Peace

The whole world did not revolve around one person, nor did it exist for anyone in particular. Everyone had their own affairs.

Something new might catch everyone's attention at first. But after ten days or two weeks, time would wash away even the biggest news, and everyone would return to the rhythm of their own lives.

And so, more than half a year passed.

A dark figure appeared outside the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower and vanished in a flash.

At dusk, Han Yue emerged from the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower and returned to the villa.

As soon as she entered, she noticed an extra pair of shoes in the corner.

Han Yue softened her footsteps and went upstairs, where she saw Wu Bai's teacher—half a teacher to her as well—come out.

"Teacher, how is Wu Bai?"

"He's fine. He spent over seven months in seclusion without a break. He'll be all right after a couple of hours' sleep."

"Oh, good."

Han Yue breathed a sigh of relief, then remembered something. "Teacher, what star Dou Ling is Wu Bai now?"

"Well, you'd better ask him yourself. Heh..."

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint smiled without answering, then turned and floated back inside.

Han Yue was rather speechless.

She went to her room, took off her clothes, placed a Mind-Cleansing Pill in her mouth, and stepped into the bathroom.

As she washed, Han Yue wondered what level Wu Bai had reached.

I'm already a Five-Star Dou Ling. With his elemental advantage and the Heart Flame on the ninth floor, Wu Bai must be at least a Seven-Star Dou Ling by now, right?

The Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower was not a friendly environment for an ice-element cultivator like her.

After all, the total amount of natural energy in any given area was finite.

The Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower stood above Magma, so fire- and earth-element energy were especially abundant there. Fire-element energy alone could account for more than half.

The other elements were less affected, but ice and water countered fire. Together, they might not even make up a tenth of the energy in that area.

Fortunately, Han Yue had the Medicinal Pills Wu Bai had prepared for her. They let her cultivate with fewer reservations and made up for part of the disadvantage.

But no matter how she compensated, fire-element cultivators still had the advantage in that environment.

Before nightfall, Han Yue brought several dishes back from the Inner Academy's dining hall.

There were Medicinal Pills such as Fasting Pills, but people generally took those only while in seclusion.

Most of the time, they still ate. After so many years of delicious food, anyone who could give it up just like that was truly ruthless.

Wu Bai was no exception. Given the choice, he would pick a delicious meal without hesitation.

Sure enough, Han Yue had barely set the food box on the dining table when a figure jumped straight down from the second floor and took a seat.

"That smell... It has to be five-flavor chicken soup!"

"Mm, Wu Bai, you have a sharp nose!"

Han Yue nodded with a smile. Seeing him in nothing but his underclothes, his eyes still heavy with sleep, she covered her mouth and chuckled.

Her hands did not slow, though. Soon, she set a bowl of fresh fish soup in front of him.

Slurp, slurp~~

"Ah... I'm alive again!"

After finishing the bowl of fish soup, Wu Bai felt much more alive.

More than half a year of eating Fasting Pills had been almost more than he could bear.

Even a top-quality Third-Rank Fasting Pill caused no problems when taken over a long period, but it still could not compare with a proper, delicious meal.

After that, he simply sat in a daze, holding the fragrant, soft beauty in his arms as he closed his eyes and rested.

It was not until noon the next day that he seemed fully recharged and began doing anything at all.

Wu Bai took the list from Han Yue and glanced over it.

"Eight Dou Ling Pills? That really will take some time."

But as he spoke, he saw the payment the elders had offered, and the corners of his mouth immediately rose.

Counting roughly on his fingers, he found that the payment for those eight Dou Ling Pills included more than forty thousand days' worth of Fire Energy alone!

"If I'm not mistaken, those elders must have scraped this together from everywhere. Most of the Fire Energy held by the Dou Wang elders of the Inner and Outer Academies is probably right here, isn't it?"

"Mm. We've used some of it, though. There are forty thousand three hundred days left."

As she spoke, Han Yue took out her crystal card and a Storage Ring reserved for the Medicinal Herbs and payment.

Wu Bai took the crystal card and transferred twenty-five thousand days of Fire Energy onto his own.

"Buy anything good in the Inner Academy that Fire Energy can buy. There's no way I can use all of this myself. Don't be stingy day to day, either. Use what you need. This stuff is worth jack shit outside the Inner Academy. They're all working for me, so I can't shortchange them."

With that, Wu Bai took ten Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills from his Storage Ring.

Then he put the Storage Ring containing the Medicinal Herbs and payment on his finger.

"These Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills, along with the Medicinal Pills I left before, can be rewards for our members. You can give them to anyone who works diligently."

Wu Bai did not understand much about dealing with people, but he knew one thing: you got what you paid for.

Trying to get big things done for small money would never last.

"The Mind-Cleansing Pills too?"

"Yes. Those Medicinal Pills will be worth even more in the Inner Academy."

"I understand. I'll tell them to get started tomorrow."

Han Yue put away the Medicinal Pills. With their support, Baiyue's strength would soar, she thought.

Even before this, Baiyue's members had already had enough Fire Energy to use as they pleased.

Of course, that was mainly because there were so few of them. Excluding Wu Bai and Han Yue, there were only nine. At fifteen days of Fire Energy per person each month, that came to just one hundred and thirty-five days.

On top of that, every Inner Academy student received a minimum allowance of five days' Fire Energy, bringing each person's total to twenty days.

Most students could not stay in the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower every day, either. They needed time to let the fire heat in their bodies dissipate.

Baiyue's members could save a few days' Fire Energy every month.

That was already among the best treatment offered by any faction in the Inner Academy.

With these Medicinal Pills added on, Han Yue could hardly imagine how many students would fight tooth and nail to join Baiyue.

That meant their plan to win over others could begin very soon!

While Han Yue considered how things might develop, Wu Bai examined the elders' payment.

Whoever had handled it had been meticulous, attaching a label to each elder's payment. Wu Bai was quite pleased.

A small detail like that showed how much care those people put into their work.

He would not begrudge extra rewards to people who worked so conscientiously.

"...Well, would you look at that. There's even a Sixth-tier Magic Core in here. Those elders have some fat little nest eggs!"

After checking everything, Wu Bai could not help swallowing. Having a salaried position certainly paid off. They had produced a sum like this with ease.

Outside the academy, even among the Dou Wang experts of the Black-Corner Region, fewer than ten people could have offered payment like this.