Chapter 46: The Challenge

"Finally taken down!"

"Is Ye Yuan messing around? He could have gotten out unscathed, but he chose to come out like that—scared the hell out of me!"

"Yeah, even though it's in the dream, that feeling of death is awful. Every time I get killed, I feel like I'm really dying."

"Damn it, I thought he really had the strength to challenge the Earth-level advancement, but who knew he'd get one-shotted right away? Isn't he just messing with us?"

…

The words "Scared me to death" were like a bomb, igniting the once-quiet crowd of onlookers.

Innocent Ye Yuan had no idea that his actions had angered everyone, drawing complaints from all.

The key was that he had raised everyone's expectations too high, making them all habitually think he might still pass.

If Ye Yuan had lost after a hard-fought battle, the reactions from the watching students wouldn't have been so strong. But who knew he'd get one-shotted right away, shocking everyone.

The gap between expectation and reality was too great; no wonder everyone felt tricked.

Hu Yanyong stared blankly at the light screen, then burst into wry laughter.

Like the students, he too had been stirred by Ye Yuan's emotions, thinking Ye Yuan really had a trump card to pass the Earth-level advancement. Who knew the guy was just fearless out of ignorance, going to his death.

"But... being able to pass the Xuan-level advancement and become the student with the lowest cultivation and youngest age to enter Earth-level at Danwu Academy, Ye Yuan's strength has already exceeded my imagination," Hu Yanyong praised.

He didn't think Ye Yuan was deliberately messing with everyone; on the contrary, he felt Ye Yuan's martial heart was extremely firm!

Ordinary people, when facing an opponent a whole major realm above them, would inevitably choose to retreat. But Ye Yuan chose to challenge. His choice itself spoke volumes.

Of course, if he knew what Ye Yuan had done inside the Illusory Spirit Tower, who knew what he would think.

Inside the Illusory Spirit Tower, Ye Yuan had returned to reality. The battle arena now held only the Dream Tapir and the other four black-clad martial artists.

The shock in the Dream Tapir's eyes had yet to fade...

Just now, Ye Yuan had chosen to engage the five black-clad martial artists head-on. Naturally, Ye Yuan died under their powerful attacks.

Yet in the final moment, Ye Yuan's Eightfold Wave still struck one of the black-clad martial artists, killing him.

Although Ye Yuan wouldn't truly die in the dream and had an advantage, he had still genuinely killed a Liquid Realm First Layer!

That is to say, Ye Yuan already had the strength to threaten the Liquid Realm!

Qi Realm Fourth Layer threatening Liquid Realm First Layer—wasn't that a fantasy?

The Dream Tapir swallowed, feeling the whole world was unreal.

…

"Hmm, I should have killed one just now, right?"

Ye Yuan walked out of the Illusory Spirit Tower thoughtfully, not noticing everyone's strange looks. He was still thinking about his head-on clash with the five black-clad martial artists.

Lü'er was the first to rush to Ye Yuan. She had long passed the entrance advancement and officially become a student of Danwu Academy.

Passing the entrance advancement at Qi Realm Third Layer, Lü'er's strength was naturally unquestionable. Hu Yanyong had also noticed this unremarkable little girl.

Of course, Lü'er's ability to pass the assessment was because Ye Yuan had taught her a formidable martial skill called "Nine Forms of Profound Ice." This skill was the signature move of the Spirit Snow Divine King, and paired with Lü'er's cultivation technique, its power was immense.

Lü'er cultivated top-tier techniques and martial skills from the Divine Realm; defeating five Qi Realm Fourth Layers across levels was naturally no issue.

"Young master, you're amazing! You passed the third-level assessment in one go!" Lü'er tugged at Ye Yuan's sleeve, proud.

Seeing Ye Yuan pass the assessment, Lü'er was even happier than when she herself passed.

Ye Yuan saw it was Lü'er and smiled: "It was just a Xuan-level assessment, no difficulty at all. If that damned examiner hadn't screwed me over, I'd have passed long ago."

The watching students were stunned again. This guy's ability to brag was even stronger than his actual strength.

He had just been utterly crushed, and now he was still boasting.

The Illusory Spirit Tower examiner had tested countless students and was always fair; how could he possibly screw over a Qi Realm Fourth Layer student?

"Hehe, anyway, young master is the best! It's a pity Brother Tang is in seclusion; otherwise, he'd definitely be happy for you too."

After this period of accumulation, Tang Yu's cultivation had stabilized, and two days ago he had gone into seclusion to break through to Qi Realm Sixth Layer.

Ye Yuan had given Tang Yu a batch of super-grade Qi Pills; breaking through to Qi Realm Sixth Layer was just a matter of time.

"Heh, when Tang Yu comes out of seclusion, he should come take the Yellow-level advancement too. From the look of you, you passed the assessment, right?" Ye Yuan smiled.

Lü'er nodded with a smile: "That's all thanks to young master."

"Heh, what does it have to do with me? Your Yuan power was all cultivated by yourself."

The master and servant chatted away as if no one else was around, envying the onlookers.

Earlier, everyone's attention had been drawn to the light screen, and they hadn't noticed such a beautiful little girl in the crowd.

Now standing with Ye Yuan, she immediately attracted many gazes.

Only then did everyone realize that at some point, the academy had gained another such lovely young girl.

In terms of appearance, the not-yet-fully-grown Lü'er already surpassed Liu Ruoshui. And Lü'er's innocent, flawless temperament was something Liu Ruoshui lacked.

Seeing the looks from the crowd, Ye Yuan knew that Lü'er would likely become the target of many students' pursuits in the academy.

Just then, a student approached Ye Yuan. Keen-eyed people immediately recognized him.

"Look, isn't that Senior Brother Wu? He's the famous martial fanatic in the academy, a top figure ranked fifteenth on the Martial List! Has he already set his sights on Ye Yuan? Then Ye Yuan is in for it!"

Wu Luochen cupped his hands toward Ye Yuan and said, "Congratulations, Junior Brother Ye, on advancing to Earth-level. I am Heaven-level Wu Luochen."

Ye Yuan was a bit puzzled, but still returned the greeting with a smile: "Thank you, Senior Brother Wu."

"Junior Brother Ye has extraordinary talent. I believe you will soon advance to Heaven-level. When that time comes, I would like to invite Junior Brother Ye for a sparring session. Please do not refuse."

Though expected, Wu Luochen's words still caused a stir among the crowd.

Wu Luochen was a martial fanatic who loved challenging the academy's experts. Those on the Martial List found him a headache.

Devoted solely to martial arts, Wu Luochen progressed very quickly. In just half a year, he had gone from the bottom of Heaven-level to fifteenth on the Martial List.

Ye Yuan sized up Wu Luochen and suddenly smiled: "Since Senior Brother Wu thinks highly of me, how dare I refuse the challenge?"

Wu Luochen, originally somewhat serious, now broke into a smile: "Good! Truly the most promising student in the academy! If you encounter any trouble in the academy from now on, you can come to me anytime!"

"Haha, then many thanks to Senior Brother Wu." Ye Yuan laughed heartily.