Encountering Xun Er Again

The streets of Wutan City were sparsely dotted with pedestrians. Compared with the usual bustling crowds, they seemed rather deserted today.

"Hey, let's go take a look. Jia Nan Academy is recruiting students today—the square must be lively."

"What would I go for? I'm already this old. I passed Jia Nan Academy's recruitment age long ago. Back in the day, when I was little, I used to worry over whether I should join the Misty Cloud Sect or Jia Nan Academy."

"You? Forget it. See that? Look at his bearing. That's what a young talent is supposed to look like."

"What's wrong with me? When I was young, I counted as one of the top figures among the younger generation in Wutan City too."

When Jia Lie Jun heard the two of them talking, he immediately could not help but laugh. This Jia Nan Academy truly counted as a sacred place in the hearts of the people of Wutan City, he sighed inwardly.

The square was packed with people, the dense crowd making one's scalp tingle just to look at it. There were elderly people in their seventies and eighties, small children, and middle-aged men in the prime of life with children sitting on their shoulders. One of them was even saying to the child, "Brat, you'd better cultivate hard in the future and try to become a student of Jia Nan Academy. How glorious would that be? Otherwise, you'll end up like your old man, a mercenary living a life of licking blood from the edge of a blade."

Jia Lie Jun looked at the crowd surrounding the registration area so tightly that not even water could pass through, and he was troubled. He glanced around, and a building over twenty meters tall came into view. His eyes lit up, and he ran toward that tall building.

"Everyone, make way!" A huge shout rang out from the air. The chattering crowd instantly fell silent and looked up, only to see a figure rapidly plummeting from midair. The people were so frightened that they hurriedly backed away. With a thunderous bang, like a clap of startling thunder, a cloud of dust was kicked up. When the dust dispersed, they saw a young man kneeling on one knee on the ground, his other leg half-crouched, both hands braced against the ground. However, he did not hold this pose for more than a few seconds before he choked on the dust he had stirred up and started coughing nonstop.

The young man was none other than Jia Lie Jun. Jia Lie Jun thought to himself that showing off really did feel great. He really should have said just now, "With a thunderous boom from the heavens, your daddy makes his dazzling entrance." When the crowd came back to their senses, they instantly erupted.

"Who is this person? His entrance was so flashy."

"He seems to be the second young master of the Jia Lie clan. I saw him once a few days ago when I was buying medicine at the Xiao Family marketplace."

After Jia Lie Jun arrived at the registration site, he looked over the teachers in charge of recruitment. In the end, he chose a female teacher who looked gentle and modest, like a girl from a respectable household, and walked up to her. "Teacher, I want to sign up for the exam." The female teacher wearing Jia Nan Academy's uniform still seemed to be immersed in Jia Lie Jun's flashy entrance, staring blankly at him.

"Teacher, I want to sign up for the exam," Jia Lie Jun repeated, waving a hand in front of her.

"Ah, all right." The female teacher came back to her senses and replied in a fluster.

"Fill out this registration form first. I need to get a general understanding of you and see whether you meet Jia Nan Academy's recruitment standards," the female teacher said softly, looking somewhat shy. She was quite young and had probably only just started working; otherwise, she would not have been so reserved.

Jia Lie Jun filled out the form. The female teacher took it and looked it over, then said in a soft, gentle voice, "Congratulations, you've passed Jia Nan Academy's review standards. After this, take this token to the tent over there for the final test."

"Thank you, Teacher." Jia Lie Jun took the token and revealed what he believed was a bright, open smile. Jia Lie Jun walked down the road alone, while everyone around him was in twos and threes or in groups, making him seem rather lonely.

"The person in charge of this recruitment is my teacher. I'm her prized student, so of course I have a way." A crisp, lively female voice entered his ears, a trace of pride mixed into it. Jia Lie Jun looked toward the sound and saw a group of young men and women walking side by side. Seeing this, Jia Lie Jun seemed to think of something, and a strange smile leaked from the corner of his mouth as he hurriedly chased after them.

"Baby Xun Er, slow down! Wait for me!" Jia Lie Jun shouted loudly. Xun Er was puzzled. Who was calling her? She turned toward the voice and saw Jia Lie Jun panting as he ran toward her.

"Xun Er, a day apart feels like three autumns indeed." Jia Lie Jun panted, his face covered in sweat. Because he had been chasing after their group, he looked as if he had had quite a hard time. Hearing this, Xiao Yan glanced lightly at Xun Er from the side, his expression somewhat strange. Xiao Yu and the others also looked at the three of them with odd expressions.

"Young Master Jia Lie, I hope you show some self-respect. Don't call me by my name so casually. My relationship with you isn't that close." Xun Er frowned and spoke with a face full of disgust.

"Xun Er, don't be so distant with me." Jia Lie Jun seemed not to see the disgust on Xun Er's face and said it without the slightest concern.

"Jia Lie Jun, show some respect. Don't come harass Xun Er again," Xiao Yan said angrily, looking like a furious male lion. The people around them, meanwhile, wore expressions of watching a show, looking on with great interest as two young men fought over a girl.

"Xun Er, my love for you is like a surging river, endless and unbroken." Jia Lie Jun seemed not to see Xiao Yan at all, and he licked his lips.

When Xun Er saw Jia Lie Jun lick his lips, she immediately thought of that kiss from last night. Her pretty face flushed red with anger, and she glared fiercely at Jia Lie Jun, gave a cold snort, and turned to leave. Jia Lie Jun hastily followed behind Xun Er like an eager little lapdog. To tell the truth, Jia Lie Jun did not like Xun Er all that much. In his eyes, Xun Er was more like a labeled character—perfect, but not real. Jia Lie Jun pretended to pursue Xun Er for one purpose only: to do his utmost to drive a wedge between Xun Er and Xiao Yan. Although the chances of success were not high, it was still not a bad method. On one hand, he would estrange the relationship between the two of them; on the other, he would work hard to learn alchemy and strive to join the Dan Pagoda. Walking on two legs would let him walk more steadily.

After walking for roughly ten minutes, the group arrived before the tent at the rear of the square. Fully armed soldiers had surrounded the tent so tightly that not even water could pass through. The soldiers emitted a dense killing aura from head to toe, pressing down so heavily that people could hardly breathe. Some of those with slightly weaker strength had their legs go soft and collapsed to the ground on the spot.

"Judging from all this killing aura, these soldiers must have fought their way out through mountains of corpses and seas of blood," Jia Lie Jun exclaimed inwardly. These soldiers were indeed exactly as Jia Lie Jun thought: every one of them was a veteran of a hundred battles. This army was Jia Nan Academy's patrol team, which often fought with others in the Black Corner Region. This time, for Jia Nan Academy's recruitment, it was precisely this army that escorted the recruitment team across the Black Corner Region.

"Senior Ke, are you deliberately tormenting us?" Xiao Yu's pretty face was pale as she complained to a middle-aged officer.

"Heh, this was Ruolin's instruction. Since you want to use a back door, you have to withstand the test," the middle-aged officer said to Xiao Yu with a soft laugh.

"Xun Er, are you all right?" Jia Lie Jun hurriedly asked with concern.

"Jia Lie Jun, enough. Stop coming over to annoy me." Xun Er said impatiently. Though she was angry in her heart, there was nothing she could do. Jia Lie Jun had leverage over the Xiao Family in his hands. As long as Jia Lie Jun revealed the news that the Xiao Family was hiding the Tou She Ancient God Jade to the Soul Clan, the Xiao Family would inevitably suffer a calamity of extermination.