by Mars Gravity
Remembering this past event, Sikong Han sighed endlessly. He looked at Yun Che and praised: “Speaking of which, you are truly worthy of being Elder Brother Xiao’s grandson; to actually have broken through the Elementary Profound Realm into the Nascent Profound Realm at such a young age. This kind of innate ability, even in New Moon City, would be considered first-class. Your grandfather is Floating Cloud City’s number one expert, and your future accomplishments would surely not lose to your grandfather’s.”
“What?” The Xia Yuanba to the side asked with wide eyes: “Elder Sikong, did you just say that my brother-in-law is already in the Nascent Profound Realm?” This-this…Elder Sikong, are you sure you’re not mistaken? My brother-in-law had his Profound Veins crippled since childhood and had never been able to pass the first level of the Elementary Profound Realm; how could he possibly be in the Nascent Profound Realm!”
“Oh?” Sikong Han’s face revealed his puzzlement; because he had sensed that Yun Che’s profound aura was clearly at first level of the Nascent Profound Realm.
Yun Che gently replied: “This is actually a long story…. But I am indeed at first level of the Nascent Profound Realm. I’m wonder if my current profound strength would make me eligible to enter the Profound Department.”
As he spoke, Yun Che inconspicuously poked Xia Yuanba. The Xia Yuanba who was about to speak out immediately shut his mouth, but nevertheless stared with a pair of enormous eyes as his heart cried out in alarm… Good heavens! Brother-in-law is actually already in the Nascent Profound Realm? How could that be, how is this possible!!
Seeing Yun Che and Xia Yuanba act in this way, Sikong Han knew there was more to this; but Yun Che did not want to elaborate and had deliberately avoided the subject. Sikong Han did not pry any further, but asked while chuckling: “Yun Che, how old are you?”
“Sixteen years old.” Yun Che answered truthfully. At the same time, his heart took a small sigh of relief.
“Sixteen years old?” A look of surprise appeared on Sikong Han’s face as he stood up from his chair: “I originally thought you were already seventeen or eighteen, but you’re actually only sixteen years old! To actually be in the Nascent Profound Realm at the age of sixteen, even in the entire New Moon Profound Palace, there should not be more than ten individuals…. If you had been born in a higher level sect, you would, without a doubt, greatly exceed the current you!”
Xia Yuanba continued to listened blankly as he held back the multiple times he had wanted to speak out.
“You flatter me, Elder SiKong.” Yun Che modestly replied… If Sikong Han knew that it had only taken him half a year to breakthrough into first level of the Nascent Profound Realm, he would have immediately fallen out of his chair from the shock.
“Come, let me check your innate ability. “ SiKong Han waved him over.
Yun Che took two steps forward and stood in front of Sikong Han. Just as Sikong Han was about to use his hands to check his veins, he quickly held his breath and forcibly used his profound energy to block thirty eight of his fifty four Profound Entrances that were all opened; leaving only sixteen of his Profound Entrances open. However, this degree of concealment would only work against the simplest of exams; if the examiner was to probe just a little bit more, it would easily be seen through. However, for those who wanted to join New Moon Profound Palace, everyone would try to display the best of their ability. Sikong Han never would have guessed that there would be someone who would intentionally conceal their ability; so therefore, he did not spend a great deal of energy during this examination.
Sikong Han gently placed his hand on Yun Che’s wrist for a brief moment, and then admirably nodded: “No wonder! To actually have an innate amount of sixteen opened Profound Entrances, this is without a doubt, the level of a genius! This is also a talent that our Profound Department greatly desires!”
At this point, Sikong Han was already somewhat excited. Originally, he had wanted to repay Xiao Lie’s kindness by accepting Yun Che into New Moon Profound Palace, to let him have a place to stay. However, now that he was aware of Yun Che’s innate talent, don’t even mention the relationship with Xiao Lie, even if he had to disregard his face, he would definitely try to keep Yun Che here. Inborn with sixteen Profound Entrances opened; with this kind of innate talent, one could easily ascend to the top of New Moon City and receive preferential treatment. Not only that, those high-tier sects and clan’s resources and influence far outweighed that of New Moon Profound Palace. Yun Che’s arrival was simply a treasure sent for New Moon Profound Palace.
As of now, there were only seven individuals in New Moon Profound Palace who had an inborn amount of sixteen opened profound entrances, and there would only be at most, an additional one or two every year. Generally, those who had this sort of innate talent would go and join those great sects or clans.
“Yun Che, do you really want to join our New Moon Profound Palace?” Sikong Han asked with luminous eyes: “If you really want to join, all entrance exams will be forgone, and I will directly admit you!”
Xia Yuanba’s mouth opened wide as his brain short circuited.
“…. Is it possible to join Class One?” Yun Che asked.
“Of course there’s no problem!” Sikong Han slapped the table: “Given your current profound strength and your innate talent, you’re completely qualified to be part of Class One!”
Yun Che pondered for a moment, and then humbly nodded: “Okay.”
Sikong Han’s hands frantically scrambled about on the table; this rapid action conveyed his fear that Yun Che would run away. After a little while, he slapped a silver badge on Yun Che’s shoulder and said: “So, from now on, you’re a disciple of my New Moon Profound Palace’s Profound Department. This will identify you as so, and here’s the key to your quarters.”
“Today just happens to be the appointment day of the new Palace Chief. The matters of this evening’s celebration for the newly-appointed currently has my hands tied, so I won’t keep you guys any longer. Yuanba, take Yun Che to settle down in his quarters or perhaps even introduce him to his future senior apprentices… Oh, by the way. Yun Che, are you interested in attending the banquet this evening?” Sikong Han suddenly asked.
“I’m allowed to participate?” Yun Che asked in astonishment.
“The appointment of a new Palace Chief is considered a sensational major event in New Moon City. We’ve sent invitations to all sects who have sufficient enough prestige and influence in New Moon City; they’ll definitely gather to give the newly-appointed Palace Chief face. When that time comes, there will be an assembly of talented individuals present. Generally speaking, for these kind of events, only the core disciples of our Profound Department would be allowed to attend. Even though you’ve only joined our Profound Department today, given your innate ability, you barely qualify to attend. It’ll give you the chance to become knowledgeable of the top sects of New Moon City. As you’ll be staying in New Moon City, this knowledge will be quite beneficial for you.”
Yun Che immediately understood. It was mainly due to the kindness owed to his grandfather that thereby gave him, a newly joined disciple, the allowance to attend this major banquet; and this special attention was also to let him quickly understand the distribution of power in New Moon City. He immediately replied with gratitude: “Thank you, Elder Sikong, I’ll certainly attend… But, may I bring Yuanba along?”
Sikong Han slightly hesitated for a bit, but then smiled and nodded: “That’s fine, Yuanba, you come along as well. Yun Che has just joined New Moon Profound Palace and is unfamiliar with many things; you can be his guide. I’ll arrange for an extra seat for you.”
After leaving the Elder’s Hall, Xia Yuanba was still confused about this situation. Only when they had walked for a distance, did he take a deep breath and said with his eyes wide open: “Brother-in-law! What’s going on? Are you really at the Nascent Profound Realm? B-b-but aren’t your Profound Veins crippled? Even if your Profound Veins have been healed, there’s
no way to become this formidable so suddenly! You’re even more formidable than my older sister!”
“This…” Yun Che pondered for a long time, but still did not know how he should explain it to him. Since he was unwilling to deceive him, the only option was to be vague about it: “Yuanba, this is a secret; so when the time is right in the future, I’ll tell you about it. But the fact that my Profound Veins had been crippled before, it’s best not to tell anyone about it; otherwise, it might invite negative inclination.
“Ah… Oooh.” Xia Yuanba scratched his head in puzzlement. Then his eyes suddenly lit up and said: “Brother-in-law! I suddenly understand it now! You’ve been pretending this whole time, right? Otherwise, how could it be possible to all of a sudden enter the Nascent Profound Realm. This has to be it. Brother-in-law, you’re so crafty; to have fooled all of us, hahahaha.”
Yun Che shrugged his shoulder and let Xia Yuanba dwell on his own theory. He changed his line of sight to gaze upon New Moon Profound Palace and his heart stirred.
“How long are you planning to stay here?” Jasmine suddenly asked mentally.
“We’ll see. If this place is beneficial to me, I’ll stay longer, but if not, I’ll leave immediately. The main reason why I’m staying here is so that I can learn some Profound Skills. After all, all the Profound Skills that you know are too high leveled and I can’t learn them yet; therefore, this is the only method I can think of.”
Jasmine spoke no further.
Chapter 62: Lan Xueruo
New Moon Profound Palace occupied a vast expanse, with a magnificent Main Hall at it’s center, and innumerable architecture that stretched as far as the eye could see. Yun Che followed Xia Yuanba towards his living accommodations. Along the way, he met many New Moon Profound Palace disciples, all of whom were under the age of twenty. There was the occasional fifteen and sixteen year-old, and of those in this age group, most were of the Elementary Profound Realm. Along the way, there were many people that greeted them; after all, between his age and size, even if they wanted to ignore him it would be hard.
“How many disciples are there in New Moon Profound Palace right now?” Yun Che asked.
“The last time I checked, there were more than three thousand disciples.” Xia Yuanba thoughtfully said, “New Moon Profound Palace recruits disciples within the age of fifteen to eighteen. Most of them generally stay until they reach twenty years old before departing. An awful lot of them will join Blue Wind’s official force in the future.
“However, Brother-in-law, do you really plan on participating in tonight’s banquet?” Xia Yuanba asked somewhat worriedly.
“To have the opportunity of possibly being able to catch a glimpse of almost all of New Moon City’s top powers all in one go, of course I have to go.” Yun Che took a sideways glance at him: “Yuanba, it seems as if you don’t want to go to this banquet. Is there a problem?”
“Even though it’s not exactly a problem, but…. but….” Xia Yuanba hesitated for a moment, and then said with a bit of indignance: “Some time ago, I heard that when last generation’s Palace Chief was newly appointed, they also sent out many invitations for a banquet. During that banquet however, the invited disciples from the other sects used the excuse of exchanging pointers to challenge our disciples of the same age. There were ten matches, and we of New Moon Profound Palace lost all ten times; thus humiliating the old Palace Chief, and turning the new one into a laughingstock for a long time.
“Heh-heh, that was obviously the machinations of those sects to cause the newly-appointed Palace Chief to lose prestige, and let him know who was the real boss of New Moon City.” Yun Che said while laughing.
“That’s right.” Xia Yuanba nodded, and helplessly said: “I heard the same thing happened to the Palace Chief from two generations ago as well. He could not avoid inviting them to the celebration, otherwise, he would’ve been laughed at and ridiculed, and lose every bit of face left. If we attend the banquet, chances are that we’ll be challenged by them… Losing to them doesn’t matter, but those people very often have malicious intent and use a heavy hand. The last time, there were two senior brothers that were beaten until they couldn’t fully recover from their injuries, and the Palace Chief had no other choice but to swallow his words and endure the humiliation.
“New Moon Profound Palace attracts a numerous amount of disciples every year; is their strength really that bad?” Yun Che asked as he knitted his brow．
“Of course, it’s not that our New Moon Profound Palace’s strength that’s lacking; it’s just, just that those schools are just too strong. Even though New Moon Profound Palace has the backing of the Imperial Family, those sects possess long history, many sect secrets, resources, and techniques that have been passed down for many generations. All of these are not something that New Moon Profound Palace can compare to. Even if they’re recruiting for outer sect disciples, the cutoff threshold is much more higher than ours. Furthermore, people that enter into sects with the Imperial Family’s backing, generally plan on giving their lives up to the Imperial Family. After all, the establishment of the Imperial Family’s sect was originally intended to attract talented people to join the Imperial Forces. However, those people with great talents are usually proud and arrogant. Their desire to join the large sects greatly overweigh that of joining the Imperial Forces, so the average power of the New Moon Profound Palace’s disciples, when compared to the small and middle-sized sects, can be considered to be better, but if compared to those large sects, can not even begin to match up to them.”
The situation explained by Xia Yuanba was in fact, quite normal. Even Yun Che himself, although added into the New Moon Profound Palace for other reasons, was merely looking for opportunities and had never once thought about serving the Imperial Family. He thought for a moment, and then asked: “In New Moon City, what are the sects that have more power than New Moon Profound Palace?”
“Oh, let me think…” Xia Yuanba seriously thought for a moment, and then slowly answered: “In total there are seven; they are the Profound Heart Sect, Cloudy Sun Sect, Iron Spear Clan, Seven Deadly Sword Pavilion, and Stormy Profound Palace.” After pausing for a moment, Xia Yuanba’s voice became somewhat guarded: “These five sects have a history of over five hundred, or even a thousand years. In New Moon City, their influence is deeply engrained in the city and their overall strength is greater than that of New Moon Profound Palace. If not for the backing of the Imperial Family, then perhaps we may have already been suppressed and forced out. In addition to these five, there are two more giants that not even the Imperial Family would dare provoke… and they’re the branches of Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan that are here in New Moon City! Although they’re merely branches, they still have the backing of the Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan, making them the two immovable overlords of New Moon City.
“Branches of the Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan?” Yun Che tapped his chin. He clearly knew in his heart that this was in name only. In reality, these disciples of the “Outer Sect” were those of the lowest talent that were not suitable to remain in the main sect, and nothing more. However, when all’s said and done, they were still the official “Outer Sect”, and were unlike the Xiao Clan who had been completely abandoned.
“However, our New Moon Profound Palace is of course, not so easily bullied.” Xiao Yuanba patted his chest with a face full of unwillingness and said: “Although New Moon Profound Palace lost dignity during that banquet five years ago, however that was five years ago! Our New Moon Profound Palace now, also have quite a lot of talents; and definitely would not be below those of the other sects… Ah, Brother-in-law look, that person over there is our senior brother Li Weihao. He’s seventeen this year, and has already reached the third level of the Nascent Profound Realm. I heard he’d also inherited his family’s Profound Arts, and is very powerful.
“That person over there in white clothing is even more powerful. I believe he was called Xu Aoran; he’s only eighteen years old, and
is already at the fifth rank of the Nascent Profound Realm! Those two are in our Class One. However, the most formidable in our New Moon Profound Palace are not them, but Senior Brother Murong and Senior Sister Xueruo, who are publicly known as New Moon Profound Palace’s two biggest geniuses. The Elders will definitely bring them to tonight’s banquet. With them, it definitely won’t be a repeat of five years ago…
As he spoke up to this point, Xia Yuanba’s voice abruptly stopped, because in front of them, a young man in a white robe and a girl dressed in snow-white attire walked side by side in their direction. The man who appeared to be eighteen or nineteen had a tall build, elegant features, and a fascinating charm like that of jade. He was beautiful enough to make any sexually awakened girl who yearned for love, become completely infatuated.
And that girl beside him was even more so, beautiful enough to make one’s heart tremble. She seemed to also be eighteen or nineteen, with a pair of beautiful sparkling eyes, and cherry colored lips with the luster of a smooth seashell. Her elegant eyebrows were crescent shaped as well, but the most touching was the light smile that graced her lips that was as heartwarming as the smell of incense in a gentle breeze.
The two were like a perfect couple that had just stepped out of a painting; the moment they appeared, all the brilliance between heaven and earth was taken away. The youth continuously talked about something beside the girl and constantly watched her reaction from the side of his eyes, but the girl’s reaction did not change; while maintaining a constant warm smile the whole time, she did not say anything in reply. Although she was only gently striding onward, it would make one believe that they had seen a fairy dancing in a white dress. Above all, her beautiful and slender snow-white neck let her exude a noble and graceful aura that added to her charm, making one feel as if they were looking at an exalted princess that belonged in the Imperial Family.
“What a beautiful girl.” Yun Che admiringly exclaimed in his heart. Although her appearance was incomparable to Xia Qingyue’s, it definitely was one in ten thousand; a devastating beauty that could tip over cities and nations. Yet the noble air that wrapped around her like an indistinct haze was not something that Xia Qingyue could match. What amazed Yun Che the most was the touch of gentleness in her eyes and expression. Generally speaking, a girl that was beautiful to this extent would more or less carry a somewhat arrogant air; his wife Xia Qingyue, a prime example. Yet this girl had a gentle complexion; her gaze was as soft as water, and there wasn’t even the slightest hint of arrogance between her brows. The faint smile on the corner of her lips, was sufficient enough to almost completely melt one’s heart with just a single glance.