Li Hanlun of Green Lake Academy

Time flew, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

It was dusk, outside the courtyard gates.

Wei Yi saw several visiting senior sisters out.

"Senior Sister Liu, I'm not thinking of joining any faction at the moment. If I do, I'll certainly consider your Liu Yun Gang first."

Wei Yi spoke with an apologetic expression.

"You said it yourself, and I'm taking you at your word. If you dare lie to me, hmph, hmph... you know the consequences."

Liu Ruyun blinked, staring at Wei Yi, and gave two soft snorts, her threat unmistakable.

"Of course."

Wei Yi nodded with a wry smile.

A moment later, Liu Ruyun left with her people.

Watching their retreating backs, Wei Yi let out a long sigh of relief.

The sensation caused by his clearing forty-six floors of the Beast Soul Tower in one go had been enormous, far surpassing even his defeat of Huo Tianlu in the arena. The resulting impact was... another massive rise in Wei Yi's reputation among the outer disciples, to the point that he had seemingly surpassed quite a few high-ranking veteran disciples.

Under these circumstances, more and more people were inviting them to join various groups and factions.

The women he had just seen off belonged to the Liu Yun Gang, one of the largest factions in the outer sect.

Although the Liu Yun Gang's overall strength fell short of the Black Tiger Society's, its influence was even greater, because over eighty percent of the outer sect's female disciples were members.

To put it bluntly, if the Liu Yun Gang wanted to target someone, it could turn that person into the outer sect's public enemy without lifting a finger.

And Wei Yi had needed tremendous courage to refuse Liu Ruyun's invitation.

After all... the Liu Yun Gang had quite a few pretty girls.

"Unfortunately, I have my sights set on the inner sect. I won't be staying in the outer sect for very long."

Wei Yi sighed softly.

The most important reason he did not want to join those outer sect factions was that he had never intended to stay in the outer sect.

If he truly had the rotten luck to fail the upcoming inner sect examination, he would simply leave rather than remain here like the others, waiting a year for the next examination.

After all, with his talent and aptitude (the Game System), he could rise anywhere. There was no need to waste a precious year.

"But... judging by the examinations in previous years, I shouldn't have much trouble passing."

Confidence shone in Wei Yi's eyes.

He did not believe that he, who had set the Beast Soul Tower clearance record for this intake of outer disciples, would fail even a single inner sect examination.

Just then, footsteps suddenly rang out.

A curly-haired young man approached from nearby.

He had a straight, tall figure and handsome features, but that irritatingly cheeky smile on his face was rather hard to stomach.

"Brother Wei, you really are heartless. You could even bear to turn down Gang Leader Liu Ruyun, hailed as one of the outer sect's three great beauties." The curly-haired young man walked over, teasing him with a smile.

Wei Yi looked at him and rolled his eyes helplessly.

Li Hanlun.

A genius disciple from Green Lake Academy.

Although his reputation in the outer sect could not compare to Wei Yi's cheat-like rise, he was still firmly among the top three of this batch of newcomers.

True Martial Academy and Green Lake Academy had always been on good terms, with extensive cooperation between them. As a result, their students mostly got along as well, so Li Hanlun and Wei Yi had a good relationship. He was one of the few friends Wei Yi had made during this time.

"Did you run into them just now?" Wei Yi asked.

"I'm a member of the Liu Yun Gang, you know. How could I run into our esteemed gang leader without greeting her?" Li Hanlun was all smiles. "Still, our gang leader is quite displeased with you. After all, Brother Wei, you're the first man to turn her down after she personally approached him to recruit him."

"You know I only want to enter the inner sect. I'm not interested in those outer sect factions." Wei Yi shrugged. He did not hide his thoughts from Li Hanlun.

"Even after entering the inner sect, you could still count as a member of the Liu Yun Gang."

"The Liu Yun Gang does well enough in the outer sect, but in the inner sect, who knows the Liu Yun Gang?"

Wei Yi looked at him and asked in return.

Li Hanlun was taken aback. After thinking it over, he could not help nodding. "You have a point. Once we enter the inner sect, the Liu Yun Gang really won't amount to much... How about I quit the Liu Yun Gang too?"

"Heh, young man, you're very brave... If you're not afraid of your beautiful gang leader coming after you, go right ahead."

Hearing this, Wei Yi could not help laughing.

Thinking of Gang Leader Liu's temper, Li Hanlun shuddered involuntarily and hurriedly abandoned the idea. "Then forget it. I'll think about it once I'm in the inner sect."

"Right, I came to see you about something."

"Then let's talk inside."

The two sat in a side room.

Wei Yi poured Li Hanlun a cup of tea.

"Go on, what exactly did you come to see me about?" Wei Yi asked.

"Do you know why the Black Tiger Society hasn't come looking for trouble with you all this time?" Li Hanlun took a sip of tea, then asked unhurriedly.

"How would I know?"

"I'm not a masochist. They can come or not, whatever they like. Am I supposed to beg them to come?"

Wei Yi's expression was calm.

Clearly, he had not given the matter much thought.

"Uh..."

Wei Yi's reaction left Li Hanlun rather speechless.

What ordinary outer disciple who offended the Black Tiger Society would not tremble in fear of its retaliation? People like Wei Yi, who paid it no mind at all... were truly few and far between.

He did not know whether to call Wei Yi careless or say that great skill bred great courage.

But thinking of Wei Yi's temperament and strength, he felt it was only natural.

"All right, let me put it this way."

"Although you've made enemies of the Black Tiger Society, the truth is that both times, they were the ones who came looking for trouble. You simply slapped their faces in return."

"Right now, the Black Tiger Society's people are all busy with something else. Once that's over, they definitely won't let you off easily. Leaving everything else aside, Zhao Yuanji alone is no kindly soul. On the contrary, he has always been the type to avenge every grievance."

"So, have you ever thought of taking the initiative for once?"

Li Hanlun asked with a smile, his tone full of enticement.

Wei Yi raised his head to look at him.

His expression grew somewhat contemplative.

Li Hanlun did not speak again to disturb him, instead waiting for Wei Yi to consider it.

"You mean we should join forces?"

"What would we gain from it?"

Only after a long while did Wei Yi slowly ask.

"To be honest, I'm not sure what we'd gain either."

"But as long as we can pull a tooth from the tiger's mouth, the rewards certainly won't be small. After all, the Black Tiger Society has been preparing in secret for so long."

"In fact, if not for a lucky coincidence, I could never have discovered this at all."

Hearing Wei Yi's questions, Li Hanlun immediately smiled and explained.

"Pull a tooth from the tiger's mouth?"

Wei Yi narrowed his eyes slightly.

Li Hanlun nodded and said in a quiet, lingering tone, "You could also call it... snatching food from the tiger's mouth."