Chapter 529: Ye Xuan’s Guidance

Lin Yuan’s expression grew grim as he faced the attack. He held his breath, focusing his spirit until his entire being seemed to transform into a longsword. An aura of absolute stillness surged skyward as a brilliant rainbow of sword light flickered between heaven and earth.

SWOOSH!

The black sword light and the golden blade manifested by Feng Yu slammed fiercely together.

PFFT!

Lin Yuan sprayed a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying backward.

"Lin Yuan!"

A few of the new students couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.

"Hm?"

Ye Xuan, however, let out a soft sound of surprise, a glint in his eyes.

Compared to their battle in the Endless Mountain Range, Lin Yuan’s strike hadn’t improved much in terms of Profound Power, but his Sword Intent had undergone a subtle change.

’This secretly amazed him. Lin Yuan’s understanding of the Sword Dao was truly extraordinary. Back then, I only gave him a casual pointer, yet Lin Yuan has actually managed to grasp a sliver of its true essence.’

’If not for his insufficient Profound Power, he wouldn’t have lost just now.’

"Hmph. Do you see your mistake now?"

Feng Yu said coldly. Golden streams of light swirled around him, materializing into a tangible aura that pressed down on all the new students.

"You think a show-off like you can make me submit? Don’t you find that ridiculous?"

Lin Yuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered, "I’m not your match right now, I’ll admit that. But in less than three months, I’ll be grinding you under my heel."

"You..."

Rage flared in Feng Yu’s eyes. He never expected this batch of new students to be so troublesome.

"And what about the rest of you? Do you think the same?"

Feng Yu glared at the remaining eight new students and said menacingly, "As long as you admit your mistake, I can consider letting you pass and register. Otherwise, I don’t mind leaving a few... marks on you."

"Perhaps you don’t know, but here in the inner court, as long as no one is crippled or killed, the academy instructors won’t say a word."

He grinned, his expression demonic and terrifying.

Under the pressure of his aura, many of the students grew anxious.

They couldn’t help but glance at Lin Yuan, their hesitation clear.

"What are you still considering?"

Sensing their hesitation, Feng Yu took a step forward, and an even more oppressive aura enveloped them.

"Senior Feng Yu, I was wrong. Please let me pass."

Zhang Yan shot Dongfang Zisi a venomous glare as she was the first to step forward. In her opinion, Feng Yu was only stopping them because of Dongfang Zisi’s strength as a Tier Five Third Layer. ’There’s no reason for me to offend a senior from the inner court because of her.’

"Haha, good. Very good. You can go register," Feng Yu said with a laugh.

Seeing Zhang Yan pass through safely, the few students who had been hesitating were swayed.

"Senior, I was wrong."

"We shouldn’t have talked back to you."

"Please let us pass."

With their heads bowed, they forced the words out.

"Hahaha, you can all pass."

Feng Yu was smug, filled with a sense of accomplishment.

However, not everyone did the same.

Only five people had come forward to admit fault. Four others remained completely still.

"What, you two Tier Five Third Layer students aren’t going to admit you’re wrong either?"

Feng Yu’s gaze fell upon Ye Xuan and Dongfang Zisi. When he saw Dongfang Zisi, he couldn’t help but be stunned by her beauty. He then directed most of his oppressive aura toward Ye Xuan.

"Admit we’re wrong? Wrong about what?"

Ye Xuan sneered.

Feng Yu clearly hadn’t expected Ye Xuan, a Martial Sect at Tier Five Third Layer, to answer him like that.

"Do you two think the same way?"

Feng Yu turned his gaze to Dongfang Zisi and the other student, his anger turning into frustrated rage.

"We did nothing wrong, so why should we admit to any wrongdoing?" Dongfang Zisi said faintly, her expression as calm and unruffled as ever.

’Ye Xuan knew that while Dongfang Zisi appeared harmless and easygoing, she was incredibly proud on the inside. She wouldn’t look down on anyone, but she also wouldn’t fear anything.’

"The only reason you can stand here and speak to us so arrogantly isn’t because you’re right. It’s simply because you were born a couple of years earlier, entered the inner court before us, and have a slightly higher cultivation. Anyone who apologizes to you is a coward at heart. So what if their talent is astonishing? They will never become truly indomitable experts in their lifetime. And you want me, Xiang Wenshan, to admit I’m wrong? That’s a joke."

To Ye Xuan’s surprise, the other student spoke with disdain, his expression cold and arrogant.

Although his cultivation was only at Tier Six First Layer, the aura he exuded was intense and his sharp presence was on full display.

’Ye Xuan knew this person was just like Hou Fei—he would never admit defeat. People like him had the greatest hope of becoming powerhouses in the future.’

’As for the few who had just admitted fault, it was just as Xiang Wenshan said. No matter how talented they were, without the heart of a true expert, their future achievements would be limited.’

"Good. Very good. You’ve chosen your own path. Don’t blame others for what comes next."

Feng Yu roared and thrust a palm directly at Ye Xuan and the others.

"Hmph!"

Lin Yuan snorted and was about to step forward, but Ye Xuan stopped him. "Forget it. You’re already injured. Leave a guy like this to me."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took a step forward, his gaze fixed coldly on Feng Yu’s approaching palm.

"Hahaha, a mere Tier Five Third Layer Martial Sect like you wants to fight me?"

Feng Yu’s palm shot toward Ye Xuan as if he were catching a little chick.

"A Martial Artist who preys on the weak doesn’t prove his strength. On the contrary, it proves his cowardice."

Ye Xuan’s calm voice rang out as he sent out a palm strike of his own, which instantly collided with Feng Yu’s.

BOOM!

Feng Yu’s arrogant expression froze. In the next instant, a sharp pain shot through his palm. Amid the sound of shattering bones, his entire body was thrown back like a broken sack, and he spewed a mouthful of blood before crashing to the ground a short distance away, his face ashen.

What...?

No one could have predicted this turn of events.

One palm strike. With just a single palm strike, this new student who had just joined the inner court, a Martial Sect at only Tier Five Third Layer, had actually defeated Feng Yu.

Although Feng Yu wasn’t a particularly dazzling figure in the inner court, he was still ranked around the middle. To be so easily defeated by a new student left everyone in disbelief.

Some of the older students even rubbed their eyes, thinking they were hallucinating.

But the one who found it most difficult to believe was Feng Yu himself.

"You... you actually launched a sneak attack..."

He scrambled to his feet, his expression furious.

Seeing that Ye Xuan’s cultivation wasn’t high, he hadn’t used much of his strength. Who could have known that the power of Ye Xuan’s palm strike would be so formidable? He hadn’t been able to react in time and was instantly injured.

In his mind, he had been careless and fallen into a trap, allowing Ye Xuan to succeed with a sneak attack.

"Bastard! You despicable coward, take another palm strike from me!"

Myriad rays of rainbow light suddenly flared from Feng Yu’s left hand. Countless golden blades formed in the air and swept madly toward Ye Xuan—the very same attack he had used to defeat Lin Yuan.

The sky full of golden blades instantly enveloped Ye Xuan.

"Lin Yuan, watch closely. A swordsman who is too rigid will easily break. Only by blending hardness with softness can one be undefeated."

The Sword of Autocracy on Ye Xuan’s back was suddenly unsheathed, transforming into a streak of black light as he slashed out decisively.

The intent flowing from his sword was identical to the swordsmanship Lin Yuan had displayed earlier. The only difference was that Lin Yuan’s swordsmanship was sharp and domineering, whereas Ye Xuan’s possessed a fluid and gentle quality.

It was clearly a rigid style of swordsmanship, yet he executed it with an ethereal grace.

SWOOSH!

The black sword rainbow silently entered the storm of a thousand blades. Before Lin Yuan’s astonished eyes, Ye Xuan’s black greatsword seemed to flow like water, blocking every single blade before quietly striking Feng Yu’s palm.

BOOM!

Amidst the violent explosion, Feng Yu was sent flying once again. This time was even more brutal than the last; he crashed to the ground like a dead dog.

Defeated. Defeated again.

The way everyone looked at Ye Xuan had completely changed. If the first time could be explained away as a lucky trick, then this second exchange made it clear to all that Ye Xuan had won through absolute strength.

’The same sword move, the same level of Profound Power... why couldn’t I block it, but Xuan Ye could?’

But the most shocked of all was Lin Yuan. His eyes flickered, his heart greatly shaken. He frowned in deep thought, seemingly falling into a state of sudden enlightenment.

Gradually, his eyes grew brighter and clearer.

"I understand. I understand now."

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly cried out in joyous surprise, a brilliant light flashing in his eyes.

"Xuan Ye, thank you."

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Lin Yuan bowed to Ye Xuan, his tone filled with gratitude.

"Let’s go."

Ye Xuan gave a faint smile and walked into the Core Hall with the others.

"Xuan Ye?"

"That person is Xuan Ye?"

"The new student who drew the Profound Mystery Sect?"

Lin Yuan’s words had left some of the older students present looking utterly dumbfounded.

Currently at Gale Light Academy, if one were to ask whose name was the most famous, the answer would undoubtedly be Ye Xuan. Although the Profound Mystery Sect’s attack on Gale Light Academy had occurred in the outer court, news of it had long since spread to the inner court.

Therefore, upon realizing Ye Xuan’s identity, all the senior students present were completely shaken.

Meanwhile, Ye Xuan and his group had already walked into the Core Hall.

Inside the great hall, an inner court instructor was already waiting.

Upon seeing Ye Xuan’s group, the few who had admitted fault earlier lowered their heads, their faces looking extremely unpleasant.

Led by the inner court instructor, Ye Xuan and the others completed their registration procedures one by one.

Seeing the instructor there, Lin Yuan and the others finally understood that the inner court was indeed different from the outer court.

’They couldn’t believe that the instructor waiting here hadn’t seen what had just happened outside the Core Hall.’

’Yet he hadn’t stepped in at all, which spoke volumes.’

After finishing the registration, Ye Xuan finally obtained what he had wanted.

Looking at the Gumo Menglan and other treasures in his hand, he couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement.

’Finally, I can attempt to break through to Tier Six.’