Chapters One to Three: Cheating

The matches proceeded one after another. After more than two hours, the official overseeing the first pavilion finally called out Ye Xin’s name, but there was no response. All eyes turned toward the reclining chair, only to find Ye Xin sound asleep.

Immediately, a student stepped forward with a smile and called out, “Young Master Ye! Young Master Ye, wake up! It’s your turn to compete.”

“Oh?” Ye Xin opened his eyes, suddenly alert. He rolled up his sleeves and walked out of the pavilion.

Outside the pavilion stood three towering battle platforms, each corresponding to one of the three pavilions. Around them were stands resembling a stadium, packed with spectators. This academy competition was on a much grander scale than before. Nearly all the high-ranking officials from the court were present, alongside numerous warriors from Jiuding City who loved excitement, family members of the competing students who had brought their entire clans to cheer, and students from the Dragon Soaring Martial Academy at the Innate Realm, filling every seat without a single vacancy.

Ye Xin approached the battle platform and began climbing the wooden ladder. Students inside the first pavilion exchanged puzzled looks. Then, the student who had awakened Ye Xin hurried over, grasped the ladder, and called upward, “Young Master Ye! Not this platform! You’re the challenger this round—you need to go to the second platform, number two!”

“Oh, I see...” Ye Xin grinned and climbed back down the ladder.

“This way!” The student was enthusiastic, clearly eager to get acquainted with Ye Xin. Leading him toward the second platform, he said cheerfully.

“Father, that’s Ye Xin,” Wen Hongren whispered from the stands. Though he was once cast out of the Wen family, his filial heart remained intact; he bore no hatred and still sought to win favor from Wen Yuanren as before.

“Oh?” Wen Yuanren’s gaze settled on Ye Xin from afar. After a moment, a smile crept across his face. “This youth carries himself with impressive bearing, moving like a dragon and tiger. Truly deserving to be a descendant of Guan Hai.”

“Old Wen, when it comes to insight, I fear even we pale in comparison to Hongren,” Shen Wangji said with a smile. “At this moment, I wonder how many envy your Wen family.”

If Ye Xin became the Wen family’s son-in-law, the reorganized Heavenly Wolf Legion would naturally become a powerful asset to the family. Wen Yuanren had kept a low profile because the Wen clan lacked a unified military force. Now, having grown older, he had stepped down from his position as Grand Palace Minister, replaced by Deng Zhiguo. With Ye Xin’s backing, the Wen family’s days of pride were not far off.

Wen Yuanren was about to speak when he noticed Ye Xin heading in the wrong direction, frozen in surprise. Deng Zhiguo, sitting nearby, smiled and remarked, “Looks like there’s some excitement coming…”

Wen Yuanren snorted coldly, and Wen Hongren’s expression darkened slightly.

Ye Xin climbed onto the second platform and was startled to see standing at the opposite end Wen Rong. He looked around and saw that apart from the two deans overseeing the match, no one else was present. “Is it just the two of us fighting?” he asked in surprise.

Wen Rong’s expression mirrored his shock. She hadn’t expected her first match to be against Ye Xin. After a pause, she gave a resigned smile.

In truth, Wen Rong hadn’t aimed for a dazzling result in this competition. At just sixteen, according to the Wen family’s plans, her current task was to steadily advance her cultivation and refine her signature technique. By the next competition, she would have completed her refinement and risen to the intermediate Innate Realm—a time when she could truly shine. For now, she was here to learn.

“I concede,” Wen Rong said, turning to the supervising dean, then looking at Ye Xin. “Ye Xin, you have to do your best. I’ve placed my hopes on you.”

Knowing how vastly different their strengths were, Wen Rong saw no point in competing—it might only expose Ye Xin prematurely. Better to concede.

“All right, all right. Don’t worry,” Ye Xin smiled.

The supervising dean was somewhat surprised by Wen Rong’s concession but acknowledged the academy’s rules allowed students to forfeit matches. He turned and loudly announced, “Wen Rong concedes! Ye Xin wins the first match—add fifteen points!”

Usually, a winner earned ten points, but since the battle ended before it even began, Ye Xin rightfully received the full fifteen.

A stir broke out in the stands. Deng Zhiguo, who had been looking forward to some excitement, was taken aback by Wen Rong’s concession. Wen Yuanren’s expression grew complicated. He could not belittle one and praise the other—after a moment’s hesitation, he loudly praised, “Rong’er understands the greater good and the big picture—well done, well done...”

Shen Wangji’s eyes gleamed sharply. He was very interested in Ye Xin’s strength. But his daughter Shen Miao had been tight-lipped about Ye Xin’s true abilities, even when pressed. She insisted she was now part of the Wolf Riders and that revealing military secrets was punishable by death, which exasperated Shen Wangji. However, precisely because Shen Miao kept the secret, he knew Ye Xin must be powerful. If he were truly useless, she wouldn’t bother hiding anything.

Yet how strong exactly, he still could not judge.

Elsewhere in the stands, murmurs spread. Those who came to watch the spectacle were disappointed; those interested in Ye Xin were unhappy as well.

“How could she just concede? I heard Wen Rong is the captain of the Fifth Battalion,” someone whispered.

A captain wasn’t chosen arbitrarily but earned the position by defeating other students within the battalion. That meant Wen Rong was likely the strongest in her unit.

“You don’t get it!” another chuckled. “The Ye and Wen families are connected by marriage now. If Wen Rong were to challenge Ye Xin and lose, given Ye Xin’s arrogant temperament, how could Wen Rong have a good life married into the Ye family?”

The chatter soon died down as the second match began.

Ye Xin returned to the first pavilion. Only moments passed before the enthusiastic student approached again. “Young Master Ye, it’s your turn once more.”

Ye Xin gathered his spirit, rolled up his sleeves, and headed out, retracing his steps toward the second platform.

The student’s expression said, “I knew it!” He hurried forward and grabbed Ye Xin. “Young Master Ye, you’re defending this time. You need to get on the first platform.”

“So complicated...” Ye Xin was momentarily speechless. Turning back, he looked at the student. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Ma Duojian!” the student said excitedly. “From now on, I’m all in with Young Master Ye!”

So direct, with no patience at all. Ye Xin had been somewhat interested, but now he had already dismissed Ma Duojian in his mind.

Ye Xin climbed the wooden ladder to the first platform. The challenger had yet to appear, so he squinted and waited. His sister Ye Ling had repeatedly instructed him to fight the full five minutes no matter what. She rarely asked for anything, so this time he owed her that much. Still, it was so boring...

After a moment, a sharp, feminine shout came from below the platform. A graceful figure suddenly leapt onto the stage. Blades spun around her, casting a dazzling array of snowflake-like lights. She struck a beautiful pose and looked at Ye Xin. The next instant, her body stiffened, and she cried out, “Why is it you?!”

Ye Xin rubbed his nose. What a coincidence—his first match was Wen Rong, and now the second was Shen Miao.

“Who else did you think it would be?” Ye Xin smiled.

“Not fair!” Shen Miao stomped her foot angrily. “This isn’t fair!”

When she and Shao Xue, Ye Ling, and the others had discussed betting on the matches, the idea of Ye Xin sweeping through to the semifinals and decisively claiming the championship had fattened their wallets overnight. It was almost laughable in her dreams. But being the one crushed would surely make her angry.

“Shen Miao, what’s unfair? You can say it,” said the supervising dean kindly. After all, she was the daughter of the current Grand Chancellor, so his tone was courteous.

Shen Miao was at a loss. She bit her lip in frustration, then resolutely declared, “I concede!”

Shen Miao and Wen Rong were in different pavilions and hadn’t known that Wen Rong had already forfeited. Understandable—having witnessed Ye Xin’s true power, she simply lacked the courage to face him.

“Concede?” The supervising dean’s expression was one of surprise as he glanced at Ye Xin. Every competitor strove to show their best, and it was rare for someone to concede before the battle even began. This was the second time this had happened, both involving Ye Xin, which baffled him.

“Shen Miao concedes! Ye Xin’s second victory—add fifteen points!” the dean called loudly.

A series of placards hanging from a tall flagpole shifted.

Ye Xin had won two matches with full marks. His name and score hung at the very top. Second place was Zong Yunjin with twenty-two points, followed by several tied third-place contenders—Tie Shudeng, Wei Qingfan, Zong Yunxiu, Tie Huizhen—all with twenty points.

To boost morale, the academy displayed the first-place name in brilliant gold letters that sparkled under the sunlight. The name itself was unremarkable, but the score was striking. In over twenty years, only one person had ever achieved a perfect score—the Wolf Commander Ye Guanhai.

But Ye Guanhai had earned it through sheer strength. What of Ye Xin?

“Which one is Ye Xin? I didn’t even notice him competing,” someone called from the stands.

“That’s the one whose opponents both forfeited,” another replied.

“No way! Are they cheating?” the first shouted again. He was an outsider who didn’t understand the situation, but his voice was loud enough for many to hear clearly.

Suddenly, the stands fell silent before erupting into a frenzy.

“Cheating! Shameless cheating!”

“As a descendant of the Ye family, is he trying to sneak into the finals like this?”

“Investigate! Investigate! There’s definitely something fishy!”

“Haha... The Dragon Soaring Martial Academy is desperate to prop up a nobody.”

(To be continued.)