"A special admission student of the Earth Grade Academy of Tian Du Academy...!?"
Ye Chen's words shocked everyone present!
No one was not astonished. Even the mysterious elder was momentarily dazed.
If Xia Feng Academy was the cultivation holy land of Xia Feng Kingdom, then Tian Du Academy was the cultivation holy land of the entire Tian Du Continent, without equal!
This was a cultivation holy land that countless geniuses from almost the entire continent yearned to join. Whether from the hundreds of large and small vassal kingdoms or the three hegemonic empires, the first choice for any talented individual was to join Tian Du Academy.
Because Tian Du Academy was an ancient force with millennia of heritage, possessing cultivation resources so vast they made countless vassal kingdoms envious and jealous. Its profound foundation, accumulated over time, allowed this academy-like existence to rival the colossal forces of the three empires.
On the Tian Du Continent, everyone took pride in joining Tian Du Academy. In comparison, although Xia Feng Academy was the premier cultivation academy of Xia Feng Kingdom, that was only relative to the kingdom itself. Looking across the entire Tian Du Continent, compared to the influence of Tian Du Academy... the difference was immense, almost like the gap between heaven and earth.
Entering Tian Du Academy was extremely difficult. On average, each vassal kingdom only had one or two people admitted each year, because the minimum entry standard alone required reaching the eighth level of the Houtian realm before the age of seventeen.
This single point barred countless people who yearned for Tian Du Academy. This step was as difficult as ascending to heaven!
Like Xia Feng Academy, Tian Du Academy had four major academies: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow Grades, with Heaven Grade being the highest, Earth Grade next, and Yellow Grade the lowest.
In fact, the four academies of Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow Grades originated from Tian Du Academy; Xia Feng Academy was merely imitating it.
However, the so-called elite disciples of Xia Feng Academy's Heaven Grade Academy, when placed among Tian Du Academy which gathered almost all the cultivation geniuses of the continent, would likely at best be considered Mysterious Grade.
This was the gap between a kingdom's academy and a continent's academy, as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.
Yet, the former Ye Chen was a peerless genius who had been exceptionally admitted by the Earth Grade Academy of Tian Du Academy.
This fact overshadowed the so-called Heaven Grade Academy disciples of Xia Feng Academy by who knows how many times.
Almost everyone had forgotten how stunningly brilliant the former Ye Chen was—a peerless genius so dazzling that even a continental holy land like Tian Du Academy couldn't help but extend an olive branch.
Both the Ye family and the Yang family members were momentarily dazed.
A disciple of Tian Du Academy's Earth Grade Academy—what an exalted status that was, even more prominent than the number one figure in Xia Feng Academy.
Yang Yi was also dazed for a moment. She looked at the youth before her with some complexity.
Thirteen years old, Xiantian realm!
This was the youngest achiever of the Xiantian realm in the history of Xia Feng Kingdom, unprecedented and likely never to be repeated. It had even caused quite a stir in several nearby kingdoms.
Compared to her, a genius herself, he had achieved this realm a full four years earlier. His accomplishments at the time far surpassed hers. Yet, this stunning achievement came from this very youth who had just endured the ridicule of the world.
It was hard to imagine how this youth, now a twenty-six-year-old (by nominal age) waste at the third level of the Houtian realm, had managed to set that stunning record of reaching the Xiantian realm at thirteen back then.
He had broken the record of the entire Xia Feng Kingdom, causing an unimaginable uproar, and even stepped onto that mysterious King's Ancient Path.
No matter how outstanding she was, she had to admit that the youth back then possessed such brilliance.
Unfortunately, all that was in the past.
After a moment of daze, Yang Jun suddenly sneered, "You indeed were back then, but now you're worthless. Ye Chen, I ask you, do you still have any possibility of standing shoulder to shoulder with Yi'er now? Oh, I forgot, you're just a cripple stuck at the third level of the Houtian realm."
This was a cruel reality, but also one that had to be acknowledged. The former Ye Chen was indeed such a stunningly brilliant young genius. Unfortunately, the current him—was just a waste.
Yet, Ye Chen's gaze remained calm and natural. He quietly looked at Yang Yi, but this time he made a request: "Yang Yi, do you dare to make a wager with me?"
"A wager?" Yang Yi raised an eyebrow. "What kind of wager do you want to make? Or rather, what qualifications do you have now to wager with me?"
This was a rather infuriating statement, but it was the truth. Ye Chen was a cripple, while Yang Yi had a bright future ahead. The two were not even on the same starting line.
"Let's wager my life. What do you think?" Ye Chen said flatly, but his words once again stunned everyone present.
He was actually wagering his life!
Xia Wei's face immediately paled with anxiety. "Chen'er, what nonsense are you talking about? Niece Yang Yi, please don't take him seriously. He's just speaking recklessly."
Even Ye Ao, the three elders, and the other Yang family members were shocked. Many frowned and shook their heads, thinking Ye Chen had been driven mad by anger, foolishly anxious to use his own life as stakes in a gamble. How utterly stupid.
Yang Yi was also shocked, but she shook her head. "This young lady's life is far more valuable than yours. I won't wager."
These words made Ye Ao, Xia Wei, Huan'er, and others who cared for Ye Chen breathe a sigh of relief. But the next moment, Ye Chen's words made their hearts leap again: "In that case, let's wager the Clear Spirit Pill. If you win, your Yang family won't need to repay the Clear Spirit Pill. If you lose, you just need to agree to one condition from me. It's that simple."
"Absolutely not!" At this moment, the Ye family's Grand Elder spoke up coldly. "The Clear Spirit Pill is a matter of great importance. It's not something a waste like you can decide."
"That's right, Ye Chen. You have no right to gamble with the Clear Spirit Pill now," the other two elders agreed with the Grand Elder.
However, Ye Ao said straightforwardly, "The wager is on. If we lose, I will repay the value of the Clear Spirit Pill."
As soon as Ye Ao spoke, the three Ye family elders immediately fell silent.
"Thank you, Father." Ye Chen looked gratefully at Ye Ao. If not for his father's intervention, it would have been truly difficult to obtain the three elders' agreement. But the responsibility on his father's shoulders was now even heavier. He could not let his father down.
"How do you want to wager?" Yang Yi was very cautious and did not agree immediately.
"The wager is simple. Nine months from now will be the recruitment trial day for Tian Du Academy. If in this trial, I, Ye Chen, lose and cannot enter Tian Du Academy, then your Yang family won't need to repay the Clear Spirit Pill."
"If I win, you agree to one condition from me." Ye Chen said lightly, but the words he spoke made people's hearts tremble upon hearing them. Was this kid crazy?
Many shook their heads and sighed. This guy must have been driven mad by the blows. A mere cripple at the third level of the Houtian realm—how could he possibly pass the recruitment trial of the continent's number one holy land, Tian Du Academy, in just nine months? Even the genius elites of Xia Feng Academy found it difficult to enter. If this wasn't madness, what was?
Then, Ye Chen looked at Yang Yi's beautiful, captivating face and said, "Do you dare to wager?"
Just a few simple words, yet they made hearts tremble.
She didn't want to bother with Ye Chen's challenge, but the other party's attitude seemed to look down on and scorn her, making Yang Yi feel stifled. Clearly, he was the cripple and she was the genius, so why did it seem completely the opposite?
Under the gaze of many eyes, Yang Yi gritted her silver teeth and immediately responded, "Fine. Since you're willing to wager, if I don't agree, it would only make me seem petty. As long as you win, forget just one condition—even if you want me to be your slave or maid, to warm your bed as a servant girl, I, Yang Yi, agree to it right here."
Faced with such a wager, the Yang family members merely watched coldly from the sidelines without objection. They didn't believe Ye Chen had the ability to pass Tian Du Academy's recruitment trial. In the end, all this would only bring humiliation upon himself.
But this was even better. The matter of the Clear Spirit Pill could be written off. They really owed it to this waste, Ye Chen.
In their eyes, Ye Chen was just a cultivation cripple. Even if he could cultivate, wanting to reach Tian Du Academy's recruitment standard in just nine short months would be extremely difficult. Because Tian Du Academy's recruitment test specifications were very strict, not something ordinary people could meet.
Even for Yang Yi before her breakthrough, she had only barely reached the threshold.
As for Ye Chen—impossible!
"Good. Since Miss Yang agrees, for the sake of fairness and justice, let us draw up a wager contract here. Huan'er, bring the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone—" Ye Chen called out loudly. Huan'er quickly fetched the writing materials and handed them over.
Dipping the brush in the prepared ink, Ye Chen wielded it skillfully, swiftly writing line after line of elegant characters on the white paper: "Today, I, Ye Chen, and Yang Yi hereby establish a wager. If nine months from now, I, Ye Chen, cannot test into Tian Du Academy, I am willing to forfeit my life. If I succeed, Yang Yi must promise me, Ye Chen, any one condition. Whoever violates this shall be struck by lightning, their daughters for generations shall be prostitutes, their sons for generations shall be slaves!"
Then, the youth bit his thumb, drawing blood, and pressed a heavy blood seal onto the wager contract.
Subsequently, Yang Yi also bit her finger and used her blood to imprint her own mark. Two copies were made, one for each party to keep.
"From this day forth, the wager is officially established!"
With everything concluded, Ye Chen left the hall without looking back. But his final words before leaving once again stunned the entire hall, leaving it so quiet you could hear a pin drop—
"Yang Yi, I look forward to it nine months from now. After all, having been a young master for so long, I've been short of a bed-warming maid."
"I think your looks and figure are barely passable. You'd better wash up and prepare to warm the bed!"