Nightfall.
Everyone from Anti-Upheaval was so delighted that they held a celebration. As the main character, Ye Zichen naturally had to make an appearance.
However, out of consideration for the fact that he was heading to the Central Divine Mountain tomorrow, they didn’t keep him up too late.
After preemptively wishing Ye Zichen good results at the Central Divine Mountain’s battle of geniuses, everyone congratulated them on the day’s success.
Xue Mo didn’t stop them. To the ordinary society members, this was indeed worth celebrating. Out of consideration for all their bitter cultivation to date, she decided to just let them have the night off and party their hearts out.
“Platoon Leader Ye, it’s all thanks to you.” As they returned to their residences, Xue Mo flashed Ye Zichen a radiant smile.
“Don’t mention it; I just did what I was supposed to do. Besides, even without me, Beibei could have done it too. In fact, she could have done it better. Isn’t that right, Little Beibei?”He reached out and tousled Xue Beibei’s hair.
She nodded and grinned in satisfaction. “You performed quite well today, and didn’t embarrass your Big Sister Beibei. But yes, you’re right, of course.”
When they saw Beibei’s proud smirk, Ye Zichen and Xue Mo couldn’t help but look at each other. When they reached their residences, Xue Mo waved Ye Zichen goodbye.
“Get a good night’s rest and mentally prepare yourself. Once we get to the Central Divine Mountain, there’s a vicious battle waiting for us.”
It was only after watching the Xue Sisters depart that Ye Zichen returned to his bedroom.
He sat on his bed but, despite Xue Mo ordering him to rest, he looked out his window at the tranquil night sky. Images of Jiang Wei’s match filled his mind.
He and Jiang Wei had indeed used the same technique, but they achieved starkly different effects. In fact, they were opposite extremes.
Utterly violent and utterly gentle.
Ye Zichen’s explosive attack was terrifying, and from the perspective of amateurs, he seemed a bit stronger. However, he was keenly aware that he was still inferior to Jiang Wei, and by no small margin either.
His attack was violent because he couldn’t condense his sword energy and spilled it all over the place, resulting in widespread destruction.
However, Jiang Wei had compressed his sword energy into threats. Even Ye Zichen couldn’t help but admire this level of control.
He couldn’t underestimate Jiang Wei, the Sword Immortal, and the number one expert on the individual leader leaderboards.
The rules had suddenly changed, and all the nine Divine Mountains’ academies would conduct a large scale battle on the Central Divine Mountain. If it were just the God Realm hosting this event it would be one thing, but this involved the Yao and Demon Realms too. There was no way this would be simple.
More importantly, Qiu Enhuai said that the other two realms had suggested this to the God Realm.
They’d done this at a critical juncture, so Ye Zichen was sure that this had put the God Realm on guard. However, the God Realm had no way to refuse. Rather, they were under so much pressure that they had to accept.
That’s why Qiu Enhuai had made an appearance and announced that he’d escort Ye Zichen and the other student representatives to the Central Divine Mountain personally.
“How unpredictable!” Ye Zichen gazed into the night sky and muttered to himself. Who knew? It might be a long time before he could enjoy a night as tranquil as this one.
However, Ye Zichen’s heart inexplicably sped up. If he went to the Central Divine Mountain….
He might even be able to see Liu Qing.
Back in the Lower Realms, Ye Zichen had promised to go looking for her once he reached the God Realm. A hundred years later, he could finally keep his word.
Also, once he reached the Central Divine Mountain, he could see his “old friends,” the Xiao Family!
“I’m really excited to see them all. I’m getting all heated up just thinking about it.” Ye Zichen’s cigarette gradually tapered off. With one last murmur, Ye Zichen tossed the cigarette butt into the dirt, then crushed it into dust.
He smiled faintly and, with one last look outside the window, walked up to his bed and lay down.
…
It was time to head to the Central Divine Mountain, and the Anti-Upheaval Society’s line-up hadn’t changed at all.
Li Hu, Luo Zi, Ye Zichen, Xue Mo, Chen Guangfa, and Xue Beibei had all arrived at the arena. The Aspirations Society and Appearance Association’s representatives were there too.
“Brother Ye, we’ve been waiting for you for ages!” When they saw Ye Zichen and the others arrive, the other two student societies’ teams gathered around them.
Pan Sheng was naturally among the Aspirations Society’s ranks. As for the other for…. When everyone heard that there were limited spots for the upcoming trip to the Central Divine Mountain, the Aspirations Society fought amongst themselves to determine the four strongest. They were the ones accompanying Jiang Yong and Pan Sheng.
The Appearance Association’s method was comparatively harmonious. Murong Xue had taken all four of their “golden flowers,” and as for the remaining spots, she left them empty. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to fill them, but that most of the girls of the Appearance Association just weren’t into all that fighting and killing…
Anti-Upheaval, the Aspirations Society, and the Appearance Association had deep bonds born of shared adversity.
Jiang Yong and Murong Xue brought their teams up so they could all get to know each other and look out for each other on the Central Divine Mountain.
“Brother Ye, these guys are our Aspiration Society’s…” After introducing them, the people accompanying Jiang Yong and Murong Xue greeted them, especially Ye Zichen….
They had witnessed his sweep of the Proud Heavens Society with their own eyes.
Thanks to that single battle, they now saw Ye Zichen as an expert on the same level as Jiang Wei.
“Right, Brother Ye, did you know that last night, the academy updated the individual leaderboards?” Jiang Yong put his arm around Ye Zichen’s shoulder and looked at him playfully. “How high do you think your rank is?”
“I’m on the leaderboards?”
“Of course! You were so vicious yesterday, how could you not be on the leaderboards! Go on, guess! What’s your rank?”
“Fourth!” Before Ye Zichen could respond, Murong Xue answered for him. “You can’t tell with all the winking and signaling, but just now, he was quite pleased with himself. He said Ye Zichen’s rank wasn’t as high as his. He’s delighting in others’ misfortune out of eyeshot.”
“What do you mean, I’m delighting in others misfortune?” Jiang Yong argued, “I am not!”
Ye Zichen was fully aware of Jiang Yong’s temperament, so he didn’t particularly mind. He was, however, surprised to find that he’d directly entered the top five.
It’s your first time on the leaderboards but you’re already in the top five. Platoon Leader Ye, you’re terrifying!” Luo Zi didn’t quite know what to say.
“Who would say otherwise? Jiang Yong, what are you self-satisfied about anyway? Zichen got into the top four after a single battle; they don’t know his full strength yet. Once we get to the Central Divine Mountain, just you wait. He’ll surely surpass you,” added Murong Xue.
“I’m not self-satisfied or delighting in his misfortune!” Jiang Yong straightened his back indignantly, then sighed. “But you’re right. I’m afraid Brother Ye will surpass me rather quickly. It took me decades to reach third place. When I compare myself to Brother Ye, my heart aches.”
“Don’t be so hypocritical.” Murong Xue glared at him.
Just as their three societies were chatting amongst themselves, yet another student society entered the arena. Their presence immediately surrounded Ye Zichen and the others. When they looked around, they saw the Grizzly Bears’ representatives….
Also, their ranks included Di Long of the Proud Heavens Society!
