Chapter 8: Chapter 8 – No Compromise
"This… this…" Liu Heng's vision was totally black and his legs gave out with a cry toppling to the ground in shivers.
Ye Qingyu crossed his arms, and did not even spare him a glance.
"Brother Ye, can you spare me…" The solution to a problem was the problem creator. Liu Heng was driven to tears, rushing in front of Ye Qingyu like a pitiful dog.
Ye Qingyu still did not speak.
He turned his head to look at the activated Asura idol.
The Asura way, has always been to repay grievances and good deeds in a suitable fashion and not to become a holy mother. Everyone had to pay for their actions, if Liu Heng only begged and said a few words and Ye Qingyu pardoned him, this was not suitable for his martial heart.
"This… Brother Ye, if you just forgive me this time, from now on I will be responsible for the resources for the next four years of your cultivation.
Everything is negotiable…" Liu Heng was desperate and could not afford to be stingy, throwing out such a term.
Ye Qingyu heard and shook his head. "I'm not going to do any transaction with you, I don't want my martial path to be constructed by using money from people like you.
Liu Heng hesitated.
He did not imagine, that Ye Qingyu would not accept the carrot or the stick.
"I've already said, you need to bow down and beg me." On Ye Qingyu's face, a faint smile appeared.
Seeing that Liu Heng was really about to bow down in front him of him he walked to the side continuing, "However, even if you kneel down in front of me right now, I still won't participate in the blood qi testing. Apart from not wanting to be a snake as fake as you, I feel that a person like you is not fit to be a teacher of White Deer Academy. Allowing you to stay would perhaps cause other poor students to be bullied and oppressed."
Liu Heng's face was frozen, one side green and the other side red.
He knew that no matter what he did today, the teenager would not compromise.
"Don't make things so final," Liu Heng said bitingly. The goateed face became fierce, a poisonous gaze appearing in his eyes. He lowered his voice and said, "I am still part of the Liu family after all. Don't be absolute in case we meet again in the future.*"
"I am a person who likes to do things absolutely," Ye Qingyu said bitingly.
At the same time, on the other side.
Hon Kong was listening to a recital of the entire situation from a student.
The great teachers' eyes were filled with rage, his gaze was as if it was a sharp sword that landed on Liu Heng. He said, "As a supervisor who was brought up by the academy, you don't even try to recruit talent but instead privately ruin the selection process of the students! You have nearly caused us to lose a genius, this is unforgivable, just resign yourself!"
Liu Heng seemed as if he was struck by lightning, his body quivering then quickly opened his mouth to speak. "Senior Kong, I've been in the academy for over thirty years even if I did not have any accomplishments, I have still worked hard, I…"
"Go!" Hon Kong was like a rumbling thunder, a terrifying energy emanating from him.
Liu Heng was directly sent flying.
His fate, in that instant, was completely decided.
Hon Kong looked elsewhere onto Ye Qingyu, and the original seriousness turned into a warm smile. He said, "The way you handled it was not bad. If you had forgiven him, I would have looked down on you.
As a martial artist, you have to know how to repay grievances and good deeds. If you had pardoned him because of a few begging words, then that really would have been a waste of the true meaning behind the Asura idol. Your future and success will be inevitably limited if so.
Ye Qingyu knew, that this great teacher of noble status was giving him valuable advice. He was touched in his heart, and he respectfully bowed to him, saying, "Thank you teacher Hong for guiding me."
The fact that White Deer Academy had been immovable in Deer City naturally had its own reasons. A part of this reason was the noble characters within the teachers.
"Your results is, by far, enough to enter White Deer Academy. This blood qi test you don't need to go through anymore, just return and prepare for a bit and report back tomorrow."
Hon Kong left his last words, giving Ye Qingyu back his name plate. He then turned and instructed a few words to the teacher beside him then promptly turned at left.
At the same time, the entire crowd was boiling with excitement.
Only going through five appraisals yet being accepted by the great teacher, this was the first time in the academy's history. Only just considering this simple point was enough to make Ye Qingyu famous.
One could imagine how quickly the things that happened here would spread. The rumours would be as if it had grown wings, flying rapidly across the entire Deer City.
Ye Qingyu, the youth who had endured four years of mockery and contempt, was he finally going to soar to the skies?
Four years without any sounds, was his first sound going to shock everyone? ... ...
Night time.
The dim lights caused the pedestrian's shadow to become extremely long.
"Strange, why did teacher Hon not allow me to enter the blood qi appraisal?" In Ye Qingyu's mouth was a piece of leaf, his hands cradled behind his head and idly strolling around.
The ancestral mansion had long been sold off and he had no possessions. He did not need to prepare anything but just turn up and report in at the academy in the early morning.
Out of six appraisals he had only entered five. Despite obtaining the top results in all five, but as a consequence of this, there would definitely be no way he would be able to enter top twenty in the rankings. Even though these rankings were only just rankings and did not possess any sort of monetary prize, but at least it was a proof of strength.
Ye Qingyu originally wanted to enter all six appraisals and obtain this year's number one student in the White Deer Academy selection.
"Perhaps great teacher Hon was worried that I was attracting too much attention, he was afraid that the tree that stands above others in the forest will get destroyed by the wind?**"
Ye Qingyu could vaguely guess at the reason.
He had the intuition that this great teacher Hon, seemed to pay special care and attention to him.
And this special care and attention seemed not to be because of the prodigious talent he displayed. He seemed to be acting from the perspective of a concerned elder looking after relatives and the younger generation.
But the problem was, Ye Qingyu was sure that today was the first time he had ever seen the great teacher Hon.
With muddled thoughts in his head, Ye Qingyu unwittingly had again arrived in front of his parent's tomb.
In these four years, this small cemetery was the only spot that Ye Qingyu would hang out in. He casually lied in the pile of hay in front the tomb, smelling the slight fragrance of the grass…
Everything here was so familiar that it made Ye Qingyu incomparably comfortable.
"Mother, Father, your child has made it. Tomorrow, I will enter White Deer Academy. Hehe, I've already said, your child is a genius. What the white-haired old man said a long time ago was not wrong, I will astonish the entire Deer City."
Ye Qingyu revealed a proud smile on his face.
"Mother, Father, I will in the shortest time graduate from White Deer Academy. Then I will leave and according to your instructions, bring the badge and go to the royal family of Snow Country to search for what belongs to me."
"No one can block my way…"
"The secret that you said was behind the heroic badge I still have not discovered but I will discover it sooner or later. Rest assured, I will complete everything recorded in there…"
"Of course, in the battle to defend the city, even though you did not mention it but I know your deaths are definitely not that simple. I swear, I will absolutely investigate clearly."
Looking at the night sky, Ye Qingyu was considering a myriad of thoughts.
He continued to ramble on, as if his parents were still alive and he was currently having a conversation with them.
The night sky became darker and darker.
But Ye Qingyu could not sleep no matter what.
He sat in a meditative stance, his hands clasped in front of his abdomen***. His tongue was touching the top of his mouth, his eyes focusing on his nose and his nose was observing his heart. Only concentrating on one thing, he was suddenly like an old monk, and began breathing in a mysterious rhythm.
At first, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
But after ten breaths, despite not seeing air flow from the long steady breathing of Ye Qingyu, something happened. The grass from within ten feet of him began to come alive, moving in neatly undulating waves, as if it was bowing down to its monarch.
A stream of warmth began to move within the four limbs of Ye Qingyu.
Ye Qingyu was currently imagining that with every breath, he would endlessly bring the fresh air from the outside world into his body. After when breathing out he would expel all the impurities and murky air outside his body.
This was the nameless breathing technique that his father had passed on to him.
From his earliest memories, as a martial artist, his father had not passed on any cultivation techniques to him. He did not request anything apart from strictly instructing him to follow this breathing technique for two hours every day and no matter what happens, never stop this routine.
Afterwards when his parents died in the battle to defend the city, Ye Qingyu's heart was filled with sorrow but he still followed instructions continued on cultivating with the breathing technique.
This breathing technique, it seems was neither a body strengthening technique nor a technique used to absorb qi.
Through many years of cultivation, the only benefits that Ye Qingyu could feel was that his strength had improved and he did not have any illness or sickness. Apart from that, there was nothing special.
In his heart he had guessed that this was not any kind of matchless divine technique or anything like that.
But many years ago, the White Deer Academy's Dean, in a trip outside saw the Ye Qingyu who had just finished cultivating with the breathing technique. Who knew what he saw, but he could not hold his words of shock and claimed he saw an unparalleled genius.
Such inadvertent words of shock, when it spread out pushed Ye Qingyu in front of the wind and waves.
Afterwards when the old Dean knew he had misspoken but and on the sly helped compensate Ye Qingyu, but these were all things that had already happened.
Under the night sky, time slowly flowed on.
Ye Qingyu practiced this breathing technique for a total of two hours before stopping, then lay on the bed of hay and went to sleep.
... ...
When Ye Qingyu was sleeping in front of his parent's tomb, a small midnight banquet was happening in the fourth year area. It was held in [Residence of Heaven's will].
[Residence of Heaven's will]!
This villa with an ancient appearance was the most noble and distinguished private club in the entire fourth year.
It was founded by several legendary aristocrats, former students of the White Deer Academy. It was intended to recruit and develop the most talented aristocrats, and it was also a way for nobles to network and socialize.
After, when the legendary aristocrats graduated, [Residence of Heaven's will] continued on. Only those who really came from a noble family, and displayed exceptional talent within White Deer Academy, had the requirements to appear here.
*Chinese idiom, really struggled with this translation here. Didn't know how to put it, basically means that you should not take things too far in case you meet again in the future.
**Chinese idiom, first time I've heard about it but I really like it.
***Dan Tian, but I don't want to introduce pinyin terms when I can just use the English substitute.
Chapter 9: Chapter 9 – Bai Yuqing
After numerous years of tradition, an atmosphere of legend and mystery enshrouded the [Residence of Heaven's Will].
In the minds of the students it represented an indisputable and unattainable status. Other student groups and clubs could hardly compare. In these past years, even the higher ups of White Deer Academy gave it a significant amount of attention.
For every White Deer Academy student, to be able of enter the [Residence of Heaven's Will] once, would become a symbol of status.
The moonlight was bright.
Today the [Residence of Heaven's Will] was especially active.
The previous year's fourth year students were just graduating and the new fourth year students were about to become the new senior students of the academy. The leaders of the [Residence of Heaven's Will] had also passed on the control of the residence by relinquishing it to the three most exceptional aristocratic students.
The banquet was held namely for this occasion.
The energy formation separated this water garden from the outside world. In the night, it glimmered with a dazzling brightness, making it seem glorious and beautiful.
As a student passed by here, faintly hear the sounds of dance and music, they could not help but display an expression of admiration and envy.
It was a pity that to enter here, the requirements were too high. Even for a typical person from a small noble family, they did not possess the rights to enter here.
In the same night, Jiang Xiaohan's mood was not bad.
Because this was her first time entering the [Residence of Heaven's Will].
From the first moment on when entering the White Deer Academy, one of Jiang Xiaohan's goals was to be able to enter the [Residence of Heaven's Will] and to become a member of this top group.
For this she had sacrificed a lot, being rejected numerous times and mocked.
She hated the fact that she did not come from a noble family, she hated her parents who were only the lowly poor.
She evidently had exceptional talent in the martial path, greatly exceeding a typical noble child. But she had to endure the shame of her background, she had to put in hundreds, thousands of times the normal effort to achieve recognition.
And the reason that she was able to appear in the [Residence of Heaven's Will], was not due to her own efforts and talent, making the group recognise her. It was only due to the fact that Han Xiaofei had gifted her tickets to the banquet tonight.
See, this was the laughable reality.
People from a noble family could casually gift tickets that children from a poor background could never obtain, even if they put in a thousand times the effort.
Within Jiang Xiaohan's heart she felt sorrowful, but she still wore her most beautiful outfit to make herself seem dazzling. On her face, she had her more beautiful and sincere smile, linking arms with Han Xiaofei and appearing in the banquet.
She was able to tell that the instant she appeared in the banquet numerous eyes of male students brightened.
Those lofty noble female students, none of them could compare with her.
"Xiaofei, you're late, you must be punished to drink…" A tall noble student came over and greeted Han Xiaofei. Then his gaze fell upon Jiang Xiaohan, saying, "Your female partner is very beautiful, which family does she comes from… She seems slightly familiar…"
Then, few more people who were familiar with Han Xiaofei came over to socialize.
"Let me introduce you, this is junior sister Xiaohan who was able to enter the top twenty in the Deer City rankings."
"Jiang Xiaohan? Eh, I've heard…" The tall noble students seem to have thought of something, frowning.
Jiang Xiaohan could be counted as a significant figure within the fourth year. But due to her family background, she originally did not have the right to appear in the [Residence of Heaven's Will]. Who would have thought that Han Xiaofei would bring her here, disregarding the rules slightly.
But after thinking for a bit, one of the current leaders of the [Residence of Heaven's Will] was Han Xiaofei's cousin, Han Shuangfu. With this connection, he estimated that Han Xiaofei would not be punished or blamed.
In a short while, a considerate amount of people had gathered near Han Xiaofei.
Jiang Xiaohan put out all the stops and very quickly these haughty aristocrats were talking and laughing with her, she rapidly became a hit.
One could not deny, that this beautiful girl had exceptional charisma and allure.
"I heard that senior brother Xiaofei and junior sister Xiaohan went to the selection grounds today? Did you encounter any interesting things?" intoxicated by liquor, the tall noble student casually asked.
Han Xiaofei had a faint smile; "Nothing much, but junior sister Xiaohan managed to meet with someone from her past…"
"Eh? Who is this person, let's hear it," some people encouraged.
Jiang Xiaohan lowered the goblet in her hand and with a beautiful smile casually said, "It was only one of my childhood playmates. He had entered this year's selection process, but maybe because of impacts from these past years, his brain has become a bit abnormal. He keeps thinking that he is a genius, going insane after reaching his limit. I saw he was so pitiful, I only went to try and persuade him with a few words…"
"These kinds of trash without any shred of self-awareness is plenty everywhere. Junior sister Xiaohan you are kind, you did not need to interfere at all," a noble girl with large eyes said.
"Oh, I just could not bear it…" Jiang Xiaohan sighed, displaying an extremely regretful appearance.
"Junior sister Xiaohan's playmate from her childhood? Then does this mean, he is already fourteen or fifteen years old? Haha, in so many years, still not being able to enter the academy, he is definitely garbage…" The noble students loudly laughed.
After finishing laughing, the noble students casually asked, "Does this idiot have a name? Come, say it for everyone to hear, haha!"
"That's right, this is an extremely interesting event," Han Xiaofei with a faint smile, said, "That's right, what's the name of the loach again? Junior sister Xiaohan."
Jiang Xiaohan, hearing that, said with a full smile, "Thinking about it, this fellow is pretty famous within Deer City but it is not the good kind of fame… He's called Ye Qingyu!"
Before the voice had fully dispersed.
The smiling expression of the tall student and the other nobles had frozen.
"Ye Qingyu?" The tall student's tone has changed slightly, saying, "That fellow is your childhood playmate?"
Jiang Xiaohan did not manage to notice the change in attitude of the group. She said with a smile, "That's right, it was the person who was once named the number one genius. The joke of the previous Dean, he actually believed! Speaking about it, he is rather pitiful…"
After leaving the blood qi appraisal grounds today, to prepare for tonight's banquet she was accompanied by Han Xiaofei to select her outfit for tonight. Therefore, the things that happened after, she certainly had no knowledge of.
To be able to enter the [Residence of Heaven's Will] evening banquet for a girl drunk in status like her, was absolutely the most important thing to happen to her after entering White Deer Academy. She had diverted her entire attention and immersed herself in enjoyment and joy of being able to attend this event, completely not considering Ye Qingyu's affairs.
And the Han Xiaofei who was accompanying her all along, naturally would also not know what happened afterwards.
But the noble students and the other fourth year students were extremely clear of what had happened and Ye Qingyu's terrifying performance.
Using only five appraisals, not only entering White Deer Academy, but also managing to rank number twenty-one in the examination rankings.
This kind of person, how did he become the pitiful person Jiang Xiaohan was describing.
Within the entire Deer City, it was unknown how many people's faces were ferociously slapped until swollen tonight. It was even more unknown, how many people hoped to become a 'pitiful' person like Ye Qingyu!
"Ah, senior brother Han, concerning this Ye Qingyu… do you also feel that he is a pitiful worm?" A noble student with a good relationship called Gao Shenghan, coughed twice to hint at something lest he say something wrong.
Han Xiaofei did not manage to catch the signal, casually saying with a smile, "What's wrong with that appraisal? A loach dreaming of becoming a genius, fantasizing about becoming a carp leaping over the dragon gate*. He has dreamed too much that he is quickly going insane!"
Jiang Xiaohan continued on with a smile, saying, "That's right, this Ye Qingyu is already crazy. After becoming the laughing stock of Deer City in his fifth attempt to enter the academy, the head supervisor in order to not let him be embarrassed, intentionally allowed him to wait to go through the test when no one was there. Who knew he would not appreciate the thought behind this, but would instead cause trouble in the testing area? Because I remembered our shared history, I went to give him a few words of advice but he mocked me instead…"
Before she had finished, suddenly a voice was heard—
"Hypocrisy! Laughable! Pitiful! Ignorance!"
These words were said bitingly and clear, bringing with it an undisguised contempt and disdain. It was obviously targeted at Jiang Xiaohan and Han Xiaofei.
Han Xiaofei's expression darkened.
What kind of person would dare to be so arrogant in front of him?
He turned his head to look with a face filled with rage, and in the far away light saw a student wearing robes as white as snow walking towards him.
The next instant, the anger on his face disappeared entirely.
The figure walking towards him was an extremely beautiful girl.
With a graceful posture and a slim waist, she had a thick cloud of black hair which set off her white jade-like skin even more. What was originally an ordinary student robe, when she wore it, it became like something sacred. She managed to bring out what normal people could not in the robe, and the robe accentuated her long legs.
She came from under the moonlight, as if she was an aloof ice fairy.
"So it was Senior Sister Bai Yuqing!"
"We greet Senior Sister Bai!"
"No wonder, the person who did not give face to Han Xiaofei was her.
She is currently the fairy of White Deer Academy, the number one Bai Yuqing and also one of the three leaders of [Residence of Heaven's Will]."
"The influence of the Bai family is definitely not weaker in the slightest when compared to the Han family."
At this instant, everyone chattered with excitement. Every student stood and greeted the white-robed Bai Yuqing, evidently showing the high status she had within White Deer Academy's fourth year students.
Even Han Xiaofei dared not tarry, standing and greeting Bai Yuqing with his hands clasped.
Jiang Xiaohan lowered her head slightly, a hint of anger flashing through her eyes. She knew that this girl was insulting her, but she could not show the slightest trace of dissatisfaction.
This girl called Bai Yuqing, the position and status that she possessed had always been a figure that Jiang Xiaohan admired and envied at the same time.
*Chinese idiom, basically the carp once it had leaped over the gate would become a dragon.
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