Chapter 23: Apology

Nan Xuan lay silently in the pool of his own blood.

Everyone was silent. They thought that they would witness a fierce, drawn-out battle, so they were stunned to see it end so quickly and in one move at that!

Nan Xuan failed to defend himself against Ye Guan’s sword move.

The crowd was both shocked and delighted. A swordsman! There was a swordsman in Guanxuan Academy!

Song Fu made a sidelong glance at Fei Banqing and smiled. “Junior Sister, you’ve concealed it properly!”

Fei Banqing was silent. She didn’t expect that Ye Guan would reveal his identity here.

What was he thinking? Fei Banqing thought about it for a while before she came up with her own conclusion and muttered, “Did you want to show her and everyone else that you’re outstanding?”

Fei Banqing shook her head and grinned. “What a daring brat!”

Ye Guan definitely had his own reasons for revealing his identity, but it was also a warning to Nalan Jia’s suitors.

Tutor Xiao descended on the Life or Death Stage. He wordlessly carried away Nan Xuan’s corpse and left.

Fei Banqing stared deeply at Tutor Xiao’s departing figure. Song Ci saw that and said, “Don’t worry, he won’t dare to act rashly.”

Fei Banqing nodded and turned around to leave.

The students departed as well.

Ye Guan’s status as a swordsman quickly spread throughout the entire Guanxuan Academy.

A swordsman!

There had only been a few swordsmen throughout the entire Nanzhou, and the Guanxuan Academy of Nanzhou never had any swordsman as a student until now.

Ye Guan soon became the hottest topic throughout the Guanxuan Academy.

…

Ye Guan brought Nalan Jia with him, and the two of them soared through the clouds on the Path Sword. The red sun could be seen on the horizon, and the two of them were surrounded by fluffy clouds.

Nalan Jia asked softly, “Why did you reveal that you’re a swordsman?”

Ye Guan smiled and replied, “I’ve been hiding my status as a swordsman because I was worried that people with ill intentions would target me, but now, I am no longer afraid of anyone.”

Nalan Jia stared deeply at him. She gazed at him for quite a while before smiling sweetly. “Do you know what your most attractive trait is?”

Ye Guan met Nalan Jia’s gaze.

Nalan Jia avoided his gaze and looked at the clouds before muttering, “Your confidence.”

Ye Guan was surprised. “Confidence?”

Nalan Jia nodded. “I really like your confidence.”

“Actually, there’s another reason why I decided to wield my sword.” Ye Guan smiled. He turned to look at the clouds as well before continuing. “I wanted to show everyone that your fiance is good enough!”

“I know,” said Nalan Jia with a nod. Ye Guan smiled gently without replying. The two of them stood on the Path Sword and admired the sea of clouds.

…

Meanwhile, there was a meeting between the tutors and the Academy Chief of the Guanxuan Academy. Song Fu looked at Fei Banqing and smiled. “Junior Sister, it must have been tough hiding his identity from us.”

Everyone looked at Fei Banqing and shook their heads while smiling. Ye Guan’s status as a swordsman had truly taken them aback.

Tutor Xiao sat with his eyes closed without saying anything.

Fei Banqing responded calmly, “He’s a cautious brat. He was afraid that people would start targeting him if they found out that he’s a swordsman.”

Song Fu nodded in agreement and said, “Well, it’s not strange that he thought that way. Don’t worry, the academy is happy to know that he’s a swordsman. We will not covet his sword inheritance. Our Nanzhou Guanxuan Academy cannot compare to the academies on the Upper Realm, we won’t harm our own students.”

Fei Banqing nodded. “Yes, I know, Academy Chief.”

Song Fu nodded and made a sidelong glance at Tutor Xiao. “Tutor Xiao. Let Nan Xuan’s death mark the end of your enmity.”

Song Fu sounded serious, and everyone could tell that it was an order rather than a request. The others looked at Tutor Xiao. They were only expecting one answer from Tutor Xiao. After all, they had to protect Ye Guan because of his incredible talent.

“I understand. I agree because it is for the greater good.” Tutor Xiao nodded. Of course, the biggest reason why Tutor Xiao agreed was that he knew that everyone would turn against him the moment he did something to Ye Guan.

Song Fu nodded and changed the topic. “The students who will go to the Upper Realm to compete in the decennial martial contest have been decided, and they are Sun Xiong, Siao Ge, Ye Guan, and Nalan Jia. Aside from them, each of you may also bring a few talented students along.”

Everyone nodded.

Song Fu swept his gaze across the people in the hall and smiled. “That’s all.”

With that, everyone stood up and left.

However, Fei Banqing was still in her seat.

Song Fu saw that and said, “Go ahead and tell Ye Guan that he doesn’t have to worry about the Ye Clan. From now on, the academy will be protecting the Ye Clan.”

Fei Banqing nodded. She then stood up and left.

Left all alone in the huge hall, Song Fu shook his head and smiled. “A swordsman… what a surprise!”

Siao Ge walked into the huge hall and bowed toward Song Fu. “Tutor.”

Song Fu stared at Siao Ge without saying anything.

Siao Ge saw that and explained, “Brother Ye conquered the ninth floor with me, but he told me to keep his participation a secret, so—”

Song Fu interrupted with a smile. “I understand.”

Siao Ge nodded.

Song Fu looked at Siao Ge. “Have you exchanged blows with him?’

Siao Ge shook his head and said, “No, but he’s extremely strong. He’s also fast, and his sword is terrifying. I’ll surely be under a lot of pressure if I were to fight him, but I’m not afraid of fighting him.”

Song Fu nodded and smiled before saying, “The two of you aren’t interested in becoming the Chief Student Representative, right?”

“Yes, Tutor...” muttered Siao Ge.

Song Fu shook his head and smiled. “I knew it. Anyway, do you know who I intended to nominate as the Chief Student Representative?”

Siao Ge shook his head. “No.”

Song Fu replied, “Nan Xuan.”

Siao Ge was stunned.

“Real talents will not stay in Nanzhou because they need a bigger stage to bloom. You, Ye Guan, and even Nalan Jia will eventually have to leave Nanzhou.

“All three of you have extreme talent and traits, and I’m sure that the Guanxuan Academy on the Upper Realm won’t let the three of you go once you’re there,” said Song Fu.

Siao Ge didn’t know what to say.

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing for the three of you to go to the Upper Realm. After all, the primary goal of the branches of the Guanxuan Academy had always been to obtain more resources by securing victories during the decennial martial contest.

“The academy will not hold you back because the stronger you become, the better it will be for us,” explained Song Fu with a smile.

Siao Ge lowered his head without saying anything.

“I know that you have always been worried about this, but you really don’t have to worry about it. You’re still young, so you should go out there and fight for what you want and let your name be known to everyone,” added Song Fu.

Siao Ge bowed deeply. “This academy will always be my home.”

Song Fu nodded and changed the topic. “Nan Xuan was the best candidate for the Chief Student Representative Role, but he has a critical flaw. He’s too petty.

”A cultivator must be gracious. They can be petty, but they cannot be overly petty. We have been observing and guiding him, but it’s a pity that he ended up clashing against Ye Guan while we were still trying to reform him.”

Song Fu shook his head and revealed a helpless smile. “He’s narrow-minded, and he’s the type to bring others down because he cannot stand others being better than him. Perhaps it was for the greater good that he perished, lest he became the Chief Student Representative.”

Song Fu nodded slightly. “The martial contest starts in three months. We will have to head to the Upper Realm next month, so be prepared.”

“I understand,” said Siao Ge.

Song Fu smiled. “Go ahead.”

Siao Ge nodded, and he bowed before turning around to leave.

After a moment of silence, Song Fu spoke loudly, “Pass down my orders, Ye Nan will be promoted to a student of the inner academy, and her cultivation resources will be tripled. The Chief Tutor of the inner academy, Tutor Mu, shall be her tutor.”

“Understood,” said an old man in a corner of the hall.

The old man bowed before leaving.

However, Song Fu stopped the old man by continuing. “I also want you to prepare a huge gift for the Ye Clan of the Ancient Desolate City. I want you to go there and let the Ye Clan nominate three of their best disciples to come to the academy. Tell the Ye Clan that we will admit one of their disciples every year into the academy starting next year.”

A guaranteed spot—it was a privilege that only belonged to prestigious clans.

The old man glanced at Song Fu before bowing slightly and turning around to leave.

Left alone, Song Fu closed his eyes.

…

Meanwhile, Tutor Xiao was standing in the middle of the Nan Clan’s hall with Nan Xuan’s corpse lying on the floor in front of him.

A beautiful woman sobbed while hugging Nan Xuan’s corpse. A middle-aged man stood next to the woman. The middle-aged man’s expression was distorted in fury as he stared intently at Nan Xuan’s corpse.

The beautiful woman and the middle-aged man were Nan Xuan’s parents.

An old man was sitting in the hall. The old man was clad in a black robe, and he was staring at Nan Xuan’s corpse in silence. His thoughts and emotions couldn’t be deduced from his expression.

Tutor Xiao sighed. “Clan Leader Nan Mo, I underestimated Ye Guan. It’s my fault. If I had known that he was a swordsman, I wouldn’t have let Nan Xuan fight him on the Life or Death Stage.”

Nan Mo shook his head and said, “How can we blame you? His arrogance was his downfall.”

Tutor Xiao sighed once more and said, “Does the Nan Clan still have a suitable talent to be nurtured? I can bring them with me to the academy, and I’ll teach them personally.”

“Thank you,” said Nan Mo with clenched fists. He stood up and called out. “Little Feng!”

A young man who looked to be around fifteen years old walked into the hall.

He arrived in front of Tutor Xiao and bowed deeply. “Greetings, Tutor Xiao.”

Tutor Xiao examined Nan Feng and nodded. “He’ll do.”

Nan Feng immediately kneeled and exclaimed, “Thank you, Tutor!”

Tutor Xiao nodded. He turned to look at Nan Feng and said, “Get ready to follow me to the academy tomorrow.”

With that, Tutor Xiao left the Nan Clan’s hall.

Moments after Tutor Xiao’s departure, the beautiful woman’s expression turned fierce as she pleaded. “Clan Leader, you have to take revenge for Nan Xuan! Ye Guan has to die! Otherwise, I’ll—”

“Shut up!” Nan Mo shouted, interrupting the beautiful woman.

The beautiful woman was so shocked that she went silent.

Nan Mo glared at the beautiful woman.

“Speak about taking revenge again, and I’ll deal with you myself!” he growled.

The beautiful woman could only stare blankly at him.

Nan Mo sighed softly and explained, “He’s a swordsman! In other words, he has a sword inheritance. A mysterious and powerful cultivator must be backing him, but even without a backer, a swordsman is strong enough to annihilate clans.

“In addition, the Guanxuan Academy will definitely do its best to nurture him. If our clan does something to Ye Guan or the Ye Clan, we will be in danger!”

The beautiful woman’s voice was trembling as she asked, “A-are you saying that we have no choice but to let everything go?”

“We shouldn’t be thinking about how to take revenge. We should be thinking about what we should do if he decides to come here and attack us…” Nan Mo muttered with closed eyes. He soon opened his eyes to look at Nan Feng. “You must not show any animosity to Ye Guan—not even a bit of animosity. Stay as far away as you can from him. I want you to ignore everything else aside from cultivating and studying. Do you understand?”

Nan Feng nodded. “I understand.”

With that, Nan Mo looked at an old man in a corner and said, “I want you to prepare a huge gift, and I want you to go to the Ye Clan with it. Tell them that what happened on Nanshan Mountain had been a complete misunderstanding.

”Our Nan Clan wronged Young Master Ye Guan by misunderstanding him. Tell them that we investigated and found out that Qingyue’s death has nothing to do with—forget it, I will go there personally and apologize. It’ll be more sincere if I go there myself.”

Nan Mo’s decision rendered everyone speechless.