"What, want to fight!?"

Yun Hao wasn't really expecting to meet Sun Fang here, out of all places. They might have shared their numbers along with Jia Ning because they all passed the Immersion together, but he didn't really think that he would be seeing Sun Fang so soon, or at all.

But now, here he was in all his glory.

"I am already only a level away from Middle-stage, I'd fuck you up!" Sun Fang said as he stood directly in front of Yun Hao, his forehead almost sticking on Yun Hao's chin.

"My right arm is slightly injured, so as much as I'd like to accompany you..." Yun Hao could only shake his head a couple of times as he turned around, "Anyway, how do you enter this thing? I was supposed to meet someone here."

Yun Hao once again examined the colossal wooden gate in front of him, and the longer he looked at it, the harder it was for him to imagine that there was a school on the other side. If he was told there was some sort of shrine inside, then he probably would have believed it in a heartbeat.

But a school?

"Psh, haven't you watched Danny Slaughter?" Sun Fang mockingly laughed at Yun Hao before stepping towards the colossal wooden gate, "You are unworthy to go inside, so long, fucker."

"What are you--"

Yun Hao could not help but furrow his eyebrows as Sun Fang continued to walk towards the gate, seemingly not even minding that he would hit it. But before Yun Hao could finish his words, Sun Fang continued to walk towards the colossal wooden gate… and eventually walk through it and disappear.

"...What?"

Even though it happened right in front of him, Yun Hao still rubbed his eyes to check if he wasn't hallucinating. Did he just see Sun Fang pass through the wooden gate?

Yun Hao immediately stretched his hand to the gate to see if it was going to pass through, but all that happened was him feeling the somewhat cold and solid texture of the gate.

"!!!"

He then almost jumped back as a person suddenly emerged from the door.

"Weirdo," the man said while rolling his eyes as he passed by Yun Hao. The man was wearing the same thing as Sun Fang was wearing, a white robe. Was it some kind of uniform? If so, it made sense that only the students of the school were allowed to pass through the gate.

Although he was still a bit bewildered, Yun Hao finally gave up on getting in on his own and decided to do the logical thing-- call Song Jian. He probably should have done so from the start, but his curiosity completely got to him.

"Hello!?"

"...Hi," Yun Hao could not help but slightly raise his eyebrows as Song Jian instantly answered his call, not even allowing for a single ring to finish, "I think I am outside your school? It's the one with the huge-ass wooden gate without any neighboring buildings, right?"

"Wait for me there," were the last words Yun Hao heard before Song Jian hung up the phone. Yun Hao decided to park Huang Yi's motorcycle to the side while waiting for Song Jian, but before he could even touch the handlebars, a woman suddenly shot out from the gate.

Song Jian's breaths were rapid, but as soon as she saw Yun Hao, she quickly calmed down and cleared her throat. "That's Huang Yi's bike, right?"

"Yes?"

As soon as Yun Hao said that, Song Jian snapped her fingers, and with it, the motorcycle beside Yun Hao instantly disappeared. "She told me to take it back."

"...Right, tell her I didn't leave any scratch on it," Yun Hao can't say he wasn't the least disappointed from having the motorcycle taken away. He has somewhat grown attached to it even though it has only been a day… perhaps he should buy one? Was there like a motorcycle for cultivators?

"S… shall we go then?" Song Jian said as she stretched her hand towards Yun Hao, "You... need to hold my hand so you can pass through the barrier."

"That's rather simple, isn't it?" Yun Hao let out a slight hum as he gently held onto Song Jian's hand. Yun Hao could feel her trembling, and he could not help but let out a slight smile before lightly tightening his grip to calm her down, "Shall we go?"

"Y… yes, of course," Song Jian woke up from her stupor as she started walking to the gate.

"By the way, what rank are you, Song Jian?"

"I'm at Early-stage, Master Rank."

"...Oh," Yun Hao lightened his grip upon hearing this. He fought someone at the Spirit rank yesterday, and as a result, his right arm was currently bandaged up and healing. One mistake and Song Jian might just tear his hand away.

He truly didn't expect that Song Jian would already be at the Master rank, as even Huang Yi was at the Mortal Rank. Perhaps he should learn how to detect cultivation levels soon, else he might meet his maker.

"Don't be nervous, Yun Hao," Song Jian said as she passed through the gate. Yun Hao could only hold his breath as his hand also went through it. There was a slight tingling feeling as his body passed through the gate. He tried his best not to close his eyes as he entered, but alas, they just closed on reflex when his face was only an inch away from the gate.

He could only feel the tingling sensation tickling his face, and soon, a sort of cold breeze wafted through his face. He then opened his eyes, only to close it again as a certain brightness drowned it.

But after a few seconds, he was finally able to see what was on the other side.

"...What the fuck."

Yun Hao could not help but take in another deep breath as the sky itself seemed to greet him. No, the sky literally was right in front of him, the clouds that were freely traveling in front of him made it evidently so.

A slight gasp then came out from his mouth, which soon turned into a small chuckle as his eyes could not sit still. Mountains, waterfalls, the lush green that bombarded him made it feel like he was in some kind of dream.

There were long bridges that connected every cliff and mountain, mountains and cliff that each contained their own pagoda. The hustle and bustle, the clamoring of the outside world were non-existent here. There were still noises, of course, as you would expect from a place containing teenagers, but still, it was…

"...beautiful," Yun Hao could not help but mutter.

"Y… Yun Hao?" Song Jian was about to say something as she heard Yun Hao's words, but when she saw that there was a single trail of tears falling across his face, she could only stare at his face. She was glad that Yun Hao was able to experience this for the first time… and that he experienced it with her holding his hand.

Song Jian slightly leaned closer towards Yun Hao, making sure that their hand remained together, "Welcome to the Echo Hills Academy, Yun Hao."

If only they could stay like this forever, in their own little world with just the two of them--

"What the fuck, you got in!?"

Plus Sun Fang.