In the early morning light, a group of travelers cloaked in black cloaks trudged across the vast, barren frozen plains. Snowflakes fluttered in the sky, adding a touch of scenic beauty to the landscape.
After three grueling days of travel, the towering outline of the Tian Mountain Range finally emerged, and Qing Luan Academy was now within sight.
The healing ointment from Qing Luan Academy, with its light green hue, was far superior to any modern balm. After each night of rest, the swelling in their feet would vanish, and even the wounds on their soles would scab over and heal completely.
It was thanks to this soothing, herb-scented balm that Lin Xi and the rest of the new recruits from the Warfare Department were able to endure the journey.
After three days of exhausting travel, the forty-one new recruits had lost weight, but their spirits had lifted significantly, and their appetites had grown much larger.
At first, most of the recruits could only eat a small piece of meat the size of a palm at each meal, but now even the smallest eaters could consume nearly two such pieces of meat at a time.
It was unclear whether intentional or not, but the wild and unruly black-haired man, after that night, had stopped hunting antelope. Instead, he brought back larger, long-horned deer.
The meat of these deer was richer in fat, and the aroma of the roasted meat was much stronger. It filled the black cloaks made of northern sea otter fur with a delicious scent of meat.
"That middle-aged man, what did he leave behind at Qing Luan Academy?" Lin Xi, walking in the middle of the group, gazed ahead at the cold and mysterious Tian Mountain Range. Snowflakes drifted down the mountainside, and clouds swirled around the peaks. It looked distant and unreachable.
Although he had long accepted his new identity and had become comfortable in this world, there was an indescribable feeling within him, perhaps the loneliness and sense of being misunderstood that he had shared with the elderly cart driver. This feeling made that legendary middle-aged man the true reason Lin Xi was determined to enter Qing Luan Academy.
Perhaps this middle-aged man could provide answers to many of his questions.
The narrow stone path appeared at the foot of the mountain, winding upward through a light dusting of snow. By the time they reached half the way up the mountain, the snow turned to hardened ice and sharp icicles.
The black-haired man was the first to step onto this stone path, moving with ease, as if he were strolling on flat ground.
He gave a wild grin, his gaze sweeping over Lin Xi and the others. "Watch your step. Keep along this road and cross this mountain peak. We need to climb it before the sun sets. If you can't make it, you'll have to spend the night on this path."
However, when everyone looked up at the peak, they couldn't see the top of the mountain.
The Tian Mountain Range was simply too high. After climbing a hundred levels of stairs, each step took more effort. After a while, apart from Xia Yanbing and the black-haired man, the other new recruits had to use both hands and feet to climb. Even so, every time they reached a new section, they had to stop and catch their breath.
Suddenly, a dense forest of giant snow pines appeared at the end of the narrow, icy stone path, as though they had crossed into another world. All the recruits, who were gasping for air, fell silent as they passed through the towering trees.
Ahead of them, there were dozens of mountain peaks, each crowned with imposing palaces. The windows of these palaces glistened in the sunlight.
Especially the mountain peak closest to them, where a series of connected palaces stretched outward, as though they were floating above their heads.
The jade-like walls and the golden glazed tiles reflected so brightly that the recruits could hardly open their eyes.
Lin Xi too was rendered speechless. The imagination of someone from the modern world seemed too poor compared to the scene before him. Just the palaces atop this mountain peak alone exceeded the grandeur of Minas Tirith from "The Lord of the Rings."
"Why is this place spring-like and not a frozen wasteland?" someone asked in a daze.
"That's a dumb question," the black-haired man scoffed, glancing at the far horizon without offering further explanation.
What they were looking at in the distance was a massive mountain range that spanned the sky like a giant wall. This area, much like the Four Seasons Plain, was a basin within the mountain range. The cold northern winds were blocked by this towering range, and the turbulent air currents caused the cold winds to pass over this high mountain basin.
The towering peaks, hundreds of meters high, were nothing more than protrusions from the basin within this great mountain range.
"Keep climbing!" The black-haired man and Xia Yanbing led the new recruits, who were too exhausted to continue, to a relatively lower mountain peak. They finally reached a massive black wooden door.
"No one fall behind now, right?" the black-haired man said with a grin, raising his fist and knocking on the door with force.
"Crazy Qin…" A muttered curse echoed, and the massive door immediately creaked open. A tall, horse-faced woman in a black robe with silver star patterns embroidered on the chest and sleeves stood in front of the door. Her face was stern, and her first impression was that she was strict and hard to approach.
"Professor Li, long time no see. Shall we spar a little first?" the black-haired man said with a laugh.
The horse-faced woman shot him a sharp glare, ignored him completely, and effortlessly opened the heavy door, addressing Lin Xi and the other new recruits, who were on the verge of collapsing: "Don't waste anything. If you do, I'll make you regret it."
None of the new recruits understood what she meant by "don't waste anything," but as soon as they crossed the deep door, they were left dumbfounded.
In a small courtyard paved with pebbles, there were more than twenty large wooden tables, each covered with food.
Roast deer ribs, roasted pheasant, roasted roe deer, rice, cakes, various vegetables, and numerous kinds of tubers and fruits that even the youngest recruits had never seen before.
"Now you may eat freely, as long as you can eat it all…" The black-haired man glanced meaningfully at the stunned recruits and said.
"Ah!" One by one, the new recruits pounced on the tables, devouring the food like hungry beasts.
To be honest, despite the fact that the black-haired man had pushed them hard to keep going without allowing them to stop, he had never let them starve. But after several days of bland roasted meat, they had only managed to fill their stomachs. The food on the tables now, each item looking more delicious than the last, was a luxury.
Everyone grabbed plates full of food and began to devour it with abandon.
"Is this a welcome feast? Aren't we supposed to wait for the other departments to arrive? Won't it be a problem if we eat without them?" someone hesitantly asked.
"Yeah, it's a welcome feast," the black-haired man said casually, tearing into a whole roasted lamb, "We do this every year in the Warfare Department. Will there be a problem? Don't worry about it. Eat up. Even if you finish it all, Professor Li will have more ready."
"Will the other departments be arriving too? Are we staying here? Didn't we hear that the most important tradition is to receive the dean's guidance?" Another recruit asked.
"No hurry. That'll happen tomorrow at noon. For now, you'll stay in that building," the black-haired man casually gestured toward a seven-story palace-like structure perched on the cliff's edge.
"Why aren't there any senior brothers or sisters here?" someone asked.
"All the new recruits stay here on this mountain. The senior brothers and sisters are on other mountains. You'll have a chance to meet them later. As for where you stay after a year, you'll understand soon enough."
"Should we wait for the other recruits to arrive before receiving the dean's guidance? What are we supposed to do in the meantime?" someone asked again.
"For now, you eat, sleep, and wait for them to arrive. You have a whole extra day of rest compared to them," the black-haired man said with a roll of his eyes. "Otherwise, how would you understand that those who put in more effort will always get more in return?"
"Professor Qin, you're so kind!" The recruits, stunned at first, suddenly cheered and screamed in delight.
"Am I?" The black-haired man, amidst their cheers, looked down and continued to nibble on the roasted lamb, secretly mocking himself. "I just hope there are fewer people among you who disappoint me."
"The other instructors won't arrive until tomorrow, so you'll stay here in this courtyard, waiting for the dean's guidance. After that, the instructors will arrange your living and courses," Xia Yanbing's stern voice rang out. "None of you are allowed to leave this courtyard, or you'll be kicked out of Qing Luan Academy."
None of the recruits paid much attention to the strictness of this rule. Compared to the exhausting journey they had endured, this courtyard, filled with food, was nothing short of paradise. After filling their bellies, even Lin Xi, who felt a slight regret at not being able to immediately find out what the middle-aged man had left behind, wrapped himself in his thick, soft cloak and fell into a deep sleep, unaware of the passing time.
The next day, when the first recruit woke up, the sun was already shining brightly.
That madman-like black-haired man, like a spear, was standing on top of a palace at the cliff's edge, gazing into the distance. No one knew how he had gotten up there.
At the foot of the Tian Mountain Range, a large group of cloaked individuals, resembling a swarm of black ants, was steadily making its way toward the mountain.