“Junior Brother Xiao.” A black-clothed man greeted in a gentle voice. He stood in front of Xiao Chen, with a sunny smile on his face.

Xiao Chen composed himself. “It is precisely Baili Xiaohualuo. But why is there the murderous aura just now?” He looked behind Baili Xiaohualuo. With many people coming and going, it seemed that the murderous aura had disappeared.

“Junior Brother Xiao, are you here to sign up?” Baili Xiaohualuo asked with a smile. His good-looking face and bright smile made others feel quite comfortable.

Xiao Chen withdrew his gaze and looked at him, thinking to himself, “But I haven’t yet entered the Cloud Mist Academy. This person is really a born socializer!” He then smiled and answered, “Yes. It’s just that the city is too big that we’ve lost our way here. Newcomers, after all.”

Of course, he was not lost. How could he get lost with Yang Qing and the others around? They just wanted to walk around and got familiar with everything around. Anyway, there was still one day before the enrollment, so Xiao Chen was not in a hurry.

Baili Xiaohualuo said, smiling. “Well, let me take you there.” With this, he looked at Chu Qi and asked, “Do you also come here to sign up?”

But Chu Qi was expressionless and silent. Then, Baili Xiaohualuo also nodded and smiled at Yang Qing and the others. After greetings, he took them to a carriage shop. The owner of the carriage shop who seemed to know him greeted enthusiastically, “Mr. Baili, it has been a long time since we met last time. So, you are picking up new Junior Brothers again.”

“Yes. You must have been very busy these days.” Baili Xiaohualuo talked to the store owner in an easy-going manner. He was nothing like many of the young people in the Cloud Mist Academy who like putting on airs.

After renting a carriage, they went directly to the Cloud Mist Academy. Along the way, Baili Xiaohualuo was very casual and friendly, talking and laughing. Some other disciples in the Nirvana Realm of the Cloud Mist Academy would not speak to newcomers as he did. Those people were always very arrogant, who were used to looking at people from the corners of their eyes.

“By the way, Junior Brother Xiao, did you see Junior Sister Jiang on the way?”

Xiao Chen turned around and looked at him with a smile. “I didn’t see Miss Jiang. We were in a hurry all the way.”

For some reason, Xiao Chen always felt that this person seemed to be overly enthusiastic. He didn’t know if Baili Xiaohualuo always treated others like this. Somehow, he had this strange feeling about this person… He couldn’t tell what kind of feeling it was, but he thought that he’d better not talk much to him.

Baili Xiaohualuo added, “You can walk freely in the northern district. But notice that you should not go to the central district because it is perilous there. As for the southern district, since it is the territory of the Black Horn, disciples of the Cloud Mist Academy definitely can’t go there. Likewise, they won’t come to our side either.”

Along the way, Baili Xiaohualuo patiently explained some things about the White Fog City. Through him, Xiao Chen also learned that the Cloud Mist Academy would not interfere in the internal affairs of the Black Horn. None of the people in the Black Horn would come to the northern part of the city. The two sides would not invade each other. But if someone on either side went to the other side’s territory to make trouble, he or she deserved to die.

After traveling for an hour, they arrived at an area that was still under repair. The entire district was covered with a layer of a little choking smoke and dust. Xiao Chen noticed that many of the people who worked outside looked very strange. Some of them had bear heads, while others had wolf claws. All of them seemed to have infinite power. In shock, Xiao Chen asked, “Who are they?”

“They are Orcs,” Yang Qing said lightly.

“Orcs?” Xiao Chen felt very strange. He had never seen such a race in the Five Continents. Was it also a race from ancient times?

“No, they are not Orcs. They are just half-demons,” Baili Xiaohualuo said suddenly. At this moment, slightly frowned, he stopped smiling.

The half-demon was a mixed-race of human beings and demons in ancient times. They were born with infinite strength, but their cultivation was far less than that of pure demons and humans. So up to now, most of the half-demons had become slaves of human beings who disparaged them as “Orcs”. In fact, half of their blood belonged to humans, and the other half belonged to demons. However, both humans and demons cast them out, regarding them as a different species and a low-class race.

After listening to Yang Qing’s explanation, Xiao Chen nodded. It turned out that there were many half-demons in the Wastelands, but most of them were slaves of human beings. Some of them became slaves as soon as they were born.

When Xiao Chen looked around, he found that many half-demons were silently doing the heavy work that humans could not take on. The skins of many half-demons had been abraded, dripping with blood. However, they still needed to work. If they dared to stop, a series of brutal floggings would be waiting for them.

“Hurry up! Do it quickly and neatly. Anyone who gets lazy will not be allowed to eat for three days!” A soldier holding a black iron whip shouted fiercely. Not far away, a bear-headed half-demon who was covered with wounds finally couldn’t stand it anymore. He smashed the stone on his shoulder heavily to the ground.

“What are you doing?”

Immediately, three soldiers walked over and whipped him a few times. Not far from them, the eyes of the wolf-headed half-demon turned fierce all of a sudden. He extended his arms and unsheathed his ten sharp claws, pouncing on the three soldiers. However, in the distance, a beam of sword radiance suddenly flew over. “Sizzle!” Blood splattered everywhere. Someone directly cut off the head of the wolf-headed half-demon.

Xiao Chen was greatly shocked. “In any case, he had at least half of the blood of a human being. But still, he was killed as if he were a Demonic Beast! Their lives were considered too mean and worthless.”

With a completely changed expression, Baili Xiaohualuo clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked. At this moment, he no longer smiled. His expression even looked a little frightening. With his eyes showing the light that looked as fierce as the beast’s, he stared at the Nirvana Realm cultivator on the high platform who wielded his flying sword just now.

“Brother Baili?” Xiao Chen saw the strange look on his face and asked.

Baili Xiaohualuo came to his senses and put down the curtains of the carriage. He shook his head and sighed. “This is the fate of a half-demon. In the Demon’s world, they are not recognized by demons. In the world of humans, they… hehe.” In the end, he smiled feebly.

Xiao Chen frowned. He didn’t expect that he would actually sympathize with a half-demon.

It was not until the afternoon that the carriage finally arrived at the district that the Cloud Mist Academy was in. Looking into the distance, Xiao Chen saw a towering mountain. The upper half of the mountain was lost in the cloud and mist. These buildings above were partly hidden and partly visible as if they were built in the clouds. Even when Xiao Chen watched from a distance, a feeling of deep awe filled his heart, and then a kind of heroic feeling arose.

The carriage stopped in the urban area near the foot of the mountain, and they got out of the car. Baili Xiaohualuo smiled and said, “Tomorrow is the official registration day. Junior Brother Xiao, Junior Sister Chu Qi, you can find an inn nearby to live in for now. If you think that you are not familiar with this place, I can take you to find a place.”

“Thank you, Brother Baili. Don’t bother. We’ll go by ourselves,” Xiao Chen immediately said.

Baili Xiaohualuo smiled and nodded. “All right. Remember that you should get up early tomorrow, for there will be an entry-level trial. Then, I’ll take my leave first.” After that, he moved his fingers to cast a spell. After turning into a beam of green light, he flew up to the Mist Mountain.

Xiao Chen frowned. Somehow, he always felt that this person was strange, but he didn’t know why. Perhaps, he overthought. Then, together with Yang Qing and the others, he found a nearby inn to stay in.

At night, they had to discuss their next plan. He and Chu Qi would go to rope in people in the Cloud Mist Academy, while Yang Qing and the others would rent a nearby courtyard to inquire about the information related to Ren Tianxing.

Early next morning, Xiao Chen and Chu Qi intended to go to the foot of the mountain where the Cloud Mist Academy was. Before leaving, Yang Qing exhorted, “Due to the special nature of the Cloud Mist Academy, there must be other people who come here to draw talents over to their forces. Brother Xiao, you should be careful about everything and try not to have too many conflicts with them.”

Xiao Chen nodded and said, “You too. Be careful of the Black Horn. Try not to go to Black-horn City. I will send Chu Qi out to contact you if anything important happens.” Now, Xiao Chen naturally had known that the reason why Yang Qing and the others escaped to the Violet Manor was that the people of the Black Horn were hunting them.

After that, Xiao Chen and Chu Qi went to the foot of Mist Mountain. When he just looked at it from a distance yesterday, he had a feeling of respect. Today, when he came to the foot of the mountain, he found that this place was much bigger than the places where some sects of the Violet Manor were.

Such a towering mountain seemed to have connected heaven and earth, giving people a dignified and solemn feeling. For thousands of years, the lofty Mist Mountain had stayed unchanged, and at the same time, it made the Death (Wastelands provinces) remain as steady as a great mountain. Even the forces of the four major realms did not dare to invade the White Fog City rashly. The Mist Mountain was like a pillar between heaven and earth, which silently supported the whole Death (Wastelands provinces).

Xiao Chen and Chu Qi came to an open place in a gorge. The lofty Mist Mountain rose straight up, but before them, it was an empty space full of clouds. They couldn’t see what was on the opposite side of the gorge. Around them, thousands of people had gathered. Of course, only a few hundred people came here to sign up, and the rest were here to keep them company.

Among the few hundred people, some were children from aristocratic families, and some were talented young men. They came from all parts of the Wastelands, including the four major realms. They had come so far to the Cloud Mist Academy, which was enough to show how alluring the Cloud Mist Academy was.

The Cloud Mist Academy not only had these legends and myths, but it was a place with real strength. For thousands of years, they had trained one expert after another. These experts had already formed one force of the Wastelands.

Now in the Cloud Mist Academy, there were three Perfected Immortals. Above the three Perfected Immortals were three Saints, the cultivation of whom was unknown. There was a rumor that the three Saints could have ascended to the Heaven Realm a long time ago. They actually had the strength above the true Immortals, but they still had to stay in the Human Realm just because of one person.

That person was once the most outstanding disciple that they had carefully groomed a hundred years ago. In a short hundred years, that person had already established the largest force in the Wastelands.

In the open space of the gorge, many people were talking in whispers. The majority of them were teenagers around seventeen or eighteen years old. It was the first time they came to the Cloud Mist Academy. Most of them were a little nervous. They were excited but kind of uneasy too.

Looking at these people, Xiao Chen couldn’t help but think of the scene when Xiao Han, Xiao Wan’er, and he joined the Three Pure Sect in the Human World. At that time, he was also a teenager of sixteen or seventeen years old. In the blink of an eye, it had been nearly four years. Now when he recalled that he had taken the test with Shangguan Yan, Senior Sister Luo, and the three princes, he felt somewhat upset.

Just as he was in a trance, the earth suddenly shook violently, and an earsplitting dragon roar followed. In an instant, the weather changed drastically. With layers of clouds rolling ceaselessly, the scene was shocking.

Many people were utterly startled by this sudden change of weather, including these young men with the cultivation of the Nascent Soul Realm. Suddenly, another earth-shaking dragon roar sounded, and then all the people on the spot saw a purple dragon that reached a few thousand feet approaching them from the distant sky.

“A dragon! A Divine Archean Dragon!”

At this moment, everyone was deeply shocked. Being struck dumb with astonishment, they stared at the divine purple dragon that flew closer and closer. It was wrapped in purple lightning flashes, which looked extremely horrifying. Under the powerful dragon aura, everyone held their breath. They all quite clear that the five claws of the Divine Archean Dragon could even turn an Apotheosis Realm cultivator to ashes.

Xiao Chen calmed himself down. “Is it really a Divine Archean Dragon? But hasn’t dragons died out already? However, it is indeed a real dragon and definitely not the illusory image formed by my Dragon Roar Palm. Can it be…” When he thought of something, his face changed.