Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

Ling Fei was astonished to sense Dragon Qi emanating from Marquis Yun of the Royal Academy.

'Why is this?' Ling Fei wondered, his eyes narrowing in thought.

He then focused his senses, probing more carefully.

'It's the waist token!' Suddenly, Ling Fei noticed a waist token at Marquis Yun's hip. Light patterns flickered across its surface, suffused with what felt like Dragon Qi.

This Dragon Qi was formless, but Ling Fei's perception of the Heaven and Earth Qi already surpassed that of Celestial Spirit Realm cultivators. He had detected it with only a brief scan.

'This waist token is carved with a Dragon Pattern, similar to a Divine Guard's, but this person's is gold. It's inscribed with eight words: Serving Heaven and Accepting Destiny, Bestowed by the Celestial Emperor.' As Ling Fei's Heart Spirit reached out, he discovered what made this waist token different. Those eight words, in particular, seemed to possess an intangible Celestial Might.

The front bore these eight words.

The back, however, bore his name and title: Li Yunyi, Marquis Yun.

It was a symbol of his status.

Marquis Yun was currently smiling, exchanging pleasantries with Vice Dean Zhou and Vice Dean Wang.

But just then, his eyes flashed as his gaze shot toward Ling Fei.

'He discovered me?' Ling Fei froze. He hastily withdrew his Heart Spirit, his mind reeling.

'I was so careful with my senses just now, yet he still noticed something. The perception of a Primordial Pill Realm cultivator is truly terrifying.'

'Why do I feel that young man's Heart Spirit observing me?' At that moment, Marquis Yun's pupils constricted as his gaze locked onto Ling Fei in the distance, suspicion rising in his heart. 'But he's clearly just an Innate Realm cultivator. How can he use Heart Spirit Sensing? That's a technique only Primordial Pill Realm cultivators should possess!'

The people beside him looked on in surprise, seeing Marquis Yun's gaze fixed on something in the distance.

However, when they saw he was only looking at a junior, they didn't give it a second thought.

Marquis Yun retracted his gaze as well.

"Hehe, your academy has traveled a long way. Why not rest for the night? We can have the juniors enter the ruins tomorrow. How does that sound?" Vice Dean Wang said with a laugh.

"That would be excellent," Marquis Yun nodded.

Thus, the Three Great Academies decided to let the students enter the ruins for training the next morning.

The elders each went their separate ways.

But the area where the Royal Academy's students were gathered grew lively.

Some of these geniuses were the older brothers of students from Tianyan Academy.

Others were clansmen of students from Celestial River Academy. Now that they were all reunited, it was inevitable that they would catch up.

"Brother Jingsheng!" Over with the Celestial River Academy students, Qin Rong's eyes lit up. He walked toward the Royal Academy's encampment, where a youth in brocade robes stood proudly.

This youth was a prodigy of the Qin Clan, named Qin Jingsheng, who had enrolled in the Royal Academy.

"Qin Rong!" Qin Jingsheng was in the middle of a conversation with several other geniuses. When he saw Qin Rong approaching, he raised an eyebrow.

"Brother Jingsheng, it's so good to finally see you," Qin Rong said with a fawning look in his eyes.

Qin Jingsheng nodded slightly.

Then, he looked at Qin Rong and asked, "Qin Hui... he's dead?"

"Yes." Qin Rong nodded, then lowered his voice. "It was probably that Ling Fei who killed him."

"Ling Fei!" Hearing this, Qin Jingsheng's gaze turned cold. "Isn't he a new student?"

"But his talent is monstrous. He's already reached the Late Innate Stage. I'm afraid you're the only one who can handle him, Brother Jingsheng!" Qin Rong said.

"Oh?" At his words, Qin Jingsheng's gaze sharpened. He looked over at Ling Fei in the Celestial River Academy's area, a grim light flickering in his eyes.

"Don't worry," he said in a low voice. "I've made a note of this. I'll find an opportunity to strike."

"Good." Qin Rong nodded emphatically. Then, his gaze hardened as he stared at Ling Fei in the distance, the corners of his mouth lifting in a cold smirk.

Elsewhere, Liu Ming and Liu Yuan were also heading toward the Royal Academy's area.

Liu Ming also had an older clan brother at the Royal Academy.

He was from Liu Ming's own branch of the clan, and his name was Liu Jingyun.

As for Liu Rulong, while he was also a Liu Clan disciple, he belonged to a different branch and wasn't particularly close to Liu Ming.

After all, even large clans have different branches.

Just like the Shangguan Clan.

Liu Ming and Liu Jingyun exchanged a few words, their eyes occasionally drifting toward Ling Fei in the distance.

"Celestial River Academy actually has a genius like that?" a few of the Royal Academy prodigies beside Liu Jingyun asked, surprised.

"Hehe, his talent is indeed impressive," Liu Yuan said with a laugh. "But for a disciple from a Humble Family to think he can compete with nobles like us? He's simply overestimating himself."

"That's true. A disciple from a Humble Family, no matter how talented, should learn to keep his head down. Otherwise, a genius who never gets the chance to mature is worth nothing," one of the other prodigies said arrogantly. They paid Ling Fei no mind; in their view, someone from a Humble Family should just cower in a corner and stay out of sight.

"If you need help, Brother Liu, just say the word. I have plenty of methods at my disposal," a young man in brocade robes beside them said nonchalantly.

"Hehe, with the Crown Prince's help, anything is possible," Liu Yuan said with a smile.

The one who had spoken was the son of a powerful figure. Though not of the Royal Family, he was the son of one of the Dukes, and he even possessed a Fire Spirit Body.

As soon as he spoke, Liu Yuan's confidence surged. He knew his plan now had a real chance of success.

"In that case, I, Liu Ming, thank you, Crown Prince," Liu Ming said, cupping his hands.

"Hehe, you're too polite, Brother Liu. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Dongyang," the man in brocade robes said with a smile.

This man's surname was Wang, a disciple of the Wang Clan, one of the four great families. But his status was extraordinary, far surpassing that of an ordinary Wang Clan disciple. This was all because his paternal aunt was a consort to the current Celestial Emperor. His father had been blessed by this connection and was ennobled by the Celestial Emperor as the Marquis of Eatern. His standing, it could be said, was incredibly distinguished.

"Hehe, if you insist, I won't stand on ceremony," Liu Ming said with a smile.

In truth, he had his own pride. With his exceptional talent, he felt he should be on equal footing with Wang Dongyang.

However, Wang Dongyang was a Crown Prince, after all. He had to be shown some respect.

"Don't mention it." Wang Dongyang smiled, but inwardly he was calculating the pros and cons. 'This Liu Ming is exceptionally talented, only a hair's breadth less than Liu Rulong. Moreover, his great-grandfather is a Primordial Pill Realm expert. If I can win him over, he'll be a great help to the Ninth Prince's ambitions. And I'll get some of the credit for it.'

At this thought, a smile unconsciously touched his lips.

If the Ninth Prince ascended the throne, he would be a man of great merit, blessed by the Emperor's Qi. The benefits of that were beyond what ordinary people could ever imagine.

These people were conferring in low voices in the distance, but Ling Fei clearly sensed the fluctuations created by their fleeting glances.

'These people…' Ling Fei extended his Heart Spirit and listened in on their entire conversation.

'Though their words were veiled, it wasn't hard to guess that they would definitely strike if given the chance. The consequences would be dire.'

'They're all in the Innate Realm, which is manageable. It would be even better if I could run into them alone... I wonder if I'll get that chance?'

A murderous intent quietly coalesced in Ling Fei's heart.

He even found himself looking forward to settling the score with them inside these ruins.

'But the Royal Academy also brought a Celestial Spirit Realm expert,' Ling Fei thought, his brow furrowing slightly.

This time, Tianyan Academy did not bring any Celestial Spirit Realm experts.

But the Royal Academy did.

This person was named Wang Zhongtian.

Fortunately, this Wang Zhongtian wasn't with Wang Dongyang. It seemed the two weren't on very good terms.

'I hope he doesn't get involved in this,' Ling Fei thought.

If a Celestial Spirit Realm expert were to intervene, things would get very complicated.

After all, they were all disciples of great clans. If something truly happened to them, the fallout would be difficult to manage.

'One should live life freely, repaying kindness and taking revenge without hesitation. Since they bear me ill will, why should I cower in fear?' After a moment of contemplation, Ling Fei's gaze hardened with resolve. He then withdrew his Heart Spirit, no longer paying any mind to that group.

He had already come this far; there was no reason to back down.

He would simply face whatever came his way!