Moments before the sun started to set, the administrators stood up and all said in unison, "Today's assessment examination is over! Please come back for tomorrow's evaluation!" 

The tables, mirrors, and chairs were all collected by them and then the group of administrators split up. Thirty lead the crowd to the other gates to Everdawn City, sixty lead the group of Outer Court students, and the remaining ten lead the remaining students to the Inner Court, including, of course, Jiufeng. 

Yangjian had long since left him and said that he had to go somewhere, leaving Jiufeng standing by himself for several hours. He glanced at the other students who passed the Inner Court assessment and sighed to himself. Beside himself, 13 other people passed the Inner Court assessment. In this new batch of students, 3 were Half-Step Spirit Cycle and the rest were Body Transformation Stage 9. 

However, even though they were the only ones to pass the Inner Court assessment amongst thousands of other talented children, none of them talked to each. Beside Jiufeng and two other kids, everyone else was cold-faced and seemingly emotionless. Arrogance was 'written' all over their faces, and the aura of dominance and pride was all around them. 

The other two children, although weren't arrogant, when Jiufeng tried to talk to them, they kept a distance from him and talked very politely, yet unfriendly. Jiufeng simply sighed to all of this and lamented that all of these spoiled and cold children were going to be his classmate and maybe even roommate. 

The group walked for over 20 minutes before the group stopped before a large field. Within the large field was a large white building with seven floors and open hallways. The passage of time could be seen clearly on the building as the white color was somewhat faded, revealing light yellow-colored stone behind the paint. 

"This is the first-year dormitory. All students that join, outer court or inner court, must live in this building for one year before advancing to second-year. There are a total of four dormitory and four grades that are colored: first-years which is white, second-year being blue, third-year being black, and fourth-year being gold." The cold-faced administrator calmly explained to them. "After your fourth year, you are no longer allowed to stay at dormitory and must find your own resident somewhere else on campus or in the city. At the same time, you no longer have to wear a uniform." 

He took a moment to breath and then said, "On your Inner Court Medallion there's a number. That number is your room number set by the academy already. You may all go to rooms. Some of you have your luggage and some of you will have your luggage delivered later. Either way, go up, unpacked, and then go do whatever you want for the rest of the day. School shall start within four days. Familiarize yourself with the campus or city until then. Dismiss." 

The cold-faced administrator waved his hand, indicating the students to leave and as he left, the nine other administrator silently followed. 

Jiufeng and the other students looked at each other and they all started to walk to building. Jiufeng took out his medallion and flipped it around. Number 137; that was his room number. 

He walked up the stairs to the second floor and saw numerous doors along two hallways. The hallways was at least 500 feet long and at the end of the hallways were two restroom, each labeled male. Seeing this, Jiufeng made a conclusion that this was a male-exclusive floor and that most likely meant that every other floor were separated by sex as well. 

Jiufeng wandered around the second floor for a bit until he walked through the corridor and found his room. The door to Dormitory 137 was closed and Jiufeng took a deep breathe before opening the door. 

He opened the door and stepped in. The smell of wood blasted into his face as walk into the room. He looked around and examined the room's content. One large table, one bunk bed, two cabinet, two safes, and a window that faced the East direction. Jiufeng nodded his head, closed the door behind him, and threw himself onto the bottom bed. 

"So soft!" He rolled around the bed for a full minute before sitting up. He looked at the door and sighed, "When will it come?"

After Jiufeng passed the Inner Court assessment, Bai Yangjian said he had to go somewhere and left Jiufeng standing on his own. He also that the latter's luggage would be delivered "later". However, being that he didn't specify what "later" meant, Jiufeng was extremely annoyed. 

"Hah, what to do now." Just when he was about to lay down, he heard a knock on the door. He quickly stood up and open the door. Before the door was a large brown bag with a nametag labeled "Qing Jiufeng" on it. He looked around, but so no one there. However, he still took the bag and then he closed the door. 

Half an hour later, Jiufeng walked out of this room and quickly ran downstairs using [Rain Dragon Steps]. 

.....

On the first floor of first-year dormitory, hundreds of students were seated in the dining hall. Jiufeng was currently in a line waiting for his food. Soon, he received a small bowl of rice with stir-fried tofu and vegetables. He quickly ate and went upstairs again. 

"For something so simple, that sure was good." Jiufeng burped out loudly. 

"Ah...so lucky...I haven't ate in so long." A muffled sound of misery sounded from the ring. Jiufeng wryly smiled. He sat up and crossed his leg. He reached down into the bag and pulled out a thin black box. 

Before going to Everdawn Academy, Old Man Hai gave him this black box to open. Insides were two envelopes, each could only be open under certain conditions. There was the first envelope, which can only be open if he failed the assessment or reach the Primal Sea Realm and then, there was the second envelope, which can only be open if he pass the assessment. 

However, since he did pass and made it into the Inner Court, Jiufeng was now able to open the second letter. He hurriedly lift up the box lid and reached into the box which contained two envelope, each respectively labeled "1" and "2". 

He took the number "2" envelope, open it, and read the letter that was in it. 

"If you are reading this letter, then congratulations. You have made it into the Inner Court! As a special present for you, I'll shall give to an opportunity to be the disciple of an elder of the academy. By opening this letter, he will be coming for you any moment now. Although he looks scary, he's a pretty good guy. As long as you don't make him mad that is. Anyways, good luck!" As he read the last line, the letter in his hand turned extremely stiff and shatter into pieces in front of him. 

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"What?!" Just as he was about to gloss over the crumbling letter, he felt an intense chill behind him. He turned around and his were in the shape of nearly-perfect circles. Draped in a black, shadowy cloak with a hood, excluded an extremely cold temperature, surrounded in an aura of darkness and death, and with pale, ghostly skin, a young man stood silently behind Jiufeng. 

The young man raised his head and opened his eyes. As he stare into those eyes, Jiufeng saw a deep, infinite abyss that hid millions of deadly and sharp blades that made his heart tremble and his mind reel, as though those blades were slowly cutting his souls right now. 

He noticed that the flow of natural energy inside of him were also in complete turmoil as though they were scared children, running and screaming around. Jiufeng quickly unleash the Violet Air energy that was inside him and it managed to stabilize his energy flow. 

Although Jiufeng's face was twisted in pain and caution, the pale youth still looked at him emotionlessly. He opened his mouth and a voice that seemed to come out of the abyss or the deepest, darkest hell surface to the mortal world. 

"Are you Qing Jiufeng?" Although this was a simple sentence, hearing this question made the energy flow in Jiufeng's body roiled up even more. 

Gritting his teeth, Jiufeng managed to speak, "Ye-Yes, se-senior." 

The youth only stared silently before placing a black medallion on the table. "I am Ye Wuqing, the elder elected by Old Man Hai to give you guidance. However, if you want the slightest chance of becoming my disciple then you must enter Spiritual Vortex before advancing to the next year." 

In the next moment, the youth's body was completely engulf in darkness and he was slowly melting into his shadow on the ground. Just as his head was about to completely submerge, he said, "Once you enter Spiritual Vortex, come find me on Night Demon Hill. I shall be waiting there for one year." 

With those words, he completely submerge and his shadow disappeared. The temperature of the room also returned to normal and the energy flow in Jiufeng's body were slowing down and soon, completely calmed down. 

Jiufeng took a deep breath and then sat down and meditate. Ten minutes later, his complexion returned to normal, but his body was still shaking. 

"You did pretty well, Jiufeng." Qin Daozi said from the ring. "Being able to handle a millionth of the power of a Titled Cultivator is pretty good." 

"Titled Cultivator?" Jiufeng was still slightly daze from the young man presence and aura. Qin Daozi explained, "Titled Cultivator is a term for someone who reached to a far point in the cultivation world and can be considered a powerful elder. Not only that, that guy from before was also not any ordinary Titled Cultivator either. He's definitely a genius and someone who can dominate people in the same realm and rock those in higher realm." 

Jiufeng stood up and picked up the black medallion on the table. On the medallion were two words written with white ink: Night Demon. 

"Night Demon, huh? That's probably his title." Qin Daozi said. Jiufeng silently mumbled, "Night Demon...Ye Wuqing."

He silently engraved this name into his heart and began to cultivate again. However, as he was cultivating he was unaware that a pair of black-pupil eyes were looking at him from a distance. These eyes were chilling cold, but it didn't contain malicious intent. Rather, the coldness of the eyes were innate, created by the darkness and horrors of life. 

From the white ring, Qin Daozi sighed as he was the only existence that was aware of the eyes. "A bit anti-social, huh?" 

.....

When Jiufeng opened his eyes again, it was already morning. He continue to sit there and circulated his cultivation base and the [Violet East Air Scripture], absorbing the Violet Air of the Sun. However, while he cultivating, he summoned Eden. 

"Eden, scan the aura of Senior Night Demon." 

[Beep! Scanning Host's Memories! Scanning Senior Night Demon's Aura! Beep! Beep! Beep! Error! Error! Target's Cultivation Base Is Not Within Host's Knowledge! Beep! Beep! Keep Scanning Process For Later?] 

[Ok] [Cancel] 

"Ok." 

[Beep! Beep! Confirmed Answer! Keeping 'Scan Senior Night Demon's Aura' For Later!]

Jiufeng laid down and put his arm over his eyes. "Even Eden can't confirm his cultivation level and I don't want to ask Big Bro either. I need to get stronger and expand my knowledge." 

As he laid there silently, the sound of footsteps echoed behind his doors. 

Knock! Knock! Knock! 

Hearing the knocks, Jiufeng quickly stood up and walked over to the door. He turned the handle and opened it to only to see a youth with golden hair and purple eyes. 

Bai Yangjian lifted up his hand in greeting and said, "Hey there Little Bro, so how's the room so far?" 

"Ah! Big Brother Yang, where were you yesterday?" Jiufeng stepped aside and Bai Yangjian walked into the room. 

He sat on Jiufeng's bed and said, "Uh...I was just going around the city. By the way, have you open that letter yet?" 

"Yeah, I did. However, the paper crumbled into pieces and a man came in here." 

"A man?" Yangjian raised his right eyebrow. 

"He was extremely pale and wore a black cloak. He also had black hair and eyes." Jiufeng reached into his pocket and pulled out the black medallion and passed it to Yangjian. "He said his name was Ye Wuqing." 

When Jiufeng pulled out the black medallion, Yangjian had no reaction, but when the former said 'Ye Wuqing', Yangjian swiped his hand and grabbed the black medallion from Jiufeng's hand. 

He look at the black medallion intently and once he saw the words 'Night Demon', he shivered. He stood up and grabbed onto Jiufeng and shook him. "El-Elder Ye? Wh-Why did he come looking for you?" 

"On the letter that grandpa wrote and from Senior Night Demon himself told me that Grandpa Hai assigned Senior Night Demon to guide me and Senior Night Demon told me that as long as I reach Spiritual Vortex before second-year, I can become his disciple." Jiufeng calmly explained even though he was being shaken. 

"Di-Di-Disciple to that guy?!" Yangjian had an expression of shock before he reverted it into one of pity. "Welp, it was good knowing you, Little Jiu." 

"Huh? Why?" 

"Uh...well...you see, Elder Ye is a pretty scary old man. I heard that he choose seven students to be his disciple before, but they all disappeared on the same day that were accepted." 

"Disappeared?" Jiufeng felt cold sweat break from his back. 

"Yep, disappeared; gone without a trace. Nobody knew how they disappeared, but there's a rumor going around since that Elder Ye cultivates in demonic and evil arts and so, many believe that he accepted those students to be his sacrifice of sort." Yangjian furrowed his brows. "However, there is no evidence of Elder Ye cultivating in demonic arts as there is no 'evil' aura around him and the families that the students came from never took him to court or press charges for murder. This is extremely suspicious and many believe that there's more, however, the academy quickly disclose this and now, very few knows about this is matter."

Jiufeng nodded, but then said, "Wait, if lots of people don't know it, then why do you Big Brother Yang?" 

Yangjian jumped slightly and said hurriedly, "Uh...well, Grandpa Hai told me about this a long time ago." 

"Why has he never told me?" 

"Well if you knew that grandpa had someone like that to be your teacher, would you still go to Everdawn?" 

"..." 

"Exactly. Anyways, since it's early morning and there's still three more days left until the academy starts, I thought that it would be a good idea to go around the city. Wanna come along?" 

"The city!" Jiufeng's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Yeah, let's go!" Jiufeng rushed out the door and Yangjian followed him.

At the same time, the cold pair of eyes that was looking through the window from a distance retracted and a dark shadow flew out of a tree. "He is indeed the right one if he knows Bai Yangjian."

The dark shadow traveled for long time before landed on a beautiful, white grassy hillside. "I'll shall wait here then." 

On a white grassy hillside, a pale-skinned young man with black hair silently meditated as an aura of darkness surrounds him and a thin layer of frost appeared on the grass around him.