Chapter 1723 - Azure Flame Dao Hall
The Azure Viper Lord fought with the resolve to drag Chen Ping and Ye Linghan down with him.
Chen Ping had no choice but to brace himself and rush toward the Azure Viper Lord. However, just as the blast was about to tear him apart, Ye Linghan pulled a flag from beneath her clothes.
The moment the flag appeared, it unfurled in the wind and expanded rapidly. In an instant, it blotted out the sky and transformed into a violent storm that bound the Azure Viper Lord in place.
"It's a divine-immortal level artifact!" Liu Wuxie murmured.
He knew Ye Guhai had likely given it to Ye Linghan to protect her at a critical moment.
The flag contracted swiftly, imprisoning the Azure Viper Lord and trapping him until death. Ye Linghan went limp after activating the flag, her strength completely drained. After all, using a divine-immortal level artifact required a massive amount of immortal energy.
Ye Linghan quickly took out a pill and swallowed it, and only then did her complexion improve.
"Thank you, Lady Ye. Without your help, the consequences would've been unimaginable," Chen Ping said, stepping forward to thank Ye Linghan.
If she hadn't taken out such a powerful artifact at the critical moment, the Azure Viper Lord's self-detonation would have heavily injured them.
"No need to thank me. This is only an exchange between him and me," Ye Linghan said as she rose to her feet. Since she had agreed to Liu Wuxie's condition, she naturally had to keep her side of the bargain.
Chen Ping could only retreat to the side with a bitter smile and say nothing more.
The Azure Viper Lord's body was a treasure. If Liu Wuxie could refine a profound immortal, he would have a high chance of reaching the High Immortal Realm. But just as he was about to collect it, Ye Linghan waved her hand and summoned the flag back into her interspatial ring. As for the Azure Viper Lord's corpse, the flag had already shredded it into pieces, leaving nothing behind.
Liu Wuxie felt a pang of regret, but the flag's power had truly shocked him.
When the group returned to Moon Reverence City, Ye Linghan only gave Liu Wuxie an hour to settle his affairs before leaving with her. She had already been delayed for too many days and could not afford to waste any more time.
"Wuxie, take care of yourself," Chen Ping said, his voice choked with sobs. He hadn't expected them to reunite in this manner. Only he and Liu Wuxie stood in the main hall.
"Big Brother, until we meet again in the future," Liu Wuxie said. The two had relied on each other since childhood and wandered the world together. They had long become as close as biological brothers.
Ye Linghan stood before Moon Reverence City's gate with a veil covering her face, hiding her peerless beauty.
When Liu Wuxie appeared two hours later, Ye Linghan said, "Let's go."
With that, Liu Wuxie left with Ye Linghan. They passed through three cities and crossed two mountain ranges before finally entering the Azure Flame Dao Hall's territory.
"The Azure Flame Dao Hall is just ahead. It operates like a sect and separates its classes into junior, intermediate, and advanced levels. I teach spiritual arrays in the intermediate class," Ye Linghan explained as they approached the Azure Flame Dao Hall.
Liu Wuxie hardly spoke, but he memorized the information by heart. Before long, a majestic Dao Hall appeared before them, its architecture resembling both an academy and a sect. It had perfectly fused the features of both.
After entering the Dao Hall, Liu Wuxie saw people moving everywhere. The Azure Flame Dao Hall was livelier than he had imagined, with many students traveling back and forth.
Students wearing azure robes belonged to the junior class, those in blue robes belonged to the intermediate class, and those in purple robes belonged to the advanced class. Liu Wuxie occasionally saw students in white robes as well, and they represented the elite class.
The Azure Flame Dao Hall had only one elite class. It taught not only alchemy, spiritual arrays, and martial techniques, but also many other fields, nurturing all-rounded prodigies.
The junior class had the most students, and its categories varied widely. There were martial-arts classes, spiritual-array classes, spiritual-talisman classes, blacksmithing classes, and many more.
Anyone who joined the Azure Flame Dao Hall could choose their own classes. However, entering any class wasn't easy. If someone wanted to join the alchemy class, they had to complete multiple assessments to prove they met the requirements. Those who failed could only choose another class.
Likewise, if Liu Wuxie wanted to join the Azure Flame Dao Hall as Ye Linghan's assistant, he had to undergo multiple assessments. Half of the mentors had to acknowledge his skills in spiritual arrays before he could stay.
Ye Linghan wasn't too worried about that because she had personally witnessed Liu Wuxie's attainments in spiritual arrays.
The Azure Flame Dao Hall's master was called Gongye Zhang. Along the way, Ye Linghan told Liu Wuxie about him. Aside from the hall master, the various halls were responsible for overseeing the mentors and ensuring that they neither accepted bribes nor misled their students.
The Azure Flame Dao Hall had nearly a thousand mentors and over fifteen thousand students, an enormous number by any standard. Some mentors had to teach hundreds of students at once, while others had only a few.
The higher a mentor's rank, the more students would join their classes because of their reputation, and their salary would also rise accordingly. This meant a mentor's salary depended directly on their performance in the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Likewise, mentors with poor performance would receive lower pay.
Anyone who joined the Azure Flame Dao Hall either possessed wealth or held noble status and came for its excellent learning environment. After all, there were no sects nearby, so the Azure Flame Dao Hall naturally became the best place to cultivate. More importantly, students didn't have to be bound by sect rules.
After all, once someone joined a sect, leaving became difficult. If they dared to leave without the sect's permission, the sect would regard them as traitors.
In the Azure Flame Dao Hall, there was no such concern because students could withdraw at any moment. They could also learn anything they wanted as long as they were willing to invest resources into the lessons.
After entering the Azure Flame Dao Hall, Liu Wuxie was shocked. He realized that he had underestimated this place. With the Heavenly Dao Book's help, he sensed several powerful auras within the Dao Hall.
Rows of buildings stretched along the mountains, while small bridges within the Dao Hall led to rivers, lakes, and even the ocean. One area was directly connected to the sea, with a long, sandy beach stretching toward the far horizon.
The major clans within a radius of tens of thousands of miles were willing to send their disciples to cultivate in the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Some shopkeepers would even exhaust all their resources to send their children there. After all, once their children completed their studies in the Dao Hall, they could rise through the hierarchy.
"Wait here," Ye Linghan said before walking into a large building. She had to help Liu Wuxie obtain the qualification to become a mentor assistant at the Azure Flame Dao Hall.
Liu Wuxie stood outside, looking around. Using Ghost Pupil to scan the pavilions, he noticed that the Azure Flame Dao Hall had meticulously divided its grounds, with intermediate and advanced classes occupying separate regions.
The Dao Hall conducted its junior classes in a relatively remote area, and Ye Linghan only emerged from the building fifteen minutes later.
"The assessment will begin in two hours. I'll take you around the Azure Flame Dao Hall so you can familiarize yourself with the environment," Ye Linghan said. She had just handled the relevant procedures for Liu Wuxie.
Liu Wuxie followed Ye Linghan through the various areas. As a mentor, she could go anywhere without restriction, unlike the students, who were strictly limited in where they could enter.
"Linghan, when did you return?"
When the two approached a flower-covered lake, a youth ran over from afar. He appeared to be in his late twenties, slightly older than Ye Linghan, and wore the robes of a mentor.
The fact that he could become a mentor at such a young age proved that he wasn't ordinary. Liu Wuxie had also encountered many mentors along the way, but most were no longer young and mostly possessed profound immortal cultivation.
There were also mentors in the Spirit Immortal Realm, but they ranked near the very bottom, at fourth grade. They could only teach basic lessons in the junior classes.
The reason Ye Linghan could become a third-grade mentor was largely due to her knowledge of spiritual arrays.
When Ye Linghan saw the young man walking over, displeasure flashed in her eyes. Clearly, she didn't want to get too close to him.
"Let's go over there," Ye Linghan said, changing direction and quickening her pace.
The young man hurried after them and caught up to Ye Linghan in just a few breaths.
"Linghan, why didn't you inform me of your return? I could've come to pick you up," the youth said. He completely ignored Liu Wuxie, mistaking him for a student who had come to ask Ye Linghan questions. After all, it wasn't uncommon for students to seek guidance from mentors along the way.
"I have other matters to attend to, so I don't have time to chat," Ye Linghan said before leading Liu Wuxie forward.
However, the youth didn't give up. He stepped in front of her and blocked their path.
"Wei Wenbin, why are you standing in my way?" Ye Linghan questioned. She wasn't afraid of this young man, but she didn't want any interaction with him.
Wei Wenbin taught intermediate classes just like Ye Linghan. However, he was a second-grade mentor, one rank above her. Then again, that was mainly because spiritual arrays weren't popular in the Azure Flame Dao Hall, resulting in her lower rank. Few students chose spiritual arrays.
Wei Wenbin continued to pester Ye Linghan. "Since you are busy, I won't hold you back any longer. I'll make a reservation at the Drunken Fragrance House to welcome you back."
This angered Ye Linghan, but there was nothing she could do. She possessed the finest appearance among all the mentors, and everyone in the Azure Flame Dao Hall recognized her as its most beautiful mentor. Even many female students envied her beauty.
A beauty like her would naturally attract pursuers, and Wei Wenbin was one of them. She had only joined the Azure Flame Dao Hall for a year, but Wei Wenbin had already spent a lot of effort pursuing her.
"No need. I have just recruited an assistant, and I have to take him to the assessment." Ye Linghan turned him down, unwilling to have any further interaction with Wei Wenbin.
Wei Wenbin was surprised.
He stepped forward with a smile and offered, "I can help you if you're too busy. There's no need for you to recruit an assistant." This way, he could stay by Ye Linghan's side every day.
Liu Wuxie stood at the side and watched with a faint smile. He could tell from how Ye Linghan suppressed her anger that Wei Wenbin's identity wasn't ordinary. This meant even Ye Linghan preferred not to make him an enemy unless necessary.
Then again, it wasn't that she feared him; she saw no need for it. Wei Wenbin wasn't her only pursuer, so was she supposed to fight every one of them?
"Thank you for your offer, Mentor Wei, but I already have a candidate," Ye Linghan said before leading Liu Wuxie forward. They didn't have much time left before the two-hour mark.
"Linghan, don't tell me that he's the assistant you picked?" Wei Wenbin asked.
If Liu Wuxie had been a student, he would have left by now. Wei Wenbin had signaled him to get lost multiple times. Yet Liu Wuxie had pretended not to notice.
Judging from Ye Linghan's attitude toward Liu Wuxie, it didn't feel like a mentor speaking to a student, given the clear hierarchy between mentors and students.
