Time passed without end and waited for no one, the date of the first-year's excursion to Cloudreacher Forest coming closer and closer. Life within the academy quickly entered a set routine for Huang Ying, cultivation and training in the morning, then wander around the academy or spar a bit after getting some food once morning training was done, then once the sun set he would quietly cultivate in his cabin until the son rose.

On average, he only slept about three or four hours every four days, his body already didn't need any more than that. If there was one thing Huang Ying learned as days passed then it was that this routine lifestyle was not for him, it was dull and tedious to the point that it felt maddening. Luckily he had Langye and the others to keep him occupied, especially Chen Hong and Song Yi, who seemed even more adverse to this sort of lifestyle than him.

The sun hung high in the sky when Huang Ying left his cabin and stretched his body, basking in the warm rays of light. The two cabins next to his were completely quiet so it was clear that Song Yi and Chen Hong had already gone somewhere for the day, most likely to stir up some trouble that they could later toss onto Huang Ying.

The first-year's would head to Cloudreacher Forest in two days so the headteacher had given them these days off to prepare both mentally and physically, they would be gone for a whole two weeks after all. Huang Ying finished stretching his body and started to walk with a leisure gait, resting his hands behind his head as he allowed his gaze to aimlessly sweep around the surroundings.

He continued walking for an entire hour until he reached his target, a three-story pagoda made from stone that had been covered in a dark-yellow paint. The pagoda was only about half a kilometer in diameter so it could be considered one of the smaller non-dorm buildings in the academy. A river that was about 70 meters wide ran past the pagoda, connecting two lakes that were a few kilometers apart, the only sound audible other than the running of the river was the occasional cry of a bird.

Huang Ying pushed open the simple wooden door of the pagoda and entered the single large room that made up the entire first floor. A small portion of the left side of the room was segmented off using a wooden counter, cooking equipment and a few uniformed people stationed behind the counter, working on making food. There was a spiral staircase to the right of the counter that led to the higher floors, the rest of the room was simply filled with either round or rectangular tables lined with chairs, a few students occupying some tables and chatting while eating.

Huang Ying received a few glances when he entered the dining hall, some of the students lowering their voices while whispering. His arrogance when facing the Burning Cloud and the Silver Cloud factions had already spread across the entire academy, he could be considered somewhat famous right now. Huang Ying didn't even let his gaze sweep over these people, he simply nodded at one of the uniformed people working behind the counter.

"Fish as usual, I'll leave the rest to you."

The uniformed woman returned the nod and started preparing some fish for Huang Ying, who had already picked himself out a seat at a small round table and sat down. He closed his eyes after he sat down, quietly practicing the Dark Moon's Whisper technique, slowly increasing the number of threads he could turn his Qi into.

Huang Ying visited this restaurant rather frequently over the last three weeks, at least three times a week. The reason behind it was actually rather simple, the location was too quiet for Song Yi to bother coming here and Chen Hong didn't come here because it was located right next to a river. These two factors made this restaurant one of the few places where Huang Ying could go if he wanted some peace and quiet when he wanted to enjoy a meal.

As Huang Ying had his eyes closed and focused part of his mind on his cultivation, he detected that a male youth sitting about 10 meters away turned around to face him. He quietly whispered to the other people around his table and then walked over to the counter where the uniformed people were cooking. He asked for a raw egg and then returned to his seat, taking aim at Huang Ying and throwing the egg.

He input a slight sliver of Qi into the egg, not enough to create any wounds but enough to make it sting quite a bit once the egg hit the back of Huang Ying's head. Huang Ying didn't react the moment the youth threw the egg at him, he pretended like he hadn't noticed it yet and continued cultivating.

He did this for two reasons, the first was to see if Li Jun would warn him about it and the second was that he was keeping a secret from Li Jun. Over these past three weeks, with the help of the powerful cultivation technique as well as his unique law of devouring, he had already reached the 6th Mortal Step in cultivation.

But he kept it hidden even from Li Jun, pretending that he had only reached the 5th Mortal Step. Of course, the others in the academy thought that he had already reached the peak of the 7th Mortal Step, marveling at his cultivation speed. But there was one more secret that he was keeping from Li Jun, and that was that the range of his perception increased each time he raised his cultivation. By now he could see everything going on within 11 meters around him, he just had to put a bit of focus on it and it would be clear as day to him.

But Li Jun didn't tell him anything about the egg even as it got closer, so Huang Ying moved his head to the side the moment the egg got within five meters of him. He raised his left arm and caught the egg just as it whizzed past his head, using a bit of wind to dampen its speed so that it didn't shatter once he caught it. He looked at the egg and let out a somewhat loud mutter, Li Jun's voice ringing out in his head at the same time.

"Man, it's really pathetic."
"Gehehe, I wonder how that kid would feel if he knew that he just tried to launch a sneak attack on someone who has already unlocked his perception."

Huang Ying temporarily ignored Li Jun's words, which were basically an excuse, and turned his head to look at the youth. The male youth pulled back slightly when he saw Huang Ying's gaze land on him, he hadn't expected him to so easily deal with the prank. The youth wore the orange uniform of the school, but the silver pin he carried on his chest showed that he was part of the Silver Cloud faction, the faction that the nobles had gathered together and formed. Huang Ying tilted his head slightly, rolling the egg around in his palm.

"Really? You're supposed to be a noble and this is the best you could come up with? You have to agree that it's pretty pathetic, no?"

Huang Ying flicked his wrist after he finished talking, throwing the egg back at the youth. The egg was supported by a bit of wind to increase its speed and control its movement, Huang Ying had also taken the time to fill the yolk of the egg with a clump of earth. The youth tried to dodge but the egg simply changed direction thanks to a soft breeze, allowing it to smash into the forehead of the youth.

His head lurched backward and he let out a yelp from the pain, but Huang Ying had already removed the earth inside the egg by the time it fully shattered so no one was able to see it. The youth's face was covered in raw egg and he held his forehead, rubbing it to ease the pain while Huang Ying smirked at him.

"Can't even handle getting hit by a single egg? Heh, should have expected that from someone belonging to the Silver Cloud faction."

The three other youths around the table rose from their chairs and glared at Huang Ying, but none of them dared to step forward. One reason was that actual fighting was prohibited, especially in the restaurants, but the main reason was that they were in fact rather scared of Huang Ying and his strength. Huang Ying simply smirked at them, a familiar voice coming from the entrance of the dining hall.

"Senior Brother Ying, I guessed that I would find you here."

Huang Ying turned his head and saw that the muscular and brown-haired Langye had entered the dining hall, her brows somewhat furrowed as she looked at Huang Ying. She had changed slightly over the last three weeks, there seemed to be an additional sharpness in her gaze. She had done just as she said she would, she closely followed Huang Ying and did her best to learn from how he acted and carried himself, trying to emulate his arrogance-like confidence and demeanor in hopes of tempering her determination.

Whether or not she succeeded, Huang Ying had no idea. He wasn't exactly a teacher so how could he possibly teach someone else to live with their head held high and stick to their beliefs with iron-clad determination? But she had yet to complain, instead seeming eager to continue following him, so he hadn't bothered saying anything.

Langye quickly walked over to his table and sat down, folding her hands and resting her chin on them as she looked at Huang Ying. Her brows were still furrowed and her eyes were shimmering, her pupils darting around a bit before she leaned in closer to Huang Ying and whispered to him.

"Senior Brother Ying, I have come to warn you that you must deny any challenges you receive during the ranking competition that'll take place once we return from the Cloudreacher Forest. I've heard that the Burning Cloud faction is taking advantage of a loophole in the rules to make things even harder for you. A previous first-year student belonging to their faction has been out on a mission for the last three months, but he is returning to the academy a few days before we return to the academy. Since he's been gone for so long the academy will require about a week of time to fully process everything necessary to not only complete his mission but also to advance him to the second year, so he'll technically count as a first-year student until then. The Burning Cloud faction plans on using this opportunity to have him participate in the ranking competition to teach you a lesson."

Langye spoke hurriedly, her eyes darting around the dining hall to make sure that the others couldn't hear her. She was worried that the Burning Cloud faction would start taunting Huang Ying now to force him to accept the challenge if they found out that she had told him what she had learned. But contrary to her worried state, Huang Ying remained perfectly calm, only raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"The Burning Cloud faction is doing this, not the Silver Cloud faction? Huh, I guess it doesn't matter what social status you have, pathetic people are all the same."

The food he had ordered came over as he was talking, Huang Ying thanking the chef and starting to dig in. Langye thought that he would at least show some concern or thought after hearing the news, after all this was a true second-year student that would be coming for him, he wouldn't be like the students they faced during the entrance exam. Huang Ying noticed her expression, putting down his cutlery and speaking, a slight smile that showed his sharp canines appearing on his face.

"Don't look so worried, didn't I already tell you earlier? By the time they have the chance to deal with me, they have to take care that they aren't the ones that get eaten up. No matter who they bring in to deal with me, those words will still ring true."

Langye was left speechless upon hearing Huang Ying's confident words, not even news of this level seemed able to move him. It was clear that he truly meant his earlier words to the people form the Burning Cloud and Silver Cloud factions, they were guppies and he was a leviathan. And no matter how many guppies gathered together or how big they got, the leviathan would never fear them.

Langye could only let out a quiet sigh with gleaming eyes, this was the confidence and determination that she was after, it was this that she was trying to emulate by following and observing him. Huang Ying returned his attention to his meal and quickly finished it, not even glancing at the youth who he hit with the egg earlier as he left.

The last two days quickly passed in relative peace, the date of their journey to the Cloudreacher Forest finally arriving. The first-year students all woke up before the sun even rose, swarming out of their dorms and heading to the entrance of the academy, where they had been told to meet up before they were sent on their way.