Chapter 538: Encountering a Conflict

If everything consumed were converted into Profound Coins, the hundred-plus Fifth Grade Pills would be valued at over one billion, the nearly thirty Sixth Grade Pills at three billion, and the more than one thousand mid-grade Profound Stones at over one billion as well.

By a rough estimate, this cultivation session alone, not counting the Gumo Menglan Pill, had cost Ye Xuan nearly five to six billion Profound Coins.

That was almost the price of two Tier Seven King Level Profound Soldiers.

The cost of two King Level Profound Soldiers for a single cultivation session—if word of this got out, it would surely stun everyone.

Ye Xuan gave a wry smile. The Nine Profound World-Defying Art he practiced was certainly powerful, but its resource consumption was just as astonishing. This session had used up the vast majority of his resources, leaving him with next to nothing.

However, considering his strength had leaped from Tier Five Third Layer all the way to Tier Six Second Layer, he had to admit it was a worthwhile exchange.

To the current Ye Xuan, no treasure was more important than raising his own strength.

After his cultivation breakthrough, Ye Xuan didn’t rush to leave. Instead, he began to cultivate his Profound Sense and Soul Sense.

Previously, the limits of his cultivation base had restricted his Profound Sense and Soul Sense to the early-to-mid Sixth Grade. Now, with his breakthrough, he could seize the opportunity to raise them further.

This was something Ye Xuan had already considered before his breakthrough.

When he was in the refinement chamber with Dongfang Zisi, of the ten batches of Sixth Grade Pills Ye Xuan had concocted, four were for enhancing Profound Power, two for Profound Sense cultivation, two for Soul Sense cultivation, and two were Healing Pills.

After spending two days consuming all the pills, both his Profound Sense and Soul Sense had reached the Peak of Sixth Grade.

WHOOSH!

Letting out a long breath, a hint of pleasant surprise appeared in Ye Xuan’s eyes.

Although his Profound Sense and Soul Sense hadn’t broken through to the Seventh Grade, reaching the Peak of Sixth Grade had already made them more than twice as strong as before.

’Sixth Grade to Seventh Grade is a watershed. A breakthrough at this stage depends on opportunity.’

Ye Xuan was well aware that for his Profound Sense and Soul Sense to break through to the Seventh Grade, cultivation alone was not enough; it required all sorts of opportunities. Forget a Tier Six Second Layer Martial Venerable like him—even in the Profound Domain, there were plenty of Soul Refiners at the Martial Emperor Level whose Soul Sense was stuck at the Peak of Sixth Grade.

’My Profound Sense and Soul Sense have both improved. Time to refine some treasures.’

The first thing Ye Xuan did was take out his Zhenyuan Stone.

Although he had obtained this Zhenyuan Stone from the imperial palace of the tiny Liuyun Kingdom, the more Ye Xuan refined it, the more extraordinary he found it to be.

After his Soul Sense broke through to the Peak of Sixth Grade, Ye Xuan once again overcame many of the Restrictions within the Zhenyuan Stone that he had previously been unable to refine.

WENG!

The Zhenyuan Stone emitted a hazy black light, and a sense of perfect control, as if it were an extension of his own arm, bloomed in Ye Xuan’s mind. The sheer power of its aura was enough to startle even him.

’Just what level of Profound Treasure is this Zhenyuan Stone? Its aura is already on par with some Seventh Grade Profound Treasures, and the crucial thing is, I still haven’t fully refined all the Restrictions inside it.’

When he first obtained the Zhenyuan Stone, Ye Xuan had thought it was at least a Seventh Grade Profound Treasure. Who knew, looking at it now, that it might be even more than that. What Ye Xuan couldn’t understand was how such a treasure had appeared in the tiny Liuyun Kingdom.

Next, Ye Xuan carefully reviewed the Nine Profound World-Defying Art, the Nine Revolutions Sacred Body, the Divine Spirit Gaze, as well as cultivation techniques like the Formless Soul Skill, North Nether Divine Skill, and Star Derivation Divine Skill.

He had cultivated several of these techniques in his past life, so reviewing them was a familiar process. However, he spent some extra time on techniques like the Nine Profound World-Defying Art.

The more Ye Xuan practiced the Nine Profound World-Defying Art, the more he realized how frighteningly powerful it was.

Within his body, dense Profound Power circulated frantically, filling his ten Profound Veins. Specks of starlight twinkled within this Profound Power, which pulsed with a strength that seemed far beyond what a Tier Six cultivator should possess.

After improving on all fronts, Ye Xuan finally stepped out of his courtyard.

In total, Ye Xuan had been cultivating for seven days, and in that time, his strength had undergone an astonishing transformation.

Stepping into the outside world again, Ye Xuan felt as if a lifetime had passed.

’The next time I run into that old geezer, Crazy Battle, it won’t be so easy for him.’

Ye Xuan clenched his fists, a cold smirk playing on his lips.

"Have you heard? A couple of real powerhouses have emerged from this year’s new students."

Just then, voices from a nearby discussion drifted over.

"Who are you talking about?"

"Who else? Lin Yuan and Dongfang Zisi, of course!"

"Oh, them. Those two really are impressive. They’ve only been in the Inner Courtyard for a few days, haven’t they? And they’ve already reached the fifth floor of the Trial Tower. They’re not losing out to a lot of the veteran Inner Courtyard disciples."

"These new students are all crazy ever since they joined the Inner Courtyard. The moment they get a chance to enter the Trial Tower, they just keep challenging it. I heard a few of those freshmen are camped out by the tower every day, just waiting for an opportunity."

"Heh, if we’re talking impressive, there’s an even more ridiculous case among the freshmen. That Xuan Ye guy. He defeated Feng Yu on his very first day in the Inner Courtyard. He’s a total monster."

"Hmph. Why even bring that guy up? He’s turned our Gale Light Academy into a complete mess by making an enemy of the Profound Mystery Sect. If you ask me, the academy should’ve expelled him. Letting him into the Inner Courtyard was just asking for trouble."

"Forget it. Let’s not talk about him. Just thinking about it is annoying."

The few senior students walked past as they talked, their voices fading into the distance.

’Dongfang Zisi actually made it to the fifth floor? It seems she must have broken through to become a Martial Venerable.’

Ye Xuan’s interest was piqued, and he immediately began walking toward the Trial Tower. To be honest, after his breakthrough, he was also eager to find out just how far up the Trial Tower he could go.

Before long, Ye Xuan arrived at the Inner Courtyard’s Trial Tower.

As soon as he entered the main hall, Ye Xuan was greeted by a bustling scene.

As he looked around, he saw that the entire hall was bustling with students, a dense crowd of several dozen people.

This was the first time Ye Xuan had seen so many students gathered in one place in the Inner Courtyard.

After all, the Inner Courtyard students’ training was more solitary; it was rare for them to gather in such large groups.

"Xuan Ye, you’re here."

Not long after he entered, Ye Xuan spotted Dongfang Zisi, Lin Yuan, and the others in a corner. As he looked their way, they also saw him and immediately came over, pleasantly surprised.

It wasn’t just them; the other students had also noticed the newly arrived Xuan Ye.

"Look, that’s Xuan Ye!"

"He’s the one who offended the Profound Mystery Sect and dragged our Gale Light Academy into this mess?"

"I heard he defeated Feng Yu right after joining. He looks really young, not even twenty, right? You really can’t judge a book by its cover."

"What’s that got to do with anything? I heard that because of him, the academy was afraid the Profound Mystery Sect would sabotage the survival assessment, so they specifically moved it to the Endless Mountain Range. The result was catastrophic casualties, and even Senior Lv Feng died there."

"Stay away from him. That guy is a walking disaster."

Murmurs of discussion rose from every corner as students watched Ye Xuan with expressions of gloating and ridicule.

Many of the students had a poor impression of Xuan Ye, and even more looked at him with contempt.

"Xuan Ye, don’t pay any attention to them," Dongfang Zisi said, displeased, as she pulled him aside.

As their hands touched, Dongfang Zisi’s was cool while Ye Xuan’s was quite warm. The contact made her heart skip a beat.

"Heh, Dongfang Zisi, congratulations on becoming a Tier Six Martial Venerable."

Ye Xuan, of course, paid no mind to the gossip. Sensing the surging Profound Power emanating from Dongfang Zisi, he couldn’t help but smile.

It seemed Dongfang Zisi’s foundation was also incredibly deep; a single Gumo Menglan Pill had actually allowed her cultivation to break through directly to the Peak of Tier Six First Layer.

"That’s thanks to you," Dongfang Zisi said, lowering her head. "Thank you."

For some reason, Dongfang Zisi had recently found herself unable to meet Ye Xuan’s eyes. Whenever she did, her heart would start to pound uncontrollably.

"Xuan Ye, we haven’t seen you for a whole week! Dongfang Zisi said you were in seclusion. You must have broken through, right? Let me see... Huh? You... this is..."

Lin Yuan walked up enthusiastically, but he trailed off mid-sentence, his eyes going wide.

The aura emanating from Ye Xuan was profound and deep, not the least bit weaker than his own.

"You broke through to the Tier Six Second Layer? But..."

In just seven days, Ye Xuan had gone from Tier Five Third Layer all the way to Tier Six Second Layer. This speed left Lin Yuan utterly shocked.

Dongfang Zisi also noticed Ye Xuan’s cultivation level at this point, and her mouth fell open in astonishment.

Xiang Wenshan, standing to the side, was also dumbfounded.

"So you’re Xuan Ye."

Just then, a sinister voice cut in. Three arrogant-looking young men with imposing auras were walking straight toward them.

"It’s Meng Qing."

"I hear Meng Qing and Feng Yu are close. Is he here to get revenge for Feng Yu?"

"Hehe, now we’ve got a show to watch."

Seeing this, many students grew excited and turned to watch.

Meng Qing’s cultivation was at the Peak of Tier Six Second Layer. Among the Inner Courtyard disciples, while not at the very top, he was in the upper ranks and quite a bit stronger than Feng Yu.

Because of the incident with the Profound Mystery Sect, Xuan Ye’s name was famous throughout the Inner Courtyard; there was hardly anyone who didn’t know of him.

However, many students weren’t fond of him. Some were particularly annoyed by his actions, which had provoked the Profound Mystery Sect.

Now, seeing Meng Qing step forward to challenge him, they were thrilled.

In another corner of the hall, several students with extraordinary auras sat cross-legged, cultivating with their eyes closed and occupying a large area.

Strangely, however, no other students dared to approach them, creating a vacuum around them.

Hearing the commotion, these students also opened their eyes one by one and glanced over indifferently.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Faced with Meng Qing’s provocation, Ye Xuan, unexpectedly, couldn’t be bothered to respond. He didn’t even spare the three of them a single glance.