Good!

Ye Qiu left the peak, descended the Academy steps, and headed straight for the Star Pavilion.

The streets were bustling. Crowds surged toward the Ye Clan.

The Ye Clan's ceremony to invest its Young Master had been announced throughout Southern State, and the spectacle was immense.

Nearly every person of standing in South Capital had been invited to the Ye Clan. Even for those who could not enter the estate for the ceremony, the Ye Clan had laid out a rolling feast outside its gates. Anyone who came could take a seat.

Ye Qiu walked against the crowd, his back to the Ye Clan. He looked utterly out of place.

Before long, he reached the Star Pavilion.

It, too, was quiet today. There were few customers, and even the attendants were discussing the Ye Clan's ceremony.

They spoke of Ye Rudí with admiration. Rumor held that he possessed the Heavenly King Body, that he was the Ye Family's favored son of this generation, and that his future knew no bounds.

Some had even glimpsed him from afar and praised his handsome, elegant bearing.

When one young woman saw Ye Qiu, she smiled. "He even looks a little like that handsome man."

"He does. They really do look alike."

Ye Qiu paid them no mind. He went to a counter, took out one million, and exchanged it all for Demon Beast Spirits.

He tossed them to Brother Snake.

Then he turned to leave.

After a few steps, though, he turned back. He took out another million and exchanged it for an Alchemy Furnace and a set of Acupuncture needles. With the rest, he bought herbs and Body Refinement Materials.

Keeping money on him did not feel safe. When it came to Nan Qingyue, he was at a complete loss.

Besides, Brother Snake had said he would teach him medicine and Alchemy.

After his recent injuries, Ye Qiu had begun to take that seriously. He had been inside the Academy, where someone could save him.

What if he had been out in the wilderness?

He needed to learn how to save himself.

More importantly, Alchemists held an exalted position. Alchemists could make money!

Once he became an Alchemist, he, too, could say, A mere million? What the hell is that?

After all, he still owed Wu Xiaokai a full two million!

If his grandfather found out, he would break Ye Qiu's legs!

He needed to pay it back soon.

With that done, Ye Qiu left the Star Pavilion and returned to Green Moon Mountain. He shut himself in his room and plunged straight into his consciousness space.

Time to learn Alchemy!

Meanwhile, at the Ye Clan.

The entire Ye Clan had gathered in a vast Square. Around it sat South Capital's most prominent figures.

At the center of the Square stood a young man in purple robes—the true star of the day.

Ye Rudí!

He was tall and slender, with long hair draped down his back and refined, handsome features. He bore some resemblance to Ye Qiu.

They had different mothers but the same father, and both carried traces of Ye Jiangshan's features.

Yet his eyes were narrow and his lips a little thin. He had inherited some of his mother's features as well.

After the grand ceremony, Ye Jiangshan and Liu Xiu walked onto the Square in ceremonial dress and personally invested Ye Rudí.

They presented him with the Young Master's seal—and the King Ye Sword!

The Ye Family's King Ye Sword!

Rumor said this Purple Sword had once been wielded by King Ye himself. It was the Ye Family's greatest treasure.

It was even said to hold a strand of King Ye's Sword Intent!

"From this day on, you are the Young Master of the Ye Clan. Henceforth, you must put the Ye Clan's greater interests first!" Ye Jiangshan declared.

Ye Rudí bowed respectfully. "I understand, Father."

He held the seal in one hand and the sword in the other.

At that moment, Ye Rudí stood in peerless glory.

The Purple Sword in his hand, in particular, gave off a faint Sword Light. Weak as it was, it drew every eye.

Was that... resonance?

At the very least, Ye Rudí seemed to have won the sword's recognition. He was qualified to become its new master.

And as the sword seemed to resonate with him, the aura around Ye Rudí gradually spread.

The onlookers sensed it and narrowed their eyes. Even the Academy's Core Disciples did the same.

Ye Rudí had reached the Seventh Law-Gathering Layer. He was no weaker than some Core Disciples, and his Heavenly King Body was, in fact... a Xiantian Sword Body!

Sword Cultivators were already powerful. A Xiantian Sword Body, born bearing a strand of Sword Qi, was more powerful still!

Ye Rudí was certainly qualified to claim a Core Disciple's place—and perhaps rank near the top!

More importantly, he was younger even than Lu Li, one of the Ten Core.

With his age, talent, and cultivation, he had a brilliant future ahead!

Ye Jiangshan nodded in satisfaction, then looked around. "Thank you all for taking the time to attend my son's investiture ceremony. Next, you may spar as you please..."

At the major lineages' ceremonies for their Young Masters, guests were usually invited to spar. This was the moment the Young Master received his title, so naturally he had to display all that he could do.

It was also proof.

Proof that he deserved to be Young Master!

Of course, no one would be foolish enough to bring in a great expert just to ruin the occasion.

This was the Ye Clan. If you humiliated their Young Master at his own ceremony, how would you show your face afterward?

Besides, Ye Rudí had already revealed his cultivation. If someone above his level—one of the Academy's top three Core Disciples, for instance—stepped forward now, it would be an obvious challenge aimed at him.

Even if they did step forward, they would leave room for both sides to save face.

As Ye Jiangshan left the square, someone rose and walked toward Ye Rudí.

He released his cultivation, and a terrifying aura swept outward.

The Seventh Law-Gathering Layer!

Ye Rudí was at the Seventh Law-Gathering Layer too!

Yet Ye Rudí needed only one sword strike to send the man flying.

A wave of excitement swept through the crowd.

The Xiantian Sword Body was extraordinary indeed. It swept aside opponents at the same level!

Ye Jiangshan and Liu Xiu beamed with pride.

Ye Rudí then dispatched three more disciples with three successive sword strikes, and their pride swelled further.

In the fifth bout, Ye Rudí faced the Academy's fifth-ranked Core Disciple.

This time, Ye Rudí struck three times!

The third strike, in particular, sent the entire crowd into a frenzy!

The fifth-ranked Core Disciple had lost!

"That strike... the Ye Family's greatest technique, Invincible Sword!"

"Yes. That's the profound technique King Ye left behind—Invincible Sword!"

The elders of the great lineages narrowed their eyes.

Invincible Sword was widely acknowledged as Southern State's foremost sword Divine Ability. King Ye had once swept through Southern State with it, undefeated.

But the Ye Family of today possessed less than half of its incomplete text. It fell far short of the true King Ye Method!

Even so, Ye Rudí's strike had shown terrifying power.

It had overwhelmed the fifth-ranked Core Disciple!

Ye Jiangshan and Liu Xiu could barely contain their delight. Ye Rudí truly was exceptional!

The proceedings should have ended there, with the banquet to follow. But Ye Rudí suddenly looked toward one section of the stands.

There sat a quiet figure in a white dress.

Lu Li!

"Senior Sister Lu Li, would you honor me with a spar?" Ye Rudí called out.

At his words, everyone turned to look at Lu Li.

Lu Li did not even raise her head. In truth, she was half asleep.

Had the Academy Head not insisted she make an appearance, she would not have come at all.

After all, she had killed quite a few Direct Descendants of the Ye Clan only days before.

The Academy Head had sent her here to ease the tensions.

And because she had taken quite a few valuable things from the Academy Head to treat Ye Qiu, she could only come, however reluctantly.

At the sound of Ye Rudí's voice, Lu Li slowly raised her head and glanced at him in the middle of the Square. She showed no interest.

Then she stood and started to leave.

"Miss Lu Li, Rudí would like to get to know you better," Liu Xiu suddenly said, a kindly smile on her face.

Ye Jiangshan added, "Miss Lu Li, would you honor him with a few pointers?"

Lu Li had already taken a few steps, but she stopped. She glanced sideways at Ye Jiangshan and Liu Xiu. Whatever came to mind, she nodded. "Fine!"