Chapter 180: Chapter 180: Zhao Feng
The Profound Spirit Academy’s faculty roster, while not top secret, wasn’t something just anyone could view. However, since King Chu had requested it, Vice Director Li couldn’t refuse. Soon, the complete faculty roster was brought over.
The two guards searched through it once and found nothing. They searched again, more meticulously this time, but still came up empty.
Now, even King Chu was perplexed.
If these two guards hadn’t been his loyal and devoted followers for so long, King Chu might have even suspected they were lying.
After some careful questioning, Vice Director Li shot to his feet. "Lord Chu," he said in a cold voice, "I can assure you, our academy has absolutely no young female teacher with a supervisory token. If what your two men say is true, then there is only one possibility: this person was impersonating a Profound Spirit Academy teacher. I will get to the bottom of this matter."
King Chu hadn’t expected his search to lead to the conclusion that the teacher was an impostor. ’If that’s the case,’ he thought, ’doesn’t that mean the student wasn’t from the Profound Spirit Academy either?’
The more he thought about it, the more King Chu felt it was a distinct possibility.
It wasn’t that he looked down on the Profound Spirit Academy. It was just that, in his opinion, it was practically impossible for an institution of its caliber to produce a student of that level.
’Could he be the scion of a major nation from the Thirteen Nations Alliance? Or perhaps a genius from a sect in one of those powerful nations, who happened upon the Liuyun Kingdom while traveling and caused this whole farce?’
’It wasn’t impossible,’ he mused. ’Imagine a genius from a major nation, accompanied by an elder, arriving unexpectedly in the Liuyun Kingdom’s Royal City. He wants to see what the local talent is like, so he comes to the Profound Spirit Academy and hears that I’m recruiting a disciple.’
’As the number one master in the Liuyun Kingdom, my reputation precedes me. It would be perfectly normal for someone like that to want to test my abilities.’
This would also explain why the middle-aged steward didn’t record his information after receiving no "benefits," and why the young man didn’t bother to bring it up himself.
’After all, why would a genius from a major nation ever truly become my disciple? If he had been a regular student from the Profound Spirit Academy, he certainly would have questioned why his information wasn’t being recorded.’
At this thought, King Chu couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment.
Still, he hadn’t completely given up hope.
"Vice Director Li, I’ll have to trouble you with this. Please investigate this thoroughly for me. If you find any information on the impostor, you must inform me at once."
After a few more pleasantries, King Chu returned to the Imperial Guard barracks. He immediately mobilized the guards, placing the entire city under lockdown to investigate all outsiders, paying special attention to the whereabouts of a beautiful young woman.
For a time, the entire Royal City was gripped by panic, its residents completely unaware of what had transpired.
But how could a search like this ever lead them to Yun Aoxue and Ye Xuan?
Neither Vice Director Li nor King Chu had an inkling that the people they were looking for were right there in the Profound Spirit Academy—and that they were, in fact, a genuine teacher and student of the academy.
The issue was that Yun Aoxue had only just joined the academy this year, so her profile and portrait weren’t on the faculty roster yet. Furthermore, her supervisory token had been obtained through a special, little-known channel, which directly led to this whole ridiculous situation.
Ye Xuan, of course, had no idea that a test he had casually taken would stir up such a massive commotion.
In truth, even if he had known, he wouldn’t have cared.
After celebrating the Eighth Prince’s victory in securing the top spot on the academy’s leaderboard, Ye Xuan returned to the academy and met up with Leng Yingying, Feng Rouyi, and the others.
In the past two months, their cultivation had progressed by leaps and bounds. Leng Yingying was already preparing to break through to become a Martial Artist of the Xuanwu Realm, while Feng Rouyi was on the verge of breaking through to the Third Layer of Warrior.
’Ye Xuan knew this was because both of them had excellent natural talent, which, when combined with the Cultivation Techniques he had modified for them and his personal guidance, made such achievements completely normal.’
Even Chen Xing had reached the peak of the Second Layer Warrior and was beginning to push for the Third Layer.
After returning to the academy, Ye Xuan spent a full day giving the three of them detailed explanations and guidance before once again entering secluded cultivation.
Although he had advanced from the Martial Master First Layer all the way to the Martial Master Third Layer in just a few months, Ye Xuan knew his foundation wasn’t particularly stable after such rapid breakthroughs. He had to consolidate it properly to better prepare for his push into the Earth Martial Artist realm.
In his past life, Ye Xuan had been ignorant, so his early cultivation had failed to unlock his body’s full potential.
As a result, his potential was exhausted in the later stages, and his progress slowed to a crawl. Even after becoming an Eighth Grade Soul Emperor and a Ninth Grade Alchemist, his Martial Dao cultivation stalled at the Eighth Grade Martial Emperor Realm.
In this life, however, Ye Xuan would absolutely not allow that to happen again. That was why he had gone into seclusion in the Cultivation Tower—to eliminate the hidden instabilities in his body caused by his rapid advancement.
While Ye Xuan was cultivating, inside a magnificently decorated room in the royal palace, the Sixth Prince sat naked upon his bed.
Kneeling before him was a voluptuous young woman, clad only in a half-worn undergarment, rhythmically sucking on something.
Her figure was scorching. Her smooth, bare back was like satin. Her pert bottom, the deep cleft between her cheeks, the lush patch of hair, and the glistening dew upon it were enough to make any man’s mouth go dry and a fire ignite in his belly.
Her captivating eyes were especially alluring as she looked up at the Sixth Prince. As her cherry-red lips moved, threads of saliva dripped down, a soul-stirring sight.
After only a few moments of her lips working their magic, the Sixth Prince felt an uncontrollable sensation build in his loins, and he shot to his feet.
"Your Highness, I want you!"
The seductive young woman moaned, her voice dripping with temptation.
The Sixth Prince let out a low growl and thrust forward.
SPLURT!
With a single thrust, a searing heat gushed from his body, and the desire in his mind vanished in an instant.
’He’d finished prematurely again!’
"Dammit." The Sixth Prince’s face darkened, his heart burning with rage. He viciously kicked the vixen-like girl aside, ignoring her cries of pain without a shred of pity.
"Guards!"
At his low bark, a guard immediately entered, knelt on one knee, and stared straight ahead, his eyes not daring to wander.
"That Ye Xuan... what is he doing now?" the Sixth Prince asked through gritted teeth.
"Your Highness, Ye Xuan has entered a cultivation room in the academy’s Cultivation Tower. It appears he has gone into seclusion."
"Bastard!" In a fit of rage, the Sixth Prince kicked over the table in front of him. Cups and goblets went flying, clattering loudly as they hit the floor.
"Keep watching him! The moment you have news that Ye Xuan has left the academy, inform me immediately! I’m going to tear that bastard into a thousand pieces!"
His furious roars echoed endlessly throughout his bedchambers.
In another part of the royal palace, a young man with an extraordinary presence sat with a faint smile. Kneeling before him in terror were several youths, the one in the lead being none other than Wang Dao, who had been number one on the Profound Spirit Academy’s leaderboard.
"Your Highness the Eldest Prince, this subordinate has failed to complete your task. My crime deserves a thousand deaths. Please, Your Highness, issue my punishment."
Wang Dao’s face was a mask of terror as he remained prostrated, his voice trembling as he spoke.
"Wang Dao, no need to be so nervous. I’m not some man-eating demon," the Eldest Prince, Zhao Feng, said with a faint smile. His voice, however, carried an inexplicably chilling undertone.
Wang Dao and the others trembled even more violently.
"Wang Dao," Zhao Feng said, a faint smile playing on his lips, "this Ye Xuan who offended my Crown Prince Alliance... do you know his background?"
"His background?" Wang Dao faltered, looking up in confusion. "He’s a new student who just joined the academy this year. As for his background... we don’t know. Does... does he have powerful backing?"
The Eldest Prince, Zhao Feng, was the most favored among all the princes of the Liuyun Kingdom. With immense support, he was the top candidate to become the next Monarch—bar none.
In terms of power and influence, he and the Fourth Prince, Zhao Tian, were the two strongest among the princes, evenly matched. However, as the eldest son, Zhao Feng held a distinct advantage. He had even begun styling himself as the Crown Prince, and no one dared to object.
"His backing isn’t particularly powerful, you could even call it insignificant," Zhao Feng said. "But his actions are certainly out of the ordinary. It’s a shame. I had originally intended for you to recruit him, but it now seems we are fated to be enemies, not friends."
"What does Your Highness mean by that?" Wang Dao and the others grew even more confused.
"He comes from Blue Moon City, a remote part of the kingdom. It’s said that just over a year ago, he was a good-for-nothing. In that short time, he broke through from being a mere Martial Artist of the Same Lineage to a Spirit Martial Realm Warrior, and now he’s even a Martial Artist of the Xuanwu Realm. His story is quite extraordinary. Moreover, he’s a major figure in Blue Moon City. He once single-handedly eliminated the two original great families for his own, making his family the strongest in Blue Moon City overnight."
Wang Dao and the others kept their heads bowed, their hearts trembling.
From the day Tong Hong was defeated by Ye Xuan, they had been following the Eldest Prince’s orders: find a way to recruit Ye Xuan, and if that failed, teach him a lesson so harsh he’d never get back up.
They never imagined that while they were busy trying to make trouble for Ye Xuan, the Eldest Prince had already thoroughly investigated his entire background and family history.
It was precisely these kinds of methods that terrified Wang Dao and the others, extinguishing any thought of disloyalty.
"This subordinate failed to complete Your Highness’s task and, what’s worse, allowed Zhao Wei to take first place on the leaderboard. I deserve a thousand deaths," Wang Dao said, terrified.
Zhao Feng smiled. "Don’t panic. I already anticipated that our Eighth Brother would take first place on the leaderboard. What I didn’t expect was that he would befriend someone like this. It seems his luck is quite good. With Eighth Brother in the picture, it was impossible for you to recruit Ye Xuan anyway."
"Does this person have some connection to the Eighth Prince?"
"That’s right. The reason our Eighth Brother was able to awaken his Martial Soul is strongly related to this Ye Xuan. Eighth Brother usually keeps such a low profile, never showing his hand. I never expected him to have a card like this up his sleeve. Even that fool, our sixth brother, was played by him. He suffered heavy losses—his most capable aide even died on Cyan Profound Mountain. He was thoroughly screwed over."
