Chapter 59

Jiang Yunhai saw Jiang Yi in such a state, a trace of pain appeared on his face, but he did not offer much comfort, for he did not know how to console him. Such matters, Jiang Yi would eventually have to know. Anyone who learns they have no father and that their mother is dead would be sad, right? Jiang Yi, in this state, is still considered to have a steady and resilient character.

Jiang Yi forced himself not to think about these things, but his mind was still filled with too many doubts. After a moment, he asked calmly, "Grandpa, is the seal in my dantian also her doing?"

"Perhaps. The lady might have wanted to seal your dantian to make you an ordinary person. I was too stubborn back then, which led to a series of events. If I hadn't left, none of this would have happened..."

Jiang Yunhai sighed deeply, then seemed to remember something. His cloudy eyes sparkled as he looked at Jiang Yi's dantian and asked, "Young Master, how did you break the seal? Was it really when the Jiang Cloud Snake attacked you, and the fire dragon shadow automatically came out to protect you, thus breaking the seal?"

"Not entirely!"

Jiang Yi shook his head, fell silent for a moment, and then began to recount everything that had happened half a year ago, not even hiding the mysterious nameless cultivation technique and the black essence energy. In his heart, Jiang Yunhai was absolutely trustworthy. Of course, he was also very curious and wanted Jiang Yunhai to see what this black essence energy was and why it was so extraordinary.

"This..."

Jiang Yunhai was stunned after listening. He placed his hand on Jiang Yi's back and immediately channeled a thread of essence energy into Jiang Yi's body to investigate. After a moment, he asked in surprise, "Young Master, there is no black essence energy in your dantian."

"It's used up. I'll extract a strand now!"

Jiang Yi quickly sat down to cultivate. However, he was shocked himself. In the past, it took him nearly half an hour to extract a thread of black essence energy, but now it only took a moment for a strand to appear in his dantian, with the extraction speed being dozens of times faster!

"Right, the seal, my seal is completely broken, so my cultivation speed should have increased a lot! Yes... let's see how fast I can extract blue essence energy!"

Jiang Yi was startled and quickly cleared his mind to start the River Water Technique. As he did, his body trembled again, and he suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with disbelief.

"What's wrong, Young Master?" Jiang Yunhai asked with concern.

"My cultivation speed..." Jiang Yi opened his mouth wide and exclaimed after a long pause, "is at least a hundred times faster than before!"

"What?"

Jiang Yunhai's body also trembled, and he asked in a deep voice, "Young Master, are you sure?"

Seeing Jiang Yi nod affirmatively, Jiang Yunhai's heart was stirred. Jiang Yi's original cultivation speed was very slow, about thirty to forty times slower than Jiang Henshui. Now, if his cultivation speed is a hundred times faster, that means... his cultivation speed is now two to three times that of Jiang Henshui?

Jiang Yunhai was very clear about Jiang Henshui's talent. At his age, he had reached the Ninth Level of the Cauldron Formation Realm, making him the best in Tianyu City and quite good even in the Wuwu Kingdom! If Jiang Yi's cultivation speed is two to three times faster than his, then Jiang Yi's talent is absolutely on par with the top geniuses in the Wuwu Kingdom, even comparable to the top five geniuses on the Qingyun List!

The Wuwu Kingdom has a Qingyun List, where geniuses under the age of twenty can be listed, ranked by their talent and combat strength. Those who make it to the top ten of the Qingyun List are all world-class geniuses, and as long as they don't die young, they have a bright future.

"Oh... I must be getting old. The lady and that person are so powerful; how could Young Master's talent be poor? The lady must have known that Young Master's talent was extraordinary and sealed his dantian so he wouldn't cultivate, right?"

Jiang Yunhai muttered to himself, suddenly enlightened, and said to Jiang Yi, "1000. Have you extracted the black essence energy? Blend it with the blue essence energy and let me see. Don't worry... this time I'll use my divine sense to perceive it, so your essence energy won't be disturbed."

Jiang Yi nodded, gathered a strand of black essence energy, and blended it with the blue essence energy, making his vision terrifyingly sharp. He then turned to Jiang Yunhai and asked, "Grandpa, do you see anything?"

Jiang Yunhai kept his eyes closed, but the surprise on his old face grew more intense. Finally, he opened his eyes and said repeatedly, "Strange, strange, how can there be black essence energy in this world? And it's so extraordinary, able to blend with other essence energies? After blending, its power doubles, and it even enhances the senses? This is definitely not essence energy. What is it?"

"Hmm..."

Jiang Yi was taken aback; even Jiang Yunhai didn't know what this black essence energy was?

Jiang Yunhai muttered a few more words and had Jiang Yi extract another strand of black essence energy to blend. Using his powerful divine sense, he finally confirmed, "Young Master, this is definitely not essence energy! You know, cultivation in this world involves absorbing the five elements of heaven and earth and converting them into essence energy of various attributes. So, most cultivators on the continent have essence energy of the five attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Of course... there are some people in this world who have special essence energy, like me! I cultivate lightning attribute essence energy, so my essence energy is purple. There are thirteen known special essence energies in this world, but none of them are like yours—able to blend with other essence energies and have such extraordinary enhancement abilities! And you can only extract ten strands of this black energy, so I conclude that this is not essence energy but some kind of mysterious energy. This nameless cultivation technique is likely left by the person who sealed your dantian..."

"That's not right!"

Jiang Yi frowned and said, "Grandpa, didn't you say my dantian was sealed by her? If she didn't want me to cultivate and didn't want me to know my true identity, living a simple and ordinary life, then why would she leave such a powerful nameless cultivation technique?"

Jiang Yunhai nodded and said, "So I'm not sure if your dantian was sealed by the lady! If it was her, she definitely wouldn't leave any powerful cultivation technique, but if it wasn't her, then who could it be?"

"Right!"

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Yunhai said very seriously, "Young Master, you must remember one thing! This nameless cultivation technique and the black energy must never be revealed to anyone outside of me, not even to anyone else! Otherwise, it will bring you endless trouble..."

Jiang Yi nodded, and Jiang Yunhai waved his hand as he walked out, saying, "Young Master, rest for a while. I'll go set things up. Your news should be kept secret, or it will cause trouble if it spreads..."

...

"Hall Master, headquarters has replied. The Western Governor has only one son, Jiang Niliu. The Western Governor is a rigid person who values rules and has a very strict lifestyle. There has never been any news of him having any affairs with women outside of the governor's wife, so Jiang Yi cannot be the governor's illegitimate child."

In the Martial Hall, Elder Fei was respectfully reporting to the Hall Master. The Hall Master touched the silver earring in his ear and nodded, saying, "I have met the Western Governor, Jiang Boli, once. He is indeed a rigid person, and the trend of legalism in the Wuwu Kingdom in recent years also reflects this. He values the rule of law and wants to abolish the rule of man and promote the rule of law! Since he emphasizes the rule of law, he naturally sets an example himself. It seems that Jiang Yi is indeed not his illegitimate child..."

Elder Fei continued, "There are also a few rumors from the Ji family. Jiang Yi's dantian was sealed, but his cultivation speed in the past half year has been extremely fast. One reason is the help of our elixirs, and the other is that his cultivation speed is now on par with Jiang Henshui and Ji Tingyu. His combat strength is also very strong, and it is said that he cultivates a Heaven Rank martial technique left by his mother. Additionally... the fire dragon shadow that killed the Jiang Cloud Snake is also news. It is a powerful magical tool left by his mother, containing a powerful energy that can save Jiang Yi's life in critical moments, but it is a one-time use item."

"Heaven Rank martial technique? Magical tool?"

The Hall Master shook his head and sneered, "These rumors are likely spread by Jiang Yunhai. Jiang Yi's mother? Nonsense! For such a powerful magical tool, how powerful would Jiang Yi's mother have to be to create it? At least at the peak of the Divine Traveling Realm, and there are no more than five such powerful women on the entire continent! However... regardless, Jiang Yi's parents must be very powerful, with at least one at the peak of the Divine Traveling Realm, and a strong person who has begun to comprehend Dao patterns. Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to leave such a powerful magical tool for Jiang Yi."

"What about the Martial Hall's bet with Jiang Yi?" Elder Fei asked. With such powerful parents, should Jiang Yi still be a slave in the Martial Hall for life?

"Cancel it!"

The Hall Master waved his hand and said, "Of course, we can't mention this. We'll wait for Jiang Yunhai to come to us. It's not bad to owe him a favor."

...

The news Elder Fei heard was naturally spread by Jiang Yunhai. The fire dragon shadow that emerged from Jiang Yi's dantian was too terrifying, capable of instantly killing a Seventh Level of the Purple Mansion Realm cultivator. If he had a powerful mother, everything would be easier to explain.

Although many powerful families still didn't believe this explanation, it did stop many from speculating. After the news spread, no one dared to talk about it much. Jiang Yunhai spreading the news indicated that he didn't want anyone to discuss it further, or he would be very angry...

The Jiang family and the Ma family's courtyard were still surrounded by the Western Governor's army, with no one allowed to enter or leave. Jiang Yunhai didn't care about it and was now in a side hall of the City Lord's residence, meeting with three mentors from the Spirit Beast Mountain Academy.

"You want Jiang Yi to continue participating in the competition?"

Upon learning Jiang Yunhai's intention, Elder Fu's white eyebrows furrowed, and he remained silent. The other two mentors also looked uncomfortable. On that day, Jiang Yunhai had said that if Jiang Yi died, everyone would have to pay with their lives, so they naturally felt some resentment...

"Yes!"

Jiang Yunhai nodded and said seriously, "Jiang Yi was forced to abandon the competition because someone kidnapped his servant. I'm sure you've heard about it, and it's not his fault. You've seen his combat strength. If he joins your academy, I believe he will not make your academy lose face. In fact... your academy will surpass the other two major academies because of him!"

If Jiang Yi's seal hadn't been broken, Jiang Yunhai might have taken him far away to live a peaceful life in a small town. But after learning about Jiang Yi's extraordinary cultivation speed and the mysterious black essence energy, Jiang Yunhai was moved. Even though Jiang Yi's mother didn't want him to cultivate, how could Jiang Yunhai watch such a genius be buried?

"No!"

A cold voice interrupted Jiang Yunhai's thoughts. The young male mentor said firmly, "Rules are rules. Since 536 has already withdrawn, he cannot participate again. How can we explain this to all the participants and the dean when we return?"

Elder Fu also nodded and said, "Indeed, the academy has its rules. Regardless of the reason, once withdrawn, it's withdrawn."

The beautiful and cold Su mentor, even more beautiful than Ji Tingyu, also shook her head, clearly disagreeing.

"Then I'll take my leave. Mentors, I was angry that day and said inappropriate things. I hope you can forgive me!"

Jiang Yunhai sighed, bowed, and left with his dragon-headed cane, limping. After he left, the young male mentor immediately sneered, "What a joke! At sixteen or seventeen, he's only at the Fourth Level of the Cauldron Formation Realm. Even if he has a Heaven Rank martial technique to enhance his combat strength, how can the academy surpass the other two major academies because of him? Dream on!"

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