As soon as Ye Wei stepped into the loft, he could feel the heavy atmosphere and that everyone was evaluating him. ‘He has the look of someone who makes decisions… Why is he looking at me like this?’ He couldn’t stand the vice-princ.i.p.al’s skeptical stare.
‘This white-robed elder is clearly looking down on me. This guy in faded gold seems nice though.’ Ye Wei thought as Chen Mo nodded with a friendly smile.
“Princ.i.p.al Gu, would this boy be the candidate you spoke about. May I just say I don’t think I’ve seen his face before? And I don’t think he is one of our top students…” The vice-princ.i.p.al said respectfully.
There were few thousand students at South Star, and while it was impossible to know everyone who studied there, Xu He was familiar with how the strongest cultivators looked. He was certain that Ye Wei was not one of them. He also sensed that there was no Qi disturbance from Ye Wei. He was only speaking so subtly because he respected the princ.i.p.al.
“Ye Wei, may I introduce you to the vice-princ.i.p.al, Xu He. He will be the supervisor for our school’s representatives for this tournament. This is Liu Jian, and this is Chen Mo; you should get to know each other better.” Gu Qing pointed around completely ignoring Xu He as he introduced everyone to Ye Wei.
“Yeah.” Ye Wei nodded calmly, “Greetings!”
“Sit down and the vice-princ.i.p.al will tell you the details about the tournament.” Xu He was aware that the princ.i.p.al was unexpectedly very nice to Ye Wei as he never invited the top two students to sit down.
Gu Qing’s friendly att.i.tude to Ye Wei surprised everyone in the room.
After a second Ye Wei’s name and face started to ring a bell, but the vice-princ.i.p.al decided not to say anything about it for now.
Chen Mo was a.s.sessing Ye Wei from head to toe. ‘Who could this person be? Princ.i.p.al Gu seems ecstatic to have him here!’
‘I am number one here so how come I don’t get to sit down?!’ Because the princ.i.p.al valued Ye Wei so much this sparked Liu Jian’s compet.i.tiveness, “I am Liu Jian, of the Liu family of Green Moon City, you don’t look familiar are you a student here? Or are you from one of the martial families?”
“I don’t have the best memory but I am familiar with the top students at South Star and most of the outstanding youngsters in Green Moon City, as far as I can recall I don’t remember ever seeing your face.” Liu Jian said with a cruel smile on his face. His cold voice dug directly into Ye Wei’s ears. “The tournament is kind of a big deal for me. I don’t really care who you are, and I don’t care about whatever dumb luck led you to get close to Princ.i.p.al Gu, but you better not get in my way… In fact, you know what? Just give up. I already have enough weight to carry in the tournament so if you insist on tagging along and dragging me down, I will make sure you will never make it in Green Moon City.”
Ye Wei gazed coldly at Liu Jian as he was calm and emotionless. He then turned to the princ.i.p.al and asked, “Princ.i.p.al Gu, when are we heading out?” He completely ignored Liu Jian. All he wanted was to challenge and learn from talents of the bigger schools and cities, not from a big fish in a small pond.
Liu Jian was furious that Ye Wei didn’t even seemed to be listening, ‘This kid has b.a.l.l.s!’
Under normal circ.u.mstances, experienced cultivators like vice-princ.i.p.al Xu He would be able to determine one’s cultivation level but because he couldn’t see through Ye Wei, he did not see the need to break it up. He was also uncertain about the princ.i.p.al’s decision to suddenly add Ye Wei to the roster. He was therefore more than happy that Liu Jian wanted to start a fight, as there was no appropriate way for him to ask.
Although Xu He heard about the incident where Mu Feng was injured by Polaris Academy’s students, to him it was rather normal that young cultivators got themselves injured because of their compet.i.tiveness. Wise as he was the vice-princ.i.p.al was not able to link the incident to Ye Wei and remained blissfully oblivious of what the Runemaster apprentice was capable of doing.
“This tournament is not just about the academy’s reputation and ranking, it will definitely affect the contestant’s future!”
“Especially with the ranked fights. There are only three quotas for each school, Liu Jian and Chen Mo rank first and second. It is only fair that they get two spots, and I am sure the other students think the same. But with you…” The vice-princ.i.p.al finally found a reason to discretely challenge the princ.i.p.al’s decision as he gazed upon Ye Wei and paused, “If you don’t show us some of your skills then it will be hard for me to convince others that you deserve the spot. I will get swarmed with questions from parents and students about you, Ye Wei… As I am responsible for arranging the team, and the tournament in general, I am afraid I will have to conduct a test to see if you are truthy worthy to be on the roster.”
“Sure. What’s the test?” Ye Wei nodded to Xu He as calm as he had been since he was brought to the loft by the princ.i.p.al.
“Let’s make it simple; if you can take three hits from me, you will have my respect!” Liu Jian gazed threateningly at Ye Wei as he stepped forward and spoke before Xu He could answer.
“Princ.i.p.al Gu, what do you think about this?” Gu Qing was watching on the side when Xu He asked nervously.
“Whatever.” The princ.i.p.al waved his hand.
“Very well, Liu Jian.” Seeing that both Gu Qing and Ye Wei did not oppose the proposal, the vice-princ.i.p.al nodded.
“Three hits? What do you say to making it really simple? We will exchange one blow.” Ye Wei stood up, and walked to the middle of the room while glaring at Liu Jian. “I would like to see if you can take one hit from me!” He said coldly.
Ye Wei knew Liu Jian was the only eight-star Warrior at South Star Academy, and that the ‘strongest cultivator’ of South Star was actually not stronger than Ning Yang, the Polaris Academy student he just faced. Therefore, it should not take him more that one blow to finish this.
“Kid, let me say this before I knock you out. I admire the fact that you have the confidence to stand up against me!” Liu Jian’s face turned red, and he grunted and channeled his Qi. By the time his body was covered by energy that came from his dantian, his figure has already become a blur. His fist became a silver flash heading straight to Ye Wei’s chest with a lightning-like speed.
Although Liu Jian did not use a stance, because his fist was empowered by Qi it was powerful enough to knock out a seven-star Warrior.
It was apparent to anyone in the room that Liu Jian wanted to finish the fight as quickly as he could.
“What an idiot, he should have used a stance…” Chen Mo had been trying to keep quiet, but seeing that Liu Jian was underestimating his opponent, he couldn’t help but shake his head. ‘This Ye Wei was clearly hiding something! Ranking-wise I know you are the best student at South Star right now, but do you really expect it to last if you keep being this careless? If this kid doesn’t beat you here I will one day!’
The room was filled by a shrill sound that came from Liu Jian’s Qi, and the interior shook.
Ye Wei stood still and calmly watched the approaching silver punch. Liu Jian’s fist and the rest of his body froze in place when he was three inches away from landing his punch. He felt an unmovable resistance as if there was a thick invisible wall in front of Ye Wei.
“A Qi wall?!” Xu He’s eyes narrowed as he mumbled, ‘So he is at least a six-star Warrior; I guess he is qualified to compete at the group stage at least!’
“Oh wow! A six-star Warrior? I guess you don’t have to be in the cheerleading squad, but you are still not good enough to be one of our main fighters!” Liu Jian’s cold glare intensified as he channeled more of his Qi to his fist.
His knuckles shone brighter and brighter showcasing the body strength of a eight-star Warrior.
“Not bad, when it comes to Qi density you are not weaker than Polaris Academy’s Ning Yang, but I think he is a smarter fighter than you are… You should have met him. He was very polite just like you, you two would get along well.” Ye Wei was more interested in knowing more about his new teammate than beating him. ‘He is not strong but definitely not weak, okay how should I end this politely…’
Ye Wei stepped forward, and the moment his foot touched the ground the wall of Qi in front of him pushed towards Liu Jian like a tsunami wave.
Liu Jian felt like he was consumed by this wave of energy, and feeling the force of a tall slab of metal falling upon him, he quickly leaped backwards after he was. .h.i.t to avoid the full impact. He took five steps back before he could steady his footing. he left potholes on the solid floor with each step he took.
Ye Wei never moved a muscle except taking that small step forward, whereas on the contrary Liu Jian was panting for air although he was the aggressor.
Xu He was startled. He didn’t think Liu Jian would lose, and certainly not in this manner. The vice-princ.i.p.al could vaguely guess that Ye Wei had already reached the ten-star Warrior level.
Chen Mo was also shocked. He had a feeling that Liu Jian would humiliate himself from the beginning but he didn’t expect Ye Wei could clinch the victory so clean and effortlessly.
Liu Jian was horrified and discouraged by the figure in front of him, and although he had not used a stance in this brief duel, he knew, without a doubt, that he did not stand a chance with or without using stances. He has always been confident and arrogant, but he was shaken by Ye Wei who he felt was even younger than himself. ‘Why have I not heard of this kid before…’
“Xu, are you satisfied?” Gu Qing smiled, and asked the shocked vice-princ.i.p.al in a playful tone.
“Yes, very much so!” Xu He gazed upon Ye Wei with a praising look. ‘He is so young too… If I can make him stay in South Star we can probably get ourselves in the top ten for years to come!’
But at the same time the vice-princ.i.p.al was slightly worried because if Ye Wei was really a registered South Star student then how could he not have notice such talent. He frowned as he considered the worst case scenario as the deadline for this school year’s enrolment was pa.s.sing soon, and if he sent in the papers now, Ye Wei would not be registered in time to partic.i.p.ate in the tournament.
“He is a registered student!” Gu Qing saw through Xu He’s mind. “His master locked him up for training purposes these past three years, we did not cancel his status.
“Oh that’s good to hear!” The vice-princ.i.p.al was relieved then felt shocked again. ‘Wait what… Could this be? He has to be Master Yi’s legacy apprentice! That would explain why I can’t feel his Qi either! Master Yi must have hidden it somehow…’ The vice-princ.i.p.al thought oblivious about Ye Wei’s Supernova stance.
“Was it you who drove the Polaris boys away?” Liu Jian was rash but not stupid. He looked at Ye Wei with respect upon realizing no one else could have been the valiant defender. In Liu Jian’s eyes power was everything, and although Ye Wei was younger he would treat the winner as a winner should be treated.
“Yes, it was me.” Ye Wei nodded. He could feel their approval. ‘This guy is wild, but I guess he is stupid in a nice way when he’s on my side.’
“Ha, they threatened us right? The Polaris Academy students, we will surely crush them with you on our team!” Liu Jian was feeling positive again.
‘He is very energetic too!’ Ye Wei realized his attempt to humble Liu Jian did not work and that this martial family descendant was a bit reckless.
Chen Mo placed his palm on his forehead feeling a bit embarra.s.sed.
“Liu Jian, don’t underestimate them; they came third in the last tournament!” Vice-princ.i.p.al Xu frowned and said in a serious tone. “And I heard that Qi Xiu of Polaris Academy caused some troubles in Ning City a couple days ago.”
“Qi Xiu!?” Liu Jian and Chen Mo’s faces turned pale when they heard the name spoken. Although they did not have a lot of information on Polaris Academy’s ace, Qi Xiu had the reputation as the one of the strongest young cultivators in the region.
Ye Wei heard this name from Ning Yang and hearing his new teammates mentioned him as well caused his interest to grow immensely.