39 The Nine-Layered Celestial Dome Pagoda
Both of them had changed into the Inner Academy uniform, which was white with customizable accents. Yan Zhen’s was red, while Huangfu Wenqing’s was green.
Standing together, they looked like a perfect match, a golden boy and jade maiden.
“What is it?” Yan Zhen asked.
“Isn’t the Grand Elder Instructor Yu Xuan’s great-aunt? Why would she accept you as her disciple? Did she do anything to you?”
“Sorry for making you worry, but I’m fine. The Grand Elder has approved of my relationship with Instructor Yu Xuan, but I need to continuously prove my abilities. I’m confident I can do it.”
“I see.”
“I’m sorry…”
“I don’t want to hear that.” Huangfu Wenqing covered Yan Zhen’s mouth and said stubbornly, “No matter what, I’ll defeat you and keep you in Cloud Heaven Palace.”
“Haha.”
Yan Zhen chuckled, scratching his head, unconcerned. Although Huangfu Wenqing’s cultivation seemed higher than described in the script, defeating him was practically impossible.
Even if he couldn’t win, he still had the system’s trump cards to turn the tables. Huangfu Wenqing was destined to lose.
Huangfu Wenqing snorted. “Don’t underestimate me. You’ll regret it.”
“Where are you planning to go?”
Yan Zhen changed the subject. Huangfu Wenqing smiled. “What do you think? Now that we’re in the Inner Academy, naturally, we have to visit that cultivation pagoda in the sky.”
“Then let’s go. I was just about to head there.”
They walked together towards the Nine-Layered Celestial Dome Pagoda.
The Inner Academy didn’t have fixed classes. Cultivation was mostly independent. Students could cultivate their Mystic Power in the pagoda, hone their skills in other secret realms, earn points in the dueling arena, and so on…
Of course, they could also choose to slack off and sleep, but everyone who made it into the Inner Academy was an elite and wouldn’t waste their talent and effort.
The Nine-Layered Celestial Dome Pagoda was embedded in the sky above the Inner Academy’s central plaza through special means, nearly five hundred zhang above the ground. Its lower levels were already within the clouds, and the topmost ninth level was usually invisible.
To enter the pagoda, one had to climb a nearby mountain. From the summit, a floating staircase of one hundred and eight steps extended, leading to the entrance.
When Yan Zhen and Huangfu Wenqing arrived at the summit, it was already crowded with people queuing on both sides of the path, waiting for the pagoda to open.
According to the script, the pagoda could only accommodate three thousand people at a time. Once it reached capacity, the doors would close and reopen only after some people left, admitting the next batch.
Therefore, those who wanted to cultivate inside had to arrive early and queue.
However, not everyone followed the rules.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several figures dashed up the mountain, landing behind the queue, then they pushed their way to the front, shoving aside other students and sitting down.
Everyone else was indignant but didn’t dare to protest. The newcomers wore white fang badges on their chests, clearly members of the prominent “White Fang” society.
The Inner Academy’s structure was different from the Outer Academy’s. Students formed societies, competing and challenging each other, similar to the various sects under the Jiā Lán Sacred Ground.
A society’s rank was determined by the number of Mystic Generals it had. A society with three or more Mystic Generals was considered first-rate, two was second-rate, one was third-rate, and those without any were just insignificant groups.
Besides these, there was only one top-tier society, the “Seven Stars,” whose members included seven Mystic Generals and many high-star Mystic Masters, led by Gu Tiange, the top-ranked student on the Rising Star List, a nine-star Mystic General.
As for the “White Fang” society, it was led by Bai Ao, ranked thirty-third on the Rising Star List, a four-star Mystic General, quite powerful.
Besides Bai Ao, the White Fang had two other Mystic Generals, and its other members were also quite strong, making them a force to be reckoned with.
Huangfu Wenqing whispered, “Yan Zhen, are you planning to join any society?”
Yan Zhen shook his head. “I’m not very sociable. I’ll pass.”
“Then I won’t join either. We can stick together, and we won’t have to be afraid of them.”
“But didn’t you come to the Sacred Ground Academy to make connections? Joining a society would be beneficial. I heard there’s a society exclusively for women. You could check it out.”
“No, a girls-only society sounds terrifying. The gossip alone would be unbearable.”
“Uh…”
Just then, a boy beside them interrupted. “You two are new students, right?”
Yan Zhen and Huangfu Wenqing looked at him and nodded.
“I knew it, seeing your pristine uniforms.” The boy said smugly, “Let me tell you, if you don’t join a society, life in the Inner Academy will be very difficult. Take entering the pagoda, for example. Without senior society members to guide and protect you, you’ll have to queue for an entire day. Oh, look, another group.”
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Several more people arrived and cut in line, queuing behind the White Fang members.
This pushed Yan Zhen and Huangfu Wenqing further back.
“See? If you join a powerful society, not only do you not have to wait in line, but you can also cut in front of others. Otherwise, you can only wait at the back, like me.”
Yan Zhen smiled faintly, unconcerned. Huangfu Wenqing simply looked away haughtily.
The kind senior shook his head. “You’ll regret not listening to my advice—a three-star and a five-star Mystic Master… you’ll be queuing until tomorrow. I’ll eat my own shit if you don’t!”
After about half an hour, the crystals on the pagoda’s doors suddenly lit up, and the doors slowly opened. Over a hundred students emerged, walking down the cloud staircase. Most of them looked energized and refreshed, while a few had darkened faces and messy hair, as if they had been struck by lightning.
After they left, the White Fang members at the front of the queue stood up and walked towards the entrance, followed by the second group, then the third.
The number “111” appeared on the door, indicating that one hundred and eleven people could enter.
Yan Zhen and Huangfu Wenqing exchanged glances and stood up.
Hundreds of eyes immediately turned towards them, their gazes turning hostile as they saw their three-star and five-star Mystic Master cultivations.
Weaklings trying to cut in line? Even a beauty isn’t allowed, let alone one who’s clearly close to that boy!
However, the next moment, their hostility turned into astonishment.
Yan Zhen and Huangfu Wenqing leaped into the air, the former stepping on starlight, the latter riding the wind, flying over the heads of the White Fang members, crossing over a hundred zhang before landing gracefully on the last step of the cloud staircase.
—Two Mystic Masters who can fly?!
Everyone was stunned, especially the kind senior, whose eyes almost popped out of his head. “Such impressive movement techniques!”
Yan Zhen and Huangfu Wenqing glanced back, then turned and entered the pagoda.
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