Chapter 351 - 167: Clash of Prodigies, Prefecture Official Ye Luan, The Entire Arena Falls Silent, Only the Martial Saint Lowers His Gaze

Chapter 351: Chapter 167: Clash of Prodigies, Prefecture Official Ye Luan, The Entire Arena Falls Silent, Only the Martial Saint Lowers His Gaze

"So you’re Ji Xiu, the Prefecture Student?"

The moment he stepped into the Jiangyin Prefecture Courtyard, Ji Xiu looked at the man before him, whose smile was as warm and welcoming as could be, and couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.

’It’s been over half a year since I came to this world, and this is the first time I’ve been met with such friendliness. Everywhere I turn, people are trying to flatter me and win me over.’

He counted on his fingers.

This was already the third one.

The man’s gaze was one he recognized—the look of someone staring at a piece of ’Pure Gold and Jade’. He’d seen it before, starting with Yao Hong, the Mansion Official Instructor who’d administered his Martial Stele and Divine Stele tests.

Ji Xiu could guess what this disciple from the Courtyard was going to say next, even before the man opened his mouth.

Sure enough.

As Ji Xiu gave a slight nod, the young man, dressed in the uniform of a Prefecture Student, instantly brightened. He eagerly began to state his affiliations and make his pitch:

"Prefecture Student Ji, forgive the intrusion. I am a student under Instructor Qin Chuan of the Courtyard. I’ve come on his behalf to tell you a few things about the inner workings of the Mansion Courtyard..."

"Our Jiangyin Prefecture Courtyard was established over three hundred years ago and has a profound heritage. Among the three hundred and sixty Courtyards in the Great Xuan, ours is ranked in the upper-middle tier."

"There are currently over a dozen Mansion Official Instructors here. By tradition, each one is responsible for a ’discipline’ within the Courtyard, teaching Prefecture Students the cultivation of the Martial Dao, the Divine Soul, and various Arts..."

"But these instructors are all high-ranking Prefecture Officials and Qi Cultivation Grandmasters. Some are even rare experts at the Sect Leader Level."

"They teach the Courtyard’s most guarded secrets; at the very minimum, a Qi Dao Secret Record. An ordinary Prefecture Student might only get to attend two or three lectures a month, and they often fail to grasp the core principles. They just swallow the information whole. After three or five years, they still wouldn’t have scratched the surface."

"That’s why, with every new class, the instructors select the most gifted Prefecture Students to take on as their personal ’students.’ They cultivate them with great care, hoping they will achieve a high rank in the Prefecture Official Examination and earn the Merit and Fame of a Prefecture Official."

"If they succeed in nurturing a student into a Prefecture Official, the Master also receives substantial rewards from the Great Xuan and the Mansion Courtyard."

"Master Qin Chuan is a titan of the Martial Dao, an expert at the Peak of the Sea of Qi. He’s not yet forty, and it’s almost a certainty that he’ll reach the Sect Leader Level in the future. Furthermore, he comes from the Thirty-Six Professions—he’s a lord of the Paper Trade’s Qin Clan. He holds a high position with immense power and carries significant authority within his clan."

"His inherited art is the Sea Return Great Capturing Hand, a Grandmaster-level Secret Martial Art. He is the Master for the ’Martial’ discipline—one of the Courtyard’s five core subjects of Archery, Horsemanship, Weaponry, Martial, and Divine—and he teaches Fist and Foot techniques."

"If you choose him as your Master, he is completely confident he can ensure you remain the Leader of the Five Gates for the next three years. He will also use his family connections to pull strings for you, securing the three great merits from the Mansion Courtyard that you need to qualify for the Prefecture Official Examination!"

The secrets revealed in the young man’s words were nothing short of astonishing.

There were a full thirteen Mansion Official Instructors teaching at the Courtyard, and every single one was a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster.

And they weren’t just ordinary Qi Sea experts. They were all formidable figures who had once taken the top spots in the Prefecture Official Examination, forcefully seizing their positions from among the candidates of all the prefectures.

In the future, they were destined to become either Sect Leader Level experts or Dragon and Tiger Experts!

This was the heart of Jiangyin—a world away from a poor, remote place like Anning County.

’A while ago, a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster seemed as distant as the moon in the sky... But now, it’s like how I used to look at Martial Artists before I Entered the Realm. They’re still exalted, but no longer completely out of reach.’

’Give it time, and I can become one too!’

But that made sense.

The Thirty-Six Professions, Daoist School Street, the Mansion Courtyard... ’People strive to move up, just as water flows down.’ The vortex he was caught in involved factions that represented the very face of the Prefecture City. Of course Qi Sea experts would be a common sight.

Yet, across the whole of Jiangyin, with its tens of millions of residents, these figures were still at the absolute peak of the pyramid—practically impossible for the common person to ever meet.

A higher realm naturally brought a different perspective.

Hearing the name "Paper Trade’s Qin Clan" stirred a memory in Ji Xiu. He recalled that Qin Yu, the most valued disciple of Fan Nansong from the Flying Immortal Temple, was a young master from the Paper Trade.

When they first met in Anning County, Qin Yu’s Master had knocked a Treasure Pill right out of his pouch and presented it to Ji Xiu as tribute.

’In that case, the connections of these Grand Lineages are truly something else. Even the Mansion Official Instructors come from their direct lineages.’

’Then again, it made sense.’

’The entrance examination for Prefecture Students was already so difficult. Without being pumped full of Great Medicine Treasure Pills and tempering one’s body from childhood, it would be impossible... unless you were like him, blessed with a world-shaking opportunity.’

’Otherwise, 99% of ordinary people would never get into the Mansion Courtyard, the institution with the most promising future in the entire Prefecture City. Almost everyone here must have intricate ties to the various Grand Lineages and Schools.’

’No wonder when I challenged the experts on Daoist School Street, I saw so few Martial Artists who had broken through the Great Limit, let alone young geniuses who had donned the Immortal Robe and reached the Perfection of the Power Stage.’

’It must be that...’

’...the most elite talents, the ones considered the future pillars by the Grand Lineages, are all here in the Jiangyin Prefecture Courtyard, vying to be the leaders of the five divisions and occupy the top seats!’

Ji Xiu’s mind raced with these thoughts.

At his side, Cai Ling’Er tugged on his sleeve and whispered in his ear:

"Don’t be so quick to agree. Choosing a Master in the Mansion Courtyard... well, it’s not the same as joining a formal School, but you still have to be very careful."

"Besides, with your ’Martial God Double Stele Armor’ ranking, it’s a given that there isn’t a single Prefecture Official whose heart wouldn’t skip a beat. After all, the benefits for them are huge if they can successfully nurture a student into becoming a Prefecture Official."

"So, finding a good Master is the same as finding a powerful backer for yourself within the Courtyard. It’s best to be careful."