Chapter 206: Disciple Tournament 2
Xue Bao’er was screaming too.
Though, it wasn’t because she was another one of Yang Jie’s many fangirls. She was screaming because of how cool and captivating Yang Jie’s entrance was.
As the seats here were arranged by rankings, Yang Jie was to sit right next to Lin Jin, in seat number one.
Hence, he descended to this spot. He donned pure white clothing and stood tall with his hands behind his back. Everyone present in the hall had their attention on him.
“White Peacock, transform!” Yang Jie commanded extravagantly. The white peacock morphed back into its normal form and fell before him in a proud manner.
However, its image of magnificence was broken when it was mildly stunned by the sight of Xiao Huo who was snoozing away as if it had just met a great enemy.
Yang Jie didn’t notice this. He was busy basking in the crowd’s admiration. Being at the center of attention was a feeling he loved. An elite among elites was who he was.
On the other hand, Lin Jin deliberately looked away as if his counterpart was just thin air.
He couldn’t care less about Yang Jie. The man was actually wearing new clothes and had his hair was set perfectly. His face was so flawless that it even made Lin Jin suspect that he actually powdered his face before coming here.
Yang Jie’s entrance had truly been stunning and the sight of his Rank 4 pet beast awed the crowd.
Next up, the mentors made their entrance.
The group of mentors who were far less egotistic compared to Yang Jie simply walked into the hall on foot.
Those who paid enough attention would then notice that all mentors had to pass Lin Jin and Yang Jie to get to their seats in front.
Each mentor that passed by would greet, nod, or wave at the disciples.
However, the first couple of mentors had their attention focused entirely on Yang Jie. Most greeted him with bright smiles while some even went over to strike up conversations with him, cheering him on and such.
They naturally ignored the other disciples.
This pleased Yang Jie even more.
It really seemed as if he was now at the center of the universe.
And given the current circumstances, it wasn’t too far from the truth. The other disciples watched with envy but that was all they could do. Yang Jie’s capability was what made him worthy of all this honor and glory.
However, when the last few mentors came in, things became different.
The first was Mr. Yi, one of the most elegant mentors among the group. His capabilities put him in top three among the mentors. However, Mr. Yi had deliberately held back when it came to Luo Beihe so he was currently ranked number 4.
When he passed by their seats, he smiled and talked to Xue Bao’er first before nodding at Yang Jie. Finally, he leaned towards Lin Jin and said, “Lin Jin, I look forward to this tournament. Do your best!”
It was obvious that Mr. Yi had higher hopes for Lin Jin.
This made Yang Jie frown in annoyance.
However, he couldn’t say anything as it was the mentor’s right to support whoever they liked.
Next was Luo Beihe.
She patted Xue Bao’er on the head and said, “Fight within your capabilities.”
Xue Bao’er nodded obediently.
Then, Luo Beihe simply walked over to Lin Jin, ignoring Yang Jie, and said, “That Fire Spirit Possession you modified is splendid. I look forward to seeing you cast it.”
Having said that, she left.
Although Luo Beihe was rather cold to Lin Jin, at least she spoke to him instead of ignoring him as she did with Yang Jie.
Yang Jie’s expression turned gloomy.
However, Luo Beihe’s was already well known to be the “Ice Queen” of their association so it wasn’t odd for her to behave this way.
Next came Huangfu Ming.
The older man said to Lu Yunhe, “You have to learn more from Appraiser Lin and never slack off during training.”
This was a word of advice so Lu Yunhe got up and nodded.
Then, like the previous few mentors, Huangfu Ming proceeded to ignore Yang Jie. He said to Lin Jin with a courteous tone, “Appraiser Lin, you’re good friends with Yunhe. Please, do give him some guidance from time to time.”
He was very polite.
And Lin Jin could tell that Huangfu Ming was thanking him for helping Lu Yunhe’s pet beast evolve. Although Lu Yunhe remained tight-lipped about his pet beast’s evolution, he must have told his mentor, Huangfu Ming about it.
Lin Jin got up and bowed, “Of course, Mr. Huangfu.”
Huangfu Ming nodded and made his way to his seat.
Yang Jie was gritting his teeth now. He didn’t understand what was so special about Lin Jin that these mentors would hold him in such high regard. To think that they ignored him just to talk to Lin Jin.
‘Hmph, fools who are destined to a life of mediocrity! I, Yang Jie, will surely surpass all of you one day,’ Yang Jie thought.
Just then, he saw Ye Yuzhou. Walking beside the man was another valuable guest.
Lu Bin.
For the past few days, Lu Bin had been waiting for Lin Jin in Maple City and finally, the man had returned. Knowing that Lin Jin would be participating in this year’s disciple tournament, he came here today just to watch him compete in the tournament.
The others might not know about Lu Bin’s identity, but Yang Jie did.
Yang Jie quickly got up and went over.
“Teacher, Uncle Lu!”
Yang Jie was feeling great. Compared to Uncle Lu, those mentors from earlier weren’t worth mentioning at all. Although he already has a Rank 4 pet beast, Yang Jie had a feeling that he’d have to rely on Lu Bin if he were to ever aim beyond Maple City in the future.
After all, Ye Yuzhou was based in Maple City. If Yang Jie wanted to promote himself in Jade Dragon City, Lu Bin was the man to look for.
Hence, Yang Jie came over respectfully.
“Yang Jie, just try your best,” Ye Yuzhou said. He no longer treated Yang Jie like he did before.
It couldn’t be helped. Yang Jie was getting too full of himself. It wasn’t him not telling his teacher about his miraculous encounter that was the issue. After all, everyone had their own secrets. However, Ye Yuzhou was only informed about it after the evolution process was complete. No matter how he saw it, it was an inappropriate choice on Yang Jie’s part.
Did Yang Jie still see him as his mentor at all?
Ye Yuzhou felt hurt and a little insulted. What made his mood even worse was the atrocious scandal his other disciple, Chen Cheng got himself into.
But when he saw Lin Jin, Ye Yuzhou smiled.
Now that Lin Jin was confirmed to be the Curator’s disciple, he had to be extra nice to the young man. Also, Ye Yuzhou suspected that the Curator might be hiding in the crowd to watch this disciple tournament.
Ye Yuzhou smiled at Lin Jin.
Suddenly, Lu Bin came over and said, “Appraiser Lin, I’ve been waiting for days for you. I know you’ve been busy because of this disciple tournament, but after this competition, you have to follow me back to the imperial city no matter what.”
When he said this, everyone around him was dumbstruck.
Those who didn’t know who Lu Bin was didn’t feel it but those who did, looked incredulous.
Ye Yuzhou blinked before asking, “Brother Lu, it seems you two are rather well-acquainted?”
Lu Bin nodded and said nothing else.
Ye Yuzhou mused, ‘As expected of the Curator’s disciple. Lin Jin is really something else.”
Yang Jie was just as shocked. Though, his expression quickly turned ominous.
Lu Bin didn’t sound high and mighty at all as he spoke to Lin Jin. It even sounded as if Lin Jin had already rejected the man’s invitation to the imperial city once.
What on earth was going on?
Lu Bin wasn’t even this polite when speaking to his teacher.
Lin Jin hadn’t expected Lu Bin to show up here and to even be acquainted with Ye Yuzhou. Observing their interaction, they even seemed like good friends. Lin Jin had made a promise with Lu Bin and he intended to head to the imperial city to solve that cross-dressing lass’s problem too. Hence, he nodded and said, “When the tournament ends, allow me to make some arrangements here and I’ll follow you back after that.”
Lu Bin was an unconventional man. After hearing Lin Jin’s response, he responded at once, “That’s a promise. I’ll be waiting for you!”
At that moment, a number of people entered through the main door. A group could be seen escorting a man in. Many people recognized that this newcomer was a prominent figure of Maple City.
“It’s City Lord Bai!”
“City Lord Bai came today!”
It was Maple City’s city lord, Bai Zhenkong.