The rest of the night quickly passed, the first rays of the sun peeking over the horizon and cresting the sky. Huang Ying had just ended his cultivation when someone loudly knocked on the door to his cabin, two loud shouts piercing through the entire cabin.

"Oy, sleepyhead, get the fuck up, don't make me come in there for you!"
"You, night stalker, you gotta get up, the last thing I wanna do is enter and end up catching you with your pants down!"

Huang Ying's eyes opened after hearing the shouts, an exasperated light flashing in them. But his mood quickly rose as he stood up from the bed, compared to his lonely life back in the village, this way of greeting the morning was a million times better. Huang Ying straightened up his robe and flung open his door, his eyes narrowing faintly as his gaze swept over two of the three people standing in front of his cabin.

"Alright, which one of you wants to die first? Don't be shy, I'll make time for both of you."

The three people standing in front of his cabin were Langye, Chen Hong, and Song Yi. But Song Yi and Chen Hong were smirking at Huang Ying while Langye stood a step behind and acted more respectful, her eyes carefully observing Huang Ying as if she wanted to observe all of his actions. Huang Ying had no idea how she planned to temper her determination by following him, but he allowed her to do as she pleased as a sign of respect for the determination she had already shown. Chen Hong responded to Huang Ying's statement almost instantly, heavily rolling his eyes.

"Oh please, Mister 3, as if you could even lay a hand on Mistress 2 there, much less Mister 1 here. Now come along, we gotta get you to the martial field before Headteacher Yongye smacks us around."

Chen Hong took any chance he had to flaunt the fact that he was currently ranked at the very top of all the first-year students, this situation was no exception. Song Yi and Huang Ying both rolled their eyes at the same time, ignoring Chen Hong's words and allowing him to bring them all to the martial field for the mandatory morning class.

The martial field was a 15-minute walk to the north and a bit to the east of their dorms, taking them even deeper into the academy. The martial field itself was actually located in a rather strange location, a very wide mountain that had been neatly cut in half. The surface of the cut was completely smooth, the entire 10 kilometers wide and seven kilometers long plateau without the slightest imperfection.

There were a total of nine square stone stages scattered across the plateau, each of them a little over 500-meters wide and long and placed in a seemingly haphazard manner. With the stages being so small there was plenty of empty space atop the martial field, a fact that Huang Ying couldn't help but find somewhat strange. Chen Hong and the others seemed to notice his thoughts, Chen Hong gesturing towards Langye with his eyes, signaling that she should explain it.

"Senior Brother Ying, it might look random, but both the number and the location of the stages have all been determined through divination. The founder of the academy was said to be very skilled in divination and could easily figure out how to set things up to allow for the smoothest possible flow of Qi and luck. The entire academy has been set up according to his divinations, not a single room or bed placed without thought."

Huang Ying gave a slow nod of understanding after Langye eagerly explained, his gaze sweeping over the martial field again. If that was the case, he also felt that it explained why the medicinal wing was so large but contained so few beds and windows.

After Langye finished explaining the layout, Song Yi gestured towards the stone stage closest to the center using her chin. Quite a large group of people had already gathered there, all the other 361 other first-year students already waiting around the stage. The disciples were split into two clear groups, one for the Silver Cloud faction and one for the Burning Cloud faction. It seemed like the four people in Huang Ying's group were the only ones that hadn't joined one of the two factions that ruled the students of this academy.

The group casually walked over to the stage, immediately drawing the attention of the other students already waiting there. The people occupying the top 10 spots would usually be highly competitive towards each other, it was very rare for them to be as close and friendly as Huang Ying, Chen Hong, and Song Yi. Then again, what they didn't know was that even these three were very competitive with each other, it was just that they were competitive in their own ways.

As they arrived by the stage, Huang Ying could see the two people who tried to rope him into joining their factions whispering something to the students standing next to them. Both of these students looked a bit older than the rest, approaching their mid-twenties, and the energy radiating from their bodies was also quite a bit stronger than that of the others. The two people, one woman and one man, nodded their heads after the finished listening to the whispers, both of them walking over to Huang Ying and opening their mouths.

"I heard you were quite kind to one of my Junior Brothers yesterday, would it be possible to ask for an explanation?"
"I can understand you not wanting to join our faction, everyone has a right to their own choice after all, but I do not believe that there was a need to take such actions against your own Junior Sister. If you could join me for a cup of tea and perhaps apologize to her while giving an explanation, I would greatly appreciate it."

Huang Ying's gaze moved between the two people, the black-haired and blue-eyed woman who seemed to be part of the Burning Cloud faction, and the silver-haired and black-eyed man who seemed to be part of the Silver Cloud faction. But rather than address the two people who talked to him, he turned to glance at Langye, using his chin to gesture towards the two people.

"Sorry, but could you tell me who these people, who can't even listen to their own dogs, are?"

The expressions of the two people sank drastically after Huang Ying spoke, Song Yi and Chen Hong bursting out laughing at how plainly Huang Ying had stated it. He didn't even try to hide his thoughts or feelings, seemingly without the smallest care. Langye's expression twitched when she saw how casual Huang Ying acted, but guessing that this attitude was part of the reason he had such a strong determination, she quickly introduced the two people.

"That woman is ranked fourth amongst the first-year students, her name is Qing Moyun and she has reached the 9th Mortal Step, she's considered the leader of the first-years who are part of the Burning Cloud faction. And that man is Xing Dong, he doesn't have a rank since he joined the academy through...other means, but he has also reached the 9th Mortal Step and is considered the leader of the first-years who are part of the Silver Cloud faction."

Huang Ying gave a short nod of his head, this Xing Dong had likely joined the academy the same way most people in the Silver Cloud faction did, through money and connections. Huang Ying let his gaze drift past the two after getting a bit of a better understanding, using his thumb to point at the two people who had whispered to them.

"What's the point in spouting useless words like that. Explanation? You know damn well why I did it, those two dogs of yours probably told you about it the moment I chased them away. What, you fail to even understand normal words?"

Huang Ying's lips had curved into a faint sneer as he spoke, a flash of disdain passing through his eyes as he looked at the two. Both of them were clearly just looking for an excuse to show off their dominance after their subordinates were treated like that. Huang Ying didn't really mind them wanting to show off their dominance, but the least they could do was be upfront about it, excuses like this were just pathetic.

Of course, if they wanted to fight him, Huang Ying was more than willing to accompany them, he couldn't even begin to guess how much fun he could have and how much he could learn from fighting them. The expressions of the two students sank even further after Huang Ying spoke, practically insulting them. Xing Dong's eyes narrowed slightly, his voice turning a bit lower as he leaned closer to Huang Ying, the two locking eyes.

"It's good to be headstrong and willful, but you must be careful to not take it too far. Not only are we heading out of the academy for a wilderness excursion soon, but the ranking battles are also coming up right after. For the sake of one's safety during these two events, exercising a bit of caution is always best."

Xing Dong held a rather high position not just in this academy, but also among the youths in the city, not once had he ever been talked to like this, not even by his father. Huang Ying's gaze moved away from Xing Dong, landing on Qing Moyun, checking her expression. She didn't say anything, but the light flashing in her eyes showed that she had the same thoughts as Xing Dong. Huang Ying didn't shrink back from their barefaced threats, flashing them a wide grin that showed off his teeth.

"You are free to do as you please, but you'd best take care that you aren't accidentally eaten up in the process."

There was no way Huang Ying would back away from a challenge like this, just the thought of getting to fight these people was getting him fired up. By the time they left for the wilderness excursion or returned for the ranking battle, just how strong would he have gotten, would these people be able to give him a good fight? The eyes of Qing Moyun and Xing Dong flashed with a bit of surprise, as well as a bit of disdain, when they heard Huang Ying's response. It could certainly be said that he didn't lack any confidence.

"Can we take that as a challenge?"

Both of them looked deeply at Huang Ying as they spoke the exact same words, their gazes turning sharp in an effort to intimidate him. The laugher of Chen Hong and Song Yi grew a bit louder after hearing this. The two of them were still bothering to waste time with words at this point? But Huang Ying simply continued to grin at them, a fire-like light flickering in his eyes, free and unrestrained, just like he always wanted to be.

"A reminder, a warning, a threat, consider it whatever you please."