The Fall Quarter Examinations had ended with a little drama. People dispersed, and the gymnasium returned to its usual emptiness.
However, everyone was still shaken up. Ye Futian’s performance in this year’s exam was too eye-catching. He went from an infamous loser to a genius in martial arts and sorcery. Even more, his gift was of Sky level for both arts; but what had really made everyone jealous was his strange and mysterious relationship with Hua Jieyu. You could say that the entire Fall Quarter Examinations had gone his way, with the exception of his little argument with the elders about Yu Sheng’s final ranking.
Besides Ye Futian, Yu Sheng also caught everyone off guard. Nobody knew what a monster he could become. All in all, Murong Qiu who was in first place, had nothing on these two.
The autumn nights brought about a cooling breeze; it seemed like winter was just around the corner.
In the following days, Qingzhou Academy buzzed with the newest information. Murong Qiu and Hua Jieyu were becoming official disciples and had caught the attention of high-level personnel at the academy. The same was true for Yu Sheng. It had been said that a couple of the elders from the School of Martial Arts as well as the Metal Pavilion Lord had fought over him.
So many outer sect disciples were jealous of this treatment. As expected, the ones who stood out the most during the Fall Quarter Examinations were being sought after by the best of the best.
Other than that, many of the other students on the Ranking List had begun to visit the second floor of the library. They now had unlimited access to some of the most powerful martial art exercise books and spell books.
As for Ye Futian, who had been removed from the Ranking List for disrespecting academy elders, he seemed to be in a bit of a slump. Rumor had it that the elders were extremely unhappy with him, and were preparing to punish him.
Yu Sheng had stood out during the exams as well, but he was being fought over by the elders. Who would be daring enough to punish him? Besides, all of Yu Sheng’s wrongdoings had been attributed to Ye Futian. That guy was really unlucky.
However, Ye Futian and Yu Sheng had been cultivating for the past few days and paid no attention to the news.
Senior Sister Qin Yi had another lecture today. Ye Futian was prepared to be a good student, so he arrived in her classroom once again.
However, as soon as he stepped into the classroom, he received strange stares from his classmates. Ye Futian really had great timing. The final verdict on his punishment had just been announced, and he had come in right on time.
Qin Yi also noticed Ye Futian’s arrival and stared at him as well. She felt that Ye Futian had been wronged.
“I know I’m good looking, but you guys don’t have to stare,” said Ye Futian. His classmates could not help but roll their eyes. They should have known; once a shameless jerk, always a shameless jerk.
Qin Yi took a few steps toward Ye Futian and looked upset when she said, “Ye Futian, the academy has decided to temporarily ban you from lectures, but don’t worry; I’m going to talk to them. I believe they’ll lift the ban soon.”
When Qin Yi had found out about this news, she was extremely unhappy. Everyone had seen just how gifted Ye Futian was. Even if he had created a little conflict with the elders, why should he be punished like this? Weren’t the Fall Quarter Examinations supposed to be one hundred percent fair?
To be honest, Qin Yi had yet to tell Ye Futian the whole story. Not only was the academy banning Ye Futian from the class, but he was also going to be placed on probation, where they were going to keep a close eye on him. This meant that Ye Futian still had a chance of being expelled.
It was for this reason that everyone stared. Ye Futian had just proven himself not to be a loser but a top-notch genius in the cultivation of both arts. None of that could help him escape the fate of being kicked out of the academy. What a shame. Maybe this was the price you had to pay to be young and stubborn.
It still made no sense though. According to his performance at the Fall Quarter Examinations, he should still be considered one of the best in the academy.
The look on Ye Futian’s face fell and his expression told the world that he felt wronged.
“Senior Sister,” his voice was sunken. He walked up to Qin Yi with his head hung low. She could not bear to see him like this. Qin Yi smiled and tried to comfort him, saying, “Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Ye Futian gave a quick hum and nodded his head. He then stepped forward and embraced Qin Yi.
What is he doing? Everyone around was frozen in shock. What the hell was this *sshole doing? Was he actually hugging her?
“Thank you, Senior Sister,” Ye Futian said softly, as if he was filled with gratitude.
Qin Yi blinked. Something was not right.
Hadn’t she only mentioned that he was being banned from class? This guy didn’t come to class often anyway so why was he having such a strong reaction?
She abruptly backed away from him, her face flushed red. Qin Yi was no longer feeling any pity for Ye Futian, she was furious! She seemed to have finally realized his intentions and glared at him hard. “YE…FU…TIAN!”
“Senior Sister, I just remembered I have prior commitments. I have to go now!” His words slurred together because of his quick speech. His feet were moving just as fast. You would not have been able to tell that he was “upset” just a second ago.
“Don’t let me see you again!” Qin Yi yelled at his fleeing figure.
Some of the male students stood up, finally breaking free from their frozen state.
“He…he…*sshole!” one of them shouted.
Ye Futian had actually embraced their goddess.
“That shameless *sshole! His punishment is too light; the academy should have just expelled him on the spot,” said another student.
“Yeah! He should be expelled and never be allowed to step foot on academy grounds ever again!” Everyone was fuming. Their goddess had been taken advantage of!
Ye Futian and Yu Sheng were walking around the campus when Yu Sheng asked, “Did you feel anything?”
“What are you saying? I just couldn’t help myself; Senior Sister is too good to me,” Ye Futian answered. He gave a Yu Sheng a look of disdain for thinking that he had had impure intentions towards Qin Yi. He was not that type of person.
“Okay,” Yu Sheng nodded, looking like he understood. Ye Futian could only sigh. Even Yu Sheng had changed.
“I can’t believe the academy is really going to punish me,” said Ye Futian. The dispute he had started during the Fall Quarter Examinations was all for naught. Yu Sheng’s first place title had been wrongfully stolen, and now the academy was going to punish Ye Futian for standing up against them. Ye Futian was pissed.
Yu Sheng furrowed his eyebrows and gave his thoughts, “Maybe they’re punishing you because the cabinet master and the pavilion lord felt that you damaged their reputations.”
“I don’t care anymore. It’s not like they can really kick me out,” said Ye Futian.
“Who said they can’t?” Someone had spoken up from behind them. Ye Futian halted and turned to look at the speaker. His eyebrows lifted in recognition.
It was Murong Qiu. He threw Ye Futian a look of mockery and said, “You’re not actually naïve enough to believe that your gifts will be able to solve all your problems, are you? If it were so, then why is it that Yu Sheng lost his first-place title?”
At the sound of his voice, Ye Futian’s eyes shot up. Could it be that Yu Sheng lost his title to Murong Qiu not because of the judges’ bias or misjudgment, but because of a conspiracy?
“What you’re thinking right now is probably correct. Not only that, the academy’s punishment for you is because of me as well.” Murong Qiu stepped toward Ye Futian and lowered his voice, “Are you surprised?”
Yu Sheng’s knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. He was fighting a strong urge to fight.
“You want to hit me? Do you have the guts to do it? Idiot.” Murong Qiu glanced at Yu Sheng. He was looking down on him. Ye Futian’s chilling eyes squinted.
“I heard that you are childhood friends with Feng Qingxue. She’s very beautiful. Fifteen, a tempting age, a budding flower,” Murong Qiu continued. Yu Sheng took a step forward.
“Yu Sheng!” Ye Futian called out. The ice in his gaze disappeared and then he smiled.
Murong Qiu’s words were getting even more unbearable now. He only had one goal, to trigger Ye Futian.
If Ye Futian and Yu Sheng actually made a move on him, Murong Qiu might not even defend himself. Then the academy would have one more reason to legitimize their punishment for Ye Futian.
“Murong Qiu, I’ll remember this,” said Ye Futian with a smile. He then turned to leave. “Let’s go, Yu Sheng.”
Yu Sheng glared at Murong Qiu one last time, then walked away to follow behind Ye Futian. Murong Qiu was surprised. He was watching the two of them leave when his demeanor cooled. Weren’t they super arrogant during the exams, why were they acting so cowardly now?
“Why didn’t you let me make a move on him?” Yu Sheng was very angry.
“And then have me take the blame for it?” asked Ye Futian. After what happened during the Fall Quarter Examinations, Murong Qiu had his sights set on Ye Futian.
“You can head back without me. I have business to attend to,” Ye Futian said out of the blue.
“Where are you going?” asked Yu Sheng.
“The fox’s den.” Ye Futian turned away and left Yu Sheng standing there staring at his back. Yu Sheng muttered under his breath, “Meeting the parents already?”
It seemed like they hadn’t even known each other for a month, weren’t they moving a little too fast? Yu Sheng could not understand, so he shook his head and began to make his way back home alone.
Hua Jieyu’s place was in a very nice area within Qingzhou Academy. It was a large private residence, separated from other buildings. Ye Futian was not surprised. That day on Mount Tianyao, even the academy elders had to pay respects to the middle-aged man. It was easy to tell that he must have been highly ranked within the academy. Besides that, Hua Jieyu has always been a person of high status and mystery in Qingzhou Academy.
Outside the residence, Ye Futian saw a young man. The young man saw Ye Futian as well and couldn’t help but be confused. “Ye Futian?”
“Senior Brother,” greeted Ye Futian. He vaguely recalled seeing this young man before. He had been sitting by the elders during the Fall Quarter Examinations. He must have been an official disciple.
“What are you doing here?” asked the young man. How could Ye Futian have found his way here?
“I came to look for my master,” said Ye Futian.
“Your master?” the young man asked Ye Futian. “Who is your master?”
“Not too sure, but he lives here,” answered Ye Futian as he pointed to the residence.
“Senior Hua?” the young man asked weakly.
“Yeah…” Ye Futian was a bit embarrassed. He did not even know his master’s family name. Then he thought about the master’s relationship to Hua Jieyu and what the young man said seemed to be correct, so he nodded in agreement.
The young man thought of Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu’s interactions during the Fall Quarter Examinations and immediately understood the situation. He grabbed his chest in pain. Then, he turned and walked away bleakly.
The young man also thought of the academy’s punishment for Ye Futian. There were even some people who wanted to facilitate his expulsion from the academy. The world sure was a messy place. Who would dare to expel Senior Hua’s disciple? The Pavilion Lord of the Earth Pavilion?