Life on board the Cloud Ship was pretty boring, as there were no entertainment activities here.
Other than playing with his sister, Ye Ling, everyday, Ye Xuan could only throw himself into training.
Now that he possessed battle intent, he could already defeat shadows easily in combat.
Battle intent!
Ye Xuan did not really understand how this new ability of his functioned, but he knew that if he activated it when battling shadows, his fighting capacity would be increased greatly!
And it would get stronger the longer he fought!
The fact gave him considerable excitement and motivation!
The only pity was that it was not a conceptual sword skill. If it were, that would mean he had already become a true Sword Master. Even though he had already discovered how to activate his battle intent, he could not call himself as a Martial Arts Master yet.
Because he was not really clear on how to progress in the Way of the Martial Arts.
Both conceptual sword skills and battle intent were a form of status symbol for Sword Masters and Martial Arts Masters, but it did not mean that anyone who gained those skills would be definitely accorded the title of Sword or Martial Arts Master.
There were many rules and procedures involved in the process.
He was in a situation whereby he had somehow learnt a skill he was not supposed to at such a level, and he still had to go through the intermediary stages of the entire process.
Of course, it was only a matter of time before he became a Martial Arts Master. Or rather, if he could attain the Qi Harnessing Realm and control his Qi, he would have become a Martial Arts Master to a certain extent. As for how much value his rank would hold, it would depend on how much he understood the Tao of Martial Arts.
Whatever it was, he was already satisfied this time!
He had obtained the Clear Sword Heart and battle intent skills.
The thing that he wanted to do the most was to fight An Lanxiu, the lady in white.
“At your current level, you’re still no match for her!”
The mysterious woman seemed to have guessed what Ye Xuan was thinking. “During that time when that girl fought with you, she had not unleashed the full power which she possessed at her level, and she even suppressed some of her special abilities. She’s borderline acceptable in my opinion!” she continued.
Barely!
Ye Xuan wore a strange expression on his face as he asked, “Senior, is her skill only borderline acceptable to you?”
The mysterious woman replied casually, “Anyone who is ‘borderline acceptable’ to me can already reign supreme over a countless number of geniuses below these clouds.”
Ye Xuan got a little curious and pressed further. “Senior, were you very powerful before?”
“What do you think?” the mysterious woman replied.
“…” Ye Xuan was speechless.
“Kid, on account that you treat your sister so well, let me give you some free advice. In this world, talent and natural constitution are all transient concepts. There have been so many ordinary people in the past who ended up as strong as deities. The Tao of the Martial Arts, Tao of the Sword, and every path in this world have no end. A talented individual with a good natural constitution will only have an advantage over the others, and he or she can go further in life than ordinary folk. But how long someone can go on their path of choosing will depend on his or her willpower and nature,” the mysterious woman continued.
Ye Xuan remained silent.
“Willpower? Nature?”
He knew about the former; his sister and he had depended upon it to survive till now. He knew a little about his nature as well, but he never questioned himself when doing things. He decided with his heart and not morals!
He did things if he thought it was right to do so, and he did not if he felt it was wrong to do so.
He felt that it was impossible to please everyone, and as long as he did not wrong himself, it was fine.
The mysterious woman’s voice rang out again. “Now that you’ve learned how to use your battle intent, you can study more of Tao of the Martial Arts; don’t let it go to waste. As for how to proceed on the Tao of the Martial Arts, you should learn and figure it out by yourself.”
Ye Xuan paused for a while before hurriedly asking, “Are you not very clear about the Tao of the Martial Arts, Senior Lu?”
The mysterious woman replied, “No. In fact, I know too much about it. From now on, you’ll have to figure things out and experiment on your own, no matter whether you decide to progress along the Tao of the Martial Arts or Tao of the Sword. I can only help you by guiding you back toward your path in times of need.”
She paused for a while before continuing, “You should not follow the paths of others before you, nor should you mimic them. Walk your own path, and the things that you learn along the way will truly belong to you. Take the battle intent technique for example; you managed to obtain the skill by making your own choice. If I had told you what to do, and had you blindly followed my instructions, you would never have learned it. Many times, intentional learning will defeat its purpose… Sigh, I really don’t wish to be explaining such simple concepts to you. I hope you enter that academy soon, so you’ll stop harrassing me!”
“…” Ye Xuan was speechless again.
He did not trouble her again, for he had understood what she meant.
Take mountain climbing for example. It was impossible to understand how tiring and difficult mountain climbing was just by listening to someone else describe his or her arduous experience. If you tried it yourself, however, you would then understand how and why it was tiring and difficult.
The Tao of the Martial Arts and the Tao of the Sword were the same. He had to experience it for himself to know clearly how hard and tiring it was to progress along these two paths!
Two hours later, Ye Xuan left the Prison World Tower.
The little fatty Lu Ming came back to the room shared by the Ye siblings immediately after he left the Tower. Since witnessing Ye Xuan display his powers at Frontier City, Lu Ming’s admiration of Ye Xuan grew to an almost insane level.
He already admired Sword Cultivators, and when Ye Xuan stood up at that critical moment, his image in Lu Ming’s eyes became imposing almost instantly.
Admiration!
Boundless admiration!
The little fat boy was naturally extroverted. Upon entering the room, he placed an armful of fruits before the Ye siblings before saying cheerfully, “Big brother, Sister Ling, please have some, they’re very delicious.”
The siblings looked at each other and laughed.
At this moment, Lu Xiaoran walked into the room as well. He cupped his fists as a sign of greeting to Ye Xuan and smiled. “Am I interrupting something?” he asked.
Ye Xuan laughed and replied, “Of course not. Please have a seat, Senior Lu.”
Lu Xiaoran found a stool and sat down. The two younger ones retreated to a corner obediently.
“We’ll reach the Imperial Capital in half a day’s time. Do you know anyone there, my young friend?” Lu Xiaoran asked.
Ye Xuan shook his head.
He did not know anybody in the Imperial Capital.
Lu Xiaoran smiled gently. “There are many kinds of people, both good and evil, in the Imperial Captial. If you don’t mind, my young friend, I can arrange for temporary lodgings for you before you enter Cangmu College. When that happens, you can decide whether to continue staying in my room or not. What do you think about this arrangement?” he asked.
Ye Xuan thought about it before nodding. “Then I shall take you up on your offer, Senior Lu,” he replied.
Naturally, Ye Xuan would not refuse Lu Xiaoran’s offer of good intention. There was a saying that went, “One more friend equated to another path in life.” Since Lu was so sincere, why would Ye Xuan reject him?
The smile on Lu Xiaoran’s face grew wider as he heard Ye Xuan agree.
He was the master of a city and wielded great authority. He had made friends with Ye Xuan naturally because of the boy’s talent.
He did not stay behind for much longer and left with Lu Ming after a while.
Only Ye Xuan and Ye Ling were left in the room.
Ye Ling went up to sit beside her brother. “Big brother, did you reject the offer of Company Commander before because of me?” she asked softly.
Ye Xuan turned to look at his sister. She continued to speak in a soft voice, “I asked the little fatty. He told me that the post of Company Commander was a big one. It’s the offer to become an official, brother. How could you be so stupid? Why did you reject it?”
Ye Xuan rubbed his sister’s little head gently and told her, “If I took up the post, what would become of you?”
Ye Ling looked directly at her brother as she answered, “I’m an obstacle for you, right?”
Ye Xuan shook his head and replied, “You’re the most important person if my life. I’m willing to do anything for you, and I’ll give up anything for you.”
He gripped Ye Ling’s little hands tightly as he continued, “If I don’t have you, even becoming a Sword God would mean nothing to me.”
Tears suddenly streaked down Ye Ling’s face. She did not reply and hugged Ye Xuan tightly.
After a while, fatigue crept in and she fell asleep.
“What a sleepy head!”
Ye Xuan’s expression turned serious as he looked at Ye Ling after he placed her on her bed. She liked to sleep even more than before, but luckily she did not feel so cold with the help of the Heaven Fire Warm Jade. That said, her condition was not looking too good, as her face was turning increasingly pale!
Ye Xuan knew that she did not speak much about her condition so as not to worry him.
He covered his sister with her blanket gently and left the room, arriving at the deck of the Cloud Ship shortly.
He stood at the bow of the ship and lifted his head to gaze far ahead. It was already nearing dusk, and the horizon was a patch of fiery red, as if a giant cloth of fire had been stretched across the skies. He could see many great peaks under the setting sun.
They were nearing the Imperial Capital!
“Young friend!”
Lu Xiaoran’s voice could be heard at this moment.
Ye Xuan turned around to see Lu Xiaoran walking toward him. He laughed as he said, “You look as if you wish we’d reach the Imperial Capital sooner, my young friend!”
Ye Xuan nodded as he replied, “Could you tell me about Cangmu College, Senior Lu?”
Lu Xiaoran nodded and replied, “It’s not a faction from Jiang Country. Like the Drunken Fairy Building, it has branches all over various countries, and the reason why they are so popular is that being a member of the College is a status symbol, other than the fact that there are many powerful mentors and various training resources in these academies. Anyone who enters Cangmu College is deemed to be a genius and will definitely be recruited by various factions upon graduation.”
He smiled gently before continuing, “Graduates of Cangmu College will be able to find work anywhere, and their alumni have even been recruited by the royal family. To poor families, the college is a shortcut out of poverty, while to the sons and daughters of royal and aristocratic families, the status of being a student of Cangmu College acts as insurance. Furthermore, they’ll get to know plenty of geniuses after entering the college, and you’ve to understand that strong networks are vital to surviving in the Imperial Capital!”
Ye Xuan nodded slightly, as if he had thought about something. “In that case, is the National Warrior, An Lanxiu, also from Cangmu College?”
Lu Xiaoran shook his head. “National Warrior An isn’t from the college,” he replied.
“Why?” Ye Xuan asked, feeling a little perplexed.
Lu Xiaoran laughed a little before replying, “The dean of Cangmu College looked for her personally to invite her into the academy, but I heard that she rejected him.”
“Rejected?”
Ye Xuan was stunned. “What do you mean?” he asked.
Lu Xiaoran shook his head and laughed. “Because no one in Cangmu College was worthy of teaching her! Or should I say that she’s already at a level whereby she can already be teaching other students. Say, wouldn’t entering the academy be a little ridiculous?”
“…” Ye Xuan was speechless again.
Lu Xiaoran continued, “However, even though she did not join Cangmu College, it still gave her the title of Honorary Mentor. Even though she doesn’t have any actual authority, everyone in the academy has to greet her, except for the dean and few core members.”
He paused for a moment before continuing, “From what I gather, her background is not as simple as we think it is! However, it’s not something that we should be bothered about!”
Ye Xuan nodded before questioning Lu Xiaoran further, “Senior, I heard that the best physician is in Cangmu College, is that right?”
Lu Xiaoran nodded. “I wouldn’t dare say they’re the best, but the treatment there is the best you can get in Jiang Country. Even imperial physicians would seek the advice of their counterparts in the College, and some of them even graduated from Cangmu themselves!”
Ye Xuan felt relieved upon hearing that. He turned to gaze far ahead, and he could vaguely spot a majestic, old city after the peaks…
The Imperial Capital!
