It was already noon when Li Tianlan woke up. He did not appear in his dormitory, but instead in the hospital of Sky Academy.

Clean and elegant light blue walls surround the small single bedroom. Soft and dry bedding covered his entire body, and a plate of clean fruits was placed with a vase of flower on the locker next to his bed. There was also a 55-inch LCD TV facing him.

Li Tianlan opened his eyes. He was in a daze as if all that happened in the past was a dream.

His thoughts switched from adventures in the creepy moist borders to Huating, to jumping into the entrance maneuver of Sky Academy. He only completely recovered after half a minute.

He moved and leaned against the bed, straightening his body. Almost out of instinct, he took out his phone and turned it on.

The more satisfying aspect of Sky Academy was that it did not normally restrict communication with the outside world. The school would only ask their students to turn off their phones during special courses or during maneuvers. After all, many students here were different from Li Tianlan or Li Baitian, holding public office as well.

This included Ning Qiancheng, who was the Deputy Battalion Commander of Zhongzhou State Border Praetorian Corps’ Thunderbolt Battalion. He came to Sky Academy to further his studies but he might be called back to report at any instance when Thunderbolt Battalion required him.

There were many of such individuals who held official office and held more sensitive positions as Ning Qiancheng. No matter where they were, they needed to ensure that others could find them. Thus, mobile phones became necessities for each student in Sky Academy.

Li Tianlan subconsciously turned on his phone. At first, he had no idea what he was going to do but he suddenly understood his intentions as he was reminded by the wallpaper on his phone screen.

On his screen, his silly expression was ugly beyond recognition. However, Qin Weibai, who was leaning on him, gave an extremely adorable smile.

Li Tianlan’s glances lingered on where their fingers interlocked, his heart a flurry of emotions. They were joy, excitement, nervousness, nostalgia, a near-illusory sense of confusion and guilt that stemmed from a lack of confidence.

He pursed his lips tightly together and clicked open the Wechat app on his phone, entering the chat scene with Qin Weibai.

In the chat box, Qin Weibai sent him another message.

“I found a very authentic western restaurant in Bruchsal. The food there tastes great and I wish to try it with you.”

Li Tianlan would receive news every day from Qin Weibai ever since they parted ways a few days ago, and they talked about trivial matters regarding food and scenery. However, there were exclamations of visits to these places together behind every message, and Li Tianlan did not know how to respond. Thus, he never responded and the chat was filled with messages from Qin Weibai. A message a day, placed neatly on each other.

After a while of hesitation, Li Tianlan keyed in a few words amateurishly, “I have completed the entrance maneuver.”

After a few seconds, Qin Weibai replied, giving Li Tianlan an impression that she had been constantly waiting for his reply.

Qin Weibai didn’t type this time and instead sent a direct voice message.

Li Tianlan clicked open the voice message and Qin Weibai’s clear and ethereal voice was immediately transmitted out from the phone, “Tianlan, are you injured?”

“I’m fine.”

Li Tianlan typed cautiously. He was not used to using the voice message function, especially when talking to Qin Weibai. The sweet sensation caused by carefully choosing his words could only be completely relatable to those that had experienced it before. “Minor injuries.”

“Pay attention and rest well. Don’t risk your life without healing first.”

Qin Weibai’s voice became softer. She stopped and sent another voice message over. “Come back soon, I prepared some information for you at home. You should look at them as they will be useful for you.”

Li Tianlan was slightly stunned.

“Home?”

“Going back to the border now?”

When he was still considering, Qin Weibai continued, “The key is with Senior Yu.”

Li Tianlan instantly understood that the home Qin Weibai was referring to was her home, the mansion he slept in for one night.

Li Tianlan became confused once more, so much so he forgot to reply to Qin Weibai.

His inner feelings were extremely special as he tried his best to control his nonsensical inner passionate thoughts to no avail.

“Nonsensical inner passionate thoughts?”

“Not always.”

Li Tianlan could feel the emotions conveyed by Qin Weibai as every single word and action by her conveyed deep profound emotions. However, he did not know what this meant and what it represented.

He had his own speculations but he felt that he was being delusional. In his subconscious, he did not think that he had the right to start a relationship with Qin Weibai.

He was only a novice who just started on the path of Martial Arts and had nothing to back him up. Why would a girl like Qin Weibai fall in love with him?

Twenty years ago, the Li family was his extremely glorious background. However, that background now could only bring him and his loved ones more danger.

Li Tianlan was not insecure about himself, but he was not arrogant either. In general, his biggest strength lay in his potential as the prodigy of Martial Arts, the future experts of the Invincible Realm.

However, the phrase “future expert of the Invincible Realm” also meant that he was nothing now. From this aspect, Qin Weibai seemed to have absolutely no reason to fall for him.

Her contact information was given to him by his grandfather, making Li Tianlan believe that the care and concern showered to him by Qin Weibai was because of her reverence for his grandfather. It could also be because of his father but he was never willing to dwell on the issue carefully.

Time slowly passed.

In the end, Li Tianlan did not reply Qin Weibai. He threw his phone aside and stared blankly ahead.

Ning Qiancheng pushed the door in, carrying a bottle of water. He was startled to see Li Tianlan in a daze. Smiling, he asked, “Are you awake? How do you feel?”

“Fine.”

Li Tianlan smiled in return. “How was Baitian?”

“Still sleeping. He is right beside your room. I keep coming back and forth, checking on you two. The doctor said that you have quite a severe injury, so please don’t strike unless necessary. This kind of internal injury could accumulate to become something much worse. In the end, it could affect your final achievement.”

Ning Qiancheng poured a glass of water for Li Tianlan. Sitting beside him, he continued, “What were you thinking about just now in a daze? The death of Liu Dongchao? Or Gu Yunxia? Don’t worry, the principal helped you cover these matters. At least the prestige of the principal is still enough in Sky Academy.”

Li Tianlan shook his head. He was not too worried about the matter concerning Liu Dongchao as he had dared to strike. After some hesitation, he asked as naturally as possible, smiling, “Qiancheng, do you think toads can really get a taste of swan meat without doing anything?”

Ning Qiancheng was slightly shocked and stared at Li Tianlan weirdly before suddenly lashing out at him, laughing. “What type of toad are you? The type that can kill a master at the peak of the Fire-flaming Realm by using your Wind and Thunder Veins at Qi-controlling Realm? If you are a toad, damn, what are us?”

“That’s not I meant.”

Li Tianlan laughed bitterly and shook his head. “I mean relatively speaking. Compared to the swan, what I have now is really nothing.”

“You are talking about Wang Yuetong?”

Ning Qiancheng hesitated for a while. “You are right that what you have now is nothing compared to her. But Tianlan, listen to me, leave you and Wang Yuetong’s relationship up to fate and don’t force it. How can you just consume swan meat so easily? Anyways, it is not necessarily a good thing for you to eat it.”

Li Tianlan was at a loss of words. He was referring to Qin Weibai but it didn’t seem wrong for Ning Qiancheng to mention Wang Yuetong. The problem was that he had no intentions towards Wang Yuetong. However, he was indeed curious about the secretive Wang family of Beihai that he had never heard about. He thus did not correct Ning Qiancheng and followed his line of thought. “Where exactly did Wang Yuetong come from?”

“Princess Yuetong, the Wangs’ Siren!”

Ning Qiancheng lowered his voice, speaking with a solemn and serious expression.

Li Tianlan found the phrase somewhat familiar and remembered that Li Baitian said the same words to him in the maze. He was confused and explained accordingly, “What I meant was, where does the Wang family of Beihai come from?”

“You don’t know about the Wang family of Beihai?”

Ning Qiancheng’s expression was full of surprise and shock. For a member of the Special Warfare System, not knowing the Wang family of Beihai was like peasants of Zhongzhou State not knowing who their presidents were.

“I don’t know.”

Li Tianlan felt that something was amiss. The Wang family of Beihai seemed to be outstandingly famous, but he was sure that his grandfather had never mentioned the Wang family of Beihai before this.

He subconsciously tightened his grasp on the blanket on him, turning expressionless. If the Wang family of Beihai was indeed so popular, it could only be that his grandfather deliberately concealed this fact.

“What does this mean?”

“This meant that the family of Beihai could be related to his father’s treason case, just like Kunlun City today.”

Li Tianlan finally found the fog after half a month since his arrival to Huating. And behind those layers of fog was the truth that was concealed for many years!

That wasn’t bad news for him and it was at least better than not seeing the fog.

“Your question is difficult to answer.”

Ning Qiancheng thought hard about it but still could not come up with a comprehensive answer to this ridiculous question about the origin of the Wang family of Beihai. “Let me put it simply, this is a super sect without any shortcomings. It was rumored that they had once fell down. But no one knew the truth as it was hundreds of years since their origin.” “Zhongzhou State had been founded for nearly 500 years and the Wang family of Beihai had been in their peak for nearly 500 years. Their roots were at Beihai Province but their influence spread across the entire Zhongzhou State or even the entire Dark World. Do you understand if I explain it like this?”

“No, I still don’t understand.”

Li Tianlan shook his head as Ning Qiancheng’s descriptions were too vague, so vague that it was impossible for him to have a clear understanding of the Wang family of Beihai.

“What do you not understand?”

A clear, sweet and seductive voice rang at the door.

Li Tianlan and Ning Qiancheng were alarmed at once. At the same time, Li Tianlan subconsciously grabbed the Human Emperor next to him.

Wang Yuetong, who just pushed open the door, was shocked at the alarmed and vigilant Li Tianlan. She blinked and asked, “Is it inappropriate time for me to come?”

“No.”

Li Tianlan realized that his reaction was too much and he thus awkwardly put his weapon aside. “Sister Yuetong, what drove you here?”

“To see you!”

Wang Yuetong narrowed her eyes into slits as she smiled, dimples in the corner of her mouth swaying with seductive charm. She walked into the room and passed two small boxes to Li Tianlan. “Senior brother, I brought some stuff for your use.”

“What stuff?”

Li Tianlan smiled as he received the boxes, realizing that the two palm-sized boxes were all made of sandalwood. Regardless of the things inside, the two boxes were valuable themselves. He looked at Wang Yuetong curiously and then opened both boxes, realizing that a glass container laid in each box. Inside the container, two types of red liquid were flowing gently. One was dark red while the other was lighter.

“Ah, after you faint, the principal announced the commencement of the credit system. The light red one is called ‘Heal’ and I exchanged it in the warehouse using my credits. The dark red one is called ‘Life-prolonging’, a special genetic potion created by my family.”

Wang Yuetong sat next to Li Tianlan, staring at him with a serious expression. “Senior brother Tianlan, I know that you don’t trust me enough, but I am willing to attempt to trust you. I am willing to share my good stuff with people that I trust. If you consume these two potions together, your injuries will stabilize immediately and heal within a week. You cannot reject me. If you don’t understand, just treat it as my investment to your potential, even though that’s not my original intention.”

Healing potion!

Li Tianlan knew that this was a special potion provided by Zhongzhou State for Sky Academy and Deep-sea Academy. It would not increase your combat capability but could quickly stabilize and heal injuries. In the student code of conduct, a bottle of healing potion cost 60 credits.

Such an luxury item would only be exchanged reluctantly by the strongest batch of students in external exercises, and some would not even be willing to use it even then. That was a life-saving elixir and no one would fathom using it to heal injuries left behind by maneuvers.

As for “Life-prolonging”, Ning Qiancheng’s excited face showed that the value of such drug would not be lower than that of “Heal”.

Li Tianlan was silent for a few seconds, staring at the two tiny boxes in his hands. He then raised up his head and stared directly into Wang Yuetong’s eyes, “Thank you.”

He did not reject the items as Li Tianlan had a very clear distinction of attitudes towards different individuals.

The gratitude was not only for the two precious genetic potions but also for Wang Yuetong’s marvelous assistance at the end of the maneuver. Without her help, he would not have a good end even with Liu Dongchao dying.

Wang Yuetong turned red from the calm, gentle and honest glances from Li Tianlan. She turned her head casually and her eyes lit up upon seeing the Human Emperor beside Li Tianlan. She then grabbed it.

“Huh?”

Wang Yuetong’s hand sank as Human Emperor entered her hand. She used more strength to have a good grasp of the weapon. Smiling, she said, “This should be a few hundred kilograms, almost as heavy as the broadsword that my brother uses. Senior Brother Tianlan, does this weapon changes form? What is its name?”

“It has several different forms.”

Li Tianlan nodded. “It is called the Human Emperor.”

“Puft!”

Besides Wang Yuetong, Ning Qiancheng spat out all the water he had just drunk upon hearing the two words “Human Emperor”. The water wet a huge portion of Li Tianlan’s bed.

Wang Yuetong’s smiling face turned stiff as she stared at Li Tianlan seriously before realizing that he was neither lying nor joking. She then laughed. “What a coincidence. My family also possess a gun called Human Emperor.”