Chapter 356 : I'm Here Now (5)
"Before that is achieved Wu Xie, you cannot go back." Jun Wu Yao said suddenly.
Jun Wu Xie raised her head to look at Jun Wu Yao. When Jun Wu Yao had said go back, he had meant the Lin Palace!
She can't go back?
Why?
"Your soul is no longer complete. You must have used an attack that utilised and burned up your soul. If your opponent still lives, he can use that piece of your soul and trace it back to you and find out your location." Jun Wu Yao explained in all seriousness as he looked at Jun Wu Xie. He had not expected Jun Wu Xie to use her own soul to carry out an attack, as the price for such an attack carried too heavy a price.
Jun Wu Xie's eyes widened in surprise.
When she had used her soul to strike at the opponent with the black beast, she had fully intended to kill him with it. If Little Lotus had not forcibly intervened, she might have perished together with the little black cat and the white robed man. Due to the forced termination of her attack where she burned her soul to achieve, it was possible that she might have left bits of her soul within the body of the white robed man.
Had he died then?
Jun Wu Xie could not be certain. Although Ye Sha had dealt a devastating and deadly blow to the white robed man that day, when it came to the people of the Middle Realm whom she knew nothing about, Jun Wu Xie did not dare underestimate them.
Jun Wu Yao had only painted half the picture with his words, but Jun Wu Xie knew what the other half comprised.
If she were to return to the Lin Palace, the people from the Palace of Flame Demons would find her there. And Jun Xian and Jun Qing would sacrifice everything to shield her and the whole of the Lin Palace will fall!
She had set her heart so strongly on returning, but the way home had been cut off mercilessly. Home had become a place she longed for but was unable to return to.....
Jun Wu Xie suddenly felt her heart wince, that brought about a dull ache. She was already weak and now, her face turned even more pale.
Jun Wu Yao came to stand beside Jun Wu Xie, and brought her deep into his embrace.
"Do not worry. You will return one day. I will find a way to make your soul complete again." Jun Wu Yao patted Jun Wu Xie on the back comforting her, like coaxing a frightened child to calm and sleep.
It had been a miscalculation on his part this time. He had known that the Qing Yun Clan had links to one of the palaces, but he had not expected them to bump right into Jun Wu Xie.
"Before that, you can stay here in this academy for the time being. This place is rather special, and it can block out and contain the essence of your soul from being detected." Jun Wu Yao reassured in a soft voice.
This place had been used by Yan Bu Gui to hide himself all this time. All their members had a marked Soul Badge with the Twelve Palaces and in any instances of betrayal or desertion, they could be traced with the Soul Badge no matter how far they hid, and killed. To have found a place like this, Yan Bu Gui must have spent quite a bit of effort.
"Here?" Jun Wu Xie raised her head in query.
"Yes. Don't you need to leave the Snow Lotus here to recover as well? Take it as accompanying the little guy as well," Jun Wu Yao knew very well, how deep Jun Wu Xie's feelings were for the Jun Family's father and son. Everything that she had so far, could be all linked to her want to protect the Jun Family's father and son. She would have liked nothing more than to return home and reunite with them, but the Palace of Flame Demons had suddenly appeared and burned up any hope of satisfying that longing.
Jun Wu Xie kept silent. A home she could not return to, that stifling feeling of repression made it somehow harder to breathe. But at the same time, it strongly reminded her of everything that had happened in the Cloudy Peaks that day.
She would never allow that to happen in the Lin Palace!
She nodded without a word, and made her decision then.
"The day will come, after I annihilate the Palace of Flame Demons, and go home proudly." She raised her eyes and her eyes were filled with resolve and determination.
Jun Wu Yao laughed as he heard her proclamation, and his arms tightened around Jun Wu Xie.
He knew that Jun Wu Xie was not so easily beaten.
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Chapter 357 : Discipleship (1)
It was early the next morning when Jun Wu Xie awoke. Jun Wu Yao had disappeared once again and she walked outside. Ye Sha appeared before her.
"Miss."
Jun Wu Xie stared at the familiar yet at the same time unfamiliar face in silence.
"Master Wu Yao has left to seek something. Please do not worry and wait here for a period." Ye Sha said stoically.
Jun Wu Xie was thoughtful for a short moment before she guessed what Jun Wu Yao was seeking for.
He had mentioned yesterday that he would find a way to heal her soul to become complete again, but an incomplete soul was not that easily mended and what could have made Jun Wu Yao leave to seek can only be something that can heal her.
Jun Wu Xie felt a sudden warmth spread from her heart and only nodded to Ye Sha. Ye Sha then disappeared and his presence was completely erased in a moment.
The previous Ye Sha had done the same thing, protecting her in silence, and unnoticed.
Jun Wu Xie turned her attention back to the present and walked further outside. If she was not able to return to the Lin Palace, she had other plans in mind.
In the garden, Yan Bu Gui sitting on the stone bench, with a wine jar in hand, while he observed Fei Yan and Rong Ruo sparring each other. Right beside him, Hua Yao and Qiao Chu who were still rather weak stood. They had not recovered enough from their injuries to undergo any intensive training.
The two figures moved quickly in their battle, their speed an incessant blur, their actions too fast to be captured by the eye.
As Jun Wu Xie approached, she was watching the match between Fei Yan and Rong Ruo and she realised that the power of those two were in no way inferior to Hua Yao and Qiao Chu.
At such a young age and to possess such power, it was surely startling to many people.
"Little Xie?" Qiao Chu spotted Jun Wu Xie approaching immediately and he zipped right up to her without a moment's hesitation.
"You came here just at the right time. The match between Fei Yan and Rong Ruo is just heating up. Don't miss the show." Qiao Chu had reached out to pull Jun Wu Xie, but he suddenly retracted his hand.
Jun Wu Xie nodded anyway, and followed Qiao Chu into the garden.
Hua Yao and Jun Wu Xie nodded in greeting.
Yan Bu Gui was trying to observe Jun Wu Xie discreetly when he found the cold eyes looking right at him. Yan Bu Gui immediately averted his eyes and kept them on the match in front of him.
Jun Wu Xie turned and asked Qiao Chu who was beside her: "How do I enroll into Phoenix Academy?"
Qiao Chu was enjoying himself thoroughly watching the match when Jun Wu Xie's query made him turn with his eyes widened, and stared at Jun Wu Xie in disbelief.
"Wha..... What did you say?"
"I want to train myself here." Jun Wu Xie disregarded Qiao Chu's shocked expression, and said with an expressionless face.
"....." Qiao Chu's mouth moved, but no words came out.
What did he just hear?
Jun Wu Xie wanted to stay here at the Phoenix Academy?
Even Hua Yao's face registered shock at Jun Wu Xie's statement.
"Are you sure?" Qiao Chu finally recovered and asked again.
Jun Wu Xie nodded.
Qiao Chu's face broke into an impossibly wide smile at that moment!
"That's just great! You can be our Master's disciple! He's really good!"
Qiao Chu could not hold in his excitement and literally pushed Jun Wu Xie to come stand before Yan Bu Gui. Yan Bu Gui was just taking a long draw at his wine jar when he was almost choked to death by his moronic disciple's actions!
Even if he did not know what relationship this kid had with the Lord, he saw how protective the Lord was of him. This kid held a rather special place in the Lord's heart.
If he were to accept the kid as a disciple.....
Just thinking about it made his blood turn cold.
But Jun Wu Xie was already standing before Yan Bu Gui and she had already toyed with the idea when she saw Hua Yao's and Qiao Chu's powers. In order to grow stronger, she must cherish every opportunity before her.
Before Yan Bu Gui could utter a single word of protest, Jun Wu Xie said: "Your disciple Jun Xie, pays his greetings to Master."
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Chapter 358 : Discipleship (2)
The mouthful of wine in Yan Bu Gui's mouth sprayed out fully onto Qiao Chu as he choked heavily.
Qiao Chu was stunned.
"Cough, cough, cough..... What did you just say?" Yan Bu Gui asked, his eyes wide in horror, as he stared in disbelief at Jun Wu Xie.
What did he just call him?
Master!?
Yan Bu Gui shivered and every strand of hair on him stood. He looked around frantically for any signs of a merciless Lord.
"Master." Jun Wu Xie repeated calmly as she stared at the flustered Yan Bu Gui.
Yan Bu Gui only sat trembling uncontrollably, his face flushed and was unable to speak a single word.
Qiao Chu wiped at his face vigorously to remove the wine sprayed over him and gave his Master a forlorn look.
"Master, Little Xie might still be very young but he is really amazing! Don't reject him like this." Qiao Chu said indignantly. Yan Bu Gui had only four disciples and the circumstances that brought about their discipleship were extremely unusual. Whether Yan Bu Gui would accept Jun Xie was not known to them.
If it was anybody else, it would not have bothered Qiao Chu so much. But he already saw Jun Xie as someone almost like a brother and he wished for Jun Xie to study under the same Master as them.
Yan Bu Gui was shivering though there was no chill.
Accept Jun Xie as a disciple? He treasured that fact that his head was still attached to his body.
But asking him to reject Jun Xie was just as horrific for him.
If the Dark Emperor knew that Yan Bu Gui dared to reject Jun Xie as a disciple, his fate would not turn out any better.
And if he accepted Jun Xie as a disciple..... ARGHHH!!
Yan Bu Gui would meet with an insufferable fate whichever way he chose.
After hesitating for a long while, Yan Bu Gui suddenly stood up. Fei Yan and Rong Ruo stopped their match and turned their heads to watch their Master.
"Let me think about it." Yan Bu Gui escaped in a hurry from the garden, unable to make himself stay a single moment more.
The terror in his heart did not allow him to make a decision as a wrong move would need him to pay back in with his blood.
He did not accept, and neither did he reject. The situation frustrated Qiao Chu as he knew that Jun Xie would make an exceptional disciple for his Master. Besides the fact that Jun Xie's personality was rather queer, he did not see anything else that was wrong.
"Little Xie, don't worry. Let Master think about it a moment. He has always been rather cautious about accepting disciples." Qiao Chu was afraid that Jun Xie's ego might be pricked and he tried to comfort him.
Jun Wu Xie's face was nevertheless calm and did not seem affected in the least. She was never easily swayed whenever she decided on something. From her perspective, whoever was able to produce disciples like Qiao Chu and Hua Yao had a certain level of ability, and it was only normal that they were a little temperamental.
Rong Ruo looked at Jun Wu Xie. He had almost wanted to open his mouth to say something but finally decided against it. The others did not know the reason, but he knew it only too well.
The man who had brought Jun Xie back to the academy the other day was someone that even Yan Bu Gui was afraid to offend. Yan Bu Gui's current dilemma must have something to do with that man.
Silence filled the garden. Suddenly, several shouts sounded and the faces of Qiao Chu and his other three fellow disciples turned weary.
"They are here again! When will this end?" Qiao Chu remarked as his shoulders slumped.
No sooner than he had finished his statement, a group of youths dressed in uniforms barged in, shouting at the group.
"Qiao Chu! How many days has it been? That little brat that you guys brought in the other day is still staying here!?" The leader of the group of youths wasn't very tall and his face showed great displeasure. He stared at Jun Wu Xie, who was standing next to Qiao Chu, his eyes full of disdain.
Jun Wu Xie looked coldly at the arrogant youth and saw the similar looks of disdain the other youths in the group gave them.
"Cough, it's just a few days. Do you need to be so pushy?" Qiao Chu asked exasperated.
The leader of the youths widened his eyes in anger and pointed at Qiao Chu's nose screaming: "Just a few days!? Do you know by having one more person around, how much more it will cost us every single day!? Food, clothes, use, lodge. All of that costs money! The East Wing had always been owing and in deficit and it had been for at least a year now! You guys then decided to take in another freeloader and it seems he isn't going to pay up either!"
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Chapter 359 : I Did It. So? (1)
The Phoenix Academy did not have a large campus and decades ago, it was a fairly prosperous academy. But a huge fire had suddenly broken out then and claimed all the lives of the disciples and teachers. Overnight, the highly sought academy by many youths throughout the lands was left in ruins. Although people had subsequently given money for the academy to be rebuilt later, but the academy's glorious past did not return.
The present Phoenix Academy had four wings and the total students totaled just around a hundred. Compared to the many academies that easily boasted a thousand students, the Phoenix Academy was deemed to be pathetic.
After the Phoenix Academy had just been rebuilt, the academy did not have a single student for three whole years. The lengthy lull had made many reputable teachers leave for other academies. And to ensure the survival of the Phoenix Academy, the headmaster of the academy was forced to further lower the criteria for enrollment.
From initially being only open to the talented, they had lowered the criteria to accept anyone and everyone who had the ability to pay the fees into the Phoenix Academy now.
The Phoenix Academy only had four teachers and they were in charge of the four separate wings of the compass' directions, namely North, East, South and West. The headmaster was a person who had great greed for money. Any as long as the students were able to pay up, he did not care much about anything else.
Many of their students were from ordinary families, or untalented sons from rich families who were rejected by prestigious schools and just shoved into the Phoenix Academy to just pass time.
Yan Bu Gui was one of the Teachers of the Phoenix Academy, and was in charge of the East Wing. And the number of students enrolled within the East Wing came up to a grand total of four. They were namely Qiao Chu, Hua Yao, Fei Yan and Rong Ruo. If it was not for the low numbers for the Phoenix Academy's enrollment, they would not have even allowed Yan Bu Gui to occupy the East Wing with just his four disciples.
They occupied the premises, and the monies due were expected in return from them.
But.....
Jun Wu Xie's gaze fell on the four disciples of the East Wing. The two times she had met Qiao Chu, he had been dressed in tattered clothes and all his clothes had been full of patches. Hua Yao's clothes might have been neater and cleaner, but the fabric was thinned from repeated washing and she had deduced that their financial situation was not in good shape.
From the shouts of the aggressive youth before them, she gathered that Hua Yao and the rest had not paid a single cent towards their fees owing to the academy. And the headmaster had repeatedly sent people here to hound them for repayment, but had been suppressed by Yan Bu Gui many times.
But the situation today, seemed to be a tad bit unsuppressable.
"The headmaster had given his ultimatum! If you still cannot pay up, you must pack up and scram immediately! Do not think for a moment you can still depend on Yan Bu Gui to shield you all any longer! The headmaster is feeling very displeased with him and he might not stay here much longer himself!" The leader of the youths blasted his mouth off mixed with a series of curses.
Jun Wu Xie watched quietly from the side and saw that the youth's spiritual powers was merely at the bottom of the red level, but Qiao Chu and the others were allowing themselves to be berated and verbally abused.
She wasn't sure of Fei Yan's and Rong Ruo's powers, but she was fairly certain that they were definitely comparable to Qiao Chu and Hua Yao.
With their highly capable skills, defeating those youths before them would be a piece of cake. But why were they not moving at all?
Jun Wu Xie could not understand it at all. To her, in all her lack of knowledge of the intricacies of the human to human interaction, only one point stood out. If people do not oppose her, she did not harm them. If anyone went against her, she would pay them back a hundred times back.
The arrogance and domineering attitude from group of youths against the silent quartet had gone overboard.
"What a bunch of shameless dogs. They themselves are in debt owing their fees towards the academy and they insist on continuing to freeload here. They even had the cheek to bring back more trash, thinking this is some shelter for homeless strays and beggars?" The leader of the youths turned to pick on Jun Wu Xie, when he saw the skinny petite figure of a boy, and did not deem Jun Wu Xie to be a threat.
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Chapter 360 : I Did It. So? (2)
Qiao Chu and the others clenched their jaws tight, their hands closed tightly into fists, but did not say a single word.
They had been cursed like this many times before, and they could do nothing but restrain themselves and suffer their abuse.
"Give us a few more days please." Rong Ruo finally pleaded, his voice amicable.
Who would have expected that the leader of the youths suddenly spat on Rong Ruo's face! "Even if we were to give you months, you guys would never be able to come up with a single cent! Get out of the Phoenix Academy! We do not want beggars like you here!"
At that moment, a change came over the expressions on the faces of the four of them. Qiao Chu tensed up and he stepped forward in unsuppressable rage. However, he had taken only one step when Rong Ruo held his shoulders and shook his head.
"Oh? What was that? You want to hit me don't you?" The youth stared at Qiao Chu, his face sneering with contempt.
He was thinking back to the countless times he had done this to them, and every single time, the beggars of the East Wing had not dared to retaliate.
Qiao Chu clenched his fists so hard his palms were bleeding. If not for Yan Bu Gui's orders, he would have torn that sneering face apart.
Alas, before the youths' leader could revel in the cheers that erupted from his companions, a heavy punch landed right on his face and he found himself suddenly flying through the air!
All eyes turned to the person who threw the punch.
Jun Wu Xie was still carrying the unconscious little black cat in one arm, while the other arm was still fixed in mid air. Her cold expressionless face showed no emotion, but those eyes flared with chilling murder!
"Little Xie....." Qiao Chu's rage disappeared like a deflated balloon at that moment and he stared speechlessly at Jun Xie, a mix of emotions going through him.
The youth who had flown was hurriedly helped up by the other youths in between his groaning as he held his hand to his swollen face, his eyes staring in anger at Jun Wu Xie.
"A beggar like you dares to hit me!? You must be tired of living! All of you! Take him down!" The youths' leader shouted in rage, and the other youths surrounding him all jumped towards Jun Wu Xie.
Jun Wu Xie's eyes narrowed dangerously and shoved the little black cat into Hua Yao's arms. Her agile body suddenly glowed a bright orange and she charged straight into the midst of the attacking youths!
The bigger youths had expected themselves to be able to easily take down the puny little brat and had charged in headlong without fear. And when that orange glow had surfaced suddenly on the brat, shock registered visibly on all those youths' eyes!
WHAT?
That puny brat was a orange leveled spirit?
It was already too late for them to stop their forward momentum and an orange light flashed among them and all the youths suddenly fell back covered in injuries!
It had only been a blink of an eye, but those same youths who had been arrogant and contemptuous just a moment ago were now all lying upon the ground in tears, groaning in pain. The anger and arrogance on the face of the youths' leader soon faded and his eyes widened in fear at the slowly approaching figure of Jun Wu Xie.
"You.... What do you want!? I..... I am the head student leader of the South Wing..... Don't you dare harm me or....."
'BAM!"
Before the youth could finish, Jun Wu Xie threw another punch on his face and grabbed at his collar with her other hand before he was blasted away by the force!
Following that, with his collar tightly held and his head still spinning from Jun Wu Xie punch, he wanted to protest but Jun Wu Xie's brutal fist was already on his face and the merciless punches made his already unattractive face swell and contort into a bloody mess.
They other youths did not dare move and just remained rooted to their spots in shock staring wordlessly at Jun Wu Xie's thrashing, with mouths wide open.
It was brutal! Too brutal!
Stop him! Or someone would end up dead!