Chapter 102: On the Warship (Part-1)

Elder Lu shook his head slowly and spoke in a measured tone. “Nephew Wang, talents have emerged in large numbers this year. Many cities have dozens of candidates who have reached the Elite realm. As for Fengyue City…”

He paused, clearly displeased. “I am not deliberately belittling your people. The Western Mansion entrance examination is extremely cruel. Even with dozens of Elite candidates, the success rate in each city is less than ten percent. With Fengyue City’s current lineup, the prospects are worrying.”

The Western Region was vast, divided into five major areas: central, east, west, south, and north. The northern area lay at the very edge of the region, a frontier land where martial cultivation was the weakest.

Fengyue City, Lingyin City, and the other thirty-six cities all belonged to this northern district.

Elder Lu was the person in charge of escorting candidates from the entire North District to Western Mansion’s headquarters. Their performance would directly affect his standing within Western Mansion. Strong results meant merit and recognition; poor results meant criticism from higher authorities.

Seeing Fengyue City’s average strength so low, it was only natural that he felt dissatisfied.

Wang Zongyao paused briefly, caught off guard. He had deliberately concealed Ryan’s true strength, yet he hadn’t expected this to provoke Elder Lu’s discontent.

Even so, he had no intention of revealing the truth now. Ryan’s value lay in shocking the world at the right moment.

“Elder Lu,” Wang Zongyao said tactfully, “it is true that the overall strength in the North District has improved greatly this year, and Fengyue City may appear weaker by comparison. However… there may be unexpected surprises. I believe you will not be disappointed.”

“Oh?” Elder Lu’s interest was piqued.

He scanned the Fengyue City candidates again. Aside from the one whose cultivation he could not see, the rest still appeared ordinary.

“Nephew Wang,” Elder Lu said thoughtfully, his gaze settling on Ryan, “that candidate whose level I cannot discern… is he using a concealment treasure? Is he the ’surprise’ you speak of?”

Wang Zongyao smiled faintly. “You will find out in due time.”

Elder Lu shook his head, no longer pressing the matter. Since Wang Zongyao refused to explain, there was no point in asking further.

He instructed the Fengyue City candidates to find places to sit, then turned and walked toward the bow of the ship.

Following his instructions, the twenty candidates from Fengyue City gathered together on one side of the deck, forming a small, distinct group separate from the other cities. This was true for all the other cities as well; although they shared the same warship, no one mingled beyond their own group.

Ryan sat beside Li Wujie, Li Shu, and Li Baijie. Just as he was about to ask Li Wujie about his recent cultivation progress, a faint fragrance drifted over.

He turned his head and saw Mu Xianling walking toward him. She stopped briefly, then sat down beside him.

Mu Xianling was not as tall as Li Xue or Shangguan Siyu, but her appearance was delicate and pleasing, her figure graceful and well-proportioned. In particular, her curves drew more than a few glances from nearby candidates.

Her sitting beside Ryan immediately sparked a wave of jealous looks. However, Ryan’s strength and reputation were now unquestionable. No matter how envious they felt, no one dared show it openly.

Ryan glanced at Mu Xianling with mild surprise, then turned away without saying a word.

Mu Xianling also remained silent, sitting quietly at his side, her thoughts unreadable.

At that moment, Elder Lu stepped onto the dragon-head statue at the bow of the warship. Standing tall, he looked down at all the candidates and spoke with a booming voice.

“Since everyone is aboard, we depart now for the main headquarters of Western Mansion!”

With a wave of his hand, he commanded, “Set sail!”

The Void Warship trembled slightly, then shot into the sky. In the blink of an eye, it left Fengyue City behind, flying swiftly toward Jiuyi City.

The warship’s speed was astonishing, capable of traveling tens of thousands of miles in a single day. Even Ryan, now possessing the strength of an Upper Exalt, could not match it in flight. After all, his movement techniques excelled on land, not in the air.

Despite the incredible speed, the ship remained perfectly stable. There was no shaking or discomfort, allowing everyone to sit calmly and watch the landscape below recede into the distance.

In less than half an hour, Fengyue City had completely vanished from sight, replaced by vast stretches of wilderness.

At this time, Li Wujie leaned closer to Ryan and whispered excitedly, “Brother Wei, that cultivation method you gave me is incredible. I’ve only practiced it for a few days, and I already broke through to the Nine-Star Elite and advanced into the Upper Elite realm. Look, I’m much stronger now!”

Li Wujie’s face was filled with excitement.

Earlier, when Elder Lu had counted Fengyue City’s five Elite candidates, he had not included Ryan, since he could not see through Ryan’s cultivation. Li Wujie, however, had been counted.

Thanks to the Sky rank technique Ryan passed on to him, Li Wujie’s cultivation speed had skyrocketed. After the qualification test, breaking into the Upper Elite realm was only natural.

“Brother Wei, I’ve also broken through to the Six-Star Elite realm,” Li Shu said softly, her voice light and sweet.

“So fast?” Ryan looked at her in surprise.

When Li Shu took part in the qualification test, she had only been a Three-Star Elite. Only a few days had passed, yet she had already advanced three whole levels. What was even more frightening was that, even back then, Li Shu could already defeat opponents stronger than herself. There was no doubt about it. This little girl was a true martial arts prodigy, a dark horse among dark horses.

Originally, Ryan had thought Li Wujie was the most talented among the younger generation of the Li Clan. He hadn’t expected Li Shu to emerge so suddenly, her potential even more astonishing than Li Wujie’s.

Of course, that comparison did not include Ryan himself.

“I’m not as good as Shu-mei,” Li Baijie said quietly. “I’m still only a Seven-Star Elite. I haven’t improved at all.” There was reluctance in her expression, but also helplessness.

“Don’t be discouraged,” Ryan said calmly. “It’s only been a few days. You cultivated all the way to Seven-Star Elite before without resources. Now that you have proper cultivation methods and support, your growth will accelerate sooner or later.”

Li Baijie nodded lightly. She understood this logic. It wasn’t that she was slow, but that Li Wujie and Li Shu were simply progressing too quickly.

Just as Ryan was chatting with the Li Clan members, another graceful figure approached, accompanied by a soft, birdlike voice.

“Brother Li.”

Ryan felt the voice sounded familiar and looked up. “Wang Bi’er?”

“It’s me,” Wang Bi’er said, pouting slightly. “I watched all your matches, but you were always surrounded by people. I wanted to talk to you for so long, but never had the chance.”

As she spoke, she moved closer, gently urging Li Wujie to shift aside, then sat down beside Ryan, on the other side.

Now, Ryan found himself seated between two beauties.

Li Wujie glanced at Mu Xianling and Wang Bi’er, her expression turning subtle. Anyone with eyes could tell that both women were interested in Ryan. The only question was… who would become her sister-in-law?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep