Chapter 563: Chapter 563: The Four Great Academies’ Examination, Begins!

As for Elder Yang’s claim that none of his other disciples had ever been here, it didn’t move Ye Qingchen in the slightest; he simply ignored it.

However, upon entering the thatched cottage with Elder Yang, Ye Qingchen was stunned by the sight before him. From the outside, the cottage appeared utterly unremarkable, but the inside was a whole other world.

Seeing Ye Qingchen’s surprise, Elder Yang nodded in satisfaction. "Don’t make a big deal out of it," he said. "The principle is similar to that of a storage ring. You can just think of this as a slightly larger one."

Although Elder Yang’s words were humble, the smug look on his face was rather exasperating.

While storage rings could also create their own space, they couldn’t hold living creatures. Yet Elder Yang’s hut could not only accommodate people for cultivation, but it also housed all sorts of exotic flowers, rare herbs, and colossal trees, many of which Ye Qingchen had never even seen before.

The moment he set foot inside, Ye Qingchen felt the Wood Attribute Energy in his Qi Sea stir restlessly.

Elder Yang led Ye Qingchen deeper inside, finally stopping before a massive ancient tree. It was hundreds of meters tall, with a trunk so thick it would take more than a dozen people to encircle it.

Pointing to a meditation cushion on the ground, Elder Yang said, "Sit cross-legged there and adjust your state. We’ll begin shortly."

Ye Qingchen nodded and sat cross-legged on the cushion. The instant he settled down, he felt countless streams of Wood Attribute Energy converge on him, and he quickly entered a Meditative State.

Elder Yang took out the brocade box and opened it with great care. He then began pointing around him, his fingers weaving through the air. A Formation of an indiscernible grade slowly activated and rose up.

The already rich Wood Attribute Energy in the air grew even more concentrated.

Elder Yang took a Spirit Pill from the brocade box and mumbled to himself, "This kid is really lucky. I found this Spirit Pill in a Secret Realm long ago. It helps a Martial Artist generate a cyclone in their Qi Sea to convert Attribute Energy. It’s precious, but no one could ever use it. I thought it was a useless treasure, but I never expected to meet someone like you, a freak with all five elements."

"Thankfully, the first Attribute Energy you comprehended was wood. The Wood Attribute provides a ceaseless supply of life force, which can neutralize the violent energy within this Spirit Pill. Otherwise, I would never have dared to give it to you."

Seeing Ye Qingchen was deep in his Meditative State, Elder Yang didn’t disturb him. Instead, he began to refine the Spirit Pill with his own Spiritual Energy right beside the boy.

The medicinal power of the Spirit Pill began to flow steadily into Ye Qingchen’s body.

Feeling the surging medicinal power enter his Qi Sea, Ye Qingchen awoke from his Meditative State. Elder Yang’s voice rang in his ears, "Don’t worry about a thing. Just focus on circulating your Cultivation Technique! I’ll handle feeding you the medicinal power. You just handle the pain!"

Hearing this, Ye Qingchen couldn’t help but shudder, cursing inwardly. Such irresponsible words. Only Elder Yang could say something so shameless!

The moment Elder Yang finished speaking, Ye Qingchen felt the medicinal power in his Qi Sea erupt. The energy rampaged relentlessly, feeling as if it would tear his Qi Sea to shreds. Endless, excruciating pain radiated from his Qi Sea.

Almost instantly, Ye Qingchen’s face turned deathly pale. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Elder Yang, however, was unconcerned. He believed Ye Qingchen could withstand this pain. After all, the agony from the Divine Light Bestowal had been just as severe, and Ye Qingchen had managed to endure that for so long. Compared to that, this was nothing.

Thus, instead of stopping, Elder Yang actually accelerated the Refinement of the Spirit Pill.

Ye Qingchen clenched his jaw and endured the excruciating pain, biting his lip so hard that it bled. Still, he persisted, focusing all his will on circulating the Divine Wood Technique.

As the medicinal power wreaked havoc, a tiny vortex slowly began to form inside Ye Qingchen’s Qi Sea. With each rotation, the vortex drew in Ye Qingchen’s original Spiritual Energy and transformed it into pure Wood Attribute Energy.

As the vortex grew larger, the rate of this transformation grew faster and faster.

「Outside, on the path of Shenmu Academy’s low mountain.」

Zi Xing cautiously ascended the low mountain and entered Shenmu Academy.

Ever since being teased by Li Nian’er, Zi Xing had wanted to find Ye Qingchen, but she didn’t dare set foot in Shenmu Academy for fear of running into the girl. Zi Xing had experienced Li Nian’er’s unfiltered mouth firsthand.

However, with the examination for the four major academies approaching, Zi Xing couldn’t hold back any longer. She had to find Ye Qingchen so they could go together.

Upon arriving at Shenmu Academy, Zi Xing didn’t see any sign of Li Nian’er, and she quietly breathed a sigh of relief. But then she discovered that there wasn’t a soul in sight at the academy, which put her in a difficult position.

Thinking of the courage it had taken her to come, she worried she wouldn’t dare return if she left now. So, Zi Xing decided to wait in the courtyard.

She waited for an entire day. It wasn’t until late at night that Zi Xing finally sighed and prepared to leave.

Just then, she saw Ye Qingchen’s figure walking toward Shenmu Academy. Her heart leaped with joy, and she ran toward him.

"Junior Brother Ye, why are you just now getting back?" Zi Xing asked without thinking. Realizing her question made it obvious she had been waiting a long time, she quickly corrected herself. "The notice for the four major academies’ examination is out. I was worried you hadn’t heard, so I came to tell you."

Ye Qingchen nodded and invited Zi Xing inside the gates of Shenmu Academy.

After the two found a place to sit, Ye Qingchen couldn’t help but start cursing Elder Yang in his mind. It turned out that he and Elder Yang were supposed to return to the academy together after finishing their training. But when they reached the foot of the low mountain, the old man suddenly told him that his ’little lover’ was waiting for him and that, at his age, he didn’t want to be a third wheel. With that excuse, he’d sent Ye Qingchen back alone. He had always thought of his relationship with Zi Xing as a purely platonic one between a senior sister and a junior brother. How did it become ’little lover’ in Elder Yang’s mouth? Truly an undignified old man! And if the elder weren’t so unreliable, would Senior Sister Zi Xing really have to come all the way out here in the middle of the night just to tell me about the examination?

After Ye Qingchen and Zi Xing sat down, he sensed the aura coming from her and exclaimed in surprise, "Senior Sister Zi Xing, you’ve broken through to the Martial Emperor Realm?"

Zi Xing nodded and said plainly, "I was already at the Peak of the Martial King Realm, so a breakthrough was to be expected. You, on the other hand, Junior Brother Ye... in just two months, you’ve reached the peak of the Seventh Layer of the Martial King Realm. It seems Headmaster Yang really knows how to train disciples."

Ye Qingchen pursed his lips. He disagreed with her assessment internally but offered no explanation.

Zi Xing continued, "Junior Brother Ye, tomorrow, the academy will activate the Teleportation Array. It will take all of us participating in the examination to Tianzhou City to compete for a spot in the Devil’s Cave trials!"