Chapter 24: Another Breakthrough?

Ye Xiao watched Mu Bai, who was standing on a rock nearby with his hands on his hips, cursing away. A smile couldn't help but tug at the corner of his mouth as he thought to himself that this guy and Feng Buxing would probably get along quite well.

Just as Mu Bai was enjoying his rant, a voice rang out calmly.

"Mu Bai, are you itching for a beating?"

That single sentence made Mu Bai go quiet instantly. He cast a wary, shifty-eyed glance at the bamboo house not far away where the lights were still on, and shrank his neck.

Ye Xiao burst into laughter. It seemed that only Zhuge Lingyun could keep him in check!

The next day, Ye Xiao did not go out, choosing instead to cultivate on his bed.

Zhuge Lingyun, however, left Bamboo Mountain early and headed to the main hall at the very heart of the Yin-Yang Academy.

At this moment, Yang Ye was sitting at the head of the table. With the Academy Master away and the other two Vice Masters in seclusion, Yang Ye was currently the one in charge of the entire academy.

Below Yang Ye, all nine masters were present.

Zhuge Lingyun sat in the first seat, leaning back lazily in his chair, his folding fan waving gently in his hand.

"Zhuge Lingyun, aren't your demands a bit excessive?"

Ao Jian glared at Zhuge Lingyun with fury, and seeing that the latter ignored him completely, he became even more incensed.

"You should know the price required to open the Haoran Tower! You actually want to open it again for a mere servant disciple?"

Zhuge Lingyun glanced at Ao Jian and said calmly, "I am discussing this with the Vice Master. What business is it of yours?"

"You! You need to get one thing straight—when it comes down to it, you aren't even a member of our Yin-Yang Academy!"

In his anger, Ao Jian blurted out the words he had kept hidden in his heart for a long time.

But the moment he finished speaking, his heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "Oh no!"

The expressions of everyone else changed as well, especially Yang Ye’s, whose face turned grim.

"Ao Jian! You are being presumptuous!" Yang Ye shouted.

Zhuge Lingyun, however, stood up with a smile and waved his hand. "Sigh, Vice Master, don't be angry. What he said is the truth. Since you don't welcome me, I might as well leave!"

With that, he turned to walk away.

"Master Zhuge! Wait!" Yang Ye called out. He hurried down the steps, shot a fierce glare at Ao Jian, and then came directly to Zhuge Lingyun, smiling as he said, "Master, there is no need for such haste. It’s just the Haoran Tower; it’s not as if it cannot be opened."

Zhuge Lingyun’s smile remained unchanged. He glanced at Ao Jian, whose face had turned the color of pig liver, and said, "Is it possible? After all, I am an outsider. Perhaps it’s better not to force it, right, Ao Jian?"

Ao Jian’s face was dark, but he dared not speak, terrified that if he said anything more, Zhuge Lingyun might actually leave.

Yang Ye’s expression flickered, but he quickly returned to a smile. "You joke. I will have people make preparations today; just send Ye Xiao over tomorrow."

Zhuge Lingyun nodded with a smile, looked at everyone present, and then, waving his folding fan, left with a laugh.

Once Zhuge Lingyun was gone, Yang Ye’s expression turned terrifyingly grim.

He turned around and stared daggers at Ao Jian.

"Ao Jian! Are you an idiot? Do you not know what can be said and what cannot?"

Yang Ye was furious. He strode over to Ao Jian and hissed, "This Zhuge Lingyun was personally invited back by the Sect Master! If he leaves, do you have any idea of the consequences?"

Ao Jian felt a jolt in his heart as he met Yang Ye’s man-eating gaze.

Although he did not know exactly why the Academy Master had invited Zhuge Lingyun to the Yin-Yang Academy, he knew that if Zhuge Lingyun were to leave, the academy would likely face a great catastrophe.

This was the reason why the eight masters and the other elders were so courteous to Zhuge Lingyun.

For a moment, the entire main hall fell into a deathly silence.

Facing the enraged Yang Ye, the others didn't even dare to breathe, fearing they might become collateral damage.

After a long while, Yang Ye’s anger subsided slightly. He walked back to his seat, gulped down a cup of tea, and looked at Ao Jian, saying coldly, "The spirit stones required to open the Haoran Tower tomorrow—your Sword Peak will provide them."

"I..."

Upon hearing that he was expected to provide the spirit stones to help Zhuge Lingyun open the tower, Ao Jian was about to object, but after meeting Yang Ye’s grim gaze, he swallowed his words.

He dared not voice his opposition.

"A-all right."

Hearing Ao Jian’s agreement, Yang Ye waved his hand. "Go, all of you! You are an eyesore!"

Meanwhile, Ye Xiao, unaware that he had almost caused the Yin-Yang Academy to lose the mysterious Master Zhuge, was currently feeling as if the red profound energy within him were running wild.

Strangely, every time it completed three cycles, it would suddenly reverse for one cycle!

This had been going on for two hours!

Ye Xiao dared not stop the flow of his technique easily, and could only focus all his attention on the state of his body.

"I am no longer practicing my previous technique, so why is the Blood Scripture also reversing?"

Ye Xiao frowned deeply, soon guessing that it must be the combination of the technique and his Ye family bloodline.

As the technique surged, the profound energy in his dantian grew more and more abundant. Gradually, it began to shroud his entire dantian like a thick mist.

Another half-hour passed, and Ye Xiao’s heart skipped a beat as he realized that at the bottom of the mist, the profound energy had begun to liquefy!

"Is this... a breakthrough?"

He hadn't expected to break through so soon! How long had it been since he reached the ninth level of the Profound Realm?

In truth, he did not know that the early stages of the Blood Scripture had no bottlenecks at all. Furthermore, his physique had been tempered by the power of water-elemental laws, giving him an incredibly solid foundation.

It would be no surprise even if he broke through to the Opening Realm immediately.

As the profound energy mist in his dantian thinned, the liquefied energy filled his dantian like an ocean.

At the same time, the spiritual energy of the entire Bamboo Mountain began to surge toward the bamboo house where Ye Xiao was.

"What the hell? What’s going on!"

Mu Bai noticed the anomaly. When he stepped outside to look, his eyes went wide!

The entire Bamboo Mountain was condensing fog, and the bamboo house where Ye Xiao resided was already barely visible, even from less than ten paces away!

"Is this guy a monster? Can he cause such a commotion just by cultivating?"

At that moment, Zhuge Lingyun appeared beside Mu Bai, a look of surprise in his eyes.

"It seems this kid not only has immense talent, but the technique he is practicing is no ordinary thing either!"