To describe the start of the new school year at Holy Orchid Institute as "eventful" would be an understatement.
News of Shen Yue's little accident and Shen Xiu's bet with a student spread throughout the academy like wildfire.
According to the rumors, two students had openly offended both Shen Yue and Shen Xiu, members of the Sacred Family.
The first thing everyone wanted to know was the identities of these two students.
Anyone bold enough to make enemies out of Shen Yue and Shen Xiu had to be either the child of an influential figure or extremely foolish.
Naturally, the latter description was immediately attached to Nie Li.
After learning that he was merely a member of the Heavenly Marks Family, an aristocratic family whose status was far below that of the three major families, many students concluded that he was simply asking for trouble.
"Making a bet with Teacher Shen Xiu and claiming you can reach Bronze Rank in two months? That's simply laughable," one student mocked.
Almost everyone shared the same opinion.
Even with exceptional talent, increasing one's cultivation quickly was nearly impossible. Unless a family was willing to spend an enormous amount of resources nurturing a single student, reaching Bronze Rank and becoming a Demon Spiritualist within two months was nothing short of a fantasy.
And Nie Li's innate talent was already known to be among the poorest in the Fighter Apprentice Class.
Even if the Heavenly Marks Family had some money to spare, surely they wouldn't waste their resources on someone like Nie Li.
The students were convinced that he would be forced to withdraw from the academy within two months. And since he had offended the Sacred Family, they were certain the family would make things difficult for him in the future.
Who asked him to offend Teacher Shen Xiu?
Many of the noble students laughed at Nie Li's misfortune, eagerly anticipating the day he would be forced out of the academy.
Shen Yue, on the other hand, had become the subject of an entirely different kind of gossip.
Everyone was making fun of his failed attempt to suppress a student, which had ended with him humiliating himself instead.
"D-did he really piss himself?!" one student asked, a pained expression crossing her face as she clutched her side from laughing too hard.
"Yeah, I was there! I saw the whole thing. It was hilarious!" another student replied, bursting into laughter at the memory.
Unlike the reaction to Nie Li's actions, nearly everyone who heard about the confrontation between Shen Yue and Xue Hui found it amusing.
The Sacred Family was widely disliked.
Its members were notorious for being arrogant and overbearing, so seeing Shen Yue receive a taste of his own medicine left many people feeling satisfied.
At long last, Shen Yue had gotten what he deserved.
And the person who had humiliated him wasn't some ordinary student.
He was a member of the Divine Family.
Over the years, the Divine Family had accumulated tremendous wealth and influence, to the point that even the Sacred Family couldn't afford to challenge them recklessly.
It was a testament to just how much the Divine Family's influence had grown.
And the boy Shen Yue had tried to suppress was none other than Xue Hui of the Divine Family.
Although not everyone in Glory City had seen Xue Hui personally, nearly everyone knew his name.
Several years ago, Chen Zhenlong had publicly confirmed that Xue Hui was indeed the disciple of the mysterious Legend Rank expert.
Shen Yue had truly run out of luck.
He had picked a quarrel with someone whose status was far beyond his own, seemingly believing that being a member of the Sacred Family made him untouchable.
Unfortunately for Shen Yue, he couldn't simply rely on his family to get revenge.
With both the Divine Family and the mysterious Legend Rank expert standing behind Xue Hui, making an enemy out of him was practically the same as inviting disaster upon the Sacred Family.
In this world, the strong preyed upon the weak.
The Sacred Family understood this principle better than anyone, which was why they had no qualms about bullying those beneath them.
Some students even secretly hoped that the Divine Family and the mysterious expert would teach the Sacred Family a lesson.
---
Holy Orchid Institute School Grounds
"Is that him?" one girl asked, her gaze following a lone figure.
"Yes, that's him. Xue Hui," her friend confirmed.
The girls' cheeks flushed as they watched him.
"He's so handsome," another girl added dreamily.
"Eeeiii! He smiled at me! Did you see that? He totally smiled at me!"
Their excited chatter quickly attracted the attention of the surrounding students, who turned to see who had captured the girls' attention.
Unlike the surrounding students, Xue Hui carried an elegant air that made him seem both difficult to approach and impossible to ignore.
His robe swayed gently as he stood in the middle of the school grounds, drawing the attention of nearly everyone around him, especially the girls.
Xue Hui wasn't particularly bothered by the attention.
Noticing the crowd of girls staring at him, he decided to give them a little acknowledgment.
He raised his hand and waved with a charming smile.
The girls immediately swooned.
The boys, meanwhile, looked increasingly irritated.
They hated how he stealing all the attention.
Despite his perfectly composed appearance, Xue Hui was sighing inwardly.
Thanks to Chen Linlin's shenanigans, he had ended up standing at the back of the classroom alongside Nie Li and his newfound "brothers."
While standing among them, Xue Hui couldn't help overhearing their conversations.
Most of them revolved around whether Nie Li and his friends could reach Bronze Rank within two months.
Nie Li also made no effort to hide his intention of pursuing Ye Ziyun.
In fact, Xue Hui was fairly certain he was deliberately saying it loudly enough for him to hear.
Xue Hui simply rolled his eyes and ignored him.
He didn't care if someone wanted to pursue another person.
Ye Ziyun was an acquaintance of his, and if Nie Li proved himself trustworthy and Ye Ziyun accepted him, then Xue Hui would have no problem with their relationship. He would even congratulate them if they eventually ended up together.
But Nie Li was someone with an unknown background and mysterious origins.
Before allowing him to get too close to Ye Ziyun, Xue Hui wanted to understand exactly who he was.
Not only for Ye Ziyun's sake, but for everyone's safety.
For the most part, Nie Li and his friends simply ignored Xue Hui's presence as he stood silently among them, waiting for the lesson to end.
"There you are!"
Hearing a familiar voice, Xue Hui turned around.
Chen Linlin was jogging toward him, her cheerful expression and charming smile immediately drawing the attention of those around her.
"Sorry for making you wait. I had to convince my friends to come with me so I could introduce them to you."
As she spoke, Xue Hui's gaze shifted toward the students following her.
Three girls accompanied Chen Linlin, the same group of friends she had been sitting with during class.
The moment Xue Hui's eyes landed on them, the trio became visibly uncomfortable.
They fidgeted beneath his scrutinizing gaze, their bodies stiffening as their insecurities surfaced.
'Commoners.'
Xue Hui quickly recognized their backgrounds.
'I hadn't noticed it before, but Chen Linlin had apparently become acquainted with these commoner students.'
Completely oblivious to the awkwardness in the air, Chen Linlin's eyes lit up.
She happily pulled one of the girls to her side.
"Oh, Hui-hui! This is Mei Lin. She's really cool! Her family owns that seafood restaurant near Central Street. She says the food there is the best. We should visit someday and try it!"
Mei Lin was a girl with shoulder-length, wavy blonde hair and tanned skin. She was roughly the same height as Chen Linlin, and her sharp eyes and sword-like eyebrows gave her a fierce beauty.
"H-hello. Nice to meet you," Mei Lin greeted hesitantly.
Xue Hui responded with a friendly smile and introduced himself.
His approachable attitude immediately eased the tension in Mei Lin's body.
She stepped back, allowing her friends to introduce themselves.
Next, Chen Linlin pulled the smallest girl of the group toward her.
"This is Yue Ling. Her family is from a farming village on the outskirts of Glory City, near the military base."
Chen Linlin suddenly grinned.
"Oh, Yue Ling also said you looked really cool when you confronted that Shen Yue guy!"
"Eeiii! Linlin, w-why did you tell him?! It was supposed to be a secret between us!"
Yue Ling panicked.
Her shoulder-length brown hair bounced chaotically as she hurriedly looked between Chen Linlin and Xue Hui.
Once she calmed down and Xue Hui greeted her, Yue Ling immediately retreated behind Mei Lin, her face flushed with embarrassment.
The last girl stepped forward on her own.
Compared to the other two, she had a much calmer disposition.
Her expression was stoic, and her black hair was neatly tied into a ponytail. She was also the tallest of the group, standing around five feet eight inches tall, with a slender figure.
What caught Xue Hui's attention most was the pair of reading glasses resting on her face.
She was only the second person Xue Hui had ever seen wearing glasses.
The other was Chen Wenrou.
There was also something strangely familiar about her.
Xue Hui couldn't quite remember where he had seen her before.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Jing Ya."
She bowed slightly, her flat tone perfectly matching her stoic expression.
Xue Hui nodded and returned the gesture.
Once the introductions were finished, the five of them left the school grounds.
As they walked, Chen Linlin happily recounted how she had become friends with the three girls.
During their journey, Xue Hui noticed Jing Ya repeatedly stealing glances at him.
He could tell she had something on her mind.
"So, Jing Ya, have we met before?" he asked. "You look familiar, but I can't remember why."
For a moment, Jing Ya's stoic expression softened.
"Yes. We knew each other when we were children. We used to be playmates at the orphanage."
Hearing this, Xue Hui's expression changed as old memories resurfaced.
"Yeah. You're that little girl who hated loud noises so much that you used to follow me everywhere."
Jing Ya smiled as she remembered those days.
Now certain that Xue Hui truly remembered her, she began talking about their past.
"After I left, I went back to the orphanage to visit you, Xue Hui. But the kind lady there told me that you had already been adopted."
Her expression became nostalgic.
"I asked about where you had gone, but they said they weren't allowed to disclose that information. They only told me that you were in a safe home."
Jing Ya smiled brightly.
"I'm really happy to see that you're doing so well, Xue Hui."
Mei Lin and Yue Ling stared at each other with their jaws hanging open.
They had been best friends with Jing Ya since they were children, and this was the first time they had ever seen their normally stoic friend display so much emotion.
The sight was almost frightening to them.
Chen Linlin, meanwhile, listened quietly with a touched expression.
She was genuinely happy that Xue Hui and Jing Ya had reunited.
The two continued talking as they caught up on each other's lives.
However, the cheerful atmosphere gradually faded when Jing Ya began talking about her family's circumstances.
"Yeah… that's why my family lost its noble status," Jing Ya said sadly.
Apparently, the Jing Clan had once been an aristocratic family.
However, they had fallen victim to a scheme orchestrated by the Sacred Family, who coveted the Jing Clan's most profitable business.
The Jing Clan was eventually subdued by the Sacred Family and its business partners.
Their business was stolen right from under their noses, and the clan's only Gold Rank Demon Spiritualist died with deep resentment.
Without their strongest expert, the Jing Clan lost its noble status.
Seven years had passed since their downfall, yet the clan had still failed to recover.
They were barely scraping by with their remaining businesses, doing everything they could to send their younger generation to the Holy Orchid Institute.
For the Jing Clan, becoming powerful Demon Spiritualists was the only way to restore their family's former status.
The same was true for Mei Lin and Yue Ling.
Their families were also relying on them to improve their circumstances.
Jing Ya, Mei Lin, and Yue Ling fell silent as they felt the weight of the expectations placed upon their shoulders.
Being a commoner wouldn't necessarily be so bad if they weren't constantly targeted and bullied by nobles.
That was why it had surprised them so much when Chen Linlin, despite her noble status, turned out to be a genuinely kind person who didn't look down on commoners.
Not only that, she had actively expressed her desire to become their friend.
It was completely different from what they had expected.
Shame crept into the trio's hearts as they finally admitted why they had initially befriended Chen Linlin.
When they first met, Chen Linlin had decided to sit with them, and the three girls had quickly formed an unexpected connection with her.
At the time, an idea had occurred to them.
They could become Chen Linlin's subordinates and use her noble status as protection during their time at the academy.
But that plan had quickly fallen apart when Chen Linlin treated them sincerely as friends.
The thought of using someone who genuinely wanted to befriend them made their stomachs churn.
Feeling guilty, the trio bowed apologetically.
They promised they wouldn't do it again and insisted that they didn't deserve Chen Linlin's friendship.
Seeing this, Chen Linlin tugged at Xue Hui's sleeve, hoping he could do something.
"Hui-hui, can we help them? I understand why they did it, and I'm not angry. If anything, I want to stay friends with them even more."
Xue Hui smiled and patted her shoulder reassuringly.
Of course Chen Linlin wouldn't mind.
What the girls had done was relatively harmless.
Although using someone for personal gain wasn't exactly admirable, Xue Hui understood why they had considered it.
They lived in a world filled with uncertainty and hardship, especially for those without power.
What the trio had done wasn't as terrible as they believed.
Many commoners attached themselves to people with power and influence simply to secure opportunities for themselves.
Sometimes, you did whatever you needed to survive.
You couldn't fault someone for trying to climb toward a better life, especially when doing so could secure a better future for the people they loved.
At least the three girls had recognized their mistake and genuinely felt guilty about it.
The difference between paid subordinates and true friends was genuine concern for one another.
Looking at Chen Linlin's pleading expression, Xue Hui finally decided to help them.
Xue Hui didn't plan to remain in Glory City forever.
If he could nurture a few supreme experts who could protect Glory City in his absence, then it would benefit the city greatly.
And Jing Ya, Mei Lin, and Yue Ling were certainly promising candidates.
Having made up his mind, Xue Hui addressed the trio seriously.
"I'm going to help the three of you become Demon Spiritualists and powerful protectors of Glory City, but there's one condition."
Jing Ya, Mei Lin, and Yue Ling all raised their heads and looked at him.
They gulped when they saw his stern expression.
Only then did they remember that Xue Hui could be quite intimidating when he wanted to be.
They still remembered how easily he had dealt with Shen Yue, making him flee like a frightened dog.
"Whatever happens, do not betray Linlin's friendship."
Xue Hui's voice was firm.
"The world is full of hardship, and those who choose to walk through it alone will always end up with a huge, gaping hole in their souls."
His gaze swept over the three girls.
"It doesn't matter whether one is a man, beast, devil, or god. No one is safe from that kind of fate."
He paused.
"So, to avoid such an end, the four of you must treasure your bond from this day forward."
The trio looked toward Chen Linlin.
Genuine concern filled their eyes.
She was worried about them as friends, not as subordinates.
That alone was something they had once believed impossible because of the enormous gap between their statuses.
Steeling themselves, the three girls made a silent promise that they would never betray Chen Linlin's friendship.
"I-I, Yue Ling, would never betray Linlin's trust! If I do, may I be struck by lightning!"
Surprisingly, the first to speak was the most timid member of the group.
Chen Linlin was so touched that she immediately approached the smaller girl and hugged her.
Jing Ya and Mei Lin soon made their own promises, and Chen Linlin likewise promised that she would never betray their friendship.
Watching the four girls, Xue Hui felt relieved.
Chen Linlin had finally found some new friends.
He remembered his previous lives, when it had always been just the two of them.
Those lives had been quiet, lonely, and sad.
Xue Hui was glad he had managed to change Chen Linlin's fate.
At least in this lifetime, she could experience the happiness of belonging to a close-knit group.
Once they finished, Xue Hui suddenly thought of something.
"Pack your things."
The trio looked at him in confusion.
Xue Hui smiled knowingly.
For some reason, the sight of his grin made the three girls shudder.
"You three will be staying at the Divine Family Mansion from now on."
Jing Ya, Mei Lin, and Yue Ling froze.
Since he had already decided to help them, Xue Hui might as well go all out and ensure their safety.
Now the question is, what cultivation techniques would be best suited for the three of them?
Xue Hui pondered the matter as he followed the group.
End of Chapter 40