The night in Peace Town passed without a single disruption. To the exhaustion-riddled youths from Wu Tan City, the plush beds of the Tranquil Willow Inn felt like a slice of heaven after nearly two weeks of sleeping in the freezing, turbulent carriages of the Gale Griffins.
When the first rays of morning light filtered through the wooden shutters, the sharp, authoritative voice of Teacher Ruo Lin echoed down the corridor, rousing them from their deep slumbers.
"Up, lazy youths! Wash your faces and pack your gear. We depart in exactly one hour!"
Yoriichi was already awake. He had spent the latter half of the night in a light ditative state, circulating his Dou Qi to acclimatize his ridians to the denser, slightly more chaotic spiritual energy of the region. He changed into a set of clean, dark training clothes, strapped his Katana to his waist, and stepped out into the hallway just as Xiao Yu woke up from her bed, stifling a massive yawn.
"Did you sleep well?" Yoriichi asked mildly.
"Like a log," Xiao Yu admitted, rubbing her eyes. "I think I could have slept through a Beast Tide last night. Is Xun'er already up?"
"She went down to the lobby ten minutes ago," Yoriichi replied, leading the way toward the stairs.
Within the hour, the group was fully assembled and marching back through the vibrant morning streets of Peace Town. They reached the designated clearing outside the heavily fortified gates just as the four massive Gale Griffins descended from the clouds, their tars looking fresh and ready for the final leg of the journey.
"Board quickly," Ruo Lin instructed, her deanor shifting from the relaxed tutor of last night back to the vigilant protector. "Today, we cross the Buffer Zone."
The students scrambled up the rope ladders with significantly more grace than they had possessed twelve days ago. Once everyone was secured, the massive beasts launched themselves back into the sky, leaving the sanctuary of Peace Town behind.
As the griffins leveled out at their cruising altitude, Yoriichi leaned over the leather railing.
He imdiately noticed a drastic shift in the terrain below. The blood-red plains of the Black-Corner Region had abruptly ended, giving way to a massive, sprawling expanse of wilderness that looked as though it belonged on an entirely different continent.
"Teacher Ruo Lin," Yoriichi called out over the rushing wind. "This terrain... it feels artificially segregated."
Ruo Lin turned her head, offering an approving nod. "You have a keen sense, Xiao Ning. This is the Buffer Zone. It is a massive, naturally and artificially enhanced ring of treacherous landscapes that completely surrounds Jia Nan City. It acts as our primary defense chanism against the lawless elents of the Black-Corner Region."
She gestured broadly to the sprawling expanse below.
To the naked eyes of the other recruits, the Buffer Zone was nothing more than an endless ocean of thick, impenetrable white fog covering the earth. It looked eerie and silent.
But Yoriichi's Transparent World vision pierced straight through the dense teorological anomaly.
He saw a terrifyingly complex ecosystem designed solely to kill intruders. First, they flew over a jagged, obsidian-black mountain range—the Black Cover Mountains—where he could see the massive, heat-signatures of Rank 3 and Rank 4 aerial beasts nesting in the crags.
Then, the mountains gave way to sprawling, sickly-green marshlands bubbling with toxic miasma, where the silhouettes of massive serpentine creatures slithered beneath the muck. Further on, he spotted deep, plunging valleys filled with razor-sharp winds that could slice a Dou Shi to ribbons.
'It is a gauntlet,' Yoriichi realized, his analytical mind rapidly assessing the strategic layout. 'An invading army would have to march through poison, fight apex predators, and survive natural disasters just to reach the outer walls of the academy. Brilliant.'
"The fog below us is toxic to those who do not possess the academy's specific antidote," Ruo Lin continued, her voice grim. "And it obscures the vision of flying beasts. Only our specially trained Gale Griffins know the exact, safe flight corridors through this zone. If you ever find yourself lost in this Zone on foot... pray you find a patrol before the local wildlife finds you."
The other youths swallowed hard, gripping their safety harnesses a little tighter.
For the next few hours, the flight proceeded in tense silence, the only sound being the rhythmic, powerful beating of the griffins' massive wings.
Finally, as the sun reached its zenith in the afternoon sky, the endless ocean of white fog abruptly cleared.
A collective gasp of sheer, unadulterated awe erupted from the carriage.
Looming before them, nestled perfectly in the center of the vast, deadly Buffer Zone, was a tropolis of staggering, impossible proportions.
Jia Nan City was not a re town. It was a sprawling, architectural marvel that made the capital of the Jia Ma Empire look like a quaint village. Massive, soaring towers constructed from pristine white stone and shimring glass reached toward the heavens.
The city was surrounded by monolithic, incredibly thick walls that pulsed with the faint, visible hum of high-tier defensive arrays. Wide, immaculate avenues intersected lush green parks and sprawling courtyards.
And right in the dead center of the city, occupying a space larger than the entirety of Wu Tan City itself, lay the legendary Outer Academy.
"We have arrived," Ruo Lin smiled, a deep sense of pride evident in her voice.
The griffins descended gracefully, banking toward a massive, heavily fortified aerial platform extending from the city's primary gates.
As the beasts touched down, a large contingent of the Law Enforcent Unit imdiately approached. Unlike the guards in Peace Town, these officers wore sleek, silver-trimd black armor, radiating an even higher level of disciplined power.
The checking process here was significantly more rigorous than in Peace Town. Every single recruit was scanned with specialized spiritual artifacts to detect hidden curses, tracking seals, or demonic affiliations.
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