Chapter 22: Jixia Academy

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Ye Sheng spent six hours with his Eldest Sister. They chatted and laughed merrily, so any distance that they had felt as a result of being apart for the last three years had disappeared.

When it grew dark, Ye Sheng took his leave to avoid any gossip. After he left, the elderly eunuch who had remained quietly by her side throughout came forward and said in a low voice, “Consort Ye, your younger brother has the air of an heroic youth.”

Consort Ye replied in a casual voice, “He’s my younger brother, so how could he possibly be a good-for-nothing? I want to help him to leave Ye Manor. What method should I use to persuade Father?”

“I have a suggestion, but I’m not sure if I should say this,” said the elderly eunuch hesitantly.

“Eunuch Lin, you’ve been the one serving me ever since I entered the palace, and I consider you a trusted subordinate. Go ahead and speak your mind.” Consort Ye became serious again.

“His Majesty has built an academy along the banks of the Wei River, and all the most famous and highly skilled martial artists are gathered there. Countless students dream of getting into that academy. Why don’t you recommend Mister Ye Sheng into the academy?” replied Eunuch Lin in a soft voice.

“Are you referring to Jixia Academy?” Consort Ye raised an eyebrow, and she fell into deep thought.

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“Jixia Academy has made a public announcement that they will only take in geniuses. My younger brother has never been allowed to learn martial arts and has only secretly learned a bit these last few years. He would never be as good as his peers. How is he going to get into the school?”

Jixia Academy wasn’t like other ordinary schools. Every single student at the academy had to be a genius, even if their genius abilities were merely a product of their boasting.

Ye Sheng had no reputation and no ability. So how could he get in?

Eunuch Lin had thought over this problem already and said, “Mister Ye Sheng has indeed wasted many years of his youth, but I can see that he is a very driven and motivated person. Besides, Jixia Academy was set up by His Majesty, so if you are able to beg His Majesty to take Ye Sheng as an Emperor’s Disciple, then he would definitely be able to get into Jixia Academy. But what happens after that would depend on how hard Mister Ye Sheng works.”

“You’re right. If he becomes an Emperor’s Disciple, then he will definitely get into Jixia Academy. This suggestion of yours is not bad.” Consort Ye complimented Eunuch Lin as her eyes lit up.

“Helping the consort with any burden is only part of my job,” said Eunuch Lin humbly.

“I would really love for this brother of mine to grow strong and share some of the pressure I feel. A lot of the other women in the palace don’t like me, and there aren’t any officials who I can trust. If my Twelfth Brother has potential, then Jixia Academy would be the place where he could develop this potential,” said Consort Ye quietly.

“Things will definitely go as you wish,” Eunuch Lin assured her.

…

After leaving his sister’s presence, Ye Sheng returned to his room and couldn’t suppress the joy in his heart. All the worries he had had earlier in the day had disappeared. Eldest Sister was still the same person that she used to be, and her concern toward him had not changed at all.

The feelings he had after three years and the three years of memories he’d had were one and the same.

“I have to leave Ye Manor, and then work hard at cultivating within Xianyang. Once I become powerful enough to defend myself, I’ll look for First Madam and take back those secret manuals that belong to the Reincarnation Sect.” Ye Sheng had hope in his eyes. The deadlock he had been in all this time had finally been broken by Consort Ye today.

“On top of all that, I still have to investigate the reason for my mother’s death. What on earth is an Inner Battle Demonic Spell?” thought Ye Sheng to himself as he frowned.

From the way First Madam had spoken, it seemed like this Inner Battle Demonic Spell didn’t really have anything to do with her.

Ye Sheng shook his head. There was no point in thinking so hard about this now. He had no evidence whatsoever, so he had to just focus on becoming stronger.

As the night grew quiet, Ye Sheng started to practice martial arts. As more and more Earthlings started picking up cultivation, he had attained quite a bit of understanding. He was going to spend the night properly comprehending and digesting everything. Even if he couldn’t break through to the next level, he could still improve his current level.

Rolling Rocks Boxing Technique, Fallen Leaves Sword Technique, and Typhoon Steps had already reached the peak phase of the Beginner stage, so it would take just a bit more to reach Accomplished stage.

The Reincarnation Seal inside him was still solidifying and still at the Learnt stage. It was going to be a long time before it could reach Beginner stage.

Ye Sheng had too little time. Barely two weeks had passed since he’d started cultivation, and it was already very impressive that he was at Acquired Level Third Stage. He was also able to add on the strength from Earth, so once all that was unleashed, he would be able to protect himself to a certain extent.

The night was quiet, and the moon shone down brightly. Ye Sheng continued to go through his moves in the room in order to understand them better.

…

Toward the later half of the night, Lord Ye returned to the manor. When he came back, he went straight to Hu Mei’s room, which made her overjoyed. Lord Ye hadn’t come to her room even once since he had returned to the manor, and she’d thought that he had grown tired of her.

“Master, you’re back so late. Were those cultivators very difficult to handle?” asked Hu Mei quietly as she helped to scrub Lord Ye’s back.

Lord Ye shut his eyes as he sat in the bathtub and said, “Perhaps I’ve been living in Xianyang for too long. All sorts of random people have decided to appear here.”

“But Master, your martial arts level is number one in the world, so who dares to come and make trouble in Xianyang?” said Hu Mei disdainfully.

“What do you mean number one in the world? I’ve not seen the ends of this world myself. There’s no point telling you so much since you won’t understand anyway. Consort Ye has returned to the manor today, right? Did anything happen?” asked Lord Ye as he changed the topic.

Hu Mei became alert and replied, “There was a really big commotion this morning. The first thing that the consort did when she got back was to make the Old Lady so angry that she went back to the shrine and didn’t come out again.”

Lord Ye said coldly, “What was the reason?”

“Probably because of your twelfth son. The consort threw a fit when she saw that Number Twelve wasn’t around to receive her and argued with the Old Lady. After making the Old Lady storm off, she had a chat with Number Twelve alone for six hours.” Hu Mei purposely exaggerated a little.

Lord Ye frowned. “Number Twelve? Ye Sheng?”

“Yup. First Madam gave him new clothes, and he looked like a completely different person. Everyone was so shocked. His aura was even classier than Eldest Young Master, and his steps carried weight too. He was completely different from the way he used to be,” replied Hu Mei in a coquettish voice.

Lord Ye opened his eyes, as if lightning had flashed within them. They could have terrified souls. He stared at Hu Mei and said, “Are you saying that Ye Sheng has learned martial arts?”

Hu Mei got a terrible fright and quickly replied, “I didn’t say that. But the servants have been talking among themselves. Ye Sheng’s performance today has overturned everyone’s impressions and understanding of him, so the servants were saying that he might have been holding it in all this while and waiting for the consort to return so that he can make use of the consort’s liking for him to leave Ye Manor.”

Lord Ye stared at Hu Mei with a gaze like a wolf’s. Hu Mei’s heart pounded wildly in fear. She had barely managed to get all these words out and didn’t dare to say anymore after that.

“These are not words from the servants, but from you, aren’t they?” asked Lord Ye flatly.

Hu Mei’s heart pounded even more quickly now, and she quickly defended herself. “Master, no matter how jealous I am, I wouldn’t malign Ye Sheng. But Ye Sheng really looked like a completely different person this afternoon.”

“I got it. It looks like I have to test Ye Sheng more carefully. After His Majesty leaves tomorrow, I’m going to check if Ye Sheng has really gone to learn martial arts secretly. If he has really done so, then I’m going to make sure he remembers the rules of Ye Manor for the rest of his life,” said Lord Ye coldly as he leaned back in the bathtub again.

Hu Mei instantly had a look of glee on her face when she heard this. Then she replaced her gleeful expression with a flirtatious one as she removed her clothes and sat inside the bathtub with Lord Ye. She said coquettishly, “Master, don’t think about such things anymore. It’s nighttime already.”

Lord Ye reached out to pull her closer to him, and Hu Mei let out a squeal. After that, water splashed in all directions as they got busy in the tub.