Chapter 111: Conflict
Lin Feng and the others turned their gazes, looking coldly at the young man and woman who had just spoken. The corners of their mouths were curled with mocking smiles.
"What did you say?" Duan Feng replied coldly.
But unexpectedly, Lin Feng nudged him and said, "Duan Feng, let's go. Let's sign up."
With that, Lin Feng continued pulling the carriage forward.
"Brother Lin." Duan Feng was stunned for a moment and called out, but Lin Feng shook his head with a smile and said, "There are so many idiots out there. Can you afford to get angry at every single one of them?"
Duan Feng was taken aback, then shook his head with a smile.
However, Lin Feng's words made the young man and woman's faces turn ugly, their gazes icy cold.
"Lowborn, if it weren't for the fact that the Heavenly One Academy forbids trouble today, I would have crippled you right here."
The young man said coldly, but Lin Feng couldn't be bothered to pay him any attention. He had encountered too many of these types, and he had long since grown used to it.
"Zuoqiu, who's making you angry?"
At that moment, a voice came from behind the young man. Zuoqiu and Zhong Ling both turned around, and then they saw Duan Yu walking toward them, holding a flexible whip in her hand.
"Don't even mention it. Just a lowborn."
Zuoqiu said indifferently, jumping down from his Howling Moon Wolf, while Zhong Ling did the same.
Although Duan Lie was a very inconspicuous figure among the many members of the Duan Clan, his surname of Duan was still there. As the Prince of the Snow Moon Kingdom, Duan Yu was a commandery princess, so they had to show at least a basic level of respect.
In their social circle, people were divided into three, five, and nine classes, with an extremely strict hierarchy that no one dared to cross. That was why they dismounted from their mounts when they saw Duan Yu, yet called Lin Feng a lowborn.
Because they placed themselves in a rank below Duan Yu, but above Lin Feng.
"Since he's just a lowborn, why bother getting angry? Let's go sign up."
Duan Yu said indifferently. By now, the five-finger mark on her face had completely disappeared. How could her family lack medicinal pills? Healing a minor facial injury was a trivial matter. But the damage to her dignity was not so easily healed. In front of everyone, Lin Feng had slapped her hard across the face.
This matter would probably spread throughout the Imperial City soon. How could she face anyone?
Duan Feng walked up to a stone table. The old man sitting on the stone stool said directly, "Letter of recommendation. Hand it over."
"Alright." Duan Feng took out the letter of recommendation and handed it to the old man. After glancing at it, the old man's gaze narrowed slightly. He looked up at Duan Feng and asked, "Your surname is Duan?"
"Yes." Duan Feng replied.
"Mm. Go over there, get your token, and then enter the academy. Someone will receive you there." The old man pointed to the side. Duan Feng nodded slightly.
"Brother Lin, let's go over there." Duan Feng said to Lin Feng, but the old man asked, "What about the rest of you? Where are your letters of recommendation?"
Letters of recommendation? How could Lin Feng and the others have such things? Shaking his head, Lin Feng said, "We're just accompanying him. We don't have any."
"Without a letter of recommendation, you are not members of the Heavenly One Academy. No one who is not a member of the Heavenly One Academy is allowed to set foot inside, not even family members. Leave on your own."
The old man said calmly, his tone brooking no argument.
Hearing the old man's words, Lin Feng suddenly realized that among the people coming and going around them, even the children of nobles rarely brought their relatives along. This must be due to this rule.
"Lowborns really are lowborns. They don't know the rules. They don't even have a letter of recommendation. What a disgrace."
Zuoqiu and the other two arrived nearby, just in time to hear the old man's last two sentences to Lin Feng. A voice sneered from his mouth, dripping with mockery.
"Zuoqiu is right. I don't know where these lowborns crawled out from. What a disgrace." Zhong Ling chimed in beside him, her tone extremely sarcastic.
"Duan Yu, what do you think?" Zhong Ling then said to Duan Yu beside her. She knew that Duan Yu was the most proud and looked down on those lowborns, whipping them at will.
But when Zhong Ling looked at Duan Yu, she saw Duan Yu's gaze fixed on the backs of those few people. Her heart trembled slightly, and a complex expression appeared in her eyes—a mix of anger and a hint of fear.
Lin Feng turned his head and happened to see Duan Yu as well. A faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth, causing Duan Yu's face to stiffen.
"Birds of a feather flock together. It seems the two of them are just as idiotic as you are. You keep calling people lowborns, but you don't even realize how cheap your own mouths are."
A cold voice spat out from Lin Feng's mouth, causing Zhong Ling and Zuoqiu's faces to stiffen at the same time, turning gloomy.
This lowborn actually dared to insult them? And he even dragged Duan Yu into it? What audacity!
But when they looked at Duan Yu, they saw that aside from her ugly expression, she made no other move. The usually arrogant and hot-tempered Duan Yu, now being insulted, remained silent. This struck Zhong Ling and Zuoqiu as somewhat strange.
"Whose mouth is cheap?"
Seeing Duan Yu silent, Zhong Ling stared coldly at Lin Feng. The Flame Lion beneath her let out a low growl.
Spirit Beasts already possessed intelligence. Once tamed, they could understand their master's intentions.
"Having a cheap mouth is one thing, but not even having self-awareness is another. I really don't understand why the Heavenly One Academy would accept trash like you."
Lin Feng shook his head and said. Being called a lowborn once or twice was fine; he could pretend not to hear it. But the other party seemed to be pushing their luck, leaving him no choice but to respond.
"A lowborn who doesn't even have a letter of recommendation dares to question the Heavenly One Academy? How shameless. Even if the Heavenly One Academy forbids trouble today, I'm going to slap your face."
Zhong Ling's voice was cold. No one had ever dared to use the word "cheap" on her.
"Enough. Today is the registration day for the Heavenly One Academy. If you want to cause trouble, get lost."
The old man sitting on the stone stool showed a trace of impatience in his eyes as he spoke.
"Teacher, this is my letter of recommendation. Please take a look."
Zhong Ling stepped forward, arriving beside Lin Feng, and handed her letter of recommendation to the old man.
Taking the letter, the old man was slightly stunned when he saw the recommender's signature. Then he said, "You can go get your token now and enter the academy. From now on, you are a member of the Heavenly One Academy."
"No rush." Zhong Ling shot a smug glance at Lin Feng. At the same time, Zuoqiu also stepped forward and handed over his letter of recommendation.
The old man flipped through it, paused again, and nodded slightly. "Not bad. Not yet seventeen, and already at the Second Layer of Spirit Martial Realm. The Zuo family has raised a fine son."
"Thank you for the praise, Teacher." Zuoqiu said with a smile, his tone full of pride.
"But Zuoqiu, don't be too pleased with yourself. The Heavenly One Academy has many geniuses. Everyone who walks out of here can achieve great things. In the future, don't disgrace the Zuo family's name."
"Naturally, I won't." Zuoqiu shook his head, then glanced at Lin Feng and said coldly, "But Teacher, right now, there is someone slapping my face."
The old man's eyes flickered slightly as he looked at Lin Feng.
"Although today is the Heavenly One Academy's recruitment day and trouble is not allowed, for those without letters of recommendation, the rules do not apply."
The old man's words made Lin Feng and the others' gazes freeze. Lin Feng sneered, "The people of the Heavenly One Academy are also so short-sighted and snobbish. It's nothing special."
"Your mouth is so cheap. If I don't slap you, I wouldn't be worthy of being a member of the Heavenly One Academy."
Zuoqiu sneered. This person didn't even have a letter of recommendation, yet he was so reckless, asking for trouble.
At this moment, the crowd around them was gradually growing. Even some people from within the Heavenly One Academy came over to watch the commotion. They didn't expect someone to cause trouble at the recruitment site of the Heavenly One Academy.
"Lowborns are lowborns. They don't know when to quit. They're just asking for a beating."
Among the crowd, a young man in luxurious clothes said with a faint smile, his tone arrogant, looking down on commoners. This was the pride they had cultivated since childhood. In their view, the Heavenly One Academy should stop recruiting commoner disciples altogether. Their talent might be strong, but how could it compare to noble children who had both good birth and strong talent? The cultivation resources that noble children possessed were not something commoners could match.
"Just a bunch of sickly weaklings who rely on their family's power. What use are they besides using pills to boost their cultivation? A bunch of useless trash."
A similarly confrontational voice rang out. This person held the exact opposite view, looking down on noble children.
And with the words of these two, the two groups of people began to show signs of confrontation.
In the Imperial City, there were too many people with prominent status, so there were also many noble children. They had always been arrogant and looked down on commoners. Over time, the opposition between these two groups naturally formed. This was a unique feature of the Snow Moon Imperial City, not found elsewhere.
(Note: The original text ends here. The translation is complete for the provided chapter content.)