Free Web NovelChapter 216: Chapter 164: [Circulation Divine Vein Scripture] Setting Off (Part 2)
At his younger sister Yu Wei’s request, Yu Fei chose to hold his university entrance banquet at the Lizun Grand Hotel. Left to his own devices, he wouldn’t have bothered with such things. As his martial arts prowess grew, he found himself increasingly unwilling to deal with trivial matters.
But his little sister was enthusiastic, and Yu Miao and his parents were also keen on the idea, so Yu Fei naturally went along with it.
Yu Fei’s paternal grandparents had passed away long ago, his father was an only son, and his mother had married far from her hometown, with only an older sister still living. By any measure, his family ties were sparse.
The preparations for his banquet went exceptionally smoothly. It couldn’t be helped. On his home turf of Tianning County, Yu Fei had earned a measure of prestige.
The number of guests on the day of the banquet was terrifyingly large. Yu Zhiguo had originally booked fifty tables, but more and more people showed up. He had no choice but to contact the hotel and have them open up five additional banquet halls. In the end, they filled over two hundred tables. Yu Fei didn’t know the vast majority of them and couldn’t put a name to their faces.
Information about Yu Fei’s battle last year had still managed to leak out. In the Martial Arts Extraordinary World, ordinary people knew very little due to the information gap, but they weren’t lacking in basic judgment. A young man with formidable combat strength and a Grandmaster-level teacher—it was clear he was poised to soar.
Of course, few of the guests were there for Yu Fei. Instead, they all wanted to get acquainted with Yu Zhiguo. It was difficult to curry favor with a young genius, but his father was a lifelong local, so it was always possible to find some connection.
After the banquet ended, Yu Wei frowned and said that although this year’s dishes looked more exquisite, they didn’t taste as good as the ones at Jian Dalong’s banquet last year.
Yu Miao scoffed, "If it tasted so bad, why did you eat so much? Look at you now. You’re five-foot-three and already 130 pounds. Any more and you’ll be the one with the highest tonnage in the family."
Yu Wei’s defenses were instantly shattered. She spent the rest of the day yelling about going on a diet.
To be fair, now that the family’s fortunes had improved, Yu Wei had indeed grown a bit complacent.
When Yu Miao got home, he was heartbroken about this and resolved to bring back his formerly slim and cute sister. Yu Fei, on the other hand, wasn’t bothered. ’No one else in his family had any talent for martial arts—not a single grey gem among them. They were destined to be ordinary people, so they might as well live however they pleased.’
’Life is short. He could be their safety net; he could guarantee his family a life of wealth and comfort no matter what.’
Not to mention, the income from the Aurora Martial Arts Hall alone was enough to keep his family well-fed and worry-free. And since the Aurora Martial Arts Hall sold the Vitality Elixir, its reputation was growing. It had even reached the point where students from neighboring counties were transferring schools just to be closer to the Hall.
Thanks to his distribution channel for the Vitality Elixir, Du Changyuan was thriving in the local scene. Many of his former business rivals quickly capitulated, tearfully begging Mr. Du to accept honorary shares.
During summer vacation, Yu Fei organized a trip. The family of five went traveling for three weeks. During the trip, Yu Fei set aside time each day to practice his fundamental Cultivation Technique and the Pure Yang True Body, spending the rest of his time with his family. He had a feeling that once he started university, he wouldn’t have this much free time, so he wanted to cherish this reunion.
A red gem followed them the entire way. With a free bodyguard trailing them, there were no safety concerns.
「Time flew. On August 15th, a heavily armored military vehicle departed from Tianning County at dawn. No one knew that inside were five talented youths who had been accepted into Shenhan University.」
This special treatment was actually only for Yu Fei, but since there happened to be four other students from the area admitted to Shenhan University, they were brought along for the ride.
A much wider world was slowly unfurling before Yu Fei. Now, at long last, he could finally step into the true Martial Arts Extraordinary World.
The interior of the military vehicle carrying Yu Fei’s group of five was not large. The small cabin felt even more cramped with five people squeezed inside. This armored vehicle was not much different from the one he had ridden in during the Celestial Pride Positioning Competition.
Ever since getting in the vehicle, Ye Feng had been staring intently at Yu Fei, his gaze desolate and utterly devoid of emotion.
Not one to be outdone, Yu Fei returned the stare with an equally profound gaze. The two of them remained locked in this standoff for a good ten minutes, and the atmosphere inside the vehicle was deathly silent.
Du Mingxuan, looking extremely awkward, was also staring at Ye Feng. His body was rigid, and sweat even beaded on his forehead, but his expression remained stubborn and fierce.
Li Mengyao gripped Yu Fei’s arm tightly with her left hand, burying her head in his chest. Her palms were slick with sweat.
Dongfang Yebai, still sporting her chic short hair, was subtly positioning herself in front of Ye Feng. She looked nervous, terrified that Yu Fei might suddenly fly into a rage and beat them up. At the same time, her right foot was pressed firmly onto Ye Feng’s left, grinding down with increasing force in an attempt to cut off his dangerous provocation.
Time ticked by. Yu Fei’s cultivation in the second realm was extremely solid, and his supernatural senses had become remarkably sharp. In the silent space, he could even hear the others’ heartbeats quickening.
Among them, only Ye Feng’s breathing was completely steady, while Dongfang Yebai’s heart was pounding like a drum.
After a moment of thought, Yu Fei slowly released a hint of a Sharpness aura, gradually intensifying it as he directed it toward the two across from him.
Dongfang Yebai’s scalp tingled. She felt Yu Fei’s gaze like a sharp sword pointed directly at her vitals.
Ever since she and Ye Feng had advanced through the city’s martial arts tournament, her perspective had broadened immensely. Although she hadn’t received a ranking score, she had learned enough to understand what a ’celestial pride’ Martial Artist truly was.
’This handsome guy across from me is actually a humanoid monster. He killed over a dozen thugs with his bare hands. He’s on a completely different level from simple students like us.’
In the deathly silent cabin, only heavy breathing could be heard. Dongfang Yebai’s heart hammered in her chest. Finally unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere any longer, she shot to her feet and burst out yelling:
"You two bastards! I can’t take it anymore! If you’ve got the guts, then get out and fight! What the hell are you doing in here?! You won’t fight, so why don’t you just have a shouting match instead!"
Dongfang Yebai’s sudden outburst shattered the suffocating atmosphere. For some unknown reason, Du Mingxuan and Li Mengyao both let out a long sigh of relief in perfect unison, so synchronized that it was rather loud.
Yu Fei suddenly leaned forward and said to Ye Feng, enunciating each word, "You. Lost."
Ye Feng, naturally, refused to accept it. "That doesn’t count! You cheated! How could you use Sword Intent?"
Yu Fei laced his hands behind his head and leaned back leisurely. "You never said I couldn’t."
Ye Feng threw his hands up. "It still doesn’t count! I say you cheated. We’ll have another match later!"
"Tch... What a sore loser!"
At this point, even the slowest of the remaining three realized what had happened. These two bastards had teamed up at some point and used them as part of a bet.
Furious, Dongfang Yebai grabbed the flesh on Ye Feng’s arm and twisted!
"AARGH~"
"You scoundrels! You’re both bastards!"
’She had been on the verge of tears from fear. Those two sons of bitches!’
Du Mingxuan and Li Mengyao stared speechlessly at Yu Fei. Neither of them dared to lay a hand on him, but they were still quite annoyed.
In truth, the relationship between Yu Fei and Ye Feng had already improved last year. Ye Feng had been discovered and taught by Zhao Zeyang, and the two shared a deep master-student bond. When Ye Feng later learned the details of Zhao Zeyang’s sacrifice in that downpour, he specifically sought out Yu Fei to thank him for avenging his teacher.
Later, Yu Fei had also given him pointers on cultivating the Six Harmonies Killing Fist, but limited by his own talent, Ye Feng was never able to master it.
The stubborn young man, however, still refused to concede defeat to Yu Fei. After realizing he couldn’t beat him in martial arts, he started looking for other ways to win, just once.
But from rock-paper-scissors to everything else, he lost spectacularly every time. Before starting university, he made a bet with Yu Fei: after boarding the vehicle, they would act hostile toward each other and see which of the other three would be the first to break under the pressure.
Whosever friend broke first would determine the loser.
Ye Feng believed Dongfang Yebai’s mental fortitude was superior to that of Du Mingxuan and Li Mengyao, so he was certain he would win. And that’s what led to the scene just now.
No one knew their relationship had improved. Everyone’s last memory of them was the intense hostility on the tournament stage.
That was why no one doubted their confrontational act.
Having left Tianning County and seen how vast the world was, having witnessed countless remarkable figures, the youths’ mindsets grew more serene. Gone was the naive bravado of thinking they were the greatest in the world. Instead, they buried their ambitions deep in their hearts, watering them with countless drops of sweat, waiting for the day they would finally blossom.
