Chapter 352 - 167: Clash of Prodigies, Prefecture Official Ye Luan, All Fall Silent, Only the Martial Saint Lowers His Gaze

Chapter 352: Chapter 167: Clash of Prodigies, Prefecture Official Ye Luan, All Fall Silent, Only the Martial Saint Lowers His Gaze

"If it really comes to it, I can introduce you to my grand-uncle."

"He’s a titan in this Mansion Courtyard. If you study under him here, you’d practically be considered a direct family member of the Jade Shop. Even without relying on your status as a Guest of the Beicang Marquis’s Mansion, you could do as you please out there..."

’No wonder Master Duan Chenzhou and Prefecture Commander Gu Baichuan so strongly recommended I enter the Mansion Courtyard. They were already planning this for me back in Anning.’

Hearing Cai Ling’Er’s words, Ji Xiu inwardly clicked his tongue in amazement.

’If I hadn’t joined the Beicang Marquis’s Mansion, gained Young Lady Heir Xiao Mingli as a backer, and entered this Mansion Courtyard, I really would have been so oppressed by those Grand Lineages and Daoist Schools that I wouldn’t have been able to breathe.’

After hearing the words of Instructor Qin’s disciple and Cai Ling’er, Ji Xiu was still weighing his options.

Suddenly—

BANG!

Someone kicked open the door to the hall where Prefecture Students were being received. Just as the group of students who were exempt from the test, including Ji Xiu, all turned to look...

...they saw a young man with a murderous aura in his eyes, carrying a large, jet-black banner on his shoulder. He walked with the powerful stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger. While every instructor was scrambling to send their people to extend an olive branch to Ji Xiu...

...he took a step forward and stared fixedly at Ji Xiu, the center of everyone’s attention.

Then, without any warning, he threw a punch that crashed down like a raging wave, not holding back in the slightest. Ji Xiu’s heart pounded—his Divine Thought immediately blared a warning!

It was like a cicada sensing the autumn wind before it blows—an Innate Talent born from his Divine Thought that only triggered when facing an evenly matched opponent.

Therefore, as Ji Xiu looked at the punch coming straight for him, he had only one thought.

’Where did this lunatic come from!?’

His brows furrowed, but as a man who had fought his way up from the very bottom, Ji Xiu’s response was unhesitating. In an instant, his Qi and Blood surged, his Gang Qi erupted, and his entire body grew fever-hot!

Facing an enemy was like being set on fire!

He then drove his elbow forward like a Dragon Elephant, stomped violently, and with unparalleled ferocity, used his entire arm to strike with ’Ye Longxiang’s Head’!

As a Fist and Foot Secret Martial Art that integrated the Six Martial Stances he had already mastered...

It was no exaggeration to say that if this elbow strike landed true, combined with his own Purest Gang, even if the man before him wore an Immortal Robe, his heart would have shattered on the spot, bursting into eight pieces!

And just as he expected!

Tossing the large banner aside, Gao Ye of the Dan Mountain Gao Clan—a Noble Clan with a fiefdom—felt his brow twitch violently. He instinctively retreated a step, apparently not expecting the kid before him to possess such a high level of attainment in a Secret Martial Art!

"A Perfection Level Grandmaster’s Secret Martial Art!?"

Gao Ye dodged the brunt of the attack, his narrow eyes narrowing slightly as he looked down and sized Ji Xiu up.

"You’ve got some skill. No wonder you could leave your name on the Martial God Stele."

"Heh."

He sneered, which Ji Xiu instinctively disliked. Without retreating a step, Ji Xiu rested his thumb on his saber’s hilt and retorted sharply:

"A Perfection Secret Martial Art, leaving my name on the Dao Stele—none of that is worth mentioning."

"But it’s more than enough to handle a stray dog that jumps out of nowhere, barking like a madman."

CRACK! CRACK!

The sound of his bones cracking echoed as he clenched his fists.

Gao Ye’s expression changed instantly. In a flash, he donned his Immortal Robe, and a scorching, boiling wave of heat nearly filled the entire hall.

"Kid..."

"You’re pretty arrogant."

He spat the words through clenched teeth, then his saber-rattling demeanor shifted, and he just gave a cold smile.

"You’ve got skill, and you’ve got guts."

"Gao Ye of Dan Mountain. I have now witnessed it for myself."

"I never expected Jiangyin Prefecture could produce someone like you."

"May I ask your name?"

Ji Xiu shot him a cold glance.

"Celestial Blade, Ji Xiu."

’Celestial Blade...’

Mulling over the title, Gao Ye’s eyes flickered. It seemed familiar, but after a moment of thought, he couldn’t help but sneer.

"Oh, so you’re just from a fallen house. Then it’s nothing special."

"Kid."

Gao Ye scanned the entire hall.

"The Mansion Courtyard has a rule: whoever receives a Grade A nomination on the Martial and Divine Steles gets a gift of Essence from the Dean."

"Jiangyin Prefecture hasn’t produced a true talent in many years, so you got here first and stole the limelight. I’ve got nothing to say about that."

"But do you really think your life in this Mansion Courtyard will be easy?"

"Someone like you—a mud-legged commoner from a fallen house? The Educational Officials and Instructors here are all from prominent families. You think any of them will give you the time of day?"

"I’d like to see who’s willing to take you on!"

’So that’s it. He’s furious about the Dao Stele nomination and the Dean’s Essence...’

Ji Xiu understood now, mulling it over.

’As for the Dan Mountain Gao Clan...’

’What kind of power is that?’

Just as this thought crossed his mind.

Except for Cai Ling’Er and Ye Ningzhi, the other students who had been exempted from the test were all heirs of various Grand Lineages.

The Prefecture Students who had originally gathered around Ji Xiu, trying to cozy up to him, all had their expressions change in unison when they saw Gao Ye enter. They silently took several steps back.

As for the young Prefecture Student who had extended an olive branch to Ji Xiu on his instructor’s orders...

...his brow was now deeply furrowed. He glanced from Gao Ye to Ji Xiu, his eyes filled with deep apprehension.

"Prefecture Student Ji..."

Before Ji Xiu could respond, he spoke first, as if desperate to distance himself from the situation.

"Let’s put this matter on hold for now. Instructor Qin has been focused on his own training lately and can’t spare the attention. I’m afraid it would be difficult for him to take on another student. My apologies."

With that, he hastily beat a retreat.

It was clearly an excuse.

But more than that...

...it was because of Gao Ye, standing there with his arms crossed and a disdainful look in his eyes.

Looking at the banner leaning against the wall, which was embroidered with a giant, brown-black bear, Ji Xiu’s heart sank slightly.

’What’s this hothead’s background?’

From that brief exchange, Ji Xiu had already made a rough estimation of Gao Ye’s capabilities.

Setting aside their respective Secret Martial Arts and Dao Skills.

This youth, only eighteen or nineteen years old, had already donned an Immortal Robe and cultivated a Divine Thought, just like him!

The difference was that, although Gao Ye had also broken through the Second-Layer Great Limit, the quality of his Immortal Robe was inferior to Ji Xiu’s, and his physical tempering and Gang Qi refinement were also a notch below.