The carriage sped onward as time flew by. A month had passed since Mu Chen gave the Gathering Essence Pills to the students of Demon Castle.

That day, a startling wave of Primordial Power suddenly erupted from the Cultivation Room of Room 203. The fluctuation startled Mo Qing, Little Tiger, Ye Shuangshuang, and Qing Lei, rousing all four from their cultivation at the same time.

After stepping out of their rooms, Ye Shuangshuang said, "That’s coming from Brother Mu Chen’s Cultivation Room."

Qing Lei nodded. "That’s right. This disturbance doesn’t seem to be Primordial Power from a Combat Skill, but... a breakthrough..."

"Brother Mu Chen broke through, too?" Little Tiger said with delight.

Thanks to the Gathering Essence Pills from Mu Chen, Little Tiger had broken through several levels within his Martial Artist Realm in the past month, reaching the rank of Three-Ring Grand Martial Master. Mo Qing became a Four-Ring Grand Martial Master, as did Qing Lei and Ye Shuangshuang. Their progress was truly astonishing. The only thing that puzzled them was that Mu Chen had cultivated more diligently and for longer than any of them, yet he hadn’t broken through a single level all month. Now that he finally had, the four of them were naturally thrilled for him.

Inside the Cultivation Room, a massive storm of Primordial Power swirled around Mu Chen. However, the storm was now gradually subsiding, revealing Mu Chen lying on his side and savoring the feeling.

’I broke through.’

With a faint smile, Mu Chen flicked his wrist. A silver light shot out with a SWISH. It was the Shattered Star Lock Chain, which he hadn’t summoned in a month. The chain now looked vastly different. First, its color was more dazzling and brilliant. Second, there were now two golden rings of light below its Spiral Blade.

"It really reached the Second Transition!"

Mu Chen exclaimed in surprise. The first golden ring had appeared after his fight with Aiolos, but at the time, he didn’t know what it meant. Only yesterday, after communicating with Broken Star through his will, had he finally understood. It was the characteristic mark of a Nine-Turn Immortal Treasure’s transition. With each transition, the Immortal Treasure would become several times more powerful. Seeing the second ring appear, Mu Chen marveled. ’It seems when it rains, it pours.’

Recalling Broken Star to his wrist, Mu Chen opened the door to the Cultivation Room. The moment he stepped out, he saw Little Tiger, Qing Lei, Ye Shuangshuang, and Mo Qing all smiling at him. Mu Chen asked, "What are you all doing here?"

Ye Shuangshuang laughed. "We came to congratulate you on your breakthrough, Brother Mu Chen."

Mu Chen was a bit speechless. "Er, thanks. Your own Martial Artist Realms have all jumped at least three levels, though. It seems the Gathering Essence Pills were incredibly effective. How’s everyone else at Demon Castle?"

Qing Lei said, "Thanks to the Gathering Essence Pills, everyone at Demon Castle has made huge strides. Even the person with the least aptitude broke through two levels in their Martial Artist Realm this past month. The one who improved the most was a bit of a surprise—it was Qiu He. He actually broke through seven levels in a row, reaching the rank of Ninth-Ring Martial Master. I have no idea how that kid pushed himself so hard. On top of that, Instructor Ling Yun gave him a Martial Power Pill yesterday. If nothing unexpected happens, Demon Castle will have another Grand Martial Master."

"That is a bit surprising. Breaking through seven levels in the Martial Artist Realm... It seems he’s been training relentlessly under a strict regimen. You all need to work hard, too, or he might catch up," Mu Chen said with a serious expression.

"Yes, Captain Mu Chen!" the four replied in unison.

Mu Chen shook his head with a helpless smile. "Today is the opening day of the monthly tournament, and that guy, He Long, should be arriving at the Imperial Academy soon. Let’s get ready. It’s time to win some glory for Demon Castle."

With that, Mu Chen started walking downstairs. Behind him, the faces of the other four lit up with anticipation. This would be their first chance to make a name for themselves at the academy.

Outside the city gates of the Xuanling Empire, an incredibly luxurious carriage slowly rolled in. In front of it, a man and a woman scanned their surroundings. The man’s eyes filled with disdain and arrogance as he looked at the surrounding shops, while the woman seemed moved by some emotion. This was the entourage of He Long, the exchange student from the Celestial Eagle Empire.

"Home at last," Yan Ruoshui said, taking a deep breath of the air and looking thoroughly refreshed.

Tang Hao chuckled lightly. "Yeah, we’re home."

The carriage curtain was pulled aside just a crack, and a pair of sharp eyes glanced out. After a single look, the curtain fell back into place, concealing them once more.

"A lower-class Empire is what it is. This environment is so foul and barren. They even have street stalls like this. It’s just like a small town in our Empire. Looks like I’m going to have a very bad year." He Long’s expression was that of someone who had just entered a desolate mountain village. Xuan Yu could only suck up to him, offering words of praise.

The Imperial Academy was already buzzing with a deafening roar of voices. The preliminary round for the competition was, once again, being held on the academy’s plaza. Just like during the enrollment selections at the start of the term, one hundred arenas were set up, though they had clearly been reinforced this time. The format had also changed. The academy recruitment had used a one-on-one gauntlet-style fight, but this event was based on team participation.

Teams were fixed at six members. If a team had only five people, their six-person opponent would have to sit one member out to keep the fight fair. This rule was for the sake of fairness, since the academy’s total student body wasn’t a perfect multiple of six. Each arena was assigned a number. Once the competition began, every team would draw an arena number and proceed there for a one-on-one team matchup. Elimination would be based on the results of both individual and group battles.

However, winning a single match on the arena stage didn’t mean a team had advanced. Ten teams were assigned to each arena, and they wouldn’t be eliminated in a king-of-the-hill format. Instead, they would draw lots again to be paired off, a process that would produce five winning teams. Those five would then draw lots once more. One team would get a bye, advancing directly to the arena’s final round. The remaining four teams would draw lots again and be paired off for two more matches. The winners of those two matches would then compete against each other to determine who would face the team with the bye in the final.

Thus, it was a competition that tested both strength and luck.

By the time Mu Chen, Mo Qing, and the others arrived at the plaza, most of the other students were already there. Although Demon Castle was in opposition to the Holy Hall, it was still considered part of the academy’s "outer circle," so its students stood in the same area as the general student body.

About an hour later, the Holy Hall Students emerged from their building. Now, every student in the academy was present. As his eyes swept over the Holy Hall’s contingent, Mu Chen immediately spotted a breathtakingly beautiful girl in a black dress. As if by telepathy, the girl looked back at him, her eyes filled with a warm smile.

"Students and instructors, it looks like everyone has arrived!"

Just then, a coarse voice boomed from the high platform. Mu Chen glanced up and saw it was none other than Deputy Director Zhun Cang, whom he hadn’t seen in over a month. No one knew what mission Deputy Director Zhun had been on, but he had only reappeared on campus yesterday. Mu Chen had been rather surprised to see him. In the month he’d been gone, not only had the Deputy Director’s bald head gotten even more bald, but he had also become several shades darker. Di Cang and Instructor Ling Yun stood beside him, both shooting him strange, sidelong glances.

All the students looked up, their faces filled with confusion. Someone asked, "Hey man, who is that? I’ve never seen him before."

"I haven’t either. Is he a new instructor, like Instructor Ling Yun used to be?" the student who was asked replied.

"I feel like he looks familiar, like I’ve seen him somewhere before," another student remarked.

"Really?"

"..."

"It’s been a while! I am your Deputy Director, Zhun Cang. Last month, the academy assigned me a mission, so I was away for a month. Seeing you all now, it feels like an eternity has passed. I am eagerly looking forward to seeing just how much you’ve all grown in my absence!" Zhun Cang’s voice was loud and clear, but his words left all the students below utterly flabbergasted.

"Holy crap, it’s really Deputy Director Zhun..." one student said, his face darkening.

"We should’ve recognized that shiny bald head, really," another student chimed in. "It’s just that he looks like he’s been working in a coal mine. He’s as black as a piece of charcoal."

"Heh heh, I used to be terrified of him. Now that I can’t even make out his expression, he’s not so scary anymore."

It turned out Zhun Cang was so deeply tanned that from a distance, no one could make out his facial features, as if he were just a silhouette.

Mu Chen rubbed his nose and murmured, "Isn’t He Long supposed to arrive today? Looks like Deputy Director Zhun is going to be a special welcoming gift for our honored guest."

The instant the words left his mouth, a carriage escorted by several guards entered the grounds of the Imperial Academy. Mu Chen turned to look, and the first people he saw were none other than Tang Hao and Yan Ruoshui, riding on horseback at the head of the procession.

’So it’s them...’ Mu Chen was stunned for a moment, then a smile touched his lips. ’It really has been a long time.’

The carriage proceeded onto the plaza before coming to a slow stop. Tang Hao and Yan Ruoshui dismounted and bowed toward Dean Qin, who was standing in the distance before the Holy Hall Students. "Dean Qin, we have fulfilled our duty," they said, bowing. "We have safely escorted His Highness He Long to the academy."

Dean Qin looked toward the opulent carriage and smiled. "Thank you for your hard work."

Just then, He Long stepped out of the carriage, guided by Xuan Yu. The moment he appeared, his radiant, handsome face captured the hearts of many of the girls present.

He Long wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "So this is the Imperial Academy? What terrible facilities."

His voice was neither loud nor soft, but since the entire plaza had fallen silent to watch him, his words reached everyone’s ears, instantly drawing a wave of frowns.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Zhun Cang, who was still on the high platform, hurriedly boomed, "Welcome, student He Long from the Celestial Eagle Empire, to our Xuanling Empire! In the coming year, I hope you can all coexist in harmony, make progress together, and learn from each other’s national teaching methods!"

He Long looked around, searching for the source of the voice. After a moment, he asked in confusion, "Who was that speaking?"

Zhun Cang: "..."