Shen Cangsheng

Bai Ye had not expected that the first time he met Shen Cangsheng would be under such circumstances.

In the northwestern corner of the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy stood an extremely important building known as the Mission Hall. Most of those gathered here were students capable of leaving the academy to carry out missions beyond its grounds.

It could also be said that the students who came to this area represented most of the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy's strongest students.

And Shen Cangsheng was undoubtedly one of them.

A confident smile always hung on his face. Even though he carried a bloody human head in his hand, that smile still seemed so bright and sunny.

Just like that, beneath countless watching eyes, he walked step by step toward the hall below.

"Elder Liu, I brought back Yu Yuan's head."

Whoosh!!!

His clear voice rang out, instantly stirring up a tremendous uproar throughout the vast Mission Hall.

Everyone began whispering among themselves.

At that moment, a figure appeared beside Shen Cangsheng, undisguised delight flashing in his eyes. "Where is it? Let me see."

Shen Cangsheng smiled faintly and handed over the head in his hand.

Elder Liu stared intently at the head and slowly reached out to take it.

When he saw that ordinary, unremarkable face, a brilliant smile appeared on the old man's face. "It really is Yu Yuan. Good, very good indeed."

Over the years, how many students who had gone out to train had died at the hands of the owner of this head?

Third on the Bounty Rankings, Bloody Dragon Demon Yu Yuan.

Good. Truly good.

The top three of the Bounty Rankings, once thought impossible to shake, had finally lost a member for the first time.

Thinking of this, Elder Liu, who had remained stationed here all this time, could not hide the smile on his face at all.

Every time he watched young students who had accepted missions leave the academy, only for them never to return, he had witnessed parting after parting. Each time, his heart ached without end.

They had all been children in the prime of their youth.

But now, now at last, a glimmer of dawn had arrived.

The so-called "myth" of the top three on the Bounty Rankings had been shattered at this very moment. The future would surely get better.

At this moment, someone observant suddenly realized that the newly appointed number one on the Heaven Ranking, who had held the position for only a little over ten days, had seemingly slipped away at some point.

Without a sound.

He had rejected all flowers and praise, leaving alone in quiet obscurity.

That was Shen Cangsheng, a man who pursued nothing but greater strength.

The number one person in the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy.

Bai Ye was the observant spectator who had noticed Shen Cangsheng's departure. His method of leaving had been ingenious. As things stood, if Bai Ye's powers of observation had not been so sharp, no one present would have noticed.

Strong. That was his most direct impression.

Bai Ye was a proud person, but he was also a smart one.

Smart people might share the common flaw of arrogance, but they also possessed self-awareness.

Judging from the current situation, if he faced Shen Cangsheng now, there was a high chance he would suffer a crushing defeat.

Coming to the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy had not been a waste.

Bai Ye strolled through the Mission Hall at an unhurried pace.

Most of the students had already gone off to celebrate, while many more shouted excitedly outside the hall. The Mission Hall, which had been bustling moments ago, had instead become much emptier.

That suited Bai Ye just fine.

He disliked noise. Fewer people meant quiet, and quiet brought peace of mind.

The Mission Hall's main hall was vast, several times larger than the Northern Azure Hall from before. Dense crystal light screens flickered continuously throughout the hall, the words upon them changing at every moment.

Those words contained mission information, one assignment after another.

At the very center of the hall stood a blood-red crystal pillar.

Blood-red represented bloodshed.

With that pillar placed there, Bai Ye could understand its meaning even without anyone explaining it.

This was a blood feud, a blood feud that could only be washed clean with blood.

And blood feuds needed to be remembered by everyone.

"Bounty Rankings..."

Bai Ye raised his gaze and murmured the three large words on the pillar.

Then his eyes slowly moved over name after name until they finally stopped at the third-ranked position.

Third place, Bloody Dragon Demon Yu Yuan. Bounty: five million spirit points, one Divine Spirit Art.

That was the head Shen Cangsheng had carried.

Because of the timing, the name had not yet been removed from the rankings.

Then Bai Ye continued looking upward.

According to the rankings, there were still two people stronger than Yu Yuan.

Second place, Demon Dragon Son. Bounty: eight million spirit points, one Divine Spirit Art.

Eight million, a full three million spirit points more.

Continuing upward, the name at the very top was...

"Demon Xing Tian."

First place on the Bounty Rankings, Demon Xing Tian. Bounty: ten million spirit points, one Divine Spirit Art, one Supreme-Grade Spirit Tool.

Such a bounty really was...

"Quite generous, isn't it?"

Bai Ye's eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to look beside him.

Standing there was a young man dressed in black.

He stood there casually, yet his posture remained perfectly straight, like a spear piercing through the air.

He smiled as he looked at the highest name on the Bounty Rankings, though the sharpness in his eyes was not concealed in the slightest.

That was not important. What mattered was that Bai Ye had not noticed his arrival at all. In other words, if this person had truly wanted to kill him, Bai Ye's chance of reacting would not have exceeded thirty percent.

Shen Cangsheng...

"Do you know? Although the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy is the strongest power on the Bei Cang Continent, every year, the number of students who die outside the academy is too high to estimate."

Shen Cangsheng stood where he was and spoke slowly.

Bai Ye did not respond. He did not know why this man had suddenly come here to speak with him.

But Shen Cangsheng clearly had no intention of waiting for a response and continued, "Of those students who die, nearly half are killed by those three people."

The top three of the Bounty Rankings.

Bai Ye silently said to himself.

"Do you know the Dragon Demon Palace?"

Shen Cangsheng suddenly turned his head and mentioned a name.

Bai Ye nodded slightly. "I do."

Before coming to the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy, Ying Longcheng had collected some information on the Bei Cang Continent for him.

Among it was information about this power that stood on equal footing with the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy.

The Dragon Demon Palace, the former ruler of the Bei Cang Continent.

"The three of them are members of its younger generation."

So that was it.

Still, it made sense. On this continent, only that power could so wantonly slaughter students of the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy.

But why was Shen Cangsheng telling him all this?

At that moment, Shen Cangsheng seemed to sense his thoughts and smiled lightly. "An elder told me about you, so I thought I would come have a chat."

"An elder?"

Bai Ye frowned slightly.

Who? The only elder he seemed to have come into contact with was Old Bai from the Northern Azure Realm.

"You don't know? Oh, it seems he hasn't contacted you yet."

Shen Cangsheng was slightly stunned when he saw the confusion in Bai Ye's eyes, then quickly understood.

"He will probably come looking for you in the next few days. Come to think of it, this is considered a customary practice."

Shen Cangsheng smiled faintly and raised his hand, intending to pat Bai Ye on the shoulder, but Bai Ye avoided it without leaving a trace.

Shen Cangsheng did not get angry and smoothly clasped his hands behind his back.

"Take up this responsibility. It is the responsibility of every student of the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy. As your senior, this is all I can tell you."

After saying that, Bai Ye's vision flickered slightly, and Shen Cangsheng vanished from where he stood without a sound.

He had not even left behind the slightest afterimage.

Bai Ye stood where he was, mulling over Shen Cangsheng's words.

Responsibility. The responsibility of the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy.

He rarely took on responsibility. Responsibility was a shackle, a restraint, something forcibly imposed upon a person.

There were many things he had to do: find Ling Xi and bring Aunt Jing out.

But those were not responsibilities. They were things he absolutely had to accomplish in this lifetime.

A month ago, he could have locked himself in his room, lost and helpless. He could have shouted that he had no reason to grow stronger. But just as people did not live merely to eat and sleep, Ling Xi and Aunt Jing could never become reasons either.

Reasons offered guidance; responsibility imposed restraint. He liked the feeling of doing as he pleased.

It made him feel free and unrestrained, leaving him at ease.

So he did not understand Shen Cangsheng's words, nor did he want to understand them.

He did not know why Shen Cangsheng had specifically chosen him for a "talk," but he knew that this senior had probably chosen the wrong person.

How could someone who liked doing whatever he pleased possibly shoulder "responsibility"?

"But an elder?"

A glint of Flowing Light flashed through Bai Ye's gilded gold eyes. Based on what Shen Cangsheng had said, it seemed that someone had been watching him ever since he entered the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy.

Who was this person?

And what was their purpose?

Tch.

This was starting to annoy him.

"At least he refused, then?"

At a Senior Student gathering place somewhere within the Northern Azure Spiritual Academy, a green-haired man smiled faintly. His appearance was exceptionally bewitching, and his smile carried a chilling edge.

"I wouldn't say he refused. He just wants you to go find him in person, Boss."

The young man who had encountered Bai Ye at the entrance to the Thunder Domain scratched his head. "Brother, that guy is pretty strong. Why not go see him?"

The bewitching man's brows furrowed slightly. "Shut up. He is not qualified to make me go to him."

A new student, and he already thought so highly of himself.

The young man immediately fell silent. He knew his elder brother had given up on recruiting Bai Ye.

Eighth place on the Heaven Ranking had the pride of eighth place on the Heaven Ranking.

And Bai Ye was merely a new student who had happened to enter his line of sight.

The bewitching man took a few steps forward. Moreover, the reason he had abandoned the idea was because of certain rumors from the past few days.

"Xu Huang and Su Xuan?"

"Heh, what impressive prestige."