Chapter 17: Chapter 17

When Yu Sheng arrived at the center of the gymnasium, the expansive space was once again filled with silence.

His fit physique made it easy to forget that he was merely a fifteen-year-old.

He walked into the matrix. Almost immediately, a bright golden light shone over his body. The intent of battle and his powerful aura embraced his entire being.

His perception of Metal Spiritual Qi was of the Sky level. He was in the eighth plane of Awakening, the Metamorph Plane, for both arts.

“Come here.” Yu Sheng was pointing at the person who had clamored the loudest. They were now shaking, pale-faced, but he somehow still made his way forward.

He was gifted. His perception of Worldly Essence was of the second highest level, Earth Level. He was also in the Metamorph Plane, but he had no confidence standing in front of Yu Sheng.

“Are you ready?” asked Yu Sheng.

“Yeah…,” the challenger’s voice was shaking. Hearing his response, everyone in the gymnasium became riled up. Yu Sheng took a giant step toward his opponent.

“Let’s go!” yelled the opponent. His jaw was clenched tightly, and he was ready to take on Yu Sheng, but his determination disappeared as soon as he saw the ring of golden light around Yu Sheng. It made Yu Sheng look like the God of War.

Boom! Everyone saw the challenger sailing through the air after one attack. Yu Sheng did not use any special battle tactics, nor did he use sorcery. He was able to send his opponent flying using the pure force of his body.

“Next, you,” ordered Yu Sheng. The person at the other end of his pointed finger was another individual who had wanted to challenge Ye Futian. He was no longer interested in battle though. “I admit defeat!” he said in fear.

“You are still required to step into the matrix to show everyone your power ranking even if you forfeit,” said an elder. They were not impressed by the cowardice of this student, though they were very impressed by Yu Sheng. He was indeed unique.

Ye Futian’s challengers were not looking too good. Was Yu Sheng really going to fight all of them? If he did, they would have no chance in today’s debate portion of the Fall Quarter Examinations.

“Ye Futian.” The challengers were not too happy with him at the moment. They only stood up because they wanted to challenge him, but now Ye Futian has handed them all off to Yu Sheng. They felt scammed.

Ye Futian smiled as he watched the events unfold. His attention shifted to Yu Sheng who was still standing at the center of the gymnasium. He was the true star of this year’s Fall Quarter Examinations.

Not surprisingly, all of Ye Futian’s challengers were picked off by Yu Sheng one by one. None of them stood a chance against him, despite the fact that many of them were in the Metamorph Plane. There were even some in the ninth plane of Awakening, the Unmaker Plane.

All of these people could have been official disciples already. They purposely put it off to impress officials at the Fall and Spring Quarter Examinations in hopes that their brilliant performances would make their lives easier as official disciples. Furthermore, rumor had it that the top performing students from the Fall and Spring Quarter Examinations had a chance of being chosen as the disciple of very high ranked academy officials. It was because of this that many people participated in the exams to test their luck.

It was such a pity. All of their hard work only made Yu Sheng look better and shine brighter.

“He’s not human,” the people on the observation deck shared with one another.

Even General Qin Shuai of the Dark Qilin Knighthood saw Yu Sheng in a different light. This boy was naturally strong. His gifts in martial arts and sorcery were both of the Sky Level. If he became a knight, he would be a force to reckoned with on the battlefield.

“Yu Sheng, that’s enough,” Ye Futian finally spoke. Yu Sheng returned to his original position beside Ye Futian and a lot of people let out a sigh of relief.

Now, other people finally had a chance to show off their talents. Many students came forth and put their powers on display. However, no matter how interesting the duels got, nothing possessed the same shock factor as Yu Sheng’s previous displays of power.

Time passed and it was finally time for Murong Qiu to step up. Things were finally going to get interesting. After he stepped up, Murong Qiu challenged numerous high-level cultivators. When he had defeated all the Unmaker Plane students, he moved down to the Metamorph Plane. He was in the spotlight.

He even looked over at Yu Sheng but gave up on the thought of fighting him. It seemed that Murong Qiu had no confidence that he would be able to beat Yu Sheng.

Ye Futian recognized the determination in his eyes. Of course, Murong Qiu was also aiming for first place. The only way for him to place first would be to get rid of his biggest obstacle, Yu Sheng. He did not do this, though, because he lacked the confidence.

Both Yu Sheng and Murong Qiu are on the List of Brilliance, and both have had excellent performances in today’s exam; but in terms of age, Yu Sheng has the upper hand. First place will most likely go to Yu Sheng, Ye Futian thought to himself as he patiently waited for the exam to be over.

The sun was setting in the sky, but everyone in the gymnasium was still just as energetic as they had been at the beginning of the day. Hundreds of students did their very best to showcase their abilities and shine above all. Even though Hua Jieyu was not participating in the exams, she still stepped forth into the matrix to have her power ranking determined. Seeing her beautiful face, the hearts of her admirers began to ache. Please don’t really be dating that shameless douche!

Finally, the debates had come to an end and everyone waited for the closing statements.

Eyes diverted to the front of the gymnasium where the academy’s elders sat. When Cabinet Master Leng Qingfeng of the House of Swordsmen and Pavilion Lord Shi Zhong of the Earth Pavilion came to an agreement on the results of today’s exams, this year’s Fall Quarter Examinations would finally be over.

Leng Qingfeng and Shi Zhong were in a serious discussion about the results while someone stood beside them and kept a record of what they were saying.

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An elder beside Shi Zhong took the recorded list and walked to the front of the stage. He looked at all the hopeful students and explained, “As usual, the results from both the written exam and the debate will be taken into consideration and the outcome will be the overall rankings for the entire Fall Quarter Examinations.”

At the end of the Fall Exams, there would only be one list, the Ranking List. Similar to the written exam, only the top three would be informed of their placement on the list.

The top three garnered great glory and honor. In addition, everyone on the Ranking List would have the privilege to access the library’s second floor.

Everyone waited excitedly for the results. Who were the top three going to be?

Ye Futian watched the elder with bright eyes. First place belonged to Yu Sheng.

“In first place, Murong Qiu,” announced the elder. Ye Futian’s gaze froze. He could not comprehend what had just been said.

First place? Murong Qiu?

Others were just as shocked but the shock dissipated quickly. After all, Murong Qiu was in the ninth plane of Awakening and his performance was quite outstanding as well. However, they still felt that it was a pity for Yu Sheng.

“Second place, Yu Sheng,” the elder continued with his announcement.

“Why?” Ye Futian interrupted the elder as he prepared to announce third place.

Everyone waited for a response, feeling mixed emotions. The elder, as well as other academy elders, scowled in disapproval. Interrupting the result announcements was extremely disrespectful towards the elders.

“Why is Murong Qiu first and Yu Sheng second?” Ye Futian wanted to know.

“You’re getting out of line here!” the elder scolded. “The results have already been decided and they are this way for a reason.”

“I refuse to accept this,” said Ye Futian.

“Murong Qiu, seventeen, Earth Elemental Sorcerer, Sky Level, cultivating in the ninth plane of Awakening. Yu Sheng, fifteen, cultivating in both arts, Sky Level for both. In comparison, Yu Sheng is obviously more outstanding. In the written exam they were both on the List of Brilliance and did not receive placement, so I can count that as a tie. However, in today’s exam, Yu Sheng defeated cultivators in the ninth plane despite only being in the eighth. No matter how you look at it, Yu Sheng has the upper hand. So, why is Murong Qiu in first place?” reasoned Ye Futian.

He took a step closer to the elders on stage and bowed down. “Please reevaluate their performances and decide on the results carefully.”

This guy… Qin Yi looked at Ye Futian. Even though, she objected the results as well, how could Ye Futian question the decisions made by the cabinet master and the pavilion lord? He was obviously a smart guy, but why was he acting so dumb now?

Outer sect disciples standing in the gymnasium were all watching Ye Futian, and began to whisper about him. Murong Qiu’s face frosted over as he glared at Ye Futian.

The honorable guests sitting on the stage were all speechless as well. They too felt that it was a pity for Yu Sheng, but they would never have thought that a disciple would stand up to question the results.

“Stop talking! Do you know what you’re doing right now?” asked an elder standing by the matrix. He liked Ye Futian, but it was also because of this, that he could not let him continue his outrageous actions. You may do crazy things in your youth, but you should know your limits.

Ye Futian knew exactly what he was doing. He also knew that his actions might not change a thing. His actions were not being made logically right now. He only knew that he had to speak up. If he had been in this situation, he would not have cared; but this was Yu Sheng’s honor they were talking about. Why should he let Yu Sheng miss out on first place because of the judges’ mistake?

The rankings for the Fall Quarter Examinations were based on the grades of both days. Just as he had said before, Yu Sheng did not lose to Murong Qiu in any aspect, so why was he ranked below Murong Qiu?

There really was not that much of a difference between first and second place, but to Ye Futian, first place could only be Yu Sheng. Why should it be taken away?

I know that what I’m doing may be disrespectful, but I really cannot accept these results. He was set on his decision, and he could not have been more serious. Ye Futian could handle being insulted by the world, but he could not and would not sit by and do nothing as they took what rightfully belonged to Yu Sheng away.

“Ye Futian,” Yu Sheng called out to him. His hand was on Ye Futian’s shoulder as he shook his head, trying to get Ye Futian to forget about it.

Ye Futian looked right back at Yu Sheng and he shook his head as well.

“Continue announcing the results and cross his name off the list,” said Shi Zhong coldly. They had anticipated some disagreements with the final results. However, they also thought that there would not be too much of a problem since Murong Qiu’s performance was more than good enough. They never expected that Ye Futian would stand up and question the results in front of everyone.

The elder announcing the results nodded. He took a look at the name listed for third place and skipped over it. “Third place, Hua Jieyu,” he announced.

Even though Hua Jieyu had not participated in the debates, she had ranked second in the written exam, possessed outstanding talents, and was in the Unmaker Plane. No one questioned the decision to give her third place, but everyone had assumed that third place would have gone to the stubborn youth, Ye Futian.

“I still refuse to accept these results,” Ye Futian repeated himself once again, but his words were ignored as the elder went on to announce the next name on the Ranking List.

Then, for the first time ever, a great disturbance interrupted the announcements of the Fall Quarter Examinations’ results. Yu Sheng stared at Ye Futian’s small frame, clenching his fists tightly. His determined eyes now shone red.

BOOM! Yu Sheng took a step forward. No one could diminish Ye Futian’s pride, not even Qingzhou Academy.