Chapter 29: Learning on My Own
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“He’s only at Acquired Level Third Stage. How did he get into Jixia Academy?”
“Good question. Jixia Academy only accepts geniuses. He’s already 15 or 16, so he ought to at least be at Acquired Level Fifth Stage, right?”
“Maybe he’s a servant who’s here with his Young Master.”
“Judging from his clothing, he doesn’t look like a servant.”
Many of the other students were standing around discussing Ye Sheng among themselves. They had noticed his cultivation level and had lots of questions.
Even though so many people were staring at him, Ye Sheng stayed calm and unbothered. However, Fang Conglong felt a little uncomfortable standing next to him and whispered to him, “Brother Ye, these people are all talking about you.”
“Their mouths belong to them. You think I can stop them from talking about me?” replied Ye Sheng nonchalantly.
“But Brother Ye, I’m very curious too. If you’re only at Acquired Level Third Stage, how were you guaranteed admission? Do you have other talents?” asked Fang Conglong curiously.
“When Jixia Academy’s doors open, you’ll find out.” Ye Sheng didn’t explain himself. He wasn’t going to say that he had relied on his connections to Consort Ye and come in through the back door.
Fang Conglong stopped asking questions and then proceeded to stand next to Ye Sheng at the entrance as they waited for Jixia Academy to open its doors.
Two dragons whose heads and tails were linked together appeared on Jixia Academy’s main gate. The gate split into yin and yang, one black and one white, and was pretty spectacular.
Fang Conglong quietly said, “This door is a copy of the legendary Dragon Gate. Apparently, the real Dragon Gate is a link to the rest of the universe. Once you find the Dragon Gate and get through it, you would be able to see the changes in a completely different universe.”
Ye Sheng looked at him in surprise. He didn’t know that something amazing like that even existed.
“Has anyone found this Dragon Gate yet?” asked Ye Sheng.
“Not yet. Rumor has it that the first emperor of the dragon dynasty found the gate but couldn’t get through it. He just looked at the Dragon Gate and came back to make this copy of it.” Fang Conglong had a very good memory for such random bits of history.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Just then, the sound of war drums could be heard coming from inside Jixia Academy. The sound started softly and then became louder and louder. It soon filled the entire area.
As the drumbeats went on, Ye Sheng felt that his heart rate was increasing, and the blood within his body began to surge and boil inside him. He suddenly felt a terrible urge to find someone to beat up right now.
“These drumbeats!” Ye Sheng’s gaze intensified, and he realized that something wasn’t quite right.
Fang Conglong had immediately covered his ears when he heard the drumbeats and sealed off his hearing, so he hadn’t really been affected.
“Brother Ye, these are Jixia Academy’s war drums, and they’re made from the skin of the warring beasts of the past. Once they are sounded, they will agitate one’s Qi, blood, and motivation to fight. You can’t listen to too much of it, because you won’t be able to control yourself,” shouted Fang Conglong at Ye Sheng loudly.
Ye Sheng wanted to cover his ears after hearing what Fang Conglong had said, but his eyes were sharp, and he had immediately noticed that, while many people around him had covered their ears, there was a small minority that persisted in listening to the drumbeats. Their faces were already all red, but they simply refused to cover their ears.
“What about those people?” Ye Sheng pointed to some of them so that Fang Conglong could see who he was referring to.
“They’re trying to force themselves to resist the sound of the war drums and suppress the boiling of their Qi and blood within their bodies. It’s a way of training yourself, but if you’re not careful, you will get badly injured.”
Ye Sheng’s eyes lit up. One could train oneself in this way?
He immediately gave up the idea of covering his ears and listened to the drums carefully. He felt his heart beat faster and his Qi and blood surge wildly, and then he slowly began to calm down.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!
The sound of the drums continued to resound loudly, and each beat seemed louder than the last. They were at a quick tempo and felt like a howling wind and heavy rain, causing Ye Sheng’s entire body to redden.
“Suppress!” Ye Sheng gave a low roar, and the Reincarnation Seal inside his body was activated. It forcibly absorbed all the surging Qi and blood and became bright red, but because all that Qi and blood had been absorbed, Ye Sheng had regained his composure.
His heart rate started to slow down, and Ye Sheng breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at the people around him and saw that almost all the people who hadn’t covered their ears earlier had covered them now. They all looked in horror at Jixia Academy.
There were only five people in the entire area who hadn’t covered their ears. One was a young monk with well-defined brows, bright eyes, crimson lips, and white teeth. He continuously moved the Buddhist beads in his hands and stood where he was with no expression on his face.
One was a cold-looking young man in black who exuded a strong desire to fight. He wasn’t trying to resist the drumbeats but was absorbing the sounds to make himself stronger.
One was a scholar who closed his eyes and allowed his Qi to float around him. The Qi became all sorts of great sages, and even though they were just illusions, they helped him to block off the sound of the drumbeats.
One was a burly man wearing animal skins with rough palms. He was certainly from a poorer family. He wasn’t worried at all when he heard the drums and looked fairly comfortable.
The last person was Ye Sheng. His body stood straight as he waited there quietly, and his manner was brilliant. He looked around him and didn’t say a word.
The drums went on for ten minutes and suddenly stopped. It was as if a terrible thunderstorm had rained down and was at its peak when suddenly the skies became clear again, and everyone was still a little stunned.
Ye Sheng frowned and muttered to himself, “Just missed it by a bit.”
The Reincarnation Seal inside his dantian had helped him absorb all that surging Qi and blood in his body and become bright red. It used to be barely visible, but now it had fully taken shape. It was only a little time before his first Reincarnation Seal would solidify. Once that happened, it would be able to release its maximum power.
“Everyone, welcome to Jixia Academy.” The drumbeats stopped, the main gates opened, and an old man walked out slowly to greet them with a smile.
At that moment, everyone’s eyes were on the old man.
“That’s Jixia Academy’s vice dean, Elder Hanshan,” said Fang Conglong excitedly.
“Is he very amazing?” asked Ye Sheng quietly.
“He’s the most powerful wandering cultivator. Do you know about the Twelve Great Immortals? He’s number ten on that list. I’m shocked that he’s actually the vice dean of Jixia Academy.” Fang Conglong could barely contain his excitement.
Ye Sheng’s eyes focused. That did make him pretty amazing since he was one of the Twelve Great Immortals. None of the immortals were weak fighters, so to Ye Sheng, anyone on that list was a person he looked up to.
“My name is Hanshan, and I’ve come to welcome our students. Come in with me,” said Hanshan with kind eyes and a faint smile. He was a very gentle and peace-loving old man.
Everyone followed Elder Hanshan and took their first steps through Jixia Academy’s doors.
After they’d stepped in, they stood within a huge plaza. The few hundred of them stood there and were faced with a choice of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, or Occultism.
Elder Hanshan said, “Freshmen can choose one faculty they would like to cultivate in. Go stand near the faculty you want.”
Scramble!
In an instant, everyone who had already thought about this beforehand immediately headed toward the faculty that they had already chosen.
Out of the other four with Ye Sheng who had endured the drumbeats, the monk chose Buddhism, the young man in black chose Occultism, the scholar chose Confucianism, and the burly man also picked Occultism.
Fang Conglong looked at Ye Sheng and said curiously, “Brother Ye, why aren’t you making a choice?”
Ye Sheng remained where he was and looked at the various choices before him. He blinked a few times and replied, “Brother Fang, you go ahead and make your choice.”
Fang Conglong didn’t understand what Ye Sheng was trying to do, so he just walked on toward Daoism.
In no time, the entire plaza was empty, and the only one still standing there was Ye Sheng.
Everyone’s eyes were now on Ye Sheng.
Elder Hanshan asked curiously, “Why aren’t you making a choice?”
Ye Sheng replied, “I’m finding it hard to make a choice.”
Elder Hanshan shook his head and said, “There is a limit to everyone’s energy. Young people in particular want a lot for themselves, but you can’t bite off more than you can chew. Choose one, work hard at developing it, reach Inborn Level quickly, and then you can start your journey on a different path.”
Ye Sheng looked down and thought about this carefully. Then he looked up and asked, “Can’t I learn everything?”
Elder Hanshan was stunned for a moment before he calmly burst out laughing. “The greedy snake tries to swallow an elephant. If you do that, you will not be able to achieve anything.”
But Ye Sheng shook his head and remained calm. “Jixia Academy doesn’t have a regulation that states that students must choose one faculty, right? So is it possible for me to learn them all?”
Elder Hanshan replied, “It’s certainly possible, but you must know that if you want to learn everything, that is considered to be greedy and no teacher here will like that, so no teacher will really take the time to teach you. You will have to find your way around yourself, and it’s equivalent to suicide. Are you still going to insist on this?”
Ye Sheng nodded and said, “I’ve thought about it carefully. Learning on my own seems like a pretty good idea.”