After a discussion, they decided to wait in the academy for An Shaoning and the rest.
Soon, the four of them became bored.
Hong Qinghe could not help but look at Lou Qianxue.
“Well, Miss Qianxue.”
“Huh?”
Lou Qianxue was in a good mood since her friends and family members were all safe. “We’re going to be classmates soon. Just call me Qianxue.”
“Qianxue, everything you did during the Fenghua Banquet two years ago greatly impressed me! I’ve been treating you as my imaginary rival for these two years. With the hard work I put, I improved a lot. So, I want to…”
“Are you planning to challenge Qianxue?” Lou Xiaoxiao looked at Hong Qinghe with a strange look in her eyes.
While others might not know it, she knew that Qianxue was the famous Jade-Masked Blast.
Lou Qianxue was an expert who could fight a Mystic Martial realm expert, conquer the life-or-death battle stage, and rank 52nd amongst the experts in Tian Zhao.
Hong Qinghe wanting to challenge her was akin to having a death wish.
“Yes.” Hong Qinghe nodded. He then suspiciously looked at Lou Xiaoxiao. “Why are you looking at me like that? Is there anything wrong with me challenging Lou Qianxue?”
“No… No, no, no. I didn’t say that. However, I have a feeling that you’ll definitely regret it.”
“Regret? Regret what?” Hong Qinghe was still confused.
An Yuzhi’s gaze toward Lou Qianxue turned curious. Hong Qinghe’s words reminded him of the Body Transformation Pill which Liuyun Prefecture’s An family had sent over to his family.
If he was not mistaken, this young girl in front of him was the one who had made those pills.
Moreover, every time An Shaoning talked about Lou Qianxue, he would sing her praises. How impressive was this girl that could make a smart man like An Shaoning so convinced of her skills?
“Well,” Lou Qianxue said in a deep voice, “sure! I haven’t had an exchange in a long time. It’s good to give it a try.”
When she had used her martial arts skills recently, her aim had been to kill people. She hadn’t had an exchange for the sake of learning.
“Okay! Where’s the academy’s training hall? Let’s go now.”
They went to the academy’s training hall.
The training hall was extremely big, and many students were battling and training inside it.
When they noticed An Yuzhi and the others, many students stopped and respectfully greeted, “Senior Brother An.”
“Brother An, you’re so impressive!” Having seen many people behave like this when he walked alongside An Yuzhi, Hong Qinghe could not help but exclaim.
“Young Master An is from one of the five most powerful families in the Imperial City. He’s ranked fifth in the Imperial Academy’s Hall of Fame too. Naturally, many students respect him,” Lou Xiaoxiao explained.
“Hall of Fame?”
“Yeah! It’s a ranking system that evaluates how powerful the students of the Imperial Academy are.”
“I see.”
As they chatted, some students offered a battle stage to them. “Senior Brother An, do you need to use a battle stage? We just finished our exchange, so you can use this.”
“Thank you!” After expressing his thanks, An Yuzhi explained to Lou Qianxue and Hong Qinghe, “Other than the areas in the training hall reserved to meditate and train, this place has dozens of battle stages. They’re over there. Do you see the only red battle stage in the center?”
“That’s the life-or-death battle stage. Only people who are going to have a life-or-death battle can use it. Although the Imperial Academy prohibits students from injuring others, students with irreconcilable conflicts can sign a life-or-death contract, fight on the battle stage, and kill their opponents.”
“Oh! I see.” Lou Qianxue and Hong Qinghe got a huge revelation.
At the next moment, Hong Qinghe eagerly jumped onto the battle stage in front of them.
“Come quickly, Qianxue.”
Lou Qianxue nodded and leaped onto the stage as well.
Hong Qinghe was extremely excited. Grabbing the black ruler, he looked at Lou Qianxue with great determination. “Qianxue, I’m not the same person as I was two years ago. You might even lose to me, so be mentally prepared!”