Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 113 - I'll Be The Bad Person

Liu Wuxie settled himself on the bed, crossing his legs. The environment of the Imperial Academy was vastly superior to that of Azure Billow City, with the density of spiritual energy being ten times greater.

When Liu Wuxie circulated the Desolate Devouring Art, he devoured all the spiritual energy in the courtyard. This left him with no choice but to use Origin Yang Pills and Heavenly Spirit Pills to aid in his cultivation. He was concerned that he might draw panic if he continued to devour the surrounding spiritual energy.

When the sky turned dark, students gradually returned to their residences.

Deep in the Imperial Academy was a courtyard with two mats on the floor. A breathtakingly beautiful lady immersed in her meditation sat on one of them. She was enveloped in a faint glow that made her shimmer.

Right then, a lady dressed in yellow came in, interrupting the meditation of the lady seated on the mat. When the lady on the mat opened her eyes, her long eyelashes were adorned with dew-like droplets that made her look charming as they glittered.

“Senior Sister Xu, I inquired about the Nine Stars Illumination as you instructed!” The lady dressed in yellow bowed respectfully upon entering the courtyard. The lady addressed as ‘Senior Sister Xu’ stood up, her every movement radiating grace and elegance, inciting a sense of admiration in the lady dressed in yellow.

“You have done well, Junior Sister Yao. Share your findings with me.” A melodious voice came from the lady known as ‘Senior Sister Xu.’

“Not only did a Nine Star Illumination appear in this year’s assessment, but he even managed to clear the Profound Gate Pass!” The lady in yellow shared what she found out with excitement on her face. Initially skeptical, she had confirmed the information through various means before returning.

“Was it all done by one person?” The beautiful lady raised her head, and each movement exuded charm.

“Yeah. He got first place in all three rounds, breaking the academy's record!” The lady in yellow nodded. Since the establishment of the Imperial Academy, no one had managed to obtain first place in all three rounds of assessment, making Liu Wuxie the first person to do so.

A prodigy of such caliber would naturally draw the attention of the academy’s higher-ups, with many teachers eager to take him under their wing. However, strangely enough, since Liu Wuxie’s arrival at the academy, there had been an unusual calm, with no teacher stepping forward.

The Nine Stars Illumination was too rare; it labeled someone as a genius and trash at the same time. When the teachers in the academy learned about it, they would rather give up on a genius like him than take trash in.

“Senior Sister, I heard this person also came from Azure Billow City like you.” Just when the beautiful lady fell into deep thoughts, the lady in yellow whispered as she came forth. The information about Liu Wuxie had long been spread around in the academy.

“He’s also from Azure Billow City?” The beautiful lady raised her brow. She asked with anticipation, “What’s his name?”

She practically knew all the geniuses in the Azure Billow City. If this person also came from the Azure Billow City, how could she not know about it?

“I heard his name is Liu Wuxie, the son-in-law of the Xu Clan. I’m not sure about the specifics, but it seems he has a feud with the Xue Clan. During the assessment, a disciple from the Xue Clan tried to make things difficult for him multiple times and even attempted to kill him. But he persevered through everything and even slapped that disciple from the Xue Clan. During the assessment, a teacher was even punished because of him, and he crippled over a dozen participants by severing their leg tendons.”

The lady in yellow didn’t notice that when she mentioned Liu Wuxie, the beautiful lady’s body subtly trembled, her eyes gleaming with joy. She seemed to be filled with an immediate desire to seek out Liu Wuxie.

As the two ladies talked, they were oblivious to the presence of another individual in the courtyard.

“An arrogant person like him will lose his life sooner or later in the Imperial Academy!” A roar interrupted the two ladies, especially the lady in yellow, who trembled.

“I offer my greetings to Headmaster Baili!”

“Master!” The two ladies paid their respects quickly. The woman who entered the courtyard was Baili Qing, who had also received information about Liu Wuxie. As for the beautiful lady, she was naturally Xu Lingxue, and she had been cultivating in the academy since she was brought away two months ago.

The lady in yellow glanced at Xu Lingxue and bowed before fleeing the courtyard.

“Do you want to see him?” Baili Qing asked when she was the only one in the courtyard with Xu Lingxue.

“He’s my husband in name, after all!” Xu Lingxue whispered, biting her lips. She was naturally happy that Liu Wuxie was no longer trash.

“Xue’er, I don’t mean to be harsh, but his future achievements will be limited even if he can cultivate with the Nine Stars Illumination constitution. Perhaps this might already be the highest peak of his life,” Baili Qing sighed.

Xu Lingxue lowered her head in silence upon hearing that.

“I understand this may seem cruel to you. Since that’s the case, let me be the bad person. With your talent and Jade Maiden Constitution, your cultivation will progress rapidly with the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra in the academy. Even the Great Yan Dynasty might not be able to hold you. I hope you can understand my intentions,” Baili Qing said, shouldering all the responsibility herself.

“Master, don’t say no more. Let things take their natural course!” Xu Lingxue’s heart was in turmoil, and she didn’t know what to do now. She hoped that time would prove everything. After all, it remained an unchangeable fact that she was Liu Wuxie’s wife in name.

As Liu Wuxie departed his home, Zhao Cheng was preoccupied with urgent matters and couldn’t make it that evening. Only Li Shengsheng arrived as agreed.

“Junior Brother Liu, let’s go grab dinner!” The two walked towards the Imperial Academy’s dining hall. It was mealtime, and many students were on their way.

“Those in blue are Earth Grade students, those in purple are Profound Grade students, and those in white are Heaven Grade students...” Li Shengsheng said, pointing to the students donned in different colored clothes.

Advanced Class Seven was a distinct entity, characterized by a small student body and an indifferent teacher. In recent years, they had struggled to attract new students, and even fewer showed up for meals. Most would either remain in their courtyards or leave the academy for training.

The dining hall was vast, capable of accommodating over ten thousand individuals at once, and was sectioned into various areas. The students in blue formed the majority, followed by those in purple, while the ones in white were few and far between, often encircled by followers.

“Let’s go there!” Li Shengsheng pointed to the left, where there was an empty spot. Most students had their preferred spots, but those from Advanced Class Seven didn’t, as they rarely frequented the dining hall.

Liu Wuxie didn’t want to come initially as he still had many Heavenly Spirit Pills on him and could rely on them to abstain from eating. Cultivators mainly absorbed spiritual energy, and only those who reached the True Core Realm could abstain from eating. The next best choice was to consume pills and absorb the spiritual energy in the pills to sustain their vitality. Consuming food was least desirable as it contained a lot of impurities.

However, Liu Wuxie had just arrived and needed to get acquainted with his new environment. Li Shengsheng had extended the invitation with good intentions, and it would have been impolite to decline.

“Fatty, get lost! Who allowed you to come here?” A clatter of utensils hitting the floor caused a stir, drawing the attention of many.

Li Shengsheng walked over coincidentally as this place was rather spacious, but they didn’t expect a conflict to occur.

“Let’s go there. Fights often happen here,” Li Shengsheng remarked, seemingly unfazed by the scene. He was accustomed to the frequent instances of upperclassmen bullying their juniors.

Liu Wuxie nodded, preferring to avoid the conflict, and followed Li Shengsheng to another place.

“I’ll leave right away!” A voice sounded, causing Liu Wuxie to furrow his brow. His view of the situation was obstructed by the crowd.

“I said to roll out of here, not walk. Do you understand?” In the center of the commotion was a chubby individual with food stains on his clothing, surrounded by five young men in blue robes who were laughing heartily.

Many people took pleasure in bullying the weak. There were tens of thousands of students in the Imperial Academy, and such incidents occurred almost daily. However, forcing the chubby student to roll away was a step too far, especially with so many onlookers.

A burst of laughter came from the surroundings, but no one came forward to stop the ruckus.

“D-Don’t push it!” The chubby student, seething with anger, put down his utensils, his body shaking with rage. He had endured countless humiliations despite only being at the academy for a few days. This was largely due to his low cultivation level. He was the first student to be admitted to the academy at the Houtian Realm level since its inception.

The chubby student was only in the seventh-level Houtian Realm, and even the miscellaneous staff in the academy had a higher cultivation than him.

“So what if we’re pushing it? Don’t blame us for not being polite if you’re not going to roll on the ground!” The five youths laughed, with everyone in the surroundings cheering them on by using their plates as a drum.

The chubby student’s anger intensified, his body shaking even more. He had been putting up with them as his cultivation was low.

As the commotion escalated, Liu Wuxie abruptly halted, prompting Li Shengsheng to do the same.

“Junior Brother Liu, what’s the matter?” Li Shengsheng inquired, subtly hinting that it would be best for Liu Wuxie to avoid getting involved as the instigators were not to be trifled with.

“I heard a familiar voice. Senior Brother Li, wait here for me,” Liu Wuxie responded before making his way towards the crowd. However, the throng of spectators had formed layers of circles, making it difficult to see what was happening.

Upon squeezing his way through, Liu Wuxie caught sight of a rotund figure with his back turned, confronted by five young men who were demanding that he roll out of the dining hall.

“Screw you!” Unable to contain his anger any longer, the chubby student charged forward, despite the risk of injury.

“Brat, you’re courting death!” The five young men were furious. Upon hearing that the elite classes were provoked, they were in a foul mood today. Thus, they wanted to vent their frustration on this fatty by trampling on him.

By the time Liu Wuxie attempted to intervene, it was too late. The chubby student was sent flying away with a slap by the young man in the center before he could even close in on him. The student drew an arc in mid-air and crashed into the crowd, landing right at Liu Wuxie’s feet with his left cheek swollen, making his already chubby face even bigger.

As he lay on the ground, the chubby student looked up and recognized a familiar face. Thinking he was hallucinating, he struggled to his feet and called out, “Big Brother!”

“It’s me.” A cold light shot out from Liu Wuxie’s eyes as he looked at the five young men across.