Chapter 20: Lackeys Don’t Have the Right to Talk
Someone was looking for Qi Ying!
And it was from the Duan family!
Upon hearing that, the initial reaction of all the disciples was that it seemed quite a strange situation.
Further conflict had not appeared to have arisen between Qi Ying and the Duan brothers in the past few days. His duel with Duan Tianshan had taken place over a week ago, so what was happening now?
The drill grounds, self-cultivation rooms, and the dueling platform were all places that teachers did not visit. The disciples who went to those places were usually those who didn’t have classes, who were ditching classes, or were looking for a quiet place to cultivate. At that moment, there were many disciples who were making their way over to the drill grounds, in order to see how this situation was going to play out.
“It’s Duan Yuan and Duan Jin!”
There were some disciples who immediately identified the two people causing a commotion on the drill grounds.
Duan Yuan and Duan Jin were both members of the Duan family, as well as disciples of the Celestial River Academy’s Intermediate Division.
The Celestial River Academy was split into High, Intermediate, and Low divisions. All of the Strength Martial Stage disciples were in the Low Division, all disciples ranging from the First to the Fourth Energy Martial Stage were in the Intermediate Division, and all of the elite disciples of the academy that were above the Fifth Energy Martial Stage were in the High Division.
The majority of disciples were in the Low Division, which consisted of roughly seventy percent of all disciples. Around twenty-five percent of all disciples were in the Intermediate Division, while only around five percent of disciples were in the High Division.
All disciples had to graduate from the academy once they reached twenty-one years of age. They would then have to complete a year of compulsory army service at the kingdom’s border.
Duan Yuan and Duan Jin were twenty and nineteen years of age respectively. As such, they were among the older disciples in the academy, and their cultivation bases were at the Third and Second Energy Martial Stages respectively. They were considered to be above average disciples in the Intermediate Division, and even though they were only part of the Duan family’s side branch, they were still far more esteemed than the normal, undistinguished disciples. As such, they were prominent figures in the Celestial River Academy, and most Intermediate Division and Low Division disciples didn’t dare to mess with them.
So why were they looking for Qi Ying?
If it was for Duan Tianshan’s sake, then why didn’t they try and track Qi Ying down a few days ago as opposed to now?
Duan Renshan had received news of this, and he hurried over to join the crowd before tracking down Duan Tianshan. He pulled Duan Tianshan away to a secluded corner, before interrogating him in a low voice, “Did you ask Duan Yuan and Duan Jin to pick on Qi Ying?”
“They asked me if Qi Ying had offended me and I told them the truth…”
Duan Tianshan shrugged.
Duan Renshan was a little angry upon hearing this. “Didn’t I warn you? Qi Ying is no ordinary person. We are not that important to the Duan family, so we cannot afford to mess with him! If he doesn’t pick on us, then we should just stay away from him!”
Duan Renshan recalled the vicious threats Qi Ying had delivered to him, and he shuddered involuntarily.
However, Duan Tianshan chuckled coldly upon hearing this. “Don’t worry, brother. Duan Yuan and Duan Jin are trying to suck up to me this time. All we have to do is sit back and watch! Even if the sky collapses, it won’t fall on our heads. Besides, even if Duan Yuan and Duan Jin can’t teach that Qi Ying a lesson, we’ve still got Young Master Gucheng on our side! No matter how powerful he is, he’s no match for Young Master Gucheng and the Duan family!”
Duan Renshan shook his head. “Duan Gucheng? He sees us only as servants… However…”
A cold light suddenly flashed through Duan Renshan’s eyes. “Hmph! We’ll let Qi Ying off the hook if he backs down this time, but if he’s going to act cocky again, then we have many ways to bring him down a notch! To the Duan family, nothing is more important than keeping face.”
Qi Ying was mysterious and powerful, and Duan Renshan didn’t want to face such a terrifying opponent.
However, he was immediately full of confidence when he thought about how the entire Duan family was standing behind him!
He could be fearful toward Qi Ying in private, but he couldn’t admit to his cowardice in public!
…
Qi Ying really didn’t want to get into any trouble. In particular, he wanted to stay far away from the Celestial River County nobles. He had only come to the Celestial River County in order to cultivate, grow, and wait for a certain person. He didn’t want to think about anything else. Becoming a contracted warrior at the Colosseum piled a lot more onto his plate, but it was beneficial to his cultivation. In contrast, getting involved with these Celestial River County nobles would only be a waste of time and energy.
He snuck around to the back entrance of the self-cultivation room in an attempt to leave without anyone noticing.
However, someone managed to spot him, and they immediately began to yell.
“Qi Ying! I heard you were being super cocky a while ago; why are you cowering like a turtle into its shell now? Hehe! If you’re scared, then kneel down and beg for forgiveness. Otherwise… hehe, we already know where you live, and we wouldn’t mind paying a visit to your blind mother!”
Qi Ying’s expression instantly darkened upon hearing this.
Was that a threat?
He absolutely detested being threatened. Furthermore, that threat was being made against the most important person in his life.
Qi Ying had vowed on the day that Mother Yu had lost her eyesight, that he would give her a good life, and keep her out of harm’s way… Anyone who harbored ill will toward her was unforgivable in his eyes!
Bam!
Qi Ying kicked the door of the self-cultivation room open before rushing out onto the drill ground.
At this point, there were already many academy disciples who had gathered on the drill grounds. Two young men, one short and one tall, emerged from the crowd.
The taller young man made his way over to Qi Ying, and appraised him with a disdainful smile. “So you’re the Qi Ying that defeated Young Master Tianshan on the duelling platform through the use of underhanded tactics?”
Qi Ying replied coldly. “I am Qi Ying, but I didn’t use any underhanded tactics. Speaking of which, who are you?”
The taller young man: “Duan Yuan.”
The shorter young man: “Duan Jin.”
Qi Ying narrowed his eyes. “Duan Yuan, Duan Jin, I’ve heard of you two. You two are the sons of Duan Huangye and you were once Young Master Duan Gucheng’s lackeys. What? Young Master Gucheng doesn’t want you two anymore so you’re sucking off Duan Tianshan for a living now?”
The spectating disciples burst into uproar upon hearing this.
Duan Yuan and Duan Jin were indeed lackeys to Young Master Gucheng, but wasn’t Qi Ying going a little too far by saying this in public?
Furthermore, both of these were quite prominent figures among the academy disciples. Qi Ying was just a relatively renowned disciple of the Low Division; how was he supposed to fight them? Did he not want to live anymore?
Duan Yuan and Duan Jin’s expressions instantly darkened. They had thought that Qi Ying would be petrified of them, just like all of the other underprivileged disciples who dared to provoke the Duan family were. However, Qi Ying had struck them right where it hurts them most, and they were so enraged that they were about to go mad.
Qi Ying continued to taunt Duan Yuan and Duan Jin, “You two look pretty angry! Where is your master? You think you two have the right to speak with me?”
Duan Yuan and Duan Jin were the instigators there, so he couldn’t back down!
If he showed any weakness right then, those two would only be encouraged, and would try to embarrass him in any way they could… What he had to do now was to put up a strong front, and show them that he was not someone to be messed with… Even if they were to exact revenge on him in the future, it wouldn’t matter. The more time he could stall, the more everything would tilt in his favor. At his current rate of progression in his cultivation, it wouldn’t be long before the Duan family would no longer pose a threat to him!
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