After Li Chunshan finished speaking, the other Inner Sect Disciples reluctantly nodded. Just as he had said, Central Celestial Academy valued unity above all. With the Dean personally issuing an order, who would dare to expel Ye Qingchen at this time? They could only accept that their team was effectively one member short and consider themselves unlucky.

"Your name is Ye Qingchen, right?" Li Chunshan said, walking up to him. "Just stay behind the team and don’t cause any trouble. If danger arises, don’t expect anyone to save you. You’re on your own."

Indifferent to the team’s coldness, Ye Qingchen simply nodded in agreement.

Everyone then followed Li Chunshan’s lead, opened the door, and walked out. Upon leaving, the house vanished instantly, revealing a landscape of towering mountains that momentarily disoriented them.

Li Chunshan surveyed their surroundings. "The Dean said the first phase is an elimination round, and each academy can only have one team remaining. Our top priority is to find the other teams from Central Celestial Academy before others take advantage of our scattered state."

The other students all voiced their agreement, with the sole exception of Ye Qingchen, who thought otherwise.

In this situation, never mind the difficulty of finding the other Central Celestial Academy teams, what happens even if we do? Are we supposed to just hunt down teams from other academies to fight? The purpose of this assessment can’t be that simple. If it were, there would be no need for random teleportation; they could have just thrown everyone together for a massive brawl. Didn’t Mu Changfeng say that crisis and opportunity are intertwined? This stage is clearly meant for each team to adapt to the Secret Realm and seek their own fortunes. Rushing to find other teams now would not only waste this chance but also be incredibly dangerous if we run into hostile students from other academies.

But Ye Qingchen knew he had no say in this team, so he chose to remain silent.

Seeing no objections, Li Chunshan picked a random direction and began to lead the group. Although Martial Emperors could fly, it consumed a tremendous amount of Energy for those at lower levels and wasn’t necessarily faster than traveling on foot. Therefore, the group chose to walk.

However, some troublemakers still blamed the decision on Ye Qingchen. They claimed it was the fault of the Martial King Realm disciple for holding them back. If it weren’t for him, they could fly, gain a higher vantage point, and find the others much faster.

Ye Qingchen had no desire to argue with people who were just looking for trouble. Flying here is just asking to die. Sure, you can see farther from up high, but you also become an easy target for everyone. Only an idiot would think that’s a good idea. He understood they were just trying to feel important by belittling him. Instead of getting angry, he simply found them pathetic.

About an hour into their journey, Li Chunshan suddenly gestured for everyone to stop. The others looked at him, puzzled. "Be careful," Li Chunshan explained. "I sense the presence of fierce beasts nearby, and there are quite a few of them." He then shot a pointed look at Ye Qingchen. "Ye Qingchen, none of these beasts are below the Martial Emperor Realm. You’d better hide."

Ye Qingchen nodded. "Senior Brother, rest assured. I’ll take care of myself." He had already used his Dual Pupil Martial Soul to detect that the team had entered the territory of fierce beasts. Just as Li Chunshan said, there were eight of them, and they were rapidly approaching.

The other team members stopped their ridicule, their gazes fixed warily on the direction of the beasts’ aura.

Within moments, eight massive Green Flame Blast Cloud Monkeys appeared before them. The creatures stood over ten feet tall, wreathed in green flames. Their feet were snow-white, as if they were treading on clouds, and they constantly emanated an intimidating aura.

"Damn it! They’re Green Flame Blast Cloud Monkeys!" one of the disciples exclaimed in shock. "These beasts each have the strength of a human at the second layer of the Martial Emperor Realm! Our team only has three people at that level. How are we going to deal with them?"

Li Chunshan’s brow furrowed. "I’ll hold off two of them," he ordered. "Each of the first-layer Martial Emperors will take on one. The other two second-layer disciples, team up and focus on one monkey. You must kill it swiftly, then move to help the others eliminate the rest!"

With his orders given, Li Chunshan lunged toward the Green Flame Blast Cloud Monkeys, engaging two of them on his own. Though fearful, the remaining first-layer Martial Emperor disciples saw their leader in action and had no choice but to bite the bullet and charge forward as well.

Soon, only Ye Qingchen and the two second-layer Martial Emperor disciples were left behind. The team had already written off Ye Qingchen, and the two second-layer disciples were now looking for an opening to join the battle.

Ye Qingchen thought for a moment, deciding it wouldn’t be right to stand idly by while the others fought. Just then, he noticed that the very Inner Sect Disciple who had mocked him the most was already losing his fight. Having only recently broken through to the first-layer Martial Emperor Realm, he was quickly being overwhelmed by the second-layer beast. The other disciples were too busy with their own battles to spare any energy to help him.

The Inner Sect Disciple felt a wave of despair and helplessness. To be eliminated right after entering the Secret Realm... How will I ever explain this back at the academy?

The Green Flame Blast Cloud Monkey attacked relentlessly, swinging its massive claws. The disciple was forced back again and again. Forget fighting back; he could barely defend himself and wouldn’t last much longer.

Just as despair set in, the monkey before him was suddenly sent flying. Surprised, the disciple glanced behind him, assuming Li Chunshan had saved him. After all, he’s the only one in our group strong enough to send a Green Flame Blast Cloud Monkey flying. But to his utter astonishment, his savior wasn’t Li Chunshan. It was Ye Qingchen, the very person he had been looking down on.

The disciple immediately shook his head. It must be an illusion. But as the beast charged again, just as the disciple was about to defend himself, Ye Qingchen dashed forward and sent it flying once more with a single punch.

The Inner Sect Disciple’s eyes widened as he drew in a sharp, cold breath. "He’s... so powerful!"

This time, he was thoroughly shocked. Ye Qingchen, the liability I’ve been looking down on, is actually this strong! Remembering all the words he had used to ridicule Ye Qingchen, the disciple’s face began to burn with shame.