Chapter 271

Chapter 271: Return to the Ancient Weapon Academy

When Lou Yun first arrived at the Ancient Weapon Academy, he had been immediately stunned by its grandeur and magnificence. However, the Ancient Weapon Academy now presented before the two of them was utterly dilapidated, with crumbling walls and breaches filled with gaping holes littering the campus perimeter. There was not the slightest trace left of its former glory.

Xia Zhilan stared blankly at the scene below, murmuring in a daze, "W-what happened? What’s wrong? How did the academy become like this? What about Grandfather?"

Lou Yun didn’t stop to answer her. He urgently expanded his spiritual senses, instantly enveloping the entire Ancient Weapon Academy. Fortunately, there were still many energy fluctuations within the academy, indicating that at least some people were still alive!

"It appears it was attacked. Little Lan, don’t panic yet. Let’s go down and see the specifics first!" Lou Yun reached out and took Xia Zhilan’s hand, pulling her along as he activated the Dream Emperor Sword, flying directly down towards the Ancient Weapon Academy below.

At the valley entrance of the Ancient Weapon Academy, the small dilapidated hut where Old Man Feng once lived was now also rubble. So, Lou Yun didn’t linger there at all and flew straight into the valley.

At the main gate of the Ancient Weapon Academy, there were also no guards. The two of them landed and walked inside, encountering no obstacles along the way into the academy’s interior.

Guided by his spiritual senses, Lou Yun pulled Xia Zhilan directly towards a location where life signs gathered. However, the scenes witnessed along the way were truly horrifying. In many places, there were puddles of vivid red, long-dried bloodstains. Xia Zhilan’s face was completely pale from fright, and Lou Yun could clearly feel the faint trembling from her hand through his grasp.

Under these circumstances, Lou Yun had no words with which to comfort her. He just wanted to find a living person as quickly as possible to ask what exactly had happened at the Ancient Weapon Academy.

Suddenly, Lou Yun’s spiritual senses swept over an area just beyond the courtyard wall ahead, catching a figure darting quickly past. He immediately shouted, "Stop!"

Simultaneously, he applied strength to his legs and, practically pulling Xia Zhilan bodily, the two of them leapt into the air, soared over the courtyard wall, and landed directly on the other side.

Sure enough, there was a person here who had been about to run past. First, he was stopped by Lou Yun’s shout, making him pause in confusion. Then, in the blink of an eye, two figures materialized right in front of him, startling him. He leaped back, already assuming a defensive, potentially attacking posture.

However, when he clearly saw the two figures before him, his face immediately lit up with joy. Unable to hold back, he shouted loudly, "Lou Yun! Xia Zhilan!"

Lou Yun and Xia Zhilan also recognized the familiar, tall figure before them: "A Jiu!"

This person was precisely Nie Jiu, Lou Yun’s former roommate—a simple, kind-hearted soul with a particular fondness for eating!

Nie Jiu (A Jiu), Xia Zhilan, and Lou Yun had once been part of a team together. Under Han Tianxiao’s leadership, they had cooperated on numerous missions, so their relationship was very close.

A quick mental calculation told Lou Yun that he and Nie Jiu hadn’t seen each other for over three years. Seeing each other again now naturally brought mutual warmth to their hearts. However, given the current situation, there was no time for prolonged reminiscing. Lou Yun asked directly, "A Jiu, it’s great to see you! Quickly, tell us, what happened to the Ancient Weapon Academy? How did it become like this? And Dean Xia? How is he? Is he alright?"

Nie Jiu nodded, glancing at Xia Zhilan before speaking. "After Xia Zhilan was kidnapped, Dean Xia grew distraught. He handed over all academy affairs to Qian Ruming and left the academy entirely alone. Not long after, though, he returned. From then on, he sighed heavily all day, his brow perpetually furrowed with worry. None of us dared to ask him about it. Then, about half a year ago, on a certain night, a group of black-clad men suddenly arrived at the academy. Every one of them had their faces completely covered. They came straight in, shouting Dean Xia’s name, demanding he come out."

"Dean Xia instructed the teachers to take all of us students to a safe area on the back mountain. Then, he went out alone to meet them. Because they were too far away, I didn’t hear their dialogue very clearly. It seemed like the black-clad men were demanding something from Dean Xia. But the Dean said he wouldn’t give it. Then they started fighting."

"At first, we were all hiding on the back mountain. But when the sounds of fighting outside grew louder and louder, the students couldn’t help but clamor to go out and help. The teachers forbade us from going. Instead, they went, leaving only Teacher Bai Yue to watch over us. This fight lasted a full night before it finally stopped. When we came back out, we saw the academy had become like this. Dean Xia and the teachers who went out to help were all severely injured. Dean Xia ordered the academy classes to cease immediately and for all students to return to their homes. Most of us, however, refused to leave, insisting on staying to help!"

"But Dean Xia flatly refused to let us stay. Later, we learned from Teacher Bai Yue that before leaving, those black-garbed men had left a message, saying they would return. Dean Xia was afraid we’d get caught in the crossfire, hence his adamant insistence that we leave. He also notified the students’ families, asking them to come collect their children themselves. However, I absolutely refused to leave. I figured I’d go hungry at home anyway, might as well stay here. Heh!"

Originally, Lou Yun and Xia Zhilan had been listening with hearts heavy and brows deeply furrowed. But Nie Jiu’s last sentence made the two of them unable to stifle a sudden, nervous "pfft" of laughter. It also, perhaps unintentionally, eased some of the tension.

Lou Yun shook his head with a wry smile, lightly punching Nie Jiu on the arm. "After not seeing you for so long, you’ve nearly reached the rank of high-level magical weapons master, yet you’re still so food-obsessed!"

Nie Jiu just grinned, rubbing the back of his head.

Lou Yun quickly composed his expression again. "According to you, those black-clad men said they’d return. Did they mention roughly when?"

"The teachers never discuss these matters with us students at all. However, I’ve noticed recently that they all seem much more tense. I think… it probably means they are coming back soon!"

Lou Yun’s face instantly formed a cold smile upon hearing this. "Oh? Is that so? Excellent. I want to get a good look at who they are, these people who dare to mess with our Ancient Weapon Academy!"

Though Lou Yun had never completed his studies at the Ancient Weapon Academy, and though Han Tianxiao had betrayed him, he still held deep affection for the academy in his heart. Hearing that someone had attacked it, severely injuring Dean Xia and the teachers, he absolutely could not allow such a thing to continue!

Yet, Lou Yun still felt some confusion. The Ancient Weapon Academy had been established for a very long time. Logically speaking, given its status and reputation, there should surely be no reason for anyone to oppose it, let alone launch such an open, brazen attack. Who exactly were those black-clad men?

As he pondered this, Lou Yun casually asked aloud, "Did the academy find out anything about the origins of those black-clad men?"

Before Lou Yun had even finished his sentence, and before Nie Jiu could respond, both Lou Yun and Xia Zhilan suddenly looked sharply at each other. Almost simultaneously, they blurted out, "Could it be him?!"

When Lou Yun first met Xia Zhilan, she was being attacked by a man entirely concealed in black robes. Overwhelmed, the black-robed man had stated his reasons for wanting to kill her: one, because Xia Zhilan had seen things she shouldn’t have; two, because she had connections with "that old fellow" – referring to Xia Guanqiu. If Lou Yun hadn’t intervened just then, Xia Zhilan would surely have died.

That black-robed man was utterly bizarre. His magical weapon was pure black, surrounded by a faint haze of dark energy. Later, upon Chang Xiang’s explanation, Lou Yun understood: the man’s weapon was an evil weapon!

Moreover, the black-robed man also possessed the Heavenly Flame Hellfire. However, it was ultimately devoured by Xiao Huo. This incident made the black-robed man resent Lou Yun to the core.

Later, Lou Yun also learned that the black-robed man was not alone; he surely had accomplices. Yet, years passed without Lou Yun encountering the man again, causing the memory to almost entirely fade.

Thinking back to this now, a sudden, strong suspicion struck Lou Yun: the ones who attacked the Ancient Weapon Academy were very likely the black-robed people, affiliated with that man. Furthermore, could what he was demanding from Xia Guanqiu be… the Hellfire?

Of course, that possibility seemed incredibly small. After all, during that prior encounter, the black-robed man had no idea that Lou Yun was from the Ancient Weapon Academy!

These questions wouldn’t be solved by merely pondering them alone. So, Lou Yun shook his head vigorously, temporarily pushing all these doubts aside. He addressed Nie Jiu, "A Jiu, take us to see Dean Xia immediately. I need to ask him what exactly is going on!"

"Alright. Follow me!"

Thus, with Nie Jiu leading the way, Lou Yun and Xia Zhilan, hand-in-hand, followed behind him as they hurried towards where Xia Guanqiu resided.

Originally, Lou Yun had also wanted to ask Nie Jiu about Old Man Feng’s whereabouts. After all, Old Man Feng’s strength was unfathomably deep. He had willingly stayed guarding the valley entrance for the academy, effectively serving as its protector deity. If he had been there, Xia Zhilan probably wouldn’t have been kidnapped back then, and certainly those black-robed attackers couldn’t have reduced the Ancient Weapon Academy to such utter ruin.

However, Lou Yun reconsidered and didn’t ask. Old Man Feng had left very early on; not even Xia Zhilan knew his whereabouts, so Nie Jiu certainly couldn’t know either.

Along the way, they encountered a few other students. Seeing Lou Yun and Xia Zhilan, they all showed expressions of shock. Lou Yun only found them vaguely familiar and thus didn’t pause to greet them.

Nie Jiu didn’t forget to provide context as they walked. "They’re all students who voluntarily chose to stay. They’Re older students, the lowest cultivation level among them being high-level magical weapons masters. That’s why the academy reluctantly agreed to let them remain. But they were strictly ordered: if fighting truly erupts, all students must stay far at the rear."

Hearing that these students had intentionally stayed to face the academy’s crisis alongside it, Lou Yun naturally felt great respect for them. The next time they passed some students, Lou Yun took the initiative to nod in acknowledgment.

However, Lou Yun found it strange that they hadn’t seen a single teacher along the way and couldn’t help asking, "What about the teachers? Why are only students around?"

Nie Jiu answered without turning his head, "The teachers are all in seclusion. That’s why I said I estimated those black robes are coming back soon. Otherwise, why would the teachers act so tense?"

Lou Yun nodded to himself in silent agreement. Nie Jiu’s estimation seemed very plausible. It had been half a year since the last attack; it was indeed time for the black-robed attackers to make a return.

Not long after, Nie Jiu brought Lou Yun and Xia Zhilan to a side compound. Even before entering the courtyard, he already threw his head back and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Dean Xia! Come out quickly and look! See who’s come back!"