Chapter 141: Chapter 141: Keeping a Wide Berth
However, everyone was stunned when their gazes fell upon Zhao Jing.
Princess Xiangming, who was known for her fiery temper and for flying into a rage at the slightest provocation, had just been insulted by Ye Xuan. Yet this time, her expression merely soured. She made no move, simply gritting her teeth in silence, which everyone found both baffling and bizarre.
"The cultivation rooms on this third floor aren’t suitable for us. Let’s go up."
With everyone watching, Zhao Jing’s face flushed red as she spoke. Then, she led her two attendants and headed directly upstairs.
Although she despised Ye Xuan, she knew full well that she was no match for him, inside or out.
She had gone to great lengths to suppress the story of what had happened at the restaurant, preventing it from spreading. If she stayed any longer, she would only be inviting more humiliation, so leaving was her only option.
’What’s going on?’
Everyone was completely bewildered. Princess Xiangming had actually changed her ways today.
Seeing Princess Xiangming leave, Yuan Shan’s gaze hardened. He immediately said, "Cao He, this cultivation room is yours. They’ve already inserted a Cultivation Card, so consider it compensation for last time. Wu Mie, help him secure it. If anyone tries to make a move, make them understand the consequences. We’re going up."
After speaking, Yuan Shan led the others and hurriedly chased after Princess Xiangming, disappearing at the top of the stairs.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Yuan Shan." After Yuan Shan had left, Cao He shot a cold glance at Ye Xuan’s group and started to walk into the cultivation room.
"Get back. This cultivation room is ours," Chen Xing said coldly, blocking the doorway.
He had worked hard to claim this cultivation room; how could he just let someone else take it? Besides, the Cultivation Card he had bought was already inside.
"It seems you still don’t understand. New students aren’t qualified to have a cultivation room," Cao He sneered. "Now, get out."
He suddenly thrust a palm forward. A blast of energy surged out like a furious wave, sweeping toward Chen Xing. But Chen Xing’s eyes were sharp and cold. He didn’t dodge or evade Cao He’s attack, instead crossing his fists before his chest and meeting it head-on.
BANG!
As fist met palm, Chen Xing staggered back two steps, while Cao He also took one step back. They were surprisingly evenly matched.
"You’re courting death." Cao He’s eyes went cold. He was a dignified senior student, a Second Layer Samurai, yet he had been defeated by Ye Xuan during the entrance exam. It was an utter disgrace, a complete loss of face.
He had planned on taking his anger out on Chen Xing, but he never expected that a mere new student at the First Layer of Samurai could actually withstand his palm strike head-on.
With so many students on the third floor of the Cultivation Tower watching, Cao He was instantly overcome with shame and fury.
’When did I, Cao He, become so weak? I can’t even handle a First Layer Samurai, and he has the gall to act so arrogant with me?’
At this thought, the Profound Qi in Cao He’s body erupted to its peak as he prepared to strike again.
Suddenly, an icy chill washed over him, and the temperature around his body seemed to plummet by more than ten degrees. He felt a deep, piercing cold.
Cao He froze and turned his head. He saw Ye Xuan watching him with an indifferent gaze, slowly walking over.
The scene from the new student assessment instantly flashed through Cao He’s mind. His heart leaped, a flicker of fear appeared in his eyes, and he hastily retreated several steps.
Under Ye Xuan’s gaze, without him even having to make a move, Cao He lost all courage to resist and looked pleadingly toward Wu Mie.
Wu Mie frowned. "Useless trash. What a disgrace."
Wu Mie was almost ashamed to be associated with Cao He, a so-called senior student who was this terrified of a new one. With a flicker of movement, he abruptly struck out at Ye Xuan with his palm and said coldly, "So you’re the new student who injured Cao He? Let me see what you’ve got."
"With just you?" Ye Xuan spoke indifferently. He seemed to pay no mind to Wu Mie’s attack, simply sending out a slow palm strike of his own.
’Courting death!’ Wu Mie sneered inwardly.
"BOOM!"
The sound of a collision rang out, immediately followed by the crack of breaking bones and a blood-curdling scream. Wu Mie, who had been so arrogant just a moment before, was sent flying backward even faster than he had come, spitting a shower of blood from his mouth.
"Is that the basis for your arrogance? Pathetic," Ye Xuan said with a cold laugh, not even interested enough to give Wu Mie a second glance. He looked at Chen Xing. "Chen Xing, you take this cultivation room and start cultivating. We’ll go look on the upper floors."
"Alrighty," Chen Xing didn’t refuse and walked straight into the cultivation room.
CLICK!
The cultivation room activated, and the great door sealed shut.
According to the academy’s rules, students could spar with each other to compete for cultivation rooms in the Cultivation Tower, but once someone was inside a room, they absolutely could not be disturbed.
With Chen Xing safely inside the cultivation room, Ye Xuan could relax. He led Leng Yingying and Feng Rouyi toward the upper floors, not even sparing a glance for the fallen Wu Mie or the stunned Cao He.
"You..." Wu Mie lay on the ground, clutching his chest and glaring at Ye Xuan with venomous hatred. He would have preferred a few more insults from Ye Xuan over this feeling of being utterly ignored.
The other students present were all frozen in shock, their gazes toward Ye Xuan filled with trembling awe.
’Is this kid really a new student? Even Wu Mie couldn’t last a single move against him. That’s just too terrifying.’
The senior students present all knew who Wu Mie was: an expert at the Third Layer of Samurai. Yuan Shan had left him behind precisely because he believed Wu Mie was more than capable of defeating Ye Xuan’s group. They never imagined that Wu Mie wouldn’t even be able to withstand a single move from Ye Xuan.
"Ye Xuan, maybe I should just wait for a room here on the third floor," Feng Rouyi couldn’t help but say as they walked up the stairs.
The Cultivation Tower was designed with twelve floors of cultivation rooms. With six cultivation levels from the entry-level First Layer Samurai to the graduating Martial Master Third Layer, that averaged out to two floors per level.
She was only a First Layer Samurai, so she felt it would be better to stay around the second or third floor.
"It’s fine. In the Cultivation Tower, the strong reside where they please; the floors aren’t strictly assigned by level. The term just started, and there are tons of new students, so the lower floors are in high demand. If you wait here, who knows how long it will take," Ye Xuan said nonchalantly.
Hearing the firm tone in Ye Xuan’s voice, a faint sense of joy bloomed in Feng Rouyi’s heart.
She didn’t really care which floor she cultivated on. What mattered to her was Ye Xuan’s attitude toward her. Seeing that he was so considerate of her, Feng Rouyi felt as if she had eaten honey.
Ye Xuan, of course, had no idea what Feng Rouyi was thinking. The three of them continued upward and soon reached the fourth floor. It, too, was completely full.
Continuing on, the group arrived at the fifth floor.
On this fifth floor, the doors to two cultivation rooms happened to be slowly closing.
Inside were the two young men who had followed Yuan Shan upstairs earlier.
On the floor lay two other senior students, their mouths full of blood, staring at the slowly closing doors with expressions of anger and resentment.
The senior students near the other cultivation rooms looked at the two on the ground with pity. It was obvious that Yuan Shan’s lackeys had also seized these two rooms by some forceful means.
Seeing this, Ye Xuan strode forward. With no discernible movement, he slapped his palms twice on the doors that had yet to fully close. To everyone’s surprise, the doors to the cultivation rooms actually opened again.
"You two, get out," Ye Xuan said indifferently, then looked at Leng Yingying and Feng Rouyi. "These cultivation rooms are perfect for the two of you."
His tone made it sound as if the two rooms were already his to claim.
"Kid, you’re courting death." Hearing this, Yuan Shan’s two underlings were enraged. They lunged at Ye Xuan like lightning from the left and right.
BOOM! BOOM!
Two powerful streams of Profound Qi shot out, pinning Ye Xuan between them.
They were friends with Wu Mie. Seeing Ye Xuan come up without Wu Mie and Cao He, they immediately knew that Wu Mie must have failed to stop them. Thus, they attacked viciously from the start, showing no mercy whatsoever.
However, whether they showed mercy or not made no difference to Ye Xuan. With a slight shift and a step back, his palms had already struck their chests from a bizarre angle.
It happened so fast that no one present had time to react.
THUD! THUD! Before everyone’s eyes, the two collapsed wretchedly to the ground, spitting up blood. The Profound Qi in their bodies was in chaos, and they couldn’t muster even a shred of strength.
In a single move, Ye Xuan had completely stripped two senior students of their ability to fight.
"You two go on in. Cultivate for a while—as long as you can. Their Cultivation Cards are still inside anyway."
Ye Xuan was preparing for a long period of closed-door cultivation to master the Nine Revolutions Sacred Body. It would take a great deal of time, far more than a few days, so he wanted Feng Rouyi and the others to cultivate for a longer period as well.
"We’ll see you in a few days, then." Feng Rouyi and Leng Yingying nodded, each entering a cultivation room and closing the door.
Without a second glance at the two collapsed on the floor, Ye Xuan’s figure moved like the wind, sweeping toward the higher floors of the tower.
As soon as he left, the fifth floor of the Cultivation Tower erupted in a flurry of whispers and fervent discussion.
Ye Xuan’s goal for this period of seclusion was to cultivate the Nine Revolutions Sacred Body, not to break through to a new realm. Therefore, the concentration of Profound Qi didn’t necessarily need to be as high as possible. As he ascended, he observed the ambient Profound Qi concentration.
The sixth floor.
The seventh floor.
The eighth floor.
The ninth floor.
Ye Xuan didn’t stop on any of the previous floors. It wasn’t until he reached the ninth floor that he finally halted.
’The Profound Qi concentration here is about right. This place will do.’
Ye Xuan’s gaze swept across the ninth floor. The rooms here were much scarcer than on the floors below—incomparably so. There were only thirty-six in total.
In an open area on the ninth floor, five people were sitting cross-legged, cultivating with their eyes closed as they waited for a cultivation room to become available.
Hearing footsteps approaching, all five of them turned their heads in unison to look.
"It’s you! A lowly peasant from the countryside, a brand-new student, and you actually made it all the way up here!" an astonished voice exclaimed. It was Yuan Shan.
His face was filled with shock. In his mind, Wu Mie’s group should have dealt with Ye Xuan long ago. But from the looks of it, that clearly wasn’t the case. He had even reached the ninth floor, the designated area for those at the Martial Master First Layer.
According to the layout, the eighth and ninth floors were places where only the top-class experts at the Martial Master First Layer were meant to cultivate.
