Chapter 535: Still Suspecting

However, Ye Xuan was absolutely unwilling to admit to being Huangfu Xiuming’s disciple.

To pacify the two elders, Ye Xuan quickly said, "While I’m not Huangfu Xiuming’s disciple, I do have a connection to him. He taught me this Star Derivation Divine Skill when he was in the Profound Domain. Ahem, and besides the Star Derivation Divine Skill, I also know several of his other cultivation techniques."

As he spoke, Ye Xuan abruptly raised his hand. A terrifying aura erupted from his body, powerful enough to shake the heavens and the earth.

"That’s... Director Huangfu Xiuming’s North Nether Divine Skill..."

Elder Dong’s and Elder Yao’s eyes lit up.

’Director Huangfu Xiuming even taught Xuan Ye the North Nether Divine Skill? Their relationship must be truly extraordinary.’

Ye Xuan wiped away his cold sweat. ’I was the one who recorded these two cultivation techniques in the Jade Pendant I gave Huangfu Xiuming back then. In a way, that makes me the progenitor of these techniques, so of course I’d know them.’

"Xuan Ye—no, no, Young Master Ye, how is Director Huangfu Xiuming doing now?" Elder Dong and Elder Yao asked in quick succession.

"It’s been several years since I last saw him, but he was doing well back then."

’How could I have seen Huangfu Xiuming?’ Ye Xuan thought. He had no choice but to make things up as he went. He certainly didn’t want to fight Elder Dong and Elder Yao. For now, all he could do was take it one step at a time.

"That’s good to hear."

Elder Dong and Elder Yao both relaxed. "Young Master Ye, you should have told us you had a connection with Director Huangfu Xiuming sooner! You had us thinking you were sent to our Gale Light Academy by some major power with an ulterior motive."

Dongfang Zisi, who was standing to the side, was dumbfounded. She had no idea what was going on, but seeing that the two sides were no longer at each other’s throats, the heavy weight on her heart finally lifted.

"Young Master Ye, please wait a moment. We need to inform Vice Director Ge about this."

After learning of Ye Xuan’s connection to Director Huangfu Xiuming, the two elders’ attitudes toward him improved significantly.

Ye Xuan nodded, but inwardly he smiled bitterly. ’This relationship with Huangfu Xiuming is completely fabricated. I just hope I’m not exposed.’

At that moment, in a secret chamber within Gale Light Academy, Vice Director Ge was holding a strange-looking snail. The snail was continuously emitting streams of a dense aura, suffused with a layer of golden light, as if communicating with some location in the outside world.

The snail’s radiance lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before finally dimming.

"It’s been a whole year, and still not a single word from Director Huangfu Xiuming. Could something have happened to him?"

Ge Puzi’s face was etched with worry.

This snail Profound Artifact had been given to him by Director Huangfu Xiuming upon his departure. It was used for communication between the Director and Gale Light Academy.

In the past, Director Huangfu Xiuming would contact the academy on his own initiative every six months to stay informed. Moreover, if something happened at the academy and they contacted him, the Director would reply in an extremely short amount of time.

But for over a year now, Director Huangfu Xiuming had been out of contact. No matter how many times Ge Puzi tried to send a message, there was no reply.

Regarding the recent matter with the Profound Mystery Sect, Ge Puzi had informed Director Huangfu Xiuming at the earliest opportunity.

But it was like casting a stone into the sea—no response. It left a heavy stone pressing on Ge Puzi’s heart.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Just then, the Jade Pendant at Ge Puzi’s waist suddenly lit up. He took it out to look, and a trace of shock immediately appeared on his face.

"’What? Xuan Ye is from the Profound Domain, and he’s met Director Huangfu Xiuming?’"

He hastily left the secret chamber and rushed toward the inner court.

「An hour later.」

In a private room within the Alchemy Element, Ge Puzi, Elder Dong, and Elder Yao all stared at Ye Xuan, their eyes gleaming.

"Ahem, I have to say, can you please not look at me like that? It’s making me rather uncomfortable."

The gazes of the three men were incredibly intense, like a wolf looking at a naked beauty—raw and undisguised, as if they wanted to rush forward and devour him.

"Xuan Ye, do you truly know Director Huangfu Xiuming?" Ge Puzi asked, his voice grave.

Ye Xuan had already formulated his story by this point. He nodded and said, "Director Huangfu Xiuming and my family go way back. It was about forty or fifty years ago, at the foot of Celestial Mountain in the Profound Realm Ninth Heaven. That year, Director Huangfu Xiuming was in grave danger, and it was my ancestor who saved him. Ever since then, the Director has kept in touch with my family. Whenever he passes through the Profound Domain and has the time, he makes it a point to visit my home."

Ye Xuan had carefully thought out this story.

First, to convince Ge Puzi and the others that he had an excellent relationship with Huangfu Xiuming, he needed a compelling reason. His ancestor having saved the Director’s life was undoubtedly a perfect one.

Second, according to the information he’d found in Gale Light Academy, Director Huangfu Xiuming had traveled to the Profound Domain to investigate for a time after the fall of Ye Xuan’s past self.

However, because Gale Light Academy was not yet stable at the time, he had returned to the Dream Realm Plain. It wasn’t until forty or fifty years ago, after the academy was fully stabilized, that he went back to the Profound Domain to continue searching for the whereabouts of the Carefree Soul Emperor.

After that, Huangfu Xiuming rarely returned to Gale Light Academy.

And if Huangfu Xiuming really had gone to the Profound Domain forty or fifty years ago to investigate what had happened to him, he would have definitely gone to the Celestial Mountain of the Profound Realm Ninth Heaven. Since Celestial Mountain is fraught with danger, Ye Xuan concocted the story of his ancestor saving the Director’s life.

Sure enough, as soon as Ye Xuan finished speaking, Ge Puzi’s eyes lit up.

In truth, the Director rarely spoke to anyone at the academy about his activities in the Profound Domain, so even Ge Puzi knew little. However, Ge Puzi was aware that forty or fifty years ago, after arriving in the Profound Domain, the Director had indeed made a trip to Celestial Mountain in the Profound Realm Ninth Heaven. Ge Puzi was aware of this.

However, based on Ye Xuan’s word alone, Ge Puzi remained somewhat suspicious of his origins.

"As far as I know, both the North Nether Divine Skill and the Star Derivation Divine Skill are cultivation techniques that Director Huangfu Xiuming practices personally, and he treasures them. Not a single instructor or student in all of Gale Light Academy has ever been taught these two powerful techniques by him. So why would Director Huangfu Xiuming teach them to you?"

Ge Puzi’s words seemed to express doubt, but they were actually a subtle test for Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan’s appearance was too abrupt; Ge Puzi had to be on his guard.

"Heh," Ye Xuan laughed. "Well, I’m not entirely sure about the details myself, but when Director Huangfu Xiuming was teaching me, this is what he said: Both of these cultivation techniques were passed down from the Carefree Soul Emperor. Now that the Carefree Soul Emperor has perished, he must venture into dangerous places to uncover the truth of his demise, putting his own life at constant risk. In order to prevent these two heaven-defying techniques from being lost should he perish, he decided to teach them to me. That way, even if he were to fall in the future, the techniques the Carefree Soul Emperor taught him would not be lost to the world."

Ye Xuan clearly sensed that as he finished speaking, Ge Puzi’s gaze wavered for an instant, and a flicker of worry crossed his eyes.

’Could Huangfu Xiuming have really run into trouble?’

Seeing this, Ye Xuan’s heart skipped a beat.

His suspicion was not unfounded.

During the previous questioning, he could clearly sense Vice Director Ge’s lingering suspicion. Logically, if the Vice Director could contact Director Huangfu Xiuming, he could simply ask him and learn the truth.

And yet, the Vice Director kept testing him with words. That could only mean one thing: Vice Director Ge could no longer contact Director Huangfu Xiuming.

"Vice Director Ge, I’m sure you have a way to contact Director Huangfu Xiuming. You just need to pass on a message: ’Before the Carefree Palace, is the old friend of seven days and nights well?’ He’ll know who I am."

Ye Xuan’s words also carried a hint of a test.

"Heh, the next time I’m in contact with the Director, I will be sure to pass that message along."

Vice Director Ge replied with a faint smile.

Although his expression didn’t change in the slightest, Ye Xuan’s keen senses still picked up on the trace of worry deep in his eyes.

"Is that so?" Ye Xuan said suddenly. "If I’m not mistaken, Vice Director Ge, you can no longer get in touch with Director Huangfu Xiuming, can you?"

"You..."

Vice Director Ge shot to his feet, staring at Ye Xuan in shock as a powerful killing intent erupted from his body.

"Vice Director Ge, what are you doing?" Elder Dong and Elder Yao stared at Ge Puzi, both of them stunned.

’So I guessed correctly?’

Ye Xuan murmured to himself, a bitter expression on his face.

According to rumor, the Vice Director was the only person in the academy who could contact Huangfu Xiuming. His shock confirmed that Ye Xuan’s guess was correct.

"Vice Director Ge, you really can’t contact the Director anymore?"

Elder Dong and Elder Yao also spoke up, their faces filled with shock.

Ge Puzi looked at Ye Xuan with a grave expression. He ignored the two elders’ question. Instead, his killing intent surged as he asked in a cold voice, "What else do you know?"

With the great enemy of the Profound Mystery Sect at their gates and Director Huangfu Xiuming missing, if the major powers of the Dream Realm Plain were to learn of this, it would spell a massive crisis for Gale Light Academy.

Thus, Ye Xuan’s single sentence, which had hit the nail on the head, immediately put Ge Puzi on high alert.

After all, nothing Ye Xuan had said so far could truly prove he had such a close relationship with the Director. In other words, if this Xuan Ye were an enemy of Director Huangfu Xiuming, it was possible he had killed the Director and obtained the two heaven-defying cultivation techniques from his body.

Ye Xuan’s expression also turned grave. ’So Huangfu Xiuming is really missing. If that’s the case, this is going to be trouble.’

"Vice Director Ge, I know you still have doubts about my identity."

Ye Xuan’s expression was solemn as he sized up Ge Puzi from head to toe. "Your current cultivation is at Tier Seven Third Layer. If I’m not mistaken, you received guidance from Huangfu Xiuming when you broke through to Tier Seven. Did he not once say this to you: ’Profound condenses, growing from the insubstantial to the substantial. Water freezes into ice, soil hardens into stone; all things follow their nature. One must condense the Profound and unify it. The path from Martial Venerable to Martial King is not a simple transition from Profound Power to Profound. It is a moment of bodily sublimation and Profound Power’s transformation, requiring a heart as pure as a newborn’s, embracing the origin and guarding the one!’"

Ye Xuan spoke in a low, heavy tone. Each word landed like a giant hammer, striking Ge Puzi’s heart with immense force.