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**
The matter at Yun Lan Sect had come to an end.
After returning to the imperial capital, Wei Yang and his group went their separate ways.
Xiao Yan, who had been away from home for two years, was eager to return to his clan. So, that very afternoon, he left the capital and set out on the road back to Wu Tan City.
He planned to visit home first before heading to Jia Nan Academy.
As for Wei Yang, he spent one night resting at the Alchemist Association. The next morning at dawn, he began his journey to the Black-Corner Region.
At sunrise—
Outside the southern gate of the imperial capital.
Wei Yang, Xian'er, and Qing Lin were all clad in loose black robes, silently departing the city.
Moments later, they soared into the sky and flew swiftly toward the southern border.
…
At the southern frontier of the Jia Ma Empire stood a mighty fortress—Zhen Gui Pass.
Beyond the pass, traveling several hundred li eastward, and passing through a few small kingdoms and tribal lands, one would arrive at a region known across the entire continent:
The Black-Corner Region.
Due to its unique terrain, the Black-Corner Region had essentially become the most chaotic area on the entire Dou Qi continent. Countless fugitives and fallen experts from every nation gathered there, establishing the wildest and most brutal of rules.
Moreover, the area had become a gathering place for all kinds of races from across the continent. It was practically a miniature version of the Dou Qi mainland.
In the Black-Corner Region, there were no laws, only one principle:
The law of the jungle.
In other words—the strong devour the weak.
The weak held no rights here.
This was a land of extreme purity. If you wished, you could even rape a woman in broad daylight and no one would stop you.
Of course, you'd best pick your target carefully. Otherwise, your fate might be extremely miserable.
Because in the Black-Corner Region, sometimes women were even more terrifying and dangerous than men—for one reason only: they survived here.
Every single day, experts died here.
And every single day, new experts poured in from the outside.
This place was filled with death—but also with challenge and temptation.
Here, one could see rare and high-grade techniques, Dou Techniques, treasures, herbs, and pills that were practically impossible to find elsewhere.
Many of these were stolen goods brought here for resale, making the region somewhat like a giant black market of the continent.
Even Earth Grade cultivation techniques and Dou Techniques, as well as Tier 6 and Tier 7 pills, were not too rare here. They popped up fairly often.
But if you wanted to obtain them, you'd have to pay a price.
That price might be money—or something else in exchange.
But most importantly, you had to have strength.
Perhaps due to the idea that extreme chaos gives rise to order, in the very heart of this lawless land sat a renowned institution on the Dou Qi continent:
Jia Nan Academy.
Jia Nan Academy was the only pure and peaceful zone within this dark, chaotic region.
Within a certain radius surrounding the academy, peace was strictly maintained. Anyone who dared bring the ruthless atmosphere of the Black-Corner Region into that area—would become a dry corpse hanging from a tree on the academy's border by the very next day.
So far, there had never been an exception.
It was said that on the tree—known as the Death Spirit Tree—there had once been two Dou Wangs and even a Dou Huang strung up on display.
…
After two days of travel, Wei Yang's group finally passed through Zhen Gui Pass and formally left the territory of the Jia Ma Empire.
Standing outside the fortress moat, the three of them gazed at the distant rolling mountains. Then they turned around to take one last look at the mighty border fortress behind them.
This time leaving—who knew when they would return?
All three of them were born in the Jia Ma Empire. Now, leaving the land that had nurtured them, they couldn't help but feel a trace of melancholy at parting with their homeland.
The world beyond would certainly be more exciting—and far vaster.
Like young eagles leaving the nest, they were about to spread their wings and fly, to witness a much broader sky.
After all, the Jia Ma Empire, even within the northwest of the continent, was just a tiny drop in the ocean.
Let alone when compared to the entirety of the Dou Qi mainland.
As the saying goes: A shallow pool cannot raise a true dragon.
And the Jia Ma Empire simply lacked the resources to support true greatness.
Thus, if one wishes to climb to even greater heights, they must leave and journey into a broader world to explore and soar.
"Let's go." Taking a deep breath, Wei Yang finally let go of any lingering attachment, turned around, and strode off into the distance.
"Mm." Xian'er and Qing Lin nodded and followed close behind.
As their figures gradually receded into the distance, the massive silhouette of that great stronghold behind them slowly began to blur, until it completely disappeared from view.
Walking along the lush forest path, a deep silence hung in the air.
Aside from the light sounds of footsteps, only the occasional chirping of birds on the branches added a touch of vitality to this otherwise empty road.
"Young Master, how far are we from the Black-Corner Region?" Qing Lin pulled back the hood of her cloak and asked softly, curiosity in her voice.
"Still a long way to go. We've only just left the Jia Ma Empire," Wei Yang replied, flipping his hand to take out a map and spreading it open.
Xian'er and Qing Lin leaned over, eyes locked on the map.
"We're here right now. This area is the Jia Ma Empire, and this here is the Zhen Gui Pass we left behind," Wei Yang explained, pointing at the map one location at a time.
Then, his finger followed a red line, slowly tracing across the map until it stopped at a large dark area. "This is the Black-Corner Region."
The two girls nodded.
Next, Wei Yang's finger continued to move, passing through the dark region and stopping at a blue star symbol in the center of the area.
"This here is Jia Nan Academy. Our destination is somewhere near this place," Wei Yang said.
"Young Master, are we going to join Jia Nan Academy?" Qing Lin blinked her big eyes.
"No. Jia Nan Academy never accepts people coming from the Black-Corner Region," Wei Yang said with a smile and shook his head. "All of their students are personally recruited from various places across the continent. They only accept those with clean backgrounds and talent."
"As for people like us, heading straight from the Black-Corner Region? They wouldn't accept us at all. Let alone the fact that with our current strength, do we really intend to go and become someone's student?"
"Then why are we heading near Jia Nan Academy?" Xian'er asked in confusion.
Wei Yang explained, "We'll randomly take over a city near the academy to use as our base in the Black-Corner Region. Generally, cities near Jia Nan Academy are slightly more orderly, not as chaotic. The people living there are also relatively more friendly. And powerful factions within the Black-Corner Region typically don't stretch their influence to that area."
"So, if we settle down in a small city over there, we can avoid unnecessary trouble. For now, let's keep a low profile and try not to attract the attention of those big forces."
"Oh." The two girls nodded.
Although they didn't fully understand why Wei Yang was doing this, they raised no objections, knowing that he must have his own plans.
"This journey is pretty long. I don't feel like flying myself. Qing Lin, release Du Jiao to carry us," Wei Yang said as he turned to Qing Lin.
"Okay." Qing Lin nodded and waved her hand.
Whoosh!
Immediately, a streak of black-purple light shot out from her sleeve.
The stream of light rapidly expanded in size, inflating in an instant into a massive creature over thirty meters long, hovering in mid-air.
"Let's go." The three of them leapt onto Du Jiao's back in unison.
"Du Jiao, fly higher first, then head east," Wei Yang patted Du Jiao's scaled hide and instructed.
Hissss~
Du Jiao flicked its forked tongue and let out a low hiss, nodding its huge head obediently to show understanding.
In fact, a Rank 6 magic beast is already capable of human speech.
However, Du Jiao's situation was a bit special. Speaking was difficult for it. To put it bluntly, it was somewhat slow-witted—dull and clumsy.
It lifted its head, the horn on its forehead piercing straight toward the sky. With a swing of its thick tail and sinuous body, it swiftly rose into the air, carrying Wei Yang and the others up hundreds of meters into the sky, breaking through the clouds before finally halting.
After discerning the direction, Du Jiao gave another swing of its tail and transformed into a stream of light, disappearing into the eastern horizon.
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