Veterans: Were We Veterans for Nothing?

"Honestly, the moment I realized both of them were Dou Ling, I wanted to surrender. I just never got the chance to say it!"

Amid cheers and laughter, the White Fiend Team was forcibly cleared.

Before long, it was time to tally the rewards.

"Wu Bai and Han Yue performed exceptionally well. They'll each receive one hundred days of Heavenly Fire Energy, plus an Azure Fire Crystal Card."

Elder Liu tossed out two crystal cards, one azure and one black, then explained to Wu Bai, "I converted your card into Fire Energy instead."

"Thank you, Elder."

Wu Bai looked at the Fire Energy on his purple crystal card. It had gone up by four hundred days, and he beamed.

"Crystal cards have five ranks, from lowest to highest: black, blue, azure, red, and purple. A black card only lets you train on the first two floors of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower. A blue card lets you train on the third and fourth floors, and so on. Upgrading a black card to blue costs one hundred days of Fire Energy. Blue to azure costs two hundred days, and the cost keeps rising from there."

"As for the freshmen who won, each of you will receive fifty days of Fire Energy. Those who didn't make it through will still receive ten days."

Elder Liu knew how to handle people. Rather than let the freshmen resent Wu Bai, he spent a few hundred days of Fire Energy to give even those who had failed some consolation. They would remember Wu Bai's generosity.

The veterans were the only ones who suffered. They had taken a beating, and the little Fire Energy they had was wiped out.

But what could they do? They couldn't afford to offend someone that powerful.

Hadn't they seen it? Even the elder had smiled and shown him goodwill, treating him as an equal.

The elder had even arranged excellent lodgings for the two of them's followers.

Then everyone went their separate ways, while the elder led those two off in another direction.

It went without saying that they were being given even better lodgings.

The veterans took it in stride.

Compared with the Outer Academy, the Inner Academy was more like the outside world. Apart from rules against killing and the like, things worked much the same way.

Getting beaten up and having your Fire Energy stolen happened all the time. The veterans were used to it.

After parting from the others, Elder Liu looked at Wu Bai. "There's something I'm not sure I should ask."

"Please ask, Elder. As long as it isn't too difficult, I'll try to answer."

"When you knocked out the White Fiend Team members all at once, was that Soul Power?"

"You have a keen eye, Elder. It was."

"...It really was?"

Elder Liu stared at Wu Bai in disbelief, as though he had heard an impossible tale.

How powerful did someone's Soul Power have to be to knock a Da Dou Shi unconscious in a single move?

It was only when they neared the familiar villa that Elder Liu gradually recovered.

"This place is still yours."

"Thank you, Elder."

With that, Elder Liu turned and left. He needed to go back and process the shock.

Wu Bai watched Elder Liu spread his Dou Qi wings and fly away, then took Han Yue by the hand and led her into the villa.

The furnishings were just as they had been when he left a few days earlier. He hadn't been gone long, so there was hardly any dust.

After sitting down, Wu Bai pointed out the rooms to Han Yue.

"Yue'er, the bedroom upstairs is mine. Pick any of the others."

"Do I have to pick one?"

Han Yue walked around the ground floor, then came up behind Wu Bai and wrapped her arms around him.

Wu Bai turned his head slightly, puzzled.

"Xiao Bai, don't you want to sleep in the same room as me?"

Biting her lip, Han Yue pressed her cheek against his and murmured softly.

Wu Bai felt his cheeks grow warm. He didn't know whether the heat had spread from Han Yue's flushed face or whether her words had set his whole body aflame.

The next moment, Wu Bai swept Han Yue into his arms and carried her all the way to the upstairs bedroom.

After making the bed, the two of them lay down together, still fully dressed.

Late that night, Han Yue prepared a bedroom of her own next door after all.

Holding each other in the same bed had left neither of them with any mind for training. If a teenage boy and girl kept sharing a bed, it was only a matter of time before they made a baby.

Even after moving to separate rooms, Han Yue needed quite a while to calm her racing heart.

Feeling sweaty all over, Han Yue went into the bathroom.

Remembering how Wu Bai had lain on top of her, Han Yue lowered her head and glanced at her chest.

She had never thought much about it before. Why did it suddenly seem a little small?

Meanwhile, Wu Bai lay on his bed, still wanting more. He warned himself, I can't go that far with Yue'er before graduation. Otherwise, she'll be pregnant before I know it.

They hadn't even seen each other naked, and he had already nearly lost control. If they did go that far, would he still have any mind for training?

"The embrace of a beauty really is a hero's downfall..."

With that sigh, Wu Bai slowly closed his eyes.

Using Soul Power like that today had taken a considerable toll on him. He needed a good night's sleep.

Meanwhile, after returning to his lodgings and recovering from his shock, Elder Liu suddenly remembered something very important!

Early the next morning, he arrived outside Wu Bai's villa.

After sleeping through the night, Wu Bai had fully recovered and felt refreshed.

Sensing Elder Liu's presence, he quickly came downstairs, calling out to Han Yue as he went.

"Elder Liu, did you need something?"

Wu Bai poured Elder Liu a cup of hot water and pushed it toward him, looking at him expectantly.

Elder Liu accepted the water. After hesitating for a moment, he lowered his voice as though he were plotting a crime.

"I'm just curious. When will you be able to refine a Sixth-Grade Pill? You'd have to advance to Dou Wang first, wouldn't you?"

"No. I can do it now."

Wu Bai thought for a moment, then added, "But if you want one of the more advanced Sixth-Grade Pills, Elder, you really will have to wait."

"Now?!"

Elder Liu blurted out in shock. So the most outrageous answer he had imagined was actually the right one?

He quickly caught his breath and asked, "What about a Dou Ling Pill?"

"I haven't refined one before, but I'd still have a fifty percent chance with a Dou Ling Pill, which is somewhat above average among Sixth-Grade Pills."

Wu Bai did not speak loudly, but his calm, assured manner shook Elder Liu to the core.

That confidence quickly rubbed off on him.

"Then what would I need to offer to ask you to refine one for me, Wu Bai?"

Elder Liu took a deep breath, his heart uneasy.

An ordinary Dou Wang could hardly afford the services of a Sixth-Grade Alchemist.

Wu Bai noticed Elder Liu's nerves and chuckled.

"Haha, there's no need to worry, Elder. The elders have looked after me well during my time at the academy. Being allowed to train in the Inner Academy a year early has been especially rewarding."

"If the academy's elders want pills refined, they can pay me with some high-grade Medicinal Herbs and Fire Energy."