Chapter 100: Departure

　　A piece of astonishing news circulated throughout the entire Celestial River County within one night!

　　The Duan family was no more!

　　They were the most powerful of the four major families, and the premier power in the county. However, within half a day, all of their Energy Martial Stage warriors above thirty years of age had been killed, and their young warriors were all laid off from their duties and occupations. Then, they had been detained to be exiled, while all of the female family members were returned to their original families. Furthermore, all of the Duan family’s shops were confiscated by the authorities.

　　No one could comprehend how those events had transpired.

　　The official statement issued by the mayor centered around an extensive list of thirty-seven crimes committed by the Duan family, including tax evasion, arms trafficking, establishment of monopolies in certain industries… Each and every one of the offenses was quite serious, so the punishment handed down was justified.

　　However…

　　Even an idiot knew that the Duan family was above the law!

　　The Duan family had been committing those crimes for many years, so why they were being addressed after such a long time? Additionally, how was the Duan family prosecuted without any trial or investigation?

　　There were definitely some hidden circumstances involved.

　　Leaked pieces of insider information suggested that the Colosseum was closely related to the fall of the Duan family!

　　As a result, everyone in the Celestial River County suddenly held Master Thirteen in much higher regard.

　　‘To be able to bring down the Duan family… Just how powerful is Master Thirteen?’ 

　　At the same time, another piece of news spread throughout the entire county.

　　The vastly renowned Qi Ying slew all of the Duan family’s participants during the recently-concluded youth tournament, and secured first place with a staggering total of seventy-two badges! On top of that, there was a new legend on everyone’s lips, one that detailed the events during which Qi Ying had challenged over a hundred warriors to a battle; a challenge that none of the warriors dared to accept.

　　Master Thirteen was an extraordinary man, and Qi Ying was also an incredible young warrior!

　　Of course, rumors inevitably began to pop up, and people speculated about whether Qi Ying was actually a b*stard son Master Thirteen had birthed, prior to his arrival at the Celestial River County, as well as other conspiracy theories of that nature… There were even some who proclaimed that Qi Ying came from Madam Lu’s family, and he had only come to the Celestial River County to secure entry into the Yun Xiao Academy, with the least amount of competition possible.

　　In any case, from that day onward, both Master Thirteen and Qi Ying had risen head and shoulders above the four major families. No, it was the three major families!

　　The powers in the county all responded differently to that turn of events. The Sun and Wang families, as well as all of the smaller aristocratic families, all kept a low profile, trying their best not to attract any attention during such tumultuous times. As for the mayor, the only response he gave on the matter was the aforementioned statement that was issued. The only active ones were those from the An family. They were the wealthiest of the four major families, and they were busy flaunting that wealth by purchasing all of the Duan family-owned shops, that were being auctioned off by the mayor.

　　An Jiahe was feeling very fortunate.

　　He was ecstatic that he hadn’t made the same decision as the Sun and Wang families. His instincts had always served him well, and on that occasion, he intuitively knew that Yan Thirteen had to have some powerful backers, ones that the four so-called major families couldn’t afford to mess with.

　　At the same time, he was feeling a little disappointed.

　　If he had trusted his gut and unconditionally pledged his allegiance to Qi Ying and the Colosseum from the beginning, the An family would have reaped far greater rewards!

　　However, there was no use crying over spilled milk. An Jiahe put on his usual amiable smile, and purchased one shop after another, all for very low prices. All in all, he was quite happy with how things had panned out.

　　In contrast, An Ruyi had been quite dejected and absentminded.

　　She really wanted to see Qi Ying again. The last time she had seen him, was when she had caught a glimpse of him from afar at the hunting grounds.

　　She had sent people to the Colosseum and the Lu mansion to look for him, all to no avail. Master Thirteen was no longer at the Colosseum, and Madam Lu had also left the Lu mansion. Only a bunch of servants had been left behind to look after the two places.

　　Yan Thirteen, Lu Feifei, Qi Ying, and Xuan Yu seemed to have disappeared.

　　…

　　‘I sure am fortunate to be able to travel with Master Thirteen and Madam Lu. If I had to travel to the capital on my own, I’d have to scavenge for food or sleep on the streets on the way there…’

　　Qi Ying sat in a horse-drawn carriage; its interior was as large as a luxury booth, and he sighed with contentment.

　　The supervisors from the capital were only responsible for overlooking the tournament, so they left the Celestial River County just a day following its conclusion.

　　Those who had earned themselves spots in the Yun Xiao Academy had to find a way to get to Yun Xiao City.

　　Qi Ying was initially quite concerned about that. He didn’t know how he was going to make such a long journey with Mother Yu in accompaniment. However, Master Thirteen provided a solution to him.

　　Coincidentally, Master Thirteen’s family was at Yun Xiao City, and Madam Lu also had some relatives there. Thus, the three of them decided to travel to the capital together, and visit some tourist locations along the way, so the journey wouldn’t be too boring.

　　Of course, Master Thirteen and Madam Lu handled all of the expenses for the trip; Qi Ying and Xuan Yu thus became freeloaders.

　　Xuan Yu traveled in one carriage with Madam Lu, while Master Thirteen and Qi Ying occupied another carriage. That was an ideal arrangement for Qi Ying, as it prevented Madam Lu from trying to coerce him into the same carriage as her.

　　Chills ran down Qi Ying’s spine whenever he recalled the lustful glances Madam Lu aimed at him!

　　The horse-drawn carriages traveled quite quickly, and soon, the walls of the Celestial River County had faded into the distance. He turned to Master Thirteen and asked, “Seeing as Master Thirteen’s family is located in the capital, you must be quite knowledgeable about Yun Xiao City… Master Thirteen, do you know anything about the Yun Xiao Academy?”

　　Qi Ying knew that the Yun Xiao Academy was a place of education for all of the top prodigies in the kingdom, but he didn’t know exactly what kind of concept that was. In other words, how was the academy different from the Celestial River Academy?

　　Master Thirteen contemplated momentarily before replying, “Yun Xiao City is far larger than you can imagine! The Yun Xiao Academy is also completely different from the Celestial River Academy… In that academy, there are underprivileged prodigies from small cities, but also members of the seven major families, and even direct lineal descendants of the imperial family!”

　　“Wha… Even people from the imperial family? Doesn’t that create a massive disparity in the social status of the disciples?”

　　“That’s right! Your social status is very important in the Yun Xiao Academy!” Master Thirteen turned to Qi Ying with a complex smile on his face, “In comparison, the Celestial River Academy is like a kindergarten. The competition there is far more fierce than in the Celestial River Academy… However, it’s exactly because of this that the Yun Xiao Academy is the top academy in the kingdom… Countless alumni from the academy have gone on to accomplish extraordinary things…”

　　“Oh…”

　　Qi Ying fell into deep thought.

　　He still couldn’t imagine what kind of a colossus the Yun Xiao Academy was, but at the very least, he knew that it was a major stepping stone for him that led to greater heights.

　　‘I wonder what kind of level I’ll have to ascend to in order to gain acknowledgment from the Qin family…’