Hit a brick wall

Just after Ye Weian's carriage disappeared around the street corner, two figures emerged furtively from the shadows—Darian Vanmantel and Zachary Loren, who had just been reprimanded by Ye Weian.

"Young Master Marans, how come you... are hanging there?" Vanmantel asked, tilting his head back with a smug look.

Maranse Goldfeather was clinging desperately to the stone statue, his magnificent hunting attire disheveled by the wind.

He roared angrily, "What are you two waiting for? Get me down here!"

Darian suppressed a laugh and pulled out a scroll of the [Feather Fall Technique] from his pocket.

With a gentle breeze lifting Marans' body, the noble young master of the Golden Feather family finally returned to the ground in a disheveled state.

As soon as he landed, without even bothering to brush the dust off himself, he angrily pointed at the two men and cursed:

"You two bastards! You dare show yourselves again? You've screwed me over! Why didn't you tell me that this kid surnamed Xia Xing was a monster who could instantly cast spatial teleportation spells? I almost thought I'd run into a real battle mage!"

Darian and Zachary exchanged a glance and immediately switched into "Best Actor" mode.

They dared not admit that they had a long-standing conflict with Ye Wei'an and that they had just been reprimanded by him today.

Darian immediately put on an innocent face, spreading his hands and protesting:

"Oh, dear Maranth, you've really wronged us!" Darian spread his hands, looking completely innocent. "We just thought the lad was really good-looking, and since you've been interested in aloof beauties lately, we kindly introduced you. We had no idea he was so unassuming!"

"Exactly, we're victims too!" Zachary quickly chimed in, "He used to be an outsider at the academy, who would have thought he'd change so much in the last two months? If we'd known he was this savage, we would never have introduced him to you!"

Marans stared at the two men suspiciously for a long time. Seeing their sincere expressions and lingering fear, his suspicion of being tricked finally dissipated.

In aristocratic circles, it was perfectly normal for people to introduce each other to playthings. He simply thought he was unlucky and had run into a ruthless character who was pretending to be weak while actually being strong.

"So, what exactly did he do to offend you?" Zachary leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "That he actually hung you on the top of the tower?"

Maranth coughed, his expression becoming somewhat unnatural.

"Hmph, that guy is incomprehensibly arrogant!"

He certainly wouldn't admit that he was retaliated against for physically assaulting someone. The moment he opened his mouth, the story changed completely: "I only wanted to offer him some assistance on behalf of the Golden Feather family, seeing he was alone, and even planned to introduce him to the Dragon Knight Club to broaden his horizons. But not only did he not appreciate it, he also verbally insulted the Golden Feather family's reputation. Just as I was about to confront him, he launched a despicable sneak attack, taking advantage of my unpreparedness with this underhanded tactic!"

"How shameless!" Darian clenched his fist in righteous indignation. "In Susar, someone actually dares to openly challenge the prestige of the Golden Feather family? This isn't just humiliating you, Marans, it's slapping the entire Cormier noble class in the face!"

"That's right!" Zachary fanned the flames from the sidelines. "If we don't teach him a lesson, by tomorrow this will be all over social circles, and everyone will think the Golden Feather family is easy to bully!"

These words struck Maranse's sore spot precisely. He was a man who valued his pride the most, and he had just been really itching for Ye Wei'an's figure and face. At this moment, this dark psychology of "if I can't have it, I'll destroy it" was rapidly expanding under the instigation of the two.

Just as Marans was getting angry at the two people's slander and was preparing to go down to gather people and use his family connections to take revenge, Schultren, who had been waiting not far away, finally couldn't stand it anymore.

He walked over with several classmates, coldly glancing at Wanmantel and his companion, making no attempt to hide the disgust in his eyes.

"Mr. Jin Yu, before you decide to provoke a monster for the sake of these two scoundrels, I suggest you listen to the truth first," the upright Lv.4 battle mage said loudly.

Marans paused, frowning as he looked at the approaching mages: "You're...that bastard's friend? What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that these two 'helpful' friends just concealed the most important part."

"What I mean is that these two are not the same people who 'met Ye Wei'an for the first time tonight' as they claim."

Schultren crossed his arms, his tone full of disdain. "Darian, Zachary, your memories seem to be a bit fuzzy. Should I help Young Master Marans recall how you two were thrown to the dormitory rooftop by Ye Weian's magic for provoking him?"

Maranse's face instantly darkened. He turned and glared fiercely at Darian and Zachary: "Is what he said true? You've been playing me all along?"

"No...that's not how it is, Maranth, let us explain..." The two were terrified.

Although they were nobles, they were from collateral branches, their status neither high nor low.

Being targeted by a direct descendant of the Golden Feather Clan is no laughing matter.

"In fact, they have a long-standing personal grudge against His Excellency Ye Wei'an," another monk added. "Just two months ago, these two were going to great lengths to make things difficult for His Excellency Ye Wei'an. Their claim that they 'didn't know Ye Wei'an' was a complete lie; they were simply trying to use you to settle their personal scores."

"Enough!" Maranth growled.

Although he was lecherous and frivolous, he would never tolerate being used as a pawn by two fools from third-rate families.

He glared fiercely at Darian and Zachary, his tone chilling, "Once I have the time, I'll make you understand the consequences of using the Golden Feather family."

Darian and Zachary were so frightened that they fell silent on the spot, wishing they could disappear immediately.

However, although Maranse hated the two swindlers, he still could not forgive Ye Weian's actions.

"Even if those two bastards concealed the information, that Ye Weian went too far! No matter what kind of fortuitous encounters or strength he may have, in this Susar City, who wouldn't show deference to the Golden Feather family's insignia? How dare he... how dare he treat me like that!"

Schulderen looked at Marans, who still seemed arrogant, and sneered inwardly.

He knew all too well the arrogance inherent in these nobles—in their eyes, even geniuses were merely “useful tools” unless they possessed power that instilled fear in them.

"Excessive?" Schulte's tone carried a hint of pity. "Young Master Marans, you may not yet realize the seriousness of the matter. Just now, Principal Ganlahast not only awarded Lord Ye Weian a 'Certificate of Excellence,' but also personally escorted him to the door and had a very pleasant conversation with him. In short, the principal thinks highly of him, very highly of him."

"Do you think, in the eyes of this chief royal mage, is your 'Golden Feather family's reputation' more important, or the disciple he favors?"

"Wha...what? The principal personally escorted him?"

The two, who were racking their brains for an excuse, suddenly collapsed to the ground with their legs giving way.

They originally thought Ye Wei'an had only "become stronger," but they never expected that he had risen to prominence and even caught the attention of the principal.

This means that Ye Wei'an has almost stepped into the core circle of the kingdom's spellcasters.

Maranse was so shocked he broke out in a cold sweat.

He knew very well that his ability to flaunt himself in Susar was entirely due to the power of the Golden Feather family.

However, the "Nantong" affair was considered a scandalous affair that could not be openly discussed by the Cormier royal family and the orthodox nobility.

If he were harassing an ordinary person, the Jin family could suppress it;

If he were to flirt with a genius, the Jin family could easily bribe him.

But the person he just touched... was someone favored by the chief royal mage and the leader of the battle mage corps!

If Ye Wei'an were to complain to the principal, and that protective old mage felt it was a desecration of the "Glory of the Battle Mage," not only would Marans be expelled from Susar, but the entire Golden Feather family would probably have to apologize to the other party.

He turned around and slapped Wanmantel and Loren hard across the face, making them spin around three times.

"Get out! Don't let me see you in Susar again, or I'll cut your tongues out and feed them to the dogs!" Marans roared, and the two spoiled brats scrambled away and disappeared into the night.

Then, he hurriedly called a horse-drawn carriage himself.

"Damn it, I have to find my uncle, no... I have to find the Crown Princess... no, I can't find the Crown Princess... I have to find my sister... If this gets to Lord Ganlahast, I'm finished... It's a misunderstanding... Yes, it's a misunderstanding!"

Urged on by him, the coachman whipped the horse wildly, and the carriage sped away.

His only thought now was to appease this guy before Ye Weian might file a complaint.