Time flew.
In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
During that half month, Wei Yi made several more trips to the forest outside the city, hunting demonic beasts to level up. His cultivation soon rose to that of a sixth-stage Martial Master.
As for his martial skills, apart from the newly learned Heart-Crushing Palm, which reached LV6, the other three, including the Blackwater Movement Technique, all reached the maximum level of LV10.
During this time, True Martial Academy's end-of-term assessments also proceeded smoothly. Wei Yi claimed first place in the second-year division without yielding to anyone, fulfilling the task Instructor Hu had given him.
In truth, this posed no difficulty at all for Wei Yi. With his current strength, even ordinary instructors were no match for him, so how could those second-year students possibly defeat him? Even among the third-year students, few could contend with him. Only some of the fourth-year students, who were about to graduate from the academy, might pose a threat to him.
After this string of achievements, Wei Yi had finally shaken off the label of "trash." Instead, he became a newly risen genius at True Martial Academy, with no shortage of people who admired and respected him.
"Knock, knock, knock..."
"Young Master Wei, are you in your room?"
Wei Yi had only just gotten up that morning when a sudden knock came from outside his door.
Immediately afterward, an exceedingly respectful voice called out in greeting.
"That voice... why does it sound so strange?"
Looking thoroughly puzzled, Wei Yi walked over and opened the door. A large, fleshy face wreathed in smiles instantly appeared before him. It was none other than Lu Dawu, the dormitory manager he had taught a lesson before.
"What are you doing here?"
Wei Yi gave a cold snort.
Naturally, he would not stand on ceremony with a petty villain like Lu Dawu.
In fact, ever since Wei Yi had given him a thorough beating last time, Lu Dawu had been too frightened to show his face before him. Wherever Wei Yi appeared, Lu Dawu kept far away. Seeing that he knew his place, Wei Yi could not be bothered to trouble him again, but he had not expected the fellow to come knocking of his own accord today.
"What?"
"Has the great Dormitory Manager Lu come to collect management fees from me again?"
Wei Yi looked him up and down with an unfriendly expression and asked with a smile that did not reach his eyes.
At those words, the fat on Lu Dawu's face quivered, and fear instantly covered his forehead in sweat.
He hastily shook his head and explained,
"No, that's not it... please don't misunderstand, Young Master Wei. I wouldn't dare collect management fees from you."
"Someone downstairs is looking for you. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare come disturb you..."
Lu Dawu truly did not dare offend Wei Yi now.
If he had entertained any thoughts of revenge at first, every last trace had vanished after he learned that Wei Yi had defeated two instructors in succession.
Though he was a petty villain, he was also very timid, and he knew whom he could and could not afford to offend. In his eyes, Wei Yi now belonged firmly among those he absolutely could not offend. Wei Yi even dared to beat instructors; what would beating a mere dormitory manager like him amount to...?
"Oh? Who's looking for me?"
Wei Yi asked.
"He says he's your old steward. He's waiting downstairs now. From the look of him, he seems to have traveled through the night. It must be something urgent."
Only after hearing Lu Dawu's explanation did Wei Yi understand.
"All right, give me a moment. I'll be right down."
A short while later, Wei Yi arrived downstairs.
A plainly dressed, hunched old man soon came into view.
"Young Master."
Before Wei Yi could speak, the old man immediately came forward, his face full of delight.
"Uncle Wu."
Wei Yi quickly recalled the old man's identity. He was indeed their family's old steward, as well as one of his father's trusted confidants.
What puzzled Wei Yi, however, was why Uncle Wu had come to the academy to find him in person. At his age, ordinary errands should hardly require him to make the trip. Could something major have happened in the clan?
At this thought, Wei Yi could not help frowning.
"Uncle Wu, what brings you here? Has something happened in the clan?"
Wei Yi asked.
"Young Master, something has indeed happened in the clan, and it's very important to you. That's why the clan head sent this old servant to find you personally."
Then, through Uncle Wu's explanation, Wei Yi finally understood what had happened.
As it turned out, this still concerned his position as young master.
At first, as Wei Tianyang's only son, Wei Yi had naturally assumed the position of clan young master, and no one had dared voice any objection.
But later, when Wei Yi was discovered to have severed meridians and be unable to cultivate, many people immediately began objecting.
A piece of trash with severed meridians who could not cultivate clearly could not serve as the Wei Clan Young Master.
Even Wei Tianyang, the clan head, could not argue on Wei Yi's behalf on this point. Even if he forcibly placed Wei Yi in that position, Wei Yi lacked the strength to hold it, and the other clansmen would refuse to accept him. That would hardly be a good thing for Wei Yi.
However, too many people had sought the position back then, and it involved the interests of every part of the clan, so the appointment of a new young master had kept being delayed.
But recently, word had reached them that Wei Yi had resolved his severed meridians and resumed cultivating, and those people could no longer sit still.
They had finally gained a chance to sit on the young master's throne. If the news was true, once Wei Yi returned with greater strength and Wei Tianyang backing him, what chance would they have left? Thus, at the urging of several Wei Clan elders, the clan immediately began the process of selecting a new young master.
Wei Tianyang had sent Uncle Wu to find Wei Yi because he wanted to establish whether Wei Yi had truly resolved the problem with his severed meridians.
If the news was true, and Wei Yi had the strength and confidence to hold on to his position as young master, he was to return at once.
But if the news was false, and Wei Yi still had severed meridians and could not cultivate, he should act as though nothing had happened and remain quietly at the academy, sparing himself from being targeted if he returned.
"The master said that the choice is entirely yours, Young Master."
Uncle Wu said.
"Uncle Wu, do you know who the main contenders for the young master's position are?" Rather than answering, Wei Yi asked a question of his own.
Uncle Wu naturally had no objection and immediately replied,
"Mainly the sons of the three chief elders. All of them want to compete for the young master's position."
"It was precisely because they were competing before, with none willing to yield, that the choice of a new young master remained unsettled and the matter dragged on."
"But now they seem to have reached an agreement. They've all decided to appoint a new young master first, regardless. As this old servant sees it, they simply want to pull you down from that position first."
Wei Yi nodded, understanding their intentions.
Searching his memories, he recalled something of the three chief elders' sons. Those three cousins of his were all considerably older than him. Though they were not exceptionally gifted, none of them were useless, either.
Every one of them had broken through to the Martial Master realm long ago, and they were probably not far from the Great Martial Master level by now. To the ordinary clansmen, compared with a piece of "trash" like him, all three were undoubtedly suitable candidates for the new young master.
"Ding! Player Wei Yi has triggered the quest [Wei Clan Young Master]." "Quest requirement: retain the position of Wei Clan Young Master." "Quest time limit: one month." "Quest rewards: cultivation EXP +10,000, skill EXP +10,000, one Mystic-grade martial skill."
At the same time, the game system's voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
Wei Yi immediately could not help smiling.
Without any need for him to choose, the game system had taken the initiative and chosen for him, and its choice matched his own thoughts perfectly.
"Uncle Wu, get some rest first."
"I'll return to the clan with you in a little while."
Wei Yi's eyes blazed as he said with a cold smile, "Those prancing clowns want to seize my position? Let's see whether they have the qualifications and strength!"
"Yes, Young Master. I'll do as you say."
Hearing Wei Yi's words, the old steward Uncle Wu nodded firmly, his face instantly filling with delight.
He had watched Wei Yi grow up from childhood, and naturally hoped that Wei Yi could continue serving as the Wei Clan Young Master and take over from his father in the future.