Xia Youyu

The Wind Clan's main hall was not grand at all. In fact, it was quite ordinary, built from enormous rocks and looking rather cumbersome.

Su Ye had just arrived in front of the hall when a group of people emerged from inside. At their head was an old man who looked kind and benevolent, explaining something to a stunning young woman beside him.

The old man was none other than the Wind Clan's patriarch.

When the old man saw Su Ye approaching, the smile on his face grew even broader. He waved Su Ye over, then said to the young woman beside him, "Although this boy isn't one of our Wind Clan's disciples, his talent is the best in our clan."

"Little Ye, this is an honored guest from the Heaven Mending Pavilion."

The patriarch looked at Su Ye as he spoke. Their Wind Clan had a few promising prodigies, but he knew that the clan's young talents only counted as prodigies in this region. Put them elsewhere, and they would hardly stand out.

But Su Ye was different.

Su Ye's talent was exceptional, enough to rival the young of powerful Fierce Beasts. There was no doubt he could enter the Heaven Mending Pavilion. The people beside him held high positions in the pavilion, and the patriarch hoped Su Ye would get to know them. That way, once he entered the Heaven Mending Pavilion, he would have someone to look out for him.

Su Ye looked at the young woman beside the patriarch. She was beautiful and ethereal, tall and graceful, with a stunning figure. Dressed in a white gown, she gave off an otherworldly air, like an Exiled Immortal.

How beautiful.

Su Ye's eyes widened, stunned by her peerless bearing. Of all the women he had ever seen, she was by far the most beautiful, as though an Exiled Immortal had descended to the mortal world. But he quickly steadied himself and studied her.

She was strong.

She didn't seem to radiate any powerful aura, but he could sense an incredibly fearsome power within her, not much weaker than the patriarch's, who had Marquis Level strength.

If he wasn't mistaken, this peerlessly beautiful young woman before him was Xia Youyu, the most outstanding disciple of this generation of the Heaven Mending Pavilion.

Every year, the Heaven Mending Pavilion sent its disciples throughout the Desolate Region to seek out exceptional prodigies and escort them to the pavilion. For particularly gifted prodigies, they would issue a Talisman Token.

Anyone holding a Talisman Token could enter the Heaven Mending Pavilion directly, become a disciple of its Genius Camp, receive its special attention, and learn powerful Treasure Arts.

The group that had come to the Western Frontier this year was led by Xia Youyu. Since the Wind Clan was in the Western Frontier, it wasn't hard to guess who this young woman was.

As Su Ye studied Xia Youyu, she was studying him too. She paid no mind to his gaze, but was somewhat surprised that he had steadied himself so quickly. It showed that he had a strong mind. She wondered how strong he was.

"Little brother, let Big Sister give you a proper test."

Xia Youyu smiled faintly. Her voice was melodious, her eyes shimmered, and her long lashes fluttered. Her lovely face was fair and luminous, gleaming with a captivating sheen. Then she moved, swift as a gust of wind, and appeared right before Su Ye. She lightly swept out a hand, her pale arm glowing softly.

It looked like an ordinary strike, but it actually contained tremendous force. If it landed on a boulder, it would be enough to pulverize it.

But Xia Youyu wasn't trying to kill Su Ye, so she didn't strike at full speed and could stop at any moment.

The Old Patriarch wanted to say something, but in the end, he only opened his mouth. He hadn't expected this Heaven Mending Pavilion disciple to attack without so much as a warning. She was far too direct.

The old woman beside him noticed his concern and said with a smile, "Please rest assured, Patriarch. You Yu knows her limits. She won't hurt the boy."

"That's not what I meant."

The Old Patriarch looked conflicted. He wasn't worried about Su Ye getting hurt; he was worried about this Heaven Mending Pavilion prodigy getting hurt. If that happened, Su Ye would offend one of the pavilion's talented disciples before even entering it. Once he arrived at the Heaven Mending Pavilion, he might be given a hard time. He hoped the boy wouldn't act rashly.

The old woman had no idea what the Old Patriarch was thinking. If she had, she would have been utterly shocked. Xia Youyu was the most outstanding genius disciple in the Heaven Mending Pavilion, and her cultivation now rivaled that of many older powerhouses. How could she possibly lose while testing a boy?

Su Ye was taken aback by Xia Youyu's sudden attack, but he reacted quickly. He immediately retreated, dodging her strike.

Seeing Su Ye evade her attack with ease, a smile appeared on Xia Youyu's fair face. As expected, he was no ordinary boy.

A rune gathered in her hand, swirling and blazing with dazzling light. Within that radiance, emerald-green branches appeared, fast as lightning, and quickly coiled around Su Ye.

Su Ye didn't panic. He grabbed the branches and yanked hard. The ones wrapped around him snapped at once, and he pulled again with all his strength.

Xia Youyu hadn't expected Su Ye to be so powerful. He had easily snapped the vines formed by her Treasure Art, and the terrifying force of his pull made her stumble, pitching forward.

Su Ye reached out to grab Xia Youyu. He had now reached the peak of the Blood-Moving Realm, with a body strength of one hundred thousand, comparable to a young True Dragon. Ordinary Treasure Arts were useless against him.

A simple test like this was no way to gauge his strength.

Runes surfaced in his palm, suffusing it with a hazy glow and transforming it into a giant hand, like the Hand of God.

Xia Youyu sensed danger. Her steps were light, her graceful figure dancing as she dodged. At the same time, more and more runes appeared in her hand, forming additional vines that coiled around the giant hand and raced along it toward Su Ye.

Faced with the vines blotting out the sky, Su Ye remained calm. Runes suffused his body, and blade-like gusts of wind burst from him, slicing the vines into pieces.

At the same time, he spread his arms. Countless runes spread along them, and soon both his arms had transformed into Wind Wings. His body spun as he charged toward Xia Youyu, pulverizing every vine in his path.

"What a powerful wind-based Treasure Art."

The old woman from the Heaven Mending Pavilion couldn't help praising the strength Su Ye had displayed. She hadn't expected him not only to withstand You Yu's attack, but to break her Treasure Art outright.

Of course, that didn't mean Su Ye was stronger. Xia Youyu hadn't brought out anything close to her full strength; she had suppressed her cultivation to the Blood-Moving Realm.

"What's powerful isn't the Treasure Art, but the person."

The Old Patriarch spoke, then sighed. "Our branch has fallen into decline. Most of the clan's Treasure Arts were lost long ago, and all we have left are a few incomplete ones. This art is called Wind Wings, evolved from the Wind-Chasing Sparrow's Treasure Art. Its main purpose is flight. Its speed rivals that of a Roc, and it's not an offensive Treasure Art."

As he spoke, his expression grew despondent. Once, the Wind Clan had been immensely powerful, the foremost of the four ancient human clans of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning, its might shaking the Great Wilderness. Now, however, the strongest in the clan was only at the Marquis level.

Although the Treasure Art Su Ye used wasn't meant for offense, the rapid fluttering of the Wind Wings under his control unleashed an incredibly sharp force, powerful enough to slice through metal and stone.

A look of gravity appeared on Xia Youyu's fair face. The boy before her was powerful. Golden runes appeared in her hand, and in the blink of an eye, the emerald-green vines turned gold, as if cast from solid gold.

The razor-sharp Wind Wings clashed with the golden vines, ringing out with metallic clangs. Gales from the wings swept through gaps in the vines, billowing Xia Youyu's gown with a fierce rustle.

Xia Youyu looked at Su Ye, clearly pleased. A boy so young who possessed such formidable fighting strength was rare even among the top powers.