490 Guard the Door

In the Son's Palace of the Starry School in Divine Sky City, Ye Futian was practicing at the school's training platform along with a few others. News of what had transpired at the Zhaixing House was spreading through the Top Three Schools, and many marveled at how Ye Futian really seemed to have talent that surpassed Long Yitian. There were also many disciples in the Starry School who felt a twinge of jealousy at Ye Futian.

The college chief had been incredibly nice to Ye Futian. First, he had organized Ye Futian a coronation ceremony that had been the talk of the entire Divine Sky City. And now, he had personally visited the Zhaixing House to help Ye Futian obtain the Divine Destruction Polearm.

It was rumored that Ye Futian had obtained divine teachings from the martial arts battleground. That, in addition to the Divine Destruction Polearm and the Starry Divine Path that Ye Futian had inherited, meant that he was even more powerful than before.

The other disciples who had yet to transcend to the Noble plane felt despair at this. It seemed as though they would never get the chance to challenge Ye Futian. Even the outstanding disciples, like Long Mu and Jin Yunxiao, would be unable to catch up to Ye Futian's level and eventually be left behind. Perhaps Ye Futian's coronation had marked the beginning of a new generation where he would rise above the rest, just like Long Yitian had back in the day.

Ye Futian didn't share these sentiments. Things did not seem to be going so well for him on the training platform, where he was swinging the Divine Destruction Polearm around with some difficulty.

Created from the very stars up in the heavens, the Divine Destruction Polearm weighed 90,000 pounds. Even after shrinking down from a thousand meters to just two, its weight remained the same. It went without saying that it was incredibly difficult to swing around a ritual implement that weighed that much.

Back when Ye Futian had battled Mu Zhifan at the Zhaixing House, he had invoked the will of the saints in order to resonate with the ritual implement. He had also managed to pull off the realization of Dharma and greatly increase the capacity of his power. That was how he had managed to execute the amazing techniques everyone saw that day.

However, using his own power to swing the Divine Destruction Polearm around felt like torture. After a short while, his arms began to ache, and he stopped dejectedly. He rested the Divine Destruction Polearm upright against the ground, and with a loud bang, a crack appeared in the training platform where the Polearm had made contact.

"What…" Ye Futian stared speechlessly at the training platform for a moment and then turned to look at the ritual implement in his hands. He looked puzzled.

Yu Sheng and Ye Wuchen were struck dumb momentarily upon seeing this as well. Loulan Xue whispered, "If a sorcerer who deals only with spells was to try to carry this, I don't think they'll even be able to lift it."

Ye Futian nodded in agreement. He was in the middle Arcana plane both as a sorcerer and as a martial arts cultivator, which meant he was physically strong as well. But despite his powerful physique, he still faced difficulty carrying the Divine Destruction Polearm. He imagined no sorcerer would ever put themselves at so great a disadvantage by carrying a heavy weapon like this.

"Yu Sheng, why don't you give it a try?" Ye Futian called out.

Nodding, Yu Sheng walked up to take the Divine Destruction Polearm from Ye Futian. He swung the ritual implement, and even without any special techniques, the wind howled around them and an immense pressure descended upon the space.

"Stop, stop," Ye Futian shouted. Yu Sheng turned to look at him in confusion. "That's enough, I can do this too," Ye Futian explained in response. He then took back the Divine Destruction Polearm and began to activate the Imperial Tactics as he swung the polearm about. His movements were slow, but it seemed as though every swing carried within it an incomparable energy. Gradually, an invisible current of energy began to flow through the space, seeming to carry incredible weight.

Loulan Xue laughed gently at Ye Futian from behind her hands. Her icy beauty was made even more dazzling by her mirth. Ye Futian had just wanted to let Yu Sheng experience the immense weight of the Divine Destruction Polearm, yet Yu Sheng had managed to wave it around as though it were nothing. Ye Futian probably felt humiliated, which made him want to try practicing with the polearm again.

Having spent all this time with Ye Futian, Loulan Xue knew this group of people and their unique points well. Both Ye Futian and Yu Sheng had learned powerful martial arts techniques. Ye Futian trained himself with the Roc spirit, the pure-blooded dragon, and the Divine Ape. Furthermore, he had learned a set of powerful martial arts techniques that gave him the illusion of being like the Emperor when activated. She had no idea that the techniques were called the Imperial Tactics, which would make it seem as though the Emperor himself had come to this world when activated with the will of the emperor.

Yu Sheng was in training for a very secretive method. It was incredibly painful to train, and she had accidentally caught a glimpse of his training once. It had been a frightening sight. Yu Sheng had seemed like he was being possessed by demons then.

The method seemed more like a form of self-mutilation. It ignited the innate power of the body in a frenzied rush, and should Yu Sheng combine it with his natural power, he could even surpass Ye Futian in terms of strength alone. 

On the other hand, Ye Wuchen was a swordsman in training. His will as a swordsman was strong and pure.

Ye Futian had the greatest talent out of them all, specializing in all attributes as a sorcerer and training in various methods. Yu Sheng relied on simple, brute force. Ye Wuchen focused on a single specialization. The three of them were all striking in their own ways.

It wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that she had been with the three of them throughout their paths of growth. When they had met at the Ancient Loulan in the Ancient Barren World back then, the three of them had all just transcended into the Dharma plane.

Ye Futian was currently getting into the zone. As he waved the polearm around, his movements gradually grew more fluid like the moving clouds and flowing water. But it was still an arduous task, and Ye Futian would take periodical breaks. He perceived three streaks of divine light, and his power was increasing slowly, along with his strength.

Ye Futian's strength grew quickly through continuously training with the 90,000-pound Divine Destruction Polearm. After half a month, Ye Futian transcended yet another plane as a martial arts cultivator and a sorcerer. He was now in the sixth stage of the Arcana plane, the peak of the Arcana plane.

A few days later, Yu Sheng transcended another plane too and entered the peak of the Arcana plane as well. Ye Wuchen followed in their footsteps too. Through his swordsmanship, he entered the upper Arcana plane.

The trio gained much from their training at the martial arts battlefield, even managing to obtain the sage fate that had been on the divine bridge on the eighth level. Now that they were integrating it into their abilities for their own use, it was only natural that they managed to transcend a plane as a result.

…

The Celestial Pavilion was still considered Ye Futian's property. But ever since Ye Futian became the Son of the Starry School, he had not lacked any training resources. In fact, the college chief himself had personally visited the Zhaixing House in order to bag him an ultimate treasure. As such, Ye Futian's status as owner of the Celestial Pavilion no longer mattered as much to him anymore.

The same could not be said for Shen Yu though. She had been working hard at the Celestial Pavilion all this time. Since Ye Futian had put her in charge there and she had the support of the Long family, no one dared to cause her any trouble. Thus, Shen Yu, who was originally a staff member there, rose to become the de facto owner of the Celestial Pavilion, and her life took on a different path after that.

At this very moment, Shen Yu was walking through the Celestial Pavilion. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, and her eyes were drawn to a particular young woman. She was very pretty, and her aura belied a cool elegance. It seemed as though she was compromising her high status in order to entertain guests to the Celestial Pavilion, just as Shen Yu herself had once upon a time.

The young woman seemed familiar, and Shen Yu vaguely remembered seeing her before. That young woman had spoken to Ye Futian once. Why was she working at the Celestial Pavilion now?

Suddenly, two people entered the Celestial Pavilion and walked towards the young woman. One of them was as pretty as the young woman, and they even looked somewhat alike.

"Yurou, what are you doing?" Wang Yuqing stared at her younger sister. She couldn't believe that she had come to the Celestial Pavilion to run errands like a maid.

"None of your business," Wang Yurou retorted.

"Come with me," Wang Yuqing urged, looking at Wang Yurou. She had heard from Jiang Nan that her younger sister was here. Her relationship with Jiang Nan these days were tense. Jiang Nan was being clingy towards her, and she couldn't be less bothered by it anymore.

In the past, Jiang Nan had been an exceptionally talented senior to Wang Yuqing. But the incident with Ye Futian had caused her to see Jiang Nan as narrow-minded and petty. Of course, she had some issues of her own that led her to not want to stay by Jiang Nan's side as well. But not long ago, Jiang Nan had told her that her younger sister was serving as a maid at this place.

"I still have work to do, you should leave," Wang Yurou replied coldly.

"What can the Celestial Pavilion give you?" Jiang Nan challenged her calmly. Wang Yurou shot him a cool glance. She did not like him at all. When he had received her as a guest at the Celestial Pavilion, he had repeatedly insulted Ye Futian. Wang Yurou suspected that he was mostly to blame for how strained her older sister's relationship with Ye Futian had become.

"That has nothing to do with you," Wang Yurou shot back frostily.

"Why don't you be my maid instead and serve me? I could pay you double," Jiang Nan suggested, staring at Wang Yurou. The incident with Ye Futian had affected him greatly. Ye Futian was now living a life of glory and glamour as the Son. As for Jiang Nan, he had lost all dignity because of the insults he threw at Ye Futian on the day of the test. Even now, people mocked him, and his peers at the Starry School kept their distance from him as well. 

Even Wang Yuqing, a young woman he had almost managed to woo, was avoiding him now. Truly, he had suffered many losses because of Ye Futian, and his reputation was in tatters. Now, Jiang Nan was especially enraged by Wang Yurou's decision to work as a maid at Ye Futian's Celestial Pavilion.

"Leave," Wang Yurou ordered, shooting Jiang Nan another chilly glance. Upon hearing her words, Jiang Nan's expression darkened considerably before he chuckled coldly, "Wang Yuqing, your younger sister would rather be a maid at this place than to leave with you. Looks like she's hoping to serve another person here."

"Sir, ma'am." Shen Yu had walked over, and she was looking at Jiang Nan and Wang Yuqing as she spoke again, "If there isn't anything else, I would like for you to stop bothering my staff and take your leave."

Jiang Nan looked at Shen Yu. Her youthful, pretty looks and attractive figure revealed an innocent beauty. Yet there was an air of sophistication about her.

"If I remember correctly, you were a staff member here back then as well. Who are you to speak to me this way?" Jiang Nan challenged Shen Yu.

"I am the manager of the Celestial Pavilion now. You are not welcome here, please leave," Shen Yu replied coolly.

"Leaping through the ranks to become a manager when you were once a maid?" Jiang Nan laughed coldly, "What did you offer?"

His words carried a hint of crudeness, and his gaze traveled down Shen Yu's attractive figure. The implications of his question were clear as day. Shen Yu's expression changed immediately. However, Jiang Nan looked to Wang Yurou and continued, "No wonder you want to be a maid here too, seems like you're aiming for the same thing."

"Throw him out," Shen Yu ordered frostily.

"I'm a disciple of the Starry School, don't you dare lay a hand on me," Jiang Nan threatened.

"Shen Yu," a voice rang out, and Shen Yu turned to see a person entering the Celestial Pavilion, to her pleasant surprise.

"Pavilion owner," Shen Yu greeted him. Everyone followed suit and bowed to Ye Futian and his entourage, who had just arrived.

Jiang Nan's expression changed. Why had Ye Futian returned to the Celestial Pavilion?

"You should treat disciples of the Starry School better," Ye Futian chastised. Shen Yu was taken aback, while Jiang Nan chuckled coldly to himself.

"Since he doesn't want to leave, then don't let him leave. Guard the door," Ye Futian continued calmly. Shen Yu broke out into a dazzling smile, and nodded, "Understood."