Huang Ying's arrogant words lingered in the air as he walked over to Gang Yongye and returned the gloves he had borrowed and politely cupped his hands in gratitude. The gloves helped quite a bit, especially when it came to protecting his hands from the immense force that occasionally bounced through his spear when his attacks were blocked. Gang Yongye accepted the gloves and put them away, swiping his belt once again and tossing a small murky brown pill to Huang Ying

"Here, you should take care of your injuries before they get infected, covering them with earth like that can't be good for them. I'd tell you where your new dorm is, but I imagine that you already know its location. Go and rest, the competition within the Forge of Heroes is only half a year away, and looking at your achievement here, you are guaranteed one of the four spots reserved for the first-years. Recuperate and then start training diligently, otherwise, that secret realm will be where your journey through the endless ocean ends."

Huang Ying accepted the pill with a serious expression and nodded his head solemnly. The competition within the Forge of Heroes was not something he could disregard, just this academy alone would send four people from each of the four different classes. Dao Zenjin had just recently entered the second year but had already reached the 1st Stair of Ascension, those within the third year and fourth year were definitely much stronger.

And his academy was actually only among the medium-sized ones, the larger academies would also send in plenty of students, all of them probably having reached high levels of strength. And finally, within the Forge of Heroes was something he had to get his hands on, blood that was very likely to have come from one of the Ancestral Gods. With how strong the Baku bloodline was, it was highly likely that this other bloodline would also be extremely powerful, it would not be easy to acquire it.

Huang Ying swallowed the pill the moment he accepted it, a light tugging on his sleeves telling him that Hong Yi had jumped onto his arm and was making her way up to his shoulder. Hei Ya took up his position at Huang Ying's side, his soft black fur brushing against Huang Ying's hand while his sharply narrowed eyes glared at anyone trying to get closer.

Song Yi and Chen Hong were naturally exempt from this sharp glare, Song Yi grinning merrily as she ignored Huang Ying's wounds and gave his back a heavy pat. The slap just barely missed the part of his back that had been scorched by Ying Feixu, Song Yi practically sticking her raised thumb into Huang Ying's face.

"Nice, you really know how to stir things up. Looking at how savagely you beat them all down, even killing Qing Moyun, there's no way that the second-year and third-year students of the two factions can sit around idly any longer. They probably won't dare to do anything before the start of the Forging Heroes competition, but once we enter it there's no telling what might happen. It'll probably be like when we entered Skyreacher Forest, enemies on all sides."

Song Yi's words made it abundantly clear that she was completely confident that she and Chen Hong would end up joining Huang Ying into the Forge of Heroes. This was within Huang Ying's expectations, both Song Yi and Chen Hong had strong bloodlines and higher cultivation, they stood a decent chance of entering the 1st Stair of Ascension within the following months.

Chen Hong shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and didn't refute Song Yi's words, silently showing his agreement to what she had said. If the three of them weren't amongst the four first-years that would enter the Forge of Heroes then he had no idea who else would go, not a single one of the other first-year students were even close to being as qualified as them. Ying Feixu was an exception to this statement, but seeing that she had some sort of relationship with Huang Ying, both Song Yi and Chen Hong simply accepted it as par for the course that she was abnormal.

The group of three people and two beasts departed the martial field after bidding Gang Yongye farewell, Hong Yi turning her body to look at the distant Ying Feixu. She spread her wings and rustled her feathers, showing a superior and victorious expression while standing on Huang Ying's shoulder, a spectacle that his perception easily picked up.

He tactfully chose to remain silent, the group reaching the lake-side cabins where they had lived right after joining the academy. The five cabins resting a short distance away from the lake were reserved for the top five ranked students amongst the first-years, and as the person who had beaten down practically all the other first-year students, a certain one of these cabins was definitely reserved for him. Huang Ying wasn't polite about it, pointing at Chen Hong's old cabin, the one reserved for the first-ranker, casually waving his other hand at the cabins for the second and third rankers.

"Alright, that one's mine, you guys go get your own ones."

Chen Hong and Song Yi definitely had the capability of getting the second and third-ranked cabins, they wouldn't have lost them to begin with if it hadn't been for the two factions using wave tactics and Dao Zenjin against them. Chen Hong faltered slightly when Huang Ying pointed at the first-ranked cabin, an overly-exaggerated aggrieved expression creeping up on his face.

"You're gonna take my home from me, just like that? Isn't this the part where you graciously state that you've become accustomed to the third-ranked cabin and can't be bothered to change things?"

Huang Ying rolled his eyes at Chen Hong's expression and story about how he expected things to go, flipping him off and walking over to his cabin.

"Sod off, I fought for and won this one. If you want it back you'll have to beat me first. Gimme a day to rest and then I'll take you on any time, just take care that I don't beat you black and blue before tossing you into the lake for some shock therapy."

Song Yi couldn't help but let a soft laughter escape her lips, Chen Hong's own lips twitching slightly as Huang Ying made his statement. Truly, what a great friend he was, not showing the slightest trace of politeness while planning what he was going to do after beating him up. But there was nothing he could do about it so he had no other option than to shrug his shoulders, claiming the second-ranked cabin for himself.

"Screw it, I can't be bothered to fight a freak like you just yet. Give me a bit of time to train and then I'll seek you out, I'll give you a good spanking before tossing you headfirst out of my home, gotta show the dignity of a senior after all."

Song Yi had nothing to say on the matter, claiming the third-ranked cabin for herself while undoubtedly planning new ways to cause chaos and raise waves. The third and second-ranked cabins were actually occupied by others, but those students had been beaten by Huang Ying and were thus not present right now. They might return within a few days, but all that awaited them then would be another beating by either Chen Hong and Song Yi, the end result being that they would get tossed out of their cabins.

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Song Yi and Chen Hong claimed their own cabins but didn't actually enter them, they barged into Huang Ying's cabin and immediately brought out various types of alcohol and food. They had waited a month and a half for his return, now it was time for them to make up for all that waiting by getting drunk. Of course, as this was a scene he had seen ever since he first entered the academy and met them, he knew exactly how it would end.

And just like he guessed, his robe and body ended up stained with wine and other types of alcohol, Chen Hong and Song Yi unable to stand the taste of practically everything they brought out. But he could see that they had gotten a bit better thanks to all the practice they had gotten so far, they actually managed to hold the alcohol in their mouths for longer, even swallowing some before spitting out about half.

Huang Ying indulged the two people for a few hours until the sun set but then gave up and threw the drunkards out. They didn't swallow much, but since they weren't accustomed to alcohol they quickly got drunk, unable to even stand on their feet when Huang Ying threw them out. As a result, he had to drag them by their collars, rudely throwing them into their own cabins and shutting the doors behind them.

He returned to his own cabin after dealing with them, entering the bedroom and activating the Qi gathering array within it. Most of his wounds had actually healed while he was drinking but there were still a few that needed a bit more before they were healed. Hei Ya laid down at the foot end of the bed, Hong Yi hopping onto his head as the two vigilantly guarded Huang Ying while he recuperated.

The last of his wounds finished healing as midnight rolled around so Huang Ying switched over to cultivating and talked slightly with Li Jun, he had a feeling that he knew what would happen during the following day so he wanted to be prepared. And just like he thought, the voice of Li Jun rang out in his mind the moment the first rays of the sun peeked over the horizon.

"She's coming, and it's just like you guessed. Not insurmountable, a pretty easy one actually if you give it your all and are determined to not let the news spread."

Huang Ying opened his eyes and calmly stood up from the bed when Li Jun spoke out. He turned off the Qi gathering array and left the bedroom, pushing open the door to the cabin just as the black-haired and crimson-eyed Ying Feixu was about to heavily knock it. There wasn't a single sign of the previous day's injuries on her so it was clear that her regenerative capabilities were at least on par with Huang Ying's, a not entirely unexpected fact.

She only looked mildly surprised at Huang Ying's perfectly timed appearance, Huang Ying cutting her off with a wave of his hand just as she opened her mouth. He first spoke to her and then addressed the cabins of Song Yi and Chen Hong, leading Ying Feixu away.

"I know, just follow me to a more suitable place. Yo, Chen Hong, Song Yi, I'm gonna take Ying Feixu out of the academy for a bit to give her a proper beating as training, I'll leave it to either one of you to prepare some medicine for when I return and have to take care of my scratches."

Ying Feixu's delicate brows furrowed slightly at Huang Ying's casual speech but he just waved his hand in a dismissive manner, the corners of his lips curling up softly as a faint light flashed through his black pupils. He received a few grunting moans as a response from the two cabins, he and Ying Feixu quickly leaving not just the area but also the academy itself.

The trip through the city was made in silence, Hei Ya keeping his narrowed eyes locked on Ying Feixu while walking at Huang Ying's side. Hong Yi was far worse, hopping around on Huang Ying's shoulder while bristling her feathers at Ying Feixu, her wings flapping as if she was trying to challenge Ying Feixu to a fight now that she had gotten closer.

Hong Yi was too weak for Ying Feixu to bother with her so Huang Ying also couldn't be bothered to stop the little bird from competing with the much bigger bird. They quickly reached the southwestern exit of the city and passed through the large walls, a dense forest visible a few kilometres ahead of them. Huang Ying whispered a few words to Hong Yi and Hei Ya once they stepped out of the city, the two beasts grumbling slightly before turning around to follow his orders, heading back to the academy by taking a much more roundabout route.

Huang Ying led Ying Feixu over to the forest and casually entered it, moving a few kilometres into it before creating a small clearing by cutting down the densely packed trees. Once the clearing was created, Huang Ying sat down on one of the remaining stumps and allowed his gaze to lazily sweep the surroundings, Ying Feixu finally unable to endure the silence after a few minutes.

"I don't believe that such a short walk has drained you of so much energy that you'll actually need a rest before fighting me. Come on, get up so that we can start the training."

Ying Feixu had seemed decently patient while they walked through the city, but looking at her expression now it seemed like she got more impatient the closer she got to her goal. Huang Ying stopped sweeping the surroundings and turned his black pupils onto Ying Feixu, that strangely calm and calculated smile on his face causing a slight jolt to run along her spine. He looked at her for a few seconds before tilting his head to the left and turning his gaze towards the forest at his side.

"Are you planning on hiding there until the trees grow back? Come on now, you brought that many people yet you're still hiding? Even you have to agree that doing something like that feels rather pathetic. Well, pathetic things seem to be part of your forte so I can't really call it out of character, just somewhat sad and dull."

Ying Feixu's expression dropped sharply after Huang Ying spoke up, her now narrowed eyes following his gaze and locking onto the forest at their side. Silence hung over the clearing for a few seconds before 23 people stepped out of the dense forest and into the clearing, the silver-haired and black-eyed Xing Dong from the Silver Cloud faction leading them.

A few of the people in the group shared a few similar visual traits with Xing Dong so Huang Ying guessed that they probably came from the same family. As for the rest of the people he brought along, Huang Ying was uncertain if they were mercenaries or people working for whatever organization or family that Xing Dong belonged to.

Xing Dong's expression was gloomy as he looked at Huang Ying, he hadn't expected that they would get discovered straight away. But Huang Ying knew how people like Xing Dong thought, he had devoured enough memories to see plenty of people like him. Intensely proud and vindictive, vicious to an extreme extent when it came to exacting revenge. After getting beaten down that brutally and being completely humiliated, there was no way he wouldn't look for revenge as quickly as he could.

Huang Ying swept his gaze over the group, which contained 18 people at the 9th Mortal Step and five at the 1st Stair of Ascension. Xing Dong probably didn't want to cause a large commotion by bringing out the stronger members of his organizations, or he might just not have the authority to bring out stronger members. Whatever the case was, he had brought along what could be called a sufficiently strong force to eradicate Huang Ying. But even when faced with the large group of people, Huang Ying retained his soft smile, which had now been tinged with excitement, and glanced at Ying Feixu.

"If you had to fight them on your own, would you be able to kill them all?"

Ying Feixu faltered slightly at Huang Ying's question, not having expected it. But she quickly let her eyes roam over the group, which was inching closer and surrounding the two of them so that they couldn't escape. It hurt her pride, but she truly wasn't confident that she could beat them all on her own and was thus forced to shake her head. And faced with her hurt pride, Huang Ying stood up from his seated position, a few very faint crimson eyes starting to float around within his black pupils.

"And that's what'll be the first step to your training. If you can't kill all of them then it means that you aren't properly using your powers. Watch and learn, see exactly how it is you should utilize your powers."

Huang Ying turned his eyes away from Ying Feixu and placed his calm yet excited gaze on Xing Dong, a flick of his wrist causing his double-headed spear to appear within his grasp. He couldn't kill Xing Dong within the academy, but since Xing Dong had fallen for the bait hook, line and sinker, and followed him out of the academy there was no longer anything preventing Huang Ying from finishing the job.