Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 581 Deadlock

Ye Qingchen forced himself to remain calm, sitting cross-legged on the ground with his eyes tightly closed.

He reviewed his current predicament from beginning to end once more. It was no longer a mere crisis—it was a complete and utter dead end.

No allies.

No way out.

All he faced was the siege from the three major academies.

The Spiritual Energy around him was still abundant, but he was surrounded on all sides by an energy barrier, preventing him from leaving. Nor could he find any opportunity to rapidly enhance his strength.

HUFF!

Ye Qingchen took a deep breath. Since he couldn’t rely on external forces, the only thing he could do now was bring himself to his absolute peak condition and perfect the energies he possessed.

He circulated his Cultivation Technique over and over, channeling his Soul Power and both his Martial Souls in succession. However, he quickly ceased this action. He was currently under the Saint Heir’s surveillance, and many of his abilities were not suitable for exposure right now. Otherwise, the Saint Heir would surely reveal all his methods to the disciples of the three major academies, leaving him with even less of a chance at victory.

After some deliberation, Ye Qingchen decided to cultivate the Unnamed Divine Technique first. After all, it was the only technique that could advance him further at this point. Given the improvement in his rank as an Array Master, along with the new insights he had gained recently, there was a good chance he could elevate the Unnamed Divine Technique by another layer in a short time. Although this wouldn’t guarantee him victory, it would allow him to raise his combat power to the next level.

「Inside the Jiang Ancient Clan」

The Saint Heir watched Ye Qingchen cultivating cross-legged on the light screen, a faint sneer curling his lips.

This youngster got lucky, managing to break through to the eighth layer of the Martial King Realm while unconscious. But that’s as far as he’ll go!

The Saint Heir refused to believe that Ye Qingchen’s strength could increase again without any external help. Even if it did, it would at most reach the ninth layer of the Martial King Realm.

And so what? After the initial screening, the disciples who entered the finals would all be at least at the third layer of the Martial Emperor Realm. After the various opportunities in the first stage of the Secret Realm, the Saint Heir was confident he could train half of them to the fourth layer of the Martial Emperor Realm.

At that point, Ye Qingchen would have to face thirty such masters. Even if he had a stroke of incredible luck and broke through another layer, death would still be certain. Moreover, the Saint Heir didn’t think Ye Qingchen could be that fortunate again.

Just then, an excited Li Rui ran up to the Saint Heir and said respectfully, "Your Highness, the Saint Heir, I have good news for you."

Under normal circumstances, Li Rui would never dare to interrupt the Saint Heir’s contemplation. However, he believed the news he brought would surely please the Saint Heir, which was why he had boldly spoken up.

The Saint Heir smiled slightly and glanced at Li Rui. "I hope you have good news. Otherwise, you know the consequences for interrupting my thoughts."

Li Rui’s body shook violently. A single look from the Saint Heir was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat. Nevertheless, he spoke. "Reporting to the Saint Heir, two disciples, one from Dengtian Academy and one from Qitian Academy, have now reached the fourth layer of the Martial Emperor Realm. They are also on the verge of grasping Attribute Energy. I believe it won’t be long before they break through to the fifth layer of the Martial Emperor Realm and fully master it!"

Upon hearing Li Rui’s report, the Saint Heir was visibly moved, and a smile soon reappeared on his face.

A moment later, the Saint Heir instructed Li Rui, "Go now and inform the deans of the four major academies that the Jiang Ancient Clan will broadcast all battles of the finals. Since Elder Yang wants fairness, I will let him watch how his disciple dies helplessly under fair rules!"

Seeing that the Saint Heir did not blame him, Li Rui let out a huge sigh of relief. He bowed to the Saint Heir and then turned to leave.

The Saint Heir then focused the light screen on the two disciples Li Rui had mentioned and indeed sensed Attribute Energy faintly fluctuating around them.

In that case, let This Holy Son give you a helping hand, the Saint Heir thought.

He lightly tapped the light screen with his finger, and two premium Spirit Pills exuding a rich fragrance fell beside the disciples. At the same time, the Saint Heir’s voice appeared in their minds, "These Spirit Pills can help you quickly master Attribute Energy. Consume them as soon as possible and ensure you break through to the fifth layer of the Martial Emperor Realm!"

The two disciples were exhilarated upon hearing the Saint Heir’s voice. They had never expected to personally receive Spirit Pills from him. Clearly, their performance had earned his approval, and perhaps they could even be heavily relied upon by him in the future.

Without hesitation, the two disciples swallowed the Spirit Pills granted by the Saint Heir. They immediately felt the surrounding Attribute Energy become increasingly distinct...

Watching the changes in the two, the Saint Heir grew even more pleased with himself.

Meanwhile, Qin Yue sat in her place, overwhelmed with anxiety for Ye Qingchen. Yet, when she saw his resolute expression even while trapped in a desperate situation, she somehow found her confidence in him renewed. She felt that Ye Qingchen would surely find a way to break the deadlock.

The reason the Saint Heir was so delighted that two disciples had broken through to the fifth layer of the Martial Emperor Realm was due to a well-known saying on the Heaven Desolate Continent: Attribute Energy is the watershed for a Martial Artist.

There was another saying: Below the fifth layer of the Martial Emperor Realm, all are ants!

Now that two experts at the fifth layer of the Martial Emperor Realm had emerged in the Secret Realm, dealing with Ye Qingchen would require only a casual move from either one of them. He was undoubtedly doomed. It didn’t matter that Ye Qingchen was only at the eighth layer of the Martial King Realm; even if he broke through to the fourth layer of the Martial Emperor Realm, he could not possibly be a match for a fifth-layer opponent as long as he hadn’t mastered Attribute Energy. The quality of Attribute Energy was simply on a completely different level compared to normal Spiritual Energy.

Of course, some astonishingly brilliant Martial Artists could master Attribute Energy before reaching the fifth layer of the Martial Emperor Realm. The Saint Heir, for example, had mastered it at the first layer. However, in all the recorded history of the Heaven Desolate Continent, no Martial Artist had ever managed to grasp Attribute Energy while still in the Martial King Realm.

That was why the Saint Heir was so certain that Ye Qingchen was utterly doomed this time.

And that was why the Saint Heir had ordered Li Rui to broadcast the finals. After all, if Ye Qingchen were killed by someone at the fifth layer of the Martial Emperor Realm, even Elder Yang would have nothing to say.

The Saint Heir wanted Ye Qingchen’s death to be known by all.

That included Elder Yang, and it included Qin Yue.