Chapter 17

If you want to go to the Daze Mountain Range, you can only leave the city through the South Gate. Suifeng’s house is four streets away from the South Gate, so by the time the two of them arrived at the South Gate, many students from Daze Academy had already gathered there.

Today, only the third-year students of Suifeng’s class were heading to Daze Mountain for training. Since the third year is the graduation year, there were only three classes in the entire grade, each with about twenty to twenty-five students.

Suifeng was from the Martial Arts Academy, so his class was known as Martial Arts Class 3-1.

Although these students were in their third year, they were still very young, only about fifteen or sixteen years old.

When Xuanyuan Tianxin followed Suifeng to the South Gate, all the students’ eyes were on them. The reason was simple: although Suifeng was a student in Class 1, his skills made him one of the top students in the entire graduating class. Despite being only sixteen, Suifeng was handsome and kind, earning him a good reputation in the academy.

Xuanyuan Tianxin, who followed Suifeng, attracted even more attention. Since she started living with Suifeng’s family, Yu Niang has treated her like a treasure, carefully selecting and matching her clothes. With her naturally beautiful and delicate face and her habitually sweet and harmless smile, she was a very attractive and likable girl.

It has always been said that opposites attract and the same sex repels, but this rule doesn’t seem to apply to Xuanyuan Tianxin. Not only did she attract the opposite sex, but she also charmed those of the same sex. She looked so cute and harmless—of course, that’s assuming no one had seen her fierce side.

When Xuanyuan Tianxin arrived at the South Gate with Suifeng, although the students from other classes were curious, no one came over to ask. However, the students from Suifeng’s class surrounded them, all curiously eyeing Xuanyuan Tianxin.

“You even bring your family along for training?” Among the group of teenagers, a tall boy with a cheerful smile stepped forward and gave Suifeng a pat on the shoulder.

It was clear that this boy had a good relationship with Suifeng.

“Zhan Feng, what nonsense are you spouting?” Suifeng glared at the boy named Zhan Feng, protecting Xuanyuan Tianxin behind him and warning, “Her name is Tianxin, my youngest sister. Watch your mouth. If my mom hears about this, she’ll kill you!”

“Uh!” Zhan Feng seemed to fear Yu Niang, as his expression froze upon hearing her mentioned. “Bro, I was just joking…”

But the next moment, he scratched his head and looked at Xuanyuan Tianxin in confusion.

“But Suifeng, how come I didn’t know you had such a pretty little sister?”

Although Suifeng was usually very friendly to everyone, he was sharp-tongued with Zhan Feng. “Does my family’s business need to be known by you? Are you part of my family?”

Stifled by Suifeng’s retort, Zhan Feng glared at him, then instantly changed his expression when looking at Xuanyuan Tianxin, smiling broadly. “So, it’s little sister Tianxin. Since you’re Suifeng’s sister, you’re my sister too. Don’t worry… Big brother will protect you.”

Seeing Zhan Feng’s overly familiar attitude, Suifeng snorted, “Stop claiming connections. Who’s your sister? You want to protect her? Beat me first.”

“Damn it! Suifeng… Do you really think I can’t beat you? Come on, let’s have a fight.” Zhan Feng started rolling up his sleeves.

But Suifeng just gave him a faint glance and then turned to Xuanyuan Tianxin, saying, “See, this guy is a fool. Stay away from him; it’s contagious.”

Xuanyuan Tianxin laughed at this, seeing Zhan Feng’s face turn green with frustration, looking like he might pounce on Suifeng at any moment. She quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, “I know you two are close, brother Suifeng; stop showing off your bromance in front of me.”

As soon as she said that, both Suifeng and Zhan Feng’s faces turned dark, and they said in unison, “Who’s close with him?!”

Xuanyuan Tianxin glanced at the two of them sideways, thinking, with such perfect coordination, how could they not be close?

Not only Xuanyuan Tianxin but also the boys and girls watching the commotion burst into laughter.

“Alright, kids, everyone’s here. Let’s get ready to set off. The Daze Mountain Range is quite far from here,” said a scholarly man in his forties, walking over from the back of the crowd.

This scholarly man was none other than Wu Zhao, the deputy dean of Daze Academy and the highest authority of the Martial Arts Academy.

Wu Zhao had become the deputy dean of Daze Academy and the head of the Martial Arts Academy not only because he was a sixth-level Martial King but also because he possessed both martial and spiritual abilities, making him a rare dual cultivator.

Such a talent was considered exceptional among geniuses, and it was said that this deputy dean was also from the Imperial Capital Academy. In the entire Daze City, besides the head of the local Wuxiang Palace branch, no one held more prestige than him, not even the dean of Daze Academy.

“What a beautiful little girl,” Wu Zhao remarked, noticing Xuanyuan Tianxin as he approached.

Despite being the deputy dean, Wu Zhao’s scholarly demeanor, combined with his kind and humorous personality, made him very popular among the students.

“Hello, deputy dean!”

“deputy dean, will we see those powerful beasts in Daze Mountain?”

“deputy dean, are we walking there or taking a carriage?”

As soon as Wu Zhao arrived, all the students eagerly gathered around him, showing just how beloved he was.

“You little rascals, go gather at the city gate. The academy’s carriages are already waiting outside the city,” Wu Zhao said with a smile, waving them towards the gate.

The students laughed and quickly ran towards the city gate.

As Suifeng was about to take Xuanyuan Tianxin with him, Wu Zhao called out, “Suifeng, you and this girl ride in the same carriage with me.”

Riding in the deputy dean’s carriage was a great honor for these youngsters. Suifeng smiled and nodded, saying, “Thank you, Uncle Wu.”

“You rascal!” Wu Zhao shook his head with a smile, then looked at Xuanyuan Tianxin curiously, asking, “Suifeng, how come I didn’t know you had such a pretty little sister?”

“She’s a recent addition,” Suifeng replied with a smile at Xuanyuan Tianxin, then introduced her.

“Xiaowu, this is our academy’s deputy dean, Uncle Wu Zhao. Uncle Wu and my father are close friends, so you should call him that too.”

Xuanyuan Tianxin could tell how fondly Suifeng regarded the deputy dean and quickly nodded, giving Wu Zhao a sweet smile.

“Hello, Uncle Wu. I’m Tianxin, but you can call me Xiaowu like brother Suifeng does.”

Wu Zhao’s eyes lit up at her words, and he smiled at Suifeng, saying, “This little girl is indeed likable. No wonder your parents came to see me last night, asking me to look after her. With this girl around, your status at home must have plummeted…”

Xuanyuan Tianxin was taken aback by this revelation, not expecting that last night Uncle Fan and Yu Niang had specifically gone to see Wu Zhao to ensure she was well looked after on this trip.

However, a warm feeling filled her heart immediately, and she realized that Uncle Fan and Yu Niang truly treated her like their own daughter.