Chapter 110: A Perilous Place

　　Qi Ying’s footsteps faltered slightly, but he didn’t reply as he continued to make his way toward the Green Class’ designated area.

　　Madam Butterfly had found out after all.

　　However, that didn’t really matter to Qi Ying anyway. He wasn’t going to pursue Qin Susu until he was powerful enough and had reached a high enough status. Otherwise, he would only be hurting her and himself.

　　Furthermore, the warning issued by Madam Butterfly actually instilled him with a sense of security. At the very least, she wasn’t just dragging him to a secluded place and killing him. That indicated that as a disciple of the Yun Xiao Academy, he was not someone who could be killed without consequences!

　　Each and every disciple of the academy was a future elite warrior of the kingdom. Even though the competition was of a cutthroat intensity between fellow disciples, they were protected from external forces by the laws of the kingdom.

　　As such, he was no longer just some random hillbilly from a small county that could be killed without a second thought.

　　…

　　The Cloud Steps Trial officially concluded late in the afternoon.

　　All of the disciples on the fifth platform received their identification badges, and officially became Yun Xiao Academy disciples.

　　A massive group of over a thousand young men and women stood on the platform, and all of them were filled with excitement.

　　Within the academy, male disciples vastly outnumbered their female counterparts. However, in the Purple and Black Classes, the proportion of female disciples was significantly higher. That was due to the fact that only extremely powerful families would spend significant amounts of time, energy, and resources to develop their female members. As such, there weren’t many female disciples in the academy, but more of them were of an extremely high status, and also very fearsomely powerful.

　　Feng Hemu, Tian Shou, and the others were already discussing which ones among the pitifully few female disciples were worth pursuing as romantic interests.

　　Of course, Qi Ying didn’t join in on that conversation.

　　After an orientation ceremony, the academy distributed rewards to all of its disciples. Everyone received a spatial ring, within which were contained various pills, treasured tools, and other resources.

　　‘What generosity!’

　　Qi Ying accepted his spatial ring, and he couldn’t help but exclaim internally as he inspected its contents.

　　As expected of the highest-ranked academy on the entire continent; just the cultivation resources they were giving to their new disciples amounted to an immeasurable wealth!

　　The reward for Green Class disciples consisted of a Dark Tier treasured tool, as well as many pills suitable for consumption for warriors below the Third Spirit Martial Stage… Qi Ying was initially of the opinion that those items were too valuable, and that the disciples wouldn’t be at a level where they could make use of them.

　　However, he soon realized that most of the Green Class disciples were Spirit Martial Stage warriors, and there were not very many Energy Martial Stage warriors like him.

　　The Fifth Energy Martial Stage was virtually the lowest cultivation base among the new disciples, but they were of course also the youngest batch.

　　Qi Ying heaved a resigned sigh. It looked like he was starting at the bottom of the pack!

　　…

　　The autumnal equinox welcoming ceremony had finally come to a conclusion.

　　However, there were still seven days until the first day of the academy, and that time was reserved for new disciples, as they had to organize lodging and familiarize themselves with the academy.

　　The disciples left the Cloud Steps one after the other. All of the spell formations had been deactivated, so the descent was a lot easier of a process than scaling the steps.

　　Qi Ying bade farewell to the extremely warm and enthusiastic nine people from the Celestial River County, before seeking out Master Thirteen, who had been waiting on the plaza for a long time.

　　“Which class did you get assigned to?” Master Thirteen asked.

　　“Green Class.”

　　“Not bad.” A hint of disappointment also appeared on Master Thirteen’s face, “But I thought you would at least be able to make it into the Purple Class.”

　　“Oh well, I can only make do with what I have.” Qi Ying forced a smile onto his face.

　　It wasn’t a bad result, and in any case, he couldn’t afford to sit around and feel sorry for himself!

　　Furthermore, he had to tell Mother Yu the news as well.

　　Whoosh!

　　The Black Mystical Beast rose into the sky, carrying Qi Ying and Master Thirteen back to the courtyard…

　　…

　　That night, Master Thirteen sat across from Xuan Yu on a stone table in the courtyard.

　　“Mistress Yu Xuan, Qi Ying seems to have more harboring more secrets than we imagined.” Master Thirteen sighed, “I was able to get his results through my connection with Brother Nine, and he received white, black, white, green, and grey… The two whites clearly don’t make sense, but there’s no way that the academy’s spell formations would malfunction for him alone… And that grey bloodline aptitude; I don’t know if that’s a blessing or a curse!”

　　Xuan Yu wore a calm and collected expression, as if she had already predicted all that in advance. “That’s not surprising. If it weren’t for all those secrets surrounding him, there wouldn’t have been such a major catastrophe in the capital all those years ago. There is no point in discussing this matter now. Everything can only be left down to fate from here on out.”

　　Master Thirteen paused momentarily before asking, “Mistress Yu Xuan, are you still not planning on telling the Qi family about Qi Ying? I can’t help but feel that the Qin and Chu families are going to pose great threats to him.”

　　“The internal conflict within the Qi family is too fierce. If I tell them about Qi Ying now, it will only put him in even more danger. I’ll tell them eventually, but now’s not the time. As for the Qin and Chu families, as long as they don’t stoop to deploying those old monsters, Qi Ying can take care of any enemies by himself.”

　　“Then, Mistress Yu Xuan, when are you preparing to…”

　　“You don’t need to ask about me.”

　　“Er. My apologies.”

　　Xuan Yu shook her head with a faint smile. “It’s alright. I must thank you; if it weren’t for you, Qi Ying’s journey to the capital would have been quite a difficult one.”

　　“I am merely doing my duty.” Master Thirteen turned his gaze toward the distant night sky, as if he were reminiscing something from the distant past, “The capital really has changed in the years I’ve been away.”

　　“I don’t think it’s changed all that much. It’s still just as perilous as ever.”

　　…

　　Seven days was enough for Qi Ying to prepare for his first day at the academy.

　　On the first day, he barely managed to progress to the Sixth Energy Martial Stage. On the second day, he fortified his cultivation base, and Master Thirteen brought him many sets of clothes, all of which conformed to the academy guidelines. During the next few days, Qi Ying continued to immerse himself in cultivation. Aside from chatting with Master Thirteen and Xuan Yu from time to time, he did virtually nothing but consolidate and progress in his cultivation base.

　　Qi Ying couldn’t wait for his new life at the academy.

　　Seven days finally passed and Qi Ying climbed onto Master Thirteen’s Black Mystical Beast in a set of green robes. “Take care of yourself, Mother Yu! I’ll come back to visit you often!”

　　Xuan Yu waved and said, “Concentrate on cultivation; don’t always think about me!”

　　“Heh, that’s impossible!”

　　Qi Ying couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

　　He could forget anyone aside from the most important woman in his life. If Qin Susu was the person he loved and cherished the most, the Xuan Yu was the person that he had to protect even at the cost of his life.

　　In the future, he was going to return her sight to her, and take her to see all of the most beautiful sceneries around the world!

　　Whoosh!

　　The Black Mystical Beast rose into the air, and flew toward the Yun Xiao Academy once again.