Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Fighting Over the Cultivation Room
"Young Master Xuan, let’s go up. The higher we go in this Cultivation Tower, the farther we are from the ground and the fewer rooms there are, but the effects are better. It’s quite amazing."
Although Ye Xuan and his friends weren’t from the most fabulously wealthy families, they came from large households in Blue Moon City. The Profound Coins their families had prepared for them before they left were more than enough, so they naturally weren’t concerned about the cultivation fees.
After getting their Cultivation Cards, the group ascended the spiral staircase.
The Cultivation Tower had thirteen floors. Curiously, the rooms with the densest Profound Qi were not the ones closest to the Profound Vein in the ground; instead, the Qi grew richer the higher one went.
’This Cultivation Tower’s Spirit Gathering Array must be a modified Spiral Gathering Spirit Formation. It makes the Profound Qi from underground spiral upward. As it rises, the force of the Profound Qi’s impact gradually lessens, causing it to pool together to be absorbed by the Martial Artists in the cultivation chambers. The highest floor, the thirteenth, is the very peak where all the Profound Qi erupts, which is why its effects are the strongest.’
As Ye Xuan walked and observed, he quickly saw through the workings of the Cultivation Tower.
"Young Master Xuan, the Cultivation Tower has thirteen floors," Chen Xing explained in detail. "Floors two to five are one tier, all with the same price. Floors six to nine are the next tier, also with a uniform price, and floors ten to thirteen are the highest tier. But even within the same tier, I’ve heard the concentration on each floor is still slightly different. Basically, the higher the floor within a tier, the better the effect. For new students like us, the second or third floor is good enough."
"Heh, a bunch of new students think they’re worthy of cultivating on the upper floors of the Cultivation Tower? I think you lowlifes had better scurry back down to the first-floor hall."
Just then, a cold, mocking voice rang out. When Chen Xing and the others turned to look, their expressions immediately changed.
A young man in green robes with a cold sneer on his lips was slowly walking up the stairs. Behind him were several other youths, each with disdain in their eyes. One of them was staring at Ye Xuan’s group with venomous hatred—it was Cao He, the one Ye Xuan had injured during the entrance examination.
And the green-robed man in the lead was Yuan Shan, whom they had also seen at the entrance examination.
"Well, look who it is. If it isn’t the trash who attacks from behind. What, has it been so long that your injuries have finally healed?"
"You’re courting death!" Cao He’s gaze turned cold, his anger flaring. Had the incident not been mentioned, he might have been fine, but the reminder filled him with endless humiliation.
"Cao He, don’t get worked up. They’re just a few new students. Don’t forget your status as a senior," Yuan Shan, walking in front, said faintly. He watched Ye Xuan’s group with a smirk, like a cat toying with mice.
"So what if we’re new? Don’t forget, you were all new students once, too," Chen Xing retorted with a sneer.
"This year’s batch of new students really has no manners. Lowlifes will be lowlifes. It doesn’t matter if they get into our Profound Spirit Academy; they can’t wash the stench of dirt off themselves," another person in the group sneered.
Chen Xing gave a disdainful laugh and mocked, "They say the Profound Spirit Academy is full of geniuses, but from the looks of it, you’re nothing special. Some so-called geniuses would rather be lapdogs than decent human beings. They go on and on about ’lowlifes,’ not realizing they’re even more despicable than the people they’re insulting. Truly, the shameless are invincible."
"You damn brat, what did you say?" The man’s face flushed red as he erupted in fury.
"Heh, you love dishing it out, but you can’t take it when someone says it back to you. Being this despicable is a disease that needs to be treated."
"Insolent!"
The man lunged forward, his gaze as cold and sinister as a viper’s.
"Wu Mie, lowlifes need to resort to verbal sparring to elevate their own status. As a senior student, how can you not see through this? No matter what they say, it can’t change their fundamental nature as lowlifes," Yuan Shan said faintly, a mocking sneer on his lips and venom in his eyes.
"What did you say?" Chen Xing’s face was filled with anger as he spoke coldly. Of all these people, the one he found most repulsive was Yuan Shan.
Unexpectedly, Ye Xuan tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Chen Xing, why bother getting angry? Let’s go. We need to find a cultivation chamber."
With that, Ye Xuan didn’t even spare Yuan Shan’s group a glance and continued straight up the stairs.
"Young Master Xuan," Chen Xing called out, momentarily stunned. But he heard Ye Xuan shake his head and laugh. "There are so many mad dogs in the world; can you really get angry at all of them? The angrier you get, the more they’ll bark."
Chen Xing paused, then broke into a laugh. "You’re right, Young Master Xuan. You see things clearly."
Leng Yingying and Feng Rouyi also let out a giggle.
Ye Xuan’s words, however, made Yuan Shan and his lackeys’ faces turn ashen, their gazes icy cold.
"Lowlifes. I’ll let you be smug for now. We’ll see how you cry later."
Yuan Shan watched their retreating backs, a sinister smile playing on his lips.
"Yuan Shan, who are you talking about?"
Just then, a clear voice came from down the stairs. Yuan Shan’s group turned around and saw Princess Xiangming, Zhao Jing, walking up with two others, dressed in a short red skirt.
"Greetings, Princess Xiangming." Yuan Shan and the others quickly bowed with a smile before speaking disdainfully, "Don’t even mention it. Just a bunch of new students, lowlifes from the countryside."
Although Zhao Jing was just one of many commandery princesses, her status as a member of the imperial family was undeniable. Even though Yuan Shan and his friends were also from large families in the Royal City, they still had to show her the necessary respect.
Within the social circles of Profound Spirit Academy, strength was the most important standard for how people treated one another, but besides that, status was also a crucial factor.
"New students from the countryside?" Zhao Jing said lightly. "Every year when Profound Spirit Academy opens enrollment, countless new lowlife students arrive. It’s truly annoying. If you ask me, His Majesty the Monarch should issue a decree that Profound Spirit Academy only recruit the children of princes, ministers, and powerful noble families. We shouldn’t let all this riff-raff squeeze into the academy. Only then can we restore a peaceful atmosphere."
"Princess Xiangming speaks the truth. Once we take power in our families in the future, we will certainly petition His Majesty the Monarch," Yuan Shan and the others said with faint smiles.
As for Yuan Shan, a trace of fiery ambition flickered in his eyes as he looked at Princess Xiangming.
His family was only considered upper-middle class in the Liuyun Kingdom, not among the absolute elite. The reason they couldn’t climb higher was because of their less-than-noble lineage, which was why he was so eager to get close to Princess Xiangming.
He knew that if he could unite with Princess Xiangming, his family would be tinged with the Wang family’s bloodline, and his career prospects would undoubtedly advance even further.
Fawning over Princess Xiangming from time to time, Yuan Shan and his group continued up the stairs.
The cultivation chambers on the second floor were already full. After searching for a while and finding no vacancies, Ye Xuan’s group continued toward the third floor.
The third floor was also full, with almost no empty spots. And just like the second floor, besides being packed, the central hall had students sitting cross-legged in front of many chamber doors, waiting for them to become available.
"These cultivation chambers are way too popular, aren’t they?" Chen Xing muttered.
Just then, with a CLICK, the door to a cultivation chamber beside him suddenly opened, and a student walked out.
The gazes of the many waiting students instantly focused on it, a fiery eagerness in their eyes.
A cultivation chamber in the Cultivation Tower was hard to come by. The rare sight of one opening up immediately made many people covetous, and a few instantly stood up and started walking over.
"Young Master Xuan, our luck is good! Let’s claim it first." Chen Xing’s eyes lit up. Before anyone else could react, he took out a Cultivation Card and inserted it into the chamber’s card slot. "Young Master Xuan," he asked, "who among you wants to go in first?"
"Lowlifes sure are fast. A pity that speed isn’t enough to claim a cultivation chamber." A cold sneer came from behind them. Yuan Shan and his group strode onto the third floor, and several of them quickly moved to the chamber door, blocking Chen Xing’s way.
When the few students who had stood up to come over saw Yuan Shan’s group, their expressions changed, and they all retreated.
"What do you think you’re doing?" Chen Xing’s face darkened.
"What are we doing?" Yuan Shan gave a faint smile, his voice incomparably cold. "I just want to inform you that in the Profound Spirit Academy, lowlifes are not qualified to use the cultivation chambers. Princess Xiangming, am I right?!"
But when Yuan Shan looked at Zhao Jing, he saw her staring at Ye Xuan’s group. Not only did she not agree with him, but a complex look appeared in her eyes—a mixture of anger, hatred, and a faint trace of fear.
Ye Xuan’s group turned their heads and saw Zhao Jing as well. A faint smile involuntarily appeared on Ye Xuan’s lips. When that smile met Zhao Jing’s eyes, it made her heart tremble.
’Damn it, why did I have to run into them?’
Zhao Jing never would have imagined that the "lowlifes" Yuan Shan was talking about were actually Ye Xuan and his friends.
Back then, Ye Xuan had struck her in the restaurant. Prince He had even gone to the Alchemist Association to demand justice, only to be unexpectedly blacklisted by them instead.
For the past few days, her father, Prince He, had been trying to mend his relationship with the Alchemist Association. He had to call in countless favors and pull countless strings just to achieve a slight easing of tensions.
But the humiliation in Zhao Jing’s heart had never faded. Every time she recalled the slap Ye Xuan had given her in the restaurant, she would be filled with rage. However, she also knew that his background was so profound that even her father didn’t dare to offend him. Revenge was practically impossible. Furthermore, on her father’s advice, she didn’t dare to even try.
She never expected that their paths would cross again so soon. To think she would run into Ye Xuan right here in the Profound Spirit Academy.
"No wonder this group is so despicable. It turns out they’re friends with you. It’s true what they say: birds of a feather flock together. Every one of you is arrogant and conceited, all jackals from the same lair."
Ye Xuan’s cold words made Yuan Shan and the others’ faces sink.
’This kid is far too arrogant! He’s run his mouth like this time and time again. Does he really think he’s invincible just because he defeated Cao He? He even dared to insult Princess Xiangming!’
Knowing Princess Xiangming’s personality, Yuan Shan sneered inwardly. ’For Ye Xuan to dare speak to her like that... he truly has a death wish.’
The other students present were also dumbfounded when they heard this.
These new students were just too brazen. Not only did they dare to challenge Yuan Shan’s group, but they didn’t even spare Princess Xiangming. Everyone knew that the princess was notoriously spoiled and willful; when she flew into a rage, she was capable of anything.
