Volume 1, Chapter 36: Scared Witless!

"Qi Chao, Mo Feng, Li Wan, Gu Yunfei."

Ju Tianyuan stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the four of them. "You four are heralded as the four great prodigies among the core disciples of the Divine Hidden Academy. Let me face you all alone. I hope you will not disappoint me too much."

With that, he stomped his foot, his entire body surging forward like a sweeping hurricane, causing the very earth beneath him to crack and fissure.

"Attack him together!"

Qi Chao and his companions knew full well that in a one-on-one duel, none of them could stand against Ju Tianyuan; they would likely be killed in an instant. Only by joining forces could they hope for a chance at survival.

They unleashed their most powerful techniques simultaneously. Four formidable attacks crashed toward Ju Tianyuan like a roaring tsunami.

"Pathetic!"

Ju Tianyuan didn't even bother to dodge. He simply reached out with his hand, his fingers clawing like a vortex, swallowing everything in a display of absolute dominance.

"Ah!"

The combined strike of the four disciples was shattered as easily as tofu. Their bodies were sent flying, blood spraying wildly as they landed a hundred meters away.

"The Divine Hidden Academy truly grows weaker with each generation. How did such mediocre talents manage to become the four core disciples?" Ju Tianyuan stood with his hands behind his back, making no move to pursue them, his face filled with disdain and disappointment.

"With your level of strength, you wouldn't even rank in the top sixty at our Great Qian Academy. You don't even qualify to die by my hands, do you understand?"

Ju Tianyuan’s lips curled into a savage grin. "However, the Dean has issued an order: this Dragon Gate Tournament will be the end of every disciple of the Divine Hidden Academy. So, I suppose I shall reluctantly slaughter the four of you first."

He moved again, swift as lightning, his fingers hooking like talons of fate as he descended toward Li Wan’s head. This strike would surely be the end of him.

Boom!

But at that very moment, a massive explosion erupted in the sky. Everyone watched as a figure, drenched in blood, was sent flying backward.

"It’s Ju Tianyuan!"

Everyone had assumed the bloodied figure was Li Wan, but then they realized it was the previously invincible Ju Tianyuan. Suddenly, Mu Yi had appeared before Li Wan.

"Ant-like existences, truly pathetic." Mu Yi glanced at Ju Tianyuan and Duan Canghai, his voice calm and devoid of emotion. "You should realize that I am not an opponent you can defeat. Bring out your true masters. I would like to see how much weight these so-called Four Kings—Dragon, Tiger, Leopard, and Crane—actually carry."

Mu Yi stood with his hands behind his back, making no further move. He had never truly regarded Ju Tianyuan and Duan Canghai as threats. If not for the need to save Li Wan, these two would not even have been worthy of his attention.

"Mu Yi, you are indeed strong!"

Fear began to overtake Ju Tianyuan’s eyes as he stared at Mu Yi. "But the four of them are not here. Dealing with you was our own decision."

Before meeting Mu Yi, Ju Tianyuan and Duan Canghai had dismissed his reputation as mere hearsay, believing he wasn't as formidable as rumored. When the teleportation array dropped them in the same location, they had acted on their own, hoping to claim the immense bounty the Great Qian Academy had placed on Mu Yi’s head for his death.

"Your own decision?" Mu Yi laughed. "Do you know the price of such arrogance?"

"Mu Yi, the two of us together! I don't believe we will lose to you!" Duan Canghai stood before Ju Tianyuan, glaring at Mu Yi, still failing to grasp the true terror of the man before him.

"Hahahaha! The two of you intend to challenge me?" Mu Yi seemed to have heard the world's most hilarious joke. "It seems that unless I kill one of you first, you will never understand what you are dealing with."

As he spoke, Mu Yi vanished. Duan Canghai saw only a flicker of motion.

*Slap!*

Mu Yi’s hand fell like a mountain. Before Duan Canghai could even react, his head had been driven directly into his own chest cavity.

His headless corpse slumped to the ground. Mu Yi had already returned to his original spot, hands behind his back, as calm and composed as if he had never moved at all.

"What? This..." Every disciple of the Great Qian Academy stood frozen, jaws agape. Some were so terrified they lost control of their bladders. No one had imagined that Duan Canghai, ranked tenth on their academy's Mountain and River List, would be killed in a single strike without even a chance to defend himself. Mu Yi’s speed was beyond the perception of anyone present.

"How could this be? Impossible! It’s impossible..." Ju Tianyuan, standing beside the corpse, trembled, his eyes wide with horror as he stumbled backward like a man who had lost his soul.

The strength Mu Yi displayed was not that of the Divine Transformation Realm, but the Yuan Mansion Realm. He had never seen such a powerful Divine Transformation expert, especially one who was only at the second level of that realm.

"Next, it is your turn."

As Mu Yi’s gaze locked onto him, Ju Tianyuan shuddered, collapsing to the ground in terror.

"Everyone, attack him together!" Ju Tianyuan screamed frantically. There were a hundred core disciples of the Great Qian Academy present. While their individual strength was far inferior to his, the sheer numbers were overwhelming.

"Anyone who takes a step forward dies!" Mu Yi’s gaze was sharp, his aura sweeping across them like a storm.

For a moment, these arrogant, self-proclaimed elites of the Great Qian Academy were frozen in fear. They dared only to retreat, not advance. Mu Yi’s brutal display had shattered their confidence. He was no longer human to them—he was a god of slaughter.

If disciples from other sects were present, they would have witnessed an unimaginable sight: a hundred disciples of the Great Qian Academy, trembling and retreating in terror, some even wetting themselves, all because of one man. In a thousand years, such a sight had never occurred. Yet, Mu Yi had achieved it alone.

"It’s a pity. The disciples of the Great Qian Academy behind you are all cowards; they dare not come to save you." Mu Yi walked toward Ju Tianyuan step by step. "Weren't you arrogant before? Didn't you say my Divine Hidden Academy disciples didn't even qualify to die by your hands? Why don't you show me that arrogance again?"

"Mu Yi, spare me! Your real opponents are the Four Kings—Dragon, Tiger, Leopard, and Crane—not me..."

"It’s too late for that now."

Mu Yi reached out, and a powerful gust of wind enveloped Ju Tianyuan, striking him like a hammer. Helpless, Ju Tianyuan vomited blood as Mu Yi’s fingers clamped around his throat, lifting him into the air like a dead dog.

The ninth-ranked powerhouse on the Great Qian Mountain and River List, once proud and untouchable, was now nothing more than fish on a chopping block in Mu Yi’s grip, unable to offer the slightest resistance.

The disciples of the Great Qian Academy felt as though they were trapped in a nightmare. How could the Divine Hidden Academy produce such a terrifying monster? Especially since, only months ago, this same Mu Yi had been a mere outer disciple of their own Great Qian Academy.

Boom!

At that moment, a massive bronze cauldron appeared above Mu Yi, and a surge of overwhelming power descended to cage him.

"It’s Senior Brother Fang’s high-grade treasure, the Li Fire Divine Cauldron!"

"Senior Brother Fang is here! Thank heavens!"

The disciples, who had been on the verge of despair, erupted into cheers. The "Senior Brother Fang" they spoke of was no ordinary man. He was Fang Yiyu, the Lingxiao Crane King—one of the Four Kings of the Great Qian Academy.