Leaving the Black-Corner Region

"What did you say?! Yuan Yi is dead, and the Eight Gates was slaughtered?!"

At the Heavenly Yin Sect, Elder Yinggu was greatly shocked when he heard the news.

Before he could digest it, another subordinate came rushing in.

"Sect Master, the Pill King, Han Feng, is dead!"

This time, Elder Yinggu could no longer sit still. The interests of their group were deeply intertwined.

Elder Yinggu had no time to think. He flew out of the sect in a flash while using a Message Jade to contact the Gold and Silver Elders and the other experts of the Black-Corner Region.

"Everyone, Han Feng is dead, and the Eight Gates has been wiped out. Hurry to the Eight Gates!"

Before long, the Black-Corner Region experts who had received the message gathered in the city under the Eight Gates' control.

The Dou Huang experts looked at the headless corpse hanging above the entrance, their faces drained of color.

"To slaughter the Eight Gates without any of us knowing, the person who came was probably no weaker than my brother and me!"

As soon as Elder Yin finished speaking, everyone around them turned their eyes to the Gold and Silver Elders.

The cunning old Elder Jin saw the suspicious looks directed at them and understood at once that he and his brother had fallen under suspicion.

After all, in the entire Black-Corner Region, aside from the old monsters who had remained in seclusion for years, only the two brothers could have accomplished such a thing.

Otherwise, it could only have been done by Jia Nan Academy or someone from outside the Black-Corner Region.

To clear himself of suspicion and avoid becoming the target of everyone's attacks, Elder Jin slapped the back of Elder Yin's head without hesitation.

"What nonsense are you spouting?! Even if the two of us joined forces, we might not be able to wipe out a sect led by a Dou Emperor in a single night!"

The slap left Elder Yin utterly bewildered. Only when he saw Elder Jin's murderous look did he catch on and hurriedly nod in agreement.

"Everyone, let's put that aside for now. Take a look at this."

By then, Elder Ban had already made a circuit of the shattered walls of the Eight Gates. He pointed at the stone stele in the middle of the open ground.

"Great Sage Equal to Heaven was here?"

"Quite a resounding title, but have any of you heard of this person?" Elder Yinggu looked at the others, but even the Gold and Silver Elders, the strongest among them, shook their heads.

"Never heard of him. Could he be an expert from elsewhere?"

As everyone speculated, Fan Lao suddenly flew over from the distance, seemingly holding someone in his hand.

"Everyone, here's a survivor from the Eight Gates. According to him, the ones who slaughtered the Eight Gates were two Dou Wang."

"They also declared that from now on, all the Eight Gates' holdings in the Black-Corner Region belong to Jia Nan Academy!"

Everyone's expressions changed in different ways when they heard that...

By this time, Sun Qi had long since brought Zi Yan to Jia Nan Academy's Outer Academy.

"Hehe, you must be Sun Qi. The First Elder mentioned you to me."

Looking at the courteous old man before him, Sun Qi cupped his hands. "Greetings, Headmaster Hu Gan."

"There's no need for such courtesy, young friend Sun. Please, take a seat."

Hu Gan was slightly plump and looked quite aged, but he appeared very amiable. His bearing was somewhat similar to that of First Elder Su Qian, presumably because they both held positions at Jia Nan Academy.

"Headmaster Hu, has Elder Su Qian already gone into seclusion?"

When Sun Qi mentioned Su Qian, Hu Gan made no attempt to hide it. "That's right. A few days ago, Su Qian announced that he was going into seclusion to attempt a breakthrough. The Headmaster examined him before leaving on his travels."

"He said that Su Qian would certainly break through to Dou Zong this year. Besides, Su Qian has spent many years building his foundations at Peak Dou Emperor and has made ample preparations this time. I expect he'll succeed within half a year."

Sun Qi had come to see Hu Gan because he had guessed that Su Qian would be going into seclusion. He still hadn't given Su Qian an answer about the earlier matter, but telling Hu Gan should be the same.

"Headmaster Hu, in that case, I won't waste any more words. I came for two things."

"First, I've wiped out the Eight Gates of the Black-Corner Region. Headmaster Hu needs to take over the Eight Gates' sphere of influence as soon as possible. As long as Jia Nan Academy gains a foothold in the Black-Corner Region, its students will be safer when they go out in the future."

"Second, I promised Elder Su that I would give him an answer when I returned. But since he's already in seclusion, please tell him for me that I, Sun Qi, can lend my name to Jia Nan Academy, but I can't stay on."

Hu Gan had long since learned of Sun Qi's identity from Su Qian, and he had never hoped that Sun Qi would remain at Jia Nan Academy.

After all, how could such a genius confine himself to the Black-Corner Region, the most chaotic place on the Northwest Continent?

But when he learned that Sun Qi was willing to lend his name, Hu Gan was delighted.

Looking surprised, he said, "Young friend Sun, do you mean that?!"

Sun Qi nodded. "I can lend my name, but I'll be leaving the Black-Corner Region soon."

"Hahaha, that's fine, that's fine!" Surprise and delight were no longer enough to describe Hu Gan's feelings.

He knew how gifted Sun Qi was. Dou Zong was only the starting point for him; in the future, he might even surpass the Headmaster. Besides, he had the backing of one of the Four Pavilions of the Central Plains.

Originally, he had thought it would be good enough to do Sun Qi a favor along the way. He hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise.

After rejoicing for a little while, he turned serious again. "Young friend Sun, although it's only in name, the sect behind you..."

Sun Qi naturally understood Hu Gan's concern and immediately settled the matter. "Rest assured, my Starfall Pavilion isn't so petty."

Sun Qi's assurance put Hu Gan at ease, but when he thought of how Sun Qi would be traveling everywhere like the Headmaster, he felt it was a pity.

"Since it's only in name, you can serve as an Honorary Elder of Jia Nan Academy from now on. You only need to lend us your name; the academy won't restrict your movements."

"All right."

Seeing Sun Qi nod in agreement, Hu Gan immediately took an Elder Token from his Storage Ring and registered him.

"By the way, where do you plan to go next, Elder Sun?"

"The Jia Ma Empire."

Although Hu Gan didn't understand why Sun Qi was going to such a remote place, he assumed that Sun Qi wanted to gain some experience and asked no further.

"The Jia Ma Empire? What a coincidence. Jia Nan Academy will be going out to recruit students in half a year, and one of the teams will be heading there. Would you be willing to travel with them, Elder Sun?"

Jia Nan Academy had a recruitment season every year. Its recruitment teams covered not only the Northwest Continent, but even the border of the Central Plains.

"Half a year?" It wasn't that Sun Qi was being stingy; half a year was simply too long. He had never planned to stay in the Black-Corner Region that long.

Sun Qi then shook his head and refused. "I'm afraid I can't. Half a year is too long; I can't stay that long."

Seeing this, Hu Gan understood that Sun Qi intended to leave immediately and didn't press him further.

"Ah, all right. If there's anything else you need, you can ask the academy. You're an elder of the academy, after all. Jia Nan Academy won't treat any of its elders poorly."

"Thank you, Headmaster Hu..."