by Feng Yise
But a life-and-death contract was different. The instructors would not make a move no matter who live or die.
In the entire Dan Wu Academy, everyone knew the one in the first place in the Martial Roll of Honor was Long Tang. But not everybody knew the person in the last place was Ye Yuan. However, this life-and-death contract quickly spread Ye Yuan's reputation, almost reaching Long Tang's level.
Of course, the majority was like how these two people were discussing, snorting in derision at Ye Yuan's brain-damaged actions.
Ye Yuan's rapid improvement in strength was also naturally one of the focal points. But nobody thought that it was something he cultivated out by himself. Everyone felt that it was surely Ye Hang who used some secret technique to pull the shots in order to help it grow, letting him reached the Third Level Essence Qi Realm.
Hence, everyone's appraisal of Ye Yuan was that he was brain-damaged, foolish, and rushing to meet King Yama.
Just as these two people were discussing, someone suddenly said in a low voice, "Yiii? Look over there. Isn't that Ye Yuan?"
"That's him? He doesn't look like someone who is brain-damaged."
"Sigh. Who would write brain-damaged on their faces?
"That's true. The deathmatch is three days later. Where is he going instead of making preparations?"
"He probably knows that it's hopeless to do anything right now. Being at the first place from the bottom, no matter how heaven-defying, he can't possibly jump ranks to defeat an opponent one level higher than him? I heard that because Fei Qingping is older by two years, he is already at the top 10 in Yellow Rank."
"Something is wrong. The direction he is heading to seems to be the Scripture Library. Is he trying to hug Buddha's feet in his hour of need?"
"Hehehe. How can Buddha's leg be that easy to hug? Yiii? He was stopped by someone. That person seemed to be Wan Yuan who just advanced to Earth Rank."
"Oh yeah. You see that girl beside Wan Yuan? Wow. That's my goddess, Liu Ruoshui. If she will speak even a word to me, I would die happy!"
"Look at your starstruck expression, but yeah, Liu Ruoshui is really beautiful . . ."
. . . . . .
Ye Yuan was about to head to the Scripture Library.
His top-grade predecessor was too prodigious. Everything he heard during classes was all bits and pieces without much useful information. Ye Yuan needed to find some martial techniques to deal with the situation.
Ye Yuan had countless martial techniques on hand, but he truly did not have anything suitable for a person at the Essence Qi Realm to cultivate. With his position in his previous life, how could Essence Qi Realm martial techniques, regardless of how exceptional, enter his eyes?
Who would have thought that he would encounter Wan Yuan on the way to the Scripture Library?
Looks like Wan Yuan was intentionally waiting for him. As for Liu Ruoshui by Wan Yuan's side, Ye Yuan naturally was not strangers with her. A few days ago, he competed with Fei Qingping precisely because of this woman.
"What a coincidence! Isn't this Young master Ye? Where are you rushing to so hurriedly? To reincarnate?" Wan Yuan was full of smiles, but his eyes were as if looking at a dead person.
Ye Yuan sneered unceasingly towards Wan Yuan's impatient mentality. Wan Yuan determined that Ye Yuan was definitely going to be dead this time, so he came in advance to taunt him.
After the deathmatch, Ye Yuan would surely be dead. Where would Wan Yuan go to find this sort of p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e after this?
Looking at Wan Yuan's appearance, Ye Yuan no longer hurried towards the Scripture Library. With a smile, he said, "That's right, to reincarnate. But it's to send you off for reincarnation."
Hearing this, Wan Yuan laughed out loud and said, "Send me off to reincarnate? Hahaha! I'm standing right here. Send me to reincarnate if you can! You can't possibly think that just because you cultivated to the Third Level Essence Qi Realm through some unorthodox means, you can challenge me?"
Liu Ruoshui who was by the side also covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled, thinking that Ye Yuan was very amusing.
This Liu Ruoshui's every action carried a trace of seductive charm, able to stir that d.e.s.i.r.e lying in every man's heart. The male students in the Dan Wu Academy were all hot-blooded youths. If their willpower were not steadfast, how could they withstand this sort of natural seductive charm?
His predecessor was only a very foolish and naive child. His strength was also weak to the extreme. How could he withstand Liu Ruoshui's charms?
Back then, Liu Ruoshui was by his side, behaving neither friendly nor aloof for a period of time, and his predecessor completely fell for it. Afterward, Liu Ruoshui used a few small tricks, and his predecessor got hooked obediently, losing his life just like that.
"Senior Apprentice Brother Wan, this Junior Apprentice Brother Ye is an interesting man. He's clearly a miserable wretch, yet he tries to learn from others like a toad l.u.s.ting after a swan. His strength is clearly poor, yet he wants to slap his face until it's swollen to look impressive. He's about to duel with someone, yet he is even threatening you now. Don't you think it is funny?" Liu Ruoshui was beautiful like a flower, yet her words were bitterly sarcastic.
In order to hook Ye Yuan in the past, she naturally had to pretend to be weak and pitiful. Now that Ye Yuan was about to duel with Fei Qingping, he was already a dead man. So she no longer needed to humor Ye Yuan. She fully expressed out the contempt and condescension in her heart.
Chapter 26 - Grabbing Air
Now that Liu Ruoshui and Wan Yuan showed up together, it was clear what they were trying to convey. Before this, not many people knew that the academy's Earth rank goddess had already walked so intimately with Wan Yuan.
By bringing Liu Ruoshui here, Wan Yuan wanted to humiliate Ye Yuan by letting him see the woman he dreamed of was already walking together with his rival.
He was looking forward to Ye Yuan's expressions of resentment, shame, as well as regret. But Ye Yuan's reaction disappointed him, as not one of these expressions appeared on Ye Yuan's face.
From the start till the end, Ye Yuan never even looked at Liu Ruoshui, treating her like air. And it was precisely being ignored by Ye Yuan that angered Liu Ruoshui, making her words just now so venomous.
Liu Ruoshui was rather confident in her appearance. In her opinion, Ye Yuan should be groveling right now, begging her in tears not to go.
If it was his predecessor, he might really have lost all control and did just that. But sadly, the Ye Yuan now was no longer the Ye Yuan of the past. With Ye Yuan's status in his previous life, what kind of beauty he had not seen before? It was impossible to try to use such a cheap tactic to seduce him.
Ye Yuan gave Liu Ruoshui an emotionless glance and said, "A swan? Aren't you overthinking things? At best, you are a defeathered chicken. How can you be compared with a noble animal such as a swan? How can a true proud daughter of heaven spare any thoughts to seduce men? When have you seen Senior Apprentice Sister Feng flirt with other men? Goddesses all have their own pride and wouldn't be the way you are."
Liu Ruoshui was a prideful person. In the Dan Wu Academy, she was always an existence surrounded by a group of admirers. When had anyone ever compared her to a defeathered chicken?
Liu Ruoshui was so angry that her willowy eyebrows were almost vertical. Yet, she could not refute it, because the Senior Apprentice Sister Feng mentioned by Ye Yuan was indeed an existence far beyond her reach.
Senior Apprentice Sister Feng was called Feng Zhiruo, a true proud daughter of heaven within the Dan Wu Academy. Not only was she a beauty who could cause the downfall of countries, but she was also among the top three in both Alchemy Roll of Honor and Martial Roll of Honor with strength not at all inferior to Long Tang. She was a person that a woman like Liu Ruoshui could not compare to.
Feng Zhiruo never bothered with pursuers, something different from Liu Ruoshui. She was a famous ice beauty in the Dan Wu Academy.
In comparison, Liu Ruoshui
was much more popular because she did not reject her pursuers. So she appeared very warm. Also, she extremely relished the feeling of being sought after by everyone.
"Hmph! How stubborn! I will let Fei Qingping take good care of you during the deathmatch!" In Liu Ruoshui's opinion, it was not that Ye Yuan was not willing to look at her, but it was because he was forcefully controlling himself after finding out the truth.
"Hahaha. Then there is no need for you to worry. Did the two of you come to find me just to say this? Since you are done, I won't entertain you anymore."
After saying these words, Ye Yuan directly walked passed them.
"Who permitted you to leave?" Wan Yuan's face fell, and he made a move to grab Ye Yuan. But who would have thought he only grabbed the air, not even touching the corner of Ye Yuan's sleeve.
Looking at Ye Yuan again, he was already several meters away. He even waved to the two of them with his back facing them and strutted away, angering Wan Yuan until his face turned green.
"Hiss . . . Was that . . . Instant Flash?" Wan Yuan frowned and asked.
"That's right. It was indeed Instant Flash." Liu Ruoshui lightly furrowed her brows. Clearly, she was also stunned by Ye Yuan's move.
"Looks like there is really something odd about this punk. Father clearly arranged for an assassin, yet Ye Yuan simply swaggered into the academy. I don't know whether that assassin was too stupid, or was that punk really pretending to be a pig in order to eat a tiger."
"In my opinion, it is likely the former. He is only at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm. No matter how powerful his Instant Flash is, most likely he will not be able to escape from that assassin, right?" Liu Ruoshui interacted quite a bit with Ye Yuan before, so she had some understanding of him. In her eyes, Ye Yuan was just a useless person.
"Junior Apprentice Sister Liu's words make sense. But I wonder since when did he learn Instant Flash? With this move, wouldn't he be in an undefeatable position in his deathmatch with Qingping?"
Wan Yuan had always been competing with Ye Yuan since they were young. So he understood Ye Yuan the best. After thinking about it, Liu Ruoshui's words still made more sense.
"Senior Apprentice Brother Wan is panicking because of concern. From the way I see it, Ye Yuan only learned Instant Flash by a fluke. The only move he can rely on is most likely just this. Otherwise, why would he be rushing to the Scripture Library at this time? Just now, Senior Apprentice Brother Wan was only careless and didn't use your full strength. That's why he could get away. Even though Instant Flash is impressive, it is ultimately only a middle-grade Tier 1 martial technique and isn't invincible." Liu Ruoshui had already recovered from her astonishment and returned to being a soul-mesmerizing goddess.
Wan Yuan had long l.u.s.ted after Liu Ruoshui. Seeing Liu Ruoshui chased after him like this made him drunk with p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e. Just now, he indeed had not used his full strength. It was about 70% power, yet Ye Yuan still managed to dodge it.
However, strength was still the key to victory. Movement techniques were ultimately auxiliary. What Liu Ruoshui said was right. Instant Flash is not all-powerful. Naturally, some techniques could counter it.
Except that this move from Ye Yuan raised Wan Yuan's alert. He would have to go back and properly warn Fei Qingping to not underestimate his opponent.
"Looks like Junior Apprentice Sister Liu's heart is as clear as a mirror. This time around, no matter what, we can't let this brat live on anymore. Looks like we have to go back and prepare a few hidden cards for Fei Qingping."
. . . . . .
After Ye Yuan shook those two off, he went directly to the Scripture Library.
As far as he was concerned, Ye Yuan did not mind revealing Instant Flash. That was not what he was relying on anyway. Furthermore, what he just displayed was only at the great success stage.
Ye Yuan's greatest reliance was naturally on the Absolute Yang Finger. But this technique could not be displayed in front of outsiders, or else he would get into a lot of trouble. Hence, he came to the Scripture Library in order to choose a martial technique.
The martial techniques in the Scripture Library were not too profound. The Tranquil Cloud Sect naturally would not release profound martial techniques out into the secular world. But to Ye Yuan, these martial techniques were sufficient.
"Senior Apprentice Brother, I would like to enter the Scripture Library to choose two martial techniques," Ye Yuan requested and handed over his identity token to the Senior Apprentice Brother on duty.
The Senior Apprentice Brother who was guarding the Scripture Library was Zhao Chunyang of the Earth Rank. When he saw the token with the symbol indicating Yellow Rank status, disdain could be seen from his eyes.
The identity token was created by the Dan Wu Academy which represented one's status as a student. As long as one inserted a bit of essence energy, one would be able to check the identity of the person the token belongs to.
"Ye Yuan?" Zhao Chunyang seemed to feel that he heard that name somewhere before. After pondering a while, he came to a sudden realization and asked, "You are the academy's last place, Ye Yuan?"
Ye Yuan smiled and replied, "If there isn't a second Ye Yuan, then that would be me."
Ye Yuan was not bothered by the title of the last place as that was all in the past.
Hearing this, Zhao Chunyang became interested. Handing the token back to Ye Yuan, he held on to him and asked curiously, "You are a big favorite within the academy now. The last place actually dares to sign a life-and-death contract with others. Just what were you thinking?"
Ye Yuan also did not intend to keep a distance away from Zhou Chunyang, so he smiled and answered, "Others already rode onto my head. I can't possibly behave like a coward. Don't you think so?"
"Hahaha. That's true. But your strength . . ." Zhao Chunyang was an outspoken person and was not afraid that other people would feel awkward.
"Hahaha. That's why I'm here to choose martial techniques."
"Sharpening your spear at the last moment, even if it's not sharp, it is at least shiny. These words are not wrong, but there are only three days left. Isn't that a little too short?"
"That's something that can't be helped. I believe Senior Apprentice Brother is also aware that I neglected cultivation in the past which led to my poor foundation. Even if it is only three days, it is better than not doing anything. Isn't that right?"
Zhao Chunyang sized up Ye Yuan once again and suddenly smiled, and then he said, "Interesting. You seem to be quite different from the rumors. Go in then. You have two hours."
"Many thanks, Senior Apprentice Brother."
Zhao Chunyang patted Ye Yuan's shoulders and said with a smile, "Choose well. I will cheer for you when the time comes."
Chapter 27 - Stacking Waves Layered Palm
The Dan Wu Academy's Scripture Library was divided into three sections. The second section was only opened for those who were in the Spirit Condensation Realm. The current Ye Yuan naturally had no right to enter.
The first section collected Tier 1 martial techniques. It was just perfect for the current Ye Yuan to use.
The entire section was packed with bookshelves. There were cultivation laws, martial techniques, as well as books related to Tier 1 Medicinal Pills. They were sorted out into categories and encompassed everything.
These books were all stone rubbings. 1 The originals were naturally kept at Tranquil Cloud Sect Headquarters.
Concerning cultivation laws, Ye Yuan was already cultivating the Spirit Bristle Nine Yang Divine Art. Naturally, there wasn't any need to cultivate others.
And these books on medicinal pills did not even count as introductory to Ye Yuan. So they were automatically filtered out by him.
Only Tier 1 martial techniques were useful to the current Ye Yuan.
Ye Yuan went to the area of bookshelves where martial techniques were kept and started to search for a martial technique suitable for him.
Casually picking up a book, he saw Blazing Palm was written
on it. It was a middle-grade Tier 1 martial technique with fire attribute.
Flipping through the contents, Ye Yuan shook his head. This sort of martial technique was too crude. There was no depth at all, and the power was too weak as well.
Even though the book bragged until flowers were cascading from the sky, with Ye Yuan's insights, why would he eye this sort of martial technique?
Placing the Blazing Palm book back onto the shelf, Ye Yuan casually looked through several martial techniques. They were mainly martial techniques on the same level as Blazing Palm, flashy without substance.
As time slowly passed, Ye Yuan already looked through several dozen books, yet not even a single one entered his eyes.
Ye Yuan could not help but sigh, thinking that this Tranquil Cloud Sect was so stingy, using these common goods to put up a front.
But after thinking about it, he felt relieved. Cultivation laws and martial techniques were the foundation of a sect. How could truly important cultivation laws be casually placed out in the secular world?
Ye Yuan knew that it was impossible to find a martial technique he wanted on this rack of shelves, so he walked deeper in.
The martial techniques on this rack of shelves were clearly much lesser, but the quality increased by a grade. They basically reached high-grade Tier 1.
Flipping through several books, Ye Yuan still did not encounter anything he was satisfied with.
It was not that he had nothing better to do, but instead, he wanted to see if there were any beneficial insights within these martial techniques.
To Ye Yuan, a middle-grade Tier 1 and a superior-grade Tier 1 did not have too much of a difference. A lower grade martial technique might not be bad, while a higher grade martial technique might not be good.
Just take Instant Flash for instance. It was only a middle-grade Tier 1 martial technique, but this martial technique had some distinctive aspect. So Ye Yuan tinkered with it.
Ye Yuan had just seen this Instant Flash martial technique. Briefly skimming through it, he knew that the insight of its creator was still too low. What he had altered was already much stronger than what was written in the book. Obviously, there wasn't any more meaning to researching it.