Chapter 45

After talking to everyone, the girls and I started organizing our things. Rongrong and Zhu Zhuyun came over to help us, while Ma Jingjing went to chat with Ma Hongjun. We kept talking for quite some time. It seems that Rongrong joined the academy just a week ago, so she hasn't interacted much with the other students yet. But the one who surprised me the most was Zhu Zhuyun. At first, I couldn't remember her, but when we started talking, I finally recalled who she was.

I have no idea why Zhu Zhuqing's sister is here or why she seems to care so much about her. We continued talking for a long time, and I began to understand better how things work around here. Apparently, something is happening in the empire, which caused both sisters and Dai Mubai to flee. Obviously, she didn't say much, only that they left for training. But my instincts tell me it's much more complicated than that. I feel like something very bad happened, but I'm in no rush. As we grow closer, I'll find out everything.

Perhaps the one who has changed the least is Oscar. He is still a handsome man whose beard grows incredibly fast, and he still has his unique charms for summoning sausages. Rongrong seems much more approachable than in the original story, but talking to her, it's easy to sense a bit of pride and arrogance. I must say, though, she's quite fun.

"So, who is this grand master? The director seems to like her a lot,"

Rongrong asked with a gossiping expression on her face.

"The master is the greatest academic on the continent. Her theories on cultivation are recognized by many powerful groups."

"Hmm, really? That sounds amazing... So you all have a business, like merchants?" Rongrong immediately lost interest in the master when she heard about her being an academic and turned her attention back to me and the girls.**

"Yes, Lian and I created some products that became quite popular. Perhaps you've heard of the Vongola Family."

"....." 

(⊙_⊙) 

"VONGOLA!!!!!"

Rongrong's eyes widened, and she shouted in surprise.

"You're the owners of the Vongola Family? Is that true?"

"… Yes, why are you so surprised?" Qin's sister was shocked by her reaction.

"Are you kidding? The Vongola Family is super famous, especially among nobles. Makeup, bath salts, perfumes, incense, beverages, and many other products are loved by the nobility. All the women adore your products."

"....." 

"....." 

"....."

"That's good. We're usually busy handling the administrative side, so we didn't know we were so famous, hehe."

Little Lian chuckled softly. It's surprising how she can lie with a smile on her face. I think I'm being a bad influence on her. After all, we obviously know about the family's reputation. We've invested a lot of time and money in building our small information network; it would be ridiculous not to know about this.

What caught me off guard, though, was the fact that Rongrong herself was a fan of our products. Just as I was about to say something, she jumped close to me and grabbed my arm.

"Hey, big brother, do you have any unreleased products for your little sister?"** 

Zhu Zhuyun, seeing this, smiled slightly and hugged little Lian from behind, resting her head on her shoulder.

"Yes, the Vongola Family is always launching new products. I bet you have a sample for us, right?"

Hearing this, Qin's sister's eyes lit up. She went to a small bag and took out a bottle of perfume.

"We always have some samples of products that are still being tested… This perfume will be released next season, so we don't have much of it... Besides, we used several expensive ingredients to make it. Since we haven't perfected the formula yet, even though I'd love to give it to you..."

The girls' eyes sparkled, and they immediately jumped on Qin's sister.

"Don't worry, big sister Qin. I'll cover the cost. No, I can pay for the entire next season's production if I can have the products sooner.

The girls began to negotiate. I'm really surprised by Qin's sister; it seems she's learned a few things from old Jack. My sweet and innocent older sister seems to have grown up.

*The day went by peacefully. The girls reached an agreement, and when they came to talk to me, I just told them to inform Aunt Yue. This was a deal Qin's sister made, so I didn't want to interfere. The girls took us to see the whole academy, and I must say, the Nuoding Academy is ten times better structured. All the buildings here are either broken or very old, but the teachers are really strong. The most impressive one is definitely Zhao Wuji, but we only greeted him from a distance. I'm pretty sure I saw him smiling maliciously at us.

After exploring the place, it was getting dark, so we returned to our room. Aunt Yue had a room all to herself, while I stayed with the girls. I brought a bed large enough to fit all of us. Today, the girls wanted to have some fun, but I refused. I know things won't be easy tomorrow. Even though they complained a bit, they decided to sleep.**

...…

The next morning, everyone was awakened by a loud noise. As soon as we stepped outside, Zhao Wuji immediately called us to the training ground.**

"Why are we waking up so early?"

Ma Jingjing complained. She was wearing a slightly transparent red nightgown, and even though she had just woken up, she still looked stunning.

"Hahaha, that's obvious. We have new students, and it's time to see their abilities." 

(I already knew this would happen. Zhao Wuji is a simple man. Besides, the director and the other teachers probably want to see our skills.)**

"Xiao Feng, Xiao Wu, Tang Lian, and Xiao Qin, come over here. I'm going to test your strength."

The girls looked at me, but I just shrugged. This is a great opportunity to have a real fight. Even though we have trained together, a battle where we don't have to hold back is rare.

"You have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to discuss a battle strategy. After that, we'll begin."

I just smiled.

**"We don't need time. We know each other well. We can start now."**

**"Oh, great, then you can make the first move."**

He said this and crossed his arms. I just looked at him, summoned my gloves, and started walking forward. At that moment, both Zhao Wuji and the girls were confused about my martial spirit since it looked like a slightly worn-out winter glove.

When I was a meter away from him, I summoned my Sky Flames and my Vongola Ring. Immediately, my gloves transformed, the Vongola symbol appeared on them along with several metallic details, and the orange Sky Flames started burning on my forehead. All my senses heightened in an instant.

With the ring on my right hand, the Sky Flames became much stronger, turning a deep orange. Zhao Wuji was instantly alarmed but still remained motionless. I expected this since he is the Immovable King. I just smiled, compressing my flames as much as possible, and attacked his stomach.

I could see his pupils constricting. Even though he was surprised, he reacted instantly, using one hand to block, but I immediately released the flames I had been compressing, causing a small explosion. But it wasn't over yet.

...... 

**Third-person POV** 

...... 

As soon as Xiao Feng summoned his gloves, Rongrong was surprised. Xiao Feng seemed very confident, but his martial spirit was just an old winter glove. She wasn't the only one surprised; everyone had strange looks. Suddenly, a wave of heat emanated from Xiao Feng.

Dai Mubai placed a hand on his neck, a bit shocked. 

(Sweat?)

Seeing an orange flame suddenly appear on his forehead and gloves made the girls' eyes widen. The entire atmosphere around him changed, conveying a sense of calm and control. His eyes became sharp. Everyone was surprised when Xiao Feng disappeared and reappeared, attacking Zhao Wuji.

The students were soon astonished by a small explosion that completely enveloped Zhao Wuji. When the smoke rose, a large number of blue silver grass moved towards the center of the explosion, and then a golden light began to shine.

Xiao Qin focused all her Sun Flames into her fist, while Tang Lian used a strand of grass to tie around her waist and throw her towards Zhao Wuji. Xiao Qin charged into the smoke, causing another small explosion, and Zhao Wuji was thrown away from the smoke. All of this happened in less than five seconds. Zhao Wuji, believing he didn't need to protect himself, took too long to react.

Before he could hit the ground, spiritual energy was already covering his body, but just as he was about to instinctively merge with his martial spirit, Xiao Wu fell on top of him, kicking his head and driving him into the ground.

After the attack, they retreated, leaving the training ground in silence. Dai Mubai clenched his fists tightly, and Rongrong raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised. This level of strength is a bit above the geniuses of her clan.

But among all of them, the most surprised were Ma Hongjun and Ma Jingjing. When Xiao Feng used his Sky Flames, both felt the flame inside their bodies react. The strongest reaction was from Ma Jingjing. Her whole body started to tremble, her skin tingling, and a pink flame slowly began to appear around her.

Her entire skin shivered, her nipples perked up, and even her juices started to flow. Her whole body began to beg to merge with him. She felt as if she had found a part of herself she didn't even know was missing.

What she didn't know was that these feelings stemmed from her flames instinctively desiring and fearing a stronger flame. Her entire body began to emanate heat and desire.

Obviously, Xiao Feng noticed the situation of the Ma siblings the moment he activated his Sky Flames, but at that moment, he wanted to focus on the fight.

**"You sneaky brats."**

Zhao Wuji stood up, furious. He had really been caught off guard. He didn't think these weak children could do that. This time, he wouldn't underestimate them. If he hadn't protected himself with spiritual energy, he would have sustained some injuries.

**"You must be kidding. He doesn't have a scratch."**

Xiao Wu was surprised to see Zhao Wuji getting up completely fine. But without giving everyone time to prepare, Zhao Wuji attacked directly.

Xiao Feng immediately propelled himself forward and met his attack with his fist. Even using the flames to stabilize himself, Xiao Feng was still thrown backward. The girls took advantage of the time to surround Zhao Wuji.

Xiao Qin stepped forward with a smile. 

**"Let me go first. I want to test my limits."**

Hearing this, everyone nodded and backed off a little. Zhao Wuji, however, felt irritated and surprised. He felt a bit underestimated hearing this, but he also found their courage amusing.

**"You arrogant brats, it seems I'll have to show you how to respect your teachers, hahaha."**

Zhao Wuji laughed loudly and charged at Xiao Qin. The girl immediately became alert, but Zhao Wuji's speed was very fast. He used spiritual energy to strengthen and speed up his movements.

In an instant, Zhao Wuji's fist was in front of Xiao Qin's face. The girl instinctively protected her face with her right hand. With a loud sound, Zhao Wuji's punch hit Xiao Qin, making her slide back more than ten meters, leaving marks on the ground.

Rongrong's eyes widened. 

**"What's this gorilla doing, hitting a girl in the face?!"**

Xiao Qin, who had been hit, just smiled and lowered her hand. Her nose was broken, and the fingers on her hand were slightly twisted, but the Sun Flames appeared on her wounds, and within seconds, she healed.

Everyone was impressed by this, even Flander, who was watching from a distance with the grandmaster. He couldn't help but be surprised by this, but he decided to wait to ask questions.

Zhao Wuji was surprised by the girl. He had intended to knock her down with one blow, but he hadn't imagined she would remain standing. What he didn't know was that Xiao Qin was the strongest and most physically resilient of them all. The Sun Flames are extremely useful for physical training. Xiao Qin took advantage of the teacher's moment of surprise to attack.

Zhao Wuji only defended himself with one arm, but the moment the Sun Flames touched the protective layer of spiritual energy, a burning sensation passed through him.

**Throughout his arm, he immediately attacked, trying to hit her face again, but the girl dodged and landed another blow.**

The two quickly began exchanging blows. Xiao Qin was obviously at a disadvantage; every punch Zhao Wuji landed made blood fly, but with the Sun Flames, she healed quickly.

The strangest thing was that even protected by spiritual energy, Zhao Wuji's clothes quickly started to burn, and the hair on his arms quickly disappeared. Zhu Zhuyun, seeing this, looked at Xiao Feng, surprised that he was so calm.

**"Hey, isn't she your sister? Why aren't you attacking together?"**

**"It's fine. If she needs help, she'll ask."**

Xiao Qin might be the kindest of Xiao Feng's girls, but she was also the most stubborn. Since receiving the Sun Flames, she had been doing many insane training sessions with the grandmaster's help, and at that moment, she wanted to increase her combat experience, which is why she hadn't even used a spirit ring.

Xiao Feng and the girls knew this; in fact, they were planning to do the same thing as her. After exchanging blows for some time, Zhao Wuji decided to end the exchange. He increased the speed and strength of his punches, then landed a punch in Xiao Qin's stomach, sending her flying back like a rocket.

Xiao Feng caught her before she hit the ground. Oscar immediately approached to help, but soon the Sun Flames covered the girl, and she stood up, scratching the back of her neck with an embarrassed smile.

**"Hehehe, the teacher is very strong. I couldn't hold him off for even a minute."**

Everyone's eyes widened. This level of recovery, combined with such attack power, was simply incredible. Dai Mubai looked at Xiao Qin with eyes full of desire and jealousy.

*(If I had flames like these, maybe the elder brother wouldn't have...)*

As for Ma Hongjun, he was in a state similar to Ma Jingjing. He trembled with excitement and desire. His Flames of Greed seemed to have found an infinite energy source, and he could barely stop himself from running forward, grabbing Xiao Qin's legs, and begging to taste her energy.

While the Ma siblings were trying to restrain themselves, Zhao Wuji was truly impressed with Xiao Qin.

*(This girl is amazing. She fits my fighting style perfectly. Maybe I can ask Flander to train her.)*

**"My turn."**

Before Xiao Wu could take the lead, Tang Lian quickly stepped forward. Zhao Wuji didn't mind; he even liked it. After seeing Xiao Qin's performance, he was eager to see what the others had in store.

Soon things got more and more exciting. Tang Lian used numerous hidden weapons during the fight, many of which Xiao Feng didn't even know she had made. With the money the Vongola family had, Tang Lian had built a private forge where she made many hidden weapons. Even though she couldn't make the most complicated ones, it was still enough to repeat the original feat. Xiao Feng was speechless, seeing a furious Zhao Wuji land a punch on Tang Lian, sending her flying, only for him to collapse from all the poisons she had placed on the weapons.

**"..."** 

**"..."** 

**"..."**

Everyone was shocked to see Zhao Wuji lying on the ground with several green and blue spots on his body. Oscar and Xiao Qin ran to Tang Lian. After eating a recovery sausage and being covered with Sun Flames, she got up, looking a bit embarrassed.

**"Hehe, sorry. The teacher is so strong that I thought if I didn't go all out, I might die."**

Soon Flander and the grandmaster arrived and asked Tang Lian to give Zhao Wuji the antidote. After this fight, the headmaster decided no more demonstrations were necessary and ended things right then and there.

*(I wonder if after today's results, Uncle Hao will still show up.)*

The next day, Xiao Feng got his answer when he saw Zhao Wuji with his face all swollen and bruised. 

*(Uncle Hao really doesn't hold back.)*