Chapter 569: Chapter 569: The Team of Ping Tian Academy

However, what they did not expect was that a crisis was quietly approaching their team.

Li Kai, an Inner Sect Disciple of Pingtian Academy, was Li Rui’s cousin from the same clan. He had always envied and been jealous of Li Rui’s position at the Saint Heir’s side. He had asked Li Rui multiple times to introduce him to the Saint Heir, but he was always rejected.

Li Kai even came to believe that Li Rui was deliberately keeping him away from the Saint Heir, and he held a grudge over it.

Unexpectedly, a few days ago, he suddenly received a voice transmission from Li Rui. It stated that the Saint Heir had a task for him, and if he could handle it well, winning the Saint Heir’s favor would only be a matter of time.

Overjoyed, Li Kai quickly asked Li Rui what the task was. When he learned that the Saint Heir wanted him to eliminate a student from Central Celestial Academy during the assessment, he was ecstatic.

In recent assessments among the four great academies, Central Celestial Academy had always placed last, while Pingtian Academy consistently ranked near the top. As a result, Li Kai had always looked down on the disciples of Central Celestial Academy with disdain.

Furthermore, Li Rui’s message added that the student he was to eliminate was merely in the Martial King Realm, which made him all the more scornful. Even though Li Rui repeatedly warned him not to judge Ye Qingchen by his Realm, the ever-arrogant Li Kai did not take it to heart.

Therefore, after receiving this mission, Li Kai had already begun fantasizing about the day he would stand beside the Saint Heir, wielding immense power.

After entering the Secret Realm, Li Kai immediately contacted Li Rui to ask about Ye Qingchen’s whereabouts. However, the Saint Heir had not given the order yet, so Li Rui did not dare act on his own. He simply told Li Kai to familiarize himself with the Secret Realm and hinted that he should move toward the southern region.

Therefore, when the Saint Heir finally gave the command, Li Kai happened to be near Ye Qingchen’s team. It was only natural, then, for Li Rui to pass the order to strike to Li Kai.

Li Kai himself was at the Third Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm, and the weakest members of his team were at the Second Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm. If they had focused on developing within the Secret Realm and searching for opportunities, they would have had a great chance of making it to the end and competing for the championship. However, compared to the prospect of following the Saint Heir, this assessment of the four great academies seemed utterly insignificant to Li Kai.

So, upon receiving Li Rui’s command, Li Kai immediately rushed toward Ye Qingchen’s group without a moment’s hesitation. With Li Rui directing him from in front of the light screen, finding Ye Qingchen was a piece of cake for Li Kai. In less than a quarter of an hour, he and his team arrived.

At that moment, Li Chunsheng and his group were still sitting around, chatting idly. The sudden appearance of Li Kai’s team left them utterly surprised.

"This is bad. It’s people from Pingtian Academy."

Cao Zong said with a worried expression, inwardly cursing their bad luck for encountering a team from a rival academy so soon.

Within their team, Li Chunsheng’s authority was second only to Ye Qingchen’s. Now that Ye Qingchen was inside the Illusion Array breaking the formation, Li Chunsheng had naturally become the team’s backbone. Seeing Li Kai’s group arrive, Li Chunsheng went on full alert and whispered to his teammates, "Everyone, don’t panic. Do you all remember the Combined Attack Formation that Junior Brother Ye taught us? Let’s form up and defend. It shouldn’t take Junior Brother Ye long to get out."

Everyone nodded at his words, but their hearts were heavy with worry. Although Ye Qingchen possessed combat power comparable to the Third Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm, the team before them had four members at that very level. In addition, another six at the Second Layer were glaring at them like tigers stalking their prey. Even if Ye Qingchen could hold off one of them, they were probably doomed facing such overwhelming strength.

They had all thought that by following Ye Qingchen, they could find more opportunities within the Secret Realm. Even if they were eliminated in the end, they would not leave empty-handed. None of them had expected to be targeted by Pingtian Academy so soon after entering the Secret Realm.

Li Kai looked at Li Chunsheng and the others. Not seeing Ye Qingchen’s figure among them, he frowned and asked, "Where did Ye Qingchen run off to? Hand him over, and I’ll let you all off the hook today."

Li Chunsheng was stunned. He had not expected the other party to be looking for Junior Brother Ye. This was the Secret Realm assessment, where team-based combat was the norm. For them to willingly offer to spare the rest of the group just to find Junior Brother Ye... This is completely illogical.

But there was no way Li Chunsheng would betray a fellow junior brother from his academy. Besides, without Ye Qingchen, their survival in this Secret Realm would be incredibly difficult.

So, Li Chunsheng snorted coldly and said, "Are all the disciples from Pingtian Academy this arrogant? You want us to betray our junior brother? Not a chance!"

"That’s right, not a chance!" the other disciples of Central Celestial Academy echoed indignantly.

Li Kai sneered. "So you’ve chosen to do this the hard way. A pathetic group like yours still has the nerve to participate in the assessment? Since you’ve refused the way out I offered, you can all just stay here!"

After speaking, Li Kai waved his hand at his teammates behind him. The disciples of Pingtian Academy immediately lunged toward Li Chunsheng’s group.

"Brothers and sisters, form the array!" Li Chunsheng shouted as he saw Pingtian Academy launch their attack.

This was the Combined Attack Formation Ye Qingchen had taught them specifically for emergencies. It could channel the power of the other members and focus it onto a single person. Hearing Li Chunsheng’s order, the disciples of Central Celestial Academy quickly performed their Seal Formulas. Following the formation Ye Qingchen had taught them, they channeled their Spiritual Energy into Li Chunsheng.

Li Chunsheng’s aura grew continuously, not stopping until it reached the Martial Emperor Realm Fourth Layer.

However, this boost only granted him the raw power of that layer. His own comprehension of nature’s spiritual energy and his personal insight into his Realm remained at the Second Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm. Therefore, even with his power greatly enhanced, he could not fully utilize the combat strength expected of a genuine Fourth Layer Martial Emperor.

In the blink of an eye, just as Li Chunsheng’s group finished setting up the formation, the attack from the Pingtian Academy members arrived. Li Chunsheng quickly thrust both palms forward, meeting the assault head-on.

The formation had another benefit: while concentrating power, it also evenly distributed the force of any incoming attack among all the members. Therefore, after Li Chunsheng blocked the attack, the Central Celestial Academy disciples each only took a single step back, otherwise unharmed.

When Li Kai saw them dare to resist, even using a formation to block his teammates, he sneered coldly, "You think this little formation can stop me?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"In your dreams!"