Xiao Tian looked directly at the former, took a deep breath, and tears welled up in his eyes:
"Actually, I've always known that because of my humble status, the fact that I've become your constant bodyguard has caused resentment among many people. They've always pressured you to replace me, but you've never given in!"
"I don't want you to have any more conflicts with them because of me! I don't want to be a burden to you! I'm just the son of a lowly merchant, of humble status. If it weren't for a twist of fate, I would never have had the chance to see your face in my lifetime..."
"You have ideals, ambitions, and boundless passion! I cannot be a burden to you!"
Pei Jue said, "You have never been a burden."
"But I understand that I, the Regent, have your weaknesses at my fingertips! Clan Chief, you must remember that for most people in this world, what cannot be changed is called a shortcoming, and what can be changed is called a weakness!"
"If I am your weakness, then I should disappear, making you without weaknesses and invincible!"
Xiao Tian clenched his fists, his eyes shining with determination.
Pei Jue frowned. "No, it's clearly... a weakness that can't be changed!"
Xiao Tian said, "Very few people can correct their flaws such as laziness, greed, anger, and ignorance. Desire is a flaw, and emotion is a weakness. When a person changes from being affectionate to being indifferent, it means... he will have no more weaknesses!"
Pei Jue sneered, "It's only been a few days, and you've already got a whole repertoire of words. Humph, I don't care. You're my guard, you've been loyal to me, and you've done nothing wrong. Why should you leave?!"
Xiao Tian seems to have made up his mind.
He straightened his back, clasped his hands in a fist salute, bowed deeply, and said, "Your subordinate takes his leave!"
After saying that, he turned and left, his eyes filled with determination.
" Xiao Tian!"
Pei Jue strode over. "Fine, go ahead, I won't stop you! But I have something I want to tell you!"
Xiao Tian stopped in his tracks.
Pei Jue patted his shoulder, secretly planting a tracking mark. He smiled slightly and said in a deep voice, "Wait for me for ten years. Ten years later, come back! By then, I will definitely make the Star Clan the place Master envisioned... a place of equality and harmony!"
Xiao Tian nodded, then turned and strode away.
Pei Jue gazed intently into the distance, his hands clenched, his eyes burning with a fierce flame—the flame of ideals, the flame of conviction!
The wind carried a mournful sound, blowing across thousands of miles of road; the sound of waterfalls crashing against rocks lingered in his ears for a long time...
The sound remains, but the person is gone...
"I must pass through the Nether Passage Secret Realm and obtain the power of the Star Clan. Only in this way can I change this deformed race! This... race with its hierarchical hierarchy!"
Pei Jue murmured softly, each word laced with anger. He then raised his head and said, "However, there's something important I need to do first. I need to visit a friend..."
Pill Maple Academy
Han Yu and the others have returned.
They were filled with frustration and rushed to Xie Feng to complain.
They said they were recruiting students in the Dao Realm, but as soon as people heard that the dean was Xie Feng, they all avoided him like the plague and refused to come. They went to many places and the same thing happened.
They found it strange and inquired about it. It turned out that someone had spread rumors that Xie Feng was Blood Devil who would imprison students in the academy, drink human blood, and practice evil arts!
"Damn it! This is a rumor!"
Enraged, Han Yu abandoned his composure as a master and launched into a tirade of curses.
Xie Feng remained calm. He verbally comforted the four of them and then sent Lü Yan, instructing her to investigate the person spreading the rumors. Pill Maple Academy had just been built and had not yet opened for business when it was being slandered, which was detrimental to the academy's reputation!
Lü Yan told Xie Feng that after hearing about the Pill Maple Academy's enrollment, a city lord from Aurora City of the Star Clan was willing to let the city's outstanding young people come to study there, and she was currently in Aurora City!
"Mr. Xie, could you come over? I... I've encountered a small obstacle..." Lü Yan's voice came through.
"Okay!" Xie Feng nodded. He opened up a space and appeared in Aurora City a moment later.
The Star Clan resides in the vast starry sky, and Aurora City is the westernmost city. Here, the sky is colorful and mysterious, and the laws are turbulent and extraordinary.
Before Xie Feng stood the city lord's mansion, uniquely designed and magnificent. The light here was rather dim, and the stars in the sky twinkled with glittering light.
Star Clan, whose light is the stars and moon!
Xie Feng went inside, and servants, having received the news, came to greet him. They respectfully led him to the main hall, where Lü Yan and a kind-looking middle-aged man in a red robe were chatting.
"Mr. Xie!"
Lü Yan stood up, waved to Xie Feng, and then introduced him to the middle-aged man, "City Lord, this is Xie Feng, the Dean of the Pill Maple Academy!"
The city lord rose to greet him, standing on tiptoe and putting his arm around Xie Feng's shoulder, his smile radiant, "Dean Xie, I've long admired your name! You're a friend of Lü Yan, so you're also my friend. Come, come, please have a seat!"
Without saying a word, he pulled Xie Feng to the seat of honor, pressed him down into the chair, and shoved a cup of fine tea into his mouth, urging him to drink it repeatedly, his eagerness practically making him drink it straight away...
Xie Feng wants to hit someone...
Lü Yan couldn't stand it any longer, and she quickly said, "City Lord! Please summon them!"
"OK!"
The city lord raised his hand, ordering his servant to fetch the people. He sat back down in the main seat, smiling as he looked at the two of them.
Xie Feng took out the Azure Profound Fan and unfolded it with a whoosh. He half-hid his face behind the fan and whispered, "Your friend is a bit too enthusiastic..."
Lü Yan leaned closer and whispered, "He's not my friend, and this is the first time I've met him. I am friends with his clan leader, though... Now that you mention it, I understand why he treated us so politely."
Xie Feng asked, "Why?"
Lü Yan lowered his voice and said, " The Star Clan is the most unusual race in the Dao Realm. They place great importance on lineage. In this race, the idea that 'kings and nobles are born with special privileges' doesn't apply. Those who are born nobles will remain nobles for generations to come!"
Over millions of years of development, a thick barrier has been built between ordinary people and the upper class of the Star Clan. The distinction between superior and inferior, noble and lowly, remains unassailable!
"These rules apply to every aspect of life; even their attitude towards outsiders depends on the outsider's friends in the Star Clan. For example, I have a very good relationship with their chieftain, so in the city lord's eyes, I am equivalent to a king."
Xie Feng frowned. "How did such a race survive?"
Lü Yan said, " The Star Clan's nobles control all power and resources. Their strength is utterly overwhelming compared to the lower classes! No Star Clan uprising has ever succeeded! They have a strong foundation and control the power of the stars. They don't take any race seriously, and they even dare to confront the Literary Clan head-on!"
Xie Feng's expression was solemn, and he stopped speaking.
At this moment, the servant arrived with ten well-dressed young men.
"Haha, Dean Xie, these are the most talented children in Aurora City! I believe you will teach them well, after all, your reputation is renowned, and the battle on Flame Island was a sensation throughout the world!"
The city lord said with a smile, clearly trusting Xie Feng greatly because of his reputation.