There was a hint of disappointment and helplessness on Cao Ning’s face as he could not believe his hard work and effort was all for naught.
This did not escape Ye Wei’s eyes, and after seeing Cao Ning’s state, Ye Wei looked towards the vice-princ.i.p.al and moved his lips.
“Cao Ning, come over here!” Xu He nodded at Ye Wei then turned to Cao Ning.
Ye Wei was the strongest cultivator at South Star Academy and Master Yi’s legacy apprentice. Although he was known to be strict, the vice-princ.i.p.al trusted and respected him enough to approve his request.
“What? Me? I can come too?” Cao Ning was startled. His sadness was replaced with surprise. ‘I thought Xiao Qi said only three-star Warriors or above?’
Cao Ning froze and looked at the vice-princ.i.p.al then he saw Ye Wei smiling beside Xu He. It took him a while before he figured out Ye Wei requested the vice-princ.i.p.al to bring one more person along.
“Ye Wei…” Cao Ning felt an itch in his throat. He looked right at Ye Wei with teary eyes. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Although Ye Wei has disappeared for three years, he had still provided training supplies for Cao Ning. Without which becoming a Warrior would be impossible for Cao considering his talent was just above average. Now that Ye Wei has done him yet another favor, Cao Ning’s kind heart was overwhelmed with gratefulness.
“Ye Wei, in the future if you need help with anything at all just let me know! I will not blink even if I have to risk my life for yours!” He swore solemnly.
“When you graduate, you will surely be looking for a martial family to serve? If you like you’re always welcome at the Ye family!” Ye Wei patted Cao Ning’s shoulder and smiled.
“Can I really?” Cao Ning asked excitedly. For anyone who was born with an ordinary background, serving a martial family after they graduated was one of their best options, and considering how much the Ye family had grown in the past three years Cao Ning would be guaranteed a bright and stable future if the Ye’s took him in.
“Of course! Once the tournament is over, I will find the time to speak with granddad about it! Let’s head out; we’re taking too long!” Ye Wei gave Cao Ning’s back another pat, and together they walked into the floating runicle.
Xiao Qi glared at Ye Wei and Cao Ning. He felt as if his face was burning; he felt like he had been slapped. Not only was he forced to bow and apologize in front of everyone, but he also embarra.s.sed himself by promising Cao Ning that anyone lower than three-star Warrior cultivation would not be allowed to join the team only to be overruled by the vice-princ.i.p.al.
The awkwardness was overwhelming. Xiao Qi felt like he was a small and pathetic clown that his worth was denied by Ye Wei, and he had no way to contest for it. He felt pitiful that he was happy just because Ye Wei decided not to pursue the matter.
When everything was settled the runicle took off before more than a thousand eyes, heading towards Ning City.
The runicle was s.p.a.cious, and Ye Wei and the fourteen others did not feel cramped at all.
“Cao Ning, how many stances have you learned so far?” Ye Wei and Cao Ning were seated in the corner, and they started chatting quietly.
“Just two…” Cao Ning said embarra.s.singly. Comparing to other one-star Warriors, he did not know that many stances at all.
“And they are?” Ye Wei nodded and asked in a neutral tone.
“Rolling Stone Punch and the Onyx Tortoise stance.” Cao Ning replied honestly.
‘Why those two… They are both just mid-level Spirit stances…’ Ye Wei frowned. He was confused, but when he reminded himself of Cao Ning’s background, he realized the reason behind it.
Cao Ning had a civilian background; therefore, he could only practice weaker common stances provided by the South Star, and he actually worked hard to earn the rights to be taught these two stances.
“Ye Wei, thank you for asking the vice-princ.i.p.al to bring me along. I know I am not strong enough to fight for South Star, but I am happy just being able to tag along…” Cao Ning’s lips curled into a bitter smile.
“Don’t overthink it; you are already here, and I will think of ways to make you worthy for the arena!” Ye Wei interrupted and nudged Cao Ning.
“Let’s see if we can refine those two stances!” Ye Wei smiled. He knew how those two stances worked, and he was already calculating, picturing how to refine them.
Cao Ning has been practicing these two stances for a long time, and his mastery could very well contribute to the refinement quality. If the refinement went well then, the cosmic energy Cao Ning would receive could be key to him becoming strong enough to fight for South Star in the tournament.
After some brief conversations, the runicle was silent again. Liu Jian, Chen Mo, Mu Feng, and the others were mentally preparing to fight a few challenging matchups, and they closed their eyes to meditate and cultivate so they would display their best in the arena.
Hours pa.s.sed by in the blink of an eye, and the black runicle was approaching a row of towering mountains as their destination, Ning City, was behind the province’s famous Sunset Mountains.
The mountains stood over ten thousand feet tall, and their peaks were shrouded, bathing in a long, large stream of mysterious light.
The runicle then headed west into a pa.s.sage that winded through the mountain range. The group looked to reach their destination in an hour’s time, and the palms of some of them were starting to get sweaty. Not all of the young cultivators had been to a major city before, and the thought of the ancient city’s magnificence was causing them anxiety.
A few of the students broke silence.
“Did you know that the City Lord of Ning City, ruler of the province, Lin Yi is a returned prime Warrior who has six hundred thousand men under his command? I heard that his men and him had killed hordes of no less than five hundred thousand demons during the Battle of Trapped Beasts!”
“Battle of Trapped Beast? The battle that took place seven years ago right? My dad still tells me stories about it sometimes. How more than a million demons invaded the province at once… He said that the province’s best Warriors set an ambush and lured them into these mountains to contain the mayhem and minimize the loss of civilian lives…”
“That was a dark time. The battle lasted for more than three weeks, and by the end, there were large piles of demon remains next to the bodies of Warriors who valiantly gave their lives, without whom you wouldn’t be alive right now.” A few students said in unison.
“The Battle of Trapped Beast was the largest scaled warfare that had taken place within the outskirt region in more than thirty years. Before the battle, this part of the Zhou dynasty was swarmed with roaming demons who were purged during the battle. The cities involved in the battle suffered heavy losses, and we lost many great Warriors. Although the region has yet to recover fully, the streets are now safer than they have ever been”.
The generation that lived to tell the tale still had nightmares about those days. Even though they had survived, at least more that half of their friends and family who fought didn’t return.
When their elders risked their lives to protect them all those years ago, all the student who sat in the runicle were still too young to understand the world. Now they couldn’t help but wonder if they too would one day fight their own epic battle to protect what and who they loved.
A thundering noise sounded, as a speeding golden runicle approached from behind. It overtook and stopped right in front of South Star Academy’s in a very rude manner.
Xu He’s heart sank, and he stopped the runicle just in time. A second later and they would have crashed.
The forceful stop shook everyone in the black runicle except Ye Wei, Liu Jian, and Chen Mo; a few of them even fell down.
“What’s going on?” Ye Wei opened his eyes and frowned feeling confused like the rest of the cultivators.
“Hahaha!” A hysterical voice sounded from outside the runicle. “Xu He, is that you? Long time no see!”
“It’s the Tri-Solar School…” The vice-princ.i.p.al mumbled then ran and flung open the door. “What do you think you are doing!?”
“Eh…” Ye Wei could see seven people had come out of the golden runicle, and all of them had primal wings on their back; they were all levitating.
The one who stood in front was a large built middle-aged man; he had a head of short red hair, and his eyebrows and eyes were red as well. There were three mysterious circular patterns on his pupils, and the fearsome presence he gave off was as heavy as the mountains they were surrounded by.
“Condensed prime Warrior!” Ye Wei narrowed his eyes as he glared at the middle-aged man and mumbled. ‘Not an ordinary one either, this red-haired man is at least a seven-star condensed prime Warrior!’
From just standing there he was pressuring everyone. The vice-princ.i.p.al and Ye Wei seemed not at all bothered by him, but the rest of South Star Academy’s cultivators became pale and started to breathe heavily.
“Old friend, you don’t have to be mad? I’m just here to say hi!” The middle-aged man laughed, and the vibration from his voice became a medium for his Qi which sent pressure waves towards the group of cultivators from South Star.
“This is not a good way to greet people!” Xu He grunted then flung his sleeves which cut off the Qi waves with his own and relieved the students from the immense pressure.
“Shi Xiaoran, so the Tri-Solar School finally let you lead their team? Humm… They look like a group of young men with great potential. I heard one of your students has even earned the right to be referred to as one of G.o.d’s Seven Children. You have been a seven-star condensed prime Warrior for what? Ten years now? You should learn from the younger ones; perhaps they might be able to teach you a thing or two about cultivating!”