Chapter 10

Zuo Heng's face turned grim, and the hand that was about to draw his sword behind him immediately stopped.

He understood the gravity of the words and wisely closed his mouth. Although the Zuo family held a prominent position, their influence was limited to the territory of Cangnan.

The Tiancong Academy, however, was the top institution in the Northern Five Kingdoms, and its principal, Qing Buli, was hailed as a "King of Martial Arts" and a great expert in the Wu realm. Even the royal family of Cangnan would not dare to provoke the academy.

Qin Zhen coldly snorted, "You disrupted the assessment order and should be severely punished. But I'm in a good mood today, so scram!"

Zuo Heng's face turned purple with anger, yet he was helpless.

Qin Zhen was a teacher at the Tiancong Academy, and his family's influence could not suppress him. Moreover, Zuo Heng could not defeat him in a fight.

He could only transfer his hatred to Yang Qingxuan, pointing at him and gritting his teeth, "Fine, you got lucky today. If you dare to harm someone from my Zuo family, I'll see if Qin Zhen can protect you for life!"

Yang Qingxuan brushed off the dust from his left shoulder and said calmly, "I wonder who's the lucky one." Though his words were light, he felt a sense of caution towards this person.

The moment Zuo Heng's right hand touched the sword behind him, Yang Qingxuan instinctively felt immense pressure, as if the other person had instantly transformed into a sword, giving him a sense of extreme sharpness and dominance.

He even sensed Qin Zhen's tension, as if he was also somewhat afraid of the sword. After Zuo Heng released the sword, Qin Zhen visibly relaxed.

"You...!"

Zuo Heng was driven to the brink of madness by Yang Qingxuan's defiance, yet he had no outlet for his anger. He felt that if he continued to be provoked, he would go mad.

Suddenly, a fragrant aroma wafted over, and the few people felt as if they were bathed in a spring breeze, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Wu Qiyue's figure flashed, and she leaped onto the stage, appearing in front of Yang Qingxuan. Her clear, lotus-like eyes gazed at him with a complex smile.

"Qiyue!"

Zuo Heng was startled. Such a gentle, water-like smile, he had only seen when she was secretly watching her play the zither.

His heart convulsed violently. He was certain that Wu Qiyue had never been so kind to any other man.

A surging wave of killing intent instantly filled Zuo Heng's mind, his eyes turning blood red, with only one thought: "Kill, kill, kill!"

But Wu Qiyue paid no attention to this, instead gazing at Yang Qingxuan with her clear, water-like eyes and smiling, "I'll be waiting for you in the Inner Court."

This statement caused a stir among the crowd, and the audience below erupted in chaos!

"What's going on? Even if this fool... oh... no... this classmate passes the assessment, he's just an ordinary student!"

A student in the audience called out in dissatisfaction, almost saying "fool," but quickly corrected himself by slapping his own mouth.

"Does Wu Qiyue have a thing for him? Impossible, I don't believe it!"

"Speaking of looks, I completely outshine him! In terms of Wu soul quality, he's just a low-grade, while I'm a mid-grade! Why? Why?!"

Zuo Heng's eyes were filled with gloom, his heart filled with countless grievances and confusion!

Yang Qingxuan was also confused. Logically, the top beauty of the academy wouldn't be interested in him.

Moreover, with his Grandmaster's intuition, Wu Qiyue's strength was certainly not as harmless as her appearance, but rather extremely terrifying.

"The Inner Court?"

Memories flooded his mind. The Inner Court was the gathering place for all the elite students of the Tiancong Academy. Every year, there was a strict assessment, and only those who passed could enter to cultivate.

Every student who came out of the Inner Court would become a marquis or a general, a pillar of the empire.

Most of the martial arts experts in Cangnan came from the Inner Court, so it was also a huge network of influence, the aspiration of all students.

Yang Qingxuan's previous goal was just to become a martial artist, and he had never thought of entering the Inner Court. But now, he had the qualifications to challenge it.

"Alright, I'll definitely come!" Yang Qingxuan's eyes flashed with determination as he said calmly.

Zuo Heng pointed at him, saying word by word, "If you have the guts to come to the Inner Court, I'll personally kill you!"

Yang Qingxuan glanced at him and sneered, "What are you?"

Zuo Heng was enraged to the extreme. In the entire Tiancong Academy, no one had ever dared to speak to him like this. Moreover, it was just an unknown nobody. If it were outside the academy or without Qin Zhen's protection, he would have been torn to pieces long ago!

What happened next made his anger reach its peak.

Wu Qiyue stepped in front of Yang Qingxuan, staring at him coldly, "What do you want to do?"

Qin Zhen was also startled and quickly stood behind Yang Qingxuan, with energy spirals flowing between his hands, ready to prevent Zuo Heng from suddenly attacking.

With Wu Qiyue and Qin Zhen protecting Yang Qingxuan, Zuo Heng knew he had no chance of gaining any advantage, so he said hatefully, "Fine, fine! I'll let this fool live a few more days!"

Wu Qiyue's face was cold, and Yang Qingxuan's identity was very special, not to be harmed by others.

But then she thought, fearing further provoking Zuo Heng, "You can deal with him, but he's only at the Qi Wu realm. Even if you win, it won't be a fair victory."

Her eyes flashed with determination, and she extended one finger, "One year, give him one year. You can challenge him after one year."

Zuo Heng's eyes shot out killing intent, "Is that what you said?"

Wu Qiyue replied, "Of course."

Zuo Heng, seeing her confident demeanor, was furious, "Fine, I'll agree to it! Let him live for one more year. If he loses, whether he lives or dies, you can't interfere again!"

Wu Qiyue nodded, "Alright, I'll follow your words."

Although Zuo Heng was still seething with anger, he felt somewhat relieved after hearing this. But he was still filled with doubts. Who was this fool, and what was his relationship with Wu Qiyue?

He was certain that Wu Qiyue had never met this person before.

Yang Qingxuan also had many doubts, but he could only keep them in his heart, waiting to unravel them gradually.

After Wu Qiyue finished speaking, she left as calmly as she had come.

Zuo Heng followed behind her, but he was no longer composed, his face as dark as water, seemingly plotting something.

This interlude was too shocking, and everyone's eyes were fixed on Yang Qingxuan, as if they had never seen him before.

After watching Wu Qiyue and Zuo Heng walk away, Qin Zhen retracted his gaze and said, "Yang Qingxuan, that move you just used..."

Yang Qingxuan's mind raced, unsure how to respond, but then he heard Qin Zhen continue, "It seems not only have you recovered your mental faculties, but your cultivation has also greatly improved. You must have reached the peak of the Qi Wu realm, right?"

Although the surrounding students had guessed as much, they were still shocked to hear Qin Zhen confirm it. Reaching the peak of the Qi Wu realm meant the next step was to condense a Wu soul and enter the Ling Wu realm, becoming a true martial artist!

The Ling Wu realm was the basic requirement for entering the Inner Court. Although there had been exceptional cases of students entering the Inner Court at the Qi Wu realm, they were extremely rare.

The entire assessment field was silent, and many students showed signs of worry and unease. Over the past three years, they had bullied Yang Qingxuan quite a bit.

Qin Zhen took out a book and handed it to Yang Qingxuan, "This contains my interpretations of condensing a Wu soul. Take it and read it. You offended Zuo Heng, so you might have some trouble. But don't worry, as long as you're my student, I'll protect you. With me around, Zuo Heng won't dare to do anything to you."

Yang Qingxuan felt a warm current in his heart and clasped his hands, "Thank you, teacher." He then left alone, under the uncertain gazes of the crowd.

Having passed the assessment, he wanted to go home first and tell his grandfather the good news.

Go home!