Free Web NovelChapter 174: Chapter 173: He’s Here
"Wen Qingye?" Nie Shuang frowned as he looked at the incensed students from Qig Mountain Academy.
He had heard the name before, perhaps because of Wen Tongyu, or perhaps because of Wen Qingye’s strength.
"Brother Shuang, why don’t we take a trip to Phoenix City?" A smile flashed in the graceful woman’s eyes. "If we want to completely crush the confidence of the Qig Mountain Academy students, I imagine they won’t have anything left to say after we defeat Wen Qingye."
Nie Shuang nodded. "Alright, then let’s go to Phoenix City. I’d like to see for myself just how strong this Wen Qingye really is."
......
Wen Qingye slowly walked out of the courtyard. His aura was even more formidable than it had been a few days ago; his cultivation had now reached the Refining Spirit Second Layer Heaven.
When Jie Jiachun saw Wen Qingye emerge, he said respectfully, "Sir, news has recently come about the competition between Celestial Academy and Qig Mountain Academy."
Wen Qingye nodded and asked casually, "What was the result?"
"Qig Mountain Academy suffered a crushing defeat," Jie Jiachun answered slowly. "Actually, Celestial Academy has always enjoyed suppressing Qig Mountain Academy. It’s the only way for them to receive the vast cultivation resources provided by the Royal Family. This time was no exception."
Wen Qingye gazed at the distant sky and said coolly, "In that case, the Purple Sun Prefecture above Celestial Academy must be even more formidable?"
Jie Jiachun replied, "Yes, you are correct, Sir. The number of prodigies in the Purple Sun Prefecture is greater than those in Celestial Academy and Qig Mountain Academy combined. Of course, that’s not counting you, Sir."
"How is the investigation I asked you to conduct coming along?"
Jie Jiachun quickly bowed his head and said, "This old servant has been useless. I haven’t been able to find out much about the Taiyi Pavilion. Our Celestial Martial Country is quite remote, but there might be some information in the surrounding Fifteen Countries. This old servant was planning to go investigate there after some time."
Wen Qingye took a deep breath and waved his hand. "Forget it. The opening of the Thousand Rivers Secret Land isn’t far off. I will go to the Celestial Profound Sect myself then. I imagine the Celestial Profound Sect should have information on this Taiyi Pavilion."
DONG! DONG! DONG!
Suddenly, a thunderous drumbeat rang in Wen Qingye’s ears. The rhythm started out extremely slow, but the sound had an incredibly powerful, penetrating quality. Gradually, it grew faster and faster.
"That’s the sound of a war drum," Jie Jiachun said with a frown.
In the Celestial Martial Country, the war drum was typically only struck when issuing a formal challenge to someone.
At that moment, a deafening drumbeat echoed throughout all of Phoenix City, audible to everyone.
DONG! DONG! DONG!
"Who’s striking the war drum? Their Primordial Qi is so abundant, and the vibrations are traveling so far. This person must be a master."
"They’ve even struck the war drum. I wonder who’s being challenged."
"Quick, let’s go see!"
......
Phoenix City Center Plaza was already a cacophony of noise and a crush of people. Several thousand had gathered, packing the area solid.
In the middle of the plaza stood a man before a massive drum with a faintly yellowed drumhead. He was pounding the war drum with his fists, one punch after another.
The sound waves seemed to take physical form, spreading wildly in all directions. Most of the onlookers were ordinary people; unable to bear the noise, they immediately backed far away. Only a few Martial Artists could barely manage to stand at the front by relying on their cultivation.
If anyone from Qig Mountain Academy had been present, they would have immediately recognized the drummer. It was none other than Zhu Shaoyou, the one who had defeated Qig Mountain Academy’s Wang Jie. freewebnøvel.com
Standing beside him were several others, all top experts from Celestial Academy who had now gathered together in Phoenix City.
Wu Jing looked at the crowd below. After several months, she had returned to Phoenix City.
As the crowd grew larger, Zhu Shaoyou abruptly stopped his drumming.
"Wen Qingye, come out!" Zhu Shaoyou bellowed.
Zhu Shaoyou’s voice was sonorous, echoing throughout the entire Phoenix City plaza.
"Wen Qingye! They’re calling for Wen Qingye!"
"Look at their clothes, they look like students from Celestial Academy."
"Could they be here to challenge Wen Qingye?"
An uproar went through the crowd as everyone exclaimed in shock.
At this point, members of the four great families of Phoenix City had also gathered.
Zhang Hua, Wen Xu, and Gao Ming also heard Zhu Shaoyou’s shout. They found it strange at first, but all three were cunning old foxes. They recalled the recent clash between Qig Mountain Academy and Celestial Academy and immediately understood. These hot-blooded Celestial Academy students must have been provoked by the Qig Mountain students and couldn’t resist running here to challenge Wen Qingye.
Wen Gui pointed at the group in front and said slowly, "The one with the sword is the famous ’Fast Sword,’ and his grandfather is none other than the current headmaster of Celestial Academy, Shu Jiuyi. And that young man named Nie Shuang... he’s the one even Tongyu praised. He’s the top prodigy of Celestial Academy, the strongest of them all. I was fortunate enough to see them when I visited Celestial Academy once. In a few years, they will all be pillars of our Celestial Martial Country."
His tone held a hint of schadenfreude, and his meaning was self-evident: Wen Qingye had really stepped in it this time. Beside him, Wen Xu frowned slightly and nodded, but said nothing.
Zhang Hua watched the group and sighed inwardly. These were all geniuses from Celestial Academy. Never mind decades from now; even today, the strength of some of them was beyond what he, Zhang Hua, could ever hope to match.
"Brother Zhang, what do you make of this?" Gao Ming walked over at that moment, smiling at Zhang Hua.
Zhang Hua shrugged and chuckled. "What is there to make of it? We’ll take it one step at a time. The Wen Family has become too powerful lately, so my Zhang Family has had no choice but to yield."
"You know that’s not what I’m talking about," Gao Ming said, his gaze intense.
Zhang Hua replied helplessly, "To be honest, I don’t know the extent of Wen Qingye’s strength. And I don’t want to guess at it, either."
"Me neither," Gao Ming nodded and said with a wry smile.
Both men were thinking, ’If Wen Qingye’s strength could rival Wen Tongyu’s, then the situation in Phoenix City might become something else entirely.’ Even so, they felt the hope was slim.
.......
Zhu Shaoyou scanned the crowd, then gathered his qi in his Dantian and roared, "What’s wrong, Wen Qingye? Are you too scared to come out? Do you plan to just cower like a turtle in its shell?"
Seeing that Wen Qingye still hadn’t appeared after a long time, Zhu Shaoyou couldn’t resist taunting him. His words were infused with surging Primordial Qi, spreading outwards like a clap of thunder.
"Zhu Shaoyou, watch your mouth!" Zhao Hao interjected with a frown.
"Hmph." Zhu Shaoyou snorted coldly, not even sparing Zhao Hao a glance as he continued to stare straight ahead.
Seeing Zhu Shaoyou ignore him so completely, Zhao Hao’s eyes narrowed, a chill rising in his heart.
"Little Hao, come back. Shaoyou is right. If Wen Qingye doesn’t dare to come out, then he is a coward," the graceful woman from Celestial Academy chuckled from the side.
Zhao Xia shot forward a step and snapped, "A coward? Cheng Yu, you’d best watch your mouth too!"
Cheng Yu was stunned. ’Why would the usually calm Zhao Xia be so worked up right now, even stepping forward to scold me?’ she wondered. ’Our relationship isn’t great, but it’s not that bad, either.’
Wu Jing frowned. "Alright, stop arguing. While Shaoyou’s words were a bit extreme, they’re still understandable."
Wu Jing’s words were clearly siding with Zhu Shaoyou. Zhao Hao was just about to speak when he suddenly felt his hand being pulled. Zhao Xia was shaking her head at him.
"Wen Qingye, the war drum has been struck! Do you dare to come up and compete or not?" Zhu Shaoyou gathered his Primordial Qi again and let out another furious roar, his voice vibrating continuously as it spread to every corner of Phoenix City.
Time passed, drop by drop, but Wen Qingye still didn’t appear. The crowd began to stir restlessly.
"Did Wen Qingye leave Phoenix City? Otherwise, how could he not hear the war drum when it’s this loud?"
"No way. I think Wen Qingye is too scared to accept the challenge."
"I think so too. If Wen Qingye loses, then Qig Mountain Academy will lose its last shred of dignity. Maybe this was all arranged by Qig Mountain Academy—a deliberate refusal to fight."
With Wen Qingye still nowhere to be seen, the crowd buzzed with discussion, each person voicing their own opinion.
In the blink of an eye, dusk fell. The students from Celestial Academy all wore tight frowns.
Shu Nan sneered, "Isn’t Wen Qingye supposed to be Qig Mountain Academy’s number one expert? Why hasn’t he shown up yet? Is he really too scared?"
Nie Shuang nodded and said, "Perhaps. After all, he’s Qig Mountain Academy’s last line of defense. If he loses, the entire academy will lose face completely."
Shu Nan said with some disappointment, "Well, that’s a real letdown. I heard Wen Qingye’s Swordsmanship was impressive. To think I won’t even get the chance to cross blades with him."
The students of Celestial Academy were all somewhat disappointed, but what they felt more was mockery.
Suddenly, a clamor of voices rose from the back of the crowd.
"Make way, make way! Wen Qingye has appeared!"
"For real?"
"It’s true! Make way!"
The crowd subconsciously parted, creating a path. The sea of people split to either side like a receding tide.
At the far end of the crowd, Wen Qingye appeared, dressed all in white. He walked slowly through the massive throng, heading toward Phoenix City Center Plaza. His expression was serene, and his eyes shone as bright as starlight.
Trailing behind Wen Qingye was a stooped old man—it was Jie Jiachun.
