C12 Elders of the Inner Academy

The men in black quickly encircled the elderly man.

With a chuckle, the old man addressed them, "Young man, try to keep your temper in check. Moreover, this group here doesn't stand a chance against me."

"Is that so? How can you be so sure they're no match for you without putting it to the test?" the man in black retorted, though clearly not content with the situation.

But no sooner had the man in black spoken than he witnessed his subordinates collapsing to the ground, one by one. Before long, all his men were down. The old man dusted off his clothes, then turned to the man in black and said, "See? I told you they weren't a match for me."

The man in black was utterly disoriented now. First, a child had emerged, managing to kill one of his men, and just when they had managed to subdue the child, an old man appeared. What was happening to society? It seemed like experts were everywhere.

Noticing the man in black's silence, the old man walked over to Zhang Nan and checked his breathing. He found that Zhang Nan was alright, suffering from nothing more than numerous injuries.

"Young man, you're free to go. I have no desire to kill you. I'm aware of who's backing you. Tell them there are some people they simply cannot afford to mess with."

With that, he placed a golden token on Zhang Nan's body and walked away.

As the old man departed, the man in black, now recognizing the old man's status, bowed deeply and said, "I am grateful for your mercy."

With his thanks given, the man in black left the scene.

It wasn't long before Murong Wan arrived with Murong Le at Zhang Nan's side.

Murong Le, observing the defeated men in black strewn about, quickly checked on Zhang Nan. He discovered that Zhang Nan was mostly unharmed, save for multiple fractures that had caused him to pass out from the pain.

"Let's take him back to the academy; they'll be able to treat him there," Murong Le suggested.

After Murong Le carried Zhang Nan back to the academy and he received proper medical attention, Zhang Nan gradually regained consciousness.

He found himself in his familiar dormitory and attempted to rise, but his hand brushed against something soft.

"Ah!"

Murong Wan's scream pierced the air.

Zhang Nan looked down to find his hand on Murong Wan's face, her cheeks flushed as she met his gaze.

"Uh, hehe, that was totally unintentional."

Zhang Nan offered an awkward explanation.

Murong Wan clearly understood that Zhang Nan hadn't done it intentionally, as she had spent the entire night sleeping on his hand.

"Hmph, who's to say whether you did it on purpose or not? I'll remember this. Once you're better, you'd better get up and make it up to me by taking me shopping. Consider it your way of apologizing," Murong Wan said, her voice laced with amusement.

"What? Go shopping?" Zhang Nan was instantly thrown into disarray. Every shopping trip with Murong Wan seemed to end in some sort of mishap.

"What's the matter? Can't handle it? Hey, I barely slept all night taking care of you. You owe me some proper compensation," Murong Wan stated, her tone carrying a hint of reproach.

"Alright, alright, I'll go shopping with you once I'm healed," Zhang Nan conceded reluctantly.

"Yes, that's right. And my dad mentioned that as soon as you woke up, you should hurry over to see him. He's quite worried about something. He mentioned you have a gold medal on you," Murong Wan recalled.

"Gold medal? What gold medal? I have no idea what you're talking about," Zhang Nan responded, clearly confused. With Murong Wan's assistance, he made his way to Murong Le's office.

Upon seeing Zhang Nan, Murong Le immediately said, "It's about time you woke up. I was about to come looking for you."

Zhang Nan chuckled, then inquired, "Dean, did you need to see me for something specific?"

Murong Le nodded and held out the item in question. "Take a look at this gold medal. Where did you get this from?"

Zhang Nan examined the gold medal he was handed and asked with a puzzled look, "Is this mine?"

"Of course, it is. When my father and I found you, you were unconscious with this gold medal on you," Murong Wan explained, a touch of exasperation in her voice.

Zhang Nan inspected the gold medal in his hand and remarked, "I don't know anything about this. It can't be mine; I don't own anything like this. What is it, exactly?"

Murong Le pondered for a moment before suggesting, "Why don't you tell me about what happened before you passed out?"

Zhang Nan nodded and after a brief pause, recounted, "I had been taken down by a man in black. He was about to kill me with a knife when an old man showed up, and that's when I lost consciousness. I can't quite recall what the old man looked like."

After pondering for a moment, Murong Le spoke up, "It looks like my hunch was right; that elderly man must be an elder from the inner court of Asden Academy."

"Asden Academy, an inner court elder?" Zhang Nan exclaimed in surprise.

Murong Le nodded in affirmation and explained, "Yes, Asden Academy is split into an inner and outer court. The outer court is for recruiting new disciples, while the inner court is reserved for those with exceptional cultivation. To enter the inner court, one must either demonstrate outstanding cultivation or have this." Murong Le gestured with a gold medal in hand and continued, "Possessing this medal allows you to bypass all assessments. There's no need to train in the outer court; you can go straight to the inner court. Plus, you'll receive personal instruction from the elder who issues the token. Each elder only has five such tokens."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Nan looked at the token in his hand, a mix of surprise and delight on his face. He chuckled, "So, this means I can go directly to the inner court, huh? Haha!" He couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Murong Le nodded again and cautioned, "However, I advise against using this token to go straight into the inner court. Asden Academy's reputation and strength stem from its inner court. While Asden Academy is formidable, there are others who match its prowess. The inner court is filled with individuals of profound cultivation. If you enter now, what level of cultivation will you bring? Qi Refining? Or perhaps Foundation Building?"

Zhang Nan gave an embarrassed smile and replied, "Okay, I get your point. I need to take it step by step and won't act rashly."

Murong Le nodded approvingly and mentioned, "I saw your ranking; you're in the top three hundred. Take the next few days to rest up. It'll be a while before it's your turn, so use this time to recuperate."

Zhang Nan quickly agreed, and with Murong Wan's assistance, he left the office.

"Principal of Asden Academy, is this really the right thing to do? He's still so young. Tempting him like this, how can he resist?" Murong Le murmured to himself.

Back in his dorm with Murong Wan's support, Zhang Nan turned to her and inquired, "Do you have aspirations to join Asden Academy?"