"I heard you have been spending time with Nalan Yanran of late?"
Xiao Tian fixed Xiao Yan with a teasing gaze and asked.
"Brother Tian, cease your teasing. I truly have no idea what that young miss is after."
Hearing Xiao Yan's reply, Xiao Tian knew the question had been pointless. Xiao Yan was as oblivious as ever.
"Very well. I came to find you this time to take you to Instructor Ruo Lin."
Xiao Tian briefly mentioned that the Inner Academy selection competition would commence the following day, along with several academy-related matters.
"Understood. So we are heading out now?"
Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Tian, his face alight with a trace of excitement. The Inner Academy selection competition—at last, he would have the chance to face geniuses from other regions.
"Let us go. We shall depart at once. As for Instructor Ruo Lin's displeasure, you may handle that yourself. I have already quelled mine. Haha."
Xiao Tian swept his hand, leading Xiao Yan out of the Eternal Dream Realm and into the Outer Academy of Jia Nan Academy.
"Remember to obtain a badge from Instructor Ruo Lin later. At present, you are undocumented. As for how you appeared here, devise your own explanation. Do not implicate me."
Xiao Tian recalled this detail and addressed Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan nodded, his mind already churning to fabricate a plausible reason.
Xiao Tian led Xiao Yan out of the room. Xun'er, in the adjacent chamber, sensed Xiao Tian emerge and opened her door as well, stepping out.
"Hmm? Xiao Yan, when did you arrive?"
Xun'er moved to Xiao Tian's side and linked her arm through his. She studied Xiao Yan with a puzzled expression.
Xiao Tian employed a soul transmission to explain the small world to Xun'er.
As the young lady of the Gu Clan, she was, of course, no stranger to small worlds. The Ancient World itself was a remarkably complete small world.
"Brother Tian, are they inside?"
Xiao Tian's body stiffened instantly at Xun'er's soul inquiry.
"Yes. The Xiao family is also within. I shall bring you inside to explore sometime. That place shall be our home in the future."
Xiao Tian's final sentence abruptly terminated Xun'er's line of questioning.
Hearing Xiao Tian's words, Xun'er hastily and unilaterally severed the soul conversation.
Xun'er felt both astonishment and shyness at Xiao Tian's declaration. She had not anticipated that he would so directly express his lifelong commitment to her.
A faint blush tinged her cheeks, and her gaze softened, brimming with boundless affection.
A maiden's blush surpassed all else.
"Let us go. We shall seek out Instructor Ruo Lin. It would be improper to call upon her too late."
Xiao Tian took hold of Xun'er's hand—the hand she had no idea where to place in her shyness—and walked toward Ruo Lin's chambers.
As for Xiao Yan, who had just been force-fed a mouthful of dog food, a surge of indignation rose within him. The old man residing in the Bone Flame Ring was howling with laughter.
Were it not for the numerous old monsters lurking within Jia Nan Academy, making it inconvenient for him to manifest, he would certainly have emerged to laugh directly in Xiao Yan's face.
"Yan'er, I told you before—you could consider that young lady. Look at your elder brother now, surrounded by a bevy of wives and concubines, while you remain single. No wonder your father always regards you with such a disappointed expression."
"That young lady once possessed a great many young miss airs, but ever since you struck her, she has changed considerably. I still believe she is a fine choice."
"Then let her bear your children. Afterward, you can beat her children and thus exact your revenge."
The old man addressed Xiao Yan with a lecherous grin.
"Begone, begone! You depraved old pervert. Pray I never unearth any dirt on you in the future."
Xiao Yan recalled the old man's unrestrained and dashing appearance in his prime and surmised he must have had countless romantic entanglements in the past.
What if he could dig up something truly scandalous someday?
The master and disciple duo, locked in their perpetual mutual teasing, fell silent in the same instant. A flicker of sorrow passed through the old man's eyes.
---
The two walked toward a room adjacent to Instructor Ruo Lin's quarters. The door abruptly swung open from within.
An exquisitely long, perfectly straight leg stepped forth.
In this place, with that iconic leg, Xiao Tian knew immediately who it was.
The person who emerged caught sight of Xiao Tian and the two others. Her eyes flew wide, her face a mask of utter disbelief.
"Oh, Cousin Xiao Yu's figure only grows finer and finer. I wonder whether you have found your beloved yet."
Xiao Tian observed Xiao Yu, who stood frozen before him, and teased her with a grin.
Hearing Xiao Tian's words, Xiao Yu shot him a fierce glare. "Mind your own affairs."
"Oh. It seems you remain a single dog after all."
A gentle voice—so soft it could melt bone—drifted from Instructor Ruo Lin's chamber.
Xiao Yu halted instantly and retreated back to the front of the room.
"I shall let you off the hook today. Hmph."
Xiao Yu cast an indignant glare at Xiao Yan.
"I will take you all to see the teacher. You two are truly something else, taking leave for over a year."
The four knocked and entered Instructor Ruo Lin's quarters.
"Our little genius Xiao Yan has finally deigned to show his face?"
Ruo Lin spotted Xiao Yan at the very rear and instantly unleashed her sarcasm.
Xiao Yan scratched his head in embarrassment, conceding that his conduct had indeed been somewhat outrageous.
"Now that you are all here, I shall brief you on this Inner Academy selection competition."
Ruo Lin's expression sobered, gradually hardening into seriousness. She straightened in her seat and continued.
"Jia Nan Academy is divided into an Inner Academy and an Outer Academy. You currently reside in the Outer Academy. To gain entry into the Inner Academy from the Outer Academy, you must participate in the annual Inner Academy selection competition. As long as you place within the top fifty of the competition, you will qualify to cultivate within the Inner Academy."
"The Inner Academy is the true core of Jia Nan Academy. The Outer Academy is merely a testing ground for new students. Those who succeed in entering the Inner Academy are, in essence, geniuses among geniuses."
After speaking, Ruo Lin studied Xiao Tian and Xiao Yan. "Xiao Yan, I estimate your strength should be at the Great Dou Master level, am I correct? As for Xiao Tian, I cannot discern your cultivation, but I sense your strength likely surpasses even Xiao Yan's."
Hearing Instructor Ruo Lin's assessment, Xiao Yu, seated beside them, cast astonished glances at the pair. She had toiled so relentlessly in her cultivation and was only a five-star Dou Master. Yet these two brothers were already Great Dou Masters.
Xiao Yu suddenly felt the sheer injustice of the world, teetering on the verge of existential despair.
Xiao Tian and Xiao Yan nodded, neither disclosing their precise cultivation levels.
"They truly are freaks. Xun'er is the same. Did the ancestral graves of your Xiao family collectively emit green smoke?" Instructor Ruo Lin muttered a few words before pressing on.
"As for the Inner Academy, I am bound by regulations and cannot divulge too much. However, should you succeed in entering, it will yield only benefits, and you may even stumble upon unexpected gains."
"With your Great Dou Master strength, I believe that as long as you are not exceptionally unlucky enough to encounter Bai Shan and the Little Enchantress, securing a top-fifty position should not pose an insurmountable problem."
"Bai Shan? Little Enchantress? I recall the instructor mentioning that latter name two years ago," Xiao Yan remarked with a smile, repeating the two names.
"Speaking of Bai Shan and the Little Enchantress, these two will likely harbor considerable hostility toward you. You must remain vigilant around them."
Ruo Lin appeared to recall something. She looked at Xiao Tian with a peculiar expression and chuckled behind her hand.
"Bai Shan is among the strongest students in the Outer Academy, and he is also one of Xun'er's suitors. Even if I refrain from telling you, he will seek you out sooner or later of his own accord."
"As for that Little Enchantress, she is the Vice Dean's granddaughter. Her background is far from ordinary. Combined with her monstrous cultivation talent and the Vice Dean's personal tutelage, I suspect her strength may even surpass Bai Shan's. However, she appears to hold little interest in men—cough—and instead harbors considerable fondness for women. Xun'er is precisely the object of her desire."
Xiao Tian turned to Xun'er with a strange expression, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Xun'er, I never imagined your charm was so immense as to captivate both men and women alike."
"I never expected I would have a female love rival as well."