Cult of the Sacred Runes

Joe Yin emotionlessly followed while staring at the floor as her mind wandered.

Anger? Yes, but here was no sign of tiredness on Ye Zheng Qing’s face as he conversed with his sons and daughter.

“When The Du’s were at war with us, the Joe family did not help us one bit. It is understandable they don’t want trouble with the Big Three...” The patriarch was an understanding man. “But it’s obvious they just want to use little Wei for their own advantage; that is just disrespectful!”

“And that girl! She abandoned my grandson when he was going through hard times! I can’t imagine what kind of parents would put values like that in their kids head?!” Ye Zheng Qing tightened his grip as he exclaimed, the jade teacup in his hand turned into dust.

Ye Hai let out a long, disappointed sigh and said, “That is pretty cold-blooded, even for a kid!”

“From now on our family will not be affiliated with the Joe family!” Ye Zheng Qing said with determination.

“Dragons don’t associate with snakes? Who the hell did she think she was?” Said the angry aunt, Ye Jing Jing, who was bold enough to stand up against the Du family, if Joe Yin didn’t look so regretful, she would have slapped her right in the face.

“Terminate all the deals we have with the Joe’s!” With compensation on the way and their newfound reputation, Ye Zheng Qing did not need the Joe’s anymore; he would rather work with people he trusted.

Outside Ye Zhong’s room stood Ye Wei looking at the clear blue sky.

“I will prove myself with actions. I’m not going to let my rune consonance drag me down! If Master Yi thinks I am good enough to be his apprentice, then there must be a way for me to improve. I will shut everyone up, and all the people who insulted me will be proven wrong!”

The countless insults Ye Wei received throughout the three years at South Star Academy strengthened his mind enormously. He was a lot more mature than the other kids of his age due to the constant bullying.

His youthful face looked incredibly confident. Apart from getting accepted by Master Yi, Ye Wei’s quick progress also played an important role in him improving his self-esteem. Being a four star Student was not that impressive, but his fast speed of improvement due to the original Falling Star form he discovered and the Fiery Sun Quencher pills he was given, Ye Wei had an advantage over others his age.

On top of that, the dense cosmic energy Ye Wei received while refining the White Tiger’s Assault gave him strength that other four star Students could not match. Now, he could probably take down an ordinary five star Student in real combat.

In the next few days, Ye Wei trained non-stop next door to his cousin’s sick bed; Ye Zheng Qing arranged a three days feast which welcomed guests to celebrate with them the end of their family’s crisis and Ye Wei becoming Master Yi’s legacy apprentice.

While the big families were there feasting in the mansion, the Ye’s took the chance to ask if any of the guests knew anybody who might have Welkin Leaves in their possession. But despite their effort, they got no news regarding the rare herb.

The school holiday passed by in a flash and before packing up for the return to South Star Academy Ye Wei passed the original Falling Star form to the Ye Patriarch.

The patriarch was stunned by Ye Wei’s discovery. Although they were struck by the Du family, the Ye family obtained more than a million silver and gained a high Myst level formula. With that kind of resource, the family would soon become drastically stronger.

When Ye Wei was asked how he got his hands on the perfect Falling Star form, he mentioned Master Yi’s name which stopped Ye Zheng Qing from questioning further.

There was another thing Ye Wei wanted to do before leaving.

“Cousin Zhong... I have to return to South Star Academy soon.” He stood in Ye Zhong’s room with a heavy heart. Ye Wei carefully wiped the sweat off Ye Zhong’s pale face with a warm towel. Scenes of the cousins’ time together kept replaying in his head as he took care of the unconscious patient.

“I’m not strong enough right now, but when I become a Runemaster, I will take this matter into my own hands, and you will be avenged!” Ye Wei swore with a fiery spirit.

“Master Yi is searching for Welkin Leaves, and if anyone in Green Moon City has the herb, I’m sure master will retrieve it for us. Although he looks sketchy and dirty, he is a strong man who we can trust.” Ye Wei spoke solemnly, hoping his cousin could somehow hear him.

“It’s late; I should get going.” There was a hint of tears in Ye Wei’s eyes. He adjusted and straightened Ye Zhong’s blanket and left the room with his head lowered.

‘Unfortunately, obtaining them was easier said than done, Welkin leaves are simply too rare. Their rarity means Master Yi’s influence would not make the search any easier. Even if he managed to get ahold of some and wake up cousin Zhong, a full recovery of his Sentient is not guaranteed. If his Sentient didn’t fully recover would cousin Zhong be able to accept that...’ Ye Wei was distracted by the countless possibilities.

“I will do everything I can to help your recovery cousin Zhong, and I will find a way to fix your Sentient!” Ye Wei looked at Ye Zhong as he mumbled and closed the door.

Ye Wei then returned to his room to finish packing. With the help of some guards, he loaded his luggage into the horse carriage and left for South Star Academy soon after.

Ye Zheng Qing wanted Ye Wei to take the quicker and more comfortable beast carriage back to school because a legacy apprentice deserved a bit of luxury, especially now that Ye family was financially secure. The Ye Patriarch could afford to get Ye Wei a new beast carriage.

However, Ye Wei turned it down. He didn’t want to be too flashy and draw too much attention, so he opted for an ordinary horse carriage.

South Star Academy students were mostly from ordinary families. Martial families preferred home education as they usually had an established system to train the youngsters, unless it was an unusual circumstance.

In Ye Wei’s case, he had to go to South Star Academy because the Ye family’s system would not work on someone with a red Sentient; for Joe Yin, the Joe family’s system was too rough and physical for girls.

And all the other marital families’ children and talented South Star students were there under the same instruction: “Learn the Pole Star Finger!”.

Only three powers had possession of high level Myst stance in Green Moon City; they were the City Lord, Master Yi, and South Star Academy.

The City Lord’s Myst stance was passed down from the Zhou Dynasty under the strict order directly from the royal family that it shall never be taught to outsiders; Master Yi’s Myst stance was passed down from the Holy Conservatory, and he would only teach it to his legacy apprentice.

The only way for a civilian to learn a Myst stance was through South Star Academy. The founder of South Star created the stance in his youth. Every top ranked students had one chance to challenge the Emerald Flaming Maze, and the stance was passed down to whoever could get through the gauntlet perfectly. In the recent decades only a handful of student overcame the challenge and got their hands on this powerful stance.

“Thank you! You can just drop me off here!” Ye Wei got off the carriage and gave the coachman a nice handful of silver.

“Greatly appreciated!” The coachman smiled and respectfully bowed towards Ye Wei. With the generous tip, he would buy a bottle of fine rice wine at The Drunken Hermit when he got off work. ‘Unbelievable! Even with this kind of fame, little Wei is still so caring and kind!’ The Ye family’s uprising made the Ye mansion as busy as a marketplace, to the point where people from martial families were even starting to bribe the Ye’s servants for inside information.

The students at South Star had not seen each other for a whole week, and a lot of them were excited to see each other again, so they had stayed at the school gate to chat and catch up.

Ye Wei was only carrying two hand size suitcases, which allowed him to slip through groups of students without anyone noticing. He then followed the crowded path back to his room.

All classes had a mandatory meeting on the evening students return from their break. Ye Wei’s plan was to finish unpacking his room and tidy up before heading to the meeting; however, after seeing the state of his room, his plans were going to have to change. As he stepped foot through the door and looked around him, he became furious. His fists were clenched, and his knuckles cracked.

The table was in pieces, and the floor was covered by ripped clothes. His blanket and bed stank pungently of piss.

‘Who did this!?’ Ye Wei said fumingly.

‘Was it Xiao Qi?’ The first person he suspected was the infamous class bully. ‘No... no, It can’t be him, he stopped being irritating to me ever since I answered those questions correctly in Yi Yan’s lecture. He doesn’t have the courage to come after me. But I don’t see who else would do it!’ He was convinced Xiao Qi was guilty, or at least had something to do with the vandalism.

‘Whoever you are, I will make you pay!’ Ye Wei was not in the best mood. If he wanted it his way, he would have stayed by Ye Zhong’s side until he heard from Master Yi, Lin Zi Yan, or anyone to bring news about the Welkin Leaves.

Ye Wei took a deep breath then left his room.

Ye Wei slammed the classroom door open only to find out Xiao Qi was not there.

The students from martial families were wealthy, and they usually went out together for food at a random restaurant close to the academy, whereas the students from ordinary families would stay in the classroom and chat.

With both his parents working at the academy as senior instructors, Xiao Qi was probably enjoying a cage of dim sum with his friends.