Battle Through the Heavens

“Senior Xiao Yan, this time around it’s all thanks to you.” The young man called Atai smiled as he walked forward and voiced his thanks to Xiao Yan.

“All of us are new students. It is only naturally that we help each other out. It is just that I didn’t expect that merely successfully passing through the ‘Fire Energy Hunting Competition’ would actually cause us even more trouble.” Xiao Yan shook his head and said somewhat helplessly.

“Ah. That’s right. Such a thing has seldom occurred in past years. Most of the older students have suffered bad treatment back when they entered the Inner Academy. Now that they suddenly see that we, this batch of new students, actually swaggered through it, it is unavoidable that they would feel a little hatred in their hearts. I think that although we have relied on Senior Xiao Yan’s name to frighten off these fellows this time around, it is possible that there might be others who will come for us in the future.” Atai sighed.

Xiao Yan frowned slightly and softly muttered, “Looks like this is not a long term solution...”

As the distance between the two of them was close, Xiao Yan muttering naturally did not escape Atai’s ears. His eyes immediately brightened. After hesitating for a moment, he asked in a discrete manner, “Senior Xiao Yan, I wonder... are you planning to create a faction within the Inner Academy to protect us?”

“Oh?” Xiao Yan raised his brow as he closely stared at the dark skinned but highly keen youth.

“Ke ke, Senior Xiao Yan may perhaps know that the Inner Academy is scattered with various large and small factions. The number of factions is quite large. Moreover, the atmosphere of the Inner Academy does not prohibit the action of forming cliques or gangs. Instead, they have an encouraging sort of stance...” Atai voiced his thoughts.

“Normally speaking, unless a person’s strength is extremely great, one would usually have some difficulty avoiding trouble while trying to muddle along in the Inner Academy alone... let’s not talk about the other matters for now. Instead we should focus on the matter regarding entering the ‘Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower’ to train. This is the essential point for all Inner Academy students to swiftly raise their strength. Everyone pays great attention to this. Within that tower, every level is distributed by the Inner Academy into high, medium and low, three different grades of training areas. When training in the high grade training area, one’s training speed and benefits will undoubtedly greatly surpass the other two.”

“Originally, according to common sense, whoever is lucky enough to first enter the high grade area is whoever would be able to train there. Unfortunately... The Inner Academy does not prohibit private fights within the ‘Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower’. Hence... normally speaking, even if you are lucky to occupy a high grade training area, if you do not have sufficient strength to hold onto it, you will still be ousted by others. Hence... if one wants to have the best training conditions within the ‘Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower,’ one must possess a great strength and group...” Atai’s gaze also paused on Xiao Yan’s face as he explained in a deep voice.

Xiao Yan nodded slightly. His eyes flashed but no one knew what he was thinking.

“Senior Xiao Yan, your personal strength is strong. Adding Senior Hu Jia and the other two, you can be considered a group which isn’t weak. However, after all... there are too few of you. It is said that two palms have difficulty fighting four hands. If other factions have ten to twenty people coming at once, Senior Xiao Yan and your group might well be a little powerless.” Atai slowly said.

“You want me to rope in all the new students and create a new faction?” Xiao Yan looked at Atai in front of him and asked in a soft voice.

“With the reputation that senior Xiao Yan currently has in the hearts of the new students, it is completely possible to successfully accomplish this!” Atai nodded heavily and replied in a deep voice.

Xiao Yan interlaced his ten fingers but did not immediately reply.

“Senior Xiao Yan, if you have such an intention, you should quickly grasp this opportunity. This is because, usually speaking, there will be other factions roping the new students into their own camp each time they enter the Inner Academy. This moment is the time when Senior Xiao Yan’s reputation is at its peak. If you give up and do not use it, it is likely that all the new students will be roped in by the other factions by the time you want to do it. Moreover, if we, the new students, could have a faction that belongs to us, the benefits toward us are something that need not be said. Hence, as long as Senior Xiao Yan dares to lead us, I dare to say that there will be no one among the new students who will object...” Atai said seriously.

“You seem to be extremely familiar with the Inner Academy?” Xiao Yan nodded slightly. He immediately eyed Atai somewhat strangely. All these things that this person had said so far had exceeded the knowledge of an ordinary new student.

“Hee hee, I do know some people within in the Inner Academy. Therefore, I am quite clear about this information.” Atai laughed, “So what do you think? Senior Xiao Yan? As long as you agree, I will be responsible for talking to the new students. I guarantee that there won’t be the slightest problem.”

“Just call me Xiao Yan... do you know roughly how many students there are within this Inner Academy?” Xiao Yan smiled and lowered his head to think quietly for awhile before asking a question.

“There should be nearly a thousand... The exact numbers have not been calculated before.” Atai thought for a moment before replying.

“Nearly a thousand? So many? There are but only fifty new students who enter the Inner Academy each year. Moreover, these students would not stay here forever, right?” Xiao Yan said with astonishment.

“Ke ke, the Inner Academy is a five year program. The students can train here for five years. After five years, it is time for them to go their separate ways. Of course... if one has outstanding training talent, one can apply to delay their graduation by two years. These students who remain behind are all the top strong people within the Inner Academy and the top few existences in the ‘Strong Ranking.’ Although there are only fifty students who come in after participating in the Qualification Competition, this is not all of the Inner Academy. At times, if some Elders were to meet a disciple with outstanding training talent when they go out, these people can become Inner Academy students as long as they can pass through the harsh examinations of the Inner Academy. Additionally, there are those from the Alchemist Department, Law Enforcement Unit, and other special departments. They can enter the Inner Academy through other channels. Hence, after the accumulation these years, it is not impossible for there to be nearly one thousand students in the Inner Academy.” Atai smacked his lips as he replied.

“Oh...” Xiao Yan nodded slightly. He rubbed his hands together and said, “From the looks of it, our forty plus new students is not considered a very large size.”

“How can our faction be so large before it has even started? Didn’t those old factions also undergo recruitment over a long period of time in order to become larger?” Atai spread his hands and said, “Let’s use those fellows from earlier as an example. They belong to ‘Qingshan.’ That faction could barely be considered a middle level one within the Inner Academy. They seem to have over twenty people in total. However, their overall strength exceeds the strength of our new students by a lot. If we were to really fight, we won’t know who would be the winner, even if all of us were to fight.”

“However, if we, the new students were to really coagulate together, factions with strengths similar to ‘Qingshan’ would not dare to go too overboard. After all, if we were to fight, they would also suffer quite a lot.”

Xiao Yan’s pursed his lips slightly, having some difficulty making a decision. He was used to being alone. Now, he was asked to manage a faction. Although there were only tens of them, it was also quite troublesome... However, if he did not round the new students up, it would be just as Atai had said. By just relying on the four of them, it would likely be quite troublesome within the Inner Academy. No matter how one put it, the more people there were, the greater their strength would be.

“Xiao Yan ge-ge, there is some basis to what Atai has said. If you do not make a decision now, it is likely that these new students will be pulled away by other factions before long. At that time, it would be very difficult for us to come across such an opportunity.” Xun Er took a few steps forward, came to Xiao Yan’s side and spoke softly.

“If Xiao Yan ge-ge is afraid that it would be troublesome, you can hand everything to Hu Jia and I to manage. We do have some speciality in this.” Xun Er covered her mouth and laughed, seeming to clearly know where Xiao Yan’s troubles lay.

Xiao Yan laughed bitterly when he heard this.

“Senior Xiao Yan, as long as you have the courage and resolution to lead, we, this batch of new students, will all follow you! In any case, those older students treat us as an eyesore. If we have a choice, who would willingly endure this misery?” A clear voice suddenly rang out. Immediately, a large group of echoing voices followed closely. Xiao Yan was slightly stunned as he raised his head, only to realize that the new students had surrounded him at an unknown time. At this moment, these new students were looking at him with faces filled with anticipation, awaiting his decision.

Xiao Yan’s ten fingers were tightly linked together. Under the watch of numerous gazes filled with anticipation, Xiao Yan let out a deep breath a while later. He waved his hand, clenched his teeth and said fiercely, “Alright! Since everyone trusts me, I, Xiao Yan, will lead all of you to gain a foothold in this Inner Academy. For myself, for all of you, let us work together for once. Otherwise, it would not be really nice to muddle along in the Inner Academy where tigers and dragons hide!”

Upon hearing Xiao Yan’s words, these new students, with anticipation filled faces, began cheering in a somewhat excited manner. Having an organization would give people a greater sense of security.

When they saw that Xiao Yan finally nodded his head, Xun Er and the others behind him exchanged glances and also quietly sighed in relief.

“Since this is the case, Chief, after forming a faction, we should give a name to our new student faction right? Otherwise, how will we declare it to those outside?” Atai also placed the large burden on his heart down as he smiled and asked Xiao Yan. The way his form of address changed was extremely smooth. However, this form of address caused Xiao Yan to feel a little awkward.

“Name... Since our intention is to survive in this Inner Academy, our name should be ‘Pan’s Gate.’ Hopefully, our new student faction will be like a rock, staying solid and firm in front of this forest of strong people in the Inner Academy.” Xiao Yan was not much of an expert on naming things. At that moment, he thought for a while and could only randomly say this.

TL, Pan - rock, steady

“Pan’s Gate... this is also possible. The name is but something to address us by.” Atai repeated it over and over in his mouth but did not object. He turned his body to the surrounding new students as he smiled and said in a clear voice, “Everyone, from today on, this new student faction of ours will be collectively called ‘Pan’s Gate!’ Senior Xiao Yan will be our leader! In the future, we will listen to his orders! Those who dare to disobey us will be cast aside!”

“Alright! Pan’s Gate!”

“Those who disobey will be cast aside!”

Hearing the name that Atai shouted from his mouth, an excited flush swarmed up onto their faces as they roared out softly. Young people were ultimately filled with hot blood!

Seeing the high emotions of the new students, an unknown feeling suddenly rose within his heart. From today on, he would lead ‘Pan’s Gate’ to forge a foothold and place their roots in the Inner Academy with numerous strong people!

“Hee, alright. Let me, Xiao Yan, take a look at just how extraordinary this Inner Academy is!”