Without any mishaps, Yao Yue successfully passed the third level. He became one of the fastest people in history to pass the third level.
In the past hundred years, there were only a few people who were able to pass through as quickly as Yao Yue, and there was no such person in the last generation. In the last two generations, only the Third Prince, Zi Lintian, was able to do this!
Now that Yao Yue was able to do this, there were already people comparing him to Zi Lin Tian two years ago.
That afternoon, all the new batch of disciples gathered once again.
Vice Principal Lu Youwei personally came and announced the rewards for the top ten Newcomer Kings. The top five would receive considerable rewards while the bottom five would be accepted as personal disciples by the Elders of the academy.
Finally, Yao Yue received three chances to enter the Hidden Skills Pavilion to choose an Origin Martial Skill. He also received a high grade General Weapon from the Weapon Pavilion and a middle grade General Level Soft Armor. The second ranked Zhang Mengfei received two chances to enter the Hidden Skills Pavilion to choose an Origin Martial Skill. He also received a middle grade General Weapon and a low grade General Level Soft Armor. As for the fifth ranked Guan Changyun, he received two chances to enter the Hidden Skills Pavilion to choose an Origin Martial Skill and a middle grade General Level Soft Armor.
Since the three of them had already been accepted as personal disciples by the Principal and the other two Elders, this reward was removed!
These rewards were enough to make people's eyes red with envy. This was equivalent to giving them a chance to increase their battle strength. This would allow them to widen the gap between them and the other disciples.
After Lu Youwei finished announcing this news, he left.
Yao Yue, Zhang Mengfei, Situ Lian, Ji Youran and Guan Changyun could take their tokens to exchange for their rewards at any time. There was no rule that they could receive their rewards now!
After the crowd dispersed, Yao Yue brought Guan Changyun and Zhang Mengfei out of the academy.
The three of them were the disciples of the Principal or Elders. They only needed to ask their Masters for permission to be given special treatment and be able to leave the academy temporarily.
This time, they had won glory for their Masters. Their Masters were also accommodating and allowed them to play in the Imperial City for three days!
When they arrived outside the academy, Hu Mei Er, Little Monkey and Little Black went up to greet them.
When Yao Yue and the others returned to the academy, they couldn't bring Hu Mei Er with them, so they left Little Monkey and Little Black to accompany her.
Originally, Yao Yue planned to leave them at Jueyao Ridge to wait for them. However, she was worried that the Tiger Fang Hunting Group would appear, so she decided to let them wait outside the Academy.
"Prince Consort, you're out!" Hu Mei Er exclaimed in joy.
She had no one to rely on now and had long regarded Yao Yue as the only person she could rely on. It had only been a day and a night since they last met, but she already missed her.
She even had a piece of animal skin draped over her body, adding a hint of wildness to her charming temperament. It really made one's imagination run wild.
Every time Guan Changyun saw her, he would show an infatuated look, which was different from when he saw other beautiful women.
Even Zhang Mengfei couldn't help but take a few more glances at her. However, he was able to guard his heart and wasn't bewitched!
Yao Yue knew that this was due to Hu Mei Er's innate charm. As long as it was a man, he would be easily attracted to her temperament. This was a kind of innate talent of a fox demon.
Whether or not one could resist the temptation depended on whether one's heart was strong enough or not!
Yao Yue thought, "I have to find some time to talk to Lao Er about Hu Mei Er, so he won't fall deeper!"
It wasn't that he wanted to stop Guan Changyun from pursuing Hu Mei Er, but Hu Mei Er's identity was special. It was impossible for the two of them to be together.
"Let's go, we'll return to the Imperial City!" Yao Yue nodded in response.
After saying that, the group of them set off for the Imperial City.
This time, Yao Yue had two important things to do in the Imperial City. The first was to buy a courtyard to settle Hu Mei Er down, and the second was to go to the Imperial Stone Workshop to test his Yuan Seeking Technique.
On the way back, Guan Changyun pestered Hu Mei Er as usual, but Hu Mei Er hugged Yao Yue's arm tightly, refusing to speak to him.
Hu Mei Er's heart had yet to be fully untangled, so she couldn't completely let go of other people. If not for the fact that Guan Changyun was Yao Yue's brother, she would have definitely rejected him.
Soon, the group arrived at the Imperial City. Yao Yue didn't directly return to the Long Estate. Instead, he led the group to the Fiend Feast Pagoda.
It had been many months since he last came to the Fiend Feast Pagoda, but the place still hadn't changed. However, Yao Yue, who had extraordinary insight, noticed that something was wrong.
Yao Yue suppressed his doubts and walked into the Fiend Feast Pagoda.
There was almost no one in the Fiend Feast Pagoda. Only a shopkeeper and a few waiters were wiping tables and chatting.
"Sirs, please come in," a waiter immediately greeted when he saw that there were guests.
"Tell your shopkeeper to come over!" Yao Yue immediately said.
The shopkeeper heard Yao Yue's words and immediately looked over at Yao Yue. He was startled, but he quickly went over and respectfully said, "This lowly one greets the son-in-law!"
Yao Yue had been to the Fiend Feast Pagoda a few times, so the shopkeeper naturally recognized Yao Yue. If not for Yao Yue, the Fiend Feast Pagoda would have been closed down long ago.
"What's going on here?
Why isn't there a single customer? "Yao Yue asked with a frown.
The Fiend Feast Pagoda was one of the Nangong Clan's signature businesses in the Imperial City. Many high officials and nobles had always patronized it, and its income had always been generous.
However, the Fiend Feast Pagoda's current desolation was far too different from the past.
The shopkeeper made an inviting gesture and said, "Lord son-in-law, please come in first. I'll explain everything to you later."
After Yao Yue and the others were seated, the shopkeeper told them about the recent happenings.
As it turned out, a new Fiend Feast Pagoda had opened on the other side of the street, and it was called the Imperial Feast Pagoda!
Since this Feast Pagoda dared to use such a name, it was clear that it had a powerful background. It was rumored that a certain prince of the Imperial Clan had opened this Feast Pagoda, and it was specifically used to receive banquets hosted by high officials and ambassadors sent by various dynasties.
As soon as the Feast Pagoda opened, all the customers that originally belonged to the Fiend Feast Pagoda swarmed over to the Imperial Feast Pagoda.
They wanted to curry favor with the boss behind the scenes for the sake of the Imperial Clan's reputation. At the same time, they also wanted to get to know more high officials and ambassadors.
The opening of the Imperial Feast Pagoda had indeed caused a huge impact on the Fiend Feast Pagoda, but it was not to the point where no one came.
The main reason was that someone had been splashing feces outside the Fiend Feast Pagoda every night recently. As a result, when customers arrived early in the morning and saw the stinky things, no one came to eat here anymore.
The Fiend Feast Pagoda's business had plummeted to the point where no one came.
"Didn't you catch the person who splashed the feces?" Yao Yue asked with a frown.
The shopkeeper replied, "The young master did send someone to keep watch at night, but it was useless. The person still ran away after splashing feces. The guards couldn't do anything to him."
Yao Yue hesitated for a moment before saying, "Get your young master here. I want to talk to him."
The shopkeeper acknowledged and immediately sent a waiter to find Nangong Cai.
"Boss, does this place have anything to do with you?" Guan Changyun asked.
Yao Yue replied, "It does." He paused for a moment before adding, "This is the business of the Nangong Clan. You should have heard of the Nangong Clan, right?"
"One of the four great clans of the imperial city, the Nangong Clan whose wealth can rival an entire country?" Guan Changyun asked in astonishment.
Zhang Mengfei had always lived in a mountain village, so he wasn't very familiar with the place. He listened quietly without saying a word.
"Yes, it's the Nangong Clan. Nangong Ying's brother, Nangong Cai, is my friend. I have some business dealings with his clan," Yao Yue explained.
Yao Yue was furious. It was no secret that the Long Clan and Nangong Clan were working together, but someone still dared to make a move on the Fiend Feast Pagoda. Moreover, they had used such underhanded means. How shameful!
Would the imperial clan resort to such underhanded means?
I'm afraid this matter isn't as simple as it seems, Yao Yue thought.
In less than an hour, Nangong Cai's carriage appeared outside the Fiend Feast Pagoda.
He squeezed his cumbersome body through the door and immediately ran to Yao Yue. With an excited expression, he said, "Boss, you're finally back. If you didn't come back soon, I would have been worried to death!"
"What's the hurry? What happened? Tell me in detail!" Yao Yue said solemnly.
Nangong Cai wanted to say something, but when he looked at Guan Changyun, Zhang Mengfei, and Hu Mei Er, he hesitated.
"Tell me. They are all my brothers," Yao Yue replied.
Yao Yue's words made it clear that he trusted the three of them completely. The three of them felt warmth in their hearts.
"Boss, we're hungry. Give us a place to eat," Guan Changyun said tactfully.
"That's right. We haven't eaten anything since we left the academy," Zhang Mengfei said.
They only said that because they didn't want to make things difficult for Yao Yue.
"That's good. Fatty, get someone to prepare some delicious food to entertain my two brothers and sister!" Yao Yue replied.
"Don't worry, Boss. I will get someone to treat the three of you well," Nangong Cai replied.
Nangong Cai had someone arrange a private room for Guan Changyun, Zhang Mengfei, and Hu Mei Er to eat while he and Yao Yue went to another private room to discuss matters.
"Boss, you have to save our Nangong Clan this time," Nangong Cai said to Yao Yue with a pitiful expression the moment he entered the private room.
"What happened?" Yao Yue asked again.
Seeing Nangong Cai's expression, Yao Yue knew that something big must have happened.
"Boss, as you can see, our Devouring Demon Pagoda can't do business anymore. Furthermore, our Nangong Clan's businesses have been attacked. If this goes on, our Nangong Clan won't be able to stay in the Imperial City any longer!" Nangong Cai cried.
Nangong Cai then told Yao Yue everything that had happened recently.
It turned out that other than the Devouring Demon Pagoda, other Nangong Clan businesses had been attacked by unknown forces. Other than that, many other similar businesses had opened up, which severely affected the Nangong Clan's business.
Now, the Nangong Clan's income had shrunk significantly. If this continued, they would not be able to recover from it.
"Are the people from the Nangong Clan all pushovers?
Didn't you find out who did it? "Yao Yue scolded.
"Recently, we sent some experts out and found some clues. It should be the Tiger Fang Hunting Group!" Nangong Cai replied.