"The Heavenly God Courtyard is where some high-ranking elders reside. Spirit Disciples and Spirit Apprentices of the Heavenly God Academy, as well as janitors and so on, are not permitted to enter."
"Which department does Elder Lie Huo belong to?"
"That, I don't know!"
"Elder Lie Huo is a powerful expert at the Spirit Soul realm!"
Qin Hai then continued, "A few years ago, he passed through Ling Yun City, saw my elder brother's talent, and took him in as his last disciple, even bringing him to the Heavenly God Academy!"
"An expert at the Spirit Soul realm, then he must at least be an honorary elder!"
Ye Yuan Yuan nodded and said, "Within the academy, outer courtyard elders and inner courtyard elders are categorized by their cultivation level: Spirit Platform realm and Spirit Wheel realm. Beyond the inner courtyard are the honorary elders!"
"Honorary elders usually possess the Spirit Soul realm, managing Spirit Apprentices. As for Spirit Disciples... if there are any issues, they are at least managed by core elders, or even the Dean himself might personally intervene!"
Within the Heavenly God Academy, the outer courtyard, inner courtyard, Spirit Apprentices, and Spirit Disciples—these four tiers of disciples are very clearly divided.
Moreover, their living conditions are also different.
The residences for the outer courtyard are all large communal dormitories.
Inner courtyard disciples have their own private rooms.
Spirit Apprentices reside on some mountain peaks deep within the academy, though several people share one mountain.
As for Spirit Disciples, they own their private mountain and can even recruit inner courtyard and outer courtyard disciples to work on their mountain. Their status is already on par with honorary elders.
These rules are very different from the Heavenly God Academy when it was first established tens of thousands of years ago. Qin Ning truly needed to re-learn everything from scratch.
After all, upon entering the Heavenly God Academy, he still needed to abide by some rules.
Who knew that some of these rules were created by his own hands!
He himself couldn't possibly destroy the ancient inherited rules of the academy now, wouldn't that be like slapping himself in the face?
Three figures swept through the inner courtyard, arriving outside a large gate.
On either side of the large gate, four figures stood tall.
All four of them were at the Spirit Sea realm, and their cultivation was clearly not low.
"This is the Heavenly God Courtyard. Only Spirit Apprentices and Spirit Disciples are allowed to enter. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
A guard disciple said in a deep voice.
"Senior Brother, we are here on the orders of Elder Lie Huo to enter the Heavenly God Courtyard!"
Qin Hai handed over a letter.
The disciples looked at the letter, then their gazes immediately swept over Qin Ning and Qin Hai.
"You are Qin Ning?"
A disciple looked at Qin Ning and asked.
"That's me!"
The disciple grunted, "Alright, we have received this letter. You two should go back first and come again in ten days!"
Come again in ten days?
Qin Ning frowned.
Qin Hai anxiously said, "Several Senior Brothers, my elder brother is severely injured. In ten days, my brother and I must enter Mount Ming to participate in the inner courtyard disciple trial. We can't wait that long!"
"Even if you can't wait, you still have to wait!"
The leading disciple said arrogantly, "What? Do you still want to force your way in? An inner courtyard disciple who trespasses into the Heavenly God Courtyard without permission is committing a capital offense!"
Hearing these words, Qin Ning frowned.
The situation seemed not so simple.
"Who made that rule?" Ye Yuan Yuan asked. "Given Ancestor Lie Huo's status, I think you must have eaten the guts of a tiger and the gall of a bear, haven't you?"
"Miss Ye Yuan Yuan!"
The disciple chuckled again. "You certainly have a reputation, with your Imperial Physique and as the esteemed daughter of the Ye family. But this is the Heavenly God Institute, not a place for you to show off your power. When you reach the Spirit Platform realm, then come and display your might before us!"
"You..."
"Me what?" The disciple didn't back down, and the aura of his sixth-level Spirit Sea realm slowly emanated.
The other disciples also stepped forward at this moment.
"Who sent you?"
Suddenly, a slightly indifferent voice rang out.
Qin Ning's expression remained unchanged as he spoke, "Speak!"
Hearing these words, the disciples' faces showed a hint of panic, but they still mumbled, "No one sent us!"
"That's right, no one sent us!"
"Is that so?"
Qin Ning smiled at the corner of his mouth and stepped forward.
"What do you want to do?" The disciple panicked.
For some reason, they felt nothing when they looked at Ye Yuan Yuan, but this Qin Ning gave them a sense of dread.
"What do I want to do?"
Qin Ning sneered, "If you won't make way, then I can only force my way through!"
He understood clearly in his heart.
Ancestor Lie Huo had taken a liking to his elder brother and even gifted two Heavenly God Institute tokens as compensation. The letter they carried was proof, allowing them to enter the Heavenly God Institute to find Ancestor Lie Huo.
But these disciples had asked for their names after seeing the letter, and upon learning them, immediately blocked their path.
If no one was instigating this, only a ghost would believe it!
"You dare to break into the Heavenly God Institute? Do you not value your life?"
The leading disciple said, "This is the Heavenly God Institute. Forcing your way in is a capital offense!"
"Before I make you grovel and beg for mercy, you'd best get out of the way immediately!" Qin Ning said with a cold expression.
Regardless of who it was, blocking him from seeing his elder brother for these ten days was enough to indicate that his elder brother's injuries were very serious.
If these people didn't value their lives, then they shouldn't blame him for being ruthless.
"How ridiculous. A mere third-level Spirit Sea realm dares to speak so presumptuously in front of us?"
Four figures immediately rushed out.
Qin Ning stepped forward, and a palm print condensed in his hand at this moment.
"Asura Flame Seal!"
Three seals suddenly appeared at this moment, directly rushing towards the disciple at the sixth-level Spirit Sea realm.
Seeing this, Ye Yuan Yuan and Qin Hai immediately rushed forward.
But two other disciples directly blocked them.
"If you're looking for death, I'll grant it to you!" The leading disciple sneered, "Trespassing into the Heavenly God Institute is a capital offense! Today, if I kill you, no one will say a word!"
"Then you try!"
Qin Ning's three seals, carrying a faint scorching aura, directly shot out.
"Lion Roar Finger!"
The disciple extended a finger, and a tyrannical streak of spiritual energy, condensed into a fingerprint, instantly struck towards Qin Ning.
Boom...
Suddenly, an explosion rang out.
The disciple's face turned pale, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
However, only one of the three seals exploded; two more were still rushing forward at this moment.
Boom boom...
Two more explosions rang out again. The disciple, who was struggling to resist, suddenly turned pale, and blood continuously gushed from his mouth.
At this moment, how could Qin Ning give him time to rest? He directly struck with his staff, and with a thud, lightly tapped the disciple's knee.
Thump, thump... a heavy sound echoed as the disciple fell directly to the ground, his face pale. His kneecap cracked, clearly... broken!
A third-level Spirit Sea Realm cultivator, in just a few moves, had directly dealt with a sixth-level Spirit Sea Realm disciple.
What was the background of this Qin Ning?
"Can't you just do your job properly? You insist on listening to others' instigations and becoming a ghost!"
"You..."
The disciple's face turned ashen, and he said in horror, "This is the Heavenly God Institute. If you dare to kill me, you won't escape death either!"
"Do you think I wouldn't dare?"
Qin Ning's mind stirred, and his killing intent surged.
"How insolent!"
Suddenly, a heavy voice rang out. Within the Heavenly God Institute, several figures slowly approached.