Chapter 9

"Th... this..." Liu Heng's mind was a complete blank, his legs gave out, and he fell to his knees, trembling with fear.

Ye Qingyu crossed his arms, not even sparing him a glance.

"Brother Ye, just let me off this time..." Liu Heng, who was almost in tears, rushed to Ye Qingyu, like a dog begging for mercy.

Ye Qingyu still said nothing.

He turned his head to look at the Asura Slaughter Martial God statue of mind that he had just ignited.

The Asura's will has always been clear about rewards and punishments, not playing the role of a saint. Everyone must pay the price for their actions. If Liu Heng could be let off just by begging a few times, it would not align with Ye Qingyu's martial path.

"This... Brother Ye, if you let me off, from now on, I will cover all your cultivation resources and expenses for four years, everything can be negotiated..." Liu Heng, in a panic, was willing to bleed heavily and offered such a condition.

Ye Qingyu, hearing this, shook his head and said, "I will not make any deals with you. I do not want my cultivation path to be built on the dirty money of people like you."

Liu Heng was stunned.

He did not expect Ye Qingyu to be so unyielding.

"I said I would make you kneel and beg me," a smile appeared on Ye Qingyu's face.

Seeing Liu Heng trembling as if he was about to kneel, he stepped aside and continued, "However, even if you kneel now, I will not participate in the Blood Qi test. Besides not wanting to be a snake charmer with someone like you, more importantly, I believe someone like you does not deserve to be a teacher at Bai Lu Academy. Keeping you around might result in other talented students from humble backgrounds becoming victims."

Liu Heng's face turned pale, then red.

He knew that no matter what he did today, this young man would not compromise.

"Don't push things to the extreme." Liu Heng gritted his teeth, his triangular face turning vicious, a trace of resentment flashing in his eyes as he lowered his voice, "I am still a member of the Liu family. Leave a little room for future encounters."

"I am the kind of person who likes to push things to the extreme," Ye Qingyu said, word by word.

At the same time, on the other side.

Kong Kong also heard the entire story from the other students.

This chief instructor's eyes were filled with anger, like a sharp sword, landing on Liu Heng, and said, "As a student instructor, you have received the education and training from the academy, but instead of thinking about attracting talented people for the academy, you have caused private grievances to disrupt the admission exams, almost missing a genius. This is truly unforgivable. Resign yourself!"

Liu Heng, as if struck by lightning, trembled all over and opened his mouth to say, "Lord Kong, I have been in the academy for over thirty years, even if I have no great achievements, I have at least put in a lot of effort, I..."

"Get out!" Kong Kong's voice was like a thunderclap, terrifying yuan force surging.

Liu Heng was directly thrown away.

His fate was decided in that instant.

Kong Kong's gaze shifted to Ye Qingyu, and the originally stern and fierce expression turned into a warm smile, "You did well. If you had forgiven him just now, I would have looked down on you. A martial artist's heart must be firm, and clear about rewards and punishments to achieve mental clarity. If you had forgiven him just because of his few words of begging, you would have betrayed the true meaning of the Asura Slaughter Mind Statue, and your future achievements would be limited."

Ye Qingyu knew that this respected chief instructor was guiding him, feeling grateful, he bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you, Master Kong, for your guidance."

Bai Lu Academy has stood in Luming County for decades, and there are many truly noble and virtuous martial instructors.

"Your performance is already enough to join Bai Lu Academy. As for the Blood Qi test, you don't need to take it. Go back and prepare, and report tomorrow."

Kong Kong left a message, personally approved Ye Qingyu's nameplate, and gave a few instructions to another instructor before turning to leave.

At the same time, the crowd around them was completely沸腾 (boiling).

Being personally selected by the chief instructor after only taking five out of six tests, this was the first time in history. Just from this point, Ye Qingyu was already famous.

It can be imagined that this news, along with everything that happened today, would spread rapidly throughout Luming County.

Was Ye Qingyu, who had endured four years of ridicule and cold glances in Luming County, finally about to rise to prominence?

Four years of silence, and then a stunning debut?

...

...

Nightfall.

The dim streetlights stretched the shadows of passersby long and thin.

"Strange, why did Instructor Kong tell me not to participate in the Blood Qi test?" Ye Qingyu, with a blade of grass in his mouth, hands behind his head, wandered aimlessly.

The ancestral home had long been sold, and he had nothing to prepare. He could go to the academy to report early the next morning.

Taking only five out of six tests, even if the results of these five tests were top-notch, his ranking on the overall list would definitely not be in the top twenty. Although this ranking was just for admission and had no rewards, it was still a proof of strength.

Ye Qingyu originally wanted to take all six tests and win the top spot in the Bai Lu Academy admission test.

"Perhaps Chief Instructor Kong is worried that my performance this time is too eye-catching, afraid that the tallest tree will be the first to be struck by the wind?"

Ye Qingyu vaguely guessed.

He always felt that this Chief Instructor Kong seemed to have some special concern for him.

This concern was not just because of his extremely high talent, but more like the care an elder or a relative would have for a younger one.

But the problem was, Ye Qingyu was certain that this was the first time he had met the chief instructor.

Lost in thought, Ye Qingyu found himself at his parents' graves.

For four years, this small cemetery had been the only place Ye Qingyu had in Luming County. He lay down in the grass in front of the graves, breathing in the faint scent of fresh grass...

Everything here was so familiar, making Ye Qingyu feel incredibly comfortable.

"Father, Mother, I did it. I'm going to enter Bai Lu Academy tomorrow. Hehe, I told you, I'm a genius. That old bearded man was right, I will shock the entire Luming County."

Ye Qingyu's face showed a proud smile.

"Father, Mother, I will complete my studies at Bai Lu Academy in the shortest time, leave here, uncover the secret in the badge, and follow your instructions to find the thing that belongs to me in the Snow Kingdom's royal family."

"Nothing can stop me..."

"The secret in the military medal, I haven't discovered it yet, but I will find it sooner or later. Rest assured, I will fulfill everything recorded in it..."

"Of course, the events of the city defense battle, even though you didn't say, I know your deaths were not as simple as they seemed. I swear, I will investigate it thoroughly."

Looking up at the night sky, Ye Qingyu's thoughts were many.

He chattered on, as if his parents were still alive and listening quietly by his side.

The night grew deeper.

But Ye Qingyu couldn't fall asleep.

He sat cross-legged, hands on his dantian, tongue touching the palate, eyes focused on the nose, nose focused on the heart, and heart focused on one point, suddenly entering a state of deep meditation, breathing in a very peculiar rhythm.

At first, there was nothing special.

But after dozens of breaths, with Ye Qingyu's slow and long breaths, although there was no visible airflow, the grass within a yard around him began to sway as if it were alive, undulating like waves, as if worshiping a king.

Warm currents surged through Ye Qingyu's body.

Ye Qingyu imagined that with each breath, he was continuously bringing in fresh air from the outside and expelling impurities from his body.

This was the unnamed breathing method his father had taught him.

Since Ye Qingyu could remember, his father, a martial artist, had not taught him any cultivation techniques but had strictly required him to practice this breathing method every morning, noon, and night for an hour, without interruption under any circumstances.

Later, after his parents died in the city defense battle, Ye Qingyu, though sad, followed his father's last instructions and continued to practice this breathing method.

This method did not seem to be a body-strengthening secret or a technique for drawing in yuan force.

After practicing for so many years, Ye Qingyu only felt that he had become a bit stronger and healthier, but there seemed to be nothing particularly special.

He guessed it probably wasn't some world-shaking technique.

But one day many years ago, the old dean of Bai Lu Academy, who was out for a walk, saw Ye Qingyu just after he finished his breathing exercise. He saw something that made him exclaim in surprise, calling Ye Qingyu a world-class genius.

This unintentional exclamation spread, pushing Ye Qingyu to the forefront.

Although the old dean later realized his mistake and felt uneasy, he secretly made some compensation to Ye Qingyu, but that was all in the past.

Under the night sky, time passed minute by minute.

Ye Qingyu practiced his breathing for an hour, then lay down in the grass and fell into a deep sleep.

...

...

Just as Ye Qingyu fell asleep at his parents' graves, a small banquet was taking place at the "Tian Yi Ju" in the fourth-year area of Bai Lu Academy.

"Tian Yi Ju"!

This ancient, single-story villa was the most prestigious and prominent private club in the entire fourth-year area.

It was founded by several legendary noble students of Bai Lu Academy, aiming to attract and cultivate the most outstanding noble students, and also to help nobles expand their social and networking circles.

After these legendary noble students graduated, "Tian Yi Ju" continued to exist, and only those truly born into noble families and with outstanding achievements at Bai Lu Academy were eligible to be here.