Chapter 156: Chapter 156: A Gathering of Geniuses
At this thought, Elder Kuchen’s heart pounded with excitement.
All this time, he had known nothing of Ye Xuan’s origins. Now, he finally had a clue.
Meanwhile, Zhong Zhiwen stood to the side, on the verge of tears. If Ye Xuan had truly broken one of Elder Kuchen’s treasures, then his career as a steward was finished. He would even face the elder’s severe punishment.
At that moment, he was filled with immense regret. ’Why did I ever let Ye Xuan in?’
Unlike the panicked Zhong Zhiwen, the other attendants nearby all had their heads lowered, their eyes occasionally darting toward him with expressions of schadenfreude.
Zhong Zhiwen held a high position, and these attendants had long been resentful of him. Now, seeing his terrified expression after he had clearly made a mistake, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of glee.
More importantly, if Zhong Zhiwen was punished, the position of head attendant would open up, and one of them might get a chance!
For a moment, all the attendants perked up their ears, eager to hear how Elder Kuchen would punish him.
Would he be publicly reprimanded and taught a harsh lesson? Or would he be demoted from head attendant to a mere handyman? Or perhaps even expelled from the Soul Master Tower, never to be employed again?
Everyone waited with bated breath.
But they never expected Elder Kuchen’s next words to leave everyone utterly dumbfounded.
"Good. Very good. Zhong Zhiwen, you’ve done very well." Elder Kuchen’s stern face suddenly broke into a radiant smile, a look of pure delight. "Here’s what we’ll do. In light of your excellent performance, report to the logistics department later. I’ll have them arrange a steward position for you."
"Huh?" Elder Kuchen’s words left Zhong Zhiwen stunned.
Everyone else was also dumbstruck.
A steward of the Soul Master Tower was not a position an attendant like them could hold. This was the main tower of the Liuyun Kingdom’s Soul Master Tower, after all. A steward had to be at least a First Grade Soul Refiner.
But as for them, the attendants, no matter how impressive they acted, they were just borrowing the elders’ prestige while working in the elder activity area. Their actual strength was merely that of Soul Refining apprentices.
By all rights, it was impossible for any of them to become a steward.
Of course, if a core figure like Elder Kuchen spoke up, that was a different matter entirely.
"What, you’re not willing?" Elder Kuchen asked, seeing Zhong Zhiwen’s dazed and absent-minded expression.
Zhong Zhiwen was so moved he nearly fell to his knees. "I am willing! Of course I’m willing!" he said hurriedly. "But if I become a steward, I won’t be able to serve you anymore, Elder. Perhaps I should just continue as your attendant? I only feel at ease when I’m by your side, Elder."
Although Zhong Zhiwen desperately wanted to be a steward, he knew that he owed everything to Elder Kuchen. Given that, it was better to remain by the elder’s side.
After all, he was just an Alchemy apprentice. If he really became a steward, many people would likely refuse to accept his authority and cause trouble for him.
In that case, even though his status would be higher, his situation would actually worsen.
"Haha, I knew I wasn’t wrong about you." Elder Kuchen was as shrewd as they come; how could he not see what Zhong Zhiwen was thinking? He laughed heartily. "Don’t worry. I’m not kicking you out by making you a steward. On the contrary, I want you to be the general manager of this elder activity area. From now on, if young friend Ye Xuan comes by for anything, you are to host him well. There must be no negligence. Seeing him is the same as seeing me. If he needs a refining room again, give him my personal one. Understand?"
"Understood! Your subordinate understands!"
The panic in Zhong Zhiwen’s heart was swept away, replaced by boundless ecstasy.
’My heavens! Elder Kuchen wants me to be the general manager of the elder activity area! I, Zhong Zhiwen, have truly turned my life around!’
Before, he was just Elder Kuchen’s head attendant, a small leader among a few attendants. But now, as the general manager of the elder activity area, he would be in charge of dozens, even hundreds of people.
More importantly, from now on in the elder activity area, his word would be law, second only to the elders themselves.
At this rate, even the First and Second Grade Soul Refiner masters in the Soul Master Tower might have to curry favor with him sometimes.
A fire ignited in Zhong Zhiwen’s heart at the thought.
’This is truly a second spring in my life!’
But Zhong Zhiwen also knew he had this position entirely because he had received Ye Xuan a few days ago. ’It seems this Master Ye holds a truly high place in Elder Kuchen’s heart.’
With this in mind, Zhong Zhiwen secretly resolved that whenever Ye Xuan came in the future, he would satisfy his every request. He would treat him as an elder of the Soul Master Tower, personally attending to every detail, no matter how small.
"Alright, that’s settled. Go report to the logistics department in a bit. If anything comes up, report back to me."
After giving his instructions, Elder Kuchen left.
He was in the critical period of breaking through to become a Fourth Grade Soul Refiner. Now that he had his answer, he was no longer in such a hurry.
He decided that after his breakthrough, he would visit Profound Spirit Academy to see if that Ye Xuan was indeed a student there.
The moment Elder Kuchen departed, the attendants’ rest area erupted in a commotion.
"Congratulations, congratulations!"
"Steward Zhong—ah, no, I should say *Steward* Zhong! From now on, we’ll be counting on you, sir."
"Steward Zhong, to celebrate this wonderful occasion, why don’t I host a banquet for you at Xianke Restaurant tonight?"
The attendants’ hearts were filled with a mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment, but they all still chimed in with enthusiastic congratulations.
From this day forward, Zhong Zhiwen was their direct superior. Moreover, as a steward, he had instantly become a member of the Soul Master Tower’s management—someone they had to look up to.
"Everyone, you’re too kind. I have business to attend to, so I’ll head to the logistics department first. As for the banquet tonight, let’s skip it. Some other time, perhaps."
Zhong Zhiwen ambled away slowly, his heart blooming with joy.
The reason he had refused the banquet was that he was thinking, ’What if Master Ye comes to the activity area again and I’m not here? That would be unacceptable.’
The events at the Soul Master Tower were but a small interlude. Ye Xuan, still at the academy, was naturally unaware that his casual actions a few days prior would have such consequences.
But even if he had known, he probably would have just laughed it off.
「Three days passed in a flash.」
Early on the morning of the third day, Ye Xuan washed up and made his way to the stone forest outside the city.
The stone forest outside the Royal City was a sprawling landscape of massive stone hills. It was a jumble of boulders, some standing straight and tall like trees, others leaning precariously. The bizarre, rugged rock formations created a visually stunning impact.
"Brother Ye Xuan, you’re here."
The stone forest was empty, but just as Ye Xuan arrived, a group of figures emerged from behind a cluster of boulders.
The one in the lead was none other than the Eighth Prince, Zhao Wei.
Behind him were three others. One wore a green robe and carried a longsword on his back. His expression was wooden, and from a distance, he looked like an unsheathed sword, poised to strike, radiating a sharp aura.
The second was a burly man in a gray robe with a battle saber hanging from his waist—a saber that was only half its original length. His grayish-brown hair stood on end like needles, and he had an arrogant, imposing air.
The third was a young woman in a pink gauze dress. A jade hairpin adorned her hair, and she wore light makeup. A pair of Emei piercers were tucked at her shapely rear, giving her a heroic yet gentle aura, though her expression was tinged with haughtiness.
Each of these three had a powerful aura. In Ye Xuan’s estimation, even the weakest among them was stronger than Tong Hong.
"Come, come, let me make the introductions." Zhao Wei smiled as he introduced everyone. "Brother Ye Xuan, this is Zuo Liu, ranked fourth on the academy’s Leaderboard. This is Fu Yuling, ranked ninth. And this is Duan Ren, ranked fifteenth."
"As for this gentleman, I’m sure you’ve all heard of him. This is Ye Xuan, the man of the hour at the academy, who recently defeated Tong Hong in a single move and has temporarily taken his place in the rankings."
Zhao Wei introduced them enthusiastically.
The reactions of the three were all different. Zuo Liu merely nodded, his gaze flat and emotionless. Fu Yuling gave Ye Xuan a haughty glance, clearly unimpressed, her eyes fixed only on the Eighth Prince. As for Duan Ren, he just sneered. "Eighth Prince, is this the Ye Xuan who beat Tong Hong and took his rank? He doesn’t look like much, does he?"
Zhao Wei laughed. "Duan Ren, you’re underestimating Brother Ye Xuan. Although Tong Hong was only ranked thirty-sixth on the Leaderboard, his strength was definitely enough to place him in the top twenty. So, Brother Ye Xuan’s true power is nothing to scoff at."
"Is that so?" Duan Ren gave an arrogant laugh. Although he said nothing more, the condescension and disdain in his eyes were impossible to hide.
’In his opinion, Tong Hong was no expert to begin with. The so-called claim of being top-twenty material was just speculation among lower-ranked students. And Ye Xuan is just a Martial Master First Layer freshman. How strong could he possibly be?’
’That top-twenty talk is just an empty boast.’
After all, in Duan Ren’s mind, to enter the top twenty on the academy’s Leaderboard, one had to be a Martial Master Third Layer expert.
Of the four people present, only Zhao Wei had witnessed the challenge that day. The others had only heard rumors and thus had no real understanding of Ye Xuan’s strength.
Ye Xuan couldn’t be bothered to argue. He simply smiled faintly and stood to the side.
In Duan Ren’s eyes, this gesture was an immediate sign of weakness. He felt even more contempt. ’A freshman is a freshman. I have no idea why the Eighth Prince would invite someone like him.’
"Everyone, there are five of us now. We’re still waiting for one more person. Please wait a moment. As soon as they arrive, we’ll set out immediately," Zhao Wei explained.
Duan Ren frowned. "Eighth Prince, who else is coming? Even big brother Zuo Liu is here, but this person still hasn’t arrived. Making a whole group of us wait for one person... they sure have a high opinion of themselves."
"Are you talking about me?"
SWOOSH!
The words had barely left his lips when a streak of light shot from the distance. The light was incredibly fast; one moment it was out of sight, and the next, it had appeared before them in the blink of an eye, moving like lightning.
The newcomer was a beautiful young woman.
