Chapter 714: Pompous As Always
Recently, Yang Jie quieted down as he spent his days in a muddled state. The defeat was so humiliating that he refused to leave his house. He feared being seen by other people.
More importantly, he feared being shamed.
The defeat struck a blow at Yang Jie's confidence, so he couldn't be bothered to maintain his cultivation or his pet beast. Ye Yuzhou had admonished him a few times but that didn't work.
If a person decided to remain in low spirits, even eight horses wouldn't be enough to pull him up from his rut.
Although Ye Yuzhou didn't say it out loud, he thought it was a pity. After all, Yang Jie was his student and a talented prodigy.
If Yang Jie hadn't met Lin Jin or if he had been humbler, perhaps things would turn out differently.
Back then, everyone assumed Yang Jie would fall into a downward spiral. Even the Friar Association was beginning to forget his name.
However, things would always turn around someday.
Yang Jie's turnaround was a little unique. He did not forsake his arrogance, nor did he wish to keep a low profile.
The main reason why he decided to double down on his attitude was due to Lin Jin's rising fame in the mainlands.
This included Curator's influence after being deemed the number one appraiser and the strongest man in United Continent. Since Lin Jin was Curator's disciple, it made sense for him to be just as strong. Forget Yang Jie, were there other prodigies that could compete with Lin Jin?
No one.
Thus, Yang Jie felt burdened no more.
While his defeat might appear to many as something to be ashamed of, Yang Jie was quite proud of the battle.
It felt like his name had been engraved on the plaque of honor.
'Yang Jie had fought Lin Jin before and lost.'
No one else could have this experience even if they wanted to. And so, Yang Jie's arrogance and confidence returned. Of course, this only happened after a certain event.
Yang Jie visited a neighboring country, as it felt depressing and suffocating to stay in Maple City.
It was at that time that he joined an 'Elite Gathering' in that country.
As the name suggests, the Elite Gathering was actually a meet-up for young elites from United Continent and the neighboring continents. There were aristocrats, sons of noblemen, and even royalty.
Yang Jie was brought there against his will by an old friend. His foreign friend was himself a promising youth of his own country. Despite his young age, he possessed a Rank 4 pet beast and a high blood contract realm. Without a doubt, the young man had a bright future ahead of him. The same used to be said for Yang Jie.
Initially, he was reluctant to join the gathering. However, due to his friend's insistent persuasion, he gave in and participated in the gathering.
There, Yang Jie opened his eyes to a new world.
Back home, in tiny ol' Maple City, Yang Jie used to think he was extraordinary, a person who could afford to flaunt his power. However, after meeting elites from all over the world, he came to realize his own ignorance.
Every person in that gathering was too prominent for him to even befriend. Be it background, status, strength, and potential, the people he met at the gathering were the cream of the crop.
Again, Yang Jie suffered a mental blow.
It wasn't long before his opportunity came arrived.
At first, when Yang Jie's friend introduced him to other handsome and talented youths, they weren't at all interested in Yang Jie. Some couldn't even be bothered to reply to him.
All of a sudden, when they heard that Yang Jie hailed from Maple City, their interests were piqued.
Yang Jie came to know why.
Lin Jin was from Maple City too! Perhaps even Lin Jin had no idea how famous he had become. To these elite youths from premium countries, he had become an idol to be admired.
Some of the well-informed individuals in the gathering had heard about Yang Jie and Lin Jin's battle during their Disciples' Tournament. Word of it got around the circle, and although Yang Jie thought it was a humiliating incident, they started acting nicely toward Yang Jie.
They started speaking to Yang Jie as if he was some amazing character.
The reason was simple really.
Yang Jie may have lost but it wasn't important.
Yang Jie didn't understand it at first, but then an elite told him, "How could you possibly win against Lin Jin? It's only normal that you lost."
With this, Yang Jie was enlightened.
So no one thought losing to Lin Jin was humiliating. Instead, to be able to meet and fight with Lin Jin was an honor no one else was able to boast about.
A huge crowd of noblemen and noblewomen formed around Yang Jie, asking him about Lin Jin. Yang Jie surprisingly felt honored.
Because of the defeat he suffered, he got to mingle with these elites.
This brought back his confidence.
Yang Jie regained his dignity and began to agree with what the others were saying. Losing to other people may be humiliating, but losing to Lin Jin was different.
There was nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, he had every reason to be proud of being able to spar with such an incredible figure.
These elites couldn't even lose to Lin Jin if they wanted to. Lin Jin's reputation soared when rumors started spreading about his ability to influence the struggle for the throne in Heavenly Spiral Kingdom.
Some even claimed that Lin Jin was the disciple of an immortal.
The more these rumors spread, the greater Yang Jie's advantage.
He could just ride on Lin Jin's success.
Never in a million years would Yang Jie have foreseen that he would be in this position. Still, many people were envious of him.
Shortly after, Yang Jie began to see Lin Jin as an idol and a goal to pursue.
When Maple City was besieged by the Grassy Continent coalition, it had also been like it was right now, darkened by never-ending black haze. Immortals emerged out of nowhere, defeating Lin Jin's disciples one-by-one.
Yang Jie and Ye Yuzhou helped defend the city, but they couldn't match up to the immortals. They were captured upon encountering the enemy.
However, Yang Jie saw everything else, including Lin Jin's drop-dead gorgeous disciple who withstood a few of the immortal's attacks.
It shook him to the core.
Even his teacher, Ye Yuzhou, was taken down in one hit. In comparison, that woman was able to last more than ten blows, which proved that her strength was far above Ye Yuzhou's.
And she was only Lin Jin's disciple?!
As proud as Yang Jie was, he was no fool. He could tell that the enemy could easily overwhelm the entire Jade Dragon Kingdom, much less Maple City.
And yet, the enemy decided to bring in immortals.
Aside from the fact that immortals were supposed to have gone extinct, the situation had become dire with the arrival of these enemies.
Ye Yuzhou once warned him that the enemy came prepared, and that the immortals were only there to ensure the success of their plan.
While the old man was shocked to find out that immortals were among the enemy's ranks, this wasn't his first time meeting immortals. What astonished him was that Lin Jin's disciple, Shang'er, actually had half of an immortal's strength.
If it weren't for the enemy immortal's experience and their magic treasures, Shang'er might have been able to hold off the enemy.