Canglan Academy!
Ye Xuan looked at the corpse of the man before him, feeling a deep sense of melancholy. In Qingcheng, the conflicts between noble families for interests were already ruthless, and he hadn't expected that in the imperial capital, the struggles between powerful forces were even more brutal, leaving no mercy at all.
At this moment, Lu Xiaoran suddenly pointed at a circular platform not far from the path, "Young friend, do you know what that is?"
Ye Xuan turned his head and saw a circular platform about forty meters wide. On the platform stood nine wooden figures, each holding a long wooden sword.
The nine wooden figures stood in a row, perfectly aligned!
"What is this?" Ye Xuan asked curiously.
Lu Xiaoran smiled, "This is the famous Nine Palace Formation of Cangmu Academy. It is said to have been created by the founder of Cangmu Academy. In all of the Hundred Nations of Qingzhou, wherever there is a Cangmu Academy, there is this formation. The purpose of the formation is a special test. Anyone under the age of twenty who can break this formation must be accepted as a personal disciple by the head of the academy."
He shook his head with a smile, "Unfortunately, no one has managed to break the formation for nearly fifty years."
The Nine Palace Formation!
Ye Xuan examined the nine wooden figures, "Is this formation very powerful?"
Lu Xiaoran smiled bitterly, "It's not just powerful—once, a Sky Realm expert tried to challenge it but couldn't last even ten breaths before being slain. Reaching the Sky Realm before twenty is incredibly rare."
He paused and added, "It's rumored that Cangmu Academy invited the National Scholar An to break the formation, but whether she did or not, no one knows."
Ye Xuan was about to speak when an elderly voice suddenly rang out from above, "The test begins!"
With that, everyone gathered at the path surged forward.
Ye Xuan patted Ye Ling's head gently, then turned to Lu Xiaoran, "Senior Lu, please take care of my sister."
Lu Xiaoran smiled, "Of course!"
Ye Ling hugged Ye Xuan lightly, "Brother, good luck!"
Ye Xuan chuckled and then joined the crowd.
Watching Ye Xuan disappear into the crowd, Ye Ling smiled. However, she soon shivered, her entire body seemingly plunged into an ice cellar, with cold energy emanating from her as if she were a block of ice.
Seeing this, Lu Xiaoran was startled and said quickly, "Let's go back!"
Ye Ling shook her head, "Uncle Lu, I'm fine..." She took out the Heavenly Fire Warming Jade. "With this, I'm okay..."
Lu Xiaoran wanted to say more, but Ye Ling looked into the distance and whispered, "Only when I see my brother join Cangmu Academy will I be at ease."
Lu Xiaoran sighed softly and patted Lu Ming, "Go get two thick fur coats for Ling. Quickly!"
Chubby Lu Ming nodded hurriedly and ran off.
In the distance, Ye Xuan had already disappeared into the crowd. Like everyone else, Ye Xuan was excited and thrilled because Cangmu Academy was right in front of him. Once he joined, there was hope for his sister's illness!
In the crowd, Ye Xuan looked up at the mountainside and took a deep breath, "Fight! For my sister, and for myself!"
With that, he quickened his pace.
Initially, everyone rushed forward quickly. However, after about ten miles, the speed of almost ninety percent of them slowed significantly and continued to slow.
As they moved, an invisible pressure suddenly appeared. With every step they took upwards, the pressure grew. After the leaders had gone about twenty miles, people behind them began to drop out.
However, a few in the lead still moved quickly!
There were evidently some with inflated abilities, but there were also genuinely powerful individuals.
Ye Xuan walked neither fast nor slow. As for the invisible pressure, it had no effect on him at all!
His muscles and bones were now so strong that even Sky Realm experts might not be able to match him.
The Hidden Realm!
This was when the advantages of his Hidden Realm became evident!
Time passed, and as they climbed higher, fewer people remained. After an hour, fewer than a hundred continued, most of them struggling greatly!
However, a few stood out—the one in front was a man in brocade clothes who had been leading from the start, staying tens of meters ahead of everyone else. Initially, people thought he'd slow down eventually, but surprisingly, his speed remained rapid.
Behind him, not far away, were two others—one in luxurious robes and the other with a long knife at his waist.
The two were about tens of meters behind the brocade-clad man, both staring intently at him. Though their speed had decreased slightly, they remained steady and showed no signs of fatigue.
Behind them, fewer than a hundred people remained, most struggling immensely.
As for Ye Xuan, he continued his steady pace. The pressure had no effect on him; in fact, after a while, he couldn't even feel it anymore!
He hadn't thought about walking faster. He simply walked without any specific goal—whether fast or slow, it didn't matter to him. All that mattered was reaching the endpoint.
To put it simply, he wasn't trying. He walked however he felt like walking!
Half an hour later, fewer than forty people remained on the path. By now, the man in brocade clothes had reached the endpoint, followed by the man in luxurious robes and the knife-wielding man.
As Ye Xuan approached the endpoint, he suddenly stopped, looking at a stake beside the path. A man was nailed to the stake—he appeared to be in his twenties, and he was in a miserable state. His limbs were missing, and even his eyes were gone, leaving two hollow sockets.
It was obvious that this was also a student from Canglan Academy, and judging by the corpse, he hadn't been dead for long.
Ye Xuan sighed and shook his head. It was clear that there was a deep, irreconcilable hatred between Canglan Academy and Cangmu Academy.
Without stopping further, Ye Xuan quickly reached the endpoint.
When all forty-two participants arrived, a crane flew over them. On the crane's back, Elder Cang Zhong looked down at them, his gaze eventually settling on Ye Xuan. His eyes turned cold.
Seeing this, Ye Xuan frowned. He could sense the elder's hostility.
What puzzled him was that he had no prior interactions with this man. Why did he harbor such animosity?
"You, step forward!"
On the crane's back, Cang Zhong looked down at Ye Xuan, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.
Ye Xuan glanced at Cang Zhong and stepped out of the crowd.
Cang Zhong looked at Ye Xuan, "The minimum requirement to join Cangmu Academy is reaching the Spirit Mastery stage by the age of eighteen. You have not reached the Spirit Mastery stage, correct?"
Not reached the Spirit Mastery stage!
The crowd was stunned, and all eyes turned to Ye Xuan.
The minimum requirement for joining Cangmu Academy was reaching the Spirit Mastery stage by eighteen. Since Ye Xuan hadn't reached that level, this could be seen as deceit.
Ye Xuan said seriously, "Elder Cang, though I haven't reached the Spirit Mastery stage, I passed the first test. I..."
"So what?"
On the crane's back, Cang Zhong interrupted coldly, "Cangmu Academy's rule is that if you haven't reached the Spirit Mastery stage by eighteen, you cannot participate in the test. Even if you pass the first test, it is meaningless. Therefore, I declare that you are disqualified from the test. According to the rules, you shall receive one hundred lashes with a poisoned rod and be expelled from Cang Mountain."
As Cang Zhong finished speaking, two Sky Realm experts approached Ye Xuan.
At this moment, Ye Xuan looked directly at Cang Zhong, "Elder Cang, we have never met before, yet you are targeting me like this. Have I wronged you in some way?"
He wasn't stupid; he could clearly see that this elder was targeting him!
Cang Zhong sneered, "Targeting you? Hmph, you should've thought about that before your actions."
Cang Zhong!
Ye Xuan squinted his eyes. Suddenly, he remembered something. During the banquet last night, he had struck a man named Cang Qi. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that Elder Cang Zhong wore a crest on his chest, the same crest that Cang Qi had worn.
These crests were typically family emblems, symbols of identity. Undoubtedly, this elder was related to Cang Qi!
Before Ye Xuan could speak, a man stepped forward, "Ye Xuan, you are truly foolish!"
Ye Xuan looked at the man—he seemed familiar. After a moment, he remembered. This was the man who had continuously defended Mo Suiqing during the banquet—Li Feng.
Li Feng sneered, "You think just because the National Scholar An supports you, you can disregard everyone else? Today, we'll show you our strength!"
With that, he bowed to Cang Zhong, "Elder Cang, this person did not reach the Spirit Mastery stage yet still dared to join the test. This action is clearly disrespectful to Cangmu Academy. To uphold the academy's honor, I implore you to punish him severely."
Following Li Feng's words, seven or eight other young men also stepped forward, bowing deeply, and spoke in unison, "We also implore Elder Cang Zhong to punish him severely!"
Cang Zhong laughed coldly, "Indeed, I almost forgot about this. Guards, drag him down and beat him to death as an example to others."
The two Sky Realm experts were about to move when Ye Xuan suddenly took out a jade token. He looked straight at Cang Zhong, "This is the jade token given to me by National Scholar An. I am here under her recommendation!"
Hearing this, the crowd was shocked.
A recommendation from the National Scholar An!
That carried a lot of weight!
Even the man in brocade clothes who had arrived first couldn't help but glance at Ye Xuan with curiosity in his eyes.
National Scholar An was the idol of the younger generation in Jiang Country!
Up above, Cang Zhong's expression also became extremely ugly. He had not expected Ye Xuan to have An Lanxiu's jade token.
He had no choice but to give face to the National Scholar An!
Seeing Cang Zhong hesitate, Li Feng grew anxious. Without thinking, he pointed at Ye Xuan and shouted, "Nonsense! How could a mere Qi Transformation stage waste like you have a recommendation from National Scholar An? This jade token must be fake, you..."
Before he could finish, Ye Xuan suddenly disappeared from where he stood. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in front of Li Feng, and in full view of everyone, slapped Li Feng across the face, "You talk too damn much..."
Slap!
Li Feng was sent flying by the slap.
The entire crowd was stunned.