Chapter 1245: Chapter 1245: Cloud Ascending Path
"You rushed back from the Four-direction Domain specifically to prepare for the grand event in half a year, right?"
The Vice Dean asked unhurriedly.
"Half and half," Xiao Yi replied.
In fact, he didn’t specifically rush back from the Four-direction Domain.
The academy wanted him to return anytime within six months before the event began.
And now, there were still roughly two months left in those six months.
He returned from the Four-direction Domain merely because the training there had ended.
"Half and half?" The Vice Dean muttered to himself, nodding, "For your future training, you can arrange it yourself."
"Compared to some fools, you are more trustworthy, so I won’t interfere."
Saying this, the Vice Dean glared at Qing Lin and then turned to leave.
"Wait a minute, old man, who are you calling a fool?" Qing Lin glared back.
The Vice Dean ignored him and left on his own.
Xiao Yi chuckled.
The so-called "half and half" was because he wasn’t necessarily participating in that grand event.
If it was something meaningless, he would still go for training outside.
He didn’t give himself much time, only three years left, no, to be precise, only a little more than two and a half years.
If possible, he even wanted to shorten this time further.
"Forget it, don’t mind him," Qing Lin shrugged and looked at Xiao Yi, "While there’s still time, let’s go out for training."
"Alright," Xiao Yi nodded, "I just got back, I’ll rest for a day, and take on a task tomorrow to head out."
"Alright." Qing Lin nodded in agreement.
The two of them walked within the academy.
Before long, a figure walked by, and upon seeing Xiao Yi, was instantly filled with joy.
"Senior Brother Xiao Yi, you..." the figure said in surprise.
"Yes, I’m not dead." Xiao Yi, already anticipating what he was going to say, interrupted helplessly.
"Haha." The figure awkwardly scratched his head.
"Zifeng, did you just come out of the Treasure Pavilion again?" Qing Lin asked.
Yes, it was indeed Zifeng.
"Yes." Zifeng nodded, "I still have to go guard the gate later."
"However," Zifeng looked at Xiao Yi, face full of expectation, "Last time, Senior Brother Xiao Yi said he would spar with me when he had time..."
"Spar my foot," Qing Lin interrupted, "Xiao Yi just got back from the Four-direction Domain, having traveled a long way, and needs to rest."
"You better hurry to your gatekeeping duty."
"Oh, alright then." Zifeng looked disappointed.
Xiao Yi smiled, "Next time, there will always be another chance."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Xiao Yi," Zifeng said joyfully, "Goodbye, senior brothers."
With that, Zifeng quickly left.
"This guy," Qing Lin shook his head.
"What’s wrong?" Xiao Yi asked curiously.
Qing Lin shrugged, "Zifeng is a good guy, and very talented too."
"He’s good in every way but too honest, always getting bullied by that old vice dean."
"Never mind, let’s not talk about him."
The two walked on, soon meeting another person.
"Xiao Yi?..." Tong Ye said coldly.
"Yes, still not dead," Xiao Yi interrupted once again.
"I knew it," Tong Ye sneered, "It’s said that bad things live for a thousand years; you wouldn’t die that easily."
Saying that, Tong Ye left without even looking Xiao Yi and Qing Lin in the eye or greeting them.
"Hey, you guy..." Qing Lin looked displeased.
"Forget about it," Xiao Yi laughed.
He clearly noticed that as Tong Ye left, there was a knowing smile on his face.
"This guy," Qing Lin said angrily, "He’s been here so long and still hasn’t called someone ’senior brother,’ acting all haughty, looking down on everyone."
"Ha," Xiao Yi chuckled, "Isn’t that just like you?"
The two continued walking and soon stopped at the Collection Pavilion.
"I’ll browse some books; we can go out for training tomorrow," Xiao Yi said.
"Alright," Qing Lin nodded and turned to leave.
He had no interest in reading books, preferring to spend a day training in the seclusion room instead.
Xiao Yi entered the Collection Pavilion on his own, not really to rest but to check some archival books.
After being out for a long time, there were always some doubts.
As Black Cloud Academy is one of the renowned Academic Palaces in the Central Region, the Collection Pavilion naturally houses a vast amount of classic knowledge.
...
The next morning, Xiao Yi emerged from the Collection Pavilion.
After a short wait, Qing Lin arrived as promised.
"Did you pick enough tasks?" Xiao Yi asked with a light smile.
"Of course," Qing Lin assured, "and they’re much more difficult than before, with many being top-ranked tasks."
"Now that’s interesting," Xiao Yi smiled, "let’s go."
The two left Black Cloud Academy.
...
Time flew, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.
A month later, two dusty figures appeared at the entrance of the academy.
One of them, looking relaxed, slowly walked into the academy.
The other, upon reaching the academy entrance, sat down on the ground.
At the entrance, Zifeng who was guarding saw them and was surprised, "Senior Brother Xiao Yi, Senior Brother Qing Lin, what happened to you?"
Yes, they were Xiao Yi and Qing Lin.
Zifeng quickly approached them.
"Senior Brother Xiao Yi, did Senior Brother Qing Lin get injured?" Zifeng asked anxiously, looking at Xiao Yi and then at Qing Lin sitting on the ground.
"No injuries," Xiao Yi shook his head and glanced at Qing Lin, "It’s just that someone couldn’t handle the training."
Qing Lin rolled his eyes, "I say, Xiao Yi, can we take a rest?"
Just then, the Vice Dean walked out from within the academy, "Zifeng, come with me to the Treasure Pavilion..."
Before he could finish his words.
The Vice Dean saw Xiao Yi and Qing Lin and was instantly surprised, "You two have finally returned."
"Is something the matter?" Xiao Yi asked in bewilderment.
"No issue," the Vice Dean shook his head, "But in the past month, the Main Hall of nearby regions has been sending me dozens of messages each day, almost a thousand this month."
"All of them are messages of task completions."
The Vice Dean walked over to the two of them, puzzled, "I must ask, how did you two manage to accomplish this?"
"In merely a month, you swept away almost all the top and elite tasks of the Black Cloud Region and over a dozen adjacent regions, from each Main Hall and Branch Hall."
"How did you do it?" Qing Lin, looking exhausted, said, "Just by doing them non-stop."
"For a month, with barely any sleep, rushing everywhere."
"I can’t take it anymore," Qing Lin rolled his eyes at Xiao Yi, "There’s no way, I need a good rest no matter what."
"What about the training?" Xiao Yi asked with a light smile.
"Training?" Before Qing Lin could answer, the Vice Dean interjected, "Xiao Yi, even under such intense strain, you are still full of energy, quite impressive."
"However, considering it’s a training exercise..."
The Vice Dean gave a mysterious smile, "Speaking of which, you haven’t walked the Cloud Ascending Path of the academy, have you?"
"Cloud Ascending Path?" Xiao Yi frowned, showing confusion.
"Cloud Ascending Path?" Qing Lin was also surprised, "That crazy place..."
"Oh, but it might be just right for a freak like Xiao Yi to challenge," Qing Lin quickly concealed his surprise and instead looked at Xiao Yi with a schadenfreude expression.
...
End of Chapter 1.
