Chapter 6 – The Shadow of the Divine Ancient Mountain

Translator: Aran

This time, hindering Ye Qingyu was partly to help Liu Ye take out his anger.

The wealthily-dressed youth was also part of the Liu family. If you thought about it, he could be considered Liu Heng’s nephew.

The other part was because someone had secretly instructed him to do so, and the person who instructed him to do so was an important figure that he had always wanted to ingratiate himself with.

Liu Heng naturally allowed the boat to flow along with the water*, and did a big favour for this person. Besides, in his eyes, Ye Qingyu was nothing but a trash that he could easily manipulate.

“Haha, the world has always been realistic. A trash should have the self- awareness of a trash… “

Liu Heng sat on his chair, lifted his teacup and sipped a mouth of tea.

His eyes were almost shut, patiently waiting for Ye Qingyu to come back and beg him.

He dared to threaten the head supervisor, he really thinks of himself as a big shot?

A garbage from the poor, if he didn’t let him go through the appraisal what could he do to me?”

This feeling of casually deciding someone’s fate from far above gave great pleasure to him.

At this time—

“Supervisor, supervisor…” a hurried voice travelled over, it was the recording student who he had sent over to investigate. On the student’s face, was a strange expression.

“What is it?” Liu Heng casually asked.

The student’s expression was slightly odd, hesitated for a bit, then related all that he saw about Ye Qingyu’s actions later in detail.

Pak!

Before the student had finished, the purple teapot in his hand had fallen to ground and shattered to pieces.

The purple teapot was once his treasured possession and normally he would treat it like a precious pearl where if even a small mark appeared he would fuss over it for the majority of the day. But right now, Liu Heng whose heart was hammering like mad, did not have the heart to worry about the shattering of the purple teapot.

“You… what did you say?”

Liu Heng’s voice was inexplicably croaky, his face pale. He reached out for the chair to support him standing up, his entire body quivering.

An enormous wave of fear and regret nearly drowned him.

He had actually refused someone with golden meridians and ninth grade first class talent to enter the blood qi appraisal?

Heavens, even if you only used your toe to think**, such an error, when discovered by the higher ups of the academy, would definitely affect his position which was inherently unstable in the first place.

How could things develop in such a way?

That Ye Qingyu, was he not a useless trash?

“You… Did you look clearly?” Liu Heng sank to his seat, powerless.

The student with a pitying gaze, seriously nodded his head.

Within Liu Heng’s heart, a low moan was emitted.

At this instant, he finally understood something —

At that time Ye Qingyu was not wrong, he would really have to go beg him.

This time, no matter what costs he had to pay, he had to go bitterly beg

Ye Qingyu to enter the blood qi testing before the higher ups found out.

If not…

“I am really regretful, I should never have fucking participated in this…

Liu Ye you little bastard, I’ll definitely beat you to death!” Liu Heng ferociously thought.

……

Perseverance examination grounds.

Ye Qingyu’s was sitting cross-legged, as if he was in meditation.

Within the examination grounds, the green-grey stone floor had already been activated, waves of invisible energy surging out. Above Ye Qingyu’s head in a thirty foot radius, a mirage of a mountain appeared.

Layers and layers of mountains, it was towering and majestic like an ancient divine mountain.

This mirage, was as if Ye Qingyu was carrying countless mountains.

If you look carefully, there were nine layers on the ancient divine mountain.

“Nine layered ancient divine mountain mirage… Nine overlapping peaks this is the symbol for ninth grade first class perseverance.”

“For the examinees, the divine mountain mirage is not an illusion. In reality, their consciousness is now enduring the true weight of the divine mountain!”

“This appraisal tests for perseverance. The higher the perseverance, the more divine mountain mirages you can withstand. Being able to withstand three is a pass, enduring five can be counted as good enduring seven is excellent, and the mirage is only complete when you can endure nine. This is extremely rare, even throughout the entire history of the test!”

“This Ye Qingyu is too terrifying, he has been silently enduring the divine mountain mirage for over ten minutes. Such perseverance, he can already place in the top three of this year’s selection test!”

“Nine peak mirage has appeared, too frightening!”

Everyone discussed animatedly.

Right now, the bystanders were not solely composed of people who had come to enjoy the show.

As the news spread out, more and more people of status had come here. Seeing this incident, and combining it with what they heard about Ye Qingyu’s meridians and natural talent results, they instantly realised an event that would shock the entire Deer City was about to happen.

The prophecy of the old Dean, was it going to come true?

“Number 8888 Ye Qingyu, withstanding nine peaks of weight, ninth grade first class talent…” the head supervisor of the perseverance examination loudly announced the results of the appraisal, recording the results into the nameplate.

Ye Qingyu said thanks, receiving the nameplate.

The bystanders already numbered well in the hundreds, and their eyes were locked onto Ye Qingyu.

Within this crowd, there were people from the city leader, from various aristocrats, from different merchant companies, from different mercenary groups. Of course, there were also people wearing a white-robe with silver antlers embroidered, the high class teachers of the White Deer Academy. They were all unmovingly regarding Ye Qingyu.

In reality, every year that White Deer Academy recruit students, for those groups entrenched within White Deer Academy, was an extremely gluttonous feast.

This was a world where the strongest rules, where the rules were written using fists and weapons. Apart from cultivation techniques and treasures, a youth possessing extreme talent was a resource treated with great attention by all groups.

Therefore, every year when the White Deer Academy recruitment process began, many interest groups would place great attention onto this process.

They did not possess the terrifying calling power of White Deer Academy, able to summon teenagers everywhere from thousands of kilometers to take part in the selection. But what they could do, was in the White Deer Academy’s selection process, take in these genius youths as part of their group.

Because White Deer Academy was not a sect, nor a family clan, they would not place too many restrictions on the students or prevent them from joining the interest groups within the city — Quite the opposite White Deer Academy has always encouraged their students to choose their own paths and learn for themselves so they could sooner learn the rules of this world.

So a large part of youth who exhibited prodigious talent within the selection process, apart from those who came from noble backgrounds the majority would join big or small interest groups within Deer City.

After both sides had signed a contract, these interest groups would provide for free resources for the student’s cultivation. After graduation the student would become part of the interest group and work for them.

After all, the path to martial cultivation was a journey that needed to expend a vast amount of resources and money. Even for those above average wealthy families, even if they spent their entire wealth, they may not be able to support the needs of someone cultivating.

So for the students, this was an important choice.

A mutually beneficial relationship.

Of course, if after graduation, the students would exhibit even greater talent like Yi Ling-er and be selected by sects with colossal resources and become a disciple, this was another matter altogether.

At that time, the contract between students and the interest groups would automatically be nullified and they would regain their freedom.

And these interest groups would receive suitable compensation from these sects.

In this scenario, everyone was happy.

In this year’s White Deer Academy selection process, in the previous nine days, all the interest groups had already recruited not an inconsiderable number of youths that they were satisfied with. At this time, they should have been heading back, feeling pleased.

But the talent that Ye Qingyu exhibited was too great and caused these peoples to be attracted here.

The previous three appraisals, were all the very best results.

For such a result, even if you did not take part in the other three appraisals, entering White Deer Academy was no longer a problem. And these results were also enough to cause the major groups of the city to go wild.

Furthermore, Ye Qingyu was a well-known child from the poor. He had no one to rely on and thus making him easier to recruit.

“Little brother, I am a guard from the Qing Luo Merchant Company Luanping. This is our president’s invitation.” A tall, skinny middle-aged man with a horse face containing a faint smile, handed over a gilded card and said, “Would little brother Ye be willing to find some time to have a conversation?”

After his words, the surrounding people exclaimed and chatted excitedly.

The financial power of Qing Luo Merchant Company, could be ranked in the top five of the entire Deer City. And what was given out was the president’s invitation gilded with gold, this was definitely a sign that the most precious spot of this selection process would be given to Ye Qingyu.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, Ye Qingyu only faintly smiled. “I want to first enter the academy, then return and think about such things.”

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The guard from the Qing Luo Merchant Company hesitated for a bit then nodded his head. “That’s fine too.”

He retrieved the invitation.

Ye Qingyu said this blandly, but anyone could see this was a refusal to Qing Luo Merchant Company.

Everyone thought he would consider it for a bit, no one thought that he would reject it so crisply.

“Haha, little brother Ye is really a person with ambition. A mere merchant company, how can it be fit for such a young genius,” an exaggerated laughter travelled across.

From the crowds, came a short and fat person like a winter melon. He held a gilded fan and had a pale face with a bearded jaw.

The fatty came closer, and said with a smile, “I am from the northern military leader, General Wei. I am a warrior under his command, Lam Dong. Little brother Ye, my master admires you very much…”

Ye Qingyu did not wait for him to finish when suddenly a cold smile appeared on his face. “The northern military leader? Lam Dong? Haha, I remember you damn fatty but I also remember four years ago when I entered the academy selection process this was not what you said…”

Lam Dong’s face was filled with awkwardness.

Ye Qingyu was a person who remembered his grievances.

Four years ago, Lam Dong had already said the same compliments to Ye Qingyu.

Because at that time, the Northern Military Leader, like many other groups, also believed in the old Dean’s prophecy. To recruit Ye Qingyu they spent a large amount of money.

*Chinese idiom, kinda means to go with the flow of things.

** Not an idiom but this was too good to not keep literal xD