Chapter 299: Flourish and Prosper

Having destroyed the formation, Xue Wei felt a lot better, but it was impossible for him to be forgiving towards the academy which had used his little sister as a soul power conduit to fuel their Soul Tower.

“Let us leave,” he said after having successfully obliterated the formations, and the others nodded their heads affirmatively. Their expressions were solemn as even they could feel the rage burning in Xue Wei’s chest.

When they landed on the top of the wall surrounding the forbidden area, they were surprised to see that not only were the guards present at the gate, but the academy’s principals and many officials from the court were there as well, all of them observing the wall, and hence the three of them.

They had been caught red-handed, trying to leave the forbidden area, but none of them panicked, all of them remained extremely calm.

“Come down from up there and let us talk about you illegally breaking and entering into the forbidden area,” the principal uttered in a friendly manner, daring not to speak too impolitely when he saw that the King was amongst the three of them, but within his eyes was a burning anger.

Looking at him calmly, Xue Wei said nothing, but his eyes showed his dislike towards the people of the academy.

Standing on top of the wall, he looked down upon the masses like an immortal descended from the heavens above, his entire being emitted a strong sense of disdain towards the world. He was like a prince that could not be sullied, or an emperor glancing at his subjects.

Everyone felt uncomfortable as they met his eyes. No one could help but shiver slightly and look away, and even the stronger experts were somewhat intimidated.

It was not because he was too strong on his own, but he had the strongest backing in the entire continent, not to mention he was cunning and able to turn a bad situation into one that favored him.

The principal saw that Xue Wei had no intention of answering him, flaring his temper up, but after looking at the King by the foreigner’s side, also looking quite aloof, he could only restrain the smoldering anger in his chest.

Seeing that they had already been discovered, they jumped from the wall and down on the ground.

The moment they landed, all the officials gathered around the King, fussing and looking her over as if they feared that she had suffered some grievances, or was seriously injured.

Only when they noticed that her clothes were somewhat dirty but all intact—and that her face had a healthy, rosy tint to it—did they breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

They scowled accusingly at Xue Wei and Hei Gou, clearly blaming these two outsiders for bringing their King on a mission that was completely inappropriate, but no one dared say anything out loud, out of fear of insulting the King.

The principal was unhappy. If it was just Hei Gou and Xue Wei, then he could have unleashed his fury, but after seeing the King present, he knew that it was impossible to say something in anger. He had to pretend that he was not upset.

“You should know that the forbidden area is forbidden. It is a place where you are not allowed to go, so why are you returning from there?” he asked while keeping his expression as neutral as he could manage despite his boiling emotions.

Xue Wei glanced at him, and then looked at the rest of the people present, all of them looking right back at him, curious about his excuse.

“If no one enters the forbidden area, then no one will know about the dark secrets of the academy,” Xue Wei stated casually, but his words were like dropping a stone into a lake, ripples erupting right away.

The principal was stunned at first before then his expression became unsightly.

“What are you talking about? Don’t just slander our academy because you feel mad at us for not standing up for you when you were being chased!” he said, trying to make it seem as if Xue Wei was slandering them. However, what Xue Wei said next was enough to cause a cold chill to run down the spines of everyone present.

“You say that I am slandering you, then why did I just have to destroy a Soul Reaping Formation in there? The person who was locked inside the forbidden area for thousands of years almost gave up her entire life for the sake of others’ improved cultivation.

“Is this how the Garden of Shadows is going to be treating its benefactors? The spirit that founded the academy had been locked up and used as a battery to fuel your Soul Tower.

“She worked to create an academy, and in return, the academy imprisoned and tried to kill her. She did her best to help, but the thank you she got was being locked within the forbidden area, never to leave, forever left to dwindle into nothingness.”

The principal was as shocked as everyone else when they heard the words of Xue Wei. They had never imagined that what fueled the Soul Tower was a living being—the person who had created the academy in the first place. What kind of ungrateful monsters were they?

The principal’s face alternated between red and white. Exasperatedly, he asked Xue Wei, “What did you say?” because he truly did not understand how his predecessors could do so. He knew nothing of this; he was only aware that the source for the Soul Tower’s power was within the forbidden area, but never had he imagined that the source was a spirit and was even the spirit that had created Garden of Shadows.

Everyone present was muttering to one another. They all felt shocked when they heard Xue Wei’s words, but no one doubted that he spoke with sincerity.

The King was standing next to Xue Wei and had not said anything to contradict him, silently approving of everything the youngster said, and thus shocking everyone present into believing him unquestioningly.

Xue Wei did not wait for the academy’s principal to say anything more. He and Hei Gou strode out from within the crowd and went to the courtyard where he found Luoluo, Bai Tianyi, and Lin Xiao awaiting their return.

“We are leaving,” he said coldly. “We are not going to stay within the academy for even a moment more.”

The others did not ask about what was going on; instead, all of them entered their rooms and started packing up their items as they were instructed.

Not long after, the group met up in front of the house, their things all packed in their storage treasures, and together they set out from the academy.

While they had been packing, the secret Xue Wei uncovered spread like wildfire in the academy and the capital.

Yan Dalu prided itself in being a fair and reasonable place. A place where everyone was treated well, even if they had different capabilities or a different number of eyes. No one would be left to rot, and everyone could live a fulfilling life.

This Yan Dalu also prided themselves in the Garden of Shadows, the frontrunner in their youth’s education on how to behave and how to cultivate—the cornerstone of their entire society.

Now the new rumors said that this academy had kept its founder captive for many many years, using her as a battery to fuel the Soul Tower.

Many were filled with disgust and indignation. The ones they had thought were so noble were, in fact, the worst scum of society.

Those who had previously looked forward to the reopening of the Soul Tower were now against it, claiming that it was immoral and a grievous affront to its founder.

Most of the students left the Garden of Shadows, one by one, never to return.

Seeing this trend, the Gu and Yuan families came together to discuss their options.

“The Garden of Shadows has lost its fame,” the grand elder of the Gu family said with a slight smile on his face, “If we are smart, then we will be able to reap the benefits.

“Right now, everyone is curious about the Qi methods that we have at hand. Knowing that spiritual energy is powerful is good, but being aware that coupled with Qi cultivation, one can become almost invincible makes the youngsters dream about studying our techniques.

“Why don’t we open our own academy? Let us buy out the Garden of Shadow’s facilities. Right now it is a sinking ship, and they can’t wait to leave it.

“We can keep the teachers who teach spiritual energy and everything that is made for spiritual energy, but at the same time add some teachers from our families to teach Qi methods and techniques.

“There is a facility for Qi methods already at the Garden of Shadows, but it is neglected. If we improve it, we can earn a lot of merits, but also gain riches from all the school fees, not to mention the point system.

“Think it through, if we take over the Garden of Shadows, we can begin a new era.”

The Yuan family elders were stunned when they listened to the grand elder of the Gu family speak.

In the beginning, they had listened out of politeness, but after a bit of time, listening to his persuasive words, they went from tentative to interested, and soon from interested to convinced.

Like this, the Gu and Yuan families started talking business with the principal of the Garden of Shadows.

The principal was incredibly embarrassed and felt awful about the horrible truth of the academy’s success. He felt he had lost all face, and had lost any urge to continue trying to go against the current to save the academy’s destroyed reputation. He knew that what had been done this time was simply unforgivable.

And thus he agreed to the offer brought to him by the Gu and Yuan families. The academy, which previously had been known as the Garden of Shadows, was now renamed to the Snowfall Academy.

While all this was happening, Xue Wei was spending his time in the capital, leisurely living life to the fullest.

He had already solved the mystery of the academy, but there was one mystery that kept gnawing at him from the back of his mind, and that was the bloody scratches on the ninth floor of the Soul Tower.

There was still a year and a half until the next delegation from the Demon Phoenix Continent arrived, and this meant that for the next year and a half, he had nothing to do other than wait.

This was the first time in his life that he could leisurely enjoy life without having to focus on something other than cultivating. No one bullied him. No one hunted him. No one pressured him to solve their problems. It was the first time he had been truly free to do as he pleased since he was a young child.

The calm life was different than what he had expected. He would go out with Luoluo frequently, browsing the stalls in the marketplaces, buying her snacks and other things.

He would stock up on clothes and other necessities that he might need when he entered the Demon Phoenix Continent.

He had been given many gold pieces, valuable treasures, and gems, and he had been showered with rare herbs and ores. Every time the Gu and Yuan families came across something they thought was useful to Xue Wei, they would hand it over to him with gratitude.

One day he would be cultivating, another he would be shopping. Some days he would create pills and another he would write formations. He even had time to master the new techniques from his Heritage Ring that he had not had an opportunity to practice since arriving at the continent.

Time went by slowly, and during this year and a half, things were changing over all of Yan Dalu.

More and more Qi cultivators appeared around the continent. Even the old monsters who focused on spiritual energy would consume a Sky Knight Pill—purchased at a tremendous price—and reach the rank of Sky Knight within a short span of time.

The Snowfall Academy became a great success, with more and more students applying to study there. Now eyes were no longer the only measurement for cultivation, Qi talent was also considered, and the academy accepted many students based on these talents.

The prophecy that had stated that the continent’s problems would be solved when the foreigners arrived had held true. Yan Dalu had changed for the better, and the winds of change would be blowing for many years to come, making it flourish and prosper.