A sword was raised, and with a thunderous slash, it descended!

Ye Han's blood surged, his divine power boiling.

"Gathering Core Realm, courting death!" Li Kai gritted his teeth fiercely.

He grabbed the battle sword by his side, a surge of divine power piercing straight through the blade. In a fraction of a moment, Li Kai raised his sword to meet Ye Han's attack.

When the swords collided, Ye Han felt a powerful rebound force after just one exchange, his body trembling as he was forced back three steps.

Li Kai fared no better, his body shaking, arms numb.

He was caught off guard, and his battle sword was actually sent flying by Ye Han's mighty blow.

"Again!"

Ye Han bellowed, tossing aside his own sword.

His hands formed fists, and he lunged forward like a fierce tiger emerging to tear apart its prey.

Tiger and Leopard Thunder Fist, the first strike: Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain!

Battle intent, killing intent, rage...

All these emotions condensed into a single punch, which exploded with a sonic boom as it was thrown.

The punch landed!

A scream instantly pierced the night sky.

Li Kai was blasted thirty feet away, blood spurting like a fountain!

"Gathering Core ninth layer, and you can produce a vacuum sonic boom?" Li Kai looked at Ye Han in disbelief.

Even with protective armor close to his body, Li Kai's internal organs churned violently as if they were about to explode from within, his arm bones shattered inch by inch, rendered useless.

"You, die!"

Ye Han's voice was hoarse as he spat out two words, stepping forward.

His divine power was nearly depleted, completely used up in that fierce punch, but it was enough to support one final strike.

"I don't want to die, please, spare me..." Li Kai was panic-stricken, his face filled with terror.

Bang!

The punch fell, and the ferocious power penetrated the armor. Li Kai's heart burst, and he breathed his last.

Begging for mercy only at the brink of death? Too late!

"Phew..."

Having witnessed Li Kai's demise, Ye Han exhaled a breath of foul air, feeling weak in his limbs, his body hollow, and he collapsed to the ground.

Back at Flame Academy, he had already sentenced Li Kai to death in his heart!

Before setting out, he had forcibly refined the power of seventy-three second-tier beast cores into his body, preparing for tonight's battle.

Refining beast cores without stepping into the Divine Power Realm was practically suicidal!

Ye Han couldn't truly refine the beast cores, but he could seal their power within his body using his tenacious muscles and flesh. If he didn't act soon, his body would burst from the overwhelming divine power.

Fortunately, Li Kai was finally dead, and Ye Han's goal was achieved.

"Teacher!"

Turning his gaze, Ye Han saw Mo Qingrou, who had at some point lifted the carriage curtain and was calmly witnessing everything.

"Gathering Core ninth layer, and you thought to battle someone in the Divine Power Realm, you're too reckless," Mo Qingrou said with a touch of tenderness in her brows.

"From now on, teacher, no one can bully us!" Ye Han revealed his white teeth, his smile radiant.

Getting up, Ye Han took the Nine Yang Fire Jade from Li Kai's body, wiped the blood off its surface, and presented it to his teacher: "Teacher, for you!"

Watching Mo Qingrou re-refine and put away the Nine Yang Fire Jade, her complexion improving significantly, Ye Han finally felt at ease.

Ye Han realized that the Nine Yang Fire Jade could probably suppress the extreme cold pain from the Hellish Cold Water within his teacher's body.

"Ye Han, promise me, don't take such risks in the future."

"No matter what, life is the most important. We martial artists can only have a future if we survive," Mo Qingrou held Ye Han's hands tightly.

"Teacher, I understand!"

Ye Han glanced at the deceased Li Kai: "But it still depends on how one lives. I, Ye Han, may not be a good person, but I refuse to be like them, bullying the weak and groveling before the strong, flattering and fawning, showing an ugly side."

The woman listened to Ye Han's words with a smile, her gaze clear and gentle: "Mhm!"

"Teacher, who exactly are senior sister Yin and senior brother Feng that Li Kai mentioned?"

Ye Han looked at Mo Qingrou, clenching his fists: "Are they really so domineering that they get to decide whether I can join Cycle Academy?"

"You should know, in the path of martial arts, the hierarchy is clear, and the strong are revered."

"The rule in Cycle Academy is that disciples cannot kill each other, unless they agree to enter the Life and Death Arena."

"But in reality, the rules are only for ordinary disciples. The true geniuses of the academy are not bound by them, and even if they decide the life and death of others with a single word, the academy's higher-ups often turn a blind eye," Mo Qingrou explained: "You'll have a direct experience once you're at Cycle Academy. Before you truly become powerful, it's necessary to keep a low profile."

Ye Han listened intently, committing every word Mo Qingrou said to memory.

A quarter of an hour later, Ye Han buried the dead Li Kai and drove the carriage towards the distant horizon...

On the fourth day's morning, as the purple dawn broke, Ye Han and his teacher finally arrived before an ancient city.

This city was called White Cloud City.

It was ten times larger than Flame City, with broad streets, numerous shops, and a bustling crowd, extraordinarily lively.

Behind White Cloud City lay a vast mountain range reaching to the heavens, majestic and imposing, with clouds and mists swirling around the peaks, like a divine palace in the sky.

White Cloud City was built against the backdrop of the Cycle Mountain Range, where Cycle Academy was located.

"We've finally arrived at Cycle Academy!"

Ye Han was awestruck, somewhat understanding why his teacher insisted on him joining Cycle Academy.

To occupy such divine mountains and rivers, to establish a foundation and recruit disciples from all over the world, the academy's profound heritage was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

The figures walking casually around the streets were at least at the Gathering Core eighth layer, and even the Gathering Core ninth layer, with Divine Power Realm masters occasionally passing by, all exuding extraordinary presence. Compared to the people in Flame City, they had a more vibrant spirit.

"Teacher, after a long journey, let's rest in White Cloud City for a moment."

Entering the city, Ye Han helped his teacher down from the carriage, then sold the lion-blooded steed and the carriage to a merchant who was always waiting in White Cloud City, obtaining twenty top-grade Human Level elixirs... Vigor Pills.

In this Primordial Void Domain, the currency among martial artists was no longer gold and silver, but two words: Elixirs!

Elixirs were classified similarly to Martial Arts Techniques and Martial Skills, with five levels: Human Level, Mysterious Level, Earth Level, Heaven Level, and Immortal Level, each with three qualities: low, middle, and top grade.

Ye Han had heard that above the top-grade Heaven Level and the legendary Immortal Level elixirs, there were supreme-grade elixirs, which he had never encountered.

In Flame City, the elixirs traded among martial artists were the common low-grade Human Level Gathering Qi Pills, but in White Cloud City, nobody would buy Gathering Qi Pills. The lowest grade of elixirs traded for goods were the top-grade Human Level Vigor Pills.

After entering an inn with his teacher, they casually ordered hot tea and pancakes. Half of the twenty Vigor Pills were already spent, leaving Ye Han speechless.

The cost of living in this big place was too extravagant; twenty Vigor Pills in Flame City would have been enough for both of them to live for half a year.

"Having come to White Cloud City, where there are countless masters, what do you feel?" Mo Qingrou asked Ye Han with a smile.

"No feeling!"

Ye Han touched his nose: "I don't know how Cycle Academy is, whether it's as rumored, filled with strong individuals."

"In Cycle Academy, any random disciple is a master, incomparable to Flame Academy," Mo Qingrou said.

Ye Han looked through the window towards the towering mountain range outside the city, recalling Luo Tianzheng from the other day, and Li Kai, whom he had slain.

"Not necessarily, if standing at the same realm, they might not be my match," Ye Han responded calmly, a confidence on his face that he had never shown before.

Suddenly, from not far away, a snort of disdain was heard: "Defaming Cycle Academy, arrogant and ignorant, simply courting death!"