Unrivaled Medicine God 21 to 40

 Chapter 21: Bronze Assassin

Translator: celefoata_ Editor: RegiusProfessor

Chou Ying was gloomy these past two days.

As a Bronze Rank assassin from Mosha, his assassination targets were mostly martial artists of the Seventh Level Essence Qi Realm and above. Yet this time around, the mission he received was actually to assassinate a First Level Essence Qi Realm rookie.

To have obtained the title of a Bronze Rank assassin showed that his abilities had already received preliminary recognition from the organization. Chou Ying’s strength was at the Seventh Level Essence Qi Realm, meaning the missions he received were mostly corresponding to his level; sometimes even against martial artists who were stronger than him. Asking him to assassinate a First Level Essence Qi Realm rookie was simply a form of humiliation to him.

Chou Ying was an ambitious assassin. His goal was to become a Gold Rank assassin. Hence, the training he received back in Mosha was rather severe. Concealment, disguising appearances, and one hit certain kill; he studied all of these very diligently which was why his strength grew very quickly as well.

In order to stimulate his potential, Chou Ying frequently accepted quite challenging missions. There was even an occasion where he accepted a mission to assassinate a Ninth Level Essence Qi Realm target which he barely managed to complete by the skin of his teeth. Ever since then, he received more attention from the organization, and the resources allocated to him also increased by a lot.

This time around, the assassination target was said to be a reckless silkpants who did not have any abilities. A 15-year-old but only at the First Level Essence Qi Realm; he was definitely akin to rotten mud which cannot hold up the wall. Supposedly, the employer spent a large sum of money to request for a Bronze Rank killer to move out.

Facing a target like that, Chou Ying only needed to use a single finger to crush him.

However, Chou Ying was an extremely professional killer. Although he completely dismissed the employer’s repeated cautioning, he still made adequate preparations.

Many of those in the same profession used their blood to teach Chou Ying one particular truth; a lion would go all out even when hunting a rabbit.

In the past, many rookies, even Bronze Rank assassins from Mosha, tried to kill their targets out in the open just because the targets were too weak, but ended up losing their own lives.

Additionally, it was expected that the target’s father had planned for two experts to escort him, which would make things very troublesome for Chou Ying.

However, Chou Ying was extremely confident in his assassination techniques. As long as he made use of the favorable climate and geographical advantage, he would definitely be able to assassinate the target successfully even while under the protection of the two experts.

But who would have thought that the retarded silkpants actually chose not to bring along those two followers. Instead, he left the city with only another punk and a young lady with him.

Hehehe. Since you are courting death, then I won’t hold back.

Chou Ying who was looking from far away was so excited that his heart was about to jump out.

After leaving the city, Chou Ying had been following the three of them from far behind, without any intention of making any move. He had already investigated the route leading from the capital to the Dan Wu Academy and already had a place in mind where he will make his strike.

These three people did not seem to be anxious. They took their time while enjoying the scenery.

Ha, you guys just have fun a little while longer. After all, this is the last bit of fun you guys will enjoy in your lives.

Chou Ying laughed coldly in his heart.

Seeing as they were about to arrive at the Dan Wu Academy, Chou Ying circled around and went ahead of them, and then laid in ambush among the rocky terrain. He had long predetermined that this was the best location for him to strike. Here, the rocks formed an uneven terrain which was advantageous for concealing himself. He was prepared to kill Ye Yuan in a single blow.

Right when Ye Yuan and his entourage were about to enter his certain-kill range, the three of them stopped, leaving Chou Ying stunned.

. . . . . .

"Come on out. I believe Mister is tired after following us all the way. Am I right?" Ye Yuan’s words slowly drifted into Chou Ying’s ears.

No one answered . . .

This brat . . . is he making a blind guess?

Trying to trick me to go out? Hehehe. That must be it!

But he seemed to have underestimated this brat. To think he actually guessed that someone would send people here to kill him. Since Ye Yuan managed to predict this, then why he did not bring along followers? Unless those two followers had been following them all along, and even he himself did not discover it?

But how was that possible?

The strength of those two followers was at best about the same as him. If they had been following these three people all the way, it would be impossible for him to not have spotted them!

As a Bronze Rank assassin from Mosha, Chou Ying had considerable confidence in his abilities to conceal and tail people. If it had been a Spirit Condensation Realm martial artist who followed them, then it would be reasonable for him to not have noticed anything. But those two followers were just Essence Qi Realm martial artists. There was no way he could not discover them.

No matter what, as long as they entered his attack range, he would just send that Ye Yuan to see King Yama.

. . . . . .

"Young Master, what’s wrong?" Lu-er did not understand why Ye Yuan would suddenly blurt out something like that and asked him in puzzlement.

Rather, it was Tang Yu whose vigilance was quite high. The moment Ye Yuan said those words, Tang Yu entire body went on alert.

"Hahaha. It’s just a small thief. No big deal," Ye Yuan said without any care.

Lu-er, upon seeing Ye Yuan’s casual attitude, took things even less seriously. "But Young Master, where is that bad guy hiding?"

"Oh. Right behind that big boulder. My guess is that he is waiting for us to go over before ambushing us." Ye Yuan gestured with his mouth and gave a smile.

Chou Ying’s emotions which had just relaxed, once again tightened with Ye Yuan’s words. Wasn’t he behind a big boulder right now?

However, this place was filled with piles of rocks and stones; even gigantic boulders were everywhere. How would that guy know which boulder he was hiding behind?

Still trying to draw me out?

I, Chou Ying, am a professional killer. How could I possibly be goaded out using this super weak goading technique?

"Hey, the state of your heart is in disorder. That’s not good." Ye Yuan’s voice drifted over once again.

Chou Ying reacted with a violent shudder.

As an assassin, Chou Ying always felt that the state of his heart had already been trained to a realm where he was unaffected by any disturbances. However, those two sentences by Ye Yuan really disrupted the state of his heart.

How was this possible?! The other party is only a First Level Essence Qi Realm rookie!

Could it be that he really discovered me? He wasn’t bluffing?

Right at this moment, Ye Yuan’s demon-like voice drifted into his ears once again. "How about this? I will throw a rock over. If I hit the correct one, you come out; if I hit wrongly, then I will carry on walking. How’s that?"

The moment the voice stopped, Chou Yin heard a whoosh, followed by the crisp sound of a small rock hitting a boulder. The boulder that he was leaning against . . .

Chou Ying realized that he was out of luck. Ye Yuan truly knew that he was hiding here and was not trying to trick him.

Revealing himself, Chou Ying discovered three youths staring right at him. Among them, one of the youths had a weird smile on his face, who also happened to be the target he was sent to assassinate: Ye Yuan.

"How did you discover me?" Chou Ying asked with a dark face.

He was unable to understand how a First Level Essence Qi Realm rookie could discover him. Right now, what he wanted to know the most was where his concealment went wrong, in order to make improvements after today’s mission.

As for whether or not these three people in front of him posed a threat, that was something he had never even considered!

How was it possible for a Mosha’s Bronze Rank assassin to be defeated by three rookies?

"Want to know how? Not going to tell you!" Ye Yuan looked as if he was not willing to, and it was also impossible for him to answer Chou Ying’s question.

He could not possibly tell Chou Ying that this body contained a super amazing soul.

"Courting death!" Right when Chou Ying was about to strike, he suddenly stopped. "Yii? To think he’s actually at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm? The information doesn’t match!"

Chou Ying spent the past two days observing Ye Yuan from afar, so he was not aware of Ye Yuan’s transformation. Now that he was facing Ye Yuan, he realized that his assassination target was already at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm.

To Chou Ying, there was not much difference between the First Level Essence Qi Realm and the Third Level Essence Qi Realm. An opponent like this was basically an instant kill for him.

Every three levels in the Essence Qi Realm was considered as one stage. Even though there was only a difference of one stage between the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm and the Third Level Essence Qi Realm, one should not underestimate it, as the difference in strength was huge. It was not difficult for a person at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm to face off against five or six people at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm.

As Chou Ying was two stages above Ye Yuan, he did not feel that Ye Yuan posed any threat to him.

What made Chou Ying uncertain was whether the employer’s information was wrong, or it was this youth in front of him that was too monstrous?

Chou Ying would rather choose to believe the former. After all, only two to three days had passed since the mission was issued. To train from the First Level Essence Qi Realm to the Third Level Essence Qi Realm in two to three days?

Was this a joke?

"Brother Ye, this person is very troublesome to deal with. In a while, I will delay him; you and Lu-er quickly rush off! The academy is only around ten miles from here. The two of you quickly go and get help!" Wielding his sword, Tang Yu positioned himself in front of Ye Yuan and Lu-er.

He could feel the killing intent emanating out of Chou Ying, yet he could not see through Chou Ying’s abilities. He knew that this time around, they had met a tough character. Not only did Ye Yuan save Tang Zonghuai’s life, but he also gave him a high-level medicinal pill. It could be said that Tang Yu owed Ye Yuan a great debt of gratitude. What Tang Yu was doing now was risking his life to repay the debt.

Although Tang Yu was also a genius student from the Dan Wu Academy, when compared to Chou Yin who had been through hundreds of battles, regardless whether it was strength or experience, he was too lacking. Staying behind naturally meant certain death.

Among the three of them, Tang Yu’s strength was the greatest. Hence, he did not hesitate at all to stand out.

Seeing Tang Yu’s appearance as if he was about to face a great enemy, Lu-er also started to become nervous. "Young Master, run away first! Big Brother Tang and I will cover your retreat!"

When Ye Yuan saw Lu-er standing in front of him, he could not help but to laugh. "Silly girl, what can you do by staying behind. Move away."

"No way! I’m not moving!" Lu-er said stubbornly.

Looking at Tang Yu’s and Lu-er’s actions, Ye Yuan found it hilarious, yet he was extremely touched in his heart.

One can only see true feelings during a crisis. Lu-er’s actions were within Ye Yuan’s expectations. However, he had only just met Tang Yu a few days ago. Even if he had saved Tang Yu’s father and gave him an Exploding Yuan Pill, someone who lacked resolution would have long fled for his life.

One had to know, with Chou Ying’s strength, without any accident, the three of them would undoubtedly die.

"Hahaha. What a touching scene! Ye Yuan, it is fine if you don’t say anything. But this young lady looks rather ravishing, in a while . . ." Chou Ying started laughing wildly.

At this point, Chou Ying was confident that this Ye Yuan definitely cultivated some technique, or he had some treasure on him, which was how Ye Yuan found his location.

Such a technique or even a treasure like that was tremendously useful to him. Hence, he felt that no matter what, he had to force an answer out.

Furthermore, Lu-er was indeed tempting. Why would he let go of this chance?

"You guys, make way!" Ye Yuan pushed Lu-er and Tang Yu aside and stood in front. He still had a smile on his face, except now, that smile became ice-cold.

An inexplicable chill suddenly filled his heart. It made Chou Ying shuddered.

What’s going on?

Chou Ying had killed at least a hundred, if not eighty people. He initially already had an ice-cold air around his body. Even if a Spirit Condensation Realm martial artist were to stand in front of him right now, it would be impossible to make him shudder. Yet when he was facing this Third Level Essence Qi Realm brat, he actually felt a chill?

Chou Ying felt that everything that had happened today was too abnormal. This was supposedly a mission that was simple without a doubt. Why did things become so bizarre?

"You and I originally had no grudges. Initially, I only wanted to try things out with you seeing as you are helping others avert disaster by taking their money. But since you dare to have ideas about Lu-er, then don’t blame me for taking your life."

Ye Yuan’s words revealed a bone-piercing chill.

At this point, Ye Yuan swallowed a medicinal pill; something that he refined before setting off.

Since he knew that this journey would be dangerous, Ye Yuan naturally would not be unprepared.

This medicinal pill was named Five Elements Spirit Link Pill; it was refined using medicinal herbs having five different attributes being metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. An Essence Qi Realm martial artist, after consuming it, could directly raise their strength by an entire stage for a period of time!

"Hahaha. This is hilarious! I want to see how a Third Level Essence Qi Realm brat like you can take my life!"

Chou Ying’s emotion was nowhere as calm as what he was showing on his face currently. In reality, he only used these words to encourage himself, to chase away the shadow that was shrouding his heart.

At this moment, schwing! Chou Ying’s sword left its scabbard.

As a killer, Chou Ying would stoop to anything to kill his opponent. Nobody said that you could not do a sneak attack during a frontal battle. A moment ago, Chou Ying was still talking and laughing, and the next moment, his sword already reached in front of Ye Yuan.

"Brother Ye (Young Master), be careful!" Tang Yu and Lu-er shouted in unison.

However, their cries were not faster than Chou Ying’s sword. By the time they reacted, Chou Ying’s sword had already stabbed through Ye Yuan’s body.

"Young Master!"

"Brother Ye!"

Looking at this scene, Tang Yu and Lu-er gave a heart-piercing cry.

Chou Ying felt that something was wrong. His sword obviously passed through Ye Yuan’s body, but why his hand did not feel anything?

The reason why Chou Ying drew his sword so quickly was not only because he was cautious, but also because the uneasiness in his heart had become increasingly stronger.

He watched as Ye Yuan swallowed that medicinal pill. Although he did not believe that Ye Yuan could threaten him just by eating some pills, as a person who had always been cautious, he did not hesitate at all before drawing his sword.

Only a dead person could make one rest easy.

However, he clearly had killed Ye Yuan. But why was this ominous feeling in his heart still there?

At this moment, Ye Yuan who was stabbed by Chou Ying gradually dissipated and then turned into nothingness.

What Chou Ying stabbed was actually just an afterimage!

"Hey, it’s very dangerous for you to show your back to the enemy."

Ye Yuan’s voice made Chou Ying went stiff.

How is this possible?! I already stabbed him!

"Instant Flash! It’s actually Instant Flash!" Tang Yu exclaimed.

"Young Master! It’s great that you are fine!" Lu-er shouted, pleasantly surprised.

"Hahaha. Of course I’m fine. How can your young master die so easily?" Ye Yuan said with a smile.

"Brother Ye actually managed to master such difficult footwork. Furthermore, your use of it was absolutely superb. What a genius!" Tang Yu marveled at this show of ability.

"Just a trifling skill."

To other people, Instant Flash was an incredibly profound footwork which was exceedingly hard to comprehend. However, to Ye Yuan, this level of footwork did not possess any challenge.

Instant Flash might look impressive, but it was actually only a footwork technique that allowed the user to move freely in a small radius. It was merely a Tier 1 Martial Technique, something that was not very profound.

However, this footwork encompassed Heavenly Dao, making it easy to learn but challenging to master. An ordinary person who wanted to master it would find it incredibly difficult. Even within the Dan Wu Academy, Instant Flash was a highly challenging technique with hardly anyone able to master it.

However, this level of Heavenly Dao was not worth mentioning to Ye Yuan who once had possessed an incredibly high cultivation level.

As a matter of fact, there were still some advantages in Ye Hang sending Ye Yuan to the Dan Wu Academy. That fellow at the very least will attend a few classes and pick up some stuff.

Although these things were not worth mentioning to the current Ye Yuan, it was still a pretty decent option for fooling people.

With Ye Yuan’s current strength, Instant Flash was a practical martial technique, yet not overly conspicuous.

Even though this martial technique faintly encompassed Heavenly Dao, in reality, it just barely touched a corner of it; it did not even count as crossing the threshold.

Ye Yuan spent the past few days reorganizing his predecessor’s memories. By relying on these vague impressions from his predecessor’s classes, he managed to fumble out several basic martial techniques with Instant Flash being one of it.

In reality, while the Instant Flash that Ye Yuan executed seemed right, it was actually different. But by executing it with Ye Yuan’s comprehension, it was only stronger and not weaker than those demonstrated by the teachers in the academy.

"No wonder you dare to not bring along followers. To think that your Instant Flash already reached such a level. Very impressive! Looks like the appraisal of you in the report was fairly misleading."

Chou Ying naturally knew that Instant Flash was not a unique martial technique. However, as Instant Flash was a footwork technique with only a small range of motion, it was not very useful for assassination. This was why he did not study it much.

Mastery of a martial technique could be classified into several categories. From low to high respectively: entry stage, small success stage, large success stage, great circle stage, and the legendary breaking illusion stage.

Even so, Chou Ying knew that for Instant Flash to leave behind an afterimage, it had to reach at least the great circle stage. To be able to train such an amazing movement technique to the great circle stage, as long as he did not meet any martial artists specializing in movement technique and the opponent was at the Essence Qi Realm and below, he basically had the ability to self-preserve.

No wonder this brat dared to be so arrogant, he really had some capabilities.

As an assassin, Chou Ying naturally had a movement technique that he specialized in. However, his movement technique was only trained till the large success stage. There was still quite a bit of distance away from the great circle stage.

It would be wrong to think that there was only a small difference of one realm between the large success stage and the great circle stage. For mastery of a martial technique, it was as far apart as heaven and earth.

The great circle stage would mean training the martial technique to the pinnacle, without any further room for improvements. Except for those monsters who possessed incredible comprehension, it would be very difficult to train a martial technique to the great circle stage.

As for the legendary breaking illusion stage, it would mean to break out of the great circle stage and create an alternate possibility; a sort of evolution from the original martial technique.

The requirements needed to train a martial technique to the breaking illusion stage were so harsh that it made one’s hair stand on its end. That was why it was considered a legendary stage. Generally speaking, training a martial technique to the great circle stage represented attaining the highest stage.

Chou Yin had always been somewhat confident of his movements, but he did not want to lose to a silkpants.

"You flattered me. But there are no bonus marks. You still have to die," Ye Yuan said lightly.

"Hahaha!" As if he just heard a hilarious joke, Chou Yin laughed wildly before saying, "To not know the immensity of heaven and earth! I admit that my movements are inferior when compared to you. But I don’t think those two people beside you also have movement techniques at the great circle stage, do they? I’d like to see how a weak silkpants at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm like you going to receive my blow directly!"

Chou Ying was a veteran in battles. After missing that one strike, he immediately looked for another way. Obviously, the two people beside Ye Yuan were his biggest weakness.

Tang Yu was still fine, but Lu-er was a lamb waiting to be slaughtered in Chou Ying’s eyes.

Your movement technique is fast? What’s the use of you being fast if I force you to fight me head-on?

Yet at this moment, that wild smile froze on his face; what replaced it was bafflement.

Because at this moment, Ye Yuan’s aura started to increase explosively under everyone’s perception.

Peak Third Level Essence Qi Realm!

Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm!

Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm!

Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm!

Ye Yuan’s cultivation realm broke through its bottleneck from the Third Level Essence Qi Realm to the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm and continued rising rapidly; all the way until it passed the Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm before stopping.

Looking at this scene, Chou Ying was dumbstruck and forgot to make his move for a moment.

"H-how is this possible?" Chou Ying sucked in a cold breath.

He suddenly recalled the scene where Ye Yuan swallowed the medicinal pill and thought to himself; could this possibly be the effects of that medicinal pill?

Even though he had heard that some medicinal pills were able to increase strength temporarily, this was his first time seeing a medicinal pill which could increase three small cultivation realms in a row.

Chou Ying could not help but think that if he had a medicinal pill like this, wouldn’t completing missions be as simple as cutting up vegetables?

Yet the reality was that a rookie who had a difference of four small cultivation realms from him, in a blink of an eye, created a gap by only one small cultivation realm than him . . .

Although the Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm and the Seventh Level Essence Qi Realm were not on the same level, without a doubt, Ye Yuan indeed possessed the capital to fight with him now. Coupled with his Instant Flash being at the great circle stage, it might be possible for Ye Yuan to battle him.

Chou Ying suddenly felt that today was very bizarre. This brat in front of him had truly given him too many surprises. Initially, he was still grumbling about how this mission was too simple. Now, he could not help but somewhat regretted taking on this mission.

However, regardless of what happens, the mission had to be completed. Otherwise, he would most likely lose the status he earned painstakingly in Mosha.

Apparently, the reason why Chou Ying was still thinking about completing the mission was that even after Ye Yuan swallowed the Five Elements Spirit Link Pill, his cultivation realm ultimately had stopped at the Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm.

This was a cultivation realm that he could handle.

Narrowing both eyes, the killing intent from Chou Yin firmly locked onto Lu-er.

"One Word Kill!"

Chou Ying immediately made his strongest move which he had used to finish off countless opponents in the past.

One Word Kill; simple and straightforward, yet it was domineering. A straightforward move that was not flashy at all.

Lu-er stood there completely unable to react as the sword already reached in front of her.

A hideous smile flashed across Chou Ying’s face as if he could see the beauty, Lu-er, was dying, and the image of Ye Yuan’s heart-wrenching grief.

However, just as Chou Ying’s sword was about to pierce Lu-er’s throat . . .

Ding!

His hand which was gripping his sword became numb, and the short sword which had never left his side was sent flying away.

A terrifying strength was transmitted, and Chou Ying was sent flying away as well.

At the critical moment just now, Ye Yuan reached Lu-er with Instant Flash, while his attack which was released after, struck first.

He only stretched his finger out and tapped lightly, accurately hitting Chou Ying’s short sword and sent it flying!

Absolute Yang Finger!

Ye Yuan’s Absolute Yang Finger already had some progress, reaching the entry stage after several days of cultivation.

A martial technique of this rank obviously was not so easy to learn. To have reached the entry stage within a few days showed how outstanding Ye Yuan’s talent was.

Even though it was only the entry stage of Absolute Yang Finger, executing it with Ye Yuan’s current Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm was not something that Chou Ying could withstand.

Chou Ying rolled on the ground. Puhwark! He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Looking at Chou Ying, Ye Yuan said coldly, "I will only use one finger. Whether you can escape or not, it is up to your abilities."

Right now, Chou Ying’s innards were in mayhem. But he knew that he had hit a hard plate. This brat was clearly pretending to be a pig in order to eat a tiger! He was too strong!

Forcefully suppressing his injuries, Chou Ying could not be bothered to care about anything else and started to wildly circulate all the essence energy in his body.

He wanted to flee!

Chou Ying could feel Ye Yuan’s surging killing intent. Clearly, his actions to kill Lu-er just now had thoroughly infuriated Ye Yuan.

Chou Ying used all the strength in his body to escape. He could even feel that his current speed was faster than it had ever been before. It was so fast that his movement technique had touched the threshold of the great circle stage.

This discovery made him ecstatic with joy!

I can escape!

I definitely can escape!

Chou Ying was screaming in his mind, and then his consciousness gradually blurred . . .

Watching Chou Ying utilized his movement technique to try to escape, Ye Yuan raised his finger leisurely and channeled essence energy with all his might using the Spirit Bristle Nine Yang Divine Art.

A finger pointed forward, and a formless force shot out from Ye Yuan’s finger. It tore through the air, penetrating Chou Ying’s heart in an instant.

The force was so swift and fierce that Chou Ying did not even notice his injury. His body continued charging forward for several meters more, collapsing only after he lost consciousness.

Absolute Yang Finger was incomparably domineering. The force shot out concentrated instead of dispersing, resulting in an incredibly powerful pinpoint and deadly attack. Being executed using Ye Yuan’s Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm strength, its lethality obviously could not be underestimated.

Of course, Absolute Yang Finger was not without any weaknesses. The biggest flaw was that it took too long to charge up. That was also the reason why Ye Yuan was slower by a beat when saving Lu-er just now.

In reality, if Chou Ying recklessly tangled with Ye Yuan in close proximity, leaving Ye Yuan unable to charge up his full strength, he might have a slim chance of survival.

But the various means used by Ye Yuan had long made Chou Ying wanted to withdraw from the fight. Especially when Ye Yuan had sent him flying with only one finger. This shocked Chou Ying’s state of mind greatly that made him wanted to flee at all cost.

Yet this attempt to escape gave Ye Yuan the chance to charge up.

From the beginning, Ye Yuan looked as if he was careless. But in reality, he advanced gradually, entrenching himself firmly at every step.

First, he used words to agitate Chou Ying, disrupting his state of heart. Next, he displayed Instant Flash. Following which, he swallowed the Five Element Spirit Link Pill, using his finger to overpower his opponent’s sword, crushing Chou Ying’s confidence step by step. Finally, he launched this certain kill strike.

It might have looked bland, but the entire process was filled with trepidation.

Although Ye Yuan had a lot of hidden cards, his strength was still too weak. If it was not for the fact that he swallowed the Five Element Spirit Link Pill and unleashed the Absolute Yang Finger with his full strength, he would not have been able to do anything to Chou Ying.

"Brother Tang, it is time to go," Ye Yuan said to Tang Yu lightly, not even bothering to look at Chou Ying who was lying on the ground.

Tang Yu was shocked by Ye Yuan’s attack and stood there dumbfounded the entire time. Only when Ye Yuan called him did he recover from his shock.

"Ah? Oh . . . Go . . . Go."

Tang Yu mounted his horse awkwardly, and the three of them continued heading towards the Dan Wu Academy.

. . . . . .

Passing through this stretch of messy stone forest, their field of vision gradually widened. In front of their eyes was a vast plain, and they were able to indistinctly make out what looks like multi-storied pavilions.

It was the Dan Wu Academy!

The State of Qin established itself through martial arts, with a strong emphasis on the Martial Dao. However, this Dan Wu Academy was not established by the State of Qin.

The domain south of the Endless Forest was hailed as the Tranquil Cloud Ten Nations. There were a total of ten nations, and the State of Qin was only one of them. The reason why they were collectively known as the Tranquil Cloud Ten Nations was that these ten nations were all under the jurisdiction of the Tranquil Cloud Sect; the Dan Wu Academy was the outer sect establishment of the Tranquil Cloud Sect.

The Tranquil Cloud Sect established its sect fundamentally with alchemy; even so, the sect’s internal hierarchy could be divided into the Pill Faction and the Martial Faction. This was why the outer sect establishment was named the Dan Wu Academy. 1

Just as the three of them entered the gates and were about to head to the residential area, they were stopped by a bunch of people.

"Yoh! Isn’t this the Ten Thousand Years Last Place? Well, aren’t you a tough one. When they sent you out, you were clearly breathing in but not breathing out. To think you had actually returned alive and kicking," the person in front of them exclaimed, clearly with sarcasm.

He was called Fei Qingping, a loyal lackey of Wan Yuan. Ye Yuan’s predecessor was poisoned because of competing with this fellow and ended up losing his life.

These several people in front of them all came from ordinary backgrounds. In the Dan Wu Academy, in order for those with ordinary backgrounds to obtain additional resources, many would choose to attach themselves to figures from the noble families. Only those who truly had outstanding talent would be heavily groomed by the academy.

"Good dogs don’t get underfoot, get lost." Ye Yuan could not be bothered with him. Would he not be demeaning his own status to act seriously against a dog?

"You! Ye Yuan, looks like your skin is itching again!" For someone like Fei Qingping, it was a taboo for other people to scold him a dog.

"With just you?" Ye Yuan asked expressionlessly.

"Yoh. After not seeing you for a few days, you became even more brain-damaged. You First Level Essence Qi Realm . . . Yii . . . How’s that possible? Y-you are already at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm?" Fei Qingping had only just sized him up, and could not help but to draw a cold breath. Ye Yuan was originally at the bottom place. After a few days of not seeing him, he actually rose two level consecutively, stepping into the Third Level Essence Qi Realm.

Fei Qingping still thought that he had seen wrongly, and he checked closely again before realizing that Ye Yuan was indeed already at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm. Wasn’t this a little too heaven-defying?

"Are your dog-eyes blind? Still can’t tell after staring for so long?" Ye Yuan’s words once again made the corner of Fei Qingping’s mouth twitched.

However, at this moment, Fei Qingping had already recovered from the initial shock and thought of a certain possibility.

He naturally knew that Ye Yuan’s father, Ye Hang, was an Alchemy Grandmaster. If he spared no expenses, pulling his son up by two small cultivation realms was not something incomprehensible.

As a matter of fact, there were plenty of methods to suddenly raise strength in this manner. But the price would be to sacrifice one’s potential.

It was said that there was an evil technique called Ghee Empowerment. The empowered individual could even directly break through the Essence Qi Realm and reach the Spirit Condensation Realm. But the price of this sort of empowerment was that it would no longer be possible for the person to increase his strength throughout his lifetime.

Only a few days had passed, yet Ye Yuan actually reached the Third Level Essence Qi Realm. Ye Hang should have known that his son’s talent was inadequate; therefore, he was afraid his son would be bullied. So he used a method similar to the Ghee Empowerment to raise him by two levels.

Linking all of these together, Fei Qingping gave a cold laugh in his heart. A rookie like this, forget about being at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm, even if he were at the Fourth Level, at the Fifth Level, Ye Yuan would not be his match.

Fei Qingping was at Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm, higher than Ye Yuan by one stage. Thus, he naturally had no need to fear him.

"Hehehe. It’s great to have a good father. Poisoned to such extent, and yet you still didn’t die. Even increasing strength becomes so simple. This is really an era for competing with fathers!" Fei Qingping said mockingly.

Ye Yuan knew what Fei Qingping was thinking right away, but he obviously would not explain to him. Instead, he smiled and said, "That’s right. I can compete using my father, but can you? I heard that your father is a watchdog for other people, using connections to let you entered the Dan Wu Academy. But who would have thought that after coming here, you would also become a watchdog. Indeed, a son will inherit his father’s career! One gate and two watchdogs; impressive, impressive!"

Ye Yuan learned from his predecessor’s memories that this Fei Qingping’s father was the confidant of Wan Donghai, and he entered the academy through the Wan Family’s connections. Otherwise, with his talent, he could not possibly join the academy.

It would be wrong to think that he and Tang Yu were both the same, being at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm. Fei Qingping was two years older than Tang Yu. He was also a commoner but had the support of the Wan Family’s resources. Yet, this Fei Qingping was only at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm. In the future, at best he would be at the early stage Spirit Condensation Realm, or he might just even be stuck at the Essence Qi Realm.

’You . . .!" Fei Qingping’s lungs were about to explode in anger. Ye Yuan repeatedly calling him dog made him lose all of his face.

Fei Qingping looked at his companions, and even though nobody laughed out loud, he could tell from everyone’s face that they were all just barely holding their laughter back.

"What about me? You want to bite me?" Ye Yuan stretched out an arm, and with a smile, he said, "Here, for you to bite."

"Hahaha!" This time around, everyone could not bear it any longer, and they all started to laugh.

Watching everyone ridiculed him, Fei Qingping face turned into the color of a pig’s liver.

"Ye Yuan! I want to issue a deathmatch to you! Accept it if you have the guts!" Fei Qingping pointed at Ye Yuan angrily.

The Dan Wu Academy did not forbid private battles among student. Instead, they tacitly accepted the friction between students. However, there was a point to take note, which was under no circumstances were they allowed to kill someone without permission from the academy. Otherwise, the person would face the wrath of the academy.

However, if both parties agreed to set a life-and-death contract, not only academy will not stop it, an instructor would even be sent to host the deathmatch.

Ye Yuan revealed a surprised expression and asked, "You really want to carry out a deathmatch?"

"Scared? If you are scared, then kneel and kowtow three times loudly for me. Afterward, say ’I’m a dog’ three times!" Fei Qingping thought that Ye Yuan was scared and continued to goad him.

Previously, he also used this sort of tactic to make Ye Yuan agreed to the previous competition.

Ye Yuan stretched his ear out and pretended he did not hear clearly, asking, "Say what three times?"

"Say ’I’m a dog’ three times!" Right when the words left Fei Qingping’s mouth, he realized he fell for it.

"Hahaha!"

The surrounding people laughed out loud again.

Fei Qingping wished he could give himself two tight slaps. He shouted angrily, "Ye Yuan, you coward! Playing this sort of little games when you don’t dare to fight!"

"Good dog, so obedient! Your Grandpa Ye has never looked at the owner before hitting the dog. Since you delivered yourself to my door, I will hit for your owner to see," Ye Yuan said with a smile.

"Have you heard about it? The Yellow Rank’s first ranking from the bottom, the one hailed as the Ten Thousand Years Last Place, Ye Yuan, had just signed a life-and-death contract with someone."

"Of course I’ve heard. Don’t you think that he’s tired of living? However, it’s been over two years since a life-and-death contract had appeared in the academy. This is considered news big enough for everyone to discuss for some time."

"Yeah, it’s been two years and five months now. The previous life-and-death contract was signed by Senior Apprentice Brother Long. Back then, he was also a Yellow Rank student, yet he triumphed against his opponent who was two minor realms higher than him. I’m afraid that back then, nobody would have thought that he could charge to the first place in the Martial Roll of Honor after two years."

"That is true. Senior Apprentice Brother Long didn’t even reveal his abilities completely back then. Ever since he finished off his opponent in that deathmatch, he became unstoppable. charging all the way through into the Heaven Rank, and finally being at the first place in the Martial Roll of Honor.

"Hey, do you think that this punk Ye Yuan can also defeat someone stronger than him and finish off his opponent? Rumors have it that this fellow only used a few days to advance two levels, and he actually went straight from the First Level Essence Qi Realm to the Third Level Essence Qi Realm."

"No way! How can he be compared to Senior Apprentice Brother Long? Back then, even though Senior Apprentice Brother Long was low-key, he wasn’t weak to this extent. Advancing two levels at once? Don’t you know that fellow, Ye Yuan, entered the academy through an enormous backdoor? His father is one of the few Alchemy Grandmasters within our State of Qin. With his means, what’s so strange about pulling the shots and helping his son improved by two levels? This sort of advancement is all empty, so what combat power can there be?"

"That is true. I heard that this fellow had already entered the academy for half a year. If he could advance, he would have done so long ago and would not wait till now. Now that I look at it, it is most likely he used a secret technique to raise his strength."

"Hehehe. That fellow really doesn’t know life from death. Supposedly, he competed in neutralizing poison with that Fei Qingping, but he ended up almost poisoned to death. His father is pretty impressive to have been able to save him. Yet he is courting death again right after returning to the academy. Do you think this fellow’s brain is missing a screw?"

The Dan Wu Academy divided strength into four ranks of Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. Ye Yuan and Fei Qingping both belonged in the Yellow Rank.

Initially, the academy’s attention was concentrated mainly on the Heaven Rank. Very few people paid attention to topics pertaining to people of the Yellow Rank. However, after Ye Yuan and Fei Qingping signed the life-and-death contract, it attracted a great deal of attention and became major news in the entire academy.

Even though the academy silently acknowledged the competitions and fights between students, it would not permit any death. There was once a student who relied on his family’s illustrious background and killed somebody in the Dan Wu Academy. The end result was that he was murdered forcefully by the academy, bearing no room for discussion. In the end, that particular noble family did not even dare to make any noise.

But a life-and-death contract was different. The instructors would not make a move no matter who live or die.

In the entire Dan Wu Academy, everyone knew the one in the first place in the Martial Roll of Honor was Long Tang. But not everybody knew the person in the last place was Ye Yuan. However, this life-and-death contract quickly spread Ye Yuan’s reputation, almost reaching Long Tang’s level.

Of course, the majority was like how these two people were discussing, snorting in derision at Ye Yuan’s brain-damaged actions.

Ye Yuan’s rapid improvement in strength was also naturally one of the focal points. But nobody thought that it was something he cultivated out by himself. Everyone felt that it was surely Ye Hang who used some secret technique to pull the shots in order to help it grow, letting him reached the Third Level Essence Qi Realm.

Hence, everyone’s appraisal of Ye Yuan was that he was brain-damaged, foolish, and rushing to meet King Yama.

Just as these two people were discussing, someone suddenly said in a low voice, "Yiii? Look over there. Isn’t that Ye Yuan?"

"That’s him? He doesn’t look like someone who is brain-damaged."

"Sigh. Who would write brain-damaged on their faces?

"That’s true. The deathmatch is three days later. Where is he going instead of making preparations?"

"He probably knows that it’s hopeless to do anything right now. Being at the first place from the bottom, no matter how heaven-defying, he can’t possibly jump ranks to defeat an opponent one level higher than him? I heard that because Fei Qingping is older by two years, he is already at the top 10 in Yellow Rank."

"Something is wrong. The direction he is heading to seems to be the Scripture Library. Is he trying to hug Buddha’s feet in his hour of need?"

"Hehehe. How can Buddha’s leg be that easy to hug? Yiii? He was stopped by someone. That person seemed to be Wan Yuan who just advanced to Earth Rank."

"Oh yeah. You see that girl beside Wan Yuan? Wow. That’s my goddess, Liu Ruoshui. If she will speak even a word to me, I would die happy!"

"Look at your starstruck expression, but yeah, Liu Ruoshui is really beautiful . . ."

. . . . . .

Ye Yuan was about to head to the Scripture Library.

His top-grade predecessor was too prodigious. Everything he heard during classes was all bits and pieces without much useful information. Ye Yuan needed to find some martial techniques to deal with the situation.

Ye Yuan had countless martial techniques on hand, but he truly did not have anything suitable for a person at the Essence Qi Realm to cultivate. With his position in his previous life, how could Essence Qi Realm martial techniques, regardless of how exceptional, enter his eyes?

Who would have thought that he would encounter Wan Yuan on the way to the Scripture Library?

Looks like Wan Yuan was intentionally waiting for him. As for Liu Ruoshui by Wan Yuan’s side, Ye Yuan naturally was not strangers with her. A few days ago, he competed with Fei Qingping precisely because of this woman.

"What a coincidence! Isn’t this Young master Ye? Where are you rushing to so hurriedly? To reincarnate?" Wan Yuan was full of smiles, but his eyes were as if looking at a dead person.

Ye Yuan sneered unceasingly towards Wan Yuan’s impatient mentality. Wan Yuan determined that Ye Yuan was definitely going to be dead this time, so he came in advance to taunt him.

After the deathmatch, Ye Yuan would surely be dead. Where would Wan Yuan go to find this sort of pleasure after this?

Looking at Wan Yuan’s appearance, Ye Yuan no longer hurried towards the Scripture Library. With a smile, he said, "That’s right, to reincarnate. But it’s to send you off for reincarnation."

Hearing this, Wan Yuan laughed out loud and said, "Send me off to reincarnate? Hahaha! I’m standing right here. Send me to reincarnate if you can! You can’t possibly think that just because you cultivated to the Third Level Essence Qi Realm through some unorthodox means, you can challenge me?"

Liu Ruoshui who was by the side also covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled, thinking that Ye Yuan was very amusing.

This Liu Ruoshui’s every action carried a trace of seductive charm, able to stir that desire lying in every man’s heart. The male students in the Dan Wu Academy were all hot-blooded youths. If their willpower were not steadfast, how could they withstand this sort of natural seductive charm?

His predecessor was only a very foolish and naive child. His strength was also weak to the extreme. How could he withstand Liu Ruoshui’s charms?

Back then, Liu Ruoshui was by his side, behaving neither friendly nor aloof for a period of time, and his predecessor completely fell for it. Afterward, Liu Ruoshui used a few small tricks, and his predecessor got hooked obediently, losing his life just like that.

"Senior Apprentice Brother Wan, this Junior Apprentice Brother Ye is an interesting man. He’s clearly a miserable wretch, yet he tries to learn from others like a toad lusting after a swan. His strength is clearly poor, yet he wants to slap his face until it’s swollen to look impressive. He’s about to duel with someone, yet he is even threatening you now. Don’t you think it is funny?" Liu Ruoshui was beautiful like a flower, yet her words were bitterly sarcastic.

In order to hook Ye Yuan in the past, she naturally had to pretend to be weak and pitiful. Now that Ye Yuan was about to duel with Fei Qingping, he was already a dead man. So she no longer needed to humor Ye Yuan. She fully expressed out the contempt and condescension in her heart.Now that Liu Ruoshui and Wan Yuan showed up together, it was clear what they were trying to convey. Before this, not many people knew that the academy’s Earth rank goddess had already walked so intimately with Wan Yuan.

By bringing Liu Ruoshui here, Wan Yuan wanted to humiliate Ye Yuan by letting him see the woman he dreamed of was already walking together with his rival.

He was looking forward to Ye Yuan’s expressions of resentment, shame, as well as regret. But Ye Yuan’s reaction disappointed him, as not one of these expressions appeared on Ye Yuan’s face.

From the start till the end, Ye Yuan never even looked at Liu Ruoshui, treating her like air. And it was precisely being ignored by Ye Yuan that angered Liu Ruoshui, making her words just now so venomous.

Liu Ruoshui was rather confident in her appearance. In her opinion, Ye Yuan should be groveling right now, begging her in tears not to go.

If it was his predecessor, he might really have lost all control and did just that. But sadly, the Ye Yuan now was no longer the Ye Yuan of the past. With Ye Yuan’s status in his previous life, what kind of beauty he had not seen before? It was impossible to try to use such a cheap tactic to seduce him.

Ye Yuan gave Liu Ruoshui an emotionless glance and said, "A swan? Aren’t you overthinking things? At best, you are a defeathered chicken. How can you be compared with a noble animal such as a swan? How can a true proud daughter of heaven spare any thoughts to seduce men? When have you seen Senior Apprentice Sister Feng flirt with other men? Goddesses all have their own pride and wouldn’t be the way you are."

Liu Ruoshui was a prideful person. In the Dan Wu Academy, she was always an existence surrounded by a group of admirers. When had anyone ever compared her to a defeathered chicken?

Liu Ruoshui was so angry that her willowy eyebrows were almost vertical. Yet, she could not refute it, because the Senior Apprentice Sister Feng mentioned by Ye Yuan was indeed an existence far beyond her reach.

Senior Apprentice Sister Feng was called Feng Zhiruo, a true proud daughter of heaven within the Dan Wu Academy. Not only was she a beauty who could cause the downfall of countries, but she was also among the top three in both Alchemy Roll of Honor and Martial Roll of Honor with strength not at all inferior to Long Tang. She was a person that a woman like Liu Ruoshui could not compare to.

Feng Zhiruo never bothered with pursuers, something different from Liu Ruoshui. She was a famous ice beauty in the Dan Wu Academy.

In comparison, Liu Ruoshui was much more popular because she did not reject her pursuers. So she appeared very warm. Also, she extremely relished the feeling of being sought after by everyone.

"Hmph! How stubborn! I will let Fei Qingping take good care of you during the deathmatch!" In Liu Ruoshui’s opinion, it was not that Ye Yuan was not willing to look at her, but it was because he was forcefully controlling himself after finding out the truth.

"Hahaha. Then there is no need for you to worry. Did the two of you come to find me just to say this? Since you are done, I won’t entertain you anymore."

After saying these words, Ye Yuan directly walked passed them.

"Who permitted you to leave?" Wan Yuan’s face fell, and he made a move to grab Ye Yuan. But who would have thought he only grabbed the air, not even touching the corner of Ye Yuan’s sleeve.

Looking at Ye Yuan again, he was already several meters away. He even waved to the two of them with his back facing them and strutted away, angering Wan Yuan until his face turned green.

"Hiss . . . Was that . . . Instant Flash?" Wan Yuan frowned and asked.

"That’s right. It was indeed Instant Flash." Liu Ruoshui lightly furrowed her brows. Clearly, she was also stunned by Ye Yuan’s move.

"Looks like there is really something odd about this punk. Father clearly arranged for an assassin, yet Ye Yuan simply swaggered into the academy. I don’t know whether that assassin was too stupid, or was that punk really pretending to be a pig in order to eat a tiger."

"In my opinion, it is likely the former. He is only at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm. No matter how powerful his Instant Flash is, most likely he will not be able to escape from that assassin, right?" Liu Ruoshui interacted quite a bit with Ye Yuan before, so she had some understanding of him. In her eyes, Ye Yuan was just a useless person.

"Junior Apprentice Sister Liu’s words make sense. But I wonder since when did he learn Instant Flash? With this move, wouldn’t he be in an undefeatable position in his deathmatch with Qingping?"

Wan Yuan had always been competing with Ye Yuan since they were young. So he understood Ye Yuan the best. After thinking about it, Liu Ruoshui’s words still made more sense.

"Senior Apprentice Brother Wan is panicking because of concern. From the way I see it, Ye Yuan only learned Instant Flash by a fluke. The only move he can rely on is most likely just this. Otherwise, why would he be rushing to the Scripture Library at this time? Just now, Senior Apprentice Brother Wan was only careless and didn’t use your full strength. That’s why he could get away. Even though Instant Flash is impressive, it is ultimately only a middle-grade Tier 1 martial technique and isn’t invincible." Liu Ruoshui had already recovered from her astonishment and returned to being a soul-mesmerizing goddess.

Wan Yuan had long lusted after Liu Ruoshui. Seeing Liu Ruoshui chased after him like this made him drunk with pleasure. Just now, he indeed had not used his full strength. It was about 70% power, yet Ye Yuan still managed to dodge it.

However, strength was still the key to victory. Movement techniques were ultimately auxiliary. What Liu Ruoshui said was right. Instant Flash is not all-powerful. Naturally, some techniques could counter it.

Except that this move from Ye Yuan raised Wan Yuan’s alert. He would have to go back and properly warn Fei Qingping to not underestimate his opponent.

"Looks like Junior Apprentice Sister Liu’s heart is as clear as a mirror. This time around, no matter what, we can’t let this brat live on anymore. Looks like we have to go back and prepare a few hidden cards for Fei Qingping."

. . . . . .

After Ye Yuan shook those two off, he went directly to the Scripture Library.

As far as he was concerned, Ye Yuan did not mind revealing Instant Flash. That was not what he was relying on anyway. Furthermore, what he just displayed was only at the great success stage.

Ye Yuan’s greatest reliance was naturally on the Absolute Yang Finger. But this technique could not be displayed in front of outsiders, or else he would get into a lot of trouble. Hence, he came to the Scripture Library in order to choose a martial technique.

The martial techniques in the Scripture Library were not too profound. The Tranquil Cloud Sect naturally would not release profound martial techniques out into the secular world. But to Ye Yuan, these martial techniques were sufficient.

"Senior Apprentice Brother, I would like to enter the Scripture Library to choose two martial techniques," Ye Yuan requested and handed over his identity token to the Senior Apprentice Brother on duty.

The Senior Apprentice Brother who was guarding the Scripture Library was Zhao Chunyang of the Earth Rank. When he saw the token with the symbol indicating Yellow Rank status, disdain could be seen from his eyes.

The identity token was created by the Dan Wu Academy which represented one’s status as a student. As long as one inserted a bit of essence energy, one would be able to check the identity of the person the token belongs to.

"Ye Yuan?" Zhao Chunyang seemed to feel that he heard that name somewhere before. After pondering a while, he came to a sudden realization and asked, "You are the academy’s last place, Ye Yuan?"

Ye Yuan smiled and replied, "If there isn’t a second Ye Yuan, then that would be me."

Ye Yuan was not bothered by the title of the last place as that was all in the past.

Hearing this, Zhao Chunyang became interested. Handing the token back to Ye Yuan, he held on to him and asked curiously, "You are a big favorite within the academy now. The last place actually dares to sign a life-and-death contract with others. Just what were you thinking?"

Ye Yuan also did not intend to keep a distance away from Zhou Chunyang, so he smiled and answered, "Others already rode onto my head. I can’t possibly behave like a coward. Don’t you think so?"

"Hahaha. That’s true. But your strength . . ." Zhao Chunyang was an outspoken person and was not afraid that other people would feel awkward.

"Hahaha. That’s why I’m here to choose martial techniques."

"Sharpening your spear at the last moment, even if it’s not sharp, it is at least shiny. These words are not wrong, but there are only three days left. Isn’t that a little too short?"

"That’s something that can’t be helped. I believe Senior Apprentice Brother is also aware that I neglected cultivation in the past which led to my poor foundation. Even if it is only three days, it is better than not doing anything. Isn’t that right?"

Zhao Chunyang sized up Ye Yuan once again and suddenly smiled, and then he said, "Interesting. You seem to be quite different from the rumors. Go in then. You have two hours."

"Many thanks, Senior Apprentice Brother."

Zhao Chunyang patted Ye Yuan’s shoulders and said with a smile, "Choose well. I will cheer for you when the time comes."

The Dan Wu Academy’s Scripture Library was divided into three sections. The second section was only opened for those who were in the Spirit Condensation Realm. The current Ye Yuan naturally had no right to enter.

The first section collected Tier 1 martial techniques. It was just perfect for the current Ye Yuan to use.

The entire section was packed with bookshelves. There were cultivation laws, martial techniques, as well as books related to Tier 1 Medicinal Pills. They were sorted out into categories and encompassed everything.

These books were all stone rubbings. 1 The originals were naturally kept at Tranquil Cloud Sect Headquarters.

Concerning cultivation laws, Ye Yuan was already cultivating the Spirit Bristle Nine Yang Divine Art. Naturally, there wasn’t any need to cultivate others.

And these books on medicinal pills did not even count as introductory to Ye Yuan. So they were automatically filtered out by him.

Only Tier 1 martial techniques were useful to the current Ye Yuan.

Ye Yuan went to the area of bookshelves where martial techniques were kept and started to search for a martial technique suitable for him.

Casually picking up a book, he saw Blazing Palm was written on it. It was a middle-grade Tier 1 martial technique with fire attribute.

Flipping through the contents, Ye Yuan shook his head. This sort of martial technique was too crude. There was no depth at all, and the power was too weak as well.

Even though the book bragged until flowers were cascading from the sky, with Ye Yuan’s insights, why would he eye this sort of martial technique?

Placing the Blazing Palm book back onto the shelf, Ye Yuan casually looked through several martial techniques. They were mainly martial techniques on the same level as Blazing Palm, flashy without substance.

As time slowly passed, Ye Yuan already looked through several dozen books, yet not even a single one entered his eyes.

Ye Yuan could not help but sigh, thinking that this Tranquil Cloud Sect was so stingy, using these common goods to put up a front.

But after thinking about it, he felt relieved. Cultivation laws and martial techniques were the foundation of a sect. How could truly important cultivation laws be casually placed out in the secular world?

Ye Yuan knew that it was impossible to find a martial technique he wanted on this rack of shelves, so he walked deeper in.

The martial techniques on this rack of shelves were clearly much lesser, but the quality increased by a grade. They basically reached high-grade Tier 1.

Flipping through several books, Ye Yuan still did not encounter anything he was satisfied with.

It was not that he had nothing better to do, but instead, he wanted to see if there were any beneficial insights within these martial techniques.

To Ye Yuan, a middle-grade Tier 1 and a superior-grade Tier 1 did not have too much of a difference. A lower grade martial technique might not be bad, while a higher grade martial technique might not be good.

Just take Instant Flash for instance. It was only a middle-grade Tier 1 martial technique, but this martial technique had some distinctive aspect. So Ye Yuan tinkered with it.

Ye Yuan had just seen this Instant Flash martial technique. Briefly skimming through it, he knew that the insight of its creator was still too low. What he had altered was already much stronger than what was written in the book. Obviously, there wasn’t any more meaning to researching it.

Walking further in, there were no longer books on the shelves but a scattered bunch of jade pieces. Ye Yuan know that this was where the essence of the first layer laid.

Highly profound martial techniques could not be recorded down on paper. Only jade pieces could record or replicate it.

Ye Yuan used his essence energy to inspect several jade pieces. These martial techniques were all high-grade Tier 1 martial techniques. These were actually already very rare.

Any single piece of these jade, when placed in the outside world, were objects worth cities. After all, Essence Qi Realm martial artists made up the largest portion of the population in the State of Qin, and the vast majority of them cultivated either low-grade or middle-grade martial techniques.

One high-grade martial technique jade piece to them was something they could only dream of. It was enough for their strength to immediately increase by one stage.

However, Ye Yuan did not have much interest in these high-grade martial techniques. He only looked a while before putting them back.

Ye Yuan had already walked to the deepest part of the first layer. If he still could not find a martial technique he was satisfied with, he could only settle with these high-grade martial techniques.

On the last shelf were only three jade pieces.

Clearly, these three jade pieces were not the same as the others.

Ye Yuan picked up the first jade piece, injected essence energy, and the information within the jade piece reflected in Ye Yuan’s mind.

Thousand Feet Leap, a movement technique!

When mastered to the large success stage, it could shrink the distance to inches and traverse a thousand feet in an instant.

"A bit interesting."

Ye Yuan inspected the details of the Thousand Feet Leap. This movement technique had its unique points. Compared to Instant Flash, the Thousand Feet Leap’s movement in a straight line was more outstanding. It was somewhat useful regardless of whether using it to sneak attack or flee.

This movement technique already reached the superior-grade Tier 1.

Placing the Thousand Feet Leap jade piece back on the shelf, Ye Yuan picked up a second jade piece. It was a rarely seen lightning-attribute martial technique which was extremely difficult to learn. Grade wise, it was similar to the Thousand Feet Leap.

Although it might be difficult, it did not draw much interest from Ye Yuan.

He casually picked up the third jade piece and investigated it.

"En? Stacking Waves Layered Palm . . . Incomplete martial technique? Estimated to be at least Tier 3 and above. It’s just that it is incomplete, causing its current grade to fall to the high-grade Tier 1 category?"

Ye Yuan was attracted by the jade piece’s introduction.

But it was not because this martial technique’s grade was high. Tier 3 martial techniques were not exactly high-tier martial techniques to Ye Yuan.

What truly attracted him was that this martial technique was a martial technique that paid great attention to the way strength was utilized. When mastered, it could release multiple times, even several dozen times of one’s power. The might of it was very substantial.

The introduction on this jade piece should have been left behind by a powerful figure from either the Tranquil Cloud Sect or the Dan Wu Academy. If one could execute this technique to its limits, jumping ranks during battle would simply be like eating rice and drinking water." Ye Yuan sighed in admiration.

Naturally, Ye Yuan also knew that this kind of martial technique would become harder to improve on as it progressed further. The difficulty of it would increase multiple times.

Simply put, it was easy to release twice the power. But the difficulty would increase for four times. After that, it becomes eight times, 16 times, and even 32 times. The further one advanced, the more terrifying it became. Naturally, the difficulty would also become increasingly immense.

Even so, this was a rather amazing martial technique. But sadly, it was way too incomplete.

. . . . . .

"En? You chose this martial technique?" Looking at the martial technique Ye Yuan chose, Zhao Chunyang was very surprised.

"That’s right." Ye Yuan long knew that Zhao Chunyang would be shocked.

"But . . . This martial technique might be powerful, but it’s incomplete."

Zhao Chunyang tried persuading Ye Yuan.

"I know, but this martial technique looks very impressive. I will put up with it first. We will talk about it again in the future," Ye Yuan smiled and then replied him.

"Not only it is incomplete, but also exceedingly difficult to learn. You know Senior Apprentice Brother Long Tang, don’t you? He also once tried to learn this technique, but in the end, he gave up. This technique looks amazing, but it’s an arduous yet fruitless labor. Three days . . . Even if you are brilliant, at best you can learn the First Layer Wave. It wouldn’t be much use against your opponent, right?"

Actually, Zhao Chunyang’s words were already very implicit. In his opinion, even if Ye Yuan spent a month’s time, he might not be able to learn the First Layer Wave.

What was the concept of the First Layer Wave? Just the increment of two times the power simply could not compensate for the difference in strength between Ye Yuan and Fei Qingping.

Rather than that, it might be better to just learn a more practical martial technique.

Ye Yuan had a rather good impression towards this Zhao Chunyang. At least he did not see himself as a joke like the others. So he smiled and then said, "Many thanks for your concern, Senior Apprentice Brother. But I have my own plans. As for the deathmatch three days from now, I think I can handle it."

"This . . . Alright then. Since you insist, I will not persuade you anymore. Try your best." Zhao Chunyang shook his head and could only sigh.

At a hidden location in the Dan Wu Academy.

Two people were currently discussing in a low voice.

"Qingping, what do you think about your deathmatch with Ye Yuan?"

"What’s there to think about? Just kill him! This punk’s life is really tough! The last time he was sent back, he was already not breathing. Who would have thought that after a few days, he would be alive and kicking? This time, I will definitely not give him any chance."

Fei Qingping’s words were filled with contempt as if full of disdain towards Ye Yuan.

Ye Yuan and Wan Yuan grew up competing with one another, so the latter was also naturally very clear on Ye Yuan’s nature as well as his strength. Therefore, he did not feel any burden to kill Ye Yuan during the deathmatch.

With regards to Wan Yuan’s question, Fei Qingping felt that it was very unusual, so he could not help but asked, "Young Master Wan, listening to your words, you can’t possibly be thinking that I will lose to him during this battle, right?"

Wan Yuan frowned and said, "I would not go so far as to say lose to him. I just feel that this time around, after Ye Yuan returned, he is rather unusual. Like . . . somewhat different from the past."

" Sigh. I was wondering what it was. Of course, he’s different, but isn’t it just rising by two minor realms? However, from the way I see it, he will probably stay like this for the rest of his life. Hahaha! "

Although Fei Qingping was older than Wan Yuan by two years, he always treated the latter as the boss.

Seeing how Fei Qingping was looking down on Ye Yuan like that, Wan Yuan felt that it was very inappropriate, and wanted to rebuke him. Yet, he also felt that Fei Qingping’s opinion was correct.

That joke who was like rotten mud that could not even support a wall; could he overturn the heaven?

Although Fei Qingping was not some extraordinary talent, he was an experienced Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm martial artist, merely a step away from the Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm.

The Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm and the Third Level Essence Qi Realm were not even on the same level. Thus, Fei Qingping had a good reason to look down on Ye Yuan.

This small step was not so easy to cross over.

The Dan Wu Academy was an academy for elites. Practically anyone here, when placed in the outside world, could jump ranks during battle.

The resources they enjoyed, martial skills and techniques they learned, as well as guidance from accomplished teachers, all of these were not what those from the outside world could compare with.

However, within the Dan Wu Academy, jumping ranks during a battle was a challenging thing to do. Unless one really had extraordinary talent.

If Long Tang or Feng Zhiruo was only at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm, Wan Yuan had no doubt that they could jump ranks to defeat Fei Qingping.

But if it were Ye Yuan, even if he were to beat Wan Yuan to death, he would not believe it.

Because he understood Ye Yuan too well!

After a moment of silence, Wan Yuan still shook his head and said, "Qingping, the deathmatch this time, you can only win. Defeat will not be tolerated. Even if Ye Yuan is only a rat, you have to go all out to defeat him. Bear in mind that you must not take him lightly, understood?"

Looking at Fei Qingping’s careless attitude regarding his words, Wan Yuan finally became angry. "If you still have this attitude, I will eliminate you first! You are not only representing yourself in this match. You will also be representing the Wan Family, the Drunken Star Manor! If you are defeated by Ye Yuan, where do you want my father and me to put our faces?!"

Wan Yuan’s roar surprised Fei Qingping for a moment; his brain unable to react in time.

But one thing was clear, and that was Wan Yuan really got angry!

For Wan Yuan to be so concerned with Ye Yuan, that was something that had never happened before.

"I-I understand, I will go all out to finish him!"

Feeling Wan Yuan’s wrath, Fei Qingping did not dare to be arrogant and meekly promised this.

With a sigh, Wan Yuan said, "Qingping, I know that you feel Ye Yuan isn’t even worth looking at. Actually, isn’t that the same for me? But this time around after he returned to the academy, I keep feeling that there’s something off."

"Off? Off in what way?" Fei Qingping could not help but became curious after Wan Yuan said that.

He knew that even though Wan Yuan was younger than him by two years, he was very prudent in doing things, just like his father.

Regardless of whether it was talent or intelligence, Fei Qingping was much worse than Wan Yuan. That was why he was sincerely convinced to be his follower.

"Today, I went to find him to destroy his spirit and give him some trouble. I used 70% of my power, but I failed to catch him! Who knows when that punk managed to learn Instant Flash and even trained it to the great success stage!"

"What? Instant Flash?! Great success stage?! H-how is that possible?"

Fei Qingping was startled. He apparently knew what Instant Flash at the great success stage meant. It meant that Ye Yuan was already standing at an undefeatable position.

If it was like this, Wan Yuan’s warning was not an unnecessary action!

As if he was confirming his exchange with Ye Yuan today, Wan Yuan mused for a moment before nodding his head, saying, "That’s right. It’s Instant Flash at the great success stage!"

"I-isn’t that too shameless? How could he possibly manage to learn such profound footwork? Could it be a fluke?" Fei Qingping suddenly started to ramble incoherently.

Wan Yuan said in a deep voice, "A fluke? Why don’t you try executing Instant Flash at the great success stage by luck for me to see?!"

" . . ."

"Actually, he stirred up a lot of trouble during his trip back to the capital. He even went to the Drunken Star Manor to make a scene, and Father was unable to do anything to him. This time around on the way back here, Father arranged for a Mosha assassin. Yet the result was that Ye Yuan actually arrived at the academy safely! That’s why I feel that there is something odd about Ye Yuan after he came back!"

"Then . . . what should I do?" At this point, Fei Qingping was thoroughly panicking.

Patting his shoulders, Wan Yuan slowly said, "Relax. Even if he is a little unusual, the difference in strength between the two of you can’t be made up! However, you can’t let down your guard during these three days. You have to make full use of all the time you have!"

Hearing Wan Yuan said all these, Fei Qingping really did not dare to lower his guard this time. This battle was a deathmatch where life and death must be determined. Fei Qingping was not willing to treat his life jokingly.

"Young Master Wan, just tell me what I have to do. I will absolutely listen to you!"

Seeing how he really took things seriously, Wan Yuan took out a bottle of medicinal pills and placed it in front of Fei Qingping. He said, "This is the Essence Gathering Pills that my Father refined. Its effectiveness is 50% greater than Essence Qi Pills! These three days, you will use these pills to raise your strength. You must definitely break through to the Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm!"

Fei Qingping’s eyes lit up. If he could break through to Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm, then his chances of victory would increase significantly. Just as Wan Yuan said, the difference in strength was not something that can easily be breached. A Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm martial artist versus a Third Level Essence Qi Realm martial artist; he really had no reason to lose!

Immediately, Fei Qingping gave a deep bow and said gratefully, "Many thanks for Young Master Wan’s support!"

Nodding his head, Wan Yuan acknowledged it calmly and continued saying, "Another thing. These three days, you also have to put all your effort into training the Lesser Capturing Hand. Use it to counter Instant Flash, and you will be in an invincible position.

. . . . . .

In a training room at the Dan Wu Academy.

Ye Yuan stood quietly with his eyes tightly shut as if asleep.

Ever since he looked at the jade piece, Ye Yuan was already standing here for close to two hours!

Suddenly, Ye Yuan’s eyes snapped open.

Taking a step back, he then executed a palm movement!

"Stacking Waves Layered Palm, First Layer Wave!"

A burst of wind carried forward, and with a boom, a fleshy palm smashed onto the wall!

A dent was made on the wall, but one could see it rapidly recovering with their naked eyes.

Looking at the wall, Ye Yuan shook his head, "This Stacking Waves Layered Palm is indeed hard to train. No wonder Senior Apprentice Brother Zhao advised me to give up. I already used two hours to adjust the essence energy in my body, yet this palm still doesn’t have the effects of the First Layer Wave."

Ye Yuan sighed. If Zhao Chunyang saw this, his jaws would definitely drop, followed by scolding Ye Yuan being an ungrateful wrench.

One has to know, back then when Long Tan was training his martial technique, the First Layer Wave was only mastered after a month.

Even though Ye Yuan did not mastered it yet, he was not far from mastering the First Layer Wave already. Furthermore, he merely used two hours.

"Once more!" Ye Yuan was not discouraged. Following the original method stated, he started to circulate the essence energy within his body once again.Stacking Waves Layered Palm was actually a martial technique that creates a resonance between essence energy within the human body and heaven and earth essence energy, amplifying it in order to damage the enemies.

Just like how tossing a rock into water will cause ripples to spread outwards.

Describing it seemed easy, but to actually accomplish it was as hard as reaching the heaven.

Heaven and earth essence energy was a vague and ethereal existence. In order to create a resonance, one needed to have an incredibly profound understanding towards heaven and earth essence energy.

To martial artists, cultivating essence energy was instinctive. One would just need to gather essence energy according to their corresponding martial skill.

It was merely a matter of knowing how to do something, but not understanding why.

Although every martial artist cultivated essence energy, most likely no one would be able to say what exactly was essence energy.

As cultivation realm increased, martial artists would gain a deeper understanding towards essence energy.

When completely ignorant about essence energy, one could only go through non-stop training to be able to slowly grasp that sort of resonance in order to master Stacking Waves Layered Palm. That was the reason why this palm technique was so difficult to learn.

Ye Yuan possessed an extremely high cultivation realm in his past life. Furthermore, he also had extremely great attainments in Alchemy Dao. That was why it was much easier for him to learn this technique.

Slowly raising his right palm, a faint earthly-yellow glow started to condense on Ye Yuan’s palm, forming a tiny vortex.

Releasing a palm strike, that faint yellow light spread out like water ripples.

Peng!

The wall sunk in heavily and the dent even deeper than previously.

Stacking Waves Layered Palm!

Ye Yuan managed to execute it on his second palm strike!

"Well, that’s the feeling alright. But it still isn’t that stable. Also, the execution time is too long. Looks like I still need to practice more," Ye Yuan muttered to himself.

. . . . . .

In a blink of an eye, three days had passed.

On this morning, the combat arena was surrounded by a lot of people that not even water could seep through.

After three days of seething, virtually everyone in the Dan Wu Academy knew about Ye Yuan and Fei Qingping’s deathmatch.

In this world, there was no lack of people who liked to watch a good show. It was the same everywhere.

Even though the ones fighting in the deathmatch were just two small characters, it was still a deathmatch. It meant that one party would definitely die. Who would miss out on such a good show?

After all, there had not been a deathmatch in the Dan Wu Academy for over two years.

The deathmatch had not even started yet, but everyone was already discussing in groups of threes and fives.

"Who do you guys think will win?"

Another person looked at him as if he was an idiot. "Are you retarded? A Third Level Essence Qi Realm versus a Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm; what’s there to guess? Do you think that Ye Yuan is Senior Brother Apprentice Long?"

"Hehe. Who knows? Perhaps that Ye Yuan has something surprising up his sleeves. Don’t you know that he spent the past few days cultivating in a closed-door seclusion? Maybe when he appears, he would be at Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm already?" That person did not mind and laughed instead.

His words were once again met with disdain. "What’s the use of hugging Buddha’s feet at the last moment? Ye Yuan isn’t the only one who went into a closed-door seclusion. That Fei Qingping also spent three days in a closed-door seclusion. I heard that Fei Qingping has been stuck at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm for a long time. This time around, who knows if he might directly break through to the Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm. That Ye Yuan is definitely dead."

"That’s not necessarily true! I heard that Ye Yuan managed to learn Instant Flash, and it’s even at the great success stage. This practically means that he is in an undefeatable position."

"Instant Flash? What’s the use? Shitty combat power, low cultivation realm; don’t tell me he has to keep using Instant Flash? When his essence energy is finally depleted, wouldn’t he still be defeated? Furthermore, Instant Flash might be amazing, but it isn’t invincible, okay!"

"I’m guessing that Ye Yuan is making up for his weaknesses during these three days of closed-door seclusion. It’s hard to increase cultivation realm in a short period of time, so it’s possible he’s training some amazing martial techniques. I heard that a few days before, Ye Yuan went to the Scripture Library. Oh right, wasn’t it Senior Apprentice Brother Zhao on duty then? Senior Apprentice Brother Zhao, what martial technique did Ye Yuan choose?"

Zhao Chunyang who was currently listening to the strength analysis did not expect the topic to suddenly switch to him.

Hearing their question, he directly replied, "It’s the Stacking Waves Layered Palm."

"Pfft! I already said so. This Ye Yuan is outrageous! Plenty to choose from, yet he just had to choose this martial technique. Even Senior Apprentice Brother Long spent a month before he managed to master the First Layer Wave. Ye Yuan is too confident. Does he think he’s stronger than Senior Apprentice Brother Long? Even if he is stronger than Senior Apprentice Brother Long, how long does he need to master the First Layer Wave? Half a month? Ten days? Seven days? Hahaha!" The more that person spoke, the funnier he found it, and he could not help but laugh out loud.

"Uh. So it’s that martial technique? I was still hoping that he could create a miracle by becoming a dark horse, and finishing off that Fei Qingping. Looks like I was expecting too much. I reckon this deathmatch doesn’t have any more value to watch. That Ye Yuan is dead."

’I’ve long said that there isn’t anything worth watching, but you didn’t believe me. This Ye Yuan is just a silkpants whose father forcefully raised him by two cultivation realms. What combat power can he have? If it wasn’t a deathmatch, I wouldn’t even be bothered to come and watch. Make a guess, how many moves will Fei Qingping take to finish off Ye Yuan?"

"That . . . Twenty moves?" this person said uncertainly.

"Twenty moves? You are expecting too much! At best five moves!"

"Senior Apprentice Brother Zhao, what do you think?" another person asked Zhao Chunyang.

"Uh . . . That I’m not too sure. But I feel that it might not be impossible for Ye Yuan," Zhao Chunyang replied.

Zhao Chunyang was not confident enough, but ever since encountering Ye Yuan that day, he felt that something would happen. But all of the signs clearly showed that it was impossible for Ye Yuan to win. Zhao Chunyang did not know why he had this feeling either.

That person thought he heard wrong and was just about to open his mouth when another voice sounded off from behind him.

"Ten moves. Junior Apprentice Brother Ye wins!"

That voice did not make any attempts to hide, and many of the surrounding people heard it.

Muttering.

That voice was like a bomb that just went off, and everyone glanced over in that direction.

Before this, everyone’s opinions were one-sided; thinking that it was impossible for Ye Yuan to win. The two who were predicting how many moves Ye Yuan would last before he loses were not in the minority.

Therefore, this voice could be said to be very different, resulting in all the other discussions ceased.

"Tang Yu, are you alright?" Someone recognized who it was. It was precisely Tang Yu who returned to the Dan Wu Academy with Ye Yuan. There was even a young lady beside him, who was Lu-er.

"That’s right, Tang Yu. I’ve heard that you’ve been walking very closely with that moron recently. Is that why you also became retarded?"

"Hahaha!"

The matter of Tang Yu and Ye Yuan returning together obviously could not be hidden from others. It was dug out over these few days.

Tang Yu emotionlessly swept a look over everyone and gave a cold smile. He then said, "100 Essence Qi Pills. Who dares to wager with me?"

Tang Yu’s words once again made everyone silent, but their expressions were even more like they were looking at a fool.

"Tang Yu, did you really become stupid?"

"Enough crap. If I lose, I will pay each and every one of you 100 Essence Qi Pills. But if I win, each one of you will pay me 100 Essence Qi pills. If you don’t dare, then shut up!" At this moment, Tang Yu’s domineering air seeped out.

As expected, the moment he said that most of the people immediately shut up.

100 Essence Qi Pills were not a small amount. It was practically the amount of their usage for three months. Even though there were plenty of people who did not mind, it was still a large enough number to make the majority felt pain for several months.

"Let’s wager then. Who’s scared of you? But there are at least several hundred people here. If you lose, can you afford to pay?" At this moment, those who were on good terms with Wan Yuan could not look on anymore, and one of them immediately jumped out and confronted Tang Yu.

Tang Yu gave a cold laugh and took out a bottle of medicinal pills.

"Transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pill! Siii . . . All of them are transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills!" That person stared till his eyes nearly popped out.

The value of one transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pill could sufficiently match with ten ordinary high-grade Essence Qi Pills. These medicinal pills were all refined by Ye Yuan before he went into a closed-door seclusion. He long foresaw this scene, and so he decided to use this chance to make a windfall.

"I will wager with you!"

The audience turned towards the voice, only to see Wan Yuan walking in with Liu Ruoshui and Fei Qingping.

"I will wager with you!"

The moment Wan Yuan appeared, he brought with him an imposing air, affecting Tang Yu to the point he was out of breath.

"Fine!" Tang Yu did not answer ambiguously and directly accepted it.

"Since we are wagering, let’s play a little bigger!" Wan Yuan was smiling coldly at Tang Yu, making people felt that his scheme had succeeded.

"How do you want to play?" Tang Yu gritted his teeth and asked.

"One thousand pills! Transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills! How about it? Do you dare to play?" Seeing Tang Yu’s facial expression, he felt increasingly satisfied.

Tang Yu seemed to have been scared by this figure as he revealed a difficult expression.

"Although Ye Yuan is disappointing, his father Ye Hang is an Alchemy Grandmaster that everyone looks up to. It can’t be that you can’t even take out this bit of Essence Qi Pills, right?" Seeing Tang Yu’s expression, he became even more pleased with himself.

"Fine! One thousand then! Do you think I’m scared of you?" Tang Yu gritted his teeth and said.

"Hahaha! You got guts! Now, everybody heard that? If the time comes, and one goes back on his word, everyone will go to the Fragrant Medicine Pavilion together to find Ye Hang," Wan Yuan shouted loudly.

Many people saw Tang Yu’s expression and felt more confident despite having no basis.

"I will bet too. 100 high-grade Essence Qi Pills!"

"I will bet too."

"Me too!"

. . . . . .

After hearing Ye Hang’s name, everyone was no longer worried that Ye Yuan would repudiate his debt. So they all verbally agreed to the wager one after another.

After finding someone to be a witness, those participating in the wager signed on the paper one after another, and this matter was considered fixed.

Looking at all these people’s signatures, Tang Yu was overjoyed.

"Looks like Junior Apprentice Brother Ye is still the best. These people just lost their money. In the future, we won’t lack Essence Qi Pills anymore. There will be as many as we want!" Tang Yu thought to himself.

Others might not know, but Tang Yu had seen with his own eyes how Ye Yuan used his Third Level Essence Qi Realm cultivation to kill a Seventh Level Essence Qi Realm assassin. How could he possibly be defeated by a minor character like Fei Qingping?

Not everyone had the guts to participate in the wager. The final count of all those who signed the paper was more than 200 people. There was an enormous quantity of Essence Qi Pills at stake!

If Ye Yuan really lost, this would be an absolutely devastating blow to the Fragrant Medicine Pavilion.

But . . . they probably would not have that opportunity.

Especially Wan Yuan this time around, he was definitely going to suffer a hefty loss.

. . . . . .

After this business was settled, it was already getting late. Fei Qingping slowly walked into the combat arena.

"Yii? Fei Qingping is actually already at the Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm!"

"It’s true! Ye Yuan is definitely doomed now!"

"Hahaha! That wager of 100 high-grade Essence Qi Pills just now was really a great haul!"

Under the same circumstances, a difference of one realm would already decide everything. That was why everyone was not optimistic about Ye Yuan.

If these students initially still had a trace of faith in Ye Yuan, after seeing Fei Qingping’s Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm now, even that last trace of faith was gone.

Listening to the public opinions, Fei Qingping felt very refreshed. The initial trace of worry in his heart was already wholly forgotten.

All along, Fei Qingping had always been following behind Wan Yuan. Never had he thought that one day, he would also become everyone’s focus.

After today, I will probably receive quite a few love letters from girls, right? Fei Qingping thought to himself.

These past three days, Fei Qingping did not dare to slack off even the slightest.

First, he used one day to break through the bottleneck. The Essence Gathering Pill’s effects were unexpectedly good, making him advanced to the Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm smoothly. Next, he went into a closed-door seclusion to train the Lesser Capturing Hand. Even though time was a little tight, under Wan Yuan’s guidance, there was some success.

Under this situation, Fei Qingping could not even find a trace of the possibility of losing.

"What time is it already? Why isn’t Ye Yuan here yet?"

"He probably didn’t dare to come and ran away already. Hahaha . . ."

"Losing face is better than losing his life. After all, he will die even if he comes. At least he can save his life by finding his father to shield him."

It was already late, and everybody was already impatient from waiting. Under these sort of circumstances, everyone felt that Ye Yuan was too scared; that was why he did not dare to come.

. . . . . .

At a private viewing stand in the combat arena.

Two young men between the ages of 17 and 18 years old, stood with their hands behind their backs.

One with a domineering air soaring to the skies, while the other seemingly had a nonchalant attitude towards life.

"To think that the great Martial Roll of Honor’s rank one would actually stoop to come watch this sort of small fight." That nonchalant looking man could not help but revealed a surprised expression after seeing the newcomer.

Rank one in the Martial Roll of Honor; this person who was emanating a domineering air that reached the clouds was actually the legendary number one figure in the Dan Wu Academy, Long Tang.

Long Tang did not have any intention to respond to the other party’s mocking. He knew that the person in front of him who looked laidback was actually an extremely nasty opponent.

"Didn’t you, Martial Roll of Honor’s rank two, come as well?" Long Tang rebuked leisurely.

This laidback looking man was actually rank two in the Martial Roll of Honor, Zuo Bugui!

If there were other students around, they would undoubtedly be greatly astonished. Martial Roll of Honor’s rank one and rank two, appearing together to pay attention to a battle between rookies. This was completely inconceivable.

"Hahaha! I can’t hold onto this rank two for long. Junior Apprentice Sister Feng is right on my heels. I’m afraid this rank two will have to change owners at the next Battle of Martial Roll of Honor." Zuo Bugui had a helpless expression.

Long Tang did not make any remarks on this. He knew that with Zuo Bugui’s strength, one could not knead him as they wished. Even he himself has to be cautious when facing him.

"It isn’t just the two of us. Su Yishan, Xu Qingfeng, those guys came too. Look at the grandstand opposite. After all, it’s been two years since a deathmatch has occurred. Even if it’s only two rookies, it isn’t strange to attract everyone over, right? Thinking back, weren’t we also rookies back then?" Long Tang said lightly.

"Hehe. That’s true. Who wasn’t a rookie before? But that fellow Su Yishan and Wan Yuan have common interests. Is he here to watch a joke? After all, the Su Family and the Fragrant Medicine Pavilion don’t get along. With his personality, watching Ye Hang’s son get killed will definitely make him derive pleasure from others’ misfortunes." Zuo Bugui seemed to be very clear on the arrangement within the capital.

"None of my business," Long Tang said indifferently.

"Tsk. I knew you were like this! I know that you came here today because you wanted to see if the Stacking Waves Layered Palm that even you couldn’t master can be mastered by a rookie, right?" Zuo Bugui seemed to understand Long Tang very well, and he directly said out the purpose of Long Tang’s visit.

Long Tang did not deny it. Nodding his head, he said, "Stacking Waves Layered Palm might be an incomplete martial technique, but it’s publically acknowledged within the academy to be the hardest to master, as well as the martial technique with the greatest might. These past few years, virtually no one dared to touch it. I want to see if this Ye Yuan is here to be a joke, or does he really have the confidence to master Stacking Waves Layered Palm."

Zuo Bugui curled his lips and said, "I think that you are thinking too much. Even a sicko like you spent a month’s time to master only the first layer. How can Ye Yuan that last place possibly master it? Even if he mastered it, what’s the use of the First Layer Wave? The difference between Fei Qingping and him is two whole cultivation realms!"

"Perhaps," Long Tang couldn’t be bothered to debate with Zuo Bugui and replied nonchalantly.

"Hey hey. What kind of attitude is this? Is there a need to put on a cool appearance all day?"

". . . . . ."

"I think you won’t be able to see it anymore. Ye Yuan that punk probably ran away already. What time is it already, and yet he still hasn’t appeared." Zuo Bugui kept on talking non-stop, but Long Tang could not be bothered to respond.

. . . . . .

"Make way! Make way!" Right at this moment, Ye Yuan shouted at the top of his voice. He was stuck outside, unable to enter.

"It’s Ye Yuan! He came!"

"He actually dared to come!"

"Quickly make way for him; don’t delay me from collecting my Essence Qi Pills!"

Amidst a wave of laughter, everyone made way for Ye Yuan.

However, Ye Yuan did not enter the combat arena directly, but came to Tang Yu instead and asked slyly, "Is it done?"

Tang Yu smiled. "Don’t worry, Junior Apprentice Brother Ye. Luckily, I didn’t fail you."

"Hahaha! Then that’s good, that’s good." Finishing his words, Ye Yuan then raise both arms up and cupped his hands politely, and he said, "Many thanks to all Senior Apprentice Brothers and Sisters that gave these Essence Qi Pills. I, your Junior Apprentice Brother, thank you here, and kindly accept them."

Everyone looked at each other speechlessly, not knowing why Ye Yuan was showing off. Did he mess his brain up from training?

Ignoring everyone’s surprised looks, Ye Yuan said to Tang Yu, "Senior Apprentice Brother Tang, take care not to lose the name list. After the match, I have to go and claim from each person."

Ending the conversation, Ye Yuan walked into the combat arena step by step.

Fei Qingping had a cold smile on his face as he watched Ye Yuan showing off. "You are about to die, and yet you still dare to ask for Essence Qi Pills?"

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Fei Qingping, did you wager? Since I’m about to die, why don’t you bet some more?"

"Don’t worry. I’ve already wagered everything! Now, I will send you to the western paradise!" Fei Qingping fully released the power of his Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm as he wanted to take the initiative right from the start.

"Yo. Momentum’s not bad. Yii? You are actually at the Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm?!" Ye Yuan’s face revealed astonishment.

Fei Qingping saw Ye Yuan’s face change color and could not help but be pleased with himself. "Humph! Anyhow, we are apprentice brothers after all. How about this; I will allow you three moves. Make your move!"

Ye Yuan revealed a delighted expression and asked with amazement, "Do you really mean it, Senior Apprentice Brother Fei?"

"Of course!"

"Then that’s great!" Ye Yuan smiled. Looking all around, he said, "You all heard it! He was the one who said he will allow me three moves!"

"This fellow is really dumb like a pig!"

Listening to how Fei Qingping allowed three moves so arrogantly during the match, Wan Yuan who was in the audience gnashed his teeth in anger.

These past few days, he warned that fellow countless times to not let down his guard. And yet, the result was that his strength indeed increased, but his habit of taking the enemy lightly surfaced once again.

Wan Yuan was different from Fei Qingping. He also looked down greatly on Ye Yuan, but if he were the one up there, he definitely would not say something like ’allow you three moves.’ Instead, he would beat down Ye Yuan with full power.

Liu Ruoshui who was by the side covered her mouth as she laughed and said, "Don’t get mad, Senior Apprentice Brother Wan. Fei Qingping might be a little arrogant, but right now he does have the capital to be arrogant. Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm versus Third Level Essence Qi Realm; no matter how you look at it, he wouldn’t lose, don’t you think? Even if he allows three moves, it has no bearing on the overall situation."

Since Liu Ruoshui already said all that, Wan Yuan did not feel it was nice to go into it seriously. But in his mind, he was thinking that after they return, he would definitely show him some colors.

"I’ve incurred Junior Apprentice Sister Liu’s ridicule. It’s just that this is a deathmatch. Fei Qingping shouldn’t be so careless. But I don’t think that Ye Yuan would be able to do anything." Wan Yuan shook his head and smiled.

"That’s obvious. Senior Apprentice Brother Wan spent the past few days to help with Junior Apprentice Brother Fei’s bitter closed-seclusion training. Furthermore, he has an overwhelming advantage in terms of cultivation realm. Nothing is going to happen. What’s funny is that just now, Ye Yuan was still showing off as if so many senior apprentice brothers’ Essence Qi Pills were already his. Looking at this point, he isn’t any different from the past Ye Yuan," Liu Ruoshui’s words carried a faint enmity as she replied.

"Oh? That’s true now that you mentioned it! Perhaps I was overly cautious. But this way, it does seem more like Ye Yuan’s personality."

After Ruoshui said that, Wan Yuan also came around. Thinking back to Ye Yuan’s actions just now, it was like how he used to act recklessly and blindly in the past.

But, this was going to be the last time . . .

. . . . . .

In the arena, a middle-aged man dressed in black walked in step by step. He was the instructor who was hosting this deathmatch, Huyan Yong.

Huyan Yong glanced at the two people without any emotion. It was as if not at all caring the slightest about this deathmatch.

"Since the two of you are here, the deathmatch will begin now. In a deathmatch, each person is responsible for their own life and death."

"Begin!"

Finishing his words, Huyan Yong directly left.

Presently, Ye Yuan was wearing a white martial outfit, standing there with a somewhat valiant and heroic bearing.

Except that this valiant and heroic appearance did not match his strength, leaving everyone with an inexpressible strange feeling.

"Hey, you said three moves. After I hit you, you mustn’t retaliate!" Ye Yuan suddenly grinned and exclaimed.

Fei Qingping smiled coldly. "Just relying on you?"

"Hehe. Won’t you know after trying? Here I come!"

Right after he finished talking, Ye Yuan’s figure already arrived in front of Fei Qingping.

"Stacking Waves Layered Palm, First Layer Wave!"

Smash!

Fei Qingping’s body flew out like a cannonball, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Silence . . .

Dead silence!

Everyone looked at Ye Yuan standing in the arena with an unbelievable expression, not knowing what happened just now.

No, to be exact, they could not believe the truth that they just witnessed with their own eyes!

How could he be so fast?

Stacking Waves Layered Palm?

H-he really mastered it?

How is this possible?!

"Just now, that was . . . Stacking Waves Layered Palm?" On the secret viewing platform, Zuo Bugui’s laidback attitude already disappeared from his face, and what replaced it was astonishment.

It sounded like he was asking Long Tang, and at the same time as if he was talking to himself.

Shocked was written all over Long Tang’s face, but he still replied, "That’s right. It’s Stacking Waves Layered Palm, First Layer Wave!"

"But . . . didn’t he only train for three days?" Zuo Bugui felt that his brain was a little insufficient to process this.

Three days to learn Stacking Waves Layered Palm, First Layer Wave. Could it be that this Ye Yuan’s talent was even more monstrous than this Long Tang in front of him?

But . . .

Even if Ye Yuan was more monstrous than Long Tang, it could not be to the extent of learning it in three days . . . Right?

Long Tang used a month, and yet Ye Yuan only used three days. The time that Long Tang took was actually ten times of Ye Yuan’s?

Isn’t it too demoralizing?

Long Tang didn’t know what happened either. But among Dan Wu Academy’s students, nobody was more familiar with this martial technique than him.

What Ye Yuan used just now was the authentic First Layer Wave!

"If this was Ye Yuan’s first time looking at the jade piece, it means he really mastered it in three days!" Long Tang’s words revealed mixed feelings.

Zuo Bugui clearly became aware of that point as well and asked, "Do you mean that . . . he trained in it before? This time around, it’s just to deceive the public? If it’s like that, then it makes sense."

The more Zuo Bugui thought about it, the more he felt that it was the case. That trademark smile once again appeared on his face, except it was still a little forced. "That’s what I said. How can there be someone even more monstrous than you? Furthermore, it’s monstrous to such an extent!"

Long Tang shook his head and said calmly, "I didn’t say that. It’s just an assumption. In reality, I’m more inclined to believe that this was his first time seeing that jade piece."

". . . . . ."

Zuo Bugui was speechless.

In the arena, a trace of light flashed across Huyan Yong’s eyes, whose expression had been indifferent all this while.

He was similarly shocked by Ye Yuan’s strike, but what he was astonished by was not the Stacking Waves Layered Palm, but Ye Yuan’s movement technique!

Previously, Ye Yuan revealed Instant Flash. So everyone was not a stranger to it. But everyone’s understanding of him remained at the large success stage.

But the Instant Flash that Ye Yuan displayed just now was undoubtedly at the great circle stage!

What Ye Yuan executed just now did not leave any afterimages. Hence, he deceived every student’s eyes and ears.

Afterimage was a mark of mastering Instant Flash to the great circle stage. But it did not mean that a great success stage of Instant Flash will definitely leave afterimages.

Ingenuity in varying tactics depends on mother wit.

That was the true meaning of a martial technique at the great circle stage!

Coincidentally, back in those days, Huyan Yong also spent a great deal of effort on Instant Flash. He was one of the few people who trained this technique to the great circle stage!

Although he went on to practice higher ranking movement techniques, he was still most familiar with Instant Flash.

Yet, just now, he clearly felt that the Instant Flash Ye Yuan executed was somewhat different. It was just that he could not say how exactly was it different.

But without any doubt, Ye Yuan’s understanding of this technique was beyond his!

This punk isn’t simple!

Huyan Yong who was originally indifferent towards this deathmatch started to feel a faint anticipation now.

"That fool! I already told him not to underestimate the enemy!" Looking at the arena, Wan Yuan gnashed his teeth angrily.

Wan Yuan never thought that Ye Yuan actually managed to master the Stacking Waves Layered Palm!

Just what on earth happened on this guy’s body?

Just three days!

Something that Senior Apprentice Brother Long Tang only accomplished using one month, Ye Yuan actually managed to use only three days!

Was this really still the Ye Yuan I know?

"Don’t worry, Senior Apprentice Brother Wan. Junior Apprentice Brother Fei only underestimated the enemy for a moment. Even if Ye Yuan mastered Stacking Waves Layered Palm, First Layer Wave, he can’t win against Junior Apprentice Brother Fei." Liu Ruoshui remained fully confident.

Wan Yuan nodded his head. He obviously knew that this strike was not unable to cause Fei Qingping any actual harm.

"Underestimated the enemy? Even if he didn’t take the enemy lightly, he probably also couldn’t avoid that strike just now, right?" Huyan Yong was not far from Wan Yuan and heard Liu Ruoshui and their conversation, giving this evaluation in his heart.

"Hey, have you laid down long enough? There are still two more moves which you allowed me. You aren’t going to go back on your words, are you?"

Ye Yuan clapped his hands together with a face that said it cannot be helped.

Cough, cough, cough! Fei Qingping had not caught his breath even after so long.

That palm strike just now hit him right in the chest to the point where he could not catch his breath.

Were it not for the fact that he gathered essence energy to form a shield at the last moment, he would have failed miserably at this simple mission.

Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm was much stronger than Third Level Essence Qi Realm; it was not just because the essence energy was much thicker, but also because after the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm, one would be able to materialize an essence energy shield. This greatly increased one’s self-defense power.

The damage from a Third Level Essence Qi Realm’s attack, after being neutralized by an essence energy shield, will significantly be reduced in power.

"Li-little bastard!" Fei Qingping held his chest as he struggled to stand up.

Just as he managed to steady himself, Ye Yuan palm came again.

Smash!

Fei Qingping was sent flying once more, rolling on the ground far away.

"You’re really asking for a beating! Try scolding again if you got the guts!" Ye Yuan stopped smiling and said coldly.

Cough, cough! "S-so what if I scold you? Li-little bas-"

Smash!

Before he even managed to complete his sentence, Ye Yuan’s palm once again imprinted onto Fei Qingping’s chest.

"I admire your guts. Come, carry on scolding." Ye Yuan’s words became frostier.

Cough, cough! "Three moves are over, prepare to die! Little bas-"

Smash!

Yet another palm!

Only, this palm struck the face. Even though it was weakened by the essence energy shield, Fei Qingping’s face started to swell slightly.

"Little-"

Smash!

Smash! Smash! Smash!

. . . . . .

Ye Yuan landed one palm after another on Fei Qingping’s face.

Fei Qingping stood up again and again but was sent flying each time. As long as he stood up, a palm would come whizzing, leaving him no time to start scolding.

It was said that when hitting someone, do not hit the face. Yet, Ye Yuan deliberately hit Fei Qingping’s face.

After over a dozen palms landed, Fei Qingping’s face already swelled up like a pig’s head. Even if his parents were here, they probably would not be able to recognize their own son.

Currently, Fei Qingping was howling in his heart. Each time he made a great effort to stand up, wanting to retaliate, Ye Yuan would appear before his eyes without waiting for him to react.

Right now, he discovered that the Ye Yuan he always looked down upon had indeed possessed the strength to threaten him.

. . . . . .

Everybody looked on dumbfounded at the scene of Ye Yuan continuously striking one palm after the other.

Each time Ye Yuan struck, their hearts would jump involuntarily as if that palm was slapping their faces.

Stretching out to touch their faces, why was it that they found their faces a little hot?

Wan Yuan did not say a word, but his face was already completely black.

How was this about Ye Yuan slapping Fei Qingping’s face? He was clearly slapping Wan Yuan’s face!

There were so many people present here. Who did not know that Fei Qingping was his lackey?

In his heart, he had already scolded Fei Qingping countless times, but that was not of any help at all to the current situation in the combat arena.

Wan Yuan did not possess Huyan Yong’s judgment. Even now, he still stubbornly believed that Ye Yuan had the initiative because of those three moves, and Ye Yuan could beat Fei Qingping until this state because Fei Qingping was taken unaware.

Thinking back to how Fei Qingping promised to allow Ye Yuan three moves right from the start, it became a complete joke now.

It had already been over ten moves, and Fei Qingping had not even counterattacked.

"Fei Qingping, are you a pig?! Quickly, use the Lesser Capturing Hand!" Wan Yuan could not sit idly by any longer and then shouted out loud.

Murmuring.

Following Wan Yuan’s cry, the hundreds of people in the audience all looked over in his direction.

It seemed to have caught Ye Yuan’s attention as well. He looked over and ceased his violent rhythmic beating of Fei Qingping.

"Shut up! This is a deathmatch. Who permitted you to shout?" Huyan Yong turned around and looked frostily at Wan Yuan. A powerful pressure belonging to the Spirit Condensation Realm came forth, crushing Wan Yuan until his breathing almost stopped.

"Teacher Huyan, does his action count as breaking the academy’s rules?" Ye Yuan asked calmly.

Huyan Yong also had a headache. Even though Wan Yuan was an Earth rank student, his potential was quite high. Additionally, with his father, Wan Donghai’s network, he could not be too harsh on him.

However, what Wan Yuan did was indeed a transgression. A deathmatch prohibited anyone from interrupting the duel. Wan Yuan’s interference had clearly disrupted Ye Yuan’s momentum.

Now, if Ye Yuan was to hold onto this point and not let things go, under everyone’s watchful eyes, Huyan Yong really did not know how to handle things.

"Of course it counts!" Even though it might be troublesome, Huyan Yong could not deny this in front of so many people.

Currently, many people’s gaze towards Wan Yuan became filled with contempt. Anyone could tell that he intentionally interrupted Ye Yuan’s momentum.

"That . . . According to the academy’s rules, how should he be punished for his actions? Just now, I had the full advantage, but after that shout, I’m afraid that I will be beaten by Fei Qingping later. I don’t want to look like a pig head. Teacher Huyan, you have to stand up for me, the weak party!" Ye Yuan said innocently.

"This . . ." Huyan Yong was exasperated and cursed endlessly in his heart.

Other people might not be able to tell, but how could he not see it? Even when interrupted, there was no way that pig head could even touch the corner of Ye Yuan’s sleeves. It had nothing to do with the overall situation.

Yet, Ye Yuan deliberately pretended to be the weak party right now in order to gain everyone’s sympathy. This made it even harder for him to find a way out of this situation whether he punished Wan Yuan or not.

As expected, when Ye Yuan’s voice died down, a wave of murmuring sounded off at the grandstand. Everyone understood what he meant.

Ye Yuan was already two minor cultivation realms lower than Fei Qingping right from the start and was at an absolute disadvantage.

Fei Qingping himself threw away his initiative, which finally balanced out the initially tilted scale.

If Ye Yuan were beaten to death by Fei Qingping right after coming up, there would absolutely be no one who would pity him. But now that Ye Yuan finally saw the hope of victory, and yet was despicably interrupted by Wan Yuan, everybody could not help but pity him.

Even though many among them wagered against Ye Yuan.

However, everybody was clear in their hearts, that even though Ye Yuan was the one beating violently, in reality, it was all superficial wounds to Fei Qingping; unable to give him any serious injuries.

Stacking Waves Layered Palm was indeed powerful, but the First Layer Wave was not able to compensate for the difference in cultivation realm.

If Fei Qingping were only at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm, then even if he had ten lives, he would be thoroughly dead.

If Fei Qingping was at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm, perhaps Ye Yuan might just have that glimmer of hope to finish him off.

But at the Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm . . .

Nobody felt that Ye Yuan could really kill Fei Qingping.

That was the reality of it . . .

Just as Huyan Yong was caught in the dilemma, Fei Qingping finally took the opportunity to stand up, albeit in an unstable manner.

However . . . he was already confused and disoriented right now. He was utterly unable to figure out the directions.

Fei Qingping saw a blurry figure, pointed at him, and shouted angrily, "Ye Yuan, I . . . I’m going . . . to kill you!"

"Hahahaha!"

Hundreds of people took a look at Fei Qingping’s funny appearance and burst into laughter.

The laughter made Fei Qingping’s eardrums quake in pain.

Fei Qingping did not understand why everyone was laughing at him, but when he saw clearly who he was pointing at, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

The person in front of him gradually became clearer. He was pointing to none other than the currently livid Huyan Yong.

"Wan Yuan disrupted the deathmatch. In accordance with the academy’s rules, he will go and receive a hundred whippings himself after the duel. Wan Yuan! Leave the combat arena right now!" Huyan Yong had been an instructor for so many years but never had he lost face like he did today.Whipping was a form of punishment frequently used on students.

This whip punishment was naturally different from the mortals’ whipping punishment. It was carried out using a low-grade Spirit Artifact. Each whip will scatter the student’s protective essence energy, causing bone piercing pain.

The average student who committed a mistake would receive around 30-50 whips. After that, they basically had to lie on a bed for ten days.

Now that Wan Yuan had to receive 100 whips, he would not be able to walk for at least twenty days no matter what.

Wan Yuan also knew that he had incurred public wrath, so he did not dare to talk back to Huyan Yong. Glaringly fiercely at Ye Yuan, he said, "Hmph! In a while, we will come and collect your corpse!"

Ye Yuan did not show any weaknesses and said loudly, "Many thanks then. But I think you better collect the corpse of your family’s dog. I won’t see you off."

Finishing by drawing aggro, Ye Yuan sent Wan Yuan off with a wave of his hands.

If it was not a deathmatch, Wan Yuan wished he could immediately rush down and tear Ye Yuan apart.

After Wan Yuan left, Huyan Yong announced with a scowl, "Deathmatch resumes!"

Currently, Fei Qingping had already recovered. There was hatred in his eyes as if he wanted to tear Ye Yuan apart alive.

"Ye Yuan, you despicable man! To actually use such a contemptible method to execute sneak attacks on me!" Fei Qingping gnashed his teeth in hatred.

Ye Yuan stared at him like he was an idiot. "Hey, you were the one who said that you will allow me three moves. Now you turn around and blame me for being despicable? Did you really become a pig’s head?"

"Little bastard! You are dead!!" Fei Qingping was practically foaming at the mouth from anger and started cursing again.

As his voice fell, Ye Yuan’s figure once again executed Instant Flash, appearing in front of Fei Qingping.

Smash!

Fei Qingping was sent flying once again.

This time around, the audience on the grandstand finally noticed something wrong.

If previously, Fei Qingping were sent flying because he underestimated the enemy right at the start, then what about now?

Fei Qingping could not possibly be unprepared when facing Ye Yuan in his towering rage. Yet, he was still sent flying with a single palm by Ye Yuan.

Those with a good judgment already discovered that this time around, even though Fei Qingping was prepared to counterattack, he was still slower by half a beat.

"This . . . Is Instant Flash supposed to be this quick?" Zuo Bugui felt that there were too many things happening today that overturned his understanding.

Long Tang looked at him and said, "Looks like we were both wrong. Ye Yuan’s Instant Flash had already reached the great circle stage."

Zuo Bugui sucked in a cold breath involuntarily. "Siii . . . Great circle stage. . . Do you also know Instant Flash?"

Long Tang seemed to know what Zuo Bugui was asking, so he nodded his head and said, "I still cannot find the crux to step into the Great Circle Realm."

Zuo Bugui muttered, "This Ye Yuan . . . is truly monstrous! Looks like in the future, we will have another terrifying opponent."

Hearing Zuo Bugui’s words, Long Tang’s face did not become grim, but instead, it overflowed with fighting intent.

"If he can rise up, he would be a pretty good opponent." Long Tang’s domineering air continued to soar as if he had already been lonely in the Dan Wu Academy for too long.

Zuo Bugui rolled his eyes and said, "You are indeed a sicko! Even though I don’t know what happened to Ye Yuan, most likely he can’t cause any threat to you. After all, your cultivation realm is much higher than his."

"It may not necessarily be so! Don’t tell me you still believe that Ye Yuan rising two minor cultivation realms in a row was the result of his father pulling the shoot to help it grow?"

Zhu Bugui shook his head and said, "Even though I don’t know how he did it, he is definitely not those sort of Third Level Essence Qi Realm with superficial foundation! From the start until now, he had continuously used over a dozen Instant Flashes and Stacking Wave Layered Palms. All these no longer support the principle where his foundation is superficial. But looking at him, he doesn’t seem to be under strain. Instead, he seems to be doing it with ease. But the question is . . . how does he do it?"

Since the start of the duel, Zuo Bugui felt that there were too many mysteries on Ye Yuan’s body. Many of the things that happened with Ye Yuan surpassed his understanding.

However, Zuo Bugui did not treat Ye Yuan as an opponent, because Ye Yuan’s realm was too low.

The accumulation of essence energy was a drawn-out process. No matter how talented someone was, this process cannot be made up for within a short period of time.

Zuo Bugui was older than Ye Yuan by two whole years. If he were a mediocre person like Fei Qingping, then there was nothing strange about being caught up by Ye Yuan.

However, Zuo Bugui himself was a genius among geniuses, the number two figure on the Martial Roll of Honor. He had his own pride. By the time Ye Yuan reached his current strength, he would definitely have taken another huge step forward.

"Looks like there are plenty of secrets on Ye Yuan. I have a feeling that before long, he will become a formidable adversary for us," Long Tang said.

. . . . . .

Currently, Ye Yuan was looking at Fei Qingping who was on the ground. He said coldly, "I don’t care how you scold me, but if you scold my parents, I won’t stand for it. If you have the guts, try scolding another sentence. The next time I strike, it will no longer be light."

Fei Qingping struggled up from the ground, shook his pig head, and gave a hideous smile, "Hahaha . . . Just relying on you? So what if you managed to learn the Stacking Waves Layered Palm? It’s just the First Layer Wave! Even if I let you hit me, can you even kill me? Once your essence energy is fully exhausted, you are dead! So what if I scold you?! Little bastard! Little bastard! Little bastard! Come on! Come hit me!"

This time, Fei Qingping was wiser. As he spoke, he was already on full alert and secretly revolved essence energy in preparation to use the Lesser Capturing Hand at any time.

He also knew that he could not compete in movement technique with Ye Yuan no matter what, so he simply went on the defensive.

As long as he thoroughly exhausted Ye Yuan’s essence energy, the latter would be dead!

However, this time around, Ye Yuan did not seem to have the intention of striking immediately. Instead, he looked at Fei Qingping and started smiling. Except, this smile revealed an icy intent, making the students on the grandstand shuddered involuntarily.

Huyan Yong narrowed his eyes. He knew that Ye Yuan really became angry. The next attack would definitely fall like a thunderbolt.

It was just that he could not imagine just how Ye Yuan would make up for the difference in cultivation realm.

Clearly, the Stacking Waves Layered Palm, First Layer Wave, had no use. Could it be that Ye Yuan still has a trump card that he has not used?

Huyan Yong began to faintly look forward to it. The Ye Yuan today had brought too many surprises for him.

"Haha! Very good. You really have balls. I’m coming. You better prepare your Lesser Capturing Hand properly." Ye Yuan was full of smiles and even took special care to remind Fei Qingping.

The next instant, Fei Qingping discovered that Ye Yuan’s figure slowly started to blur. Immediately, he detected something was wrong, and Lesser Capturing Hand was executed without any hesitation in an attempt to slow Ye Yuan’s figure.

Yet, all of these were futile.

Ye Yuan’s figure once again appeared in front of him, and a palm was struck out immediately, almost the same as before.

"Stacking Waves Layered Palm, Second Layer Wave!"

Fei Qingping’s body flew out like a kite with a broken string.

Puhwark!

The instant he landed, Fei Qingping vomited a large mouthful of blood. It was clear that he suffered heavy internal injuries.

"Second Layer Wave! He mastered the Second Layer Wave! H-how is that possible? I-it’s only been three days!" Zuo Bugui could not believe his eyes. This scene was just too shocking!

Although the attack power only increased by four times, the cultivation difficulty was not just an increment of four times!

Long Tang once estimated previously that in order to master the Second Layer Wave, he would need to spend at least three months!

Was this fellow Ye Yuan still a human?

Although Long Tang who was by the side never spoke, the shock in his heart was no less than Zuo Bugui’s.

Mastering Second Layer Wave in three days . . . This was something that he did not even dare to imagine!

Just what on earth happened to Ye Yuan, making him so monstrous?

Ye Yuan could not be bothered with other people’s astonishment and slowly walked in front of Fei Qingping.

"You said that I can’t kill you? Who do you think you are? You are nothing but a dog of Wan Yuan," Ye Yuan said coolly.

Fei Qingping wanted to say something but vomited another mouthful of blood instead.

A First Layer Wave was two times the power, and a Second Layer Wave was four times the power.

Using Ye Yuan’s abundant essence energy to unleash four times the power? Fei Qingping’s essence energy shield was no longer sufficient.

That palm just now directly shattered Fei Qingping’s essence energy shield and made an imprint on his chest.

Ye Yuan did not hold back his attack at all, directly shattering Fei Qingping’s internal organs, and snapping his heart meridian.

With regards to Fei Qingping, Ye Yuan had long sentenced him to death in his heart.

His predecessor died because of Fei Qingping. Ye Yuan inherited this body, so he naturally could feel his predecessor’s resentment before dying.

Now that he killed Fei Qingping, Ye Yuan can be considered to have taken revenge for his predecessor.

"Cough, cough, cough . . . Ye Yuan, even if I become a ghost . . . I won’t let you off!" Fei Qingping struggled to stand up to no avail.

"Haha! Then I will make sure that you can’t even become a ghost." Ye Yuan followed up with another palm, thoroughly ending Fei Qingping’s life.

From the start to the end, Fei Qingping never even made a single move.

On the grandstand, everyone was completely dumbstruck looking at the Ye Yuan in the combat arena. This Ten Thousand Years Last Place gave them too many surprises today.

Killing a Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm as a Third Level Essence Qi Realm! Instant Flash at the great circle stage! Stacking Waves Layered Palm, Second Layer Wave!

Anyone of these things could shake Dan Wu Academy, but all three things happened on Ye Yuan alone.

"Deathmatch, Fei Qingping died! Ye Yuan wins!" Huyan Yong finally recovered from his shock and announced the results of the deathmatch.

Ye Yuan bowed towards Huyan Yong and said, "You’ve worked hard, Teacher Huyan."

Ye Yuan bowed deeply towards the grandstand and said with a face full of gratitude, "Many thanks to all Senior Apprentice Brothers and Sisters for supporting. To actually know this Junior Apprentice Brother, I, am lacking Essence Qi Pills for cultivation. It makes me overwhelmed by this favor! I hope that all Senior Apprentice Brothers and Sisters will pay back the debt and not let Junior Apprentice Brother, I, go and look for you. That wouldn’t look very nice."

The audience who were initially still immersed in the shock were now full of resentment and contempt.

Isn’t this Ye Yuan’s appearance when he is eating too ugly?

This was a threat! A blatant threat!

"Haha! This Ye Yuan is interesting. With the large mountain Ye Hang, behind his back, how could he be lacking in these sort of things like Essence Qi Pills?" Zuo Bugui could not hold back his laughter when he saw Ye Yuan’s sordid merchant-like appearance.

"This trip wasn’t wasted. Let’s go," Long Tang said nonchalantly.

"Hehehe. Wasn’t wasted, wasn’t wasted. Looks like Dan Wu Academy will be fun in the future."

. . . . . .

"Ye Yuan! If I don’t tear you to shreds, I can’t get rid of the hatred in my heart!"

Wan Yuan laid on the bed with horrific whip marks visible on his back.

Wan Yuan received the news of Fei Qingping being killed by Ye Yuan at the first moment. Immediately, the hatred in his heart surged to the skies.

He still had to go and receive his whip punishment under this sort of circumstance. This made his hatred towards Ye Yuan reached the absolute limit.

A hundred whips later, Wan Yuan’s skin was split, and his flesh all torn up. He fainted straightaway on the spot.

At this time, Wan Yuan’s deep family background revealed itself.

He had consumed two high-grade Great Returning Pills, and the injuries on his body were quickly suppressed. Coupled with some external wound medicines, it would take at most seven or eight days before Wan Yuan would be as good as new.

It was just that although physical injuries healed easily, the emotional wounds were heavy.

No matter what, Fei Qingping and he grew up playing together. Although they were master and servant in name, in reality, they were as close as real brothers.

Wan Yuan never expected that Ye Yuan would improve at such an amazing speed, to actually kill the Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm Fei Qingping as a Third Level Essence Qi Realm.

If he knew this beforehand, then he would not have sent Fei Qingping to his death like that.

Just as Wan Yuan was wallowing in his hatred, Liu Ruoshui slowly walked in, as graceful and attractive as before.

"Senior Apprentice Brother Wan, please restrain your grief. To think that Ye Yuan was such a despicable person who planned such a trap for Junior Apprentice Brother Fei to fall into. He is so devious!" Liu Ruoshui just happened to reveal a sorrowful expression, making her look pitiable and delicate.

Wan Yuan could not get up, but he was very touched by the fact that Liu Ruoshui came to visit him at this time.

"Many thanks, Junior Apprentice Sister Liu. I was definitely careless. My father fought with Ye Hang for so many years, and I have also fought with Ye Yuan for so many years. All these while, I had always thought that I understood him very well, so I felt that he was a good for nothing. But I never expected him to have hidden his ability this deep," Wan Yuan said hatefully.

Liu Ruoshui said, "Yeah, we misjudged. To think he was actually pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger all this while! I reckon that the poisoning incident previously thoroughly infuriated him. That’s why he decided to meet that scheme with his own, luring Junior Apprentice Brother Fei to get hooked by the bait."

Wan Yuan gritted his teeth and said, "Ye Yuan! You and I, one of us must die! Furthermore, he is advancing too quickly. I can’t let him continue to grow!"

It was clear that through this deathmatch, Wan Yuan had already deeply felt the pressure.

The strength that Ye Yuan displayed was too dazzling. Even though he might be a genius that was being heavily groomed by the Dan Wu Academy, he was certain that he could not train the Stacking Waves Layered Palm to such a degree after examining himself.

If he gave Ye Yuan a little more time, he might actually really be able to threaten him.

Stacking Waves Layered Palm, Second Layer Wave, and great circle stage Instant Flash. If he let Ye Yuan grow unchecked, he will soon no longer be his match.

Wan Yuan obviously did not know that Ye Yuan had already finished off someone on his level, the assassin Chou Ying.

If it were a deathmatch, Ye Yuan could already kill him.

Liu Ruoshui wholeheartedly agreed with this. "That’s right. Ye Yuan is too devious, and he also has ulterior motives. Senior Apprentice Brother Wan had better find a way to quickly deal with him."

Liu Ruoshui no longer had any choice. Right now, she and Wan Yuan were like grasshoppers on the same string. She had plotted against Ye Yuan before, so Ye Yuan would not let her go. That was why she came over to urge Wan Yuan to quickly deal with Ye Yuan.

"But the academy doesn’t permit students to take action privately. Otherwise, they will be punished severely," Wan Yuan frowned as he said this.

In reality, even if Wan Yuan was to personally take action right now, he did not have much assurance that he could kill Ye Yuan. That great circle stage Instant Flash placed him in a virtually undefeatable position.

"Did you two forget that the Endless Trials will start one month from now?"

Suddenly, a voice appeared, making Wan Yuan and Liu Ruoshui jumped in fright.

"It’s Senior Apprentice Brother Su! Apologies, Senior Apprentice Brother Su. Wan Yuan is injured, so it’s inconvenient to greet you." Wan Yuan’s face was full of apologies.

The one who came was precisely Su Yishan, an extraordinary top ten figure on the Martial Roll of Honor.

Liu Ruoshui naturally did not dare to slight him either. She got up gracefully and greeted, "I’ve seen Senior Apprentice Brother Su."

Su Yishan gave her a faint look but did not express anything. Without any care, he sat down by the side as if this was his home.

The Dan Wu Academy was a place that advocated talent and strength. If one had the strength, then nobody would dare to say anything even if he was somewhat arrogant. If one did not, then he could only be stepped underfoot by others.

In the past, Ye Yuan was the Ten Thousand Years Last Place, so there had never been anyone who looked up to him. But now that he soared up to the skies in one move, everyone would naturally take him seriously.

"Senior Apprentice Brother Su, just now you said . . . the Endless Trials? That’s right! Why didn’t I think of it?" Wan Yuan became excited, and pushed with his hand, agitating his wounds. Immediately, his face contorted in agony.

By the side, Liu Ruoshui’s eyes also lit up. It was clear that she also understood Su Yishan’s intentions.

"That’s right, the Endless Trials. The Endless Forest is naturally the ideal location to deal with Ye Yuan," Su Yishan commented calmly.

The Endless Trials was actually a hunting exercise for the Dan Wu Academy’s students to temper themselves.

There were countless demonic beasts inside the Endless Forest. So it was naturally the ideal location to temper the students. Of course, these sort of tempering would often be accompanied by injuries and death.

In the past trials, many genius students ended up in the bellies of demonic beasts.

The Dan Wu Academy was never a utopia. This place was even crueler than the outside world. The weak was destined to be eliminated.

It was a world where the strong ruled.

The Dan Wu Academy provided geniuses with a relatively safe environment for competition. But a greenhouse could never nurture a true powerhouse. Without the baptism of fresh blood, these geniuses would never mature.

There were all sorts of conflicts in the academy. These conflicts had to have a release point, and that release point was precisely the Endless Trials.

The grudges that could not be settled within the academy could be dealt with during the Endless Trials.

Although the academy would repeatedly emphasize that they were not allowed to make a move on their companions during the Endless Trials, in reality, the academy tacitly approved of students utilizing this opportunity to settle their grudges.

"Senior Apprentice Brother Su indeed has broad horizons, to have already chosen a burial ground for Ye Yuan," Liu Ruoshui praised.

Su Yishan gave Liu Ruoshui a contemplating look, and she blushed bashfully, making her appear highly bewitching.

Liu Ruoshui did not have a good family background. She was born from a small family’s concubine and enjoyed extremely few resources since young. However, her talent was pretty good, reaching Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm at 14 years old. This was how she got recruited by the Dan Wu Academy.

If she had not entered the Dan Wu Academy, Liu Ruoshui would have long been sent out as a gift by her family. She was full of hatred towards the Liu Family. She hoped that one day, she could return to smack the faces of those elders to let them see that even without the support of the family, she, Liu Ruoshui, could still rise above others!

Yet, after entering the Dan Wu Academy, Liu Ruoshui realized just how many incredibly talented people there were. She felt that her talent was not inferior to these geniuses, but that her background limited her growth.

What Liu Ruoshui lacked the most was resources so she would try every mean to hang around men just so she could obtain enough cultivation resources.

Liu Ruoshui possessed a naturally attractive body and was the dual cultivation partner that all men dreamed of having. This was also her most significant capital, so she used this capital to walk among men, hoping to find a large tree to climb up.

Big shots like Su Yishan would not even fancy Liu Ruoshui, and Liu Ruoshui understood that even if they took a liking to her, she would only end up as their plaything.

So Liu Ruoshui set her sights on those geniuses who had yet to mature, and that person was Wan Yuan.

In reality, Liu Ruoshui had also considered Ye Yuan before, because Ye Yuan was easier to control than Wan Yuan. Looking at their background, these two people were actually roughly the same. But in terms of future, Wan Yuan left Ye Yuan several streets behind.

Wan Yuan was full of schemes, possessed strength, and even had an Alchemy Grandmaster for a father. There was no better choice than him.

Furthermore, Wan Yuan did not disappoint her and was currently already deeply in love with her.

Liu Ruoshui had also just advanced to Earth Rank not long ago and did not have much contact with this sort of extraordinary genius like Su Yishan. However, just this one glance made Liu Ruoshui feel like he stripped her clothes off, making her very uncomfortable.

"Junior Apprentice Sister Liu isn’t bad," after that contemplating smile, Su Yishan only said a sentence lightly; not understanding what he was trying to express either.

After that, he no longer bothered with Liu Ruoshui and carried talking with Wan Yuan.

"At that time, I will cooperate with you to eliminate Ye Yuan. After losing his son, Ye Hang would definitely lose his composure. At that time, our two families will join hands, and we can pull the Fragrant Medicine Pavilion up by the roots. If Ye Hang attacks first, I believe the Imperial Family can’t say anything about it."

Hearing Su Yishan’s words, Wan Yuan’s gaze became sharp, and he said excitedly, "Senior Apprentice Brother Su will personally take action? That’s great! Honestly speaking, with Ye Yuan’s great circle stage Instant Flash, even if I use my full strength, I might not be able to keep him there. With Senior Apprentice Brother Su personally moving out, there will be no escape for Ye Yuan this time!"

Liu Ruoshui felt a little chill in her heart. Su Yishan’s methods are terrifying. She and Wan Yuan were only thinking of how to deal with Ye Yuan, but Su Yishan already included the entire Fragrant Medicine Pavilion into his scheme.

Su Family’s primary source of income similarly was through medicinal herbs and pills. They had deep connections with the Drunken Star Manor, so the two families were always on good terms.

Su Family was the largest medicinal herbs provider in the State of Qin. In most cases, Su Family only provided the medicinal herbs and did not interfere with the refinement or sale of medicinal pills.

But who knew what channels Ye Hang went through, to not go through the Su Family for all of his medicinal herbs. This naturally made the Su Family hate Ye Hang.

In the capital, the Fragrant Medicine Pavilion and the Drunken Star Manor were like two tigers who could not tolerate the other’s existence on the same mountain. The two families had fought for so many years, and the Imperial Family had already given tacit consent to this delicate balance.

But the Su Family strongly disliked the existence of Fragrant Medicine Pavilion, because the latter occupied a considerable share of the medicinal pills market which also meant that the Su Family’s profits were reduced by quite a bit.

But, one had to acknowledge that Ye Hang was remarkable in terms of businesses and operations. The Fragrant Medicine Pavilion’s prices were fair, and they had never bullied customers with their power. Their prestige among the demonic beast hunters was very good.

The Su Family and the Wan Family had created obstacles both openly and in the shadows countless times, and yet, they had never dealt any real damage to the Fragrant Medicine Pavilion.

Su Yishan wanted to use Ye Yuan as the pivotal point to pull the Fragrant Medicine Pavilion up by its roots.

To be able to devise such a setup and also be so scheming at such a young age, one had to acknowledge that Su Yishan was an outlaw-like figure.

After Su Yishan left, Liu Ruoshui’s eyes were sparkling as she said, "Congratulations, Senior Apprentice Brother Wan! With Senior Apprentice Brother Su’s help, Ye Yuan is definitely dead this time. Not only Ye Yuan, but your Lord Father’s thorn in the eye can also be removed this time as well!"

Wan Yuan did not have Liu Ruoshui’s excitement, as if he was a completely different person from just now when Su Yishan was here.

"Senior Apprentice Brother Su is feeling threatened!" sucking in a deep breath, Wan Yuan said in a low voice.

"You are saying . . . Ye Yuan?" Liu Ruoshui was also an intelligent person. Now that Wan Yuan said this, she immediately understood, but she was frightened by this thought.

To the academy’s students, those in the Martial Roll of Honor’s and Alchemy Roll of Honor’s top ten were all figures that they had to look up to. An extraordinary genius like him actually felt threatened by a Third Level Essence Qi Realm?

It was too inconceivable . . .

. . . . . .

At Ye Yuan’s abode, Lu-er stared at her young master fiddling with Essence Qi Pills that filled up the house.

Ye Yuan retrieved six Essence Qi Pills and placed them separately at the six corners of a pre-drawn hexagon array.

Slightly injecting some essence energy, the array immediately gave off a faint white light, and the six Essence Qi Pills actually started to melt slowly, converging at the center of the hexagon array.

After a while, the light faded, and the liquefied pills started to reform again at the center. It actually reformed into a single medicinal pill!

The reformed medicinal pill, just from the luster of it, one could clearly tell that it was much stronger than the original high-grade Essence Qi Pills.

"Young Master, is this a transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pill?" Lu-er grew up in the Ye Family since young, and naturally was not a stranger to medicinal pills.

High-grade Essence Qi Pills were relatively common but transcendent-grade . . . If Ye Hang performed exceptionally well, then it would be pretty good to have one of these in a furnace of medicinal pills.

But now, Ye Yuan casually used six high-grade Essence Qi Pills to actually conjure out a transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pill like magic.

It was too miraculous!

Ye Yuan took the medicinal pill and placed it in a medicine bottle, saying, "Not bad. This is called Six Astral Array; an array specialized in extracting and refining low-level medicinal pills."

Lu-er found it all very mystical and praised in admiration, "Young Master, you are too amazing!"

The next day after the duel, Ye Yuan had a medicinal theory lesson.

The medicinal theory lesson’s teacher was Feng Ruoqing, the youngest teacher in the entire Dan Wu Academy. She was also a ridiculously beautiful teacher with countless pursuers.

Fen Ruoqing’s medicinal theory classes were always fully packed. Even if the other instructors whipped their horses, they also could not catch up. Furthermore, every student would be thoroughly engrossed and kept their gaze fixed on Feng Ruoqing.

The initially dry and boring medicinal theory class even appeared to be interesting.

However, Ye Yuan did not seem to have too much enthusiasm for it. Currently, he was snoring away. Yesterday night, he expended a tremendous amount of essence energy to extract and refine transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills and was currently completely exhausted.

Every high-tier alchemist was also an array master. Someone at the Alchemy Emperor level like Ye Yuan naturally was not an exception.

High-tier medicinal pills required the inscription of arrays in order to attain the best medicinal effects. Hence, array formations were compulsory lessons for high-tier alchemists.

Although the Six Astral Array was not some high-tier array, extracting and refining tens of thousands of Essence Qi Pills still drained Ye Yuan completely. Even so, Ye Yuan still had yet not finished extracting and refining. Tonight will be another long night, so how could he not catch up on his sleep?

By the time all of the pills were extracted and refined completely, Ye Yuan would have several thousand of transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills. This amount would definitely shock anyone.

The difference between transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills and high-grade Essence Qi Pills was basically that there were prices, but no sellers.

How could something that even Alchemy Grandmasters could refine only when they were lucky to circulate freely on the market?

The moment a medicinal pill reached the transcendent-grade, there would be a qualitative change.

With regards to medicinal efficacy, a transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pill was already no longer inferior to a low-grade Explosive Yuan Pill. Furthermore, transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills had no side-effects at all. Even if one used it all the way to the Ninth Level Essence Qi Realm, their body would not develop any resistance to it!

Of course, the pre-requisite was that one had to have a lot of transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills in the first place.

Who would dare to eat transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills like jelly beans?

Except for Ye Yuan . . .

Although the Explosive Yuan Pill might be good, firstly, its tier was a little high. Secondly, with Ye Yuan’s current strength, he could not guarantee that every pill refined will be high-grade or superior-grade, let alone transcendent-grade.

Even though Explosive Yuan Pill used only Tier 1 ingredients, it was still much more expensive than Essence Qi Pill. Even Ye Hang would not be able to provide it endlessly.

Under these circumstances, transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills were without a doubt the most suitable medicinal pills for Ye Yuan.

However, even though transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills were good, it was so damn tiring!

"The Seven Star Lotus’s attribute is water, and it is a yin attribute. Commonly found within a spirit lake, it’s suitable for refining . . ." Feng Ruoqing threw the ’Herbal Essentials’ book on the table, as her words continued to flow easily. Clearly, she already knew all these medicinal herbs’ attributes like the back of her hand.

Feng Ruoqing was young and already a middle-rank Alchemy Master. This made many seniors perspire in embarrassment.

One had to know that even though Master Qian employed by the Fragrant Medicine Pavilion was a high-rank Alchemy Master, his age was even greater than Feng Ruoqing by half a sixty-year cycle. That was the disparity in talent!

Feng Ruoqing walked lightly while talking about the subject with great familiarity, and the students’ gaze swayed along with her body.

All of a sudden, Feng Ruoqing frowned lightly and stopped the lesson.

Everybody could tell that Feng Ruoqing was unhappy.

Everyone followed her gaze only see someone bent over the desk fast asleep, while drool was coming out of his mouth.

In a moment, many scornful eyes shot towards Ye Yuan.

How could there be someone who was so daring as to sleep during Teacher Feng’s class? So offensive to a beauty!

However, Ye Yuan was currently in dreamland, and could not feel everyone’s eyes filled with enmity.

Feng Ruoqing lifted her hand and casually shot out two wind blades.

Kacha! The table legs broke into two, and the table fell to the ground with a crash.

The area under Ye Yuan’s hands became empty space, and he was stunned awake; nearly falling to the ground.

Fortunately, his movement technique was already at the acme of perfection, so he managed to stabilize his figure.

"What happened?" Ye Yuan obviously still was not aware of the situation.

But he immediately discovered something was off, because all the students were staring at him, and the beautiful teacher in front of him had a fierce expression. He quickly realized what happened.

"Ah . . . Haha . . . Teacher Feng, you know this; I just experienced a deathmatch yesterday, and I exhausted too much essence energy. I still haven’t recovered after one night so I couldn’t help myself from falling asleep. Haha . . ." Ye Yuan tried to laugh and smoke his way through.

Feng Ruoqing did not recognize Ye Yuan, but she had indeed heard about the deathmatch yesterday that caused a huge commotion.

Hearing what Ye Yuan said, Feng Ruoqing’s expression became slightly better. But Feng Ruoqing felt that behavior like sleeping during class should not be tolerated.

"You are that Ye Yuan?"

"Haha. I’m that Ye Yuan"

"Don’t be cheeky during the lesson!"

"Ah. Yes yes, Teacher Feng is right. I will be serious!"

"En. If it’s because of the deathmatch, then it’s still understandable." Ye Yuan thought that this was over, but who knew that Feng Ruoqing would change the subject. "However, in the Dan Wu Academy, the Alchemy Path is as equally important as the Martial Path. Medicinal theory class is also the foundation of Alchemy Dao. Someone like you who sleeps in class is delaying your future!"

Ye Yuan apologized with sincerity. "Teacher Feng, I was wrong. I won’t sleep during your lesson ever again."

"Humph! Not just my lesson; you are not allowed to sleep in all lessons! Go back and copy the ’Herbal Essentials’ ten times. I will check during the next lesson," Feng Ruoqing said lightly.

"Ah? T-ten times?" Ye Yuan was stunned.

The ’Herbal Essentials’ was a simplified version of the ’Herbal Compendium’ written by an Alchemy Sovereign of his generation, Li Shizhen. It covered a systemic overview of all sorts of medicinal herbs.

Although it’s a simplified version, it was still a very thick book. Copying it ten times was too horrifying!

Ye Yuan had some impression of the name Li Shizhen; he came to apprentice himself to his father, Zhengyang Zi. Back then, Qingyun Zi happened to be at the scene.

That punk . . . after I return to the Divine Realm, I will definitely show him some colors! I should teach him what shouldn’t be written, to actually write such a thick book!

Since he already wrote such a thick book, then forget it. But there were so many things inside that were incorrect. Wasn’t this harming others?!

"That’s right, ten times! Any complaints?" Feng Ruoqing felt that she absolutely could not tolerate this matter, so as to serve as a warning to others.

"Yes, I have!" Ye Yuan cried out.

Ye Yuan’s words stunned Feng Ruoqing, along with all the other students.

In the students’ opinion, being punished by Teacher Feng who was as beautiful as a heavenly fairy was something wonderful. Why would there be any complaints?

The way Feng Ruoqing saw it, this was the first time that she was rebuffed in the academy. Furthermore, it was a man. Moreover, he was even a student!

"The things inside here are so simple. Isn’t copying it a waste of time? If there’s time, then it’s better off to just refine two furnaces of medicinal pills." Ye Yuan refused to give in.

Right now, Ye Yuan’s time was very precious. He did not want to waste it on these trivial matters.

What a joke. Was there anyone who understood medicinal theories better than him in this world?

Even if Li Shizhen personally came back, he would not even be fit to carry his shoes!

"Simple? Haha . . ." Feng Ruoqing was so angered by Ye Yuan that she started laughing.

’Herbal Essentials’ was not only one of the compulsory lessons for an alchemist but also a highly profound course. Even if Alchemy Kings were to come, they would not dare say that this course was simple.

Yet, this brat who was not even an Alchemy Apprentice actually said it was easy.

Within the Dan Wu Academy, Feng Ruoqing had always been an existence who everyone looked up to.

The reason why she taught medicinal theory was naturally that her attainments in medicinal theory were very high.

But even the current Feng Ruoqing did not dare to say that she had a thorough grasp on the ’Herbal Essentials,’ let alone its full version, ’Herbal Compendium.’ That was the syllabus that even an Alchemy King needed to devote all his attention to study.

And now, this punk in front of her who was not even an Alchemy Apprentice actually said that ’Herbal Essentials’ was simple. This was simply humiliating all her years of hard work.

Ye Yuan did not seem to hear the meaning inside Feng Ruoqing’s words and casually said, "Yeah, it’s too simple. The person who wrote the book didn’t observe and study properly."

Everyone was gloating over Ye Yuan’s misfortunate currently. They wanted to see just how Teacher Feng would punish this fool.

Many among them were cheated out of Essence Qi Pills by Ye Yuan. Now that they saw Ye Yuan being beaten, they naturally welcomed it.

During the deathmatch, the shock that Ye Yuan gave them was too great, making them feel that the current Ye Yuan was no longer the man he was. But looking at things today, Ye Yuan was indeed still that Ye Yuan of the past.

Ignorant and fearless!

"Good! Good!" Feng Ruoqing said two ’good’ in a row. It was clear that she was extremely angry. "I want to see just how ’Herbal Essentials’ is easy. I will ask a question. If you can answer it, then in future medicinal theory classes, you can sleep however you like. But, if you can’t answer, I want you to copy the ’Herbal Essentials’ one hundred times!"

The way other people saw it, Ye Yuan was definitely dead.

Even though Ye Yuan’s combat prowess was abnormally strong now, he was not even an Alchemy Apprentice. So how could he possibly answer the questions from the middle-tier Alchemy Master, Teacher Feng?

But Ye Yuan himself let out a sigh of relief. Answering questions were much better. He did not want to copy that stupid ’Herbal Essentials’ ten times.

In terms of medicinal theory, who dared to compete with him?

"That’s great. Teacher Feng, please ask your question."

Looking at how impatient Ye Yuan was, Feng Ruoqing was incensed and thought to herself that he would cry later.

Feng Ruoqing pulled a long face and said, "What medicinal herbs are used in refining Qi Returning Pill? What are the steps involved in the refinement?"

Feng Ruoqing asked this in a single breath and stared coldly at Ye Yuan.

The other students also stared at Ye Yuan, gloating at his misfortune. They knew that Ye Yuan was definitely going to make a fool of himself.

A Qi Returning Pill was a high-grade Tier 1 medicinal pill, something that martial artists used to recover their essence energy. Refining it required at least the power of a high-tier Alchemy Apprentice. To the Ye Yuan who was not even an Alchemy Apprentice, it was absolutely a highly challenging question.

Among the students, there were only a few who could refine this sort of medicinal pill.

Since nobody could refine it, there would obviously be no one who would pay attention to the pill formula of the Qi Returning Pill. Let alone paying any attention to its theory and points to take note of.

Hence, nobody thought that Ye Yuan could answer the question.

Ye Yuan touched his chin and said, "Oh, Qi Returning Pill? Simple. The core ingredients are the Jade Toad’s inner core and Crimson Sun Sword Toothed Flower. The secondary ingredients are Four Seasons Azure, Wind-Tail Grass, Sky Southern Star, and etc. One has to pay some attention to the procedure. Separate the secondary ingredients into two portions to temper; one of it with Jade Toad’s Inner core, and the other with Crimson Sun Sword Toothed Flower; in order to extract two portions of the medicinal essence. Then, refine it in the furnace at the same time, and finally, merge it into one."

After Ye Yuan said finished, everybody started laughing.

They did not know the pill formula, but this refinement technique was complete rubbish. Splitting the ingredients into two portions, then extracting and refining two portions of the medicinal essence, and finally into the furnace? How does one control it? And also, how would one merge it?

This sort of refinement technique was unheard of. One could only say that this Ye Yuan knew nothing about it and was trying to hoodwink Feng Ruoqing!

To dare play tricks on Teacher Feng, this fellow was going to suffer for it.

A hundred times, oh , one hundred times!

Who asked you to scam our Essence Qi pills! You deserved it!

After a series of laughter, everyone still did not hear Teacher Feng’s exasperated reprimanding.

Looking again, Teacher Feng’s face showed a thoughtful expression. Everyone could not help but question the situation. Could it be that this fellow actually managed to fool Teacher Feng?

"Ooo? You are saying Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique?" Feng Ruoqing asked.

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Teacher Feng is indeed well-read, to even know Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique."

Ye Yuan did some research on the Dan Wu Academy’s refinement techniques. This Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique was a rather obscure refinement technique which the average person would not know.

Saying it was obscure was because it was too difficult to learn. The average person could not grasp it at all.

Controlling two separate medicinal essences in a furnace of medicinal pills and not letting the two medicinal essences touch at all required one to split their focus. Furthermore, the control over essence energy had to be extremely even. The difficulty involved could not be imagined.

It was impossible to control without going through severe training and being repeatedly tempered with experience.

However, this was not even hard for Ye Yuan. Ye Yuan had perfect command over refinement techniques that were even a hundred times, a thousand times more complex.

"If one uses Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique, is it also appropriate for Duo-Cycle Qi Returning Pill?" The initially cold and prideful Feng Ruoqing looked like a student thirsting for knowledge currently, making everyone’s glasses dropped in shock.

Could it be that Ye Yuan was also a genius in alchemy? The things that he said completely exceeded the understanding of all the students here.

"Of course, it’s appropriate. It’s just that the ingredients for the Duo-Cycle Qi Returning Pill are a little more complex, and the refinement process is also a bit more complicated. But the principle still applies. Using the Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique is naturally fitting."

Ye Yuan’s words flowed with ease as if he was the teacher now, and the well-read Feng Ruoqing had become the student.

Feng Ruoqing’s eyes lit up, and she muttered to herself, "That’s right. Why didn’t I think of using the Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique?"

A Duo-Cycle Qi Returning Pill was a high-grade Tier 2 medicinal pill. Currently, Feng Ruoqing was a middle-tier Alchemy Master; her soul strength was between middle-tier Alchemy Master and high-tier Alchemy Master. Being slightly inadequate, the refinement was obviously very taxing.

But this Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique could avoid the weakness of insufficient soul strength, as tempering two smaller portions of medicinal essence separately would be much easier than controlling one large portion of the medicinal essence. It was just that the requirement for an alchemist’s control ability was too demanding.

In addition, the Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique had another advantage, which was separating the core ingredients allowed their medicinal efficacy to be preserved to the highest degree, resulting in an even higher quality pill after refinement!

If an alchemist was highly proficient in using the Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique, the quality of the medicinal pill that he refined would be higher than other alchemists of the same level.

Having said that, conventional refinement techniques were already more than enough for alchemists to study. To also study an obscure technique like the Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique was simply asking for trouble.

Hence, even though the Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique was powerful, little to nobody knew it.

"Uh. Teacher Feng, since I already answered, can I go back to sleep now? You just look at my table . . ." Ye Yuan said with an innocent face.

"You!" Feng Ruoqing never expected that this fellow was still concerned about his sleep right now. Her originally subsided wrath surged once again.

"Teacher Feng, you were the one who said it just now. If I could answer your question, then I can sleep however I want. Uh. Even though it isn’t very polite, but I’m really very tired right now . . ." Ye Yuan had a troubled face.

Feng Ruoqing looked at Ye Yuan’s pair of panda eyes and knew that Ye Yuan was not lying. But what did this fellow do yesterday? Even if he went through a deathmatch yesterday, he should not be so tired today, right?

"Did I say anything?" Feng Ruoqing blinked her eyes, and gave every student a threatening glance, asking, "Did I say anything just now?"

Being unreasonable was the privilege of a woman, especially it was this unparalleled beauty, Teacher Feng Ruoqing.

All the students were petrified, and many revealed embarrassed expressions. "Ah? S-said what? D-didn’t say anything. That’s right. How could Teacher Feng possibly say something like that?"

Ye Yuan was thoroughly defeated. Right now, the only thing he wanted to do was to sleep . . .

"T-teacher Feng . . ."

"Oh? It’s not impossible to go back to sleep, but you have to promise me one thing!"

So it turns out the reason was here! But right now . . .

"Let alone one thing, even ten things will do."

"Good. I need a student to be my assistant. You will be my assistant."

Everyone was petrified once more. . .

Why did not such a wonderful chore happen to them?!

Whoosh . . .

Executing Instant Flash, Ye Yuan was gone, leaving his voice echoing on the spot, "No problem . . ."

Under the stunned eyes of all the students, Ye Yuan slipped away, leaving Feng Ruoqing looking somewhat bitter.

However, Ye Yuan could not be bothered anymore. He was seriously too sleepy.

How could he not catch up on sleep when he would have another fierce battle at night?

As for becoming an assistant, Ye Yuan only casually agreed to it. At that moment, he did not have any choice.

Feng Ruoqing was a genuine Spirit Condensation Realm martial artist. If she did not let Ye Yuan go, then he would absolutely not be able to leave, even with his Instant Flash.

Back at his residence, Ye Yuan slept all the way till dusk before waking up leisurely.

Throwing a transcendent-grade Qi Returning Pill down his throat, plus the recovery rate while he was sleeping, essence energy in his body was quickly restored.

This Qi Returning Pill was refined before Ye Yuan set off, and it came quite handy now.

After his essence energy was restored, Ye Yuan continued using the Six Astral Array to refine transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills.

This was a colossal project. Tens of thousands of high-grade Essence Qi Pills . . . Even if one refined six each time, it would make several thousand transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills.

And just like this, Ye Yuan slept during the day and refined pills during the night.

At dusk two days later, Ye Yuan had just woken up and was about to refine the last batch of transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills, when an unexpected guest arrived. It was the host of the deathmatch, Huyan Yong.

Ye Yuan was called out by Lu-er. He then blocked the entrance to the room in a weird manner to avoid Huyan Yong from being able to peer inside.

"Haha. Hello, Teacher Huyan. Are you looking for me for something? I still have some matters to attend to, so let’s keep it short, shall we?" Ye Yuan laughed and said to Huyan Yong.

Huyan Yong was not someone who bothered with such trivialities and did not become angry at Ye Yuan’s behavior. He asked curiously, "Since I’m here, you are not going to invite me in to have a seat?"

Ye Yuan stood vigilantly in front of the door without any intention of letting him in. If he were to let Huyan Yong see that he could freely refine transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills . . . at that time, not only the Dan Wu Academy, the entire state of Qin would be in chaos.

"That . . . It’s too messy inside. So it’s better for Teacher Huyan to not go in. After I clean up, I will invite Teacher Huyan over to have a cup of tea another day." Ye Yuan tried to evade the question.

Ye Yuan had heard before that Huyan Yong was usually a little cold, but he was a very fair and honest man. So he was not afraid that he would barge in.

Huyan Yong knew that Ye Yuan was clearly doing something fishy inside, but the residences of students were private after all. It would not be reasonable of him to barge in, so he gave up.

"Alright then. I will await your invitation."

Ye Yuan was only being polite, but he never expected that Huyan Yong would just follow up like that.

Everyone said that Huyan Yong was infatuated with Martial Dao and did not curry favor with anyone. Why was he so different today?

"I came to look for you because I wanted to tell you that with your current strength, you should be able to barely make it into Black rank. So you can go take the advancement test already," Huyan Yong said his intention for visiting.

In the Dan Wu Academy, what rank you were in was not determined by cultivation realm, but actual combat power.

If a student felt that his power was sufficient, then he could undergo the advancement test at the Illusionary Spirit Tower. The moment he passed, he would advance a rank. And Huyan Yong was the teacher in charge of the advancement test.

In reality, many of the Black Rank students in the Dan Wu Academy got in through connections. Their potential was limited, so they belonged to the type where they just sit around doing nothing, waiting to die. The true elites were in Earth Rank and above.

Previously, Ye Yuan naturally also belonged to the type who just sat around waiting to die.

Fei Qingping’s strength was initially already outstanding among the Black Rank students. After rising to the Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm, he already possessed the strength to take on the Black Rank test.

However, if that were simply the case, Huyan Yong would not personally look for Ye Yuan to take the test.

Challenging the Illusionary Spirit Tower was a student’s personal matter. He could not even be bothered to go and urge the students.

During the deathmatch, Huyan Yong developed a strong interest in Ye Yuan, this dark horse.

Clearly, there were many secrets on Ye Yuan’s body. Of course, this was not something amazing. Which accomplished person did not carry secrets on them?

Martial Roll of Honor’s rank one, Long Tang, and rank two, Zuo Bugui. These people definitely all had their own lucky encounters. This was not something that the academy would be bothered with. What the academy needed were powerful students.

Even though Ye Yuan was only at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm right now, he managed to kill the Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm Fei Qingping during the deathmatch.

But most importantly, Huyan Yong felt that Ye Yuan did not go all out during the deathmatch. He really wanted to see where Ye Yuan’s limits were.

The Illusionary Spirit Tower test was naturally a good place to test Ye Yuan’s true power.

In the Dan Wu Academy, students would rush to take the test once their strength reached the standard for advancing. However, Huyan Yong heard that Ye Yuan spent the past few days sleeping during the lesson and did not seem to have any intention of participating in the test. Therefore, he personally came to look for Ye Yuan to take the test.

"Ah? Advancement test? Alright, when can I join?" Ye Yuan was stunned for a moment before readily accepting.

These few days, Ye Yuan was only thinking of increasing his strength as soon as possible, which was why he forgot about joining the advancement test.

Someone who did not incur the jealousy of others was a mediocre person. Ye Yuan was not afraid of showing off his abilities.

Ye Yuan was an Alchemy Emperor previously and did not need to be overly cautious within this tiny Dan Wu Academy. He also wanted to see just where the current limits of his strength were.

Ye Yuan’s reply made Huyan Yong a little surprised. He thought that Ye Yuan had some difficult dilemma, which was why he did not rush to join the test.

"Any time will do," Huyan Yong said.

"Alright. Then I will go over to the Illusionary Spirit Tower tomorrow morning," Ye Yuan thought about it for a moment before replying.

Huyan Yong nodded and turned to leave.

"Just a moment, Teacher Huyan," Ye Yuan suddenly recalled a matter and called out to Huyan Yong.

"Anything else?"

"I want to let my maidservant participate in the academy’s entrance test. I wonder if Teacher Huyan could arrange for it."

Lu-er had followed Ye Yuan into the Dan Wu Academy for quite a few days already. However, Ye Yuan was always busy these few days, so he was not free to help her settle down. Today, since he coincidentally met up with Huyan Yong, it did not seem like an unreasonable matter to ask him to arrange the test for her.

According to the academy’s rules, students were not allowed to freely bring followers into the academy no matter how powerful their background was. There was no issue for Lu-er to stay a few days temporarily, but the academy would definitely investigate after a while.

"That young lady just now? At such a young age and already at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm. I suppose she barely qualifies to participate in the test. Alright, bring her along with you tomorrow," Huyan Yong nodded his head and said to Ye Yuan.

With Huyan Yong’s cultivation, he naturally could see Lu-er’s strength at a glance.

Lu-er was younger than Ye Yuan by one year. Being able to cultivate to Third Level Essence Qi Realm was barely passable. Huyan Yong obviously would not mind too much.

However, who knows what his thoughts would be if he were to find out that it took less than a month for Lu-er to cultivate essence energy to the Third Level Essence Qi Realm.

In reality, even Ye Yuan was highly astonished by Lu-er’s cultivation speed.

She used a single night to reach the First Level Essence Qi Realm, and after five days under the aid of Ye Yuan’s Explosive Yuan Pill, she successfully broke through to the Second Level Essence Qi Realm.

And yesterday after consuming transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills consecutively, Lu-er broke through once more, reaching the Third Level Essence Qi Realm, almost catching up to Ye Yuan.

If this sort of cultivation speed were spread out, it would be an absolutely astounding matter.

Even though there was the aid of medicinal pills, Lu-er’s monstrous talent was even more important. In front of Lu-er, all those so-called geniuses in the State of Qin were overshadowed by her.

Obviously, there was also the Heaven Illusionary Ice Soul that Ye Yuan taught her. It was as if it were custom-made for Lu-er, making her cultivate quite successfully with ease.

Lu-er was naturally gifted. These past few days, Ye Yuan taught her several suitable martial techniques. She quickly grasped them, as if she was born just for cultivation.

Lu-er’s current strength was absolutely no weaker than the average Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm. There should not be a problem to pass the entrance test.

Both master and servant going to participate in the test together was something worth anticipating.

After Ye Yuan successfully refined the last transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pill, he let out a long sigh of relief.

These few days of refining had squeezed his essence energy dry over and over again, torturing him half dead.

However, the hard work paid off. By constantly draining his essence energy, unknowingly, Ye Yuan’s cultivation realm had thoroughly stabilized.

Right now, he was only one step away from the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm. As long as the accumulation of essence energy was sufficient, Ye Yuan could break through to the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm at any time.

What’s left was naturally stuffing himself with pills.

"Huuu. Finally done. Lu-er, help me stand guard, I’m going to break through to the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm," Ye Yuan instructed Lu-er.

The last batch of pills left today weren’t many, so Ye Yuan did not expend too much essence energy.

After taking a Qi Returning Pill and meditating for an hour, Ye Yuan recovered to his peak condition.

Casually taking out five transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills and throwing them into his mouth, Ye Yuan executed the Spirit Bristle Nine Yang Divine Art and started to impact through the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm.

If it were some other Third Level Essence Qi Realm, they would definitely die due to the violent essence energy just from consuming five transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills at once.

However, Ye Yuan’s Spirit Bristle Nine Yang Divine Art was just too powerful. The violent essence energy was currently as obedient as a lamb as it moved along Ye Yuan’s meridians; it even appeared to lack the strength to carry on.

Without thinking too much, Ye Yuan swallowed another three transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills before the essence energy barely managed to reach the requirement.

Ye Yuan revolved around his thick and abundant essence energy, impacting through the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm bottleneck. Unlike other people, he did not encounter a large resistance and surged forth like a current; slowly, yet powerfully.

The Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm!

A bottleneck that would take several months, even a year for an ordinary person to break through, only took Ye Yuan two hours.

However, Ye Yuan did not stop cultivating. He continued to swallow transcendent-grade Essence Qi Pills non-stop, only ceasing when he reached the peak of Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm.

Sensing essence energy that was several times thicker than when he was at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm, Ye Yuan shook his head instead.

"Still too weak! I wonder when I will have the strength to charge back to the Divine Realm. However, if I were to have a deathmatch with Fei Qingping here once more, I can instantly kill him with only First Layer Wave."

After a night of cultivation, the sun was already up, and it was almost time to go look for Huyan Yong.

Ye Yuan had just advanced to the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm, so his fatigue was swept away long ago. Presently, Lu-er was also a cultivator. Meditating one night did not have much effect on her.

Master and servant went to the Illusionary Spirit Tower together. Huyan Yong had already been waiting there for a long time.

"Hello, Teacher Huyan," Ye Yuan brought Lu-er up and greeted him.

Huyan Yong nodded and acknowledged him calmly.

Huyan Yong instinctively swept his divine sense over Ye Yuan’s body, and his initially cold face revealed a slight astonishment.

"I didn’t see you for one night, and you are already at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm?" Huyan Yong asked in amazement.

"Haha. Lucky, lucky," Ye Yuan laughed and said.

Huyan Yong shook his head and said, "At first, other people said that your cultivation realm was forcefully raised by your father. But I knew that it wasn’t the case after watching your deathmatch. However, I never expected that you would advance a small stage, rising to the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm."

"In any case, I’m an Alchemy Grandmaster’s son who mainly grew up eating medicinal pills. If I still can’t reach Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm at this age, I will be throwing my father’s face," Ye Yuan said, his words being half genuine, half false.

Huyan Yong nodded and did not say much, as if in silent agreement with what Ye Yuan said.

"The test hasn’t started yet. You two wait awhile," Huyan Yong said.

Clearly, it was not only Ye Yuan and Lu-er who were participating in the test. There were already over a dozen people waiting there.

"Alright, Teacher Huyan." Ye Yuan didn’t waste his breath and brought Lu-er to stand with that group of people.

However, Ye Yuan’s appearance caused a stir.

Presently, he was too famous. Not only did he kill Fei Qingping who was higher than him by two minor cultivation realms in a deathmatch, but he also scammed thousands of Essence Qi Pills from several hundred students.

Even if they did not want to recognize him, they could not.

"You guys, isn’t that Ye Yuan over there? He also came to participate in the advancement test?"

"What’s so strange about it? That Fei Qingping already barely had strength close to the Black rank. Since Ye Yuan could finish him off, isn’t it very normal to join the advancement test?"

"That makes sense. But for a Third Level Essence Qi Realm to join the Black rank test, he can be considered exceptional."

"Don’t be silly. Back then, wasn’t Senior Apprentice Brother Long also at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm when he participated in the Black rank test? No matter how powerful Ye Yuan is, can he be stronger than Senior Apprentice Brother Long?"

"But his Stacking Waves Layered Palm was trained until the Second Layer Wave. Surely he’s at least stronger than Senior Apprentice Brother Long in that aspect? Senior Apprentice Brother Long trained for a month before barely mastering the First Layer Wave."

"Tsk. He was just lucky that the martial technique suited him. How can he possibly compare with Senior Apprentice Brother Long?"

"Then how do you explain his great circle stage Instant Flash?"

" . . . . . ."

"Yii? Look."

"Look at what? Making such a fuss."

"Ye Yuan seems to have . . . broken through . . ."

"Broken through what? H-he . . . he is already at Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm! Heavens! Is this fellow still human? How many days has it only been since he advanced to the Third Level Essence Qi Realm."

" . . . . . ."

When these two people discovered that Ye Yuan broke through, their expressions were like they have seen a ghost.

At this moment, others also clearly noticed that Ye Yuan broke through to the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm, and their eyes when looking at Ye Yuan became peculiar.

"Haha. What’s everyone looking at me for? I know I’m very handsome, but I don’t swing that way. So don’t look at me with that sort of expression, alright? Isn’t it just breaking through to the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm? It’s not like it’s something major. All of you Senior Apprentice Brothers have a higher cultivation realm than me, so can everybody stop being so amazed?" Ye Yuan was not uncomfortable with the attention and just brushed it off casually.

Everybody was collectively made speechless. Was this fellow here to posture?

Breaking through to the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm was the first threshold on the Martial Path. Who among them would not exercise extreme caution, spending large amounts of time to accumulate before breaking through?

But Ye Yuan only used a few days before crossing it. Now, he assumed a manner like it was too easy. He was really asking for a beating!

"Isn’t it just breaking through to Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm? What’s there to be surprised about? No matter how he jumps around, isn’t it just Black Rank? Even if he reached the Black Rank, he is still just trash."

The discussion was broken by an arrogant voice filled with condescension.

"It’s Senior Apprentice Brother Lin Tiancheng. He is currently a student in the Earth Rank most likely to advance to the Heaven Rank! I didn’t expect him to also participate in this advancement test. Looks like he is almost certain that he can advance to Heaven Rank this time." Very quickly, someone recognized the owner of the voice.

Lin Tiancheng slowly walked with his hands behind his back in front of Ye Yuan, bringing with him an overbearing pressure and asked, "You are Ye Yuan?"

Ye Yuan was not the slightest bit uncomfortable facing Lin Tiancheng’s pressure and said calmly, "I don’t know if the Ye Yuan you are talking about is me, but I am indeed called Ye Yuan."

"Humph! What a glib tongue! These few days, all I’ve been hearing are all sorts of clamoring about you. Today, I want to see if you really are as incredible as they say," Lin Tiancheng said with a face full of disdain.

"Is that so? I’m actually so famous now? To think that even Senior Apprentice Brother Lin hear my name all the time. However, I think it’s my first time hearing of Senior Apprentice Brother Lin today. I wonder if . . . Senior Apprentice Brother Lin can advance to Heaven Rank today. This Junior Apprentice Brother, I, wish that Senior Apprentice Brother Lin won’t stumble and fail."

Ye Yuan still had an exaggerated expression, but the words that came out of his mouth made everyone break into a sweat.

This fellow seemed to be cursing Lin Tiancheng to fail . . .

However, these words really struck Lin Tiancheng’s soft spot . . .

When people said that Lin Tiancheng was one of the strongest people in the Earth Rank, they were not talking about how talented he was.

In reality, this was already Lin Tiancheng’s fourth time participating in the advancement test.

Those in the same batch as him, even some students who were in the recent batch, many of them had already advanced to the Heaven Rank. He was the strongest among the remaining few who had yet to advance.

This was Lin Tiancheng’s greatest shame. Hence, it was a taboo for others to mention this in front of him. Low ranking students would take special care to avoid it.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, Ye Yuan’s words struck Ling Tiancheng’s soft spot.

Lin Tiancheng’s face visibly changed color. Glaring fiercely at Ye Yuan, he said, "You have guts! To actually talk like this to your senior apprentice brother! I think you are courting death!"

As he said this, Lin Tiancheng gathered his essence energy and smacked a palm towards Ye Yuan.

Smash!

Ye Yuan stood there without moving, but Lin Tiancheng flew backward instead.

Rolling on the ground, Lin Tiancheng barely managed to stabilize his body, looking extremely ragged.

"Which bastard ambushed me?!" Lin Tiancheng bellowed angrily.

The moment he said this, Lin Tiancheng saw that the surrounding people looked at him with odd expressions and was not sure what it meant.

"Lin Tiancheng, you got the nerve to actually attack right in front of me?!" Huyan Yong’s icy voice sounded out, making Lin Tiancheng shudder involuntarily.

Facing Huyan Yong, how would Lin Tiancheng have the courage to resist?

He broke into a cold sweat. To actually scold Teacher Huyan a bastard, isn’t that courting death? Huyan Yong was the person hosting the test. If he was to secretly play some tricks, wouldn’t he have to return in defeat?

If Huyan Yong bore a grudge, then he can forget about advancing ranks for life.

"S-sorry Teacher Huyan. I-I didn’t know it was you," Lin Tiancheng hurriedly apologized.

Huyan Yong was expressionless as he said, "The Illusionary Spirit Tower is the place for advancement tests. You actually dared to take action without my permission? If you affect the other students’ test, can you handle the responsibility?"

"Teacher Huyan, I . . . He. . . ridiculed me with words on purpose to agitate me into making a move!" Lin Tiancheng did not dare to offend Huyan Yong, so he naturally pushed the blame to Ye Yuan.

"Senior Apprentice Brother Lin, you can’t slander good people. I was clearly wishing you success in your test, but I don’t know how I provoked you to actually attack me. Could it be that Senior Apprentice Brother Lin came here to participate in the Illusionary Spirit Tower’s test, but don’t want to advance?" Ye Yuan gave a perplexed face.

Just now, Ye Yuan indeed told Lin Tiancheng to take care not to stumble and fail. It was impossible to find a problem with those words. Except, looking at that exaggerated expression, nobody would believe that he was wishing Lin Tiancheng well.

The pitiful Lin Tiancheng still did not know that Ye Yuan came today to join the test today because Huyan Yong personally invited him.

Without mentioning the fact that the matter was stirred up by Lin Tiancheng, even if he was in the right, it was impossible for Huyan Yong to stand on his side.

"I already saw what happened just now. From the start until the end, it was you who was doing all the mocking. Do you think that I, this examiner, am so easy to be deceived?" Huyan Yong’s voice became increasingly colder.

"N-n-no, I . . ."

"Stay here and don’t move! Considering that it was your first infraction, I will overlook it. But, if you violate the rules again, I will revoke your assessment rights!"

Lin Tiancheng did not dare to talk back anymore and quietly went to wait by the side.

After waiting for a while, students came one by one. After around 50 people were gathered, Huyan Yong once again appeared in front of everyone.

"Now that everyone is present, in a while, I will open up the restrictions. The Illusionary Spirit Tower will automatically send you to the test site corresponding to your cultivation! Many of you had undergone the advancement test before, but it’s the first time for a few of you, so I will briefly go through."

Huyan Yong briefly summarized the important points about the Illusionary Spirit Tower.

Actually, he was explaining especially for Ye Yuan and Lu-er. In this batch, apart from Ye Yuan and Lu-er, everybody else had participated in the advancement test before.

Forgetting about Lu-er, Ye Yuan by right should have gone through the entrance test in the Illusionary Spirit Tower before. But his predecessor was just too weak, and it was impossible for him to have passed the test in the Illusionary Spirit Tower. Thus, Ye Hang pulled a lot of strings back then before managing to shove Ye Yuan in here. Therefore, he had never even gone to the Illusionary Spirit Tower before.

Feeling the layers of restrictions on the Illusionary Spirit Tower, Ye Yuan praised and commented, "So it’s a 32 restrictions Spirit Artifact. Tranquil Cloud Sect does indeed have some means."

A 32 restrictions Spirit Artifact naturally was not much in Ye Yuan’s eyes. However, even though this Spirit Artifact’s rank was not high, it had some unique features, making it suitable to being used for the students’ advancement testing.

This Illusionary Spirit Tower seemed to have been specially developed by the Tranquil Cloud Sect for assessing student into ranks. There are a total of five regions, namely, Entry Advancement, Yellow Rank Advancement, Black Rank Advancement, Earth Rank Advancement, and Heaven Rank Advancement.

The first four regions corresponded to the four student rankings in the Dan Wu Academy. Passing the Entry Advancement allows one to advance to the Yellow Rank. Passing the Yellow Rank Advancement allowed one to advance to the Black Rank, and so on. 1

Lastly, the Heaven Rank Advancement was what the Tranquil Cloud Sect used to determine if Heaven rank students were qualified to enter the sect. It was a test for becoming outer-sect disciples.

Clearly, the difficulty of the five tests increased progressively. By the time it was the Black Rank Advancement test, the difficulty was already rather over the top.

In reality, Lin Tiancheng’s talent was not bad. It was just that the Earth Rank Advancement test was truly too outrageous. That was why he failed repeatedly. There were many students like him among the Earth Rank students.

As for the Heaven Rank Advancement test . . .

"I really hope that one of you will be qualified to participate in that test during your student life here in the Dan Wu Academy," Huyan Yong told the students.

Huyan Yong’s words did not stir too much of a reaction from everyone. Clearly, they all knew just how terrifying the test was.

What Huyan Yong said was ’qualified,’ and not to ’pass.’ That is to say that none of the people here would even get the chance to attempt the test before they graduate from the Dan Wu Academy at twenty.

One could only imagine the difficulty of that test!

Most of the students here today were participating in the Black Rank Advancement test, aka, the test for a Black Rank to advance to the Earth Rank. A minority was participating in the Yellow Rank Advancement test and the Earth Rank Advancement test. Lu-er was the only person participating in the Entry Advancement test.

"The first time you enter the Illusionary Spirit Tower, you can take part in multiple rank advancement tests; all the way until you get killed, or voluntarily withdraw. After passing a test, you will automatically be sent to the next test. There, you can make a decision if you want to undergo the next test or not. At that point, the Illusionary Spirit Tower will record the rank advancement test you are killed at. The next time you enter the Illusionary Spirit Tower, you will start anew from that rank. Alright, now enter the Illusionary Spirit Tower!" Clearly, Huyan Yong’s last few sentences were meant for Ye Yuan.

Huyan Yong then walked in front of the Illusionary Spirit Tower’s gate and gestured his hand up in a half arc in front of him. Faint black essence energy was shot into the Illusionary Spirit Tower.

Following that, the Illusionary Spirit Tower’s gate slowly opened.

The students participating in the test entered in an orderly manner. The moment they entered the gate, they vanished. It was clear that they were sent away by the Illusionary Spirit Tower.

When it was Lin Tiancheng’s turn to go in, he shot a fierce glare at Ye Yuan. "If you can’t advance to the Earth Rank, you will forever be trash! You are considered lucky today with Teacher Huyan helping you. In the future, don’t let me see you in the academy; otherwise, you are dead!"

After threating Ye Yuan, Lin Tiancheng stepped forward and vanished instantly.

Ye Yuan gave a laugh and did not take Lin Tiancheng’s warning to heart. He turned to Lu-er and said, "Lu-er, let’s go in too."