Guaranteed Admission to Jixia Academy

After adding the strength of 50 people at the Acquired Level Second Stage, Ye Sheng launched an attack that rained down on Ye Qing like a thunderstorm and shattered Ye Qing's defenses. He sent Ye Qing flying with the loud crack of one arm's swing. Even though Ye Qing had used the Nine Pulse Technique, it didn't help him in any way.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as Ye Qing was defeated. Even though he wasn't badly injured, he was deeply embarrassed. His expression was as dark as the bottom of a burned pot, his eyes spewed fire, and the feelings inside his heart were very complicated.

"Your Majesty, I am not feeling well, so I will take my leave now," Ye Qing quickly clasped his hands together politely and muttered these words before turning to run off. He didn't dare to stay here any longer because he was humiliated by all the weird stares that he was getting.

Hu Mei glared fiercely at Ye Sheng, and then she turned and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, my son is still young and doesn't understand the ways of formal manners. Please forgive him for being rude."

The emperor waved his hand and said, "He lost in a friendly match, and he's just embarrassed by it. He's still a young man after all. Go and console him."

Hu Mei immediately demonstrated her immense gratitude to the emperor and bowed to take her leave. As she turned to leave, she couldn't help but throw one last glance at Ye Sheng. That glance was filled with great viciousness and hatred.

"Your Majesty, the results of this duel are clear. My Twelfth Brother has won. This means you'll confer on him the title of Emperor's Disciple, right?" asked Consort Ye gleefully.

Everyone present looked toward Ye Sheng and the emperor. Was he really going to give Ye Sheng the title of Emperor's Disciple?

This was a great honor to have. Having this title would guarantee a life of luxury.

"I am a man of my word. Since Ye Sheng has won the fight against Ye Qing, then I will give the decree to Ye Sheng," said the emperor.

Ye Sheng immediately bowed and replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Ye Sheng is a promising young man and a rare young talent that Great Qin would love to have more of. Today, I will specially grant you the title of Emperor's Disciple, which means you are to uphold my name and never to sully the emperor's reputation," said the emperor in a solemn voice.

"Ye Sheng is ever grateful to Your Majesty," declared Ye Sheng loudly as he gave a deep bow.

With this identity, he would truly be free. He would be free of Ye Manor, and he would be able to practice martial arts openly.

When he raised his head again, Ye Sheng looked at the people around him. Many were looking at him enviously, but there were a few who had rather strange looks in their eyes.

Lord Ye's expression was so calm, it seemed like none of this had anything to do with him. This made Ye Sheng feel uneasy. Given Lord Ye's usual character, he should have been punished a long time ago.

First Madam's expression was grim, and her smile looked worse than if she had been crying. She sat in her seat and her entire body was stiff and her eyes kept darting about unsteadily. It was hard to know what she was thinking about.

The last one he observed was the Old Lady. Her face was so long, it was terrifying. The eyes she used to stare at Ye Sheng were very unfriendly, and they were clearly filled with disgust toward Ye Sheng.

Ye Sheng didn't really care what all these people's expressions were like. He was going to leave Ye Manor very soon, and he wouldn't have much interaction with them after this. Why should he even care about them?

There was only one person who surprised Ye Sheng.

This was Water Chestnut Flower, his cousin. Her behavior was difficult to decipher. After she'd watched Ye Sheng become an Emperor's Disciple, a tinge of aggressiveness appeared on her face, but it quickly disappeared as she lowered her head. But when she realized that Ye Sheng was looking at her, she looked up and met his eyes.

Her gaze looked like a snake's and was abnormally icy. But that iciness disappeared almost as soon as he'd noticed it, and her gaze returned to its usual warmth.

But Ye Sheng had caught that brief moment, and he remembered it clearly.

Consort Ye wasn't paying any attention to all the changes in the expressions of the other people. After Ye Sheng had won, she had become so happy, she looked as though she had eaten honey. Her smile was beautiful as she said, "Your Majesty, Ye Sheng is now an Emperor's Disciple, so I would like to arrange a good place for him to go."

The emperor whispered, "My dear consort, just go ahead and say anything you want to. I'm very hungry."

"Your Majesty, once I've settled my younger brother's affairs, I will have a good round of drinks with you, all right?" said Consort Ye in a teasing voice.

"All right then, tell me, where would you like to place Ye Sheng?" asked the emperor with a hearty laugh.

"Jixia Academy," said Consort Ye elegantly and quietly as everyone continued to watch her.

Everybody in Ye Manor immediately shuddered as they stared at her in shock.

First Madam, in particular, frowned and looked with disbelief at Consort Ye. She couldn't believe how ambitious Consort Ye was for her brother. She wanted to send Ye Sheng to Jixia Academy?

Lord Ye's eyes suddenly lit up at these words. He started to look very carefully at Ye Sheng and seemed to be contemplating something.

"That won't do. Jixia Academy is the academy that was set up by the founders of Great Qin, and every student there is a genius in their own right. There are only a few members of this household who have managed to get in, so how could Ye Sheng possibly get into that academy?" The first one to object turned out to be the Old Lady. She knocked her walking stick against the floor and spoke with great force.

First Madam chimed in too. "The Old Lady is right. Lord Ye has more than ten children, and only three of them have been admitted to Jixia Academy. Ye Sheng is not eligible to enter this academy."

After the two highest-ranking women of the house spoke up, Consort Ye put her smile away and her eyes narrowed. An invisible air of authority covered the entire place, and First Madam was so scared that her heart started pumping more quickly as she looked in terror at Consort Ye.

"This is something that His Majesty has promised to do. All of you are merely members of Ye Manor. Ye Sheng is my younger brother and a child of Ye Manor, so no matter how much you dislike him, as his grandmother and the first wife of Lord Ye, you should be more broadminded and give him your blessings. Otherwise, people out in the world will say that the people within the manor have become used to being jealous of one another and hate it when children of other mothers seem to benefit. Besides, Lord Ye hasn't even said a word yet, so how can any of you even say anything?" Consort Ye didn't leave any leeway for the women, and her expression was terrifyingly cold. She didn't seem to care that the emperor was right beside her as she directly reprimanded First Madam and implicated the Old Lady at the same time. The two women were furious.

First Madam's expression was livid as she fumed and looked very nasty. She tried hard to suppress her fury. She pinched her thighs so hard together that they turned black and blue before she'd managed to calm herself back down.

Consort Ye continued to speak very boldly even though the emperor was sitting right beside her. Since First Madam was only the wife of a subordinate to the emperor, she couldn't go against a royal consort.

However, even though First Madam managed to keep her temper in check, the Old Lady couldn't hold it in at all. Ever since Consort Ye had set foot in the manor, the Old Lady had become extremely unhappy. She wasn't a daughter of some wealthy or respectable family. She had originally been born in a village. She had only become part of high society because her son, Lord Ye, had performed exceptionally well. Her character and values were fixed by village traditions, and she couldn't stand seeing a concubine's son become so successful. She immediately stood up and was about to scold Consort Ye for disrespecting the order of the family.

But Lord Ye stood up and, before she could get a word out, said, "Mother, there is no need to be so angry. The consort is not wrong. Ye Sheng is also my son, and, since he is an Emperor's Disciple, then it's only natural that he should be admitted to Jixia Academy."

The Old Lady stared at her son with her eyes wide open. She couldn't understand what was happening. Didn't her son hate Ye Sheng more than anyone else? Why was he speaking up for Ye Sheng now?

But Lord Ye didn't explain anything. He just shook his head and got the Old Lady to sit back down.

The Old Lady was still furious, but she didn't dare to throw a tantrum in front of Lord Ye, so she sat down angrily.

Everyone was fearful. From the moment Consort Ye suddenly became angry until Lord Ye stood up to speak, everyone could feel that the air was very tense and worried that it could ignite any moment.

Only Ye Sheng continued to watch everything that was happening before him with a calm expression on his face.

The emperor waved his hands and said, "All right now, there's no point in arguing over this matter. I promised Ye Sheng that I would make him an Emperor's Disciple as long as he beat Ye Qing, and that Consort Ye could use this to have anything she wanted. Now that my consort would like to enroll Ye Sheng into Jixia Academy, then I will agree to it. You shall report to Jixia Academy tomorrow, and I will send orders for them to receive you."

Ye Sheng immediately knelt down and said gratefully, "I am ever grateful to Your Majesty."

Consort Ye was pleased and poured the emperor some wine as she said, "I thank Your Majesty for your great show of love to me."