Soon, everyone boarded the aircraft.
Unlike the carefree atmosphere of the last flight,
this time the air carried a weight of solemnity.
Inside the cabin.
Liu Ziming's hands rested on his seatbelt.
"Hey, Young Master Liu actually knows how to fasten a seatbelt now?"
Su Zhan teased with a laugh.
He still remembered their last flight to Lan City, where Liu Ziming had been the first to be thrown around for not wearing his seatbelt.
"What do you know?"
"Oh?"
Xie Xi laughed: "So last time on the commercial flight, you bouncing around the cabin like a ball was because of this?"
"That's completely different!"
Liu Ziming's face flushed red: "Our family's jet is specially modified! The seats are made of custom spiritual energy cushioning material! Nothing like that broken passenger plane...
And I usually do wear it, I just forgot last time."
Everyone was stifling their laughter.
Clearly, the memory of Liu Ziming being the first to get thrown around was still vivid.
"Ha! I'll say this military aircraft is something else! Look at these seats."
Liu Ziming was clever enough to quickly change the subject: "So much more comfortable than that crappy commercial flight last time!"
Su Zhan silently checked the emergency exit location, his fingers tracing inch by inch along the cabin wall.
"Hey!"
Liu Ziming suddenly shouted: "Pilot! How many parachutes does this plane have?"
A weary voice came from the cockpit: "This military transport doesn't carry parachutes, but it's equipped with—"
"What?!"
Liu Ziming frowned deeply: "Then what do we do if there's a crash?!"
Feng Jue said quietly: "Military aircraft crash rate within Daxia is 0.007%, and with spiritual energy shields installed—"
"Numbers are useless!"
Liu Ziming immediately countered: "Last time that passenger plane crashed with such low probability, didn't we still encounter it?!"
Suddenly, the entire aircraft shook violently.
"Holy shit!!"
Liu Ziming jumped in alarm.
Not just him—everyone immediately grabbed their armrests, eyes tense and alert.
After last time's crash, they were genuinely afraid of crashing again.
The pilot's voice came through the intercom: "Just normal turbulence. Please maintain, uh... dignity, geniuses of Vermilion Bird Academy."
Wang Mingyuan sighed: "This is the newest 'Mystical Bird-7' model, equipped with dual spiritual energy shields and anti-gravity systems."
"But what if the shields fail..."
Liu Ziming continued muttering.
"Then there's even less to worry about."
The pilot suddenly opened the cockpit door, revealing fierce scars on his arm: "All six crew members are veterans who've survived three plane crashes."
He grinned: "If something really happens, we'll make sure you crash more comfortably than last time."
Everyone: ...
The cabin fell deathly silent.
Veterans who've survived three plane crashes?
Su Zhan quietly tightened his seatbelt.
Does that count as experienced or just terribly unlucky?
...
Fortunately, this flight was extremely smooth.
No unexpected incidents occurred.
Soon, on the airport runway of Vermilion Bird City.
A military transport plane slowly taxied to a stop on the runway.
The cabin door opened.
Wang Mingyuan led everyone off the plane.
Su Zhan took a deep breath, unconsciously relaxing his tense nerves.
The air in Vermilion Bird City was so fresh!
Finally back...
Memories of Lan City flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
The plane crash on the way to Lan City, the desperate battles during the exchange event, the sudden Mist in the hotel, and that bloody restaurant hidden beneath the coffee shop.
Each scene made his fingertips grow cold.
But now, his feet stood on Vermilion Bird City's pavement.
Even the air here felt fresher than Lan City's.
This was a place fit for humans.
Su Zhan looked toward the distant outline of Vermilion Bird Academy.
Here was so much safer than Lan City.
Thinking about the three months of free resources he was about to receive.
Su Zhan's lips curved upward almost imperceptibly.
Those rare medicinal materials in the academy treasury that normally required saving points for ages to exchange—now he could take them freely.
Those gravity training rooms charged by the minute—now he could stay as long as he wanted.
For a poor kid like him, these things meant only one word.
Awesome!!!
At Vermilion Bird Academy.
Su Zhan could finally temporarily lower his guard and focus on the simplest yet most luxurious thing.
Getting stronger!
Liu Ziming dramatically spread his arms and took a deep breath: "Awesome! This is what real air smells like! That shitty Lan City even had the salty smell of seafood farms in the wind."
Xie Xi snorted lightly: "At least here, certain people don't have to worry about falling from the sky all day."
"Hey!"
Just as Liu Ziming was about to retort, his nose twitched as if catching a scent: "Do you smell that braised spiritual beef drifting over? After eating so much seafood, I actually crave this stuff now."
Feng Jue took a deep breath, a faint smile finally appearing on his usually expressionless face.
Xu Hao threw an arm around Liu Ziming's shoulder: "Young Master Liu, since you treated us so much in Lan City, this one's on me."
"Hey, if you put it that way, I'll have to really make you pay."
Liu Ziming immediately said with a laugh: "Don't come crying about being poor later."
Everyone talked and laughed as they walked.
Stopping and starting, they eventually reached Vermilion Bird Academy's main gate.
Wang Mingyuan watched the students chatting and laughing, his gaze softening.
He gently patted Su Zhan's shoulder: "Make the most of these three months. You've earned it."
Su Zhan paused slightly.
He watched his companions roughhousing.
Liu Ziming had somehow annoyed Xie Xi again and was getting his ear pulled.
The setting sun dyed the academy's tiles gold, while familiar training shouts came from the distant practice fields.
In this moment, he felt a luxurious peace he hadn't experienced in a long time.
Not the vigilance of seeing enemies everywhere, but genuine peace.
Su Zhan asked: "Can we start using the cultivation resources now?"
"What's the hurry."
Wang Mingyuan shook his head with a laugh: "Wait another week until all freshmen have returned. The dean wants to personally hold an awards ceremony for you.
That's when you'll officially receive your three-month privileges."
Everyone's eyes lit up at these words.
Su Zhan scanned their faces.
Realizing they were different from him.
He only craved the free cultivation resources.
But his teammates—the light in their eyes was different from his.
Perhaps some believed.
That standing out among Vermilion Bird Academy's gathering of geniuses was the greatest honor.
Being recognized before the entire academy's teachers and students, having their names engraved on the wall of honor.
This sense of validation and achievement could be more thrilling than mere strength improvement.
Su Zhan looked at Feng Jue.
While others might believe that for a team that had fought side by side for so long, the meaning of receiving recognition together far surpassed individual glory.