Volume 1, Chapter 29: Academy of Cowards?

For a moment, none of the hundreds of disciples from the Shenyin Academy present dared to make a sound.

Qingshan was ranked only around thirtieth on the Great Qian Academy’s Mountains and Rivers Ranking. Yet, his cultivation had already reached the peak of the tenth level of the Divine Transformation Realm. In the entire Shenyin Academy, out of more than three hundred core disciples, only those ranked in the top four could possess such a realm. This alone highlighted the vast gap in overall strength between the Shenyin Academy and the Great Qian Academy.

"Well? What's this? With so many of you here, are you all shrinking turtles? I, Qingshan, am issuing a challenge to you all. Is there not a single person who dares to speak up?"

After a long silence, the crowd remained quiet; no one dared to step forward to accept the challenge. Qingshan’s gaze turned sharp, and he was filled with irrepressible fury.

"You need not be so impatient. The opponent you are looking for will be here soon." Nie Xun said, visibly annoyed. "Our Shenyin Academy has three hundred core disciples, and only four of them possess the peak cultivation of the tenth level of the Divine Transformation Realm."

"Don't look down on our numbers. Any one of them is more than enough to deal with you!"

"Hahaha! Any one of them?" Qingshan roared with laughter. "In the previous Dragon Gate Battlefield, the overall strength of your Shenyin Academy’s participating disciples was far higher than this current batch, but what was the result? Nearly half of your disciples were slaughtered by the disciples of my Great Qian Academy."

"As for this Dragon Gate War, I advise your Shenyin Academy not to participate at all. Otherwise, with only four core disciples at the peak of the tenth level of the Divine Transformation Realm leading you, I fear you will fare even worse than last time. Total annihilation is inevitable."

The disciples of the Great Qian Academy were arrogant, and Ling Tiandu was the most arrogant of them all. However, no one had expected their core disciples to be just as brazen. Qingshan was not even considered the best among the core disciples of the Great Qian Academy, yet here at the Shenyin Academy, he was behaving with boundless arrogance and heaping insults upon them.

Every disciple of the Shenyin Academy was filled with righteous indignation, but there was nothing they could do; this was the reality of the gap in power. At this moment, the only ones capable of teaching Qingshan a lesson were the top four disciples on the Mountains and Rivers Ranking.

"Who dares to act so presumptuously in my Shenyin Academy?"

Just then, a commotion broke out in the crowd. Two men were seen striding forward. Upon seeing them, Nie Xun’s brow finally relaxed.

"It’s Senior Brother Li! Senior Brother Gu is here!"

When the Shenyin Academy disciples saw these two appear, they erupted into cheers.

Li Wan! Gu Yunfei!

These two were among the four great core disciples of the Shenyin Academy. They were idols to the other core disciples, possessing a status and power second only to the Holy Sons.

"Hmph, you finally showed up. I thought everyone in your Shenyin Academy was a shrinking turtle," Qingshan sneered when he saw Li Wan and Gu Yunfei.

"So you are the arrogant cur yapping away in my Shenyin Academy?" Li Wan’s eyes blazed with intensity. "Let me see exactly what you’re worth!"

As he spoke, he kicked off the ground, his body flying forward like a cannonball.

"Nine Fathoms of a Mountain, Mountain-Cleaving Fist!"

Li Wan threw a punch from above, the momentum staggering.

*Bang!*

His heavy punch landed squarely on Qingshan’s body.

"What? How is this possible..."

But Qingshan did not retreat a single step.

"Hahaha! Is this the strength of the four great geniuses of your Shenyin Academy's inner court?" Qingshan sneered. "Now, it's my turn."

"Heavenly Ox Fist!"

He thrust his right arm forward suddenly, and a phantom image appeared—a giant green ox, standing firmly on the earth and roaring madly.

*Boom.*

Li Wan’s body was struck instantly. He spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying over a hundred meters away.

"This..."

The Shenyin Academy disciples, who had just been cheering, were struck dumb. No one had expected that Li Wan, one of their four great inner court geniuses, would fail to withstand even a single move from Qingshan.

"How can this be? Impossible! You are definitely not just the person ranked thirtieth on the Great Qian Academy’s Mountains and Rivers Ranking!" Nie Xun stared at the defeated Li Wan, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief. He pointed at Qingshan, his tone losing all composure.

"Hahaha! And what if I am ranked thirtieth?" Qingshan laughed coldly. "In short, my strength is merely average when viewed against our Great Qian Academy’s Mountains and Rivers Ranking."

"It is not that I am particularly strong, but that your Shenyin Academy is simply too weak!"

"Who is next?" Qingshan’s gaze, sharp as a tiger’s, swept over the other disciples of the Shenyin Academy.

For a moment, everyone lowered their heads. If even Li Wan, one of the four great geniuses, couldn't withstand a single blow, who else dared to step up? Who else had the ability to do so?

"Well? Why is everyone silent again? Are you all spineless cowards?" Qingshan continued his arrogance, turning his gaze toward Gu Yunfei. "You are also one of the four great geniuses of the Shenyin Academy's inner court. Now that Li Wan has been defeated, shouldn't it be your turn to fight?"

"This..."

Gu Yunfei, like Li Wan earlier, had been furious and eager to deal with the provocateurs from the Great Qian Academy. But seeing Li Wan defeated so thunderously had been a harsh wake-up call for everyone present. They had long known that the Great Qian Academy dominated the four great academies and that their disciples' overall strength was in a league of its own, but they had never expected the gap to be so immense. Qingshan’s strength was enough to run rampant through the Shenyin Academy’s inner court; unless a Holy Son took action, no one would be a match for him.

Facing Qingshan’s piercing gaze, Gu Yunfei actually shuddered, his feet retreating involuntarily. His panicked expression made his stance clear: he dared not fight, nor could he. It wasn't that he was a coward, nor that he was afraid. It was that the massive disparity in strength made him realize that even if he struck, his fate would be the same as Li Wan’s—to be heavily wounded by a single blow and left spitting blood.

"Hahaha! Is this the backbone of your Shenyin Academy?" Qingshan grew even more rampant and triumphant. "A single disciple from the Great Qian Academy is running wild in your academy, and you dare not even breathe? Not a single person dares to step out and fight?"

"I think you should change your name. You shouldn't be called the Shenyin Academy; 'Coward Academy' or 'Spineless Academy' would be much more fitting!"

Qingshan’s arrogant words were deeply insulting.

"Too arrogant! Let's fight him together!"

The crowd, who had been unable to even lift their heads, were completely incensed. They were filled with indignation and wished they could swarm him and tear Qingshan apart alive.

"A man can be killed, but not humiliated! You have gone too far! I, Gu Yunfei, know I am not your match, but even if it costs me my life, I will make you shut your mouth!"

Gu Yunfei had indeed been frightened by Qingshan's dominance, which was why he hadn't dared to fight earlier. But now, he stepped forward, knowing he had to face him.

"You are no match for him. Let me do it."

Just then, a man suddenly appeared in front of him. Gu Yunfei did not even recognize who this man was. However, he suddenly felt two extremely sharp gazes shooting over from the Great Qian camp, falling upon this stranger.

"Mu Yi!"

Ling Tiandu and Qin Wanqing were shocked to see Mu Yi appear.

"I thought I had seen wrongly, but I never expected it to really be you!" Qin Wanqing stepped out from the Great Qian camp. She had been keeping a low profile, and almost no one had noticed her.

"Qin Wanqing, I also did not expect that in just over a month, your cultivation would have risen to the first level of the Divine Transformation Realm. It seems that after you betrayed me to join Ling Tiandu, they have truly invested heavily in you." Mu Yi observed her. From a distance, he hadn't been sure, but now, up close, he realized that in little more than a month, Qin Wanqing’s cultivation had leaped from the tenth level of the Qi Refining Realm to the Divine Transformation Realm. Her astonishing rate of progress was no less than his own, despite his Dragon-Elephant Divine Demon Physique!

"Mu Yi, considering we once had a relationship, I will give you one final piece of advice: an ant should eventually have the self-awareness of an ant." Qin Wanqing looked at him with haughty disdain. "To live out your life as an ordinary person—that is your destiny."

"Hahaha! Qin Wanqing, even now, you still persist in showing off that pathetic pride of yours in front of me?" Mu Yi laughed loudly. "All you rely on is Ling Tiandu behind you, but I will soon prove to you that your backer is nothing but a weakling in front of me!"

"You and Ling Tiandu had better cherish your remaining days!"

Mu Yi’s words shocked everyone present. After all, very few people at the Shenyin Academy knew about the grievances between him, Qin Wanqing, and Ling Tiandu.

"To think a salted fish could flip itself over. Regardless, I could have taken your dog life that day, and taking it now would be as easy as flipping my palm."

At this moment, a powerful aura erupted, shaking the heavens and the earth. A tall, insufferably arrogant man stepped forward. It was Ling Tiandu, the super-expert who had previously defeated Lin Danfeng, one of the four Holy Sons of the Shenyin Academy. He stood before Qin Wanqing.