Qin Chuan watched Ye Qingchen’s calm and composed silhouette. Truly incredible, he thought, filled with an inexplicable admiration.

Over the past half a month, Ye Qingchen had fainted no less than a hundred times, each time from complete exhaustion. When it came to his training, he had already reached the point of forgoing food and sleep. Qin Chuan had anticipated that Ye Qingchen would frequently exhaust his Soul Power and prepared Spirit Pills for such emergencies. He had never expected Ye Qingchen to be so diligent, however; his dedication far exceeded anything he could have imagined. The Spirit Pills Qin Chuan had prepared were consumed in less than five days.

Fortunately, Ye Qingchen had his own supply of medicinal herbs that could restore Soul Power. It was also at this moment that Qin Chuan discovered his Little Junior Brother was actually an alchemist—and a Pill King capable of concocting sixth-grade Spirit Pills at that. At last, Qin Chuan understood why Ye Qingchen’s Soul Power was so far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Just then, Li Nian’er walked out of the house. Seeing Ye Qingchen and Qin Chuan had returned, she first greeted Qin Chuan before circling Ye Qingchen, looking him up and down. Li Nian’er’s cherubic face easily gave off an air of innocence, but those who truly knew her understood that she had a temper as fiery as her physique.

Ye Qingchen felt a little unnerved under Li Nian’er’s gaze. After all, he had personally witnessed his senior sister’s demonic temper. Just because Wang Tong had harbored the intent to kill him, Li Nian’er had demanded that the vice dean atone for it with his life.

Li Nian’er walked around Ye Qingchen a few times, then nodded, exuding the air of a tiny adult. "Not bad," she said. "You’re only at the Fifth Layer of the Martial King Realm, yet you’ve already grasped nature’s spiritual energy. Little Junior Brother, you’ve gained quite a lot in this past half-month!"

"What? Little Junior Brother has grasped nature’s spiritual energy?"

Zhu Liang and Cheng Lu, who had just stepped out from their newly built room, exclaimed in unison upon hearing this. They immediately turned to carefully sense the spiritual energy around Ye Qingchen. Sure enough, they discovered that the spiritual energy around him had become exceptionally active. The closer they got to his body, the more strongly they could feel its affinity for him.

Zhu Liang and Cheng Lu exchanged a look, both seeing profound astonishment in the other’s eyes.

Judging by Ye Qingchen’s current state, his mastery over nature’s spiritual energy was definitely on par with that of a lower-level Martial Emperor Realm expert.

Zhu Liang and Cheng Lu were both peerless, once-in-a-century geniuses who had also mastered the use of nature’s spiritual energy while in the Martial King Realm. But they had only barely grasped it upon reaching the Seventh Layer. To reach Ye Qingchen’s current level of mastery, they had to wait until they were at the Ninth Layer of the Martial King Realm.

Even so, the two were considered prodigies by others, with Zhu Liang even being called the strongest of his level by Elder Yang. Now, compared to Ye Qingchen, the praise they had received from others made them feel thoroughly ashamed. After all, Ye Qingchen had achieved this at only the Fifth Layer of the Martial King Realm.

Qin Chuan simply smiled and didn’t tell the three that Ye Qingchen had actually mastered the use of nature’s spiritual energy back when he was at the Fourth Layer. And it had taken him less than a single day.

Afterward, Qin Chuan found even stronger and more ferocious beasts for Ye Qingchen to train against. This was to help him refine his control over nature’s spiritual energy, which led to his strength naturally breaking through to the Fifth Layer of the Martial King Realm.

Ye Qingchen merely smiled in response to the surprise and praise from his three seniors, not feeling he had accomplished anything particularly remarkable. He had received direct guidance and demonstrations from his Senior Brother Qin Chuan, and his Dual Pupil Martial Soul had enhanced both his spiritual power and Soul Power. With these advantages, it was only natural for him to reach this stage.

What Ye Qingchen now looked forward to most was the next phase of his training.

In the month he had spent with Qin Chuan, he felt his combat strength had at least doubled or tripled. By the end of the training, he could even kill a low-level Martial King Realm beast using only a blast of nature’s spiritual energy. On the journey back, an itch to test his skills led him to charge into a nest of beasts at the Peak of the Martial King Realm. With a single move, he slaughtered all dozen of them! This level of combat prowess was something he wouldn’t have even dared to imagine before.

And this is only the first step of my special training, Ye Qingchen thought. He was confident that if he continued to follow the regimen Qin Chuan had planned, he would undoubtedly astound everyone at the Four Academies’ Joint Test.

At this moment, Qin Chuan said with a smile, "Junior Brothers, Junior Sister, our Little Junior Brother is definitely the most talented person I have ever met. Furthermore, his dedication and aptitude for cultivation are nearly perfect. I had originally planned to train him for a month, but he has already completed the entire curriculum ahead of schedule. So, which of you three would like to take Little Junior Brother under your wing next?"

In truth, Qin Chuan didn’t tell them the whole story. He had indeed planned for a month of training, but his initial expectation was simple: if Ye Qingchen could condense a sphere of light in front of his body within the month, he would pass. But Ye Qingchen, this anomaly, had managed it in less than an hour. Naturally, Qin Chuan couldn’t tell him then that his training was complete, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue watching him train.

The moment Qin Chuan finished speaking, Li Nian’er eagerly volunteered. She stood up and said, "Eldest Senior Brother, let Little Junior Brother train with me next. It’s rare to see you praise someone so highly. I’m very eager to see what he can do."

Qin Chuan thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, but he still added with some concern, "Junior Sister, this will be your first time teaching in the Master’s stead. Don’t get too carried away."

Li Nian’er wrinkled her nose, replying with dissatisfaction, "Don’t underestimate me, Eldest Senior Brother. I’m very capable. You can rest assured with Little Junior Brother training with me. He trained with you for half a month, so it’s only fair he trains with me for half a month as well."

At this, Cheng Lu also stood up and said sanctimoniously, "It’s wonderful that Junior Sister is willing to train Little Junior Brother, but I’m worried it might exhaust her. How about I join you both to help?"

Li Nian’er shot him an irritated look. "If you try to stir up trouble again, believe me when I say I’ll burn your new thatched cottage to the ground!"

Her words reminded Qin Chuan and Ye Qingchen of something. They had only just realized that during the half a month they were away, Zhu Liang and Cheng Lu had built a few new thatched cottages. Although still simple, they at least provided a place to stay.

Before Qin Chuan could praise the two, an indignant Li Nian’er grabbed Ye Qingchen by the arm and stormed off.

Watching her fuming figure disappear, Cheng Lu sighed and muttered to himself, "They say women are made of water. Junior Sister even has a natural water attribute affinity. She should be gentle as a stream, so why is her temper so explosive?"