Chapter 473: Looking for a Backer

"That’s right. You’re new here, so there must be a lot you don’t know."

The other three also wore excited smiles.

After all, the male-to-female ratio at Gale Light Academy was already skewed, and besides, not every female student was a beauty.

That was why they got so worked up the moment they saw Murong Yunxiao.

"Sorry, I’m not interested," Murong Yunxiao said flatly, her expression blank.

"Heh, don’t be nervous. We don’t mean any harm. We’re all students of Gale Light Academy, and helping others is a tradition of ours."

"Right, right. Don’t be nervous."

"What’s your name? Why don’t you tell us?"

The young men flashed what they thought were suave smiles and spoke with enthusiasm.

Seeing that the annoying group had no intention of leaving, an idea flashed in Murong Yunxiao’s mind. She said coolly, "My name is Murong Yunxiao, from the Imperial Capital of the Sky Empire."

"Murong Yunxiao?"

"What a great name."

"So you’re a genius from the Sky Empire! Haha, allow me to introduce myself. I am from the Bright Moon Empire. What a coincidence! We’re all students from the three great empires. It must be fate."

"Hahaha, Brother Jin is right. Maybe this is what they call destiny."

the senior students said with a laugh.

Ye Xuan: "..."

’All from the three great empires, and they call that fate? We’re all from the Celestial Profound Continent too, then. These guys are a bunch of idiots. Their pickup lines are way too cliché.’

As he was smiling, the young man called Jin Tie suddenly seemed to recall something. He shuddered and asked doubtfully, "Murong? Imperial Capital of the Sky Empire? Our academy has a student named Murong Yunyu. Do you know him?"

Murong Yunxiao smiled faintly. "Murong Yunyu is my older brother!"

What?

All four students stiffened, then chuckled awkwardly. "Ahem, so you’re Senior Murong Yunyu’s sister. Heh, lovely weather we’re having today, isn’t it?"

"Yeah, Junior Sister, uh... We were a bit forward just now. Please don’t hold it against us."

"Ahem, when you have time, we’ll have to treat you to some tea."

The men stammered, their eyes darting about. Sweat beaded on their foreheads; they were all clearly terrified.

"Excuse me, now that the flirting is over, could you gentlemen please move out of the way?"

Ye Xuan suddenly said coolly.

Jin Tie and his friends were standing in the middle of the corridor, blocking his path to his own dorm room.

"Can’t you see we’re talking to Junior Sister Murong Yunxiao? You’re a new student, don’t you have any awareness?"

"Have new students these days lost the fine virtue of respecting their seniors?"

"What’s your name? Looks like we’ll have to teach you how to respect your seniors."

Jin Tie and his friends had been thrilled to see a beautiful new student in their courtyard. Learning she was Murong Yunyu’s sister, however, scared them witless, and they were desperately trying to figure out how to salvage the situation. Ye Xuan’s interruption made them furious, and they immediately lashed out at him with loud rebukes.

"Xuan Ye, I finally found you! I can’t believe we were assigned to the same courtyard. What luck!"

Just then, an excited voice called out. Ye Xuan turned his head and saw a young man walking toward him, his face wreathed in smiles.

Ye Xuan remembered this person. His name was Zhang Lie, and he seemed to be the first student to pass the third round of the assessment.

With a trace of excitement on his face, Zhang Lie quickened his pace and introduced himself. "My name is Zhang Lie, from the Celestial Peace Kingdom. I’m twenty years old, and my cultivation is at the Tier Five First Layer."

"Your performance during the entrance assessment was simply heaven-defying! Tsk tsk, if I, Zhang Lie, had even half your results, I’d be content."

Zhang Lie was incredibly excited.

Although they were both new students in the same class, he was filled with admiration for Ye Xuan’s performance during the entrance assessment.

"Xuan Ye?"

"The new student who left his name at the eighty-eight-meter mark on the Memorial Stele?"

"My heavens."

When Jin Tie and his friends heard Xuan Ye’s name, their arrogant expressions instantly froze, and cold sweat broke out on their foreheads again.

"And these gentlemen are?" Zhang Lie asked, confused.

"Ahem, we’re the senior students of this courtyard. We’re here to welcome you three new students to our home," one of them said hastily.

"Yes, yes! A warm welcome, a warm welcome!"

Another senior student hurriedly took out a handkerchief and began waving it vigorously.

Zhang Lie’s eyes widened. "The seniors at Gale Light Academy are this enthusiastic? Truly worthy of being the number one academy on the Dream Realm Plain. The atmosphere here is incredible!"

On the Celestial Profound Continent, there was usually competition between senior and new students. If they were assigned to the same courtyard, you’d be lucky not to get a harsh welcome, let alone an enthusiastic one.

The behavior of Jin Tie and his friends instantly shattered Zhang Lie’s preconceived notions of Gale Light Academy.

"Ahem, but of course. We seniors at Gale Light Academy have always been extremely kind and approachable."

"You three must be tired after just enrolling. You should hurry back to your rooms and rest."

"Right, right, hurry back and rest. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can come ask us later."

"We won’t disturb your rest any longer. We’ll be taking our leave."

After blurting all this out, Jin Tie and the other three scurried back to their dorms.

BANG!

Inside the dorm room, the four of them wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads, their faces pale with lingering fear.

"Damn it, to think those freaks ended up in our courtyard. Good thing we reacted quickly."

"That beauty is actually Senior Murong Yunyu’s sister. Thank goodness we didn’t do anything out of line, or we wouldn’t even know what hit us."

"And that Xuan Ye... He’s the first-place winner of this year’s entrance assessment, the guy who reached the eighty-eight-meter mark on the Memorial Stele. I heard that even when Supreme Elder Crazy Battle of the Profound Mystery Sect made a move during the assessment, he couldn’t kill him?"

"Forget it, we should just keep a low profile. With that guy’s talent, joining the inner courtyard within a year or two is a sure thing."

"I think we should apply for a room change. We might be senior students, but we’ve only been here a year. Living in the same courtyard with two monsters like them... I can’t help but feel a little panicked."

Jin Tie and his friends muttered to themselves.

Meanwhile, Ye Xuan had finished unpacking and was surveying his new dorm room.

’This room isn’t bad at all. There’s even a private training chamber underneath each dorm.’

The dorms at Gale Light Academy weren’t luxurious, but the layout was very practical.

Every student had their own private training chamber, which came fully equipped with all sorts of apparatuses.

’First, I should go see Luo Cheng.’

After tidying up his room, Ye Xuan didn’t linger and left his dorm.

"Xuan Ye, where are you going?"

He hadn’t gone far before Zhang Lie hurried after him.

"To see a friend."

Zhang Lie immediately smiled. "Perfect, I have nothing to do either. I’ll come with you, if you don’t mind."

Ye Xuan’s brow furrowed slightly as he glanced at Zhang Lie. "I’m a wanted man by the Profound Mystery Sect. Are you sure you want to be seen with me?"

There wasn’t a single new student who didn’t know he was wanted by the Profound Mystery Sect.

Almost everyone else kept their distance from him, avoiding him like the plague, but this Zhang Lie was sticking to him instead, which was extremely odd.

Zhang Lie laughed carelessly. "Heh, so what if you’re wanted by the Profound Mystery Sect? You’re a student of Gale Light Academy now. As long as the academy doesn’t say otherwise, there’s nothing the Profound Mystery Sect can do to you."

Ye Xuan said coolly, "That’s not necessarily true. Out with it. What’s your motive for following me?"

Zhang Lie hurriedly waved his hands. "Don’t misunderstand! I’m from the Celestial Peace Kingdom, not the Profound Mystery Sect. You ask why I’m following you? Naturally, it’s because I want to follow your lead."

"Follow my lead?"

Zhang Lie nodded. "Gale Light Academy may just be an academy, but because of its open-door policy, geniuses from all the major powers can enroll. This makes the competition inside incredibly fierce. Ordinary students have to find a backer, or it’s difficult to survive."

"I’m a new student, not some backer. Besides, aren’t you afraid the Profound Mystery Sect will come after you for following me?" Ye Xuan said with a half-smile.

Zhang Lie shook his head. "You may be a new student, but you’re not like the others. You reached a height of eighty-eight meters on the Memorial Stele. I did my homework before I enrolled."

"In the history of Gale Light Academy, only five people have ever reached seventy meters on the Memorial Stele. Every single one of them became a disciple of the inner courtyard within a year of enrolling. And out of those five, the one with the lowest eventual strength still became a Tier Seven Second Layer Martial King of distinguished status."

"That’s why I believe your future will be even more brilliant than any of those five. Following you is a decision I’ve made after careful consideration."

"Don’t worry, my talent might not be high, but I have a knack for gathering news and intelligence. You’re new here, so you’ll definitely need someone to help out. As long as you let me follow you, you won’t have to worry about finding someone to run errands."

Ye Xuan glanced at him. "Are you finished?"

Zhang Lie froze.

"If you’re finished, then leave. I, Xuan Ye, don’t need any followers. And don’t follow me again. Otherwise, the consequences will be dire."

Ye Xuan tossed out the cold words, turned, and left, leaving a beet-red Zhang Lie behind.

Watching Ye Xuan’s back disappear into the distance, Zhang Lie’s flushed face gradually returned to normal.

’What a character. He’s truly worthy of being first in this year’s assessment.’

A glint shone in Zhang Lie’s eyes. ’Based on my multifaceted analysis, the height achieved on Gale Light Academy’s Memorial Stele is critically important. Historically, eighty percent of Martial Artists who surpassed sixty meters became Tier Seven Martial Kings, provided they didn’t perish prematurely. For those who reached seventy meters, eighty percent of them became Tier Seven Peak Martial Kings, with over a thirty percent chance of breaking through to the Tier Eight Emperor Martial Realm.’

’In that case, anyone who surpasses eighty meters, as long as they survive, has over an eighty percent chance of becoming a Tier Eight Martial Emperor. Xuan Ye’s eighty-eight meters means that even among Martial Emperors, his final achievements will likely not be that of a weakling.’