Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Zhang Xuan didn't hear Luo Qiqi's voice. Executing the Red Dust Heaven Ascending Step, he flew silently at an altitude close to the ground.

His Eye of Insight had grown extremely sharp after undergoing the third acknowledgement of Celestial Master Teacher. Even though Hu Yaoyao's trail was extremely faint, he could still see it as clear as day.

Hmm? Where is she heading to? Zhang Xuan was perplexed.

The trail first lingered around the lake before abruptly heading for a hill.

The hill looked extremely remote, and it seemed unlikely that there would be anyone staying on it. Why would the other party visit this hill at this ungodly hour?

Under the concealment of the night, Zhang Xuan advanced ahead.

The hill was filled with many short shrubs, and at its very peak was an octagonal gazebo.

There were many of such gazebos throughout the academy. The purpose of it was so that the students could stop by them any time they wished in case they suddenly stumbled upon an enlightenment in their cultivation.

Often, inspiration came suddenly and left as abruptly. If one were to miss that moment, one might miss it forever.

Sticking close to the greenery, Zhang Xuan slowly advanced toward the gazebo. Before long, he saw a bewitching figure standing within. Starlight fell upon her blurred silhouette, creating a beautiful painting.

From afar, that entrancing profile was reminiscent of a beautiful goddess of the night, rendering it impossible for one to pull his gaze off her.

Other than Luo Ruoxin, Zhang Xuan had never felt anything toward any women before. Nevertheless, he still had to admit that Hu Yaoyao did possess fatal charm.

"Isn't it about time for you to come out?" At that instant, the entrancing figure abruptly spoke up, breaking the silence of the night.

Did she notice me? Zhang Xuan jolted in astonishment, but soon, he shook his head.

In order to not leave a trail behind him, he had executed the Red Dust Heaven Ascending Step to remain floating in the air. On top of that, he had been keeping a safe distance from Hu Yaoyao, following her only by her faint trails through the Eye of Insight.

With all of the safety precautions he had taken, it would be difficult for even a Saint realm expert to notice his presence!

The next moment, resounding laughter suddenly erupted.

"Haha, Yaoyao sure is sharp. I only arrived just a moment ago, but you have already noticed me"

With the sound of the wind, a tall figure suddenly emerged from the other end of the hill and leaped into the gazebo.

Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be in his early thirties. His aura felt powerful, reminiscent of a torrential river. Just like Hu Yaoyao, he was a Transcendent Mortal 9-dan expert as well.

Upon reaching such a realm, it was already impossible to discern the other party's age through their outer appearance.

He might look like he was in his thirties on the outside, but chances were that he was already in his fifties or sixties.

Even so, given the lifespan of two hundred years for a Transcendent Mortal, he could be considered to be young.

Before Hu Yaoyao could speak, another faint voice sounded by the side, and yet another figure walked into the gazebo.

"As a cultivator of the True Helios Art, your presence feels like the searing sun in the sky. How can anyone possibly miss that?"

It was a lady as well. She seemed to be of the same age as Hu Yaoyao, and she possessed a beauty not paling to the latter. However, the dispositions they commanded were the complete opposite of one another.

As if a succubus, every single movement and gesture from Hu Yaoyao would tug at one's heartstrings, leaving one tempted to make her their own. On the other hand, the other lady had an aura of poise and indifference. Despite her beauty, the coldness she exuded left others standing a distance away, not daring to get close.

True Helios Art Could that man be the leader of the True Helios Faction, Xue Zhenyang? Zhang Xuan thought as he looked at the two new figures in the gazebo.

He had heard by chance that the leader of the True Helios Faction was a Grade-5 student named Xue Zhenyang, so he immediately thought of the other party.

Just as Zhang Xuan was deep in thought, another figure stepped into the gazebo. "Indeed, that fellow sure doesn't know how to conceal himself. Otherwise, Yaoyao wouldn't have noticed him so easily."

It was as if that figure was a specter of the darkness. If he hadn't talked, not even Zhang Xuan would have noticed him. It seemed as if he had just materialized out of nowhere.

"Long Cangyue, you might be able to tread silently in the night due to your Frigid Moon Art, but you ended up making yourself neither a man nor a woman. Don't even compare yourself with me!" Xue Zhenyang harrumphed.

"You are the one who is neither a man nor a woman! Are you asking for a beating?" The young man named Long Cangyue flew into a rage.

"Do you think I will be afraid of you? Come! It has been too long since I have been able to work those joints of mine!" Xue Zhenyang drove the zhenqi in his body, and the next moment, an aura reminiscent of flames gathered around him as he prepared to make an attack.

"Hah, a defeated loser dares to speak so haughtily to me? Since a fight is what you want, a fight is what you'll get!" Long Cangyue sneered coldly.

In an instant, a tense atmosphere weighed down between the duo.

"Enough! To fight right after meeting one another, can't the both of you tone down a little? Don't you know we have some important matters to discuss tonight?" Hu Yaoyao harrumphed in displeasure.

Along with her words, the tense atmosphere gradually dissipated. The duo harrumphed coldly and said, "Humph, I guess we can fight on another occasion. For now, we should discuss about the matter we have at hand."

"Since everyone is gathered Dong Xin, you can start now." With the duo toning it down, Hu Yaoyao turned her gaze to the other lady of the group and gestured for her to begin.

The cold-faced lady, Dong Xin, paused for a brief moment before reporting, "Okay. I went to that place and observed it for two days. Just as Zhenyang has said, I am certain that the item exists However, the difficulty in obtaining it seems to be greater than our initial estimates. I fear that it will be hard to succeed with just the four of us."

"Indeed, it won't be easy for us to succeed. Putting aside the difficult geographical terrain where the place is located, those two fellows guarding it are also beyond our capability," Xue Zhenyang said with a frown.

"We will have to ensure that our plan is foolproof, or else we might potentially end up losing our lives there," Long Cangyue added.

"Ensure that our plan is foolproof? Do we have the time to do so? If I recall correctly, that item is going to be ripe in just a month's time, and the moment it happens, those two fellows will surely consume it to refine their bones and meridians. By then, we will have lost our opportunity to get it!" Xue Zhenyang flung his sleeves and harrumphed.

"Zhenyang is right, we won't have a chance if we don't act decisively. We have to get to it before it ripens and obtain it as soon as it happens. Otherwise, if we lose this opportunity, it will take us at least several dozen years of hard work in order to reach Half-Saint!" Hu Yaoyao nodded with a frown.

"We all understand that logic, but the problem lies with how we can breach the defense of those two huge fellows!" Xue Zhenyang shook his head before turning the cold-faced young lady. "Dong Xin, you are famed genius of the Beast Tamer School. Do you have any idea how we can deal with those two fellows?"

"Those two fellows possess the Ancient Bloodline, so it will be hard to distract them with ordinary items. Didn't I tell you all to purchase some Origin Heavy Water before I went to scout? That item has the effect of purifying the Ancient Bloodline, so it might work as a bait against them. As long as we can distract them momentarily, we might be able to get to the fruit!" Dong Xin said before turning the group to ask, "So, have you bought it yet?"

"How can we possibly have the money to buy it? A single bottle of it costs more than a hundred thousand middle-tier spirit stones! It is not like you don't know how much money we have at hand." Xue Zhenyang replied with a bitter smile.

Even as Grade-5 students, it was still hard for them to fork out a hundred thousand middle-tier spirit stones at once.

Origin Heavy Water? Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan's heart suddenly leaped in agitation.

In total, there were five dans to the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body. Even though he'd fused many physical body cultivation techniques with it, he still needed four items to serve as a catalyst to cultivate the last four dans.

The Third Incandescence happened to require the Origin Heavy Water.

However, Zhang Xuan had known its name before. Regarding its appearance or where he could find it, he had no idea whatsoever. He'd never thought that he would receive news about it from the mouths of these people.

It seemed like they were intending to purchase the Origin Heavy Water!

A hundred thousand middle-tier spirit stones That is equivalent to ten high-tier spirit stones! My, how expensive it is! Zhang Xuan exclaimed in frustration within.

Based on his understanding of the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body, if he wanted to fully cultivate the Third Incandescence, he would at least require ten bottles of the Origin Heavy Water. However, he only had ten high-tier spirit stones at the moment, which was far from sufficient for him to obtain enough of it!

Hearing Xue Zhenyang's complaint, Dong Xin asked, "Didn't a new batch of freshmen arrive just a few days ago? I thought you all would have made a killing there?"

The student factions of the academy would usually be able to earn substantial wealth for themselves whenever new students arrived in the academy. On top of that, this was the once-in-a-decade massive intake of the academy, and according to the rumors she had heard, there should be thirty thousand freshmen this year. With so many of them, even if they were to earn just three middle-tier spirit stones from each of them, they would still easily scrape together a hundred thousand!

"Make a killing? We even made a loss, you know! Haven't you heard of that matter two days ago?" Long Cangyue shook his head in frustration.

"Heard of what? I came here as soon as I could to deliver this news to you all, so I haven't heard anything yet. What happened? Did the academy interfere in the matter?" Dong Xin asked bewilderedly.

She had spent the past few days in that area in order to gather intelligence for their operation. As a result, she had only returned earlier that night, so she wasn't too sure about the happenings in the academy.

However, it was a convention for the senior to exploit the freshmen, and the academy had never interfered with it in previous years. There shouldn't have been any reason for them to do it that year.

Besides, the practice had its merits as well. Firstly, it could dampen the conceit that most freshmen came in with, teaching them that there was always a mountain higher than the other. Secondly, participating in a faction also served as a social platform for master teachers to interact and coordinate with one another, which helped them to build camaraderie to deal with the Otherworldly Demons if the time ever came.

Since the academy didn't interfere in this matter and the freshmen had no choice but to step right into their scam, the various factions should have been able to earn a substantial sum. But if that was the case, why did the others look as if they had made a loss instead?

"A freak amidst the freshmen wrecked our entire business. The entrance examination this year was conducted by your Beast Tamer School, so you should know some details regarding it, right?" Long Cangyue said.

"Yes." Dong Xin nodded. "It was conducted by Elder Mo, and he started preparing for it since several months ago."

As a genius of the Beast Tamer School, she had a close relationship with most of the teachers and elders there. As such, she had been let in on the matter regarding the entrance examination even before it had been announced.

In preparation for the examination, Elder Mo had been going around capturing malicious spirit beasts, and Dong Xin had helped capture a few of them herself as well.

"The rules of the entrance examination this time around are rather simple. Obtain the inner core of a Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle spirit beast, and you will obtain one point Do you know how many points that freak of a freshman earned?" Long Cangyue asked.

It had been several days since the freshman examination had finished. As the leader of the Ashen Moon Faction, it wasn't too difficult for him to gather some intelligence regarding the happenings there.