Chapter 567: Chapter 567: The Secret Realm of the Ten Ancient Clans

It was Ye Qingchen’s first time fighting a Green Flame Blast Cloud Monkey, a Martial Emperor Realm beast. He quickly discovered that while the monkey’s strength was comparable to a human at the second layer of the Martial Emperor Realm, its actual combat power was still slightly inferior to the Boulder Demon Ape King he had faced during the Inner Sect Disciple assessment.

Back then, Ye Qingchen had only been at the fourth layer of the Martial King Realm, yet he had managed to defeat the Boulder Demon Ape King. Now, he had reached the seventh layer of the Martial King Realm and had even mastered the use of nature’s spiritual energy.

Therefore, after landing two successful strikes, Ye Qingchen naturally seized the opportunity. He engaged the Green Flame Blast Cloud Monkey in close combat, paying no mind to the rescued disciple’s astonished expression.

A beast’s intelligence, after all, was no match for a human’s. In terms of raw strength, it was also outmatched by Ye Qingchen, so he finished off the Green Flame Blast Cloud Monkey before him in short order.

The rescued disciple stared blankly at the scene, only snapping out of it when Ye Qingchen walked up to him. He hurriedly spoke, "Ye Qingchen, thank you for saving me. My name is Cao Zong..."

Before Cao Zong could finish, Ye Qingchen cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Senior Brother Cao, there’s no need for courtesy. We’re teammates; it’s what I should do. Now isn’t the time for pleasantries. Let’s go help our other teammates first."

After speaking, Ye Qingchen rejoined the fray. Seeing that Ye Qingchen didn’t blame him, Cao Zong felt an even deeper sense of guilt. Nevertheless, he followed Ye Qingchen’s lead and threw himself back into the battle.

With Ye Qingchen’s participation, the tide of battle instantly turned into a one-sided slaughter.

Ye Qingchen’s speed in slaying the Green Flame Blast Cloud Monkeys was even faster than the combined efforts of the two disciples at the second layer of the Martial King Realm.

This sight left the other members of the squad completely stunned.

Within just a few minutes, all eight Green Flame Blast Cloud Monkeys had been killed. Among the ten people in the squad, only one cultivator at the first layer of the Martial Emperor Realm had suffered a minor injury.

But no one felt the joy of victory. Instead, they all hung their heads in dejection, unable to meet Ye Qingchen’s gaze.

After that battle, everyone understood Ye Qingchen’s true strength; he was undoubtedly the strongest person on the team.

They recalled how they had looked down on him from the very beginning, treating him as a burden. Some had even taunted him with sarcasm. Yet, in the end, they were all saved by him. Each of them was so ashamed they didn’t know where to look.

If Ye Qingchen hadn’t intervened against those eight Green Flame Blast Cloud Monkeys, any victory the team might have achieved would have been a Pyrrhic one. Only a handful of them would have likely remained in the Secret Realm.

Finally, Li Chunsheng broke the awkward silence. "Junior Brother Ye, it was we who were blind to your greatness. Please don’t take offense."

Ye Qingchen smiled and shook his head. "Senior Brother Li, you’re too kind. Everyone is just trying to secure a good ranking for our academy, so it’s only natural to be selective about teammates. I’m just a Martial King Realm cultivator, so it’s understandable that I was looked down on. But didn’t you all accept me and form a team with me in the end?"

Li Chunsheng gave a wry smile. "I’ve always heard that our academy has a mysterious branch, the Shenmu Academy, and that its disciples are all monsters. Seeing you in action today, Junior Brother Ye, I can see the reputation is well-deserved. I’ve never seen anyone possess such combat power while still in the Martial King Realm."

Li Chunsheng glanced at the others before continuing, "You’ve all witnessed Junior Brother Ye’s strength. It’s no longer appropriate for me to hold this position. I propose we make Junior Brother Ye our new leader. Does anyone object?"

After Li Chunsheng spoke, the group fell into a brief silence. It was Cao Zong who was the first to cry out, "I agree! I agree to make Junior Brother Ye the leader!"

With Cao Zong breaking the ice, the others quickly voiced their agreement.

Ye Qingchen didn’t refuse. Elder Yang had tasked him with winning the championship, and they had already faced a perilous situation just after entering the Secret Realm. It was clear that Li Chunsheng wasn’t suited to be the team leader.

After agreeing to take the role, Ye Qingchen didn’t rush to issue any commands. Instead, he voiced a question that had been nagging him since he entered the Secret Realm.

Zi Xing had come to see him the night before, telling him clearly that the assessment was to take place in Tianzhou City. Why, then, had they been transported directly from the Central Celestial Academy into a Secret Realm?

Back then, everyone looked down on him, so he knew asking would be pointless. Now, however, was the perfect opportunity. He turned to Li Chunsheng and asked, "Senior Brother Li, I heard that our assessment location was supposed to be Tianzhou City, correct?"

Li Chunsheng nodded. "You heard that too, Junior Brother Ye? That’s right. Just yesterday, the deans of the various academies all believed the assessment would be in Tianzhou City. I entered the inner courtyard a bit earlier and was later selected for the Zhongtian Academy, so I get some inside information."

Li Chunsheng’s words piqued everyone’s curiosity, as Ye Qingchen’s question was on all of their minds.

Li Chunsheng continued in a hushed, mysterious tone, "The location originally agreed upon by the four major academies was indeed Tianzhou City. As you can all see, this Secret Realm was definitely not built in a hurry. Today, Dean Mu claimed it was a joint effort by the four academies, but that was just to keep the students from worrying. In reality, this Secret Realm wasn’t built by the academies at all. It was provided by a powerful expert from one of the Ten Ancient Clans!"

"The Ten Ancient Clans?" Ye Qingchen was extremely sensitive to those words and couldn’t help but exclaim in shock.

Li Chunsheng nodded and went on, "The Ten Ancient Clans heard that the four academies were holding an assessment to send fresh blood to the Demon Clan battlefield. They specially offered this Secret Realm for our temporary use. It’s said that this place is filled with all sorts of opportunities that can help a Martial Artist grow rapidly. After discussing it, the academies figured, why not seize an opportunity that allows them to both select disciples and help them grow stronger? The other three academies all agreed and changed the assessment location to here at the last minute."

Cao Zong nodded thoughtfully. "Listening to you, Senior Brother, this sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it? But why would the dean hide it from us?"

Li Chunsheng shook his head. "That part, I don’t know. I only heard that our Central Celestial Academy was against using this Secret Realm. Because control of the realm is in the hands of the Ten Ancient Clans, we are merely borrowing it. If the clans decided to pull any tricks, the four academies would be powerless to stop them in time."

Another disciple spoke up dismissively, "The Ten Ancient Clans hold such a revered status. If they wanted to harm the four academies, they certainly wouldn’t stoop to using such underhanded methods."

Ye Qingchen remained silent. He never expected this assessment would have ties to the Ten Ancient Clans.

Is this a coincidence, or was it planned all along? For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this.