Mortal Sword Master

Qingzhou.

Word of what had happened at Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy had also reached Qingzhou. Inside the hall, Deputy City Lord Zhou Yuan and Old Mo, a steward of the Immortal Treasure Pavilion, both wore extremely grim expressions.

They had only just released Ye Lin, the Ye Family patriarch, when they suddenly learned that Ye Tianming had offended the entire Xiao Family and Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy...

Fucking hell, weren't they being toyed with?

Old Mo suddenly said, "Should we lock Ye Lin up again?"

Zhou Yuan stared at him. "And offend Ye Tianming all over again?"

Old Mo slapped his thigh. "Then what are we supposed to do? Old Yuan, our clan head has already gotten word that the Xiao Family is determined to kill Ye Tianming. They won't spare anyone connected to him. Tell me, can two little nobodies like us afford to offend the Xiao Family?"

Old Yuan said gravely, "Your ancestor and the Mortal Sword Master were brothers, at least..."

"Not worth a damn!"

Old Mo shook his head. "A new emperor brings new ministers. My Mo Family's ancestor may have had ties of friendship with the Mortal Sword Master back then, but you know as well as I do how many years it's been since the Mortal Sword Master last appeared. For my Mo Family to have managed to cling to life all these years is already a pretty good outcome."

He let out a quiet sigh. "Back in the Mortal Sword Master's era, my Mo Family had its days of glory too, but now... how many people in the world still remember the Mortal Sword Master? His era has ended, after all!"

Zhou Yuan fell silent. Mortal Sword Master... the name had become very, very unfamiliar to everyone.

A moment later, Zhou Yuan suddenly stood up. "Do you dare take a gamble?"

Old Mo looked at Zhou Yuan in confusion. "Gamble... gamble on what?"

Zhou Yuan stared fixedly at Old Mo. "Old Mo, we have no way back. If we go and arrest Ye Lin and lock him up again now, what the fuck would that make us? We'd become the laughingstock of all Qingzhou and never be able to hold our heads up again. And we'd offend the Ye Family all over again... Since that's the case, why not take a shot and put our money on the Ye Family?"

Old Mo's voice trembled. "How... how do we... gamble?"

A fierce glint flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes. "We'll write a letter together and lodge a complaint directly with the Guanxuan Realm's Outer Pavilion. We'll say the Ye Family has suffered a grave injustice, that there are too many abuses in this demolition and relocation matter, and ask the Outer Pavilion to investigate thoroughly!!"

"No, no!"

Old Mo hurried to his feet and said, trembling, "Old Yuan, the stakes are far, far too high! If we do this, even my Mo Family's ancestor won't be able to protect me..."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath. "Old Mo, we really have no way back. We could live like cowards, but I'm telling you, with the Xiao Family being what they are, they definitely won't spare either of us. Since that's the case, we might as well make a grand fight of it. I'm going all in anyway. Do as you please!"

With that, he headed outside.

Old Mo remained where he was, silent for a very, very long time. Then he gritted his teeth. "Fuck it, let's do it! Either we die and our Dao vanishes, or we bring glory to our ancestors!"

He looked up at the heavens. "Ancestor, please bless me just this once!"

With that, he strode outside.

Yongzhou, Guanxuan Academy.

Ye Tianming and Nanling Zhao arrived at Yongzhou Guanxuan Academy. On the way up the mountain, Nanling Zhao looked up at the academy on the summit and said, "Yongzhou's Guanxuan Academy may not compare to Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy, but among the Wan Prefectures, it currently ranks tenth. Its educational resources overall are very good."

Ye Tianming was a little curious. "Are those rankings based on strength?"

Nanling Zhao nodded. "Of course. The Myriad Provinces Grand Competition isn't just for the Guanxuan Main Academy to select talent; it's also a competition among the Wan Prefectures. After every competition, the Wan Prefectures are ranked again, and those rankings are very, very important to them. They amount to an assessment of each prefecture's academy head and council of elders. In the prefectures that rank in the top five, the academy heads and councils of elders are guaranteed promotion to the Guanxuan Realm. The head of the academy in the first-ranked prefecture is even guaranteed a post in the Outer Pavilion..."

She turned to Ye Tianming. "Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy wanted the Xiao Family to take your special admission slot partly because they wanted to do the Xiao Family a favor, but there was another reason. A genius from the Xiao Family stood a good chance of helping Qingzhou achieve a higher ranking. In their eyes, a scion of a low-tier family could never compare to one from a second-tier Lineage, so they were willing to break the rules to do it."

Ye Tianming fell silent.

Nanling Zhao continued, "What they didn't expect was that you would make it through the Guanxuan Dao. But people are often like that. Once a mistake has been made, rather than admit they were wrong, they erase the 'mistake.' Only when your strength far exceeds theirs, when you make them afraid, make them terrified, will they admit they were wrong. Of course, even then they don't really think they were wrong. They're just afraid of dying."

Ye Tianming said, "Miss Zhao, shouldn't people with greater strength and higher status be smarter?"

Nanling Zhao smiled. "Some people certainly are. I was fortunate enough to meet many, many truly intelligent people in the Guanxuan Realm, and they were all young people. Take the scions of first-tier Lineages, for example. They're as shrewd as human spirits, incredibly capable. But that's only if your status and strength are on par with theirs and you belong to the same circle. Otherwise, toward you... on the surface, they'll certainly be friendly, courteous, graceful, and well-mannered, but inside, they truly look down on you and disregard you."

Ye Tianming fell silent.

Nanling Zhao added, "There are others who grow more conceited the stronger they become and the higher their status rises. Actually... I get conceited too."

Ye Tianming turned to look at Nanling Zhao, somewhat surprised.

Nanling Zhao smiled. "You can't believe it?"

Ye Tianming said earnestly, "In my heart, you're a truly good person."

Nanling Zhao laughed. "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I can tell you that I really did get conceited, right after I became an inspector. Do you know how much power an inspector has in the provinces? To give you a simple example, the officials I met out there practically wanted to kneel when they spoke to me. They were humble beyond anything you could imagine."

Ye Tianming looked at Nanling Zhao. "Do you like that feeling?"

Nanling Zhao shook her head. "I don't like it, but that feeling can still make you conceited. Simply put, power makes you conceited. I could decide whether they lived or died with a single word, or even without speaking-a single glance would be enough. That's power..."

She looked up at the summit and said softly, "When a person gains power, the first thing they should do is restrain their own desire for it..."

Ye Tianming said, "That must be extremely difficult."

Nanling Zhao smiled. "Of course it's difficult, because you have to contend with the desires of your own nature. You just asked whether I liked that feeling. I can tell you that I personally don't, but do you know? It doesn't matter whether your superior likes it. What matters is that you must bow and scrape. He may not like it, but you can't refuse to do it. If you don't, you're finished. That's human nature."

Ye Tianming said softly, "Is that what officialdom is like?"

Nanling Zhao continued, "People need convictions. Without them, it's easy to lose yourself amid power and desire."

Ye Tianming turned to Nanling Zhao, a little curious. "Lady Zhao, what are your convictions?"

Nanling Zhao smiled. "Don't call me Lady Zhao anymore. You can call me Nanling Zhao, like my friends do. As for my convictions, I want to make this world a better place, and become someone like Lord Fang Yu was back then."

Ye Tianming nodded slightly and said nothing more.

Nanling Zhao suddenly said, "We're here."

Ye Tianming looked up and saw an imposing mountain gate in the distance. Across its center were large characters: Yongzhou Guanxuan Academy.

Just then, an old man suddenly appeared. He gave Nanling Zhao a slight bow. "Lady Zhao, the academy head would like to see you."

He made no mention of Ye Tianming.

Nanling Zhao was about to speak when Ye Tianming suddenly said, "I'll wait for you here."

Nanling Zhao glanced at him. "All right."

With that, she followed the old man away.

Before long, Nanling Zhao was brought to a small courtyard, where an old man was watering flowers. He was Yang Jie, the current head of Yongzhou Guanxuan Academy.

Nanling Zhao smiled. "Uncle Yang."

Yang Jie turned to glance at her and smiled. "Have you come to see me about Ye Tianming?"

Nanling Zhao nodded. "Yes."

Yang Jie said bluntly, "No chance."

Nanling Zhao said gravely, "Uncle Yang..."

"Girl."

Yang Jie put down his watering can and sighed softly. "When you came to mobilize the Guanxuan Guards before, I supported you because what you did wasn't wrong. But now..."

Nanling Zhao asked, "Am I wrong now?"

Yang Jie said, "You're not wrong now either, but this matter has become a political issue."

Nanling Zhao knitted her dark brows.

Yang Jie explained, "Think about it. If I take Ye Tianming in now, wouldn't I be getting right in the Xiao Family's face? They'd fight me to the death over something like that. And I wouldn't just offend the Xiao Family; I'd offend Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy too... All these years, we've been competitors, but we've kept things civil on the surface. If my Yongzhou does this, Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy will certainly use all its connections to isolate my Yongzhou Guanxuan Academy, with the Xiao Family helping them... Girl, do you think your Uncle Yang can withstand that?"

Nanling Zhao said gravely, "Uncle Yang, I understand everything you've said. I didn't come here to get you into trouble. I truly believe this is an opportunity for you and all of Yongzhou. Ye Tianming reached this point without any resources at all. How heaven-defying is that? If Yongzhou is willing to pour its resources into helping him, his achievements will be unimaginable. And as long as he places in the top five, or even the top three, at the Myriad Provinces Grand Competition, you'll be able to enter the Outer Pavilion..."

Yang Jie said, "Girl, I know you didn't come to get me into trouble, because I know Ye Tianming is a monstrous genius. If he weren't, he couldn't have made it through the Guanxuan Dao. But as I just said, this is a political issue. If I take him in, I might be taken out before he even gets to compete in the Myriad Provinces Grand Competition. Truly... your Uncle Yang can't withstand it."

Nanling Zhao fell silent. She knew that if he held firm, he could withstand it; he was, after all, the head of a provincial academy. Of course, it was risky, very, very risky, so she understood.

Nanling Zhao nodded. "Uncle Yang, sorry to have disturbed you."

Yang Jie said, "Girl, you mustn't be angry."

Nanling Zhao smiled. "How could I be? I'm not an unreasonable person. I understand your concerns and difficulties very well."

Yang Jie looked at Nanling Zhao. "Girl, your father and I are the closest of friends, so I regard you as half a daughter. Forgive your uncle for speaking out of turn, but do you like that young man?"

Nanling Zhao was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. "Just because I helped him?"

Yang Jie said gravely, "For his sake, you stood up to both Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy and the Xiao Family. It's hard not to think that."

Nanling Zhao smiled. "They can think what they like. I can't control them."

Yang Jie shook his head. "Girl, you may not care what other people think, but you can't disregard what your Lineage thinks."

Nanling Zhao said, "My father said my marriage is mine to decide."

"Bullshit."

Yang Jie rolled his eyes at her. "Do you believe that yourself? What he really meant was that if you find someone of matching status, he'll certainly support you unconditionally and won't play the villain and damage your relationship. But forgive me for speaking bluntly: if you choose a scion of a low-tier family... believe it or not, he'll turn on you at once and deny ever having said any such thing."

Nanling Zhao thought for a moment, then said, "Uncle Yang, you have a point, but I've never thought about matters of the heart. Of course, I don't want to talk about that either. What puzzles and confuses me is why no one thinks highly of Ye Tianming. Is a scion of a low-tier family bound to have no prospects or future?"

Yang Jie shook his head. "It's not that we don't think highly of him, but... Girl, your Nanling Clan has developed over a thousand years. Who knows how many of its gifted, monstrous geniuses have struggled all their lives for it to become a second-tier Lineage only now? What makes you think Ye Tianming alone can match the efforts of so many generations of your Nanling Clan?"

Nanling Zhao fell silent. Though she had no such prejudice about family background, in this world, the prejudice in people's hearts was like a great mountain, not something she could do away with.

Yang Jie added, "That's reality, and it's a fact. Of course, I'm not trying to debate this with you. I just want to remind you that if you like Ye Tianming, your affection will undoubtedly harm him. If you don't like him, then you have even more reason to leave him, because the closer you get to him now, the more likely your Nanling Clan is to take issue with him... This is a matter of class. The upper class can treat the lower class with courtesy and grace, but it certainly won't readily accept them. This isn't something you can change at present."

Nanling Zhao said nothing.

Yang Jie continued, "You're so clever; you should know all this. At the same time, girl, you must understand that you're already somewhat deep in this. Because of your special status, neither Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy nor the Xiao Family dares openly target you with deadly intent, but that doesn't mean they won't target you in secret. You know how deep the waters of officialdom run."

Nanling Zhao suddenly smiled. "Thank you for the warning, Uncle, but what I want to ask is, has Ye Tianming done anything wrong?"

"Of course he has."

Yang Jie stared at Nanling Zhao. "And he's gravely, utterly wrong. Being weak and having no backing-that's the greatest wrong of all."

Thanks to Xiaolingxi, Chongqing Hunzi, Ye Xuan Story Club, Book Friend 60316884, yuenho1998, Wang Xiaopang Bupangya, Jiangzhuxian's Pearl, Qingfeng and Wine, Book Friend 59942655, and the other friends for their tips. Thank you all for your support.

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