Chapter 74

Following the sound, a young man approached, his gaze sharp like a sword, pausing briefly on Chu Yan before turning away with disdain and looking at Ruo Xi: "The Flame Alliance has quite the presence this year, with a total of nine new students. What, do you want to take them all in?"

"Li Yan!" Mu Ye's eyes turned cold, revealing a hint of killing intent.

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"What? Do you have a grudge?" Chu Yan glanced at Mu Ye's reaction.

"He's a third-year student, a member of the Eternal Life Hall, and Lin Changsheng's lackey." Mu Ye snorted coldly, his eyes filled with coldness.

"Hey, isn't that the dog Mu Ye? You were kicked out of the Eternal Life Hall, and now you've fallen to this level? Mixing with a bunch of new students? Isn't that embarrassing?" Li Yan sneered.

Mu Ye was furious at first, but soon he smiled calmly: "Embarrassing? I've never felt that way. On the contrary, it's my honor. Li Yan, you should believe that soon, Chu Yan will be so strong that neither you nor Lin Changsheng will be worthy to even mention his name!"

After Mu Ye spoke, Li Yan's disdain grew, and he drew a gust of wind from his palm, aiming to slap Mu Ye's face.

"Slap!" Mu Ye tried to block, but the next moment, his eyes widened as his body froze, unable to move. He lifted his head angrily, looking past Li Yan toward Lin Changsheng.

The slap landed squarely on Mu Ye's face, a public humiliation.

Mu Ye was at the third level of Absolute Dust, not weaker than Li Yan. If they had a fair fight, Mu Ye might not have lost. But just now, Mu Ye didn't move at all.

This made Chu Yan frown and glance at Lin Changsheng, his eyes cold. He knew that Lin Changsheng had used his Essence Energy to suppress Mu Ye.

"Waste, you think you can turn things around after leaving the Eternal Life Hall?" Li Yan taunted, raising his hand to strike again.

"If you dare to land that hand, I'll chop it off today, whether you believe me or not." Chu Yan suddenly shouted, his eyes glaring. In that moment, Li Yan felt as if he was being stared down by a fierce dragon, ready to be devoured.

The raised hand hesitated and did not fall.

"Get lost!" Chu Yan coldly shouted, a surge of Essence Energy from the seventh level of Moving Dust flowing around him.

Li Yan clenched his fists; the Essence Energy had no effect on him, but he didn't dare to act. He knew about Chu Yan's previous rage that led to the death of Qinghong. He glanced at Chu Yan and laughed: "Kid, don't get too cocky. We'll see in the Mirror Trial. In the Mirror Trial, there's no such thing as background. When the time comes, I'll teach you how to behave."

Chu Yan ignored Li Yan and said to Mu Ye: "Remember this slap. When you have the chance to step on him, give it back hard."

"Rest assured, I'll remember it!" Mu Ye stared at Lin Changsheng, speaking word by word.

At this moment, Lin Changsheng finally spoke calmly: "You're Chu Yan, right? I've heard of you, the one from the Wilderness, quite terrifying."

Chu Yan glanced at Lin Changsheng and didn't speak. Lin Changsheng continued: "But as a senior, I'll give you a well-intentioned warning. This is the Vast Heaven Sect, not the Wilderness. In the Vast Heaven Sect, you must follow the rules here. In the martial path, background is just a small part. To go far, you must rely on yourself. If one day the Wilderness discovers that you are just a waste and not worth cultivating, will the Wilderness still cultivate you?"

Lin Changsheng's words were harsh, but they caused a stir. In the martial path, strength is paramount. Many empires and sects are the same. If you have talent, your family will cultivate you. If you don't, your family won't value you.

Lin Changsheng's words were telling many people that even with the Wilderness as his background, Chu Yan was weak, and he would have no achievements in the future.

After all, the Wilderness is not a hereditary power. In these major places, only the king is respected. If you are a waste, even if the Lord of the Wilderness passes the throne to you, you can't keep it.

"Thank you, Senior. Chu Yan will remember. If one day I am stronger than you, I will also give you a well-intentioned warning: don't be too arrogant. Just because you've cultivated a few more years, you're still a waste!" Chu Yan said slowly.

Everyone tensed up. Chu Yan dared to be so direct with Lin Changsheng? This had never happened in the Vast Heaven Sect.

But it wasn't surprising, after all, he had the Wilderness. However, many people knew that the enmity between Lin Changsheng and Chu Yan was now set.

"Take good care of my weapon. Don't lose it. I will come to take it back eventually." Chu Yan added.

Lin Changsheng's eyes turned cold: "Don't worry, I'm afraid you won't be able to take it back!"

After that, no one spoke, and the atmosphere on the scene became a bit eerie. Lin Changsheng looked at this year's new students: "I want to recruit three disciples this year. Come to me, and I can give you a third-level residence. Think about it. These three, I don't want!"

As he spoke, Lin Changsheng pointed at Chu Yan, Ye Xun, and the fat one.

Hearing Lin Changsheng's words, the new students were moved. Joining the Eternal Life Hall would mean they could live without worry in the Vast Heaven Sect, with a large amount of cultivation resources. Wasn't that their goal in coming to the Vast Heaven Sect?

This month had been tough for them, and they were all tempted.

"Trying to sow discord?" Chu Yan sneered. Lin Changsheng's words were clearly meant to humiliate them and make all the new students keep their distance. But Chu Yan didn't speak. This was the martial path. Lin Changsheng was strong and the head of the Eternal Life Hall, with enough capital to look down on them.

"Third-level residence! There's a triple spirit-gathering array there, and it costs a hundred honor points a month."

"Plus, you can get a thousand honor points every three months, which you can use to exchange for good cultivation techniques." The new students began to stir.

"Think carefully. This month, Chu Yan has given you plenty of pills." Fan Ye looked at the group coldly.

"The pills are good, but... it's a third-level residence. I don't want to live in that shabby place anymore." At this moment, Chen Dong hesitated. He was the sixth-best among the new students, just behind Qian Dong and Zhao Yu.

"Brother Chu! I'm sorry... I'll return those pills to you." Chen Dong finally sighed and kept his distance from Chu Yan.

"Chen Dong, you bastard!" Qian Dong's face turned cold.

"I'll join too!" At this moment, another new student stood up, his head lowered, not daring to look at Chu Yan, and walked past him.

Seeing this, Mu Ye sighed. This seemed to be the norm in the martial world, not surprising. A thousand honor points and a third-level residence could instantly dissolve the fragile bonds of friendship.

But at this moment, a figure stepped forward, someone no one expected: Zhao Yu, who took a step forward.

"Zhao Yu! What are you doing?" Qian Dong's eyes widened. He didn't expect Zhao Yu to do the same. They were from the same empire, one from the royal family and the other from a martial marquis.

Zhao Yu shook his head: "Qian Dong, you have to look up. Besides, Lin Changsheng took Chu Yan's weapon, not ours. We should make our own choices. If you join, I believe the Eternal Life Hall will welcome you."

"You beast!" Qian Dong shouted: "How has Chu Yan treated us this month? He never gave us fewer pills. It was tough, but we were always together!"

"Yes, but I don't want to suffer anymore. I came here to rise to prominence, and the Eternal Life Hall can give me that. Chu Yan is from the Wilderness, so he has no worries. He can get many resources, but I don't. Why should I give up better resources for him?" Zhao Yu said coldly.

Qian Dong was speechless, his eyes red. At this moment, he grabbed the sword at his waist, but Chu Yan stopped him.

Chu Yan smiled at Qian Dong and shook his head. Today's events taught him a vivid lesson. These new students, who called him brother yesterday, spoke of sharing hardships, but overnight, their friendship vanished, and they were as cold as strangers.

"Brother Chu!" Qian Dong shouted, unwilling.

"It's fine. Zhao Yu is right. He has his own choice." Chu Yan laughed bitterly, then looked at Zhao Yu and said calmly: "Zhao Yu, your choice is not wrong, but remember one thing: the Eternal Life Hall is first now, but it may not always be."

Zhao Yu snorted and didn't respond, walking with Chen Dong and Hou Hao to the Eternal Life Hall side.

Seeing this, Lin Changsheng smiled calmly: "It seems these three are much smarter than you. In the martial world, talking about friendship is laughable."

Chu Yan didn't speak, and Lin Changsheng then looked at Lin Yuyan and said coldly: "Lin Yuyan, I advise you, if you don't want to be the enemy of the Eternal Life Hall, don't take these three. Otherwise, you know the consequences. I'll make sure your Flame Alliance can't even be second."

"Are you threatening me?" Lin Yuyan's eyes turned cold.

"Yes." Lin Changsheng smiled calmly, his eyes filled with a hint of amusement, showing no fear. This made Lin Yuyan's face turn serious, and she didn't speak.

"Let's go, Eternal Life Hall members, into the Mirror Trial!" At this moment, Lin Changsheng moved, his feet generating wind. Though he hadn't reached the King level, he had cultivated a high-level movement technique, allowing him to walk on air for a short distance, directly leaping into the Starlight Mirror Array.

Zhao Yu, Chen Dong, and Hou Hao glanced at Chu Yan one last time, then shook their heads and followed Lin Changsheng into the Mirror Trial.

"Ruo Xi, let's go." At this moment, Lin Yuyan's words surprised Ruo Xi: "Senior Sister, what about them?"

"We'll give up on this year's new students. We won't recruit anyone." Lin Yuyan suddenly said, leaping into the Mirror Trial.

Seeing Lin Yuyan's back, Ruo Xi was surprised. How could this happen? Was it because of Lin Changsheng's threat?

"Junior Brother Chu, I..." Ruo Xi looked at Chu Yan, filled with guilt. She didn't expect it to turn out this way.

"Senior Sister, don't blame yourself. In the Vast Heaven Sect, we still need to look out for each other." Chu Yan shook his head, interrupting Ruo Xi's words, but his voice lacked any warmth, instead showing a deliberate distance.

Chu Yan knew it wasn't Ruo Xi's fault, but he also knew that from today, the Flame Alliance and he would have no more connection, or perhaps they never did.

Ruo Xi sighed and handed a piece of jade to Chu Yan: "This is a first-level spirit jade. Take it and use it, or exchange it for some honor points. It should be enough to support your living expenses for the next month."

With that, Ruo Xi also entered the Mirror Trial. At this moment, only the four of them and a group of mixed old students remained outside the Mirror Trial. That group was the new student camp, which had never won a single match in the Mirror Trial.