Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Bang!”
Jiang Yi figured out the situation, walked out of the room, and kicked open Fatty’s door, giving Fatty—who was reading a set of documents—a fright.
Fatty kept the book he was holding without a trace and laughed bitterly. “Big brother, can’t you be gentler? How am I going to sleep in the future if the door becomes faulty?”
Jiang Yi did not pursue to find out what he was reading. He paused for a moment and said, “Qian Wanguan, can you help me to pass a piece of information to my grandfather?”
“Jiang Yunhai?”
Qian Wanguan frowned, nodded his head, and gave a casual reply: “This is easy; when do you want to meet him?”
“It is too late today. Tomorrow then!”
Jiang Yi sat on Fatty’s bed without hesitation and formality. He stared at him with a keen sparkling gaze before opening his mouth: “Qian Wanguan, can you do me a favor? If this matter can be done, I, Jiang Yi, will owe you one!”
“En?”
The tiny eyes of Qian Wanguan lit up with sparkle and said beamingly, “Big Brother, you are too ceremonious, aren’t you? Since I have acknowledged you as my big brother, I will treat your problem as mine! Do not speak of owing me a favor. Just say it, and I will give my best shot in helping.”
“Pa!”
Jiang Yi sent a slap flying over, hitting Fatty so hard that it made him spun one round on the spot. He then sternly said, “Qian Wanguan, if you want to be a friend of mine, keep that petty wittiness of yours. I loathe hypocrites the most.”
Fatty’s smile hardened up. With a serious face, he nodded and said, “Alright, Big Brother, just say it. I am determined to let you owe one to me.”
Jiang Yi laughed bitterly. “Aren’t you afraid to be on the losing end? What if my promise turns out to be worthless?”
“Hehe!”
Qian Wanguan confidently beat his chest and said, “Put your mind to rest; the ability least lacking in the sons of our Qian family is knowing how to do business, and the first step in doing business is learning how to read people. From what I can tell, Big Brother, you are no ordinary man. I will fully invest in this favor that you will owe me as this is definitely one which will bring lucrative returns in the future.”
Jiang Yi nodded and replied, “I need you to hide my identity at all cost, whether or not I am truly the son of that person. If this rumor gets to the ears of Jiang Yiliu, you should know that he will try and use all sorts of methods to get rid of me.”
“That’s right!”
Qian Wanguan nodded his head. “Based on Jiang Yiliu’s scheming nature, once he finds out about your identity, he will definitely ask people to take you down. Unless you announce your identity to the world and let the Western Garrison Liege Lord knows about it, too. If not, you will have absolutely no chance against him, and you will die in his hands. It isn’t possible for you to hide in the college forever…”
After saying that, Qian Wanguan gave a solemn frown. He paused for a long time before smiling bitterly. “Big brother, I can help you in this matter. I can make use of the people from my family clan to help you in the short term. However, this matter cannot be kept hidden in the long run—unless you keep a low profile in school. Once you become an Elite Cadet, all the family clans will investigate you, and there is bound to be someone who will discover traces of your real identity.”
“Elite Cadet!”
Jiang Yi’s expression darkened. In order to be highly regarded by the college, he had to become one of the Elite Cadets. Only then could he get a chance to know that healer of Heaven-tier and ask him to heal Jiang Xiaonu. Also, only by becoming an Elite Cadet could he get the secret techniques used to tame the spirit beasts. However, once he became an Elite Cadet, he would attract the attention and recruitment from all the family clans. By then, his information would unavoidably be investigated.
“Never mind it; you just try and hide it for now!”
Jiang Yi had a headache: he could only take a step at a time now. As for whether or not Fatty would sell him out, he was not worried at all. If Qian Wanguan really wanted to sell him out, he would not have come close to him as it would have been better to approach Jiang Yiliu directly.
After returning to his room, Jiang Yi went directly into seclusion. His sense of urgency needed to be bigger, and the desire of being stronger had never been more intense. He understood that in order to be in control of his own life and to be able to lead the life as he wished, he had to become a formidable martial artist.
The cultivation speed that he had at the moment was obscenely fast, and he possessed the mystical black essence forces. With so much favorable conditions and capabilities, he would be a good-for-nothing if he did not endeavor to cultivate more.
The night passed without any words.
The sunlight of dawn had barely shone, and Jiang Yi was awakened by the knocking of the door. Jiang Yi opened the door and, unsurprisingly, outside stood the round face of Qian Wanguan. Jiang Yi asked in curiosity, “Why are you up so early? Is the college conducting a welcoming ceremony for the new students?”
“Big Brother, are you really awake?”
Fatty rolled his eyes and snorted. “What are we? Write-In Cadets! The lowest grade of students in the college. Even if there is a welcome ceremony, it will not be meant for us! Come on, it is time to do some work!”
“Work? To do what kind of work?” Jiang Yi blinked and asked in confusion.
“Big brother, it seems that you know nothing about Mt. Spirit Beast College!”
Fatty shook his head, smiled bitterly, and explained: “In this college, no one cares about the identity of the student; they only look at the rank of the students. Write-In Cadets of the lowest rank have to do all the chores in the college; if not, they will be chased out. Write-In Cadets cannot enjoy any of the benefits or welfare offered by the college—unless you donated a large sum of purple gold. If not, you would not even be qualified to enter the cultivation room. Ordinary Cadets do not have to do chores, and they can go out to carry out missions to accumulate points. As for the Elite Cadets, they get free points every month. The uppermost rank of Prodigy Cadets has unlimited access to use any resources in the college…”
“I see!” Jiang Yi nodded his head and casually inquired again, “Then how can we upgrade ourselves to Ordinary Cadets? Is it by passing the Blood Purge?”
“Yes, that is one of the methods!”
Qian Wanguan replied patiently, “Every half a year, the college will conduct a Blood Purge. All students can apply to participate—once they pass, they will be able to upgrade to the next rank. Of course, there is another method: that is to challenge five students from the next rank. It is one-versus-five people at the same time! The Ordinary Cadets in the college is at least from the Purple Mansion Realm so, Big brother, it is better for you to just do the chores quietly.”
“One person challenging five Purple Mansion Realm martial artists?”
Jiang Yi winced at the thought of it. Given his capability now, he could barely take on two people—needless to say, five.
He followed Qian Wanguan outside, observing the scenery of the college along the way. No wonder Mt. Spirit Beast College is one of the top three colleges in the continent: it was massive. Beyond the compound Jiang Yi was living in, there were several other compounds that were built uniformly, and the edges of the peak could not be seen while gazing afar—the only thing visible were at least a few hundreds of mountains.
At this moment, students could be seen walking out from other compounds, but people living around here should be just Write-In Cadets whose skills were mostly lacking in strength. It was hard to find the martial artists from the Purple Mansion Realm.
Suddenly, a silhouette walked out from the yard just in front of them. The person had a large build, handsome features, and bronze-colored skin. The pupils of his eyes sparkle shiningly, and he had a sense of prowess even though he was not infuriated—he was very eye-catching.
He saw Jiang Yi and Qian Wanguan walking towards him. He stopped and locked his eyes on Jiang Yi, inquiring: “Jiang Yi?”
“Big brother Wushuang, what a coincidence! You live near here, too?” Fatty’s face was packed with flattering and charming smiles, greeting Zhan Wushuang warmly. Zhan Wushuang didn’t even look at him as his gaze remained fixed on Jiang Yi.
Not resigned to playing the second fiddle, Jiang Yi stared at him confidently, using the same tone. “Zhan Wushuang?”
“Thank you for saving my sister the other day. If you encounter any problem in the college, feel free to come and look for me. With me around, no one will dare to lay a finger on you!”
Zhan Wushuang left the sentence and walked away proudly. Jiang Yi touched his nose and twitched his mouth, saying: “Zhan Wushuang is presumptuous, isn’t he? He is also a Write-In Cadet, right? If the Prodigy Cadets in the college wanted to pick a fight with me, how could he settle it?”
“You are wrong!”
Fatty looked at Zhan Wushuang as he walked away and sighed sorrowfully. “You just wait. In less than three days, Zhan Wushuang will become an Ordinary Cadet; without three months, he will become an Elite Cadet; and within a year, he can definitely become a Prodigy Cadet. He is not presumptuous; he truly has the capability. The descendant of the Battle God Clan is not an unearned reputation.”
