her alluring red lips softly uttered a single word. "Poison?"

What a ruthless woman. Where on earth did Brother Xiao Yan find her?

She would rather take my blow than miss her chance to bring me down with her. Xun'er had held back in that strike. As long as her opponent dodged, she would not be hit, but she had never expected...

She lifted her other arm, stopping Ling Ying, who was burning with anger at the side and about to attack.

She had started this herself, so she hardly had right on her side. Still, both of them had let some personal feelings slip into their fight.

Her beautiful eyes flicked beyond the courtyard.

Someone was rapidly approaching, his breathing hurried. It was clearly Brother Xiao Yan. Xiao Xun'er's face remained calm as she took several bottles of Pills from her Storage Ring and tossed them to Xiao Yi Xian opposite her.

The latter raised her hand to catch them, surprise flashing through her purple eyes. She opened a bottle and sniffed the Pills, only for her pupils to contract sharply.

"What a rich medicinal fragrance. These must be recovery Pills of at least the fourth tier. To think Xiao Yan has a cousin like you. That guy... he really keeps his secrets well." Xiao Yi Xian looked at Xiao Xun'er with mixed feelings.

"Would you remove the poison for me?" A smile appeared on Xiao Xun'er's lovely face.

"Fine!" Xiao Yi Xian glanced at Ling Ying behind the beauty, his eyes filled with murderous intent, and pursed her lips. Stepping forward, she extended her fair fingers and tapped several acupoints on Xiao Xun'er's body. Wisps of pale purple poison mist poured from Xun'er's mouth and returned to Xiao Yi Xian's body.

"You two, stop!"

When Xiao Yan finally arrived, he was dumbfounded to find the two girls sitting close together in the courtyard, smiling and chatting, whispering into each other's ears like longtime best friends.

The earth-shattering battle he had imagined was nowhere to be seen.

"Brother Xiao Yan, you're here?"

Xiao Xun'er looked at Xiao Yan with a soft laugh, her beautiful eyes utterly still. She gestured lightly with her lips and said calmly, "Then... care to explain?"

"This is Xiao Yi Xian, a friend I met by chance in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. She's skilled with poison. In fact, she has the Woeful Poison Body." The corner of Xiao Yan's eye twitched as he explained.

"What? The Woeful Poison Body?!" Shock appeared on Ling Ying's face. Even he felt a faint apprehension toward it.

After all, this poisonous constitution had once wreaked havoc across the Central Plains. Everyone paled at the mere mention of it.

Xiao Xun'er's expression remained calm. She gently smoothed her dark hair with one delicate hand. "I wasn't asking Brother Xiao Yan for an introduction. I wanted... an explanation of why she's here in the Xiao Clan."

"..."

Xiao Yan frantically racked his brains. "The Jia Nan Academy entrance assessment is coming up. She's very interested in the academy too, so she asked me to bring her back to take it together."

Xiao Yi Xian froze, then pointed at herself. "???"

Only after seeing Xiao Yan furiously signaling with his eyes did she roll her lovely eyes and give a soft huff. Folding her arms across her chest, she said, "That's right. I'm very interested in Jia Nan Academy, and I came to the Xiao Clan willingly. Nobody forced me."

"Besides... I can't leave him anymore."

Xiao Yi Xian looked at Xiao Yan with a trace of fervor in her beautiful eyes. Those words were half true and half false. In any case, she truly was hooked on his Netherworld Poison Flame.

The corner of Xiao Yan's eye twitched violently, for he could vaguely see wisps of dark aura rising above Xun'er's head.

Only after a great deal of coaxing did he barely manage to soothe Xiao Xun'er. As he left the courtyard, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath. How had he forgotten about this?

"Tsk. You certainly have plenty of luck with women."

He had only just stepped out when a long-legged beauty leaning against the wall outside the courtyard gate cast him a teasing look. Xiao Yu had one shapely leg bent, the sole of her shoe braced against the wall, while the other stood straight to support her. Her pale green academy dress hugged her proud figure perfectly.

"Xiao Yu? What are you doing here?" Xiao Yan raised his brows.

"Ow..."

Retribution came swiftly, however. The beauty gave him a sharp smack on the head, leaving him rubbing it.

"We're going to Jia Nan Academy! My teacher has been waiting for you for ages. If you still don't show up, she'll probably take me for a liar who deceives her teacher and betrays her own school." Xiao Yu rolled her eyes, grabbed Xiao Yan's arm, and dragged him toward the Xiao Clan's exit.

"Jia Nan Academy... wait, Xun'er and Xiao Yi Xian are going too." Xiao Yan paused, only realizing it once he gathered his wits.

"Hurry up. Stop dawdling." Xiao Yu showed him no mercy.

Elsewhere.

The two girls sat across a board from each other, quietly playing.

"Aren't you jealous?" With her arms folded across her chest, Xiao Yi Xian glanced in mild surprise at Xiao Xun'er, who had regained her composure the moment Xiao Yan left. It was as though her earlier girlish jealousy had never existed.

"There's nothing to be jealous of. I'll be leaving the Xiao Clan in a little while, and I won't be able to stay by his side. Someone as outstanding as him will attract all sorts of women sooner or later. You're far from the only one." Xiao Xun'er toyed with her dark hair, her lovely face serene.

"So... I'd actually like to ask you to take good care of him."

"As for your Woeful Poison Body, once I return to my clan, I'll do everything I can to find a solution for you."

"..."

Xiao Yi Xian remained silent for a long while before nodding slightly.

She looked at the seemingly untroubled Xiao Xun'er with complicated feelings in her beautiful eyes.

She really is a formidable rival.

"Don't worry. As long as I'm alive, he won't die..."

The Woeful Poison Body developed extremely quickly. Surpassing Xiao Yan probably would not be difficult.

Wutan City.

The city was especially lively that day. Young people from countless towns had poured in from every direction, all hoping to try their luck. If they were fortunate enough to get in, then once they graduated and returned home, that qualification would be a gilded calling card.

Countless factions would scramble to recruit them then.

But the harsh admission requirements eliminated nearly ninety-nine percent of the applicants.

"For Jia Nan Academy's admission standards, eighth stage Dou Qi only just meets the minimum. That's an F rating."

"Ninth stage Dou Qi is E, and so on. One-star is D, two-star is C... the highest currently is a Five-Star Dou Zhe, with an S rating. As for the higher Dou Shi realm, I've only found a few extraordinary talents who reached it when I happened to look through the historical records."

"And most of them only reached Dou Shi right at the age limit of twenty."

As she spoke, Xiao Yu glanced at Xiao Yan, who stood leisurely with his arms folded, a trace of wonder flashing through her eyes.

Xiao Yan, however, seemed not to have heard a word she said. He surveyed the bustling square with a look of surprise.

"So many people..."