Chapter 472: Huangfu Xiuming

With her Martial Emperor cultivation, she could naturally sense that if he continued to kneel, Huangfu Xiuming’s heart meridians would freeze, and he would die in less than an hour.

She said softly, "If he keeps kneeling, I’m afraid he won’t last much longer. Why don’t you give him a chance?"

"A chance?" Ye Xuan glanced at the youth on the steps. After a moment of contemplation, he said indifferently, "Fine. Since you’ve spoken up, Yingtai, I will give him one chance. Young man, if you can make it through the Forbidden Ridge outside the Profound Domain Sacred City alive, I will grant you an opportunity for my guidance."

"The Forbidden Ridge!"

Yao Yue Martial Emperor’s expression changed slightly.

The Forbidden Ridge was one of the Profound Domain’s forbidden lands, a place of certain death that even countless Martial Emperor experts dared not enter rashly. You could say it offered a one-in-ten chance of survival.

"Isn’t sending him to the Forbidden Ridge a death sentence?"

"Correct. It is a death sentence. But if he desires my guidance, he must do this. He can either go back or brave the Forbidden Ridge. His talent is lacking; if he’s afraid of even death, what right does he have to receive my guidance?"

"I’ve given him the chance. The choice is his to make."

Ye Xiaoyao spoke indifferently.

The youth, who had been kneeling for seven days and seven nights, as motionless as an ice sculpture, finally moved at this moment.

"Xiuming understands. Master Ye, I will definitely make it through the Forbidden Ridge and take you as my master."

The youth kowtowed heavily, his eyes shining. Then he struggled to his feet and slowly staggered away, one stumbling step at a time.

「Three days later.」

A youth appeared outside the Forbidden Ridge, a forbidden land in the Profound Domain. He walked into the deathtrap without a single look back.

It was none other than Huangfu Xiuming.

Some Martial Artists cultivating nearby saw this and shook their heads in mockery, saying he was going to his death.

「Ten days later.」

A youth, drenched in blood and covered in wounds, walked out of the Forbidden Ridge, causing a huge sensation throughout the Holy City.

「Outside Carefree Palace.」

"Master, Xiuming has completed the task."

The blood-soaked youth knelt on the cold stone steps, his eyes shining like stars.

Ye Xiaoyao was slightly moved.

He hadn’t expected the boy to actually go to the Forbidden Ridge, let alone come back alive.

"Fine."

With a wave of his hand, a jade slip landed in the youth’s hands.

"Inside are some of my insights and notes. Take it. Your talent is poor, but with this jade slip, as long as you are diligent and work hard, reaching the Tier Eight Emperor Martial Realm in the future is not impossible."

"If you can break through to the Tier Eight Emperor Martial Realm in your lifetime, come to Carefree Palace in the Profound Domain. At that time, I will teach you personally."

"Go on!"

Ye Xiaoyao said indifferently.

"Thank you, Master."

Huangfu Xiuming kowtowed heavily three times. Without another word, he turned and left Carefree Palace.

"This boy was able to pass through the Forbidden Ridge as a Tier Six Martial Venerable. Although his talent is poor, if he’s properly nurtured, his future achievements will surely be extraordinary. Why are you unwilling to take him as your disciple?"

Yao Yue Martial Emperor looked at Ye Xiaoyao, her voice tinged with confusion.

Ye Xiaoyao shook his head. "It’s not that I’m unwilling to take him as a disciple. It’s just that the path of the Martial Dao is long and arduous. We ourselves are seekers on this path, so how can we presume to guide others?"

"I have shown him a path. How far he can walk on it depends on his own destiny."

"If he really can reach the Emperor Martial Realm in his lifetime, what would be the harm in teaching him a little then?"

Hearing this, Yao Yue Martial Emperor smiled softly.

Her smile was like a hundred flowers blossoming, so radiant it made the stars dim in comparison.

"Yingtai, what are you smiling about?"

"I’m laughing because the legendary cold and ruthless Carefree Soul Emperor is actually quite merciful. Heaven has a virtue of cherishing life. No matter what desperate situation one faces, Heaven always leaves a sliver of hope, doesn’t it?"

Yao Yue Martial Emperor laughed happily. At this moment, she thought of herself.

’That youth, a mere Tier Six Martial Venerable, was able to make it through the Forbidden Ridge.’

’Then surely, I can open Xiaoyao’s heart, can’t I?’

"Heh, you dare to laugh at me."

Ye Xiaoyao reached out and pulled Yao Yue Martial Emperor into his embrace.

GIGGLE!

At that time, with the bright moon high in the sky, waves of joyful laughter echoed from the pavilion.

Before the statue, Ye Xuan recalled that scene and became completely lost in the memory.

"Yingtai, are you doing well now?"

Ye Xuan murmured to himself.

Back then, he had fallen unexpectedly. A hundred years had passed since his rebirth.

For a Martial Emperor, a hundred years might not be a long time. But looking back, everything had changed.

’Is she still in the Moon God Palace, gazing into the distance?’

’Knowing her personality, how devastated must Yao Yue Martial Emperor have been when she heard the news of my fall?’

An inexplicable pain seized Ye Xuan’s heart.

’What’s wrong with Ye Xuan?’

Before the statue, Yun Aoxue and Xia Qixi sensed Ye Xuan’s emotions and felt an inexplicable sadness in their own hearts.

"Young Master Ye, are you alright?"

Even Luo Cheng noticed something was off with Ye Xuan and patted him on the shoulder.

Only then did Ye Xuan snap out of his memories. He shook his head and said, "I’m fine."

Looking at the statue before him, his mood suddenly improved.

’With Yingtai’s power, a hundred years would have barely affected her. What kind of scene will it be when I return to the Profound Domain soon and suddenly appear before her?’

A knowing smile appeared on Ye Xuan’s face.

At this moment, he could hardly wait to return to the Profound Domain.

But he knew that people from the outside world couldn’t enter the Profound Domain without the strength of a Martial King. And even at the Martial King Level, one was nothing but an ant in the Profound Domain.

Huangfu Xiuming’s ability to enter the Profound Domain while in the Martial Venerable Realm back then was actually just an accident.

’A Martial King?’

’That day is not far off.’

Ye Xuan was filled with confidence. Besides protecting the Thirteen Nations Alliance and the Profound Mystery Sect, he now had another goal: to return to the Profound Domain and see Yingtai Yue again.

Meanwhile, the countless students were incredibly excited by Qingfeng’s story.

"Master Qingfeng, since our Gale Light Academy has this connection to the Carefree Soul Emperor, do you think he might show up at our academy someday?"

Some students asked expectantly.

"That’s impossible." Qingfeng shook his head and sighed. "It’s a great pity. A hundred years ago, the Carefree Soul Emperor went to explore a forbidden land and was never heard from again. The experts of the continent all concluded that he had fallen. For the past hundred years, he has never appeared on the continent again."

"What?"

"He’s fallen?"

"How is that possible?"

All the students were instantly stunned. Although they had never met Ye Xiaoyao, just hearing his deeds told them he was an unbelievably heaven-defying individual. How could he have fallen?

"This can’t be true!"

A female student shook her head, refusing to believe it.

Qingfeng gave a wry smile. "Headmaster Huangfu Xiuming said so himself. In fact, to verify the matter, Headmaster Huangfu Xiuming has been searching for any trace of the Carefree Soul Emperor in the Profound Domain all these years, but he has vanished without a trace."

"Alright, now you know the origin of the statue. That’s enough for now. All students, follow me to complete the registration procedures."

Qingfeng led the students away from the square.

"What a shame. The great Carefree Soul Emperor actually fell."

"If he hadn’t died, he would probably be a Nine Heavens Martial Emperor by now."

The students lamented one after another.

’What do you mean, "I’ve fallen"? Aren’t I standing right here, perfectly fine?’

Hearing this, Ye Xuan couldn’t help but purse his lips.

’This Huangfu Xiuming really gets it, building a statue of me. Heh, it wasn’t a waste to give him a chance back then,’ Ye Xuan thought with some satisfaction.

’So the headmaster isn’t at the academy. Grandpa gave me a token and said I could go directly to the headmaster of Gale Light Academy... But I’ve already joined, so I guess I don’t need it for now.’

Xia Qixi clutched a jade tablet, glanced at Qingfeng up ahead, and hesitated for a moment before deciding not to take it out.

Under Qingfeng’s guidance, the new batch of students quickly completed their registration and received their student tokens, dorm keys, manuals, and other items.

"Now, I’ll take you to the dormitories."

The Gale Light Academy dormitories were a large cluster of massive stone buildings.

There were no separate male and female sections. Instead, each person had their own room, and everything inside was already prepared.

"Alright, you’ve all been through a day of assessments and must be tired. Go get some rest."

After saying this, Qingfeng left on his own.

"Young Master Ye, my room number is 457. What’s yours?" Luo Cheng asked Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan glanced at his key. "411!"

"Looks like we’re not together," Luo Cheng said, quite dejected.

"Go put your things away first. I’ll come find you later," Ye Xuan said with a faint smile.

The two then parted ways.

Although each student at Gale Light Academy had their own room, every few rooms were grouped together to form a courtyard.

Following the signs, Ye Xuan quickly found his room.

Ye Xuan had assumed all the new students would be housed together, but when he arrived at the entrance to his courtyard, he realized that wasn’t the case.

This courtyard had about seven or eight dormitory rooms. Four of them were clearly occupied, while the remaining three were empty.

"You’re staying here?"

A stunned voice suddenly sounded by Ye Xuan’s ear. He turned his head and saw Murong Yunxiao staring at him with a strange expression, her brow slightly furrowed.

"You’re staying here too?"

Ye Xuan rubbed his nose and frowned as well.

"I’m in 412!"

Seeing Ye Xuan’s frown, Murong Yunxiao stated flatly and ignored him afterward.

"Oh, look, a couple of new students."

Just as the two of them were looking for their rooms.

A slightly frivolous voice suddenly rang out, followed by the sound of footsteps. They both turned to see several youths with imposing auras slowly walking out of their respective rooms, scornful smiles on their faces.

"Oh? And a beauty, at that."

One of them, a young man with a scar on his chin, had his eyes light up the moment he saw Murong Yunxiao.

"Heh, I didn’t expect our luck to be this good."

The guys exchanged a look. The scarred young man immediately strode forward, putting on what he thought was a dashing smile, and said to Murong Yunxiao, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jin Tie, and I’m your senior. Welcome to Gale Light Academy, junior. Since you’re new here, you’re probably unfamiliar with a lot of things at the academy. Come, let me show you around."