“Is that even my fault?” Ye Futian noticed Yi Qingxuan was laughing at him, and felt upset that he had been made fun of by a woman.
“Sure, it’s not your fault.” Yi Qingxuan kept laughing, looking even cuter.
Someone came out of the hall. He looked powerful, and soon fixed his eyes on Yu Sheng.
“Dad, I didn’t lie, right?” Yi Qingxuan was smiling at the man who just came out.
He did not respond but kept looking at Yu Sheng. Yu Sheng was somehow confused.
“You were born to be a martial arts cultivator. Would you like to be my disciple?” Yi Qingxuan’s father asked Yu Sheng.
Ye Futian’s eyes sparkled. This girl seemed to have a powerful background in this school. Those two old men who tested them must also be powerful in this school, but they were only doing the pre-test for Ye Qingxuan’s father, who was in fact, the decision maker.
Yu Sheng looked at Ye Futian, seemingly indecisive.
“I’m sorry but you are…?” Ye Futian asked politely. Yu Sheng needed to know his identity before becoming his disciple.
“I am the director of this school,” the middle-aged man answered him. Ye Futian was surprised for a moment, then started smiling. He gave Yi Qingxuan a glance. Surprisingly, the reason why they were admitted into the School of Finance Star was actually because the daughter of Director had witnessed their fight. Now, she introduced him and Yu Sheng to her father again.
“My dad has been looking for a genius in martial arts to inherit his power, but none could be found. That’s why I told him about you guys right after the fight,” Yi Qingxuan told them.
Ye Futian smiled and nodded. He said, “Yu Sheng, hurry and bow down to your master.” This man was the director in School of Finance Star, which was one of the seven schools in this academy. Ye Futian believed that he was most likely one of the most powerful people in this school as well.
Yu Sheng nodded, and bowed reverently to the Director. “Greetings, Professor, from Yu Sheng.”
“Okay.” The Director stopped looking so serious. He smiled at Yu Sheng and said, “You will be cultivating with me from now on.” Then he looked at Ye Futian again, and asked, “What is your major? Sorcery or martial arts?”
“Both,” Ye Futian answered.
“I am looking for a disciple to inherit my martial arts techniques. Are you willing to also acknowledge me as your master?” he asked.
“I already have a master. Mr. Director, do you know the Qin Devil?” Ye Futian asked.
The Director’s eyes sparkled with surprise, then he asked Ye Futian, “You are the disciple of Hua Fengliu?”
“Yes.” Ye Futian nodded. It sounded like the Qin Devil used to be so famous that even the director in this place knew him.
“How is he doing? Where is he living now?” the Director asked.
“He has been severely injured. Now he is living in the Qin Garden to recuperate,” Ye Futian answered.
“So, you have also been to the Qin Garden? How is Ms. Tang Lan doing?” The Director had so many questions. Ye Futian was quite confused. Why did there seem to be something between him and Tang Lan?
“She’s doing well. In fact, she is the one taking care of my professor,” Ye Futian responded.
“I know it. She will never let it go. I used to try to persuade her many times that she should stay away from that guy. Hua Fengliu was no good at all, but a lone wolf who had no guilt about cheating. I just cannot understand why she likes him so badly.” The Director suddenly became mad. Ye Futian was shocked. It seemed that a strong hatred existed between the Director and Ye Futian’s professor.
“Mr. Director, so, it sounds like you have a history with my professor and Ms. Tang?” Ye Futian asked in a lowered voice.
“History? Tang Lan used to be my disciple, and she just broke away from this school because of Hua Fengliu.”
Ye Futian did not know how to respond. He stood there, vividly embarrassed about asking this question.
“Whatever. It happened so many years ago. I just cannot believe how stubborn she is. She really did forget me, her first master. Next time you see her, just tell her that the past is the past, so if she finds some spare time, she’s welcome to come visit,” the Director told him.
Ye Futian nodded, and said, “Mr. Director, I can tell that Ms. Tang cares heavily about relations. Since you are her first master, I believe she definitely has not forgotten you. I guess she does not visit maybe because she feels guilty about what happened.”
“I know. Otherwise, why would she take care of Hua Fengliu now?” The Director sighed, then looked at Ye Futian. “You are well-spoken and have good looks. I know Hua Fengliu accepted you as his disciple for a reason.”
Ye Futian was thinking, Mr. Hua, why does everyone think of you as a playboy, and just project it onto me?
“Qingxuan, stay away from this boy. Stay with Yu Sheng,” The Director told his daughter.
This demand tickled Ye Futian. He laughed and told the Director, “I guess you are right.”
“Okay, come with me.” The Director turned around, and started walking. Yi Qingxuan, Yu Sheng and Ye Futian followed him. Yi Qingxuan looked back at the boys and winked, as if she was being complacent.
The Director’s name was Yi Xiang. He brought Ye Futian and Yu Sheng to a garden. The garden was pretty spacious, but there was only a pavilion and a giant tree inside, giving the garden a sense of isolation.
“How much do you know about Donghai Academy?” Yi Xiang sat down under the tree, so did the young people.
“There are seven schools here, and in fact, each school is an individual clan. The supervisors of these schools run Donghai Academy collaboratively,” Ye Futian answered.
“You are right. The seven schools grew out of the top level clans in Donghai City. 300 years ago, when Emperor Ye Qing and Donghuang the Great unified this world, they advocated cultivation, demanding that the local governors found academies for this purpose. With this as its background, Donghai Academy became the official site for cultivation in this city. Therefore, to be officially endorsed, neither of the top clans in Donghai City at the time gave up control over this academy. Because this academy was initially run by seven clans, the seven schools were finally formed.”
Yi Xiang started to tell them the history of Donghai Academy. “Now, each school of Donghai Academy has its own style, which has actually been determined by those clans in the olden times. For example, in the School of Emperor Star, all the elites are mental control sorcerers. In fact, the Art Saint and your master, the Qin Devil, went to that school. It is now considered the most powerful school among the seven. The School of Treasury Star is considered second.”
“How about this school?” Ye Futian was curious.
“Martial arts are not valued in this world.” Yi Xiang looked at Ye Futian and told him, “In this world, most people believe that sorcerers are more powerful than martial arts practitioners, so cultivators accept sorcery more than our techniques. Even for those who are talented in both, they would major in sorcery. However, in fact, as the cultivators reach certain planes, the power of martial arts will definitely be the same as sorcery, or even stronger. Unfortunately, this is not common knowledge, so this school has been declining for a while. It is really hard for me to find someone with extraordinary martial arts talent in this place. I’m glad Yu Sheng is here. I believe he will make people understand my point in the future.”
“I’ve always believed these two classes are equal,” Ye Futian said. His godfather had told him long ago that hard work differentiated the cultivators, not the class.
“Good.” Yi Xiang nodded. “However, Yu Sheng, don’t stop improving your mental power. Otherwise, when you are put against those mental control sorcerers from the School of Emperor Star, it will be impossible for you to unleash your power.”
“I understand,” Yu Sheng said. He knew that a pure martial arts cultivator could be countered by powerful mental control sorcerers.
“Yu Sheng, your strength and burst are in the top level, but you lack in speed. This garden is where I used to cultivate. You see the rooms over there? That’s the bedroom and book collection room. This is where you will live from now on,” Yi Xiang told them.
“Roger that.” The boys nodded.
“Look around, and make yourselves feel at home. We need to go, Qingxuan.” Yi Xiang then left with his daughter. Before the girl left, she showed her fists to the guys as if to say Come on, you can make it!
After they left, Ye Futian patted Yu Sheng’s shoulder, and said, “Yu Sheng, you are just one step away from becoming his son-in-law. Do you know that?”
“Empirically speaking, huh?” Yu Sheng tried to joke.
“Uh…” Ye Futian did not know what to say. Soon, he said, “At least this was a successful experience.” Then, Ye Futian walked toward one room in the garden. However, moments later, he flew from the room pathetically. He yelled, “What the heck is this place?”
……
It was a major news that Yu Sheng had been accepted by the Director in the School of Finance Star as a private disciple. People heard that the Director had stopped accepting private disciples for many years, so this exception for Yu Sheng indicated the Director believed Yu Sheng was very talented. Ye Futian would also go there for cultivation.
These two troublemakers who had just entered Donghai Academy a short while ago had finally became superstars in the academy.
There was also more major news about Zhou Mu, the disciple of the Art Saint. He was admitted into Donghai Academy, and accepted by someone running the School of Emperor Star. Students in Donghai Academy now started to discuss and compare the boys a lot. They believed that even though Ye Futian and Yu Sheng were talented, their background was not as strong as Zhou Mu’s. He used to be the disciple of the Art Saint.
Soon, it was said that Ye Futian was the disciple of the Qin Devil—the nemesis of Art Saint whose natal spirit had been destroyed.
The news also spoke of Ye Futian making a scene in the Luo Palace during the Lord Luo’s birthday banquet. He defeated some geniuses from the academy there, but finally got his ass kicked by Zhou Mu.
