Chapter 51 - 21: Excellent Rating, Success

Chapter 51: Chapter 21: Excellent Rating, Success

Still, he was a Cultivator who had established his Dao Foundation. With over twenty years of Cultivation experience, he had weathered many storms and had seen such things before. So, his surprise lasted but a moment before he regained his composure, nodding at Jiang Xuan in approval:

"Well done. You’ve passed."

With that said, he added another instruction for Jiang Xuan: "Don’t leave right after classes end this evening. I have important matters to discuss with all of you students who received an A-class Evaluation. Of course, there will also be rewards."

"Alright, go back and continue your Cultivation."

"Yes, I will obey."

And just like that, with just a few sentences, Jiang Xuan’s outstanding Evaluation was confirmed.

But while the matter concluded with an air of casual calm for them, the storm raging in the hearts of the three thousand-plus students on the grounds below was not so easily quelled.

Upon learning that Jiang Xuan had received an outstanding Evaluation, the one who found it most unbelievable, and most unacceptable, was none other than Pan Yue.

Unable to accept it, his face twisted as he muttered dazedly, "This is impossible... A dirt-poor peasant, how could he..."

He spoke the exact same words as before, but this time, no one else joined in.

The surrounding students instinctively recoiled, putting distance between themselves and him. Even Su Linyin’s other followers unconsciously ostracized him.

As for Su Linyin—who was always so elegant and composed, as if she had the world in the palm of her hand—the calm on her face had now completely shattered, leaving only stunned disbelief and horror in her eyes.

Clearly, the result had stunned her too, leaving her unable to process it for a long while.

It was Zhou Lin at her side who reacted first, giving her a gentle nudge that jolted her back to her senses.

The moment she came to her senses, Su Linyin turned to Pan Yue and snapped, her voice and expression severe, "Shut your mouth! Apologize to Young Master Jiang Xuan!"

The irrepressible rage on her icy face made Pan Yue freeze on the spot, his own face a mask of utter bewilderment.

But at this moment, Su Linyin had no time to worry about his reaction.

Her entire focus was on Jiang Xuan, and she instantly understood why Dong Hao had gone to such lengths to curry favor with him.

In Dong Hao’s place, she’d have done the same.

Like Dong Hao, she wasn’t fully confident in her ability to break into the top ten in the second assessment or to directly enter the Inner Sect through the Hundred-Day Exam.

As a member of a Cultivation Clan, she knew better than anyone the vast difference between an Inner Sect Disciple and an Outer Sect Disciple.

It was not merely the distinction between a legitimate heir and an illegitimate child; it was the chasm between a master and a servant!

No one wanted to be someone else’s subordinate. With Jiang Xuan’s help, her chances of entering the Inner Sect would increase by a full thirty percent.

In that case, forget a little flattery; Su Linyin would have gladly paid him repeated, reverent visits to win him over.

’It’s a shame. I never expected Jiang Xuan to possess such astonishing talent. Any attempt to fix this now is just a joke in his eyes.’

SWISH...

Jiang Xuan paid her words no heed. As he passed by, he didn’t even spare her a glance.

At this, Su Linyin’s face turned deathly pale. When she turned to look at Pan Yue again, the hatred in her eyes was practically spilling out.

The other students on the training grounds, though also stunned by Jiang Xuan’s incredible reversal, were nowhere near as distraught as Su Linyin.

This was because, in her mind, she’d had a chance to bring Jiang Xuan under her wing. Even with her prior agreement with Dong Hao, if not for what had just happened, she might have had a shot by leveraging the connection between the Su Family and Shen Yuerong.

But Pan Yue’s provocations and insults had all but destroyed that possibility.

One does not obsess over what one never possessed. But to have something within your grasp, only to lose it to another’s foolishness—the resulting indignation and fury are enough to consume a person.

Of course, her own tacit approval and indulgence were the true root of this disaster, but she was clearly not one to blame herself. Thus, Pan Yue, the one who had pushed the situation beyond repair, became the sole target for her rage.

What’s more, even now, she clung to the faint, desperate hope of recruiting Jiang Xuan. For that reason, no matter what, she had to give him a proper accounting.

Staring daggers at the deathly pale Pan Yue, Su Linyin enunciated his name, one syllable at a time:

"Pan Yue..."