Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Observing the Mysterious Way!

 

Ten days later.

Ye Tianming arrived at the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy.

The mountains of Qingzhou stretched for thousands of miles, with peaks embracing peaks, often shrouded in mist and clouds halfway up, resembling a fairyland.

Within the entire Qingzhou territory, the population exceeded one hundred million, and this Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy was the dream destination for countless young people. For innumerable ordinary people, joining the Guanxuan Academy was the only way to change their fate. However, gaining admission to Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy was undoubtedly extremely difficult, truly one in ten thousand.

Ye Tianming had originally passed through a special written examination, thus he was specially recruited. If it had been a normal examination, he would have had no chance at all, because all admission spots were already predetermined in advance.

A moment later, Ye Tianming arrived at a great hall at the foot of the mountain. The hall had three doors. The left door was the special recruitment channel, where currently only he stood. The rightmost door was the regular admission channel, where a long line had already formed.

As for the middle passage, it was the legendary: Path of Guanxuan.

This path was personally established by Guanxuan Sword Master Ye Guan years ago. If any student faced unfair treatment at the academy, they could walk this path. Once they passed its trial, the entire Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy would immediately enter a “self-investigation” procedure. All Guanxuan Guards and Qingzhou Boundary Keepers would immediately enter the academy to protect the challenger. If the challenger died without cause, the Guanxuan Realm Academy Headquarters would immediately enter a “self-investigation” procedure. At that time, the provincial academy master and all elders of the Elder Council would be immediately suspended pending investigation, and all Guanxuan Guards and Boundary Keepers in that province would be dismissed.

Every province had a Path of Guanxuan, but in a thousand years, across ten thousand provinces combined, only one person had successfully passed the Path of Guanxuan trial, and that was nearly a hundred years ago.

The people in the regular admission channel looked at Ye Tianming with curious and admiring gazes.

Special recruitment!

That was no ordinary achievement.

Ye Tianming walked into the hall amid numerous envious glances. Before him sat a young man in his twenties, dressed in a long robe, quite handsome. He stood up, looking at Ye Tianming, and said warmly, “Finally someone has arrived. Hello, my name is Zhang Nan, responsible for receiving specially recruited students.”

Ye Tianming took out a paper from his pocket and handed it to the young man. The young man took the paper, examined it carefully, and after confirming it was correct, he smiled and said, “Guanxuan Academy welcomes you.”

As he spoke, he picked up a seal to stamp it, but at that moment, a black-robed youth quickly walked to his side and whispered something in his ear.

After hearing this, the young man’s brows immediately furrowed. After a moment of silence, he looked up at Ye Tianming and said, “Wait.”

With that, he withdrew his seal, and then left hurriedly with the black-robed youth.

Ye Tianming glanced at the two departing figures, put away the paper before him, and frowned. Could the Zhao family influence this place? That shouldn’t be possible.

He couldn’t help feeling a trace of worry.

Meanwhile.

Zhang Nan rushed up the mountain and arrived at a great hall. As soon as he entered, he heard an old man roaring, “What the hell is this? Using special privileges all the way to my doorstep!”

A middle-aged man beside the old man lowered his head, not daring to speak.

After Zhang Nan entered, he asked with confusion, “Teacher, what’s happening?”

The old man’s face was ashen. “Just received news that the Xiao family wants a special recruitment spot and wants us to cancel one special recruit student.”

Zhang Nan was stunned. “How can this be? Special recruitment spots have already been determined, how can they be canceled? What kind of joke is this?”

The old man’s gaze was as cold as ice. “Orders have come from above.”

Zhang Nan’s face immediately darkened. From above… meaning the academy’s Elder Council had issued the order. He hesitated, then asked, “Teacher, is that Xiao family the one from Nanzhou?”

The old man nodded with an ashen face.

Zhang Nan’s face completely sank. The Nanzhou Xiao family was a second-tier family, and moreover, the ancestor of the Nanzhou Xiao family had been addressed as a brother by the Guanxuan Sword Master.

Zhang Nan asked puzzledly, “Teacher, the Xiao family is in Nanzhou, why would they come to our Qingzhou to compete for this special recruitment spot?”

The old man’s face was covered with frost. “The Xiao family’s spot in Nanzhou was taken by someone else.”

Zhang Nan was shocked. “Someone could take away the Xiao family’s spot?”

The old man shook his head. “I don’t know the specific situation. I only know that the people above want us to cancel one special recruit student, and it must be done.”

Zhang Nan said gravely, “This is unfair to that student, extremely unfair.”

The middle-aged man beside them sighed softly, “Although it’s unfair, what can we do? This is a direct order from the Elder Council…”

The old man hung his face, not saying a word.

Zhang Nan asked, “Whose special recruitment qualification do they want us to cancel?”

The middle-aged man said, “We only have two special recruits this time, one is Ye Tianming from the minor Ye family, and the other is from the Tuoba family…”

Hearing this, Zhang Nan immediately understood.

The Tuoba family – naturally their spot couldn’t be canceled. That would be a joke. They were also a second-tier family with connections in the Outer Cabinet, and they had some ties with the Human Realm Sword Master, the father of the Guanxuan Sword Master.

Obviously, they had to cancel Ye Tianming’s special recruitment qualification, because Ye Tianming wasn’t from the Qingzhou Ye clan, but only from a minor family.

“No!”

At this moment, the old man suddenly slammed the table and stood up. “This is too unreasonable! They dare to openly commit such despicable and shameless acts. I’m going to the Elder Council. If the Elder Council doesn’t withdraw this order, I’ll appeal to the Inner Cabinet of the Guanxuan Realm.”

With that, he stood up and walked toward the outside.

The middle-aged man hurriedly stopped him. “Lord Fang Xiao, this absolutely cannot be done. The Elder Council has already issued the order, you…”

Fang Xiao pushed the middle-aged man away. “At worst, I’ll just quit this damn position.”

With that, he had already rushed outside.

The middle-aged man sighed softly. “Lord Fang Xiao’s temperament is really… no wonder he was repeatedly demoted from the Outer Cabinet and finally expelled from the Guanxuan Realm.”

Zhang Nan’s face was grim. “Things shouldn’t be this way. We should fight for this.”

The middle-aged man shook his head. “We can’t win against the Xiao family, unless this Ye Tianming has a more powerful background than the Xiao family. Otherwise, no one can change this.”

Zhang Nan was somewhat angry. “But how unfair is this to Ye Tianming?”

The middle-aged man’s expression was calm. “There are many unfair things in this world. Without ability, without backing, one can only endure.”

Thinking of the terrifying power of the Xiao family, Zhang Nan also sighed deeply, his eyes full of helplessness.

Fang Xiao rushed directly to the Elder Council. Inside the council, there was only one elder. This elder frowned upon seeing Fang Xiao enter, quite displeased. “What are you doing?”

No place likes those uncooperative troublemakers.

If it weren’t for Fang Xiao’s somewhat special identity, Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy would have kicked him out long ago.

Fang Xiao knew the other party didn’t like him, so he didn’t waste words and got straight to the point. “The Xiao family’s behavior is unfair to the child called Ye Tianming, and it’s against the rules. The academy shouldn’t open this backdoor for them.”

The elder stared at Fang Xiao and said grimly, “This is an order from the Elder Council. You just need to execute it.”

“I won’t execute it.”

Fang Xiao looked directly at the elder. “If you insist on doing this, then I’ll appeal, appeal to the Guanxuan Realm, appeal to the Outer Cabinet. If the Outer Cabinet doesn’t work, I’ll appeal to the Inner Cabinet. If the Inner Cabinet doesn’t work, I’ll appeal to the Young Master…”

The elder barely contained his anger. “Fang Xiao, don’t cause trouble.”

Fang Xiao angrily said, “Academy recruitment concerns the Guanxuan Universe’s talent selection ceremony. If we don’t act with fairness, allowing noble families and sects to do as they please, what hope do the countless ordinary people in this world have?”

He took a deep breath and softened his tone. “Elder Yu, that Ye Tianming comes from a minor family. He might be the hope of his entire family. If we deprive him of his special recruitment qualification this time, it will not only affect his personal future and prospects but might also cause his entire family to lose hope.”

Elder Yu stared intently at Fang Xiao. “Fang Xiao, you defend this Ye Tianming so strongly, is he your relative?”

Fang Xiao barely contained his anger. “I don’t know him. I just want to say that our academy should be fair and just, giving more young people and ordinary people hope and a future. This was also the original intention of the Guanxuan Sword Master when he established the academy.”

Elder Yu was about to say something when his brows suddenly furrowed. After a moment, he said, “You may leave first.”

Fang Xiao gave him a look and turned to leave.

After Fang Xiao left, Elder Yu’s eyes flashed with disgust. “A stubborn person, no wonder he’s ostracized in the Guanxuan Realm.”

At this moment, an old man walked out from the side. The old man smiled and said, “I’ve long heard that the Fang family people are difficult to get along with. Seeing it today, it’s indeed true.”

The old man was none other than the current head of the Xiao family, Xiao Yun.

Elder Yu said gravely, “Brother Xiao, this matter may be difficult to handle.”

If it were an ordinary person, the Elder Council would have a hundred ways to make them disappear, but this Fang Xiao’s identity was not ordinary. Behind him was the Fang family. Although the Fang family was now only a third-tier family, the Fang family’s ancestor, Fang Yu, had an extraordinary relationship with the Guanxuan Sword Master back then. Moreover, the Fang family’s ancestor not only managed the Inspection Bureau but also once held the position of Deputy Assistant in the Inner Cabinet.

The reason for their decline later was because the Guanxuan Sword Master stipulated that no position term could exceed a hundred years. Of course, the Fang family’s decline wasn’t entirely due to Fang Yu’s resignation, but because the Fang family people followed Fang Yu’s ancestral teachings: to have no guilt in one’s heart.

In other words, the Fang family people were too upright, so upright that others couldn’t stand it. Thus, the Fang family began to be marginalized. But due to the Fang family’s ancestors, those super families in the Guanxuan Realm didn’t completely eliminate the Fang family, just pushed them out of the core power circle. Now, the highest-ranking person in the Fang family only held a deputy position in the “Literary Academy” of the Guanxuan Realm.

High in status, but without any power.

Xiao Yuan naturally also understood the special nature of the Fang family. He smiled, “Of course we can’t touch this Fang Xiao.”

Elder Yu looked at Xiao Yuan. “What does Brother Xiao suggest?”

Xiao Yuan smiled slightly. “What if that young man called Ye Tianming voluntarily gives up this special recruitment spot?”

Elder Yu was slightly startled, then understood. “What if he’s unwilling to give it up?”

Xiao Yuan smiled faintly. “If he doesn’t want to save face, then we’ll help him save face.”