Skyreach Academy Admission Slot

It was clear that Xu Yin had been living extremely comfortably these days. Her old injuries no longer flared up, and with the five hundred Lesser Origin Pills Su Chen had given her, she had no worries about cultivation resources for the time being.

Xu Yin studied Su Chen carefully again, her willow-leaf brows unconsciously knitting slightly. She always felt that Su Chen seemed somewhat different today, but she could not put her finger on exactly how.

After a long while, Xu Yin finally asked tentatively, "Xiao Chen, have you... broken through to the Tenth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm?"

Su Chen hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I broke through."

"Good, wonderful!" Xu Yin blossomed into a smile. She had thought she was seeing things, but Xiao Chen really had broken through to the Tenth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm. This trip into the mountains for training had actually brought him such enormous gains.

Xu Yin was gratified beyond measure, her face overflowing with delight. She was even happier than if she herself had made a breakthrough.

What Xu Yin did not know, however, was that Su Chen had still concealed his true cultivation. Reaching the Tenth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm from the Peak of the Eighth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm in half a month was already shocking enough. If he said he had actually broken through to the First Layer of Essence Condensation Realm, would that not scare people to death?

"Oh, right, there are two things I need to tell you!" Xu Yin said, getting to the point.

"What things?" Su Chen asked.

"The first is that Tingyi is going to Skyreach Academy. A teacher from the academy has already come to Clear River City to pick her up." Xu Yin revealed a trace of joy as she spoke of it.

"A teacher from Skyreach Academy?" Su Chen was taken aback when he heard that, and a strange feeling rose within him.

"Yes." Xu Yin nodded. "You should have heard about this from your parents. Tingyi's father, your uncle by marriage Jiang Hai, reached an agreement with Skyreach Academy back then. Jiang Hai would enter a forbidden land to retrieve something for them, and as payment, Skyreach Academy would give Tingyi an admission slot when she turned fifteen."

"You know what happened afterward. Although Jiang Hai completed the task, he disappeared. In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed. Tingyi has turned fifteen, and Skyreach Academy has sent someone to fulfill its promise from back then," Xu Yin said.

"A teacher from Skyreach Academy..." Su Chen murmured. He remembered now; this had indeed happened in his previous life as well.

Before Su Chen could think further, however, Xu Yin brought up the second matter.

"The second is that the old madam's seventieth birthday banquet will be held five days from now." Xu Yin was not nearly as pleased when speaking of this matter and even curled her lips.

Su Chen knew that the old madam Xu Yin spoke of was the Jiang Family's old madam, the wife of the late Jiang Family Patriarch.

This old madam was Jiang Shan and Jiang He's biological mother, but she was not Jiang Hai and Jiang Feng's biological mother, since Jiang Hai and Jiang Feng had been born to a concubine.

This old madam had always disliked Jiang Hai and Jiang Feng, who were not born of her. Yet the Cloud Abyss Empire valued the principal wife above all else. Even though she was not Jiang Hai and Jiang Feng's biological mother, she was still their mother in name.

Furthermore, she was the highest-ranking elder in the entire Jiang Family, and her strength was unfathomable. Thus, everyone in the Jiang Family held her in reverence.

"The old madam's birthday is five days from now. Xiao Chen, you should go too," Xu Yin said. Since Su Chen was living with the Jiang Family, he was practically half a Jiang Family member. If he did not go offer birthday wishes to the old madam, people would inevitably accuse him of disrespecting her.

"As for the birthday gift, I'll help you prepare it... Xiao Chen?"

As Xu Yin spoke, she suddenly noticed that Su Chen's expression had darkened, and cold light burst from his eyes.

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She had never seen such an expression on Su Chen's face before and could not help freezing.

While Xu Yin was still lost in thought, Su Chen fixed his gaze on her and said word by word, "Aunt Xu, listen carefully to what I am about to say."

"What?" Locked beneath Su Chen's gaze, Xu Yin involuntarily became solemn as well.

"Jiang Shan and Jiang He plan to use the old madam's seventieth birthday banquet as an opportunity to join forces with her and seize my cousin's admission slot, giving it to Jiang Shan's daughter, Jiang Yuewu!"

As soon as Su Chen finished speaking, Xu Yin was stunned.

"What? Xiao Chen... is what you said true?"

Xu Yin found it almost impossible to believe. Jiang Shan and Jiang He actually harbored such intentions?

"Absolutely true."

Su Chen's tone was utterly certain, because this was something that had truly happened in his previous life.

In his previous life, because Skyreach Academy's teacher would also attend the old madam's seventieth birthday banquet, Jiang Shan and Jiang He spun honeyed words at the banquet, making the teacher believe that as long as a Jiang Family descendant enrolled—whether Jiang Tingyi or Jiang Yuewu—it would count as fulfilling Skyreach Academy's promise to Jiang Hai from back then.

As for Jiang Tingyi herself, Jiang Shan and Jiang He attacked her confidence in every possible way, making her believe that her talent was inferior to Jiang Yuewu's and that even if she went to Skyreach Academy, she would only bring disgrace upon the Jiang Family.

Thus, in the end, Jiang Tingyi missed Skyreach Academy by a hair's breadth, while Jiang Yuewu took her place and happily went to Skyreach Academy instead.

In his previous life, Jiang Tingyi's engagement had been arranged after this incident. In other words, after Jiang Tingyi lost her Skyreach Academy admission slot, Jiang Shan and Jiang He forcibly married her off to Wang Sheng, beginning the tragedy of her life.

"The old madam actually conspired with them to scheme against my Tingyi?" Xu Yin muttered. She knew that the old madam had always disliked the second and fourth branches, but she had never imagined that the old madam's heart could be biased to such an extent.

Although the second and fourth branches were not the old madam's flesh and blood, they still carried the Jiang Family's bloodline!

"Aunt Xu, don't expect that old madam to do anything good." Su Chen gave a cold laugh. There was another major reason he disliked the old madam: her surname was Wang. Back when the Wang Family and the Jiang Family formed a marriage alliance, she, a collateral member of the Wang Family, had married into the Jiang Family.

Su Chen had no favorable impression of anyone in the Wang Family, from top to bottom.

"Xiao Chen, what should we do now? Tingyi's admission slot absolutely cannot be taken away!" Xu Yin had always trusted Su Chen without condition. Even now that Su Chen had revealed what would happen at the birthday banquet, she believed him without asking how he knew.

Su Chen said, "This time, we must rely on my cousin herself."

"Rely on her?"

"That's right. What Skyreach Academy's teacher values is strength. If my cousin can display strength that utterly crushes Jiang Yuewu's at the birthday banquet, I believe no one will dare make irresponsible remarks about her entering Skyreach Academy!"

"But Tingyi's current strength is no weaker than Jiang Yuewu's." This was also what puzzled Xu Yin. If Jiang Shan wanted to give the admission slot to Jiang Yuewu, Jiang Yuewu had to be strong enough. Otherwise, how could that teacher possibly agree?

"My cousin is indeed no weaker than Jiang Yuewu right now. However, the day before the birthday banquet, Jiang Shan will find a way to add Sinew-Softening Powder to her food. When the time comes, she will be weak all over. On the day of the birthday banquet, she will be able to exert at most thirty or forty percent of her usual strength." Su Chen spoke calmly. This was Jiang Shan's true venomous scheme!

Xu Yin was horrified. "They are actually this vicious!"

It was clear that Xu Yin had been living extremely comfortably these days. Her old injuries no longer flared up, and with the five hundred Lesser Origin Pills Su Chen had given her, she had no worries about cultivation resources for the time being.

Xu Yin studied Su Chen carefully again, her willow-leaf brows unconsciously knitting slightly. She always felt that Su Chen seemed somewhat different today, but she could not put her finger on exactly how.

After a long while, Xu Yin finally asked tentatively, "Xiao Chen, have you... broken through to the Tenth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm?"

Su Chen hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I broke through."

"Good, wonderful!" Xu Yin blossomed into a smile. She had thought she was seeing things, but Xiao Chen really had broken through to the Tenth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm. This trip into the mountains for training had actually brought him such enormous gains.

Xu Yin was gratified beyond measure, her face overflowing with delight. She was even happier than if she herself had made a breakthrough.

What Xu Yin did not know, however, was that Su Chen had still concealed his true cultivation. Reaching the Tenth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm from the Peak of the Eighth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm in half a month was already shocking enough. If he said he had actually broken through to the First Layer of Essence Condensation Realm, would that not scare people to death?

"Oh, right, there are two things I need to tell you!" Xu Yin said, getting to the point.

"What things?" Su Chen asked.

"The first is that Tingyi is going to Skyreach Academy. A teacher from the academy has already come to Clear River City to pick her up." Xu Yin revealed a trace of joy as she spoke of it.

"A teacher from Skyreach Academy?" Su Chen was taken aback when he heard that, and a strange feeling rose within him.

"Yes." Xu Yin nodded. "You should have heard about this from your parents. Tingyi's father, your uncle by marriage Jiang Hai, reached an agreement with Skyreach Academy back then. Jiang Hai would enter a forbidden land to retrieve something for them, and as payment, Skyreach Academy would give Tingyi an admission slot when she turned fifteen."

"You know what happened afterward. Although Jiang Hai completed the task, he disappeared. In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed. Tingyi has turned fifteen, and Skyreach Academy has sent someone to fulfill its promise from back then," Xu Yin said.

"A teacher from Skyreach Academy..." Su Chen murmured. He remembered now; this had indeed happened in his previous life as well.

Before Su Chen could think further, however, Xu Yin brought up the second matter.

"The second is that the old madam's seventieth birthday banquet will be held five days from now." Xu Yin was not nearly as pleased when speaking of this matter and even curled her lips.

Su Chen knew that the old madam Xu Yin spoke of was the Jiang Family's old madam, the wife of the late Jiang Family Patriarch.

This old madam was Jiang Shan and Jiang He's biological mother, but she was not Jiang Hai and Jiang Feng's biological mother, since Jiang Hai and Jiang Feng had been born to a concubine.

This old madam had always disliked Jiang Hai and Jiang Feng, who were not born of her. Yet the Cloud Abyss Empire valued the principal wife above all else. Even though she was not Jiang Hai and Jiang Feng's biological mother, she was still their mother in name.

Furthermore, she was the highest-ranking elder in the entire Jiang Family, and her strength was unfathomable. Thus, everyone in the Jiang Family held her in reverence.

"The old madam's birthday is five days from now. Xiao Chen, you should go too," Xu Yin said. Since Su Chen was living with the Jiang Family, he was practically half a Jiang Family member. If he did not go offer birthday wishes to the old madam, people would inevitably accuse him of disrespecting her.

"As for the birthday gift, I'll help you prepare it... Xiao Chen?"

As Xu Yin spoke, she suddenly noticed that Su Chen's expression had darkened, and cold light burst from his eyes.

She had never seen such an expression on Su Chen's face before and could not help freezing.

While Xu Yin was still lost in thought, Su Chen fixed his gaze on her and said word by word, "Aunt Xu, listen carefully to what I am about to say."

"What?" Locked beneath Su Chen's gaze, Xu Yin involuntarily became solemn as well.

"Jiang Shan and Jiang He plan to use the old madam's seventieth birthday banquet as an opportunity to join forces with her and seize my cousin's admission slot, giving it to Jiang Shan's daughter, Jiang Yuewu!"

As soon as Su Chen finished speaking, Xu Yin was stunned.

"What? Xiao Chen... is what you said true?"

Xu Yin found it almost impossible to believe. Jiang Shan and Jiang He actually harbored such intentions?

"Absolutely true."

Su Chen's tone was utterly certain, because this was something that had truly happened in his previous life.

In his previous life, because Skyreach Academy's teacher would also attend the old madam's seventieth birthday banquet, Jiang Shan and Jiang He spun honeyed words at the banquet, making the teacher believe that as long as a Jiang Family descendant enrolled—whether Jiang Tingyi or Jiang Yuewu—it would count as fulfilling Skyreach Academy's promise to Jiang Hai from back then.

As for Jiang Tingyi herself, Jiang Shan and Jiang He attacked her confidence in every possible way, making her believe that her talent was inferior to Jiang Yuewu's and that even if she went to Skyreach Academy, she would only bring disgrace upon the Jiang Family.

Thus, in the end, Jiang Tingyi missed Skyreach Academy by a hair's breadth, while Jiang Yuewu took her place and happily went to Skyreach Academy instead.

In his previous life, Jiang Tingyi's engagement had been arranged after this incident. In other words, after Jiang Tingyi lost her Skyreach Academy admission slot, Jiang Shan and Jiang He forcibly married her off to Wang Sheng, beginning the tragedy of her life.

"The old madam actually conspired with them to scheme against my Tingyi?" Xu Yin muttered. She knew that the old madam had always disliked the second and fourth branches, but she had never imagined that the old madam's heart could be biased to such an extent.

Although the second and fourth branches were not the old madam's flesh and blood, they still carried the Jiang Family's bloodline!

"Aunt Xu, don't expect that old madam to do anything good." Su Chen gave a cold laugh. There was another major reason he disliked the old madam: her surname was Wang. Back when the Wang Family and the Jiang Family formed a marriage alliance, she, a collateral member of the Wang Family, had married into the Jiang Family.

Su Chen had no favorable impression of anyone in the Wang Family, from top to bottom.

"Xiao Chen, what should we do now? Tingyi's admission slot absolutely cannot be taken away!" Xu Yin had always trusted Su Chen without condition. Even now that Su Chen had revealed what would happen at the birthday banquet, she believed him without asking how he knew.

Su Chen said, "This time, we must rely on my cousin herself."

"Rely on her?"

"That's right. What Skyreach Academy's teacher values is strength. If my cousin can display strength that utterly crushes Jiang Yuewu's at the birthday banquet, I believe no one will dare make irresponsible remarks about her entering Skyreach Academy!"

"But Tingyi's current strength is no weaker than Jiang Yuewu's." This was also what puzzled Xu Yin. If Jiang Shan wanted to give the admission slot to Jiang Yuewu, Jiang Yuewu had to be strong enough. Otherwise, how could that teacher possibly agree?

"My cousin is indeed no weaker than Jiang Yuewu right now. However, the day before the birthday banquet, Jiang Shan will find a way to add Sinew-Softening Powder to her food. When the time comes, she will be weak all over. On the day of the birthday banquet, she will be able to exert at most thirty or forty percent of her usual strength." Su Chen spoke calmly. This was Jiang Shan's true venomous scheme!

Xu Yin was horrified. "They are actually this vicious!"