Chapter 193 - 96: Returning Victorious, Shaking Four Seasons Valley

Chapter 193: Chapter 96: Returning Victorious, Shaking Four Seasons Valley

Hearing this, before Xia He could finish, Jiang Xuan gave a slight nod. His tone was calm and even as he said, "That was indeed me, but ’unparalleled prodigy’ is a bit of an exaggeration."

Before his voice had faded, Jiang Xuan added in confusion, "Shouldn’t you have known about this, Senior Sister? A while ago, when I wanted to move more books into my own Scripture Pavilion, wasn’t it you who suggested I win first place in the Daoist School and display enough Talent, then use that momentum to make my request?"

"..."

Jiang Xuan’s affirmative reply left Xia He stunned.

’That unparalleled prodigy... is really my little junior brother? The person I had my eye on isn’t just some ordinary prodigy, but a dormant dragon in hiding?!’

The truth was so wonderfully surprising that Xia He remained in a daze for a long moment before finally snapping out of it.

Then, coming to her senses and hearing Jiang Xuan’s confused words, she said, completely exasperated, "How is that the same thing! When I told you to show your Talent, I thought your assessment was just for a single Daoist School."

"But this time, it wasn’t just students from three schools participating—people from our Daozi Courtyard were in it too."

"Even Yun Shengjie said that the Si Daoist School and the Xu Daoist School sent people to participate."

"A joint exam of five schools, plus Senior Brother Yun from the Daozi Courtyard... with a lineup like that, you still managed to take first place. Who could have possibly expected that!"

As soon as she finished speaking, an ecstatic Xia He began pacing around Jiang Xuan, looking him up and down repeatedly, her eyes filled with unconcealable amazement and joy.

Then, to make Jiang Xuan understand the true value of this achievement, she even told him about Zhong Ming’s Evaluation in the Daozi Courtyard.

"Right now, many people in our Daoist School believe you have the potential to break into the top ten of the entire school in the Hundred-Day Exam."

As she said this, Xia He’s face was full of pride, and her entire being radiated with vicarious joy.

Clearly, she considered this a matter of great honor.

But upon hearing this, Jiang Xuan simply furrowed his brow.

"Just the top ten?"

"Huh?!"

Xia He naturally understood the meaning behind Jiang Xuan’s words, and because of it, her eyes widened in astonishment. "You’re not satisfied with the top ten? The top thirty rankings in the Daozi Courtyard are practically the final rankings for this generation of students! Tenth place... with just a little bit of luck, that’s good enough to have a shot at entering an Upper-Class Dharma Vein..."

As she spoke, the ecstatic look on Xia He’s face suddenly froze.

Belatedly, she suddenly realized something—with Talent as great as Jiang Xuan’s, could he be poached by someone else?

The moment this thought appeared, it grew like a wildfire, and the heavy worry nearly suffocated her.

Although she deeply loved her Four Seasons Valley, she was also well aware of the flaws in their Dharma Vein.

Without undergoing Nirvana Reincarnation, the Cultivation Techniques of their Four Seasons Valley held no advantage against other Dharma Veins.

Jiang Xuan had actually experienced this himself.

His Annihilation and Guicang Sword was already practiced to an extremely profound level among his peers, yet when he used this Swordsmanship, he couldn’t achieve victory in a single strike against either Su Xingying or Yun Shengjie.

Even in his duel against Tang Yinzheng, he couldn’t gain an absolute advantage.

It was also for this reason that when facing Chen Qianjun, Jiang Xuan never even released his Frosty Winter Cold Qi.

This situation was a clear disadvantage of having a low-Grade Cultivation Technique.

Of course, the power of the Guicang Jie Mie Sword wasn’t actually bad. The main reason for its poor performance was that the Cultivation Techniques and Techniques practiced by Su Xingying, Yun Shengjie, and even Tang Yinzheng were on par with, or even a notch above, the Guicang Jie Mie Sword. This was what made the performance of Winter Solstice so lackluster.

But even with these reasons, one thing couldn’t be denied: when practiced alone, the Cultivation Techniques of the Four Seasons Valley were unremarkable.

Only when the four parts were combined and one underwent Nirvana Reincarnation could it be considered a true transformation.

However, the transformation of the Four Seasons Reincarnation was also a Death Tribulation, and it was exceedingly dangerous.

’It’s over. My little junior brother is really going to be poached.’

Before, Xia He wouldn’t have been so worried. While the Four Seasons Valley’s Cultivation Techniques had their problems, combining the four parts would result in a qualitative transformation, allowing it to rival the Cultivation Techniques of an Upper Vein. For those who were ambitious, this was a huge plus.

But now, with Jiang Xuan’s Talent, he had a real chance to enter an Upper Vein directly and obtain a Celestial Grade One Cultivation Technique. He wouldn’t have to go through a trial of Life and Death Reincarnation like this.

What’s more, the Upper Veins not only had top-tier Cultivation Techniques, but their cultivation resources and status within the Sect were far beyond what the Middle Vein’s Four Seasons Valley could ever hope to match.

"..."

The more she thought about it, the more desperate Xia He became.

This time, however, she managed the rare feat of hiding her worries, not letting Jiang Xuan notice.

Of course, this was also because Jiang Xuan’s attention had been captured by the phrase, "you have the potential to break into the top ten."

’Just the top ten? Heh, it seems the people from Zi’s Daoist School are all very confident in themselves,’ Jiang Xuan mused.

After a series of battles and being forced to engage in a great deal of socializing, Jiang Xuan took his leave.

He was mentally exhausted and needed to get some proper rest.

Xia He didn’t try to stop him.

After he left, a distraught Xia He immediately sought out all the acquaintances she could find.

She needed everyone to brainstorm a way to convince Jiang Xuan to stay.

The Valley Master of Xia Valley, Yan Shouzhuo; Elder Yu Xian from the Scripture Pavilion; and the Valley Master of the Valley of Autumn, Xiao Ningxiang, were the first people she invited.

While she went to invite Granny Lan from the Valley of Winter, the few who had already gathered started to chat.

The first to speak was the Valley Master of the Valley of Autumn, Xiao Ningxiang, a woman with a gentle appearance. "What’s going on with Little Xia He? When she came to find me just now, her eyes were red. She looked like she was about to cry from anxiety."