Battle Through the Heavens: Beauties Abound Starting with Yunlan and Her Disciples

295: Section 295Like streaks of light, they flew with precision and docility into the hands of every freshman present.

”What a magical card. It seems to contain a very peculiar energy!”

Many freshmen, seeing such a thing for the first time, curiously turned over the strange cards in their hands. The cards felt warm to the touch and were engraved with a pulsating flame pattern, leaving their faces full of confusion.

”Vice President, may I ask... does this card have any special effects?” A bolder freshman couldn’t help but ask.

”Haha, explaining this would take too much time.” Hearing this, Hu Gan only gave a profound smile.

”You don’t need to know exactly what it is. You just need to understand it simply as a very important currency and resource that you will rely on for survival, cultivation, and even dignity within the Inner Academy.”

He looked at these ”little lambs” who were still in a state of ignorance. In his cloudy old eyes, a glint of amusement flashed, a look of ”watching the fun” that only those who had been through it would understand.

”Children, you must take good care of that little card in your hands. Because your enthusiastic seniors, who have been waiting in the Inner Academy for a long time, are now very much looking forward to this little meeting gift in your hands!”

Black Fire Crystal Card... Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda... Fire Energy Hunting Competition.

Yun Xiancheng naturally knew that the essence of this thing was actually the ticket required to enter the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda in the Inner Academy, which was known as a cultivation cheat.

The necessary admission ticket.

In order to give the freshmen a relatively stable starting period, the academy would often give them a substantial amount of ”Fire Energy” at the beginning.

But in contrast, there was a cruel ”welcoming ceremony” called the ”Fire Energy Hunting Competition.” Some underperforming seniors who couldn’t make a name for themselves in the Inner Academy...

Because it was difficult to earn enough Fire Energy on a regular basis, they could only set their sights on these ”Fat sheep” freshmen who had just entered, were relatively weak, but were carrying a huge sum of wealth.

A cruel ”hunt” where the weak were prey to the strong was about to officially begin in this seemingly peaceful forest. Of course, none of these rules had much to do with him, Yun Xiancheng.

Just then, Hu Gan specifically walked up to Yun Xiancheng and took out three Fire Energy Cards from his robe. They were completely different in color from the others, emitting a faint golden light, and he handed them over personally.

”Yun Xiancheng, as well as Xiao Yi Xian and Yun Yan.”

He looked at these three ”little monsters” whose strength had long exceeded the scope of ”freshmen.” The smile on his face instantly vanished, replaced by an unprecedentedly solemn warning.

”These are the Fire Energy Cards for the three of you. The Fire Energy inside was specially prepared for you by Great Elder Su Qian and me. It’s enough for you to squander in the Inner Academy for a long time.”

”But you must remember what you promised us two old fogies in the office! In this Hunting Competition, you are not allowed to act recklessly! Do you hear me!”

”Just consider it leaving a way out for those poor seniors!”

Yun Xiancheng found it somewhat amusing to see his nervous expression, as if he were afraid he might accidentally destroy the entire Inner Academy. He took the three golden Fire Energy Cards, nodded solemnly, and promised:

”Your Excellency Vice President, please rest assured. This junior already knows his mistake and will absolutely not make the low-level error of ’the big bullying the small’ again.” ”Hmm... I hope so.”

Hu Gan still let out a long sigh, feeling somewhat uneasy, and said no more.

”After staying for a year, you can apply to become an Inner Academy Elder according to the process. Staying for a year as a normal student so that Jia Nan Academy can leave some memories in your record is also what Su Qian and I hope for.”

304 Xiao Yu’s Old Acquaintance

In short, after you formally enter the Inner Academy, Great Elder Su Qian will provide you with sufficient individual cultivation resources as agreed.

”All in all, you brat, stop getting angry with those ordinary students and focus all your mind on cultivation!”

”Strive to break through to Dou Zong or even Dou Zun as soon as possible! In the future, go and compete with those true top geniuses in the Central Plains; that would be bringing glory to our Jia Nan Academy!”

”This student understands.”

After a standard lecture filled with the concern of an elder, Hu Gan and the other escorting elders didn’t stay any longer. They turned into streaks of light and vanished into the horizon in an instant.

The freshmen from all over the Outer Academy, after experiencing their initial confusion and helplessness, quickly formed small teams in twos and threes based on their usual friendships and relationships.

Then, like startled birds or beasts, they warily and swiftly plunged into the vast and unknown dense forest surrounding them, scattering in all directions.

”Husband, which way should we go next?”

Xiao Yan leaned close to Yun Xiancheng, her large, clear eyes full of curiosity and a hint of eagerness to try. ”It’s very simple.”

Yun Xiancheng extended a slender finger and pointed casually straight ahead, toward the path that looked the deepest and straightest, with a calm smile on his face. ”We’ll just walk in a straight line.”

”As for the journey, if we really encounter those blind seniors who want to find trouble with us...”

He held the golden Fire Energy Card between two fingers, and the smile at the corners of his mouth grew increasingly gentle. ”Then we’ll just conveniently defeat them and take all the Fire Crystals they’ve worked so hard to collect, won’t we?”

The Fire Energy Card in his hand was a noble, translucent pure gold. Both the material and the energy it contained were worlds apart from the ordinary black crystal cards in the hands of others.

Clearly, this card was a symbol of some higher level or even privilege within the Inner Academy. However, for him now, this thing was somewhat redundant.

After all, once one’s cultivation reached the Dou Wang Realm, the cultivation effect of the so-called Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda in the Inner Academy was no longer that significant. ”Oho! Looting treasure!”

Upon hearing the word ”take,” Xiao Yi Xian’s eyes, which were usually gentle and quiet, suddenly lit up with two brilliant ”thievish glints” full of excitement and anticipation.

”Husband, husband! Then what are we waiting for! Let’s set off! I can’t wait to see how many good things those so-called seniors have collected!”

”You little money-grubber.” Yun Xiancheng looked at her cute, eager expression.

He couldn’t help but reach out and lightly flick her smooth, full forehead, reminding her irritably, ”Did you forget how Vice President Hu Gan just warned us?

”There’s no need for us to personally go down and take the initiative in this child’s play of a hunting game. Otherwise, if word gets out, people will really think we’re bullying the small.”

”Ugh... I know.”

Xiao Yi Xian covered her slightly reddened forehead and pouted her little mouth aggrievedly.

However, she didn’t truly feel sad or unwilling. She just nodded obediently and said, ”I know, I know. Husband is right. We are strong, there’s no need to bully the small.”

”Seniors of the Inner Academy, huh... Hehe, I really want to meet them.”

Beside them, Nalan Yanran slowly drew her long sword half an inch. The sharp blade reflected a cold light under the forest sunlight.

Her pretty face was now filled with a powerful, eager fighting spirit.

Since coming to Jia Nan Academy, she had been looking forward to having a good duel with the various geniuses here.

She wanted to see if her reputation as the Young Sect Leader of the Cloud Mist Sect could still ring loud and clear in this top academy of the continent.

Unfortunately, those so-called ”elite disciples” of the Outer Academy were truly vulnerable and couldn’t pique her sense of challenge at all.

She wondered how the level of the geniuses in the Inner Academy—the true core of Jia Nan Academy—actually was. She hoped they wouldn’t disappoint her again.

”Alright, don’t just stand here.”

Yun Xiancheng shook his head with a bit of a smile as he saw them all rubbing their hands in anticipation.

”Let me say this first. During this Fire Energy Hunting Competition and the subsequent cultivation period in the Inner Academy, unless something special happens, the three of us—myself, Little Lion, and Xiao Yi Xian—will not easily take action again.”

”This rare opportunity to spar and temper yourselves with geniuses of your own generation will be left entirely to you all.” ”That’s a given!”

Hearing this, Xiao Yan immediately puffed out her youthful chest. Standing beside Nalan Yanran and her sisters, she spoke with a face full of pride and confidence.

”Husband, you just stay to the side and watch with peace of mind! Even without you and the others taking action, just the few of us can dominate the entire Inner Academy!”

Looking at her cute, confident appearance, Yun Xiancheng doted on her by rubbing the young lady’s fluffy little head and nodded gently. ”Mhm, I believe in you all.”

Subsequently, this ’luxurious’ group of new students no longer lingered. They traveled together, unhurriedly walking toward the depths of that ancient forest filled with the unknown and a hint of ’malice’.

Just as they had entered the forest, not even a hundred meters in, the mature and charming eyes of Xiao Yu, who was walking on the flank of the team, suddenly flickered slightly.

Subconsciously, she cast her gaze toward an inconspicuous corner of the forest. There, in the shadows obscured by dense bushes...

A slightly disheveled, slender figure wearing a clearly worn-out Jia Nan Academy Inner Academy uniform was carefully poking her head out, seemingly spying on something.

When that figure saw Xiao Yu walking at the front of the group, she froze for a moment. Then, her pretty face, stained with a bit of mud, immediately showed a look of unbelievable and immense joy!

”Is... is it Xiao Yu?!” A crisp female voice, filled with uncertainty and a slight tremble, came from behind the bushes. Hearing this familiar voice, Xiao Yu was also taken aback.

She looked closely for a moment before finally identifying the person’s identity from her slightly disheveled appearance.

305 Xue Ni

”Xue Ni? Is it really you?!”

The newcomer was a senior who was one year ahead of Xiao Yu and had been very close to her back at the Outer Academy. Although she was a senior, because they shared similar temperaments, their relationship was actually like that of real sisters. ”Yu’er! It really is you! Wuwuwu...” After confirming Xiao Yu’s identity, the plump young lady named Xue Ni could no longer suppress her inner emotions.

She suddenly ran out from behind the bushes like a wronged little animal and threw herself directly in front of Xiao Yu, bursting into tears without any regard for her image.

While crying, she incoherently poured out all the injustices and grievances she had suffered in the Inner Academy over the past year to her only trustworthy good sister.

As it turned out, the so-called Inner Academy and Outer Academy were two completely different worlds!

If the Outer Academy could barely be considered a ’school’ with basic order and rules, then the Inner Academy was already a cruel ’mini-society’ where the strong preyed on the weak.

Here, whether it was cultivation resources or daily necessities, everything had to be earned by constantly completing missions or contributing to powerful student organizations to obtain that incredibly precious ’Fire Energy’.

For a student like her with ordinary talent and an ordinary background, surviving in such a cruel environment was naturally very difficult. Basically, she was at the very bottom of the food chain. Usually, she could only ’work’ for various large and small student organizations spontaneously formed by older students.

Selling her labor...

...to do jobs arranged by the academy in exchange for a tiny bit of meager Fire Energy to gain the precious opportunity to enter the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda to cultivate.

But this cruel working model, similar to ’capitalism’ from a past life, naturally couldn’t allow the ’workers’ at the bottom to earn any big money.

Over the course of this year, Xue Ni had naturally experienced the miserable life of a worker in a capitalist society most profoundly—most of the surplus value she created had been ruthlessly exploited by the heads of those student organizations.

Because of this, in the end, not only was she unable to save much Fire Energy, but due to her lack of strength, she had become the lowest-ranking ’Tail-ender’ in the entire Inner Academy.

In desperation, she could only do what other struggling older students did and pin her last shred of hope on this annual Fire Energy Hunting Competition.

She hoped to improve her dire living conditions by ’robbing’ the newly arrived, weaker ’Fat sheep’ freshmen.

Yun Xiancheng stood to the side, quietly listening to this senior’s accusation filled with blood and tears, and couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional in his heart.

It seemed that no matter which world it was, as long as there were people, there would inevitably be classes and oppression. What this young lady experienced was a typical case of cruel capitalist exploitation.

And it was the core essence of capitalism; there was no gender distinction, everyone was viewed as labor to be worked to death. Sweatshops were very clear about gender equality.

If one felt that the suffering of this capitalist exploitation wasn’t as bad as the tragedies in those cuckold martial arts stories, then they were truly a lost cause.

Beside him, Xiao Yu looked at her plump senior who was crying like a pear blossom in the rain, her mature and charming eyes filled with sympathy and pity.

She reached out and gently patted Xue Ni’s back, softly comforting her:

”Alright, alright, Xue Ni, don’t cry anymore. It’s all in the past, everything is over.” ”It’s okay,”

Her voice was gentle yet full of strength,

”Hardships cannot strip you of your will. Look, even though you’ve gone through so many difficulties and trials, didn’t you still rely on your own perseverance to stubbornly pull through?”

”Come, I’ll take you to meet someone.”

She took Xue Ni’s small hand, which was a bit cold from nervousness, a gentle smile full of pride and happiness appearing on her face.

”I’ll take you to meet my husband. Didn’t I mention him to you before? He’s a very, very powerful person. With him around, no one will ever dare to bully you again.”

She led Xue Ni by the hand and brought her before Yun Xiancheng.

She looked up with her mature and charming face and said softly to Yun Xiancheng:

”Husband, this is Xue Ni. She is a sister I met at the academy. You heard her experience just now. I want to take her in so that she can stay by our side in the future and have a place to go, is that alright?”

As she spoke, her moving eyes, like autumn waters, looked at Yun Xiancheng and gave a subtle, light wink.

Those long eyelashes fluttered slightly like butterfly wings. Clearly, she was using a look only the two of them understood to hint to Yun Xiancheng—Husband, look, this one delivered herself to our door...

Yun Xiancheng looked at the plump young lady named Xue Ni before him, who was crying like a pear blossom in the rain, and nodded slightly. Mhm, her looks were indeed quite good.

She had a plump figure with curves in all the right places; at least she wasn’t comparable to the likes of Xiao Yan or Xiao Mei, but was of the plump type like Xiao Yu, which could be considered outstanding. Moreover, she was pure and flawless, at least meeting the standard.

He gave Xiao Yu an appreciative look that said ’I trust your handling of this,’ then nodded slightly and said in a gentle tone full of tolerance and a hint of dominance:

”Since she is Yu’er’s friend, then naturally, she is one of our own.” ”How can we tolerate our people being bullied by outsiders? So what if we are protective of our own?”

Yun Xiancheng’s words were also a signal to Xiao Yu—I’ve accepted this girl.

He didn’t object to adding more people to the harem. As his strength and talent grew, he was more and more able to shoulder the lives of others. Of course, he basically didn’t need to actively pursue others anymore.

After all, for now, the method of having the ’main wives’ bring in ’junior wives’ was enough. He would always have to trouble these experienced ’main wives’ more.

The other Young ladies around them also showed expressions of sympathy and pity after hearing about Xue Ni’s miserable career as a worker.

And at this moment, Xue Ni, the center of the event, was already staring blankly at Yun Xiancheng in shock, having even forgotten to cry. This... is this... is this Yu’er’s husband?

What kind of dragon-among-men or phoenix-among-women appearance would he have?

She had once had countless fantasies and sketched out numerous outlines.

But in the end, all those poor imaginations couldn’t compare to the massive visual and spiritual shock, like a landslide or a tsunami, brought by this first meeting!

”H-Hello.”

Xue Ni felt her cheeks were so hot they could almost fry an egg. Blushing, she greeted Yun Xiancheng in a nervous voice that was smaller than a mosquito’s buzz.

Yun Xiancheng nodded gently to her, then reached out and lightly patted her shoulder, which was trembling slightly from nervousness, to reassure her.

”Alright, since we’re all family from now on, don’t be so restrained.” He said in a tone full of leadership,