Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 574

Li Rui never imagined his own cousin could be so foolish.

He knew perfectly well that the Saint Heir was monitoring every move in the Secret Realm, yet he still dared to entertain the thought of betrayal. This act didn’t just ruin his own future; it doomed the entire Li Family! Given the status of the Ten Ancient Clans, even a Nine-star Sect was at an absolute, even humble, disadvantage when facing them. A small family like theirs was nothing in comparison.

At this, Qin Yue couldn’t help but laugh coldly. "As the Saint Heir, instead of following the righteous path, you resort to such despicable methods to deal with Qingchen. Now that you’ve been betrayed by your own subordinate, you have only yourself to blame."

The Saint Heir didn’t bother arguing with Qin Yue. He simply gazed intently at Ye Qingchen, his mind lost in thought.

Meanwhile, inside the Secret Realm, Li Chunsheng and his two companions had just finished recuperating. Moments earlier, Ye Qingchen had wiped out Li Kai’s entire team.

Seeing Ye Qingchen standing alone in the now-empty clearing, Li Chunsheng asked in astonishment, "Junior Brother Ye, where are those people? They didn’t give you any trouble, did they?"

Ye Qingchen smiled. "Rest assured, Senior Brother Li. I’ve already sent them out of the Secret Realm."

"What?" Li Chunsheng and the other two cried out in unison, their minds reeling with disbelief.

They knew that the weakest member of Li Kai’s team was at the second layer of the Martial Emperor Realm, and several were at the third layer. In contrast, Ye Qingchen was merely at the seventh layer of the Martial King Realm. Li Chunsheng had already found it inconceivable that he possessed combat power comparable to a third-layer Martial Emperor.

But to think he had actually annihilated Li Kai’s entire team! Furthermore, judging by the time that had passed, it hadn’t even taken him an hour. Forget a Martial King; in Li Chunsheng’s experience, not even a cultivator at the Martial Emperor Realm Fourth Layer could have accomplished what Ye Qingchen just had.

Could it be that Ye Qingchen’s current combat power is already comparable to that of a mid-level Martial Emperor? Is such a thing even humanly possible?

Only Ye Qingchen knew this was the natural result of his hard work. He had trained diligently for two months under his phenomenally talented senior brothers and sisters and had even received personal guidance from Elder Yang. In fact, even Elder Yang and the others had been astonished by his rate of progress.

"Senior Brother Li, how is your recovery?" Ye Qingchen asked, changing the subject.

Li Chunsheng nodded guiltily. "Junior Brother Ye, the formation you taught us was incredibly effective. Because the damage was distributed among all of us, the three of us are fine. It was just hard on our other junior brothers and sisters."

The other two second-layer Martial Emperor Realm seniors also hung their heads in shame and sighed heavily.

Ye Qingchen offered a reassuring smile. "Senior Brother Li, don’t blame yourself. No one could have predicted we would run into those people from Pingtian Academy. I’m sure the senior brothers and sisters who were teleported out don’t blame any of you."

He then pointed toward where the Illusion Array had been and continued, "Senior Brother Li, after I broke the Illusion Array, I discovered a storeroom behind it. Since the three of you have recovered, let’s go check it out."

Li Chunsheng nodded, though his spirits remained low. Ye Qingchen knew that words of comfort wouldn’t help right now, so he simply led the way toward the storeroom.

Upon entering the storeroom, they found it filled with all sorts of bottles and jars, as well as some cultivation technique manuals.

Ye Qingchen scanned the manuals but found none particularly suited for his current cultivation, so he turned his attention to the bottles and jars. Li Chunsheng and the other two, however, clutched the manuals as if they were priceless treasures, unable to put them down as they let out periodic sighs of admiration.

Ye Qingchen discovered that most of the bottles and jars contained various Miraculous Elixirs. There were pills to enhance one’s cultivation, restore Soul Power, and replenish Spiritual Power—it seemed to have everything.

However, Ye Qingchen only took a few Spirit Pills for restoring Soul Power and Spiritual Energy, leaving the rest for Li Chunsheng and his companions. His strength had surged dramatically during his two months of arduous training. While Elder Yang’s guidance had ensured his foundation remained stable, relying on more Spirit Pills to advance further could create hidden dangers that would surface when he tried to break through to higher realms in the future.

For Li Chunsheng and the others, however, these Spirit Pills could produce unexpectedly beneficial effects.

When Ye Qingchen handed the Spirit Pills to them, the three were both flattered and astonished, repeatedly trying to refuse.

Ye Qingchen sighed. "Senior Brother Li, Senior Brothers, there are only the four of us left. I won’t hide it from you—those people were definitely targeting me. I haven’t figured out the exact reason yet, but I suspect someone outside the Secret Realm can pinpoint our location and relay it to people inside."

Li Chunsheng frowned. "Junior Brother Ye, I understand your concern, but this Secret Realm was provided by the Ten Ancient Clans and unanimously approved by the deans of the four major academies. Would someone really dare to cheat so blatantly?"

In truth, Li Chunsheng’s unspoken concern was not a doubt of Ye Qingchen’s guess. Rather, he believed that anyone capable of cheating in such a manner must possess an unimaginable status and influence. Ye Qingchen was just a new disciple of Central Celestial Academy. How could he have provoked such a powerful figure?

Ye Qingchen, of course, understood the unspoken question. He shook his head and said, "I’m not sure about the details right now, but under these circumstances, it’s extremely dangerous for you to stay with me. Take these Spirit Pills, find a quiet place in the Secret Realm, and focus on increasing your strength. If an opportunity arises, look for your own fortunate encounters. If you run into danger, just leave the Secret Realm. Either way, we can’t stay together."

Li Chunsheng waved his hands frantically. "Junior Brother Ye, what are you saying? We’re your senior brothers and your teammates. We can’t just leave you to face danger alone."

Another senior brother chimed in, "Exactly, Junior Brother Ye! There’s no mortal danger in this first phase, anyway. Let’s just train together. If we encounter a danger we can’t handle, we can just give up on the assessment."

Ye Qingchen shook his head. "Senior Brothers, do you really think people who are willing to cheat to this extent just to deal with me will care about the rules?"