Having arranged to attend the banquet with Dong Hao the next day, Dong Hao returned to his seat with delight, the smile on his face not fading in the slightest.
Jiang Xuan, meanwhile, continued toward Song Zhou, the instructor seated cross-legged on a bluestone ahead.
Originally, when they saw Dong Hao looking as delighted as if he had found treasure, Zeng Jun, Su Linyin, and even Xie Hanyan all wore speechless expressions, their eyes carrying a trace of disdain and mockery.
But their expressions soon changed... Dong Hao's fawning had already made Jiang Xuan quite noticeable, and his refusal to stop as he continued walking forward drew the attention of some people.
At first, everyone was merely puzzled. Quite a few even showed disgust and resistance in their eyes.
There had always been distinctions of class in this world. In the cultivation world, those barriers were even more rigid.
Many descendants of Lineages seated in the front thought Dong Hao was humiliating himself not because of his unrestrained laughter—several days ago, when Qin Feng condensed his Spirit Pivot, he had also been unable to contain his emotions. Yet at that time, among the three thousand-plus students in the training ground, not one had thought he had lost face. Instead, they had praised him for showing his true temperament.
They despised Dong Hao only because, as a descendant of an Aristocratic Clan, he had lowered himself so much to befriend Jiang Xuan, who came from the Cold Gate.
Under this deeply entrenched theory of bloodlines, naturally many arrogant fools who looked down on everyone had been bred.
At that moment, as Jiang Xuan drew nearer step by step, a cold snort suddenly rang out.
"Stop there, commoner. This is not a place you should come to."
The abrupt voice made Jiang Xuan turn his head. Then he discovered that the youth who had spoken was actually one of Su Linyin's followers.
When Jiang Xuan looked over, Su Linyin's delicate brows furrowed slightly at her follower's provocative words, but in the end, she said nothing.
Zhou Lin beside her hesitated for a moment. Seeing that Su Linyin made no move, she too kept silent.
This scene had not affected Jiang Xuan in the slightest, but it made Pan Yue seem as though he had been injected with chicken blood, his arrogance surging.
Half the reason he had stepped out to provoke Jiang Xuan was that absurd theory of bloodlines, which could not tolerate Jiang Xuan, a Cold Gate scion, setting foot in the "noble ground" of the front rows. The other half was that Zhou Lin had repeatedly looked toward Jiang Xuan these past two days. Since he harbored affection for Zhou Lin, he naturally felt jealousy and hostility toward Jiang Xuan.
At that moment, Su Linyin and Zhou Lin's tacit approval was no different from the strongest backing to him.
"Lowly commoner, remember this well. A mud-legged peasant must have a mud-legged peasant's self-awareness. Everyone seated here is a noble young lord or young lady of an Aristocratic Clan. What right do you have to step over here?" As he spoke, he laughed smugly. "Hahaha..."
Many people around him joined in the jeering laughter.
Even such a scene failed to anger Jiang Xuan. He merely said calmly, "You're right. This truly is not a place where trash should remain. Unfortunately, Star Daoist Academy and Instructor Song Zhou select talent based on strength, not bloodlines."
As he spoke, Jiang Xuan gave Su Linyin one final glance and said lightly, "You should keep your subordinate under control."
The moment those words came out, Su Linyin immediately frowned. Zhou Lin, Pan Yue, and the others who followed her also showed anger on their faces.
"You dare speak to Miss Su like that? What do you think you are?"
"Take a look at your own background. You're merely the son of a servant!"
"Dong Hao gave you a little face, and you really think you've flown onto a branch?"
Jiang Xuan's equal-footed tone also stirred intense displeasure in Su Linyin's heart. Yet the upbringing of an Aristocratic Clan kept her from losing her composure in public, and she did not speak to stop her followers' denunciations either.
But to Jiang Xuan, this noise was no more than wind passing by his ears.
Once he finished speaking, he did not wait for Su Linyin's response. He simply turned around and continued toward Song Zhou on the bluestone.
After only a few steps, he had arrived before Song Zhou. He bowed and cupped his hands, saying in a clear voice, "This student, Jiang Xuan, greets Instructor. This student has successfully opened all thirty-six Apertures and condensed a Spirit Pivot."
Jiang Xuan's words fell clearly into the ears of every person in the training ground. The voices of the students who had been mocking him without restraint came to an abrupt halt.
What remained on their faces was no longer ridicule and mockery, but utter astonishment and disbelief.
"Impossible!"
That was the first thought that surfaced in nearly everyone's mind.
Because of Dong Hao's unusual attention, Jiang Xuan was considered something of a "celebrity" among the descendants of Aristocratic Clans in the front rows. After all, good news never left the house, while bad news traveled a thousand miles. Dong Hao's accommodation and even ingratiation toward Jiang Xuan had long become a joke for these people during their cultivation breaks. Along with it, they had thoroughly investigated Jiang Xuan's background.
They all knew that Jiang Xuan merely possessed a Profound-Mid Rating Spirit Root. He came from the Cold Gate and had originally been the descendant of one of the Su Household's followers.
No family background, no talent—under ordinary circumstances, it should have been absolutely impossible for him to open all thirty-six Apertures within seven days and obtain a Grade A Excellent Rating.
Unfortunately, their thoughts had never counted for anything.
Awakened by Jiang Xuan's voice, Song Zhou raised his eyes and swept them over him. With a single glance, he saw through the state of Jiang Xuan's Apertures and dantian.
Although he was somewhat surprised that Jiang Xuan, with a Profound-Mid Rating, had opened thirty-six Apertures in merely seven days,
he had ultimately built a Dao Foundation. Having cultivated for more than twenty years and seen plenty of storms, he had not never encountered such things before. Thus, his surprise lasted only an instant before he regained his calm and nodded approvingly at Jiang Xuan.
"Not bad. You've passed."
After saying that, he gave Jiang Xuan another instruction. "When classes end tonight, don't leave yet. I have important matters to explain to you students with Grade A ratings. Of course, rewards will also be distributed."
"Alright, go back and continue cultivating."
"Yes, this student obeys."
Just like that, with only two or three short sentences, Jiang Xuan's Excellent Rating was confirmed.
Yet while the matter had ended so calmly on their side, the stormy waves raised in the hearts of the three thousand-plus students below could not settle for a long time.
After learning that Jiang Xuan had received an Excellent Rating, the one who found it most unbelievable and most impossible to accept was Pan Yue.
Unable to accept it, his face twisted out of shape as he muttered in a daze, "This is impossible... How could a lowly mud-legged peasant..."
The same words as before, but this time, not a single person echoed him.
The students around him unconsciously backed away, putting distance between themselves and him. Even the other followers around Su Linyin instinctively isolated him.
As for Su Linyin, who had always been graceful and composed as though everything were under her control, the calm on her face completely shattered at that moment. Her eyes held nothing but dullness and horror.
Clearly, this result had stunned her as well, leaving her unable to recover for a long while.
It was Zhou Lin beside her who reacted first and gently pushed her, finally jolting her awake.
The instant her awareness returned, Su Linyin looked at Pan Yue and sternly rebuked him, "Shut up! Apologize to Young Master Jiang Xuan!"
The barely suppressed fury on her icy face made Pan Yue freeze in place, his expression full of confusion.
But how could Su Linyin still care about his reaction at that moment?
All her attention had fallen on Jiang Xuan, and she instantly understood why Dong Hao had lowered himself so much to curry favor with him.
Were she in his place, she would have done the same.
Like Dong Hao, she did not have absolute confidence in breaking into the top ten in the second round of assessment and directly entering the Inner Disciple ranks during the Hundred-Day Grand Examination.
Having grown up in a cultivation Lineage, she understood even more clearly the difference between Inner Disciples and Outer Disciples.
That was not the distinction between legitimate and concubine-born children, but a chasm between master and servant!
No one wished to live beneath another. With Jiang Xuan's help, her chances of becoming an Inner Disciple would rise by thirty percent out of thin air.
Under such circumstances, forget a little ingratiation—even if she had to visit three times before being received, Su Linyin would have done so willingly.
Unfortunately, she had never expected Jiang Xuan to possess such heaven-shaking talent. Any attempt to make amends now was nothing more than a joke in Jiang Xuan's eyes.
"Whoosh..."
Jiang Xuan did not listen to her words. As he passed by her, he did not even spare her a glance.
This scene made Su Linyin's face instantly turn deathly pale. When she looked at Pan Yue again, the hatred in her eyes nearly overflowed.
The other students in the training ground were also shocked by Jiang Xuan's reversal, but none lost their composure as badly as Su Linyin.
That was because Su Linyin believed she had originally had a chance to draw Jiang Xuan under her banner—even though Dong Hao had made an agreement with him first, without the earlier incident, she might still have had an opportunity to compete for him through the relationship between the Su Household and Shen Yuerong.
But Pan Yue's earlier provocation and insults had blocked off most of her path.
One could not become obsessed over something never possessed. But when something was clearly within reach, only to be lost because of another person's stupidity, that unwillingness and rage were enough to swallow someone whole.
Of course, her own tacit approval and indulgence had been the root of the disaster, but she clearly would not blame herself. Thus, Pan Yue, who had pushed everything into an irreparable state, became the sole target for her venting.
What was more, even now, she still clung to a sliver of hope that she could recruit Jiang Xuan. Therefore, no matter what, she had to give Jiang Xuan an explanation.
Staring fixedly at the pale-faced Pan Yue, Su Linyin pronounced his name one word at a time.
"Pan Yue..."
Jiang Xuan did not pay attention to what happened afterward, nor did he have any interest in dealing with it.
With his Excellent Rating confirmed and the knowledge that rewards would be distributed that evening, Jiang Xuan was in high spirits as he turned and headed toward his seat.
But he had only made it halfway when Dong Hao came over to meet him, enthusiastically pulling him to the side of his own seat.
Dong Hao's attitude toward Jiang Xuan remained as warm as before, but this time, there was no longer any mockery around them about him lowering his status.
Those youths from Aristocratic Clans looked at him with nothing but envy and jealousy in their eyes.
"Damn it, how did such good fortune fall into his lap?"
"Hah, it's fine. Jiang Xuan advanced on the last day. The gap between his talent and a Good Rating isn't that great." The person who spoke clenched his knuckles until they turned white. Clearly, even he knew those words were nothing but self-deception.
Receiving an Excellent Rating also meant one thing: Jiang Xuan could obtain the resources of the Dao-Bearing Class, the instructor's personal guidance, and other benefits—and all at the highest tier.
With so many advantages, Jiang Xuan and classmates with Good Ratings might initially have differed by only a hair's breadth. But as the allocation of resources tilted toward him, the chasm in strength between them and Jiang Xuan would only widen further and further.
This was why Instructor Song Zhou said that the Great Dao had to be fought for, and why all those descendants of Aristocratic Clans would give everything they had to enter the Inner Disciple ranks in the Hundred-Day Grand Examination—on the path of cultivation, being one step slow truly meant being slow at every step. To catch up afterward, one would have to pay tenfold, or even a hundredfold, the price.
"Brother Jiang, sit quickly and have some tea! Hahaha, I knew it—Brother Jiang, your talent surpasses all your peers..."
Pressing Jiang Xuan into his seat, Dong Hao showered him with praise. His words made even Jiang Xuan, whose confidence had only just been built, feel a little embarrassed.