Chapter 26: Grasping at Air

Liu Ruoshui and Wan Yuan appeared together, making their intentions abundantly clear. Before this, few knew that the academy's earthly goddess had grown so close to Wan Yuan.

Wan Yuan brought Liu Ruoshui along to humiliate Ye Yuan, to show him that the woman he dreamed of had gone over to his archrival.

He eagerly anticipated the indignation, shame, and regret on Ye Yuan's face, but Ye Yuan disappointed him—none of those expressions appeared.

From start to finish, Ye Yuan never gave Liu Ruoshui a proper look, as if she were air. It was this disregard that fueled Liu Ruoshui's anger, making her words so venomous.

Liu Ruoshui was quite confident in her looks. In her mind, Ye Yuan should be groveling at her feet, crying and begging her not to leave.

If it were the former Ye Yuan, he might have indeed lost his temper and made a scene. But the Ye Yuan before her was no longer the same. Given his former status, what beauties hadn't he seen? Trying to seduce him with such lowly tactics was impossible.

Ye Yuan glanced lightly at Liu Ruoshui. "A swan? You flatter yourself. At best, you're a plucked chicken, nothing close to a noble creature like a swan. A true favored daughter of heaven would never waste her mind on seducing men. When have you ever seen Senior Sister Feng flirting with other men? A goddess has her own pride, unlike you."

Liu Ruoshui, proud and aloof, had always been the center of attention at the Danwu Academy. Never had she been compared to a plucked chicken.

Liu Ruoshui was so angry her brows shot up, but the "Senior Sister Feng" Ye Yuan mentioned was indeed beyond her reach, leaving her with no retort.

Senior Sister Feng, named Feng Zhirou, was the true favored daughter of heaven at the Danwu Academy. Not only was she stunningly beautiful, but she also ranked in the top three on both the alchemy and martial arts boards, with strength so formidable it rivaled even the Dragon Hall—far beyond what someone like Liu Ruoshui could match.

Unlike Liu Ruoshui, Feng Zhirou never gave her suitors a second glance, earning her the reputation of the academy's famous ice queen.

In contrast, Liu Ruoshui was far more popular because she accepted everyone, appearing very approachable, and she thoroughly enjoyed being pursued.

"Hmph! Stubborn mouth. I'll make sure Fei Qingping treats you well in the life-and-death battle!" In Liu Ruoshui's view, Ye Yuan wasn't disregarding her; he was just putting up a front after learning the truth.

"Heh, no need for you to worry. Is that all you came to say? Since you're done, I'll take my leave." With that, Ye Yuan walked right past them.

"Who said you could leave?" Wan Yuan's face darkened. He moved to grab Ye Yuan, but grasped at air, not even touching his clothes.

When he looked again, Ye Yuan was already several zhang away, waving back at them as he strode off, leaving Wan Yuan's face green with rage.

"Hiss... Was that... Flash Step?" Wan Yuan frowned.

"Yes, it was indeed Flash Step." Liu Ruoshui's brows furrowed slightly, clearly startled by Ye Yuan's move.

"It seems this kid really is up to something! Father clearly arranged an assassin, yet Ye Yuan swaggered into the academy. Hard to tell if the assassin was too stupid or if this kid is really a wolf in sheep's clothing."

"I think it's the former. He's only at the third layer of Yuan Qi; no matter how good his Flash Step is, he probably couldn't escape an assassin, right?" Liu Ruoshui had interacted with Ye Yuan quite a bit and thought she knew him well; in her eyes, he was nothing but trash.

"Junior Sister Liu makes sense. But I wonder when he managed to master Flash Step. If he has this move, wouldn't his life-and-death battle with Qingping be unwinnable for the opponent?"

Wan Yuan had been competing with Ye Yuan since childhood and knew him best. After thinking it over, he found Liu Ruoshui's words more reasonable.

"Senior Brother Wan is too concerned. In my view, Ye Yuan mastering Flash Step was just a fluke. This might be his only trick; why else would he be rushing to the Sutra Library now? Senior Brother Wan was careless just now and didn't go all out, which let him escape. Although Flash Step is impressive, it's only a first-tier mid-grade martial skill, not invincible, right?" Liu Ruoshui had recovered from Ye Yuan's provocation and was once again the enchanting goddess.

Wan Yuan had long coveted Liu Ruoshui, and seeing her flatter him so much made him quite intoxicated. He hadn't used his full strength just now, but he had used seventy percent, yet Ye Yuan still dodged him.

Still, strength was the deciding factor in victory; movement techniques were ultimately supplementary. Liu Ruoshui was right—Flash Step wasn't omnipotent, and there were naturally techniques to counter it.

But Ye Yuan's move also put Wan Yuan on alert. He'd have to warn Fei Qingping not to underestimate the enemy.

"Junior Sister Liu sees clearly. This time, we can't let this kid live. We need to go back and prepare a few trump cards for Qingping."

...

Meanwhile, after shaking off the two, Ye Yuan went straight to the Sutra Library.

He didn't mind exposing Flash Step. It wasn't his trump card, and he had only displayed it at the Great Completion level.

Ye Yuan's greatest trump card now was naturally the Absolute Yang Finger, but he couldn't reveal that martial skill in front of others, or it would cause a lot of trouble. That's why he came to the Sutra Library to choose martial skills.

The martial skills in the Sutra Library weren't very profound; the Nether Cloud Sect naturally wouldn't place advanced martial skills in the mortal world. But these skills were sufficient for Ye Yuan.

"Senior Brother, I'd like to enter the Sutra Library to choose two martial skills." Ye Yuan handed his identity token to the senior brother on duty.

The senior brother on duty at the Sutra Library was from the earthly class, named Zhao Chunyang. When he saw Ye Yuan's yellow-class identity token, a look of disdain appeared in his eyes.

This identity token was specially made by the Danwu Academy, symbolizing a student's status. By infusing a bit of Yuan power, one could check the holder's identity.

"Ye Yuan?" Zhao Chunyang felt he had heard the name somewhere. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly realized: "You're that Ye Yuan, the academy's last place?"

Ye Yuan smiled. "If there's no other Ye Yuan, then it's me."

He didn't mind the title of last place; that was in the past.

Zhao Chunyang perked up at this. He handed the token back to Ye Yuan and pulled him closer, curious: "You're quite the celebrity at the academy now. The last place actually dares to sign a life-and-death contract with someone. What were you thinking?"

Ye Yuan didn't brush him off. He smiled and said, "They were riding roughshod over me. I couldn't just be a turtle hiding in its shell, could I?"

"Haha, that's true. But your strength..." Zhao Chunyang was blunt and didn't care about awkwardness.

"Heh, that's why I'm here to pick martial skills."

"Sharpening the spear on the battlefield—it's not a bad idea. But three days' time, isn't that too short?"

"It can't be helped. As you know, Senior Brother, I neglected training before, so my foundation is poor. Even three days is better than doing nothing, right?"

Zhao Chunyang looked Ye Yuan over again and suddenly laughed. "Interesting. You seem a bit different from the rumors. Go on in. You have one hour."

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Zhao Chunyang patted Ye Yuan on the shoulder and smiled. "Choose well. I'll come cheer you on when the time comes."