Invincible Soul Emperor

Liu Changrun’s words made Xia Chengkai’s heart skip a beat, and he grew even more worried for Ye Qingchen.

Liu Changrun then offered a mysterious smile and said, ”In the past, after the completion of the Ascend to Heaven Path, rewards would be distributed to the top ten, but this time is slightly different. The rewards will still be issued, but they won’t be received immediately.”

Full of doubt, Feng Xiao asked, ”What do you mean by that, Senior Liu? Aren’t the rewards for the Ascend to Heaven Path always a Spiritual Qi Infusion? What does it mean that they won’t be received immediately?”

With a meaningful glance at Feng Xiao, Liu Changrun said, ”It seems City Lord Feng understands our Central Celestial Academy’s rules quite well. Indeed, the reward is a Spiritual Qi Infusion, but this time, everyone will be given an hour to prepare. A symbol will appear above the heads of the top ten. If they are defeated within this hour, they will lose their eligibility for the Spiritual Qi Infusion and be directly eliminated. The spot will then be inherited by the next person who seizes the symbol.”

Xia Chengkai’s face turned pale. Under these circumstances, holding out for an hour against the onslaught of thousands of unqualified Martial Artists would be unimaginably difficult, even for those who had made it into the top ten.

Feng Xiao, however, was not particularly moved, having already paved the way for his son.

Within the Secret Realm, the number of Martial Artists who had passed the Ascend to Heaven Path finally reached ten. The rest, who had not passed, were also transported to this grassland. Some were still reeling from shock, while others thoughtfully eyed the crowd around them.

Ye Qingchen looked around; there were still about 6,000 people here. The Secret Realm had begun less than two days ago, and nearly 20,000 had already been eliminated! It seems this competition is much more intense than I had imagined.

As Ye Qingchen was reflecting, a huge Spiritual Qi Whirlpool suddenly formed in the sky, and a voice emanated from within: ”Congratulations to all who have lasted until now. Following the usual practice, the top ten who passed the Ascend to Heaven Path will receive the reward of a Spiritual Qi Infusion. The amount of Spiritual Energy will decrease according to rank. Those who did not receive a reward need not be discouraged. The rewards will be dispensed in one hour. As long as you can seize another’s spot within that hour, this Spiritual Qi Infusion will be yours!”

After these words, ten beams of light shot out from the Spiritual Qi Whirlpool, each landing on the heads of the first to arrive, including Feng Yuan and Ye Qingchen.

When the light faded, a prominent ’1’ appeared above Feng Yuan’s head, with ’Fifth Layer of the Martial King Realm’ written below. Above Ye Qingchen’s head was a ’2,’ with ’First Layer of the Martial King Realm’ written beneath.

Ye Qingchen instantly understood. This is going to be a free-for-all!

Receiving the Spiritual Qi Infusion now would significantly boost one’s strength, providing a great advantage for the subsequent assessments. Therefore, the Martial Artists who did not receive an award would certainly try to snatch this opportunity. What’s most absurd is that this system not only displays our ranks above our heads but also makes our cultivation levels clearly visible.

Ye Qingchen glanced around. Excluding himself, the weakest among the top ten was at the Third Layer of the Martial King Realm. And here I am, ranked second at the First Layer of the Martial King Realm... I must look like easy pickings.

Indeed, Ye Qingchen already saw people cracking their knuckles and slowly approaching him with hostile expressions. They were on a vast, open grassland with nowhere to hide. It looks like I’ll have to go through a bitter fight to keep my spot.

Feng Yuan had also considered this problem, but he was not worried. In terms of strength, he was the only person here at the Fifth Layer of the Martial King Realm. Combined with his status as a City Lord’s son, no one would be foolish enough to attack him. Moreover, the Martial Artists from outside who had already agreed to follow his orders now gathered by his side.

Feng Yuan shot a meaningful glance at a Martial Artist at the Third Layer of the Martial King Realm beside him. The man immediately understood and strode toward Ye Qingchen, his voice booming as he walked, ”I am Wang Cheng, the direct heir of Northern Barrier City’s Wang Family. And who might you be?”

Wang Cheng had come with ill intentions, his tone dripping with disdain for Ye Qingchen. How could Ye Qingchen fail to hear it? He gave a cold snort, not deigning to answer or even look at the man.

Wang Cheng hadn’t expected to be ignored so publicly and instantly glared at Ye Qingchen in a rage.

”He’s Ye Qingchen, just some nobody!” Feng Yuan’s voice called out.

”Ye Qingchen?” Wang Cheng repeated the name, then shook his head disdainfully and said, ”Never heard of him. Let me give you a piece of advice: your strength at the First Layer of the Martial King Realm doesn’t match the rank above your head. Hand it over now, and I won’t beat you, allowing you to continue participating in the competition.”

Ye Qingchen had already seen the exchange of glances between Wang Cheng and Feng Yuan, so he had guessed their intentions the moment Wang Cheng started talking. Now, prompted by Wang Cheng’s open provocation, the other eager Martial Artists began to spontaneously encircle him.

”Whether it matches is not for you to judge,” Ye Qingchen said coolly. ”I’ll give you three breaths of time. Turn around and leave, and I’ll pretend this never happened. If you continue to pester me, don’t regret it when you’re the one who loses your qualification to compete!”

Ye Qingchen knew he could not back down now. The more dominant he appeared, the more he could intimidate those with ulterior motives. Otherwise, he would face an hour of relentless challenges.

Hearing Ye Qingchen’s arrogant words, Wang Cheng flew into a rage from the humiliation. His Martial Soul instantly materialized behind him—a ten-meter-tall giant bear whose very appearance made the ground tremble.

Seeing Wang Cheng summon his Martial Soul, the onlookers began to discuss amongst themselves.

”I heard Wang Cheng has an eight-star Martial Soul. It seems the rumors are true.”

”Yeah, that kid Ye Qingchen is really unlucky. After all that work to get second place on the Ascend to Heaven Path, he gets targeted by Wang Cheng.”

”You’re right. Now, not only will he lose the second-place reward, but knowing Wang Cheng’s temper, he’ll probably be beaten so badly he gets eliminated from the competition entirely.”

Hearing the crowd’s discussion, Wang Cheng became even more drunk with arrogance. He laughed heartily and taunted Ye Qingchen, ”How about it, boy? I don’t need to explain the terror of an eight-star Martial Soul, do I? If you’re scared now, hand over the rank, get on your knees, and give me eight loud kowtows. Do that, and I might consider sparing your life.”

Ye Qingchen looked at Wang Cheng with a cold smirk. Although Wang Cheng had an eight-star Martial Soul, his use of it was clumsy compared to Li Rui’s. Ye Qingchen had defeated Li Rui while he was still in the Martial Spirit Realm; dealing with Wang Cheng now would be child’s play.

Ye Qingchen understood the principle that one decisive blow could prevent a hundred more. Since a fight is inevitable, I might as well make it a shocking one. With this thought, Ye Qingchen drew his superior-grade spiritual weapon, the Flowing Cloud Sword, and stared coldly at Wang Cheng.