Ten teenagers stood in a row. Xie Feng glanced at them and nodded slightly.
"They all look very good. Pill Maple Academy, take them all! City Lord, are there any more? I intend to recruit twenty students. If there are any suitable candidates, you can recruit them all from Aurora City!"
"You have high standards. Anyone who wants to enter your academy must not be mediocre! These are the most talented children in Aurora City!" the city lord said with a smile.
Lü Yan frowned slightly. She nudged Xie Feng's arm and whispered, "Mr. Xie, there are three other exceptionally talented children he's keeping! This is the little obstacle I mentioned earlier!"
Xie Feng nodded slightly, indicating understanding. He closed his fan, tapped the table, and looked directly at the city lord. "Is there really nothing else?"
The city lord's smile froze slightly. He glanced at Lü Yan, Xie Feng said, "I'm asking you a question. Why are you looking at Miss Lü Yan, city lord?"
The city lord laughed and said, "It seems the shopkeeper is determined to take them away?"
Lü Yan covered her mouth and chuckled, "So, I went to see Mr. Xie."
"I'm sorry, I can't give him the person!"
The city lord shook his head; his tone was soft, but resolute.
Xie Feng's lips curled up, and he teased, "It seems they are once-in-a-millennium geniuses, which is why the city lord is so reluctant to part with them!"
The city lord said, "No!"
Xie Feng asked, "So what exactly is the reason that makes it so difficult for you to talk about it?"
"Those three children are just ordinary people!"
That's all?
"?"
The city lord was stunned. Such a momentous matter was being treated so casually by Xie Feng, who seemed completely unconcerned!
Xie Feng said, "So what if they're commoners? Pill Maple Academy's motto is—equality for all! Oh... maybe they're having difficulties and can't afford the tuition. I can waive their tuition temporarily, and they can pay it back after they graduate!"
The city lord waved his hand. "Dean Xie misunderstands! It's not that they can't afford the tuition, but rather that their status is too lowly to receive an education!"
Xie Feng's smile faded. He raised his eyes, looked at the city lord, and said in a deep voice, " Pill Maple Academy disregards all backgrounds! Everyone can receive an education under the same roof!"
"In our Star Clan, lineage is paramount. Only upper-middle-class nobles are entitled to all rights. This is an unshakeable system that has existed for millennia! Dean Xie, this is the Star Clan; please follow our rules!"
The city lord looked him straight in the eye and resolutely defended his rules.
The two exchanged a glance, and the atmosphere in the room plummeted to freezing, with a palpable tension about to erupt!
Lü Yan was a little nervous. She was worried that Xie Feng would act impulsively, after all, the latter was straightforward and had clear likes and dislikes!
" Lü Yan, let's go!"
Unexpectedly, Xie Feng merely frowned, then stood up and left, saying, "There's nothing more to say between him and me!"
Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together!
Although he hoped that the three commoner boys would enter Pill Maple Academy, he didn't need to change their deeply ingrained ideas.
When the city lord spoke of the unequal rights between commoners and nobles, he did so with such composure and familiarity, which showed that he deeply agreed with this concept!
Xie Feng has no connection with the Star Clan. He won't change someone else's system that has been in place for millions of years, but he also can't abandon his own principles.
Therefore, leaving is the best option!
Lü Yan lowered her brows slightly and hurriedly followed.
The remaining boys looked at each other, bewildered. "Lord," they asked, "What do we do?"
"Casual!"
The city lord flicked his sleeve and sat down, his face turning pale.
He wasn't angry, he just disliked Xie Feng's philosophy. He didn't understand why Xie Feng would use the word "equality," which was incredibly shocking in the Star Clan!
How could the noble lotus flower be treated as an equal to the mud?
How could a phoenix, soaring through the heavens, be equal to a sparrow?
He couldn't understand it!
Xie Feng left Aurora City, and Lü Yan followed him, the two remaining silent the entire way.
"Mr. Xie, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
"Don't be angry. It's just that clashes of different ideas easily lead to conflict..."
"I have no ambition to save the world, so I'm not angry. I just don't want to talk to that city lord anymore; it's pointless to waste time talking to a brick wall!"
Xie Feng shook his head and said in a low voice.
They took two steps and a man appeared before them, dressed in elegant white robes, with a cool and aloof demeanor, and a pair of dark green eyes that stared straight at them.
"Chieftain is truly busy with state affairs, you're late! Mr. Xie, this is the Star Clan Chief, Pei Jue!"
Lü Yan made a joke, then turned to introduce himself.
Xie Feng laughed and said, "Since you and Lü Yan are friends, then you two chat!"
Pei Jue looked at him calmly, without saying a word.
Lü Yan whispered, "Mr. Xie, this is Kong Qiusu's disciple, a peerless Military Confucian! Aren't you looking for your teacher?"
Xie Feng said, "Teacher? Him? He can't teach me."
Lü Yan frowned. "He's very skilled in Literary Dao, and he also possesses theoretical knowledge of Military Confucian..."
Xie Feng asked, "Do you know who Kong Qiusu is?"
Lü Yan's eyes widened in surprise, and she lowered her brows in confusion.
Xie Feng smiled, "He is my senior brother!"
Lü Yan was stunned!
She blinked, trying to calm herself, a tidal wave surging through her heart...
She is the woman of the Devil Emperor Chu Kuang, Devil Emperor is Xie Feng's second senior brother!
Now, she has heard from the person involved that Military Confucian Kong Qiusu is her senior brother!
What a physique! What a background! What powerful connections!
One word: terrifying!
"Hiss! With that kind of background, I'd be surprised if you didn't act like a tyrant..." Lü Yan took a deep breath.
"Shh, keep it a secret!" Xie Feng said.
"Okay!" Lü Yan nodded obediently.
Pei Jue glanced at Aurora City, his eyes slightly melancholy, and asked slowly, " Lü Yan, weren't you supposed to be recruiting students for the Star Clan? Why aren't there any students?"
Lü Yan said, "We've taken a liking to three fine young men, but because they're commoners, we can't take them with us."
"I see, I understand!"
Pei Jue nodded.
Xie Feng said, "You are the clan leader, you should have a solution."
Pei Jue's lips twitched slightly, and he gave a wry smile, "This... really, there isn't!"
Xie Feng shrugged. "Well then, you two talk! The academy is newly built; it's just an empty shell. There are no books, advanced equipment, or anything like that. I need to go back to Dark Ink Mountain to take care of things."
"Is it only the Star Clan... that divides people into different classes, that values nobility above all else...?"
As Xie Feng was about to leave, Pei Jue spoke in a low voice, as if asking himself, yet also as if asking someone else.
Xie Feng did not answer.
Pei Jue continued, "Just now, as you walked out of the city, I saw your lingering anger and confusion on your face. You are one of the few people I've met who are truly angry about this system. Far too many people are simply numb, accustomed, and submissive to it... Among them are Star Clan and other races..."
Xie Feng sneered, "Do you think I'm angry?"
Pei Jue didn't answer. He let out a soft sigh. He didn't know why, but he, who was usually so good at hiding his feelings, couldn't help but want to speak his mind when he met the former...
This feeling is both strange and contradictory.