Chapter 31: Qingzhou

“Entrapment Technique?” Ye Guan was confused. He had never heard of that technique before.

Little Pagoda replied, “Indeed. Would you like to learn it?”

“Is it a technique used to rob others?”

“Yes!”

Ye Guan shook his head. “No thanks.”

Robbing others was against his conscience, so he decided to refuse and call it a night.

The next morning, an old man wearing the academy robe of the Guanxuan Academy visited the Siao Residence.

Ye Guan had just gotten out of bed when Fei Banqing suddenly appeared right in front of him. He was stunned and was right about to say something, but Fei Banqing interrupted him.

“Follow me!” she said.

She dragged Ye Guan to the Administrative Hall of the Siao Residence. Song Fu and Siao Shan were also in the Administrative Hall along with an old man dressed in the robe of the Guanxuan Academy.

Ye Guan was slightly baffled.

The old man got up and smiled. “Are you perhaps Ye Guan?”

Ye Guan nodded slightly. “Indeed, Senior, you are?”

That old man laughed and replied, “I am the head of Guanxuan Academy’s Department of Ceremonies, Han Xiu. I’m here to invite you to the welcome banquet that will take place the day after tomorrow.”

A welcome banquet? Ye Guan froze. He directed a doubtful look at Fei Banqing.

Fei Banqing smiled and explained, “It’s a banquet that will be attended by the cream of the crop talents from all three hundred and sixty states. It’s held annually, and less than a hundred people are invited every time.”

Ye Guan instantly understood what Fei Banqing was trying to say.

Song Fu looked incredibly happy as he stood next to Fei Banqing.

It seemed that the Guanxuan Academy of Nanzhou had never been invited to the Guanxuan Academy of the Upper Realm’s welcome banquet before.

And that was why Ye Guan was even more puzzled. Why would they invite me to the welcome banquet?

Song Fu could see that Ye Guan had a lot of questions. However, Ye Guan spoke up first and asked, “Senior, am I the only one who got invited from Nanzhou?”

Han Xiu chuckled and said, “Indeed, you’re the only one who got invited.”

Ye Guan went silent. He instantly lost interest in attending the welcome banquet. I’d rather stay at home and focus on cultivating. This is just a useless social activity, so I’d rather avoid it if I can.

Song Fu saw through Ye Guan’s thoughts and hurriedly spoke, “Little Guan, this is a great opportunity to mingle with the young talents from the other states. You shouldn’t refuse the offer!”

Refuse? Han Xiu was slightly taken aback. He finally saw Ye Guan’s indifferent expression, and he suddenly recalled the orders he had received, so he hurriedly said, “F-four! Four talents from Nanzhou are allowed to attend!”

Song Fu and the others were stunned. Four? really?

It seemed that Han Xiu was still afraid of Ye Guan’s refusal, so he quickly fished out four invitation letters from his storage ring and shoved them into Ye Guan’s hands.

“Young Lord Ye, the event starts in the evening on the day after tomorrow. Please don’t be late! I’m off, then!” said Han Xiu before turning around to leave as if he were running away.

The scene was so baffling that Song Fu had to ask, “Little Guan, do you know someone from the Guanxuan Academy of the Upper Realm?”

Ye Guan shook his head. He chuckled hollowly and said, “No.”

Song Fu frowned. “Then, why?”

Ye Guan muttered, “I have no idea.”

Siao Shan chuckled and remarked, “The reason doesn’t matter; what’s more important is that we got invited!”

Song Fu nodded in agreement and said, “Indeed.”

Ye Guan looked down at the four invitation letters in his hand and smiled slightly. It would be boring if he were to go there by himself, but it was a different story if Nalan Jia was with him. Honestly, he only needed two invitation letters.

Why would Sun Xiong and Siao Ge go there, anyway?

Still, Ye Guan decided to look for them to give them an invitation letter.

Siao Ge looked down at the invitation letter and asked, “A welcome banquet?”

Ye Guan nodded and explained, “A representative of the Guanxuan Academy came here and gave me invitation letters.”

Siao Ge looked doubtful at Ye Guan’s words.

Nalan Jia asked, “Do you know someone from the Guanxuan Academy of the Upper Realm?”

Ye Guan shook his head.

Nalan Jia frowned. “Perhaps someone else aside from us knows that you’re a swordsman?”

Ye Guan was silent. There had to be a reason behind the invitation. Ye Guan pondered over it, but Siao Ge pulled him from his train of thought.

“I’m here to tell you guys something interesting.”

Ye Guan, Nalan Jia, and Sun Xiong turned to look at Siao Ge. He chuckled and continued. “The representatives of Qingzhou and Yunzhou have already arrived at the city, and they’re with the Guanxuan Academy right now.”

Ye Guan’s curiosity was piqued. “How many representatives did they send?”

“Yunzhou only sent one representative. His name is Zuo Fu. His cultivation base and overall prowess are unknown.”

Sun Xiong frowned. “Just one?”

Siao Ge nodded. “Yes, he’s the only one.”

“It’s either Yunzhou has declined massively over the past ten years, or Zuo Fu is extremely talented.” Nalan Jia pointed out.

Siao Ge muttered, “I’m convinced that it’s the latter. Yunzhou has produced the three Greats, so there is no way they’ll allow themselves to be suppressed by Qingzhou over and over again. Zuo Fu must be extremely talented and powerful!”

Ye Guan nodded and asked, “How about Qingzhou?”

Siao Ge replied, “They sent three representatives. Two men and a woman. One of the men is named Ao Han, while the woman’s name is Mu Yunhan.”

“How strong are they?”

“I have no idea.”

Ye Guan frowned.

Siao Ge continued. “However, everyone knows that Qingzhou would always hold their own selection competition to decide their three representatives for the decennial martial contest. I’ve heard that the competition among the students there is incredibly fierce!”

“They can only send three representatives?” asked Ye Guan.

Siao Ge nodded. “A state in the top ten can only send three representatives, and it’s all for the sake of giving the other states a chance. And that is why the selection competition in the top ten states is incredibly fierce.

”I’ve heard that Qingzhou’s selection competition is even fiercer than any other state. I reckon that getting picked as one of Qingzhou’s three representatives for the decennial martial contest must be as difficult as ascending the heavens!”

“You said Qingzhou sent two men and a woman, right? How about the other man?”

Siao Ge shook his head and said, “I couldn’t find any information about him. He’s covered in a veil of secrecy that even I couldn’t penetrate. I guess we’ll know more about him once the martial contest begins.”

“Yunzhou can send three representatives, but they only sent one person to represent them. That is odd…” Nalan Jia muttered.

Siao Ge nodded. “It’s strange, but I think Yunzhou is hiding something. Otherwise, their decision to send only one representative won’t make sense.

”After all, Qingzhou has been suppressing them for more than a hundred years now. Without a hidden ace up their sleeves, it’ll be incredibly difficult for them to win the martial contest.

”However, I think it's unlikely that they’ll give up the World Number One plaque without a fight.”

Ye Guan’s curiosity was piqued. “The World Number One plaque?”

“Yeah. You’ll get many different rewards for winning the martial contest, but you’ll also receive a plaque emblazoned with the words—World Number One—on it.

”Take that plaque back to Nanzhou, and everyone will treat you like a deity. You’ll also become a role model for the younger generation for the next hundred years!” explained Siao Ge.

Ye Guan clenched his fists. His determination to take first place became even stronger than before.

Siao Ge continued. “Actually, the decennial martial contest is just a battle of honor. Qingzhou is trying to defend its honor while other states are trying to prove their honor. In a nutshell, it’s a battle between the cream of the crop youths from each and every state.”

“Have you heard about the talents from the other states?” asked Sun Xiong.

Siao Ge said, “There had always been dark horses every time the decennial martial contest was held, but in the end, Qingzhou had always taken the crown of first place for themselves.

”Qingzhou is indeed a powerful state that truly lives up to the reputation of being the birthplace of the Sword Master. Qingzhou’s strength is so frightening that the other states feel hopeless facing them.”

The Sword Master! It was a name that filled everyone with awe. The Sword Master was the reason behind the peace that the Universe was currently enjoying.

“I really didn’t expect that we would be invited to the welcome banquet. We’ll definitely meet the outstanding talents of Qingzhou and Yunzhout there—Ah, right!” Siao Ge chuckled and said, “We’ve been talking about the talents of Qingzhou and Yunzhou, but do you guys have any idea about the talents of the Guanxuan Academy here?”

The three shook their heads.

Siao Ge continued. “The Chief Student Representative of the Upper Realm’s Guanxuan Academy is a young woman named Luo Zhaoqi, and she’s famous for being the most beautiful woman throughout the Upper Realm!”

Most beautiful woman? Ye Guan made a sidelong glance at Nalan Jia.

Nalan Jia smiled and asked, “Why are you looking at me?”

Ye Guan smiled sheepishly without saying anything.

Nalan Jia turned to look at Siao Ge and asked, “Is she going to attend the welcome banquet?”

Siao Ge replied, “Of course, she’s going to attend. She’s the organizer, after all.”

Nalan Jia looked at Ye Guan with a smirk. “I guess you’ll see who’s more beautiful between us at the welcome banquet.”

Ye Guan could only smile awkwardly.

Siao Ge chuckled at the sight and said, “There’s something else we have to remember. The talents of the Profound Sky Clan will also take part in the decennial martial contest. They have four representatives, and their leader is Lu Ke. I've heard that he’s the most exceptional talent of the Profound Sky Clan in the last millennium!”

“The Profound Sky Clan will definitely target us during the martial contest. We’ll have to be careful of them!” Siao Ge said.

The Profound Sky Clan… Ye Guan remained calm and said, “It’s fine; we’ll just get rid of them first during the martial contest.”

Siao Ge chuckled and said, “That’s right. We just have to deal with them first.”

He then stood up and added, “Anyway, have fun chatting. I’m off to cultivate.”

Siao Ge turned around and left.

“Wait! I’m going with you!” Sun Xiong hurriedly called out and ran to catch up to Siao Ge.

Meanwhile, Nalan Jia finally noticed the change in Ye Guan’s aura.

“You’ve made a breakthrough?” she asked.

Ye Guan nodded. “Yeah.”

Nalan Jia smiled and said, “The martial contest is less than two months away. You must reach the Spacetime Realm before the martial contest starts.”

Ye Guan nodded once again. He had to compete against many talents, and he couldn’t afford to underestimate them. He was a swordsman, but he wasn’t invincible.

Confidence was great, but one couldn’t be complacent.

Nalan Jia stood up and said, “I’m going to go cultivate as well. I’ll see you on the day of the welcome banquet!”

Ye Guan smiled upon seeing the butterfly hairpin in her hair.

“Okay,” he said.

With that, Nalan Jia left.

However, Ye Guan remained standing at the same spot, feeling slightly worried.

He wanted to cultivate as well, but he only had less than two thousand gold spiritual crystals left. He needed more than that to reach the Spacetime Realm. He thought about asking his tutor, but he knew that Fei Banqing wasn’t rich.

Nalan Jia suddenly came to a halt. She turned around to look at Ye Guan and asked, “How many gold spiritual crystals do you have left?”

Ye Guan smiled sheepishly and replied, “Two thousand…”

“That’s not a lot...”

“Well—” Ye Guan started.

However, Nalan Jia interrupted him. “Want to go and borrow some?”

Ye Guan was puzzled. “Borrow?”

Nalan Jia nodded and explained, “You can borrow spiritual crystals from the Immortal Treasures Pavilion, but there’s an interest to pay. For example, borrowing 10,000 gold spiritual crystals means that you’ll have to return 10,100 gold spiritual crystals next month. If you borrow 100,000 gold spiritual crystals, you’ll have to pay about 130,000 gold spiritual crystals next month.”

Ye Guan’s face fell, and he exclaimed, “That’s daylight robbery! Who came up with that? That’s too much!”

Little Pagoda didn’t know what to say.