Chapter 472 481: Life and Death Arena

Ye Tian sat in meditation within the Cultivation Chamber. In his current state, he was like a corpse. Not only were there no fluctuations of Cultivation from his body, but even his life aura had completely vanished!

Ever since entering the Imperial City Academy, aside from having dinner with Zhang Xinlan, Ye Tian had spent all his time meditating in the Cultivation Chamber. The cause of his current state was entirely due to the Soul Refining Pearl.

At this very moment, Ye Tian had completely immersed his soul in the Soul Refining Pearl. If one could see deep within his soul, a cluster of Soul Fire was faintly pulsing. Although the pulse was not strong, the Energy hidden within was utterly terrifying.

Inside the Soul Refining Pearl, Ye Tian's soul had taken the form of a small, completely transparent figure, meditating silently just like his physical body in the outside world.

This was the origin of Ye Tian's soul, the absolute foundation required to cultivate the Power of Soul Origin!

And at this moment, beside the origin of Ye Tian's soul, there was the form of a girl who looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. This Soul Body was none other than that little rascal, Ye Rou. What Ye Tian had never realized was that his soul origin cultivation was already progressing at an impressive rate; now, with Ye Rou assisting him, the effect was multiplied several times over!

This was a scene that perhaps not even the Soul Emperor, creator of the Seven Extremes Soul Slash, could have anticipated. Furthermore, within the Soul Refining Pearl, one could not only cultivate Soul Power but also unleash Soul Skills. Besides achieving mastery through practice and comprehending deeper Realms within them, each time one's Soul Power was overdrawn from executing a Soul Slash, it would continue to grow stronger during recovery.

Of course, thanks to the Soul Refining Pearl's power, using the Seven Extremes Soul Slash here was not limited to once a year. As long as his Soul Power was restored, he could use it immediately and without any side effects.

「The next day.」

The morning mist had just dissipated as bright sunlight shone upon the mansion where Ye Tian resided. Just yesterday at dinner, Zhang Xinlan had given it a rather pleasant name: the Celestial Heart Mansion.

The meaning was obvious: it was a new name for the mansion formed by taking a word from each of their names—Tian from Ye Tian and Xin from Zhang Xinlan.

Feeling the warmth of the morning sun, the life aura around Ye Tian's body instantly returned, even stronger than before he had entered his state of Meditation. However, that terrifying fluctuation of Cultivation was fleeting, gone in a flash. As the sharp glint in Ye Tian's eyes faded and his gaze became as calm as still water, it was as if nothing had happened at all.

'The Soul Refining Pearl is incredibly powerful,' Ye Tian thought, the excitement on his face palpable. 'After just one night of cultivation, my Soul Power has made significant progress. And if I were to actually use the One Extreme Soul Annihilation Slash, there wouldn't be any severe aftereffects even if my Power of Soul Origin was completely drained. Most importantly... I've now mastered One Extremity Soul Destruction!'

He decided that from now on, while training his Combat Skills, he would also make more time to immerse his soul in the Soul Refining Pearl for cultivation.

Just as Ye Tian was mulling this over, Zhang Xinlan's voice came from outside the door. "Ye Tian, are you awake? May I come in?"

"Just a moment."

Ye Tian quickly washed up and changed into a fresh set of clothes before opening the door to let Zhang Xinlan in.

"What is it?" Ye Tian asked, a little surprised. Zhang Xinlan normally wouldn't disturb his cultivation.

"Ye Tian, we may have run into a bit of trouble," Zhang Xinlan said, her expression serious. "It's nothing major, and with our strength, it wouldn't be difficult to resolve completely. But you must remember our purpose here at the Imperial City Academy."

Ye Tian knew this full well.

"I understand. It's people from the Ouyang Clan, isn't it?" Ye Tian gave her a reassuring smile. "Heh, don't worry. I know what to do."

Raising his Cultivation wasn't Ye Tian's primary goal in coming to the Imperial City Academy. Given his current Realm, there was no one at the academy who could teach him much of anything.

Therefore, Ye Tian's purpose in coming to the Imperial City Academy was twofold. First, to study military tactics and Battle Arrays to prepare for dealing with people from the Holy Land. Second, to understand the intricate schemes and plots between the great clans. He needed to learn how to climb the ranks and ultimately crush his rivals, all without revealing his true strength.

Everything he did was in preparation for his future journey to the Holy Land; these were the survival skills he would need when facing powerful enemies.

'Elder Zhang and Elder Qing of Shen Li Palace, and Xinlan too... they've really gone to great lengths for my sake,' Ye Tian sighed to himself.

Seeing Ye Tian's smile, Zhang Xinlan relaxed and continued, "You don't need to be too concerned. The stage here is small, after all. For us, it's just a game—a game to make ourselves stronger."

"Yeah, I get it. Let's go take a look."

With that, Ye Tian and Zhang Xinlan left the mansion together.

A Spirit Gathering Array and a Silence Array were set up within the mansion, blocking all noise from the outside. But when Ye Tian and Zhang Xinlan stepped through the front gate, they saw a crowd of over a hundred people gathered there. At the center of the mob, a few men were shouting furiously, their expressions full of arrogance.

"Hmph! A greenhorn who just joined the academy dares to be so arrogant? I'm going to teach this piece of trash a lesson for our leader today!"

"He's just a worthless piece of trash at the Three Veins Realm. How did someone with such poor aptitude even get into the Imperial City Academy? Does he think he's worthy of standing among us? Utterly shameless!"

"Let's cripple his Cultivation first, then make him wish he were dead! Avenge Young Master Hongxiang!"

Among the seven or eight men leading the commotion, the most ferocious-looking one was a big, burly fellow with a full beard, about the same age as Ye Tian.

He was powerfully built, with a back as broad as a tiger's and a waist as thick as a bear's. His eyes were huge, and his Cultivation had already reached the Five Veins First Layer. His strength was quite impressive.

The moment Ye Tian stepped outside, the man glared at him and roared, "You're Ye Tian?!"

Ye Tian glanced at the big fellow, then swept his gaze over the seven or eight others who were clearly looking for trouble, and finally at the surrounding students who were happily watching the commotion, eager for it to escalate. He simply smiled, not saying a word.

Ye Tian recognized him at a glance. He wasn't from the Ouyang Clan. According to the information Zhang Xinlan had given him yesterday, his name was Li Longji. He had an impressive Cultivation, was nicknamed the Black Iron Tower, and was a top student in the Heavy Armor Soldier Series.

Li Longji's older brother was a War General Commander who had been promoted by the Ouyang Clan and was deeply indebted to them. Although Li Longji himself was talented, without the Ouyang Clan's backing, he never would have been able to enter the Imperial City Academy, much less achieve his current standing.

Seeing Li Longji, Ye Tian instantly understood why he was there; the same undoubtedly went for the other seven or eight men with him.

When Li Longji saw that Ye Tian remained silent, his eyes filled with a mocking amusement, he grew even more enraged. "Hey, kid, are you mute?!"

'It's not that I don't want to talk,' Ye Tian thought. 'It's that this Li Longji isn't even qualified to speak with me. In the entire Ouyang Clan, only Ouyang Yeyu poses a real threat. Other than her, the clan's influence in the Imperial City is my only other obstacle.'

'Everyone else is inconsequential. Wasting breath on people like this is just a waste of my learning time.'

Seeing Ye Tian still refuse to answer, Li Longji's anger boiled over. He bellowed, "You bastard, you dare to ignore me? Who the hell do you think you are? I was going to leave your worthless life for the Young Master to deal with, but it looks like that's changed! Hmph! Brothers, set up the Life and Death Arena! I'm going to slaughter this bastard myself today!"