Chapter Ninety-Four: Refusing the Invitation

After one of the midmonth lordship classes had ended, the Azure Cloud Immortal Academy revised the potential ranking list for this class’s hundred-odd lordship students. Based on the quality of their analytical papers, certain students were moved up or down in the standings.

A great many lordship students, along with several hundred auxiliary students, surged before the academy’s public board to view the latest potential rankings.

This ranking list was rather intriguing.

The first ranking had been based purely on lineage, wealth, cultivation, and other measures of overall strength, serving chiefly to reveal how formidable each student’s family foundation truly was.

The changes that followed, however, were adjusted according to Kuang Zhen’s assessment of all the lordship students’ work. That, in turn, reflected each student’s own ability.

The first ranking had displayed family background; this one displayed the students themselves. Both would have a tremendous influence on the immortal city. The auxiliary students, too, had to weigh carefully whom they ought to serve.

Since the list was adjusted once every half month, the changes were not large. After all, it was only an evaluation of a single half-month’s coursework, and at most the shifts would range from a few places to ten.

“This time there are three who were judged excellent, and they can rise five places. One was judged outstanding, and can rise ten places. Look quickly—who was moved up by ten?”

“Ye Mo! Look at Ye Mo’s rank!”

One sharp-eyed cultivator immediately spotted a name and cried out in surprise.

“Last time, Ye Mo was ranked over a hundredth on the lordship student potential list, second from the bottom. This time he soared ten places straight to the nineties.”

“That outstanding analytical paper must have been written by him! What did he write that made Teacher Kuang look at him with such favor and judge it outstanding?”

“He’s only a commoner rogue cultivator student—how did he do it? He even outshone Lou Jiejun, Bai Xijun, and Ren Haiping.”

The several hundred students were stirred to uproar, voices rising in argument.

Suddenly, the crowd fell silent as a forceful pressure parted them.

“Ye Mo!”

Lou Jiejun, followed by more than ten attendants, pushed through the crowd and came expressionlessly to the board. In his eyes, the name Ye Mo burned like a sting.

Not only Lou Jiejun, but Bai Xijun and Ren Haiping also stood not far away with their own people, looking toward the rankings and then at one another, their expressions complicated.

It was a pity that Ye Mo’s analytical paper had been sealed away directly by Kuang Zhen. Otherwise, they would have loved to see for themselves exactly what he had written that was better than theirs.

Ye Mo did not go to look at the potential rankings. When he discovered that his paper had not been publicly commented upon by Kuang Zhen, he already knew it had been judged outstanding.

That surprised him, and also brought him a touch of joy.

Having not seen the papers of the others, he could not tell how different his own was from theirs, or precisely what had caught Kuang Zhen’s eye.

But Ye Mo had no mind to dwell on it now.

He had to prepare for the next assignment Kuang Zhen would give fifteen days later: Immortal Village Blueprint Design. Every task Kuang Zhen assigned was closely tied to the future of becoming a true lord of an immortal village.

Ye Mo naturally did not dare be negligent. His foundation was far inferior to that of the other students; he had to give it his all. To produce a decent immortal village plan, he would need to spend these fifteen days making haste to the library to study reference materials and shape the blueprint in his mind.

“Ye Mo!”

A young man in a green robe and purple crown blocked his path, with several cultivator attendants behind him.

At a glance, Ye Mo recognized him.

This was Wu Yunfei, ranked seventh among the lordship students. Only those who could enter the top ten were people of unusual background, with families that possessed some standing in Azure Cloud Immortal City.

“Brother Wu blocks my way—may I ask what guidance you have for me?”

Ye Mo frowned. Since they were both lordship students, equal in standing, there was no need for excessive courtesy.

“I heard you wrote an outstanding paper. I am curious and would like to borrow it for a look. In addition, I am striving for a lord token. Your rank is far too low, and you have little hope of becoming a lord. Why not serve under me instead? If I establish an immortal village, I will surely grant you great benefits. What do you say?”

Wu Yunfei forced down his displeasure at Ye Mo’s failure to salute and spoke.

A recruitment attempt.

This was the first time Ye Mo had been sought out by another lordship student within the academy.

Ye Mo’s brow only furrowed more. “Brother Wu has talented people under him in abundance; he does not lack one more like me. As for serving another, that is not my ambition, so I can only disappoint your expectations. As for the paper, it is in Teacher Kuang’s hands. You should ask him for it.”

“You... are refusing me?”

Wu Yunfei’s face darkened, turning ugly. He was ranked seventh on the list, a very high position, and was almost certain to secure a proper lord’s quota in the graduation assessment.

He had no need to recruit others personally; usually it was the auxiliary students or lower-ranked lordship students who came to seek refuge under him.

He had not expected that when he personally made a move to recruit Ye Mo, he would be ignored.

“Brother Wu, please seek another excellent candidate!”

Ye Mo was impatient. Without waiting for Wu Yunfei to say anything more, he turned and left at once. His goal was to become a lord, and there was nothing to discuss with Wu Yunfei.

“Young master, this fellow does not know what is good for him. Shall we have him kept here?”

One sturdy attendant revealed a vicious look and made a slicing gesture; at a glance, he was clearly someone trained through brutal slaughter.

“Kept here? Kept where? This is the academy, the Azure Cloud Immortal Academy! Not the wilderness outside the city! That old Kuang is also a lord, and stronger than even my father. If I anger him and he strips me of my qualification for the graduation assessment, will you pay for it? You brainless fool!”

Wu Yunfei cursed angrily.

The attendant, scolded from head to toe, immediately shrank back and dared not utter another word.

“That Zheng Yiqing said nothing wrong. This Ye Mo is arrogant and overbearing, with eyes above his head, not even putting this young master in them. Keep an eye on him and see what followers he has around him. Since he wants to be a lord, he will certainly need followers; otherwise he will never amount to anything. Pry them all loose and bring them over! Let us see how he becomes a lord then! To think he dared refuse me!”

Wu Yunfei stared hatefully at Ye Mo’s retreating back for a while, then a savage gleam appeared on his face.

“Young master is wise; I will keep it in mind! He is just a nobody—how could he ever be your match? I will go ask Zheng Yiqing right away and see whether he knows the situation regarding Ye Mo’s followers!”

The attendant hurriedly flattered him in agreement.

“Mm. A commoner cultivator like him is not worth this young master’s personal effort. The Lou, Bai, and Ren families—that is where my true opponents lie.”

With his attendants in tow, Wu Yunfei headed out of the academy.

Ye Mo returned to his residence. Most of the others were still away in class at the academy; the studies of lordship students and auxiliary students were arranged differently.

He entered the quiet chamber upstairs alone and began studying the layout of immortal cities.

Designing an immortal city was a complex subject, involving many smaller facets. Even the design of the lowest village-grade immortal city was a vast undertaking.

Ye Mo spent several days combing through a large volume of materials in the library before he could barely glimpse the threshold. He had already begun to discern some of the subtleties of immortal village design, and started drawing his own immortal village blueprint by hand.

Knock, knock.

When the knock at the door came, Ye Mo suddenly came back to himself and could not help frowning. He had shut himself in and declared seclusion; under ordinary circumstances, no one would come to disturb him.

Mo Ling stood outside. The moment Ye Mo opened the door, she said anxiously, “Brother Ye, today a lordship student tried to win me over and wanted me to change allegiance.”

“Oh? Who wanted to recruit you? Come in and tell me.”

Ye Mo was surprised and let Mo Ling into the room.

“After my classes ended today, a woman stopped me and said she was an attendant of the lordship student Wu Yunfei. She invited me to join Wu Yunfei’s team and promised that once they successfully established a village in the future, I would be heavily relied upon. I turned her down.”

Once they were seated, Mo Ling briefly explained what had happened.

“Wu Yunfei? That fellow still refuses to give up—what is he up to?”

When Ye Mo heard it was Wu Yunfei, he was instantly irritated.

Yet he was also puzzled. What was Wu Yunfei doing sending people to recruit Mo Ling? Among the more than a thousand auxiliary students, Mo Ling was practically unknown, and her cultivation had only reached the first level of Qi Refinement. There was no value in recruiting her.

“I suspect he may be targeting Brother Ye!”

Mo Ling said gravely, “I have no reputation in the academy. Even if he were short of people, he should be looking among the more outstanding students. Among the auxiliary students studying cultivation with me, there are several who are stronger than I am.”

“It should be aimed at me! A few days ago I refused his recruitment, so he shifted his attention to you people and wants to pry you all away. That way, I would be left alone, and even if I obtained a lord token, I still would have no way to establish an immortal village.”

Ye Mo rose, his expression serious.

“Brother Ye, rest assured! We went through hardship and happiness together on that island and came all the way here side by side. You saved my life—I have never once thought of leaving!”

Mo Ling covered her mouth and smiled softly.

“Brother Ye, there was even a fellow called Wu Yunfei today who sent someone to recruit me, praising me as a prodigy in artifact refinement and saying he would make use of me. That guy can really talk nonsense—what prodigy? Do I not know my own worth? If Brother Ye had not saved me and led me into immortal cultivation, I likely would still not know where I was wandering. I gave that man a good cursing, and he left with his tail between his legs!”

Wang Hu’s booming voice came from below.

Soon afterward, with thudding footsteps on the stairs, Wang Hu and Yang You came upstairs and entered the room.

Wang Hu vividly described how he had scolded Wu Yunfei’s subordinate, sounding very pleased with himself. But after he finished, he found that Ye Mo, Mo Ling, and Yang You were not laughing at all.

“What, did I do wrong?”

Wang Hu asked weakly.

“Senior Brother, refusing them would have been enough. Why did you have to curse them? That will only bring enemies down on Brother Ye. We have no backing; making enemies with those people is not worth it!”

The taciturn Yang You shook his head.

“I... I just couldn’t stand that fellow. I had to say it. I wasn’t thinking that much. Forget it. Next time this happens, I’ll at most keep quiet and ignore them.”

Wang Hu scratched his head in some chagrin.

“Wang Hu, you needn’t blame yourself either. Even if you had not cursed him, he had already set his sights on me. Mo Ling was also approached by someone Wu Yunfei sent, and you were recruited as well. It is certainly all aimed at me.”

Ye Mo said to Wang Hu.

“I’m afraid this matter has something to do with Zheng Yiqing!”

Lord Deputy Shipmaster Chang somehow appeared at the doorway and interjected.

“Huh, Old Chang, when did you get back?” Wang Hu asked in surprise. “And how do you know this has to do with Zheng Yiqing? That Wu Yunfei is ranked seventh—how could that brat Zheng command him?”

“You had just returned when I arrived. You were all speaking so animatedly that I did not interrupt.”

Chang Fei said, “I was also recruited. It was that same Wu Yunfei who sent someone. A few days ago I discovered Zheng Yiqing’s men spying near our residence. Today, when I received the invitation, I suspected it might be related to Zheng Yiqing.”

“Old Chang, you didn’t agree, did you?” Wang Hu asked loudly at once.

“Do you think I, Chang Fei, am that sort of person? Ask me that again and I’ll fall out with you.”

Chang Fei said unhappily.

Wang Hu awkwardly scratched his head.

“Zheng Yiqing’s people are watching our residence? Why was I not aware?”

Ye Mo asked.

“It has only been the past two days. The shipmaster has been busy. I did not know what their intention was, and did not want to disturb you over such a small matter. Wu Yunfei wants to pry away everyone around the shipmaster. First he must know exactly who there is. Zheng Yiqing’s sending people to watch our residence these last few days was precisely to see clearly everyone who comes and goes, so he can report them to Wu Yunfei. There must be a direct connection between them.”

Chang Fei explained. Though he had become a cultivator, he still retained the habit of his former role as deputy shipmaster and called Ye Mo the shipmaster.

“Uh, that makes sense!”

Wang Hu blinked, then gave a heh-heh laugh.

“Zheng Yiqing, that little marquis, specializes in doing things that hurt others without benefiting himself. Too bad he is a little marquis; he certainly does not understand the way we commoners think. He imagines a few petty favors and crumbs will buy us off.”

Wang Hu said disdainfully, “Following Brother Ye, if we one day establish our own immortal village, Brother Ye certainly will not treat us badly. Following them would amount to nothing more than being worked like oxen and horses, then kicked aside once they are done. Only a fool would be tricked into it.”