Chapter 55: Chapter 55: The Excited Luo Zhan
A thunderous roar suddenly erupted from within the academy. The sound contained some kind of sonic Cultivation Technique, leaving the minds of all the Martial Artists present reeling. The lower-level Martial Artists grew dizzy, the taste of blood filling their throats as they nearly fainted on the spot.
Turning to look, they saw a white figure streaking toward them with the roar, moving so fast its features were a blur.
"Dean!" Yun Aoxue exclaimed in delight.
The white figure charged into the crowd of combatants. BANG! BANG! BANG! After a series of impacts, the Wang family’s Wang Xuan and Wang Cong, and the Zhou family’s Zhou Chong and Zhou Qian—four experts at the First Layer of the Earth Martial Artist realm—were sent flying out of the academy like broken sacks, tumbling in a pathetic heap outside the main gate.
After doing all this, the figure roared again and charged into the standoff between the City Guard and the Wang family’s Martial Artists. CLANG! CLANG! Wherever the white figure went, the two sides scattered in disarray, tumbling to the ground, still reeling and dizzy.
In just over ten seconds, the elder returned to stand before Yun Aoxue and the others. Only then did the crowd get a clear look at him. Who else could it be but Dean Zhu Weichen?
The onlookers’ jaws dropped, every one of them stunned into silence.
Dean Zhu Weichen of Xingxuan Academy was one of the few Third Layer Earth Martial Artist experts in Blue Moon City. He had always been incredibly low-key, and it was rare for anyone to see him in action. No one had expected him to be so terrifying when enraged. Experts like Wang Cong, who were at the First Layer of the Earth Martial Artist realm, were like helpless chicks before him, utterly unable to fight back.
Zhu Weichen coldly scanned the chaos at the gate and roared, "You have ten minutes. Get the hell out of a one-mile radius of Xingxuan Academy. Otherwise, I don’t care where you come from, don’t blame me for being merciless. Furthermore, Ye Xuan is a student of my Xingxuan Academy. Wang Xuan, you dared to enter my academy and attack a student. Seeing as you failed, I will only break your arms as punishment. But from this day forward, no disciple of the Wang family shall be permitted to enter Xingxuan Academy."
HISS!
Everyone present drew a sharp, cold breath. His words were heavy with intent. Dean Zhu Weichen was openly severing all ties with the Wang family.
"And one more thing. If I find out that any of your families dares to ambush my Xingxuan Academy disciples outside these walls, then don’t blame me for throwing all decorum aside and showing no mercy. Now, get the fuck out of my sight!"
After leaving them with this final threat, Zhu Weichen’s figure flickered and vanished from the main gate. He was eager to return to his cultivation chamber and continue chasing that ethereal wisp of enlightenment.
With Dean Chu’s sudden intervention, the chaotic scene instantly calmed. The crowd exchanged glances, their hearts still pounding with fear.
"Second Brother..." Wang Cong looked at his brother, who was covered in blood, his arms dangling limply. He looked utterly wretched. Wang Cong didn’t know what to say. ’If Second Brother hadn’t flown into a rage and charged into Xingxuan Academy to kill him,’ he thought, ’I could have handled this perfectly. Ye Xuan would have been dead for sure.’
’But now, after Dean Zhu Weichen’s declaration, on top of us openly resisting the City Guard, the Wang family has been forced onto the back foot. We’ll have to pay a heavy price and lose a lot of face to resolve this.’
’The two families came here today holding all the cards, ready to demand justice from Xingxuan Academy and restore our honor. Now, thanks to Wang Xuan’s outburst, it’s all turned into a farcical riot.’ Wang Cong was speechless.
He had never anticipated such a disastrous outcome when they set out.
"Take them all away." With Zhu Weichen having intervened, Lin Xiong’s anger subsided. He shot Ye Xuan a subtle glance before giving the order.
This time, no one from the Wang and Zhou families resisted. Escorted by a large contingent of the City Guard, the hundreds of Martial Artists from the two families quickly vanished down the street. The crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed as well.
What followed would be a period of tedious negotiations between Xingxuan Academy, Lin Xiong, and the two great families. Someone would have to take responsibility for what had happened.
The academy’s students, however, weren’t concerned with such matters. They chattered excitedly among themselves, discussing Dean Zhu Weichen’s might, his dominance, and his fierce protectiveness of them. They were all thrilled.
"Teacher Yun, Instructor Luo, thank you for your help earlier." Once the crowd had dispersed, Ye Xuan expressed his gratitude to Yun Aoxue and Luo Zhan.
’In truth, I had a way to dodge Wang Xuan’s killing blow,’ he thought. ’But without Teacher Yun and Instructor Luo’s intervention, it wouldn’t have been nearly so easy. After all, that was the full-force strike of an expert at the Second Layer of the Earth Martial Artist realm.’
"Hahaha! Nothing to thank me for. You’re my student. As your instructor, it’s my job to protect you," Luo Zhan boomed.
Ye Xuan smiled faintly, his gaze dropping to Luo Zhan’s right leg. "Instructor Luo, I noticed that while your kicks were powerful just now, your right leg lacked some of the force of your left. If I’m not mistaken, the injury you sustained in the battle before you retired was to your right leg, wasn’t it? Hmm, to be precise, it was at the second joint of your right calf, the second acupoint directly below your knee."
"How did you know?" Luo Zhan’s eyes widened.
Ye Xuan smiled and rubbed his nose. "If I’m seeing this correctly, your right leg was corroded by the power of some kind of martial soul, causing the Profound Vein in that leg to atrophy and blocking the flow of Profound Qi. That martial soul’s power is corrosive, which has also caused the muscles in your right leg to wither. Hmm... and the injury happened about seven or eight years ago."
Luo Zhan’s eyes grew wider and wider, and his jaw dropped so far you could have fit an egg in his mouth. He was utterly dumbfounded.
Throughout all of Xingxuan Academy, while many knew he had an injured leg—Wang Fei had even called him Luo the Cripple—the number of people who knew the precise location of the injury could be counted on one hand. As for how he’d been injured, not a single person knew.
For Ye Xuan to so easily pinpoint the location and cause of his injury left him utterly shocked.
Standing to the side, Yun Aoxue pursed her lips. ’This scene reminds me of our time on Black Wind Ridge,’ she thought. ’Ye Xuan’s confident gaze, his miraculous words... they made me believe in him then, too.’
She also couldn’t help but recall the treatment Ye Xuan had given her. The memory of his fingers tracing the curve of her side sent a blush creeping up to the roots of her hair. Fortunately, no one noticed her strange reaction.
In the face of Luo Zhan’s astonishment, Ye Xuan simply took out a brush and paper. He quickly jotted down a long list of herbs and flicked the paper over. "Instructor Luo, gather the herbs on this list and prepare a medicinal solution. Apply it to the injured acupoint at midnight every day for half a month. Below the list is a cultivation verse. Follow it to circulate the Profound Qi in your leg for twelve Circulations each day. After two weeks, if I have time, I’ll return to the academy to perform Golden Needle acupuncture on you. Your leg ailment should be almost completely healed after that."
"Are you serious?" Luo Zhan’s powerful frame trembled. He stared at the prescription, his face a mask of disbelief. He grabbed Ye Xuan by the shoulders, his intense eyes blazing with excitement.
"Of course, it’s true," Ye Xuan said with a faint smile.
After their recent interactions, Ye Xuan felt he had a good read on Luo Zhan’s character. ’He might be strict,’ he thought, ’but he’s a good teacher. Curing his leg is my way of repaying him.’
"I..." Luo Zhan still couldn’t quite believe it, his hands trembling with emotion. "My leg... back in the Royal City, I consulted countless Soul Refiners and Alchemists, but none of them could cure it. And you’re saying..."
"What could those idiots possibly cure?" Ye Xuan scoffed. ’They’re the ones who diagnosed my Three-Life Martial Soul as a dead one, and a genius as trash. The Soul Refiners in this Liuyun Kingdom are really one of a kind.’
"Well, there was one half-decent one," he conceded. "He used the Soul-Banning Skill to temporarily seal the foreign martial soul power in your leg. Otherwise, after seven or eight years, your leg would have been completely crippled. Curing it then wouldn’t have been so simple."
"That..." A flush crept across Luo Zhan’s face.
’He was injured on the battlefield all those years ago and forced to retire. He’d sought out countless Soul Refiners and Alchemists, but not one could heal his leg. The most capable among them had only managed to seal the martial soul power in his right leg, stopping it from further corroding his Profound Vein. The technique he used... it was called the Soul-Banning Skill.’
’Besides himself and that Soul Refiner, no one else knew. Yet Ye Xuan had seen it all with a single glance. Didn’t that mean... what Ye Xuan said was probably true?’
At the thought that his leg could finally be healed, Luo Zhan was so overwhelmed with emotion he couldn’t speak. Tears welled up in his eyes.
’For seven or eight years... in the beginning, he had thought of nothing but finding a cure. But in recent years, he had all but given up hope. Because of his injury, his cultivation hadn’t progressed an inch in eight years; he was still stuck at the First Layer of the Earth Martial Artist realm.’
The news that his leg could be cured hit him with the force of a tidal wave.
Clutching the paper, Luo Zhan shot out of the academy like a gust of wind, off to gather the herbs.
"Ye Xuan." The moment Luo Zhan left, Yun Aoxue’s cool voice broke the silence. She was staring at him, a half-smile playing on her lips. "The Soul-Banning Skill, Golden Needle acupuncture, a Profound Qi cultivation verse... that’s not just an Alchemist’s knowledge, it also covers the domain of a Soul Refiner, doesn’t it? Don’t tell me you learned all of this from a book, too?"
Ye Xuan coughed twice. "Well, Teacher Yun, actually... I did read it in a book."
Yun Aoxue felt her heart wouldn’t be able to take much more of this boy. ’Even I, a first-rank Soul Refiner, barely understand the things he just told Luo Zhan. You can’t learn that from a book.’ Her expression hardened. "Stop playing dumb with me," she snapped. "How could anyone possibly understand and master those things just by reading about them?"
"Maybe I’m just a genius," Ye Xuan said with a cheeky grin.
"And what about the Soul Power assault you used on Wang Xuan earlier? Don’t tell me you learned that from a book, too." As a first-rank Soul Refiner, Yun Aoxue had been standing closest to Ye Xuan. She was the only one who had noticed him use some kind of mental attack to briefly impede Wang Xuan’s movements.
"Soul Power assault? What are you talking about?" Ye Xuan feigned ignorance.
