Chapter 21

Qingzhou.

The news of the events at the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy had reached Qingzhou. Inside the hall, Deputy City Lord Zhou Yuan and the manager of the Immortal Treasure Pavilion, Old Mo, both looked extremely grim.

They had just released Ye Clan's patriarch, Ye Lin, but now they suddenly learned that Ye Tianming had offended the entire Xiao family and the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy...

"Damn it, is this a joke?"

Old Mo suddenly said, "Should we put Ye Lin back in custody?"

Zhou Yuan stared at him, "If we do that, we'll offend Ye Tianming even more?"

Old Mo slapped his thigh, "What can we do? Old Yuan, our family head has already received the news. The Xiao family is determined to get rid of Ye Tianming. Anyone related to him, the Xiao family won't let go. Tell me, can we, two minor figures, afford to offend the Xiao family?"

Old Yuan said in a deep voice, "Your ancestor and the Human Sword Master were at least brothers..."

"It's useless!"

Old Mo shook his head, "A new emperor, new ministers. Although my Mo family's ancestor had a close relationship with the Human Sword Master in the past, you know very well that the Human Sword Master hasn't appeared for many years. Over the years, the fact that our Mo family has managed to survive is already a good outcome."

As he spoke, he sighed softly, "In the era of the Human Sword Master, our Mo family was once glorious, but now... how many people in the world still remember the Human Sword Master? The era of the Human Sword Master has truly ended!"

Zhou Yuan was silent. The Human Sword Master... this name was already very, very unfamiliar to everyone.

After a moment, Zhou Yuan suddenly stood up, "Dare you take a bet?"

Old Mo looked at Zhou Yuan in confusion, "Bet... bet on what?"

Zhou Yuan stared at Old Mo intently, "Old Mo, we have no way out. If we go and put Ye Lin back in custody now, what will we become? This will become a laughingstock in the entire Qingzhou, and we'll never be able to hold our heads up again. Moreover, we'll offend the Ye family... Since that's the case, why not take a bold step and support the Ye family?"

Old Mo's voice trembled, "How... how to bet?"

A fierce look flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes, "We'll write a joint letter and directly report to the Guanxuan Outer Academy, saying that the Ye family has been greatly wronged, and that the relocation matter has many flaws, requesting a thorough investigation by the Outer Academy!"

"No, no!"

Old Mo quickly stood up, trembling, "Old Yuan, you're playing too big a game! If we do this, even our Mo family's ancestor can't protect me..."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, "Old Mo, we really have no way out. We can either live a wretched life, but I tell you, the Xiao family will never let us off. Since that's the case, we might as well fight a grand battle. I'm going to go all out, you can do as you please!"

With that, he walked out.

At the spot, Old Mo remained silent for a long time. Then he gritted his teeth, "Damn it, let's do it! Either we die or we bring glory to our ancestors!"

As he spoke, he looked up at the sky, "Ancestor, please bless me this one time!"

With that, he strode out.

...

Yongzhou, Guanxuan Academy.

Ye Tianming and Nanling Zhao arrived at the Yongzhou Guanxuan Academy. On the way up the mountain, Nanling Zhao looked up at the academy on the mountaintop and said, "Although the Yongzhou Guanxuan Academy is not as good as the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy, it is currently ranked tenth among the ten thousand states, and its overall educational resources are very good."

Ye Tianming was somewhat curious, "Is this ranking based on strength?"

Nanling Zhao nodded, "Of course. The ten thousand state competition is not only used by the Guanxuan Academy to select talents, but it is also a form of competition among the ten thousand states. After each ten thousand state competition, the states will be re-ranked, and this ranking is very, very important for the states. It is equivalent to an evaluation of the academy's principal and the elder council of each state. The top five states' academy principals and elder councils will definitely be promoted to the Guanxuan Academy, and the principal of the top-ranked state will be guaranteed a position in the Outer Academy..."

As she spoke, she turned to look at Ye Tianming, "The reason the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy wants the Xiao family to replace your special admission quota is not only because they want to give the Xiao family a favor, but also because the Xiao family's genius has a high chance of helping Qingzhou achieve a higher ranking. In their view, a member of a low-ranking family is absolutely not comparable to a member of a second-tier family, so they are willing to violate the rules to do this."

Ye Tianming was silent.

Nanling Zhao continued, "They didn't expect that you could pass the Guanxuan Path. Often, when a mistake happens, they don't admit their mistake but try to erase the 'mistake.' Only when your strength far exceeds theirs, making them fear and tremble, will they admit their mistake. Of course, at that time, they don't really think they were wrong; they just fear death."

Ye Tianming said, "Miss Zhao, logically, shouldn't people with higher strength and status be smarter?"

Nanling Zhao smiled, "Some people are indeed like that. In the Guanxuan Academy, I have been fortunate to meet many truly smart people, and they are all young, like the children of first-tier families. They are truly like geniuses, very capable. But that's on the condition that your identity and strength are equal to theirs, and you are in the same circle. Otherwise, they will... on the surface, they will be polite, courteous, and well-mannered, but in their hearts, they will truly look down on and ignore you."

Ye Tianming was silent.

Nanling Zhao added, "Some people, the higher their strength and status, the more they become arrogant... actually, I also become arrogant."

Ye Tianming turned to look at Nanling Zhao, somewhat surprised.

Nanling Zhao smiled, "Don't believe it?"

Ye Tianming said seriously, "In my heart, you are a very good person."

Nanling Zhao laughed, "Thank you for recognizing me, but I tell you, I have indeed become arrogant, especially when I first became an inspector. Do you know how much power an inspector has in the regions? To give you a simple example, the officials I encounter in the regions, when they see me, they are so humble that you can't imagine it. They are willing to kneel on the ground to speak to me."

Ye Tianming stared at Nanling Zhao, "Do you like that feeling?"

Nanling Zhao shook her head, "I don't like that feeling, but it does make you arrogant. Simply put, power makes you arrogant because, for me, I can decide their life and death with a single word, or even just a look. That's power..."

As she spoke, she looked up at the mountaintop and said softly, "When a person has power, the first thing they should do is to control their desire for power..."

Ye Tianming said, "That should be very difficult."

Nanling Zhao smiled, "Of course, it's difficult because it involves a battle with one's own human desires. You asked me if I like that feeling, and I tell you, I personally don't like it, but do you know, it doesn't matter whether your superior likes it or not. What matters is that you must be humble and submissive. They can dislike it, but you can't not do it. If you don't, you'll be in trouble. That's human nature."

Ye Tianming said softly, "Is this the bureaucracy?"

Nanling Zhao continued, "People need beliefs. Without beliefs, it's easy to lose oneself in power and desires."

Ye Tianming turned to look at Nanling Zhao, somewhat curious, "Miss Zhao, what is your belief?"

Nanling Zhao smiled, "Don't call me Miss Zhao anymore. You can call me Nanling Zhao like my friends. As for my belief, it is to make this world better and to become a person like the former Fang Yufang."

Ye Tianming nodded slightly and didn't say anything.

Nanling Zhao suddenly said, "We're here."

Ye Tianming looked up and saw a very grand mountain gate in the distance, with a large sign in the center: Yongzhou Guanxuan Academy.

At that moment, an old man suddenly appeared in the scene. The old man bowed slightly to Nanling Zhao, "Miss Zhao, the principal invites you."

He didn't mention Ye Tianming.

Nanling Zhao was about to speak when Ye Tianming suddenly said, "I'll wait for you here."

Nanling Zhao looked at him, "Okay."

With that, she followed the old man to the distance.

Soon, Nanling Zhao was led to a small courtyard. An old man was watering flowers, and this old man was the current principal of the Yongzhou Guanxuan Academy, Yang Jie.

Nanling Zhao smiled, "Uncle Yang."

Yang Jie turned to look at her and smiled, "You came to see me, is it about Ye Tianming?"

Nanling Zhao nodded, "Yes."

Yang Jie said directly, "No chance."

Nanling Zhao said in a deep voice, "Uncle Yang..."

"Girl."

Yang Jie put down the watering can and sighed softly, "I supported you when you came to recruit the Guanxuan Guards because your actions were not wrong, but now..."

Nanling Zhao asked, "Am I wrong now?"

Yang Jie said, "You're not wrong now, but this matter has become a political issue."

Nanling Zhao frowned.

Yang Jie explained, "Think about it. If I accept Ye Tianming now, won't I be directly challenging the Xiao family? They will fight me to the death. Not only will I offend the Xiao family, but I will also offend the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy... Over the years, although we have been competitors, we have maintained a good surface relationship. But if we do this, the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy will definitely use all its connections to isolate our Yongzhou Guanxuan Academy. With the help of the Xiao family... Girl, do you think Uncle Yang can withstand it?"

Nanling Zhao said in a deep voice, "Uncle Yang, I understand what you're saying, but I didn't come here to put you in a difficult position. I truly believe this is an opportunity for you and the entire Yongzhou. Ye Tianming, with no resources, has achieved this. How incredible is that? If the Yongzhou Guanxuan Academy is willing to invest all its resources to help him, his achievements will be unimaginable. And if he can achieve a top five or even a top three ranking in the ten thousand state competition, you will be able to enter the Outer Academy..."

Yang Jie said, "Girl, I know you're not trying to put me in a difficult position because I know Ye Tianming is very talented. If he weren't, he wouldn't have passed the Guanxuan Path. But as I said, this is a political issue. If I accept him, I might not even wait for him to participate in the ten thousand state competition before I'm taken down. Really... Uncle Yang can't withstand it."

Nanling Zhao was silent. She knew that if the other party insisted, they could still withstand it, but it would be very risky, extremely risky. Therefore, she understood.

Nanling Zhao nodded, "Uncle Yang, I'm sorry for the disturbance."

Yang Jie said, "Girl, don't be upset."

Nanling Zhao smiled, "Why would I? I'm not the kind of person who doesn't understand reason. I understand your concerns and difficulties."

Yang Jie looked at Nanling Zhao, "Girl, I am a close friend of your father, so I consider you like a daughter. May I ask, do you like that young man?"

Nanling