Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 317 Nine-Bend Courtyard (Part 1)

"Han Yi, I knew you'd be here. Congratulations! Last time I saw you, you were just one step away from success. And sure enough, you've mastered the true body-forging technique today."

At that moment, a familiar voice rang out behind Han Yi.

The speaker was a tall woman dressed in a light green gauze dress. Her clothes were slightly fitted, making her waist appear slender and her legs long.

It was Huang Rong, the outer courtyard female disciple whose name he had misheard when Han Yi first entered the sect.

There was that little incident when they first started learning, but during that time the two of them got to know each other and often talked together.

Therefore, Huang Rong learned about Han Yi's habit of sitting by the lake and gazing at the water. "Aren't you the same? You broke through to the Martial Master level and met the requirements for the Inner Court." Han Yi stood up and patted the dirt and grass off his backside.

Huang Rong's breathing was fluctuating, but his blood and energy were lively, indicating that he had just broken through not long ago.

When she was in charge of receiving and registering disciples in the lobby, she was only one step away from entering the realm of Qi, so it's not surprising that she has made this progress.

In other words, being able to handle reception in the lobby requires a certain level of competence; generally, they are among the best in the School of Foreign Languages.

On the one hand, being stronger gives them more confidence when facing all sorts of outsiders, preventing unexpected situations.

On the other hand, it is also to train the comprehensive abilities of the outer disciples, so that some disciples who are like ascetics who only bury themselves in martial arts can have some communication skills and social experience.

There are many positions like this in Jingtian Manor, such as gatekeeper, guard, and so on. The receptionist is just one of them.

"I can't compare to you at all." Huang Rong's tone was unnatural, tinged with sourness. "How long have I been in the outer courtyard? A year? Two years? Including this year, it's almost been three years, and I've only just met the basic requirements for the inner courtyard, while you only took two months..."

Han Yi laughed: "What's the use of staying for a short time? The ultimate goal is to enter the inner courtyard. You and I start from the same point, so we all have to start from scratch anyway."

“You’re right, different paths lead to the same destination!” Huang Rong smiled, revealing two shallow dimples.

"By the way, speaking of the inner courtyard, have you made a decision yet?" Han Yi suddenly remembered something and asked.

“Even if you hadn’t brought it up, I was just about to talk to you.” Huang Rong’s smile faded, and he said seriously, “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to the Yangzhi Academy.”

"Yangzhi Academy?" Han Yi was taken aback, and the information he had gathered in the outer courtyard quickly flashed through his mind. He asked in return, "Are you confident?" Yangzhi Academy was the place where the manor lord, Shang Qinglong Zhao Ziyang, had been before.

Since the manor lord himself came from this academy, it is enough to show that the academy's resources, teaching, and overall strength are not bad, so there will be certain requirements.

"About 70-80%," Huang Rong gestured to Han Yi. "I used some connections from a senior student at the Yangzhi Academy and spent this amount..."

A look of heartache appeared on her beautiful face.

Like Han Yi, she came from an ordinary family and had no financial backing.

The money she used to smooth things over within the inner courtyard was accumulated little by little over three years while working in the outer courtyard, with deductions here and savings there.

Even so, the money she had saved was still not enough. In the end, she had to swallow her pride and borrow some money to barely make ends meet.

Of course, the person who borrowed the money wasn't Han Yi, and she didn't approach him. After all, seeing Han Yi tirelessly traveling back and forth between Jingtian Village and Tianjing Town every day, she knew that Han Yi, like her, was a poor man with little money.

The money came from her wealthy best friend, who didn't charge her interest, only requiring her to pay back the principal within two years. But even so, it still gave her a huge headache and immense pressure.

"So expensive?" Han Yi raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

"What do you think? Yangzhi Academy is one of the most powerful in Jingtian Manor!" Huang Rong rolled his eyes at him. "However, there's a reason why it's expensive. The headmaster teaches well, and the inner disciples receive many benefits. I can recoup my investment in just a few years."

"Are you still going to the Nine-Bend Academy? I asked an inner disciple to inquire about it for you. Among the seven academies of Jingtian, the Nine-Bend Academy is at the bottom, and the treatment is average. Apart from the academy head being a good person, it's not very good in other aspects."

She gave Han Yi a friendly reminder. "I haven't made up my mind either." Han Yi rubbed his forehead. "But, you want me to go to the orphanage, it's such a big sum of money, I can't come up with it."

He filled in "Nine Bends Academy" on the registration form, firstly because he saw that there were still vacancies in Nine Bends Academy, and secondly because he felt that the name sounded nice.

The winding blue waters stretch across the mountainside—isn't that the best description of this environment?

"I knew you couldn't come up with the money," Huang Rong sneered. "The senior brothers and sisters in the inner courtyard are quite easy to talk to; I've already inquired about your situation..."

As she spoke, she quickly looked around and said, "The head of the Yangzhi Academy has reviewed your information and asked someone to pass on a message to you, saying that your aptitude is quite good and you don't need to spend any money. If you are interested, you can switch to the Yangzhi Academy during the second confirmation and then enter the inner sect!"

She looked at Han Yi with a hint of envy.

It's infuriating to compare yourself to others. She spent so much money just to get into the orphanage, while the other side got in without spending a penny and even received a special admission.

"Really?" Han Yi was taken aback.

He never expected that his talent, which was considered inferior in Yuanmiao Sect and looked down upon by others, would be valued by the head of the inner academy in Jingtian Manor.

Immediately, a sense of confidence rose within him again.

What's that saying again? If they don't want me here, there are plenty of other places that will!

"How could that be fake?" Huang Rong was too lazy to say more. "If you ask me, when it comes to the second confirmation, you should just change your intention to Yangzhi Academy and enter the inner sect with me."

"Hmm... let me think about it..." Han Yi's eyes flickered, but he did not immediately agree.

……

...Nighttime, Tianjing Town.

After leaving Jingtian Village, Han Yi walked along the main road and arrived at Tianjing Town. He still needed to cross several main roads and pass through a small alley before he could finally return to his residence.

The streets of the town were deserted at night. The further you walked into the alleys on the outer edge, the fewer people there were. Only a few drunkards were talking nonsense.

To save money, the small house he rented was in the most remote corner of Tianjing Town.

As I walked toward my lodgings, the road gradually narrowed, and even the lanterns that served as streetlights disappeared.

The long, winding street was filled with dark gaps. He could only rely on the dim moonlight to carefully navigate the uneven potholes in the road.

The houses on both sides were also pitch black, with no light in sight, as if no one lived there.

Han Yi paid no attention to any of this, not even glancing at them, and walked straight ahead. He was used to walking like this every day.

Or rather, he didn't care at all; he was still thinking about what Huang Rong had told him during the day about the selection of the inner courtyard.

The moonlight, like a veil, filtered through the thin clouds, casting flickering light on his face, making him appear even more preoccupied.

After glancing at the building, Han Yi skillfully turned right at a corner and entered the alley.

Suddenly, he stopped and looked up, frowning.

At the entrance of the alley ahead, a masked man dressed in black was standing there, seemingly out of nowhere.

pat.

There was also a man in black blocking the alleyway behind him.

"Hand over the money!" The man in black drew a machete and slowly approached Han Yi. "Fight..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly froze, as if someone had grabbed his throat. "What are you doing?" Han Yi asked, his expression unfriendly.

"Hit... Big Brother!" The man in black suddenly threw down his knife and turned to run.

The man in black behind Han Yi also turned and ran.

Just now, the two brothers were hiding in the darkness in the corner, and they could only vaguely see someone walking towards this civilian area.

They were overjoyed, thinking they had found a fat sheep.

However, as they got closer, they realized that this person was dressed as an outer disciple of Jingtian Manor and was clearly not an ordinary person, much less the small merchant or vendor they had initially imagined.

Jingtianzhuang, Tianjing Town.

This town of Tianjing was originally established to serve the disciples of Jingtian Manor.

It is precisely because of Jingtian Manor that many martial artists from other places come to learn from him every year. With so many people, especially those who spend money lavishly, the business will be stimulated.

Therefore, every year, many merchants from Tianjing Town come here specifically to provide services to martial artists.

These merchants have left their families and businesses behind, traveling thousands of miles to come here, and they only do small-scale business. Therefore, they are naturally reluctant to spend money and try to save as much as possible.

Often, these small vendors would choose to temporarily reside in this secluded corner of Jingtianzhuang, near Han Yi's residence.

So, the two brothers were short of money recently, so they had a bad idea: to do some business with no capital and target these out-of-town merchants who had no background or connections.

However, unexpectedly, they ran into a brick wall before they even opened for business.

"Trying to run?" Han Yi chuckled, his figure flashing as he leaped back and forth twice.

Bang!

Thump! Almost simultaneously, two muffled thuds rang out as Han Yi grabbed the two brothers by the back of their necks, one in each hand, and threw them to the ground like chickens.

Both of them immediately suffered head injuries and passed out.

This was only because Han Yi deliberately held back; otherwise, he would have killed those two ordinary strong men long ago.

"Speak, who sent you?" Han Yi's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he grabbed one of the more muscular men.

He believed that since arriving at Jingtian Manor, he had spent his days eating, sleeping, and cultivating, keeping a very low profile and not provoking anyone.

If he keeps such a low profile, would anyone still dare to come knocking on his door and try to take advantage of him?

I waited for a long time, but there was no reply.

Han Yi looked down and saw that the robber, who had just woken up, had fainted again under his imposing aura.

“This…” He shook his head and gently patted them awake. Amidst the two robbers’ snotty, tearful words, he continued.

Han Yi finally understood the ins and outs of the matter.

"Is this really the first time you two have done something like this?" He was speechless.

These two were just ordinary people, not acting under orders. They just happened to want to rob a lucky person and make a fortune.

However... these two brothers weren't very lucky.

Tianjing Town is a small town that barely survives on the flow of people and vehicles coming and going from Jingtian Village to learn martial arts.

Here, the rules of Jingtian Manor are the most important rules.

Even if they were desperate for money or had lost their minds, they wouldn't dare to lay a hand on a disciple from the outer courtyard of Jingtian Manor.

The main reason was that the two brothers never expected that someone from the prestigious Jingtian Manor would live in the most ordinary commoner area of ​​Tianjing Town.

Indeed, those who have the time and energy to practice martial arts, no matter how poor their families are, are still considered wealthy landowners compared to these two truly ordinary people.

Even if you casually peek through your fingers, you wouldn't choose to live in these places.

Han Yi glanced at the two people and realized that they were indeed just two ordinary people.

Once he realized it was just a misunderstanding and that no one was trying to stalk or harm him, his expression softened slightly.

"Sir, please spare our lives!"

"Yes, we will never dare to do it again..." The two brothers kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.

In the event of highway robbery, regardless of the world or the laws governing it, killing the perpetrator in self-defense is the only reasonable course of action.

Moreover, on this land, which is essentially Jingtian Manor's own territory, they dared to rob Jingtian Manor disciples...

Even if Han Yi killed them on the spot, no one would say anything.

"Tell me, what should I do with the two of you...?" He looked at the two kneeling on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy, and smiled.

However, to the two people crawling on the ground, this smile was undoubtedly similar to the smile of a demon.

"Grandpa, I know everything! My brother and I are native Tianjing Town residents. My brother-in-law's older brother is from the inner courtyard of Jingtian Manor..." The two men cried out in fright, trying to claim kinship.

"Oh... tell me, what do you all know?" Han Yi became interested and grabbed the older-looking man on his left. "If you can satisfy me, I'll let you go. But if you dare to give me any lies..."

The two dared not delay, taking turns to supplement each other's information, revealing many things about Jing Tian Manor that couldn't be openly known. "Nine-Bend Academy, it used to be the strongest lineage?" Han Yi looked at the two suspiciously, this was inconsistent with his intelligence channels.

"That's right. The former head of the Nine-Bend Academy was the head of Jingtian Manor. At that time, Jingtian was the leader of the five major powers in Yunzhou, and it was incredibly powerful. But who knew that suddenly, inexplicably, the head of the Yangzhi Academy took over, and Jingtian Manor changed hands overnight. From then on, Jingtian Manor declined day by day..."

The man who seemed like the older brother rattled off a long string of words.