Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 584 versus 30

Wang Meng stared at the red-haired youth on the light screen and said in shock. Wang Teng immediately looked over and asked him in confusion, "Brother Wang Meng, has that guy really reached the Fifth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm?"

Wang Meng nodded. "When I first met him, he had already reached the Fourth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm. I’m now at the peak of the Fourth Layer, but the aura he exudes far surpasses mine. He must have reached the Fifth Layer. I just never expected Dengtian Academy to be so shameless as to send an old student like him to participate in the assessment!"

Receiving Wang Meng’s confirmation, Wang Teng sneered. "Fifth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm... Ye Qingchen, you’re dead for sure this time!"

Just as the crowd was exclaiming over Huo Ziyang, the Fifth-Layer Martial Emperor Realm expert, Qitian Academy’s team also successfully advanced. Like the other two academies, Qitian Academy’s team was at its full roster of ten, and their leading disciple, a man dressed in blue, had a presence that was in no way inferior to Huo Ziyang’s.

"Another one at the Fifth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm! My God, these people are insane!"

The crowd was even more shocked as they felt the aura of the blue-clad disciple. Everyone had thought that with the appearance of Huo Ziyang from Dengtian Academy, the championship was already decided. But unexpectedly, Qitian Academy also had an expert at the Fifth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm.

The disciples of Central Celestial Academy watched the teams from the three major academies on the light screen, unable to stop themselves from shaking their heads and sighing. Never mind the two experts at the Fifth Layer; the mere fact that the other three teams were at full strength with ten members each—all of them at the Fourth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm—was enough to drive them to despair. In contrast, their side had only Ye Qingchen, who was merely at the Eighth Layer of the Martial King Realm. How could they possibly fight this? Any random person from the opposing teams could easily slaughter someone at his level.

Even Li Chunsheng and Zi Xing were filled with despair. They knew Ye Qingchen had the strength to defeat someone at the Fourth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm. However, the weakest opponents they now faced were at that very same layer, to say nothing of Huo Ziyang and the blue-clad youth. Ye Qingchen would have no chance of winning even in a one-on-one fight. Furthermore, based on the first stage of the competition, his opponents would never give him that opportunity.

In everyone’s eyes, this was a match without suspense. The only remaining question was whether Dengtian Academy or Qitian Academy would be the champion. But what did that have to do with Central Celestial Academy? They were guaranteed to finish last this time.

"The moment that kid sees their strength, do you think he’ll be so scared he surrenders?" a disciple from Central Celestial Academy asked worriedly. Although they all knew defeat was a foregone conclusion, none of the disciples could accept their academy surrendering.

"If that guy dares to surrender, he had better not come back to Central Celestial Academy!" another disciple snorted coldly. "He’ll become an enemy of the entire academy!"

This sentiment was echoed by many present, causing Li Chunsheng and Zi Xing to exchange a glance, both with grim expressions.

Mu Changfeng looked at Elder Yang beside him and said, "Elder Yang, how about we just let this one go? I’ll step in and bring Ye Qingchen back."

Elder Yang watched Ye Qingchen, who was still cultivating on the light screen, shook his head, and said, "Let’s not be hasty. Let’s watch a little longer."

Mu Changfeng was stunned. Defeat was already certain, so what was the point of watching any further? Does Elder Yang really need to wait until Ye Qingchen dies in the Secret Realm before he gets concerned? However, since Elder Yang had spoken and Ye Qingchen was, after all, his disciple, Mu Changfeng felt it wasn’t his place to say more. He simply shook his head and sighed to himself.

In fact, Elder Yang had also initially intended to intervene and bring Ye Qingchen back. But the appearance of the two Fifth-Layer Martial Emperor Realm cultivators from Dengtian Academy and Qitian Academy made him decide to wait a bit longer. Elder Yang was aware that Ye Qingchen had mastered Wood Attribute Energy. Now, Ye Qingchen had the chance to battle experts at the Fifth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm. This kind of life-or-death struggle was the best way to stimulate a person’s potential. Elder Yang knew Ye Qingchen still had immense room for improvement, so he didn’t want him to give up this opportunity.

Moreover, after their recent training period, all the senior brothers and sisters had nothing but praise for Ye Qingchen. If this young man didn’t suffer a setback, he might truly become conceited and arrogant. Thus, Elder Yang decided to let Ye Qingchen fight for a while, figuring there would still be time to intervene when he started to falter.

With the arrival of Qitian Academy’s team, the second stage of the finals officially began. The teams from the four major academies were then transported into another Secret Realm.

Although it was called a Secret Realm, it was actually a small space with a radius of only about five kilometers. Within this space, the ground, rocks, and plant life were all many times more resilient than their counterparts in the outside world. Only such a space could withstand a melee between dozens of Martial Emperor Realm powerhouses.

Ye Qingchen awakened from his cultivation and began to survey his surroundings. The first things that caught his eye were the three teams from the other major academies. His gaze was particularly drawn to Huo Ziyang and the blue-clad youth, as he could feel the presence of Attribute Energy emanating from both of them.

Two at the Fifth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm and twenty-eight at the Fourth Layer. This Saint Heir from the Jiang Ancient Clan really holds me in high regard. Ye Qingchen thought with a self-mocking sigh.

With the area being so small, there was no chance of using movement techniques to create distance and find opportunities to pick off opponents one by one. The only way for Ye Qingchen to survive was to attack and kill all thirty of these Martial Emperor Realm masters.

The difficulty of such a feat was unimaginable. It was like asking a one-year-old infant to uproot a towering willow tree.

While Ye Qingchen observed his opposition, the thirty of them also assessed him. But where his eyes held caution, theirs held only disdain. Every single one of them was confident that they could easily toy with and kill Ye Qingchen, let alone thirty of them working together.

Within the Jiang Ancient Clan, the Saint Heir watched this scene unfold. A fierce grin spread across his face as he spoke to Li Rui, "Give the order. To avoid criticism, tell them not to gang up on him at the start. Let the kid have a glimmer of hope before plunging him into boundless despair!"

Li Rui saluted and acknowledged the order, then quietly transmitted a message to the disciples in the Secret Realm: "Choose someone at the early stage of the Fourth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm to fight this kid. The rest of you, hold back for now. Remember, put on a convincing act. Don’t disappoint the Saint Heir!"

The disciples from the three academies gave an imperceptible nod and then waited for the command to begin the match.

Ye Qingchen braced himself as if facing a formidable enemy. At that moment, the atmosphere became incredibly tense.