The world had never known love without a reason.
Just like Taiyi Academy's pursuit of him and Linghua Grand Scholar's appreciation: they seemed earnest and sincere, but the price had already been set behind the scenes, and everything had been arranged.
A mission...
Jiang Yue could have guessed with his toes that this mission was no ordinary one.
All those heartfelt, seemingly sincere words they'd said before had merely been a prelude. It wasn't that they had no sincerity at all, but any promises they made came with a condition: he had to be capable enough—and, more importantly, he had to stay alive.
He had to fight to live long enough to reach the point they'd promised him.
To get there, he'd have to cross a sea of blades and a mountain of fire, venture into dragon's lairs and tiger's dens. Calling it a one-in-ten chance of survival would be putting it mildly.
There was no such thing as a free lunch. More often than not, anything labeled free came with an even greater price to pay.
Linghua Grand Scholar had spoken with such certainty earlier about cultivating an idol whom even the lowborn commoners would be willing to follow, raising a monument to make him their champion.
She'd even hinted that she would elevate him to the highest rank of Purple Gold Ribbon Grand Scholar.
It wasn't pure empty talk, but getting a bite of that pie would take a lot more than a few words.
The mission Linghua Grand Scholar had just proposed was part of the price—their opening offer, and Jiang Yue's pledge of allegiance.
Since the deal between Five Elements Academy and Taiyi Academy had already been struck, Jiang Yue dropped the pretense and made a self-deprecating remark. "I thought my talents had impressed Taiyi Academy,