Chapter 36: Where Did That Child Go?
Lu Xiaoruan's heart was filled with utter complexity. He had never imagined things would end up like this, nor had he dreamed that Yeop Hyeon lacked a dantian.
To lack a dantian meant he could not wield qi.
At that moment, Chang Jung's cold voice rang out.
"Hey, you lot! Chase those unsightly siblings out of the mountains at once!"
At his command, the martial artists surrounded Yeop Hyeon.
Just then, an old man stepped in front of Yeop Hyeon, blocking his path. The elder's hair was disheveled, his face smeared with stew stains. His clothes were little more than rags, and the stench of alcohol wafted from his entire body.
Chang Jung furrowed his brow in an instant. He hadn't sensed the old man's presence at all!
"Who the hell are you?!"
Chang Jung bellowed, but the old man ignored him completely, gazing down at Yeop Ryeong's face.
"I can save her."
Yeop Hyeon snapped his head up.
The old man stared straight into Yeop Hyeon's eyes and said,
"Will you join Canglan Academy?"
Canglan Academy!
The words sent a stir through the crowd.
Canglan Academy, one of the two dragons of Jiang Kingdom alongside Cangmu Academy!
But they were no longer a match for Cangmu Academy.
Chang Jung shouted at the old man.
"Are you a warrior from Canglan Academy?!"
The old man didn't even acknowledge Chang Jung, keeping his eyes fixed on Yeop Hyeon.
Yeop Hyeon replied,
"If you save my sister, my life belongs to Canglan Academy forever!"
The old man's finger pointed toward Chang Mountain.
"There are thirty-six corpses hanging from stakes on Chang Mountain. All students of Canglan Academy, each one brutally slain. You could end up as one of them."
"If you save my sister, even if my corpse ends up hanging there, I won't hold a grudge!"
"Can you send their bodies home?"
"If my sister lives, I'll retrieve their corpses and let them rest in peace!"
The old man pierced Yeop Hyeon with his gaze for a moment.
"From this day forward, you are a man of Canglan Academy."
The old man immediately knelt and took Yeop Ryeong's pulse. After a moment of closely examining her face, he silently rubbed the black ring on his pinky finger. Suddenly, a single flame lotus bloomed in his palm, heating the air around them.
"Fire Spirit!"
Someone cried out.
Chang Jung stared at the Fire Spirit in horrified awe.
There existed certain heavenly earth treasures in the world. The Fire Spirit was one of them—a priceless treasure beyond measure, one that couldn't be bought even with billions in gold!
Even Cangmu Academy possessed only a handful of such heavenly earth treasures.
As the old man moved his finger, the Fire Spirit was sucked straight into Yeop Ryeong's brow. Moments later, the chill possessing her body ebbed away like a receding tide.
The old man placed his hand on Yeop Ryeong's shoulder, and a strand of strange power flowed into her body. As Yeop Hyeon watched tensely, a faint flush began to return to her cheeks.
At this sight, Yeop Hyeon was overjoyed beyond reason.
About an incense stick's time later, Yeop Ryeong slowly opened her eyes. Yeop Hyeon urgently grasped her hand, his voice trembling.
"Y-you're conscious?!"
Yeop Ryeong blankly looked around before spotting Yeop Hyeon and bursting into tears.
"B-brother... I... I'm not dead?"
A radiant smile spread across Yeop Hyeon's face as hot tears streamed down.
At that moment, a tiny cluster of flame appeared between Yeop Ryeong's brows.
"This Fire Spirit will temporarily suppress the chill. It will fade in a month or two—keep that in mind."
Yeop Hyeon helped Yeop Ryeong to her feet. The siblings bowed deeply to the old man.
"Yeop Hyeon will never forget this grace for the rest of my life!"
The old man shook his head and replied,
"Come now. Let's head to Canglan Academy."
"Yes!"
At that point, Chang Jung sneered mockingly at Yeop Hyeon.
"Pathetic! That once-mighty Canglan Academy now scavenges the trash we Cangmu Academy discarded! Oh, right, right. Can't be helped. No one wants to join Canglan Academy these days, so you have to scrape together whatever garbage you can!"
The old man glanced at Chang Jung once before silently turning away.
Amid countless stares, the Yeop siblings followed behind the old man.
Chang Jung's mocking jeers echoed endlessly from behind them.
"Hilarious, utterly hilarious! Canglan Academy, scavenging trash—haha haha ha!!"
Just then, a white shadow sped toward them from afar. Someone cried out in a trembling voice,
"I-it's the National Scholar! The National Scholar!"
The words sent another shockwave through the arena.
An Ranxiu!
The vanguard of all young warriors in Jiang Kingdom, their idol! The eyes fixed on her held nothing but worship and reverence!
An Ranxiu was the pride of Jiang Kingdom. Her achievements were so extraordinary that even envy was impossible.
Amid the crowd's fervent gazes, An Ranxiu halted before the old man and the Yeop siblings. Looking at Yeop Hyeon, she spoke in a quivering voice.
"I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for."
An Ranxiu extended her hand.
"Return the jade plaque..."
Yeop Hyeon hesitated for a moment before replying,
"Can't I keep it?"
"Why...?"
"Just... as a token of friendship."
An Ranxiu stared into Yeop Hyeon's eyes for a moment, then nodded. She shifted her gaze to the old man beside him. The old man, looking at An Ranxiu, let out a soft sigh and spoke.
"As expected of Jiang Kingdom's top talent. To reach this realm already."
"I don't want unrest in Jiang Kingdom."
The old man chuckled lightly and shook his head.
"The thirty-six corpses still hang on Chang Mountain."
An Ranxiu fell silent.
The old man said no more and began walking. Yeop Hyeon cupped his fists toward An Ranxiu.
"Farewell, then."
Yeop Hyeon led Yeop Ryeong past An Ranxiu.
As she watched his receding figure from afar, Chang Jung approached her.
"National Scholar! I—"
In that instant, Chang Jung's body soared several zhang away. The crowd gasped in confusion, staring at An Ranxiu.
Why did she...?!
An Ranxiu turned a cold voice toward Chang Jung, writhing on the ground in the distance.
"He held my jade plaque."
As Chang Jung paled and opened his mouth to speak, a single sword flew through the air.
Slash!
A chilling sound echoed as Chang Jung's arm severed and fell. Blood sprayed everywhere, and the arena fell deathly silent.
All eyes turned to An Ranxiu in stunned horror.
What in the world...?!
Amid the stares, An Ranxiu lifted her head toward Chang Mountain and bellowed in fury,
"Yeo Su! Come out here!"
With those words, she flicked her finger lightly. Her silver spear shot into the sky. Then, a massive flood dragon spanning over a hundred zhang coiled around the spear and was drawn into Chang Mountain.
A colossal draconic roar echoed across the entire mountain, followed by a moment of silence.
Boom—!
An earth-shaking explosion engulfed the arena. Someone whispered in a trembling voice,
"Spear Intent Manifestation... A Spear Dao Grandmaster?"
Spear Dao Grandmaster!
Gasp after gasp rose from the crowd.
"Spear Dao Grandmaster? An Ranxiu has reached that realm?!"
"At just nineteen?!"
Every face froze like stone. This was unprecedented—not just in Jiang Kingdom's history, but across all previous dynasties.
Unparalleled in past and future!
At that moment, Yeo Su appeared before An Ranxiu. His face was as dark as could be. It was the first time he'd seen her this enraged.
In Cangmu Academy's history, only one person had ever stood shoulder-to-shoulder with An Ranxiu: Go Cheonjin, who had single-handedly saved the entire academy!
An Ranxiu's current power was in no way inferior to the academy's legendary figure, Go Cheonjin!
"National Scholar, why are you so furious?"
"I just can't stand the sight of you!"
With those words, she stomped the ground, her robes fluttering. In a flash, the spear in her hand shot out like lightning.
Yeo Su gasped and retreated half a step. He thrust his right hand forward, clenching it into a fist. Winds gathered from all directions, swirling into a vortex before his fist, laced with countless wind blades.
Then, An Ranxiu's spear struck.
Boom—!
A mountain-shaking crash shattered the wind vortex into fragments. At the same time, a figure was violently hurled backward.
It was Yeo Su. He skidded over ten zhang before barely regaining his footing. Blood trickled from his mouth, and his entire arm was cracked like a spiderweb.
Dead silence blanketed the arena. An Ranxiu had crushed Cangmu Academy's vice dean in a single exchange.
Little was known about Yeo Su's exact realm.
But the position of vice dean wasn't given to just anyone. Yeo Su was at least at the Soaring Realm, or perhaps the Penetrating Nether Realm above it—or even higher! And yet he'd been utterly defeated by An Ranxiu!
Yeo Su's eyes bored into An Ranxiu. The emotion in them wasn't anger, but pure fear.
Few knew the true significance of An Ranxiu's background. Regardless, even if she'd rejected Cangmu Academy, they wouldn't have dared treat her rudely.
Cangmu Academy was infamous for killing geniuses they couldn't recruit.
But An Ranxiu was a warrior beyond what they could handle.
An Ranxiu withdrew her spear and gazed toward Chang Mountain.
"From this moment, I sever all ties with Cangmu Academy."
As she turned to leave, Yeo Su cried out in panic.
"National Scholar! You can't! If we've erred, we'll beg forgiveness without question! Please reconsider..."
Before Yeo Su could finish, An Ranxiu's figure had already vanished into the distance.
Yeo Su's face twisted in extreme anguish.
Just then, the eight wooden puppets atop the Nine Palaces Platform returned to their original positions. With them, a phantom image materialized in the air above the platform.
The crowd recognized it and gasped in shock.
It was Go Cheonjin, who had left Jiang Kingdom some three hundred years ago!
At that moment, all of Cangmu Academy's high-ranking members—the vice deans, grand elders, and others, excluding the secluded dean—rushed over and bowed deeply before the phantom.
"Chosen one, I'm a bit late... The child who destroyed the formation... has already left? At such a young age, with foundations solid as bedrock and sword intent comprehended—a great sword master who cultivates both sword and martial arts. Where has that child gone?!"
At those words, Yeo Su began trembling like a leaf, and Chang Jung's face drained of all color.