Chapter 50 - 21: Excellent Rating Achieved

Chapter 50: Chapter 21: Excellent Rating Achieved

Far from minding, he grabbed Jiang Xuan by the arm, his enthusiasm almost fervent. "This is fantastic news for you, Brother Jiang! We have to celebrate properly! Tonight’s too sudden, so tomorrow, I’ll host a banquet at the Drunken Fragrance Tower. You have to come, Brother Jiang! We won’t go home until we’re drunk!"

"Alright."

With his Spirit Core now condensed, Jiang Xuan could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Besides, he would need Dong Hao’s support for his upcoming investiture as a Scripture Profound Daoist, so he did not refuse the invitation.

After agreeing to attend the banquet the next day, Dong Hao returned to his seat, beaming, the smile never leaving his face.

Jiang Xuan, meanwhile, continued walking forward toward Lecturer Song Zhou, who was seated cross-legged on a bluestone.

...

At first, seeing Dong Hao’s ecstatic expression, Zeng Jun, Su Linyin, and even Xie Hanyan could only look on, speechless. There was a trace of disdain and mockery in their eyes.

But soon, their expressions changed. Dong Hao’s fawning had already drawn attention to Jiang Xuan, so when he didn’t stop and instead kept walking toward the front, several people took notice.

At first, the crowd was merely confused. Soon, however, looks of disgust and revulsion appeared in the eyes of many.

There have always been class divisions in this world, and in the Cultivation Realm, the barriers were even more ironclad.

The reason many of the Noble Family’s Descendants in the front rows found Dong Hao disgraceful wasn’t his loss of composure. A few days prior, when Qin Feng condensed his Spirit Core, he had also been overcome with emotion. Yet at that time, not a single one of the three thousand students at the Daoist School thought he had lost face. On the contrary, they praised him for being true to his feelings.

They despised Dong Hao simply because he, a Noble Family’s Descendant, had stooped so low as to associate with Jiang Xuan, a boy from the Lower Classes.

This deep-seated belief in the superiority of bloodlines naturally bred many insufferably arrogant fools.

Now, as Jiang Xuan drew closer, a cold snort suddenly rang out.

"Stop, commoner. This is no place for you."

The sudden voice made Jiang Xuan turn his head. He then saw that the one who had spoken was one of Su Linyin’s followers.

As Jiang Xuan looked over, Su Linyin’s elegant brows furrowed at her follower’s provocation, but ultimately, she said nothing.

Beside her, Zhou Lin hesitated for a moment, but seeing that Su Linyin made no move, she too remained silent.

This scene had no effect on Jiang Xuan, but for Pan Yue, it was like a shot of adrenaline, and his audacity surged.

He had stepped forward to provoke him for two reasons. One was that ridiculous belief in bloodlines; he couldn’t tolerate a Lower Classes’s Son like Jiang Xuan setting foot in the "hallowed ground" of the front rows. The other was that Zhou Lin had been frequently glancing at Jiang Xuan for the past two days. Pan Yue was infatuated with Zhou Lin, so naturally, he was filled with jealousy and hostility toward Jiang Xuan.

Now, Su Linyin and Zhou Lin’s silent acquiescence was all the backing he needed.

"Listen here, you filth! A peasant should know his place. Everyone sitting here is a noble Young Master or Miss. What right do you have to set foot here!" He laughed smugly. "HAHAHA..."

Many others in the crowd joined in with jeers and laughter.

The scene still failed to anger Jiang Xuan. He simply stated calmly, "You’re right. This is indeed no place for worthless trash. Unfortunately, the Chen Daoist School and Lecturer Song Zhou select their talent based on strength, not bloodline."

As he spoke, Jiang Xuan shot a final glance at Su Linyin and said coolly, "You should keep your followers in line."

At his words, Su Linyin immediately frowned. Her followers—Zhou Lin, Pan Yue, and the others—all looked furious.

"How dare you speak to Miss Su like that! Who the hell do you think you are!"

"Look at where you came from! You’re nothing but the son of a servant!"

"Just because Dong Hao showed you a little respect, you really think you’ve made it big?"

The way Jiang Xuan spoke to her as an equal stirred a deep sense of displeasure within Su Linyin. Only her Noble Family upbringing kept her from losing her composure in public, but she made no move to silence her followers’ tirade.

But to Jiang Xuan, their clamor was nothing but wind.

Without waiting for Su Linyin to respond, he turned his back on them and continued toward Song Zhou on the bluestone.

After a few more steps, he stood before Song Zhou. He bowed with cupped hands and announced clearly, "Lecturer, disciple Jiang Xuan pays his respects. I have successfully opened all Thirty-Six Acupoints and condensed my Spirit Core."

Jiang Xuan’s words rang clearly in the ears of everyone at the school. The students who had just been mocking him fell abruptly silent.

The looks of derision and mockery on their faces were replaced by utter shock and disbelief.

"Impossible!"

That was the first thought that popped into nearly everyone’s mind.

Thanks to Dong Hao’s particular interest in him, Jiang Xuan was something of a "celebrity" among the Noble Family’s Descendants in the front rows. After all, good news rarely travels, but bad news spreads like wildfire. Dong Hao’s indulgence, even his fawning over Jiang Xuan, had long been a running joke they shared in their downtime from Cultivation. As a result, they had dug up every last detail about him.

They all knew Jiang Xuan only had a Profound·Middle Grade Spirit Root, came from the Lower Classes, and was originally just the son of a Su Family follower.

With no family background and no Talent, it should have been impossible for him to open all Thirty-Six Acupoints and receive a top-tier rating within seven days.

Unfortunately for them, their assumptions counted for nothing.

Roused by Jiang Xuan’s voice, Song Zhou raised his eyes to scan him. With a single glance, he perceived the state of Jiang Xuan’s acupoints and Dantian.

He, too, was somewhat surprised that Jiang Xuan, with his Profound·Middle Grade rating, had managed to open all thirty-six acupoints in just seven short days.