On the third floor of the pagoda, Ye Mo sat cross-legged in the center of the room with eyes closed and a black vortex in his dantian, voraciously sucking the qi in the surroundings.
"Is the investigation done, or is it still in progress?" Ye Mo wondered as he suddenly opened his eyes.
They were dark and remote while his heart was calm, a bout of peacefulness.
Ever since he took the moon pacifying herb and even more after killing Liu Huan that day and retrieving his sword, he considered his next actions.
He was clear that to grow quickly, without base nor support, he would have to use them to obtain resources from the Liu clan.
However, things became complicated when his rank 2 talent was revealed.
Progressing too quickly in a short time with low talent was suspicious and was bound to attract the attention of the institute.
He knew there were great chances they would investigate him, and in this case, they wouldn't have any trouble discovering his deals with the Liu clan.
He couldn't tie all the loose ends with third parties involved so it would be known at some point, he had no doubt about it.
Yet, Ye Mo didn't care if such things were revealed after some time, what he truly wanted to avoid at all costs was the discovery of the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body, all the people he murdered, and his scuffles in the jungle with the Liu clan and the Wrathful Black Ape.
His real motive was to keep his true nature concealed!
If he were branded as a cultivator from the demonic faction, he would immediately be captured and executed by the instructors of the institute.
Even if a miracle occurred and he escaped, he would be chased out by the forces of the righteous path wherever he went.
With his current strength, there was nothing but death that awaited him at the end of this path.
Nonetheless, he still needed to cultivate quickly and reach the 8th layer in a year before leaving the city even if it incurred an investigation.
There were only so many resources he could enjoy in an institute, the true places to cultivate and grow in a sheltered environment were sects.
To reach the top and obtain the strength he seeks, how many tried so in the span of millions or billions of years? Yet, no one could really grow safe from everything.
The lifespan of living beings was limited so to accomplish his dream before fatality could strike, he couldn't waste a single second, he had to bring the best out of every moment.
Growing lax and slacking off was the way to end up on your deathbed in a flash without anything to look back to in your life.
That's why, after his talent was tested, Ye Mo started plotting.
He first spent the next week either isolated in his home or at an unfrequented place like the library, giving others the sentiment that he suffered a huge blow from this revelation and grew dispirited to the point he wouldn't even cultivate.
Next, when asked, he refused to divulge the existence of the Encompassing Washing pills or the trade with the Liu clan as a whole, even though the investigators were certain to find the truth after some time, displaying his immaturity and fear, "showing weakness" to the institute's higher-ups.
When Wang Fei came to hand him a token and pressured him for information, it definitely confirmed to Ye Mo that an investigation started about him or was ongoing.
In between, he also severely beat up fellow students in the pagoda and refused to fight in the mid-year examination, expressing his wildness and displeasure to the institute which allowed him to lead others' thoughts by the nose, letting them have the misconception of a displeased and naughty child who didn't come to terms with his aptitude.
A good way to manipulate people is not to try and convince them, but to instill doubts and hints in their thoughts, leading them to a certain direction, letting them find 'the truth'. At this point, their opinion would be formed and very hard to change without clear evidence.
"Hong Li's real interests are Shen Xue and other young cultivators with a lot of potential, in his mind I am only a minor character. With the secret of my quick growth cleared up, he will uphold the reputation of the institute and won't bother to suppress me or dig much further into my activities. With his nature, he does have this tolerance."
The Nine Revolutions Fiend Body was his deepest secret, it was directly tied to his life. He could sacrifice anything to ensure it would remain hidden from anyone.
"After discovering my affairs with the Liu clan, Hong Li and the higher-ups will believe I am laid bare in front of them, the mysteries of my cultivation revealed. An open book holds no allure, with their curiosity dying down, they will lose their interest and focus on other matters."
Ye Mo closed his eyes and shifted his thoughts towards his battles to obtain a place in this room.
"These students were weaker than Liu Zhi but fighting the three of them in a row is far more difficult. I had to take risks to quickly defeat them, not only to prevent others from joining the fight and overwhelm me but also to show that with my abilities, they shouldn't think of stopping me. These risks cost me several deep injuries, I know for sure that I wouldn't have been able to attain this place without Endless Vitality battle skill."
In a duel in the arena with one against another, you could completely focus on the opponent facing you, but in a configuration like the pagoda, there were many more considerations to take into account, and at least half of your attention had to be on the surroundings more than the fight only.
After his usual reflections, Ye Mo stood up and covered the light crystals on the walls, plunging the room into darkness, before he returned to its center and began multitasking.
He was slowly increasing his mastery of Shadow Walk while cultivating, although he knew he wouldn't be able to grasp the third phase before the year-end competition, it wasn't a reason to stop learning the battle skill.
In no time, a month passed and the stone door slid open as Ye Mo exited the cultivation room.
He was satisfied by the results, he was able to breakthrough the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm and fill almost half his dantian with wisps, thanks to the concentrated qi of the third floor.
While striding across the floor to leave, he saw a girl about to take the flight of stairs to go down. When he noticed her, she also glanced at her side, and their gaze met.
It was Yan Mei, the young mistress of the Yan clan.
She looked at him insistently while Ye Mo made his way towards the same stairs, expressionless, intending to leave.
When he was just a few steps away from her, she squinted her eyes, uttering lowly, "You have some nerve to still come here despite Li Qiang looking high and low for an occasion to kill you. You are lucky he returned to his Li clan for a few days."
It seems she was able to recognize him even though Ye Mo and she never interacted before.
"He can look all he wants, I don't care." Ye Mo was impassive, speaking as he stopped beside her.
Yan Mei paused for an instant, as if in thought, before she spoke again, "I can understand, to think you attained the 8th layer this fast and can already cultivate on the third floor, it's evident your self-confidence would surge as well, but don't be fooled, Li Qiang is already at the 9th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm."
"You must realize that whether it's Li Qiang, me, or any of the four young masters, our battle strength is much above our own level and we can defeat cultivators of the same layer without much trouble. Even if you reached the 9th layer, you would still have greater chances of being killed facing him, much less in your current state."
Hearing this, Ye Mo smiled.
He had already sensed Yan Mei's cultivation when approaching and wasn't surprised Li Qiang reached the same layer as well.
As for whether he was able to kill him or not, there was only one way to find out.
"Why are you telling me that, are you worried about me?"
By this point, they took the stairs and walked down side by side, they were originally going in the same direction, so they might as well move and talk at the same time.
Yan Mei raised her shoulders, saying with a flat voice, "It's just rare for someone to directly stand up against this pretentious prick and even more to still be alive and well till now. I do hope you keep breathing and frustrate him to no end."
"Such solicitude truly warms my heart."
The two quickly reached the second floor and kept going down.
Many fixed questioning gazes on them as they passed by, seeing Ye Mo walking and talking side by side with Yan Mei even though both of them were usually cold and lonesome, the latter talking only to her Yan clan members. But in the pagoda, a lapse of attention could have dire consequences, so they quickly shifted their focus back to the battles ensuing and the students attacking each other.
"Were you cultivating on the third floor as well?" Ye Mo suddenly asked since he had seen her leave from the same floor previously.
Yan Mei glanced at him before saying nonchalantly, "A month ago, after breaking through the 9th layer, I went to the fourth floor to test myself, but after defeating two persons, it became a bit too much for me so I retreated."
Ye Mo was surprised. He was many things, but he wasn't careless or underestimating and knew that the four young masters were very powerful, they were the best junior students of the institute, capable of defeating most of the senior students as well.
"So even you struggled on the fourth floor, the people there must be extremely strong."
The four young masters had greater cultivation, better battle skills and a complete combat system than him. In a fight against them, the odds would definitely be in their favor. If even Yan Mei couldn't cultivate on the fourth floor, then with his current strength, he shouldn't set foot in this place for now.
However, hearing his reply, she shook her head. "It's not that they are too strong, but I would have killed someone if I had stayed there any longer. The students on the fourth floor are the absolute best of the institute, I have to take it seriously or I am certain to be injured, but my battle style tends a lot towards offense so if I go all out, someone will inadvertently die."
"I returned to the fourth floor five days ago after gaining much better control over my abilities and obtained a room. We met when time was up and I was leaving."
"Among us, Shen Xue was the first to be able to cultivate on the fourth floor or else how could he breakthrough the Foundation Establishment Realm so fast? Competing with him is really infuriating, at this rate, we won't be the four young masters anymore, but the tiger and his three puppies!"
Yan Mei started venting at the end, unaware that she dropped shocking information to Ye Mo.
"He already attained the Foundation Establishment Realm?" He asked, slightly astounded.
"Of course, he did so a month ago. Where were you all this time? It caused a ruckus in the whole Azure Water City as he became the youngest Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator around, and everyone is still talking about it to this day. The dean even allowed the Shen clan patriarch in the institute when news got out and celebrated with him"
Yan Mei didn't know that, contrary to other young students, Ye Mo always stays behind closed doors for long periods of time, completely immersed in his cultivation. Enduring the loneliness and the lack of stimulation to concentrate only on his growth is one of the reasons he had such accomplishments; this way he also missed the news of Shen Xue's breakthrough.
He grew silent as he thought about it.
This cultivation pace didn't match up.
Although Shen Xue has rank 5 talent and cultivates extremely fast, he was fourteen years old during the recruitment competition of the institute but still at the peak of the 7th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm while he should have been cultivating for several years already.
To go from the 1st to the 7th layer in five or six years then suddenly from the 7th to the Foundation Establishment realm in less than a year, the speed during the last year was simply absurd, many times higher than what he showed in the past.
The further you go in cultivation, the harder it becomes to advance.
The difficulty to breakthrough the Foundation Establishment Realm alone is much bigger than passing the nine layers of the Qi Gathering Realm together. Many remain patient for years, accumulating resources and being in the most favorable conditions before attempting to attain the next realm.
Some might think Shen Xue grew faster thanks to the facilities of the institute, however, even before joining it, he was still the young master of the Shen clan, one of the four greatest in the city, and was greatly nurtured by his father in this aspect. The difference wouldn't be so large simply because he joined the Tiger Martial Institute.
Such a sudden, explosive growth was rather strange.
Thinking this far, Ye Mo directly shared his suspicions with Yan Mei as they left the pagoda together through the main entrance.
"Well, it's true that you were just a mortal not too long ago so you're not aware of what occurred between our clans in the past, it is not strange for you to have such thoughts. Then let me tell you a bit more about Shen Xue."