Chapter 7

Ten days later.

Ye Tianming arrived at the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy.

The mountains of Qingzhou stretch for a thousand miles, with one mountain embracing another, often shrouded in mist, resembling a fairyland.

The entire Qingzhou region has a population of over a hundred million, and the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy is the dream of countless young people, for ordinary people, joining the Guanxuan Academy is the only way to change their fate. However, joining the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy is extremely difficult, with only one in ten thousand being selected.

Ye Tianming initially passed a special written examination, so he was admitted as a special recruit. If it were a regular exam, he would have had no chance, as all the admission slots were already pre-determined.

A moment later, Ye Tianming arrived at a grand hall at the foot of the mountain. The hall had three doors. The left door was the special recruitment channel, and currently, he was the only one there. The rightmost door was the regular recruitment channel, where a long queue had already formed.

As for the middle door, it was the legendary Guanxuan Path.

This path was personally left by the Guanxuan Sword Master Ye Guan. If a candidate suffers unfair treatment at the academy, they can take this path. Once they pass the examination, the entire Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy will immediately enter a 'self-investigation' procedure. All Guanxuan guards and boundary protectors in Qingzhou will immediately enter the academy to protect the candidate. If the candidate dies for no reason, the main academy of the Guanxuan World will immediately enter a 'self-investigation' procedure, and all elders and the head of the academy in the candidate's state will be immediately suspended for investigation. All Guanxuan guards and boundary protectors in the state will be immediately dismissed...

Each state has a Guanxuan Path, but over a thousand years, across all the states, only one person has successfully passed the Guanxuan Path examination, and that was almost a hundred years ago.

The people in the regular recruitment channel looked at Ye Tianming with curiosity and admiration.

Special recruit!

That's not just any ordinary thing.

Ye Tianming walked into the hall under the envious gazes of the crowd. A young man, about twenty years old, wearing a long robe, sat in front of him, very handsome. He stood up and looked at Ye Tianming, warmly saying, "Finally, someone has arrived. Hello, my name is Zhang Nan, and I am responsible for receiving special recruits."

Ye Tianming took out a piece of paper from his chest and handed it to the young man. The young man took the paper, read it carefully, and after confirming it was correct, he smiled and said, "The Guanxuan Academy welcomes you."

As he said this, he picked up the stamp to affix it, but at that moment, a black-clad youth quickly walked to his side and whispered a few words in his ear.

The young man's brows furrowed immediately. After a moment of silence, he looked up at Ye Tianming, "Wait."

He then took back his stamp and hurriedly left with the black-clad youth.

Ye Tianming glanced at the two as they left, put away the paper in front of him, and frowned. Could the Zhao family influence this place? That's impossible.

A hint of worry rose in his heart.

On the other side.

Zhang Nan ran up the mountain and entered a grand hall. As soon as he entered, he heard an old man shouting angrily, "What the hell? They're trying to pull strings here."

Beside the old man, a middle-aged man was bowing his head, not daring to speak.

Zhang Nan walked in, puzzled, "Teacher, what's going on?"

The old man's face was ashen, "We just received news that the Xiao family wants a special recruitment slot and wants us to cancel one of our special recruits."

Zhang Nan was stunned, "How can that be? The special recruitment slots are already determined. How can they be canceled? This is a joke, right?"

The old man's gaze was as cold as ice, "The order has come from above."

Zhang Nan's face darkened. "Above" meant the order came from the academy's council of elders. He hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Teacher, is this the Xiao family from Nanzhou?"

The old man nodded, his face ashen.

Zhang Nan's face darkened even more. The Xiao family of Nanzhou was a second-tier family, and the ancestor of the Xiao family of Nanzhou was once a brother to the Guanxuan Sword Master.

Zhang Nan asked, puzzled, "Teacher, the Xiao family is in Nanzhou. Why are they coming to our Qingzhou to compete for a special recruitment slot?"

The old man's face was cold, "The Xiao family's slot in Nanzhou has been taken by someone else."

Zhang Nan was shocked, "Someone can take the Xiao family's slot?"

The old man shook his head, "I don't know the details, but I know that the people above have ordered us to cancel one of our special recruits, and it must be done."

Zhang Nan said solemnly, "This is unfair to that student, very unfair."

The middle-aged man sighed softly, "Although it's unfair, what can we do? This is a direct order from the council of elders..."

The old man's face was grim, and he said nothing.

Zhang Nan asked, "Who do they want us to cancel the special recruitment for?"

The middle-aged man said, "This time, we only have two special recruits. One is Ye Tianming from the Ye family, a low-tier family, and the other is from the Tuoba family..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Nan immediately understood.

The Tuoba family, of course, their slot cannot be canceled. They are also a second-tier family, with connections in the outer cabinet, and they have some ties to the father of the Guanxuan Sword Master, the Human Sword Master.

Clearly, the slot of Ye Tianming must be canceled, as Ye Tianming is not from the Ye family of Qingzhou but from a low-tier family.

"No!"

At this moment, the old man suddenly slammed the table and stood up, "This is too unjust. They dare to do such despicable things openly. I will go to the council of elders, and if they don't revoke this order, I will report it to the inner cabinet of the Guanxuan World."

With that, he walked out.

The middle-aged man quickly stopped him, "Lord Fang Xiao, this is absolutely not advisable. The council of elders has already given the order, you..."

Fang Xiao pushed the middle-aged man aside, "I won't be this damn official anymore."

With that, he rushed out.

The middle-aged man sighed softly, "Lord Fang Xiao's character is really... no wonder he was demoted from the outer cabinet and eventually exiled from the Guanxuan World."

Zhang Nan's face was grim, "Things shouldn't be like this. We should fight for it."

The middle-aged man shook his head, "We can't fight the Xiao family. Unless Ye Tianming has a background even greater than the Xiao family, no one can change this."

Zhang Nan was angry, "But this is so unfair to Ye Tianming."

The middle-aged man's expression was calm, "There are many unfair things in this world. Without ability or support, one can only endure."

Thinking of the terrifying power of the Xiao family, Zhang Nan sighed deeply, his eyes filled with helplessness.

...

Fang Xiao rushed directly to the council of elders. Inside, there was only one elder. When this elder saw Fang Xiao enter, his brows immediately furrowed, displeased, "What are you doing here?"

In any place, people who don't fit in and cause trouble are not liked.

If it weren't for Fang Xiao's special status, the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy would have kicked him out long ago.

Fang Xiao knew the elder didn't like him, so he didn't waste words and went straight to the point, "The behavior of the Xiao family is unfair to the child named Ye Tianming and does not follow the rules. The academy should not open a back door for them."

The elder stared at Fang Xiao, his voice cold, "This is an order from the council of elders. You just need to execute it."

"I won't execute it."

Fang Xiao looked straight at the elder, "If you insist on doing this, I will report it, to the Guanxuan World, to the outer cabinet, and if that doesn't work, to the inner cabinet, and if that doesn't work, to the young master..."

The elder suppressed his anger, "Fang Xiao, don't cause trouble."

Fang Xiao said angrily, "The academy's recruitment is related to the Guanxuan Universe Talent Selection Ceremony. If we don't act with fairness, allowing noble families and sects to act arbitrarily, will the countless ordinary people still have hope?"

He took a deep breath and continued, "Elder Yu, Ye Tianming comes from a low-tier family. He might be the hope of his entire family. If we deprive him of his special recruitment slot, it will not only affect his personal future but also the hope of his entire family."

Elder Yu stared at Fang Xiao, "Fang Xiao, why are you so protective of Ye Tianming? Is he your relative?"

Fang Xiao suppressed his anger, "I don't know him. I just want to say that our academy should be fair and just, giving more young people and ordinary people hope and a future. This is the original intention of the Guanxuan Sword Master when he founded the academy."

Elder Yu was about to say something when he suddenly frowned. After a moment, he said, "You can leave now."

Fang Xiao glanced at him and turned to leave.

After Fang Xiao left, a look of disgust flashed in Elder Yu's eyes, "Stubborn person, no wonder he was marginalized in the Guanxuan World."

At this moment, an old man walked out from the side, smiling, "I've heard that the Fang family is hard to deal with. Today, I see it's true."

The old man was none other than the current head of the Xiao family, Xiao Yun.

Elder Yu said solemnly, "Brother Xiao, this matter is not easy to handle."

If it were an ordinary person, the council of elders would have a hundred ways to make them disappear, but Fang Xiao's status was not ordinary. Behind him was the Fang family, which, although now a third-tier family, had a very special relationship with the Guanxuan Sword Master in the past. Fang Xiao's ancestor, Fang Yu, not only managed the inspection bureau but also served as a deputy in the inner cabinet.

The Fang family later declined because the Guanxuan Sword Master stipulated that no position could be held for more than a hundred years. However, the decline of the Fang family was not entirely due to Fang Yu's retirement but because the Fang family followed Fang Yu's ancestral teachings: to be true to one's conscience.

In other words, the Fang family was too upright, so upright that others couldn't tolerate them, and they began to be marginalized. However, due to the influence of their ancestor, the super families in the Guanxuan World did not completely destroy the Fang family but only pushed them out of the core power circle. Now, the highest-ranking member of the Fang family is only a deputy in the "Literature Academy" of the Guanxuan World.

A high position, but with no real power.

Xiao Yun naturally understood the special status of the Fang family and smiled, "Of course, we can't touch Fang Xiao."

Elder Yu looked at Xiao Yun, "What do you suggest, Brother Xiao?"

Xiao Yun smiled slightly, "What if the young man named Ye Tianming voluntarily gives up his special recruitment slot?"

Elder Yu was slightly stunned and then understood, "What if he refuses to give it up?"

Xiao Yun smiled faintly, "If he doesn't want to be graceful, we will help him be graceful."

...