Chapter 26: Aim for First Place!

Half a month passed.

The students of Guanxuan Academy gathered at Guanxuan Hall. Today, the top talents of Guanxuan Academy would head over to the Upper Realm to participate in the decennial martial contest.

The students were here to send them off.

Ye Guan, Siao Ge, Nalan Jia, and Sun Xiong were here, and it was clear that they had been waiting for this day.

Apart from the four of them, there were also three other students who would follow them to the Upper Realm. However, the three students would simply expand their world horizons rather than participate in the decennial martial contest.

The other students looked at them with envy.

They would bring honor not only to the Guanxuan Academy but to the entire Nanzhou as well if they managed to make their way to a decent rank in the decennial martial contest.

Song Fu walked out. He swept his gaze across the students and smiled before saying, “Don’t be envious of them. Work hard, and you’ll earn yourself a spot here in the future. These students are the academy’s beacons of hope, but you are the future of our academy!”

The students bowed slightly toward Song Fu.

Song Fu turned to face Ye Guan and the rest.

“Tutor Fei and I will bring you all to the Upper Realm,” Song Fu said with a chuckle.

With that, he turned to look at Tutor Xiao and Tutor Song. “The two of you should stay here and look after the academy.”

Tutor Xiao and Tutor Song nodded.

Song Fu turned around and flicked his wrist. The clouds parted, and a cloud ship over thirty meters in length descended and stopped in front of Song Fu.

Song Fu looked back at the others and smiled. “Let’s go.”

The group boarded the cloud ship, and they soon disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Tutor Xiao stared at the clouds with a thoughtful expression.

Song Ci muttered, “I don’t think we’ll be at the bottom this time.”

In the previous ten martial contests, Nanzhou had always been at the bottom of the rankings. The cold reality was the reason Song Fu decided to nurture Siao Ge. The former had been hoping that the latter would turn the tables.

If Nanzhou remained at the bottom of the rankings, the Guanxuan Academy of Nanzhou would completely lose the support of the Upper Realm. Without access to resources, the Guanxuan Academy of Nanzhou would be doomed.

The resources that the Guanxuan Academy of Nanzhou had been receiving from the Upper Realm consisted of cultivation manuals, spiritual veins, martial skills, and spiritual crystals.

The academy was entitled to such resources from the Upper Realm, but they had been getting fewer resources from the Upper Realm since a hundred years ago.

The Upper Realm started looking down on the Guanxuan Academy of Nanzhou for its abysmal ranking in multiple martial contests, so the Upper Realm had been sending them fewer resources.

The Guanxuan Academy branches on the Lower Realm had to send their most talented students to the Upper Realm in exchange for resources. This was a tragedy that many academies in the Lower Realm had been facing for a long time, but there was no other way to go about it.

The Guanxuan Academy Branches on the Lower Realm would have to close their doors from the lack of resources if they were to choose not to participate in the decennial martial contest. It was a miracle that the Guanxuan Academy of Nanzhou managed to last this long.

Tutor Xiao nodded at Tutor Song’s words. “Indeed, they’re strong.”

Tutor Song made a sidelong glance at Tutor Xiao.

Tutor Xiao sounded calm as he said, “Rest assured, I’m not foolish enough to plot against Ye Guan at this point.”

With that, Tutor Xiao turned around to leave.

Tutor Song stood still in silence for quite a while before leaving.

…

The cloud ship flew at a steady pace through the clouds.

Ye Guan stood at the bow of the ship and looked down. The Guanxuan Academy shrunk as they flew further away. Soon, Nanzhou itself became a tiny dot.

Ye Guan suddenly started missing the Ye Clan. He had been living with the Ye Clan for the past seventeen years.

Ye Guan closed his eyes slowly. He had promised the Clan Leader and he would keep his promise no matter what. Apart from that, he also had to find a pure-grade spiritual vein for Master Pagoda’s recovery.

In other words, he had a long way ahead of him.

A faint fragrance wafted over to Ye Guan. He turned and saw Nalan Jia wearing a spotless white robe.

Nalan Jia smiled at Ye Guan and asked, “What are you thinking?”

Ye Guan grinned and replied, “I’m starting to miss the Ye Clan.”

“We’ll be back,” replied Nalan Jia.

Ye Guan nodded.

Nalan Jia stared at the setting sun and muttered, “Have you heard? Our Guanxuan Academy has consistently ranked at the bottom in the decennial martial contest.”

Ye Guan was taken aback. “Really?”

Nalan Jia nodded and said, “Yes, and we have to rise up the ranks this time. Otherwise, our Guanxuan Academy will lose the qualifications to join the decennial martial contest, and it’ll spell doom for our Guanxuan Academy. Without the support and protection of the Upper Realm, the academy will decline until it shuts down.”

Ye Guan was silent. He hadn’t really thought of that.

Nalan Jia chuckled. “We’re carrying quite the burden on our shoulders.”

Ye Guan nodded and exclaimed, “I’ll try my best!”

“What do you know about the Upper Realm?”

“Not much.”

Nalan Jia nodded and explained, “The Upper Realm is split into the North Region and South Region. There are a total of three hundred and sixty states in both regions. A branch of the Guanxuan Academy exists in every single state. This means that we have to compete with talents from those states for the top ten!”

Ye Guan’s eyes narrowed. “Top ten?”

“Yes, we have to reach the top ten to secure the biggest benefits for our academy.”

“What if I get first place?”

Nalan Jia looked at Ye Guan for a moment.

She chuckled and said, “The academy will build a statue for you!”

“Oh…” Ye Guan’s expression stiffened.

Nalan Jia chuckled once more. “Are you aware of the reward for reaching first place?”

Ye Guan shook his head.

“I’ve heard that the first placer of the previous martial contest was awarded two Sky-grade spiritual veins, ten Earth-grade spiritual veins, fifty Pure-grade spiritual veins, ten Immortal-rank cultivation manuals, and thirty Sky-rank cultivation manuals.

“They would also receive an annual allowance of a million gold crystals until the next martial contest!” explained Nalan Jia.

Ye Guan was stupefied.

However, it seemed that Nalan Jia wasn’t done just yet as she said, “If you come in first place, the academy will definitely construct a statue in your honor. The academy will also take great care of the Ye Clan.”

Ye Guan grinned. “I guess I have to try even harder.”

Nalan Jia stared deeply at Ye Guan and asked, “Are you aiming for first place?”

“Yeah!” replied Ye Guan with a nod.

Nalan Jia stared at him for a while before smiling. What a confident man!

Siao Ge walked over. He seemed to have heard Ye Guan and Nalan Jia’s conversation as he smiled and remarked, “Brother Ye, I’m not trying to rain on your parade, but first place is just too difficult to reach!”

Ye Guan asked, “What do you mean?”

“The consistent first placer for the past hundred years is the Guanxuan Academy of Qingzhou!” said Siao Ge.

Ye Guan’s curiosity was piqued. “Qingzhou?”

Siao Ge nodded. “Have you heard of it?”

Ye Guan shook his head without saying anything.

Siao Ge explained, “The founder of the Guanxuan Academy, the Sword Master, was born in Qingzhou.”

The Sword Master! Ye Guan was moved. He’s a legendary figure!

The Sword Master had not only founded the Guanxuan Academy, but he had also ushered in a new era.

Siao Ge added, “The Sword Master was born in Qingzhou, so the Guanxuan Academy there has been receiving a disproportionate amount of resources from the Main Academy.

”In addition, Qingzhou has always been the birthplace of many outstanding talents and geniuses. They had consistently claimed first place for themselves in the previous martial contests, and they had also consistently crushed anyone daring enough to challenge them.”

Ye Guan chuckled and teased. “Why are you saying that? Are you not confident about getting first place?”

Siao Ge shook his head and explained, “It’s not just a matter of confidence. The students from Qingzhou are just too terrifying! I’m already feeling hopeless just thinking about their strength.”

Ye Guan replied, “You either fight for it, or you don’t; that’s it. However, if you choose to fight, you should aim for first place!”

Siao Ge stared deeply at Ye Guan without saying anything. Moments later, he erupted into laughter and exclaimed, “I’d expect nothing less from Brother Ye’s personality. I really admire your boldness!”

Ye Guan only smiled. He wasn’t joking when he said that one should aim for first place.

Meanwhile, Song Fu chuckled at Ye Guan, Siao Ge, and Nalan Jia's interaction with each other.

“Banqing, I really have to admit that you have a good eye for talent. I couldn’t have known that you’d recruit two geniuses for our academy so quickly,” said Song Fu.

Fei Banqing looked at Ye Guan and smiled. “Well, it would be more accurate to say that the brat there was gifted to me.”

Song Fu boisterously laughed.

Five days later, a powerful shield abruptly enveloped the cloud ship. The cloud ship soared into the starry sky. Ye Guan’s heart became filled with awe as he looked around while standing at the bow of the ship.

A sky full of stars! Ye Guan had never felt smaller.

Right now, even the entire Lower Realm seemed as insignificant as dust.

Fei Banqing walked over to him and asked, “It’s great, right?”

Ye Guan nodded. “Yeah, it’s really great!”

Fei Banqing chuckled and said, “We’re just in a tiny star field, you know.”

Ye Guan made a sidelong glance at Fei Banqing and asked, “Tutor Fei, just how big is our universe?”

Fei Banqing shook her head. “I have no idea.”

Ye Guan looked away from Fei Banqing and stared into the depths of the starry sky. He could see innumerable planets in the distance. Apart from awe, Ye Guan’s eyes also shone in determination.

I’m still young, so I have to explore the endless universe while I’m young!

Rumble!

All of a sudden, a loud rumble echoed from within the sea of stars.

Boom!

The starry sky trembled, and countless cracks appeared on the cloud ship’s shield.

The sudden turn of events stupefied everyone. Song Fu arrived at the bow of the ship, and his expression distorted in horror upon seeing what was happening in the distance.

A colossal shockwave was in the distance, and the rumbling they heard evidently came from the shockwave. However, the most shocking fact was that the shockwave itself seemed to have come from somewhere that their naked eyes couldn’t see.

Song Fu and Fei Banqing’s expressions turned heavy.

“It seems that powerful cultivators are fighting somewhere in the distance,” explained Song Fu.

Ye Guan stared into the distance, seemingly deep in his own thoughts.

Meanwhile, Song Fu heaved a sigh of relief. “It’s a good thing that they’re very, very far from us. Otherwise, we would have faced a disaster!”

Fei Banqing muttered under her breath, “Just how strong are they?”

Swoosh!

A terrifying aura suddenly surged from the depths of the starry sky.

Song Fu and Fei Banqing’s expressions changed.

They hurriedly raised the Guanxuan Academy’s banner.

No cultivator would be gutsy enough to challenge the Guanxuan Academy’s reputation. After all, it was founded by the Sword Master. Therefore, Song Fu and Fei Banqing’s actions were enough to save them from a calamity.

A black-robed old man appeared hundreds of kilometers away from the cloud ship.

He came to a halt and turned around abruptly. A rift in space was made, and a woman walked out of the rift. The woman was wearing a long white gown, and she was giving off a graceful and elegant aura. She was also as beautiful as a fairy.

The black-robed old man glared fiercely at the woman and said, “Are you mad, Lady Jian?! You’ve been chasing after me all the way from Zhongtu Divine Continent!”

“Ah…!” Little Pagoda suddenly spoke, “It’s her…”

…