Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Academy Power Ranking
"By the way, what exactly happened here?" Ye Xuan asked, glancing at the messy courtyard.
"It’s nothing, just that Yuan Shan again." Chen Xing pursed his lips. "I heard you taught Yuan Shan a lesson in the Cultivation Tower. He probably had nowhere to vent, so he decided to cause trouble for us. But it just so happened that Teacher Yun Aoxue came looking for you that day and gave him a harsh scolding. So he came up with this method instead—he found a bunch of people to move into this courtyard to try and bother us every day."
"Are you guys okay, then?"
"At first, the noise they made was pretty irritating. But later, we started treating the noise as a form of training. We cultivated using the advanced Heart Method you gave us, and not only were we unaffected, our cultivation efficiency actually increased. If that Yuan Shan knew, he’d probably die from anger." A sly grin spread across Chen Xing’s chubby face.
Feng Rouyi also smiled faintly. "We’re fine, but you..." A trace of worry appeared on her face. "I hear this Yuan Shan is part of some Crown Prince Alliance. You injured him, so they definitely won’t let this go."
"That’s right," Leng Yingying chimed in. "I’ve made some inquiries. I heard this Crown Prince Alliance is a terrifying student faction in the Profound Spirit Academy. To join, you have to be at least an advanced class student, and the weakest members are at the Martial Master First Layer, like Yuan Shan. Many of them are figures from our academy’s Power List. They’re terrifying."
"The Academy’s Power List?"
"Exactly, Ye Xuan. The Power List is a ranking of the academy’s students by strength. There are one hundred people on it, and the top ten are known as the academy’s Ten Great Experts. As far as I know, the Crown Prince Alliance was founded by a master at that level. As for someone like Yuan Shan, he can’t even get into the top one hundred."
Leng Yingying explained to Ye Xuan.
"Ye Xuan, I heard that after you entered the cultivation room, Yuan Shan brought a powerhouse from the Power List to the ninth floor to find you. But since you were already inside, Yuan Shan left resentfully. If he finds out you’ve come out of seclusion, he’ll definitely come looking for you again," Feng Rouyi said with concern.
Ye Xuan rubbed his nose. "This paltry academy actually set up some ’Power List,’ created rankings and ’Ten Great Experts,’ and even established a ’Crown Prince Alliance.’ How ridiculous."
The strongest students at Profound Spirit Academy were merely at the Martial Master Third Layer. When Ye Xuan heard about the so-called "Ten Great Experts," he wasn’t shocked at all; he found it laughable.
On the Celestial Profound Continent, there was indeed a Profound List that gathered all the masters under heaven. However, this list was in the powerful Profound Domain. That was a ranking truly renowned throughout the world.
"So you’re Ye Xuan. Everyone says you’re arrogant, and you certainly talk big."
Just then, a cold sneer came from outside. The courtyard gate opened, and a group of people walked in.
The man in the lead wore a black martial robe. His face was handsome, but the first impression he gave was one of coldness—an immense, chilling cold.
"Senior Brother Tong Hong, this is the guy, Ye Xuan. You can tell from his tone how arrogant he is. What’s even more outrageous is that he dared to mock our Crown Prince Alliance. He deserves a thousand deaths."
Behind the black-robed youth, Yuan Shan stood with a venomous expression, his right hand hanging limply as he spoke through gritted teeth.
After Ye Xuan crippled his right hand, he hadn’t paid it much mind at first.
He had thought that he could recover just by taking some Healing Elixirs. However, when his hand still hadn’t healed a month ago, after he had consumed all his Healing Elixirs, he finally began to panic.
For the past month, he had been searching for powerful Alchemists, trying to restore his right arm. But when he had exhausted all the Alchemists he could find and not a single one could cure him, his heart finally sank to rock bottom.
As a Martial Artist, he knew exactly what it meant to have his right hand crippled, and the hatred in his heart for Ye Xuan had finally reached its peak.
Now, he wished he could slice Ye Xuan into a thousand pieces.
"Rest assured. I won’t let anyone who insults my Crown Prince Alliance off lightly." The black-robed youth’s icy gaze fell upon Ye Xuan. A powerful surge of Profound Qi erupted from his body, sweeping through the entire courtyard like a hurricane.
"Just a Martial Master Second Layer, yet you still have to deliberately kick up such a gust of wind. Do you think you’re a tornado or something?" Ye Xuan scoffed.
"Insolent."
"How dare you."
The others behind the black-robed youth erupted in fury, berating him coldly.
Tong Hong waved a hand, silencing their shouts. He swept a glance over Ye Xuan and said indifferently, "Do you know who I am?"
"Who you are? What does that have to do with me? Do I need to know?" Ye Xuan returned with a sneer.
"Ye Xuan, your arrogance knows no bounds! This is a high-ranking member of my Crown Prince Alliance, Senior Brother Tong Hong, the 36th-ranked expert on the Academy’s Power List! Seeing Senior Brother Tong Hong, why haven’t you knelt yet!" Yuan Shan roared venomously, his face contorted in a savage sneer.
Ye Xuan looked at Tong Hong in surprise. "Thirty-sixth on the Power List?!"
This number clearly meant that among all the students of Profound Spirit Academy, Tong Hong’s strength ranked as high as thirty-sixth.
Profound Spirit Academy had thousands of students. This was an astonishing figure.
"Good that you know. What? Scared? It’s too late to beg for mercy now," the others sneered arrogantly.
Ye Xuan scoffed, "I’m just a little surprised. So this is the caliber of the 36th-ranked expert."
"You..."
The men standing behind Tong Hong were instantly enraged.
"Interesting. Truly interesting." Tong Hong chuckled, but his smile was cold, carrying an arrogance that emanated from his very bones, one that instinctively grated on others.
"You certainly are different, with a bit of a backbone. If I’m not mistaken, the Profound Qi fluctuations from your body should be at the Martial Master First Layer. To join Profound Spirit Academy at such a young age with this level of strength, it’s normal to be a little arrogant and domineering."
"Unfortunately for you, however, you’ve chosen the wrong person to be arrogant with."
"Yuan Shan is a member of my Crown Prince Alliance. You taught him a lesson in the Cultivation Tower—it was satisfying, I’m sure, very gratifying, you made a grand show. But have you ever considered that by teaching him a lesson, you were slapping my Crown Prince Alliance in the face? Your moment of glory was built upon the reputation of my Crown Prince Alliance."
Tong Hong’s voice was chillingly low, his gaze hardening as he spoke slowly, "At Profound Spirit Academy, anyone who dares to slap the face of my Crown Prince Alliance—regardless of their background, regardless of their strength—will meet a miserable end. Even your friends, your family, will have to endure endless torture and suffering. The consequences are something you cannot even begin to imagine."
"Are you done talking?"
Seeing that Tong Hong had finally stopped, Ye Xuan spoke, his voice indifferent. His eyes were calm, as if the threat Tong Hong had just delivered couldn’t pressure him in the slightest.
Tong Hong’s eyes faltered for a moment, then a cold smile appeared. "I’m done. What do you have to say?"
Ye Xuan’s gaze turned frigid as he said coldly, "What I want to say is that your so-called ’proud’ Crown Prince Alliance is nothing but dogshit in my, Ye Xuan’s, eyes."
"Hm?" The eyes of everyone behind Tong Hong narrowed. They stared at Ye Xuan in disbelief. ’This kid is too arrogant. Does he even know what he’s saying?’
And Tong Hong’s expression finally changed. He said in a chilling voice, "Kid, do you know what you’re saying?"
"I know exactly what I’m saying. I don’t need you to remind me." Ye Xuan’s gaze was cold. "You. You indulge your subordinate, even letting your people run rampant in my courtyard. They dared to do this not because of themselves, but because of you—because of the Crown Prince Alliance behind you. So, even if you hadn’t come looking for me today, I would have come looking for you."
"Looking for me?" Tong Hong gave an icy smile. "What, to reason with me?"
"HAHAHA." The men behind Tong Hong burst into mocking laughter.
Ye Xuan’s gaze was calm. "You said that those who offend your Crown Prince Alliance will meet a miserable end. Well, what I want to say is this: anyone who offends me, Ye Xuan, anyone who dares to touch the people by my side—they won’t have an end at all!"
As his words fell, his gaze turned cold, as if a desolate, wintry wind had swept through the courtyard. In that instant, an icy aura spread to everyone present.
"You really have a death wish." Tong Hong’s pupils constricted. Monstrous Profound Qi erupted from his body as he sneered, "In that case, I’d love to see just what this ’no end’ you speak of really is!"
As he spoke, he stepped forward slowly. The Profound Qi around him surged like a crazed demon, rising relentlessly and pressing down on Ye Xuan. His aura built continuously, preparing to unleash a thunderous strike against Ye Xuan at its peak.
"Hold on." Facing Tong Hong’s pressure, Ye Xuan remained motionless, his gaze calm as he spoke nonchalantly.
Tong Hong smirked coldly. "What, you want to beg for mercy?"
"Beg for mercy?" Ye Xuan scoffed. "Only someone who’s thinking about begging for mercy would say something like that. I just wanted to say that fighting here is too boring. With so many academy rules, how can one fight to their heart’s content?"
"Then what do you propose?" Tong Hong looked at Ye Xuan with interest, his gaze icy.
"Simple. A life-and-death battle."
When Ye Xuan’s words fell, everyone’s gaze froze in an instant.
Ye Xuan had actually challenged Tong Hong, the 36th-ranked expert on the Academy’s Power List, and to a life-and-death battle at that.
One must remember, Ye Xuan had only just joined Profound Spirit Academy a few months ago, while Tong Hong was a senior student who had been at the academy for years. This was boundless arrogance.
’Doesn’t he know how strong Senior Brother Tong Hong is? He’s completely out of control.’
’Lawless, truly lawless. He couldn’t possibly think that just because he defeated Yuan Shan, he’s now invincible in the academy, could he?’
’Yuan Shan can’t even break into the top one hundred on the Power List, but Senior Brother Tong Hong is a top expert ranked 36th. They’re not even in the same league.’
’He’s really digging his own grave. But I have to admit, the man does have courage.’
