Eli Shan closed his eyes and immersed himself in cultivation. Qi began to swirl around him and disappear into his body like water soaking into thirsty soil. Then, a strange sensation washed over him, a feeling that was completely different from when he was cultivating his body realm.

He felt a strong and refined energy coursing through his veins, enhancing the strength of every part of his body and then gathering inside his dantian. But as he was feeling the pleasure of strength, he suddenly realized something as his expression changed. "Why does it look like that out of the qi I am absorbing, eighty times of it is getting absorbed by my body, rather than containing in my dantian for a fast breakthrough?"

With a pensive expression, Eli Shan delved into his thought, "Doesn't that mean I have to cultivate eighty times more than average people to break through?" As he pondered about it, his lips curled up with another thought, "Then, doesn't that mean, I would be eighty times more stronger than other people of the same realm?"

With a smile on his face, he closed his eyes again, finding his happiness in his own imaginary theory. However, as he delved into the cultivation technique again, his body suddenly began to glow with the nine-color radiance while his consciousness was overwhelmed by a flood of ancient knowledge.

"What is this?" Eli Shan tightly shut his eyes and gritted his teeth as an extreme surge of pain in his consciousness coursed through him, overwhelmed by the deluge of ancient knowledge.

After a while, he opened his eyes and his expression changed into astonishment. He couldn't help but exclaim aloud, "What a profound technique! I have never imagined that a technique of this caliber could exist in this world!"

In his thoughts, Eli Shan expressed gratitude to the dragon for bestowing this extraordinary technique on him and started practicing the technique.

Like other cultivation techniques, he was not able to master this profound technique instantly. Yet, after a mere three breaths of time, he began to harmonize the qi with this technique. By the time it took to savor a cup of tea, he finally achieved the realm of perfection!

If Dragon had seen it, he definitely would have been surprised, or maybe he already saw everything and was in a state of astonishment. Who knows?

After mastering the technique, Eli Shan immersed himself in cultivation. Suddenly, a visible torrent of qi surged from the surroundings, swirling and condensing around him. It was as if Eli Shan was sitting in the middle of a whirlpool, and the water was getting absorbed by him endlessly like a black hole.

With the new cultivation technique, his speed in absorbing and refining the qi increased exponentially and his cultivation realm soared...

Qi gathering II...

Qi Gathering V...

Qi gathering VII...

Qi gathering IX...

Soul and Body Foundation I...

Soul and Body Foundation II...

Soul and Body Foundation IX...

True qi realm I...

Eli Shan immersed himself completely in cultivation, not leaving his room for an entire month. In the following month, murmurs circulated about how the qi in the surroundings seemed to be drawn towards the tiniest peak.

Then, one day, while Eli Shan was still immersed in his cultivation, he suddenly heard a shout echoing from outside his house, "Eli Shan, how dare you to kill my brother! Come out and face me, you bastard! Today you will die no matter what!"

The voice caught the attention of onlookers who quickly gathered and began whispering among themselves.

"Isn't that Mu Jing?"

"Eli Shan's done for after killing the king's little brother."

"Seems like he's ready to face the consequences."

Amidst the whispers, Mu Jing stood aloof with his followers, displaying an air of indifference towards the crowd.

But after getting no response, his anger grew even more as he threatened once again, "Bastard, come out otherwise you will die the most painful death."

No response...

Enraged, Mu Jing's face turned red with fury as he moved forward, delivering a powerful blow toward the door.

But just as his punch was about to shatter the wood, the door suddenly swung open, catching Mu Jing off guard. Before he could react, he saw a fist covered in a powerful aura moving toward his chest.

Boom!

Mu Jing was sent hurtling through the air, leaving his followers in stunned silence as they looked at Eli Shan in a daze.

All of them couldn't comprehend what had just transpired. All they witnessed was the door, on the verge of being shattered, suddenly opening up abruptly as Mu Jing was sent flying, and Eli Shan stood in his place.

Eli Shan looked at the Mu Jing's followers with indifferent eyes, his aura surged out of his body, pressing at the Mu Jing followers. This aura was not from his cultivation, but it was his pure strength of body, which had been enhanced hundreds of times while cultivating his realm.

In an instant, the expressions of the followers shifted dramatically and they found it hard to even breathe. Eli Shan looked down on them and sneered, "All you dogs know is how to follow your master, but in truth, you can't even help your master in a real fight."

Fueled by anger, one of the followers retorted while on his knees, "It's because of the school's restrictions that we could only fight inside the arena. Otherwise, we would have shown who the real dog is!"

"Ohho? Look like you can speak even on your knees huh? Or is it because your master is still behind you?"

Eli Shan intensified his aura, causing Mu Jing's followers to feel more suffocated.

Suddenly, Mu Jing again flew over and wiped his blood from the corner of his mouth. "Look like the null body was just a rumor huh?"

As the last word left his mouth, Mu Jing vanished from his place and suddenly appeared before Eli Shan with an astonishing speed and shouted while throwing a punch, "Don't think you are some big shot just because you took me by surprise."

With murderous intent, Mu Jing's punch suddenly landed on a body and the dust flew over.

Looking at the scene, the onlooker's eyes widened with shock, because even from afar they could feel the pressure of collision.

"Eli Shan must be dead, right?"

"I don't think anyone can take that punch and emerge alive."

As the crowd guessed, Mu Jing's expression turned solemn, because after his punch landed, he felt a pain in his fist instead. It was as if he had punched on an immovable body!

As the dust settled down, he saw a familiar person standing between Eli Shan and him. In shock, both of them exclaimed, "Dean."

With an indifferent expression, the dean gazed at Eli Shan and Mu Jing. "Have you both forgotten the rules of school? You are not allowed to fight outside of the arena!"

As he spoke, he released an intense aura that pressed down on both of them, making them fall on their knees.

As this overwhelming presence enveloped them, Eli Shan's eyes gleamed with excitement, and a wide grin stretched across his face. "Zun realm!"

For Mu Jing, getting on the knees just by the pressure alone was a great humiliation that he had never felt before. He was the king of students, but he could not even stand against the dean's aura?

But what could he do about it? Absolutely nothing!

He took a deep breath and calmed down. He looked at Dean with a tense expression and carefully chose his words. "I am sorry Master Wang. But this is all Eli Shan's fault. He started the fight when I merely came to issue a challenge."

Dean nodded and turned his gaze towards Eli Shan, indicating that he needed an explanation.

Eli Shan shook his head and explained, "He was going to break my little home, so I was just defending myself."

Dean thought for a while before replying, "Eli Shan, you have broken the rule first, your house is completely intact, so Mu Jing is not at fault. If he had broken your house, I would have punished him severely, but it's you who attacked him first. As for punishment, you will be under house arrest for two years."

Eli Shan nodded and accepted his punishment. He recognized his mistake and understood that he had acted hastily. Surprisingly, he didn't resent the punishment either. In fact, he liked it because he could cultivate inside his room without any interruption now! As he thought about it, he looked at the Dean. But he didn't feel any hostility coming from him and a thought crossed his mind: "Could it be that the Dean has noticed my preference for secluded cultivation and is offering me this chance to cultivate in peace for two years?" He looked at Dean with sparkled eyes and smiled like a maniac.

Looking at his smile, even Dean felt a little uncomfortable.

As the news of Mu Jing's intention to fight against Eli Shan reached Feng Qiang's ear, she hurriedly came over to his mountain peak. However, her expression quickly shifted to one of concern when she saw Eli Shan and Mu Jing on their knees.

Looking at the dean, she knew that she could not do anything at this moment.

As she was thinking, the dean suddenly removed the pressure. Mu Jing's legs went numb as he fell down where he was kneeling. Meanwhile, sensing the pressure has gone, Eli Shan effortlessly rose to his feet, as if nothing had happened.

Looking at it, Dean was secretly shocked.

In truth it was not that Eli Shan could not stand his pressure, it's just that he didn't want to show his cultivation yet, so he just took all the pressure of Dean as a body cultivator of the tian realm and didn't even try to struggle.

Looking at them, Dean thought for a while and suggested, "If you want to fight then go to the fighting arena, but after done with your fight, Eli Shan will be under house arrest for two years. understand?"

After hearing this, Mu Jing suddenly stood next to Eli Shan and bowed before the dean, "Thank you so much, Master Wang. But I am afraid, Eli Shan won't be alive to receive his punishment after fighting against me."

Eli Shan ignored Mu Jing's threat and agreed with a nod, but feeling the thick shroud of killing intent, he turned his face toward Mu Jing and smiled innocently at him.

Dean also ignored Mu Jing's words and stated firmly, "Go and fight, and Eli Shan, remember your punishment." With his last words, Dean vanished from the mountain peak.

Looking that Dean has gone, Mu Jing couldn't help but curse at Eli Shan, "I will cut you into thousands of pieces."

"That's what your brother also said before I cut him into thousands of pieces."

"You..."

"Don't waste my time and come to the fighting arena."

With that, Eli Shan vanished and made his way towards the heart of the school, where the arena stood tall and imposing. As he stepped onto the fighting stage, his gaze locked onto Mu Jing, ready to fight against him with his all might.

This arena was the largest fighting stage of the school. Its ground was paved with an extraordinary, luminescent stone, its surface etched with ancient symbols. It was completely enveloped by a special formation, an invisible barrier that hummed with latent power, ensuring the battles within would not affect the onlookers.

The battle between the king and a mysterious cultivator who had broken all previous records of the entrance exam, spread like wildfire drawing a frenzied crowd toward the fighting stage.

At this moment, there were almost every student of the inner region near the arena. Among them, Feng Qiang also stood in the middle of the crowd and thought with a serious face, "If Eli Shan will be in danger, I won't hesitate to intervene, even if it means resorting to 'that' thing."

While Feng Qiang was concerned about Eli Shan, the crowd was speculating about who would win the fight.

"I doubt that guy can beat Mu Jing."

"Of course, the king has to win. How else could he be the king?"

"That guy is as good as dead, no doubt about it!"

"Becoming a king means he's either stronger than every other student or he defeated the previous king. A king isn't someone to be trifled with!"

"Mu Jing has killed countless people to reach this point. How could he lose to some random guy?"

Mu Jing overheard the students' conversation and couldn't hide his pride. He fixed his gaze on Eli Shan, wearing a smug expression as he spoke while exuding a killing intent, "Today will be your last day, I will first break your arm then your leg and I will kill you slowly while I torture you."

Eli Shan smiled. "As you wish."

Below the fighting stage, Feng Qiang wore a worried expression as she watched Eli Shan intently.

She knew that Eli Shan was undeniably powerful, but could he really win against the king without any cultivation? Perhaps in the future, he could reach a point where he rivaled a king even without cultivation. But at this moment, was it even possible?

As she was thinking about it, she saw Mu Jing rush towards Eli Shan with a speed that she couldn't even follow with her eyes, leaving her in shock deeply.

In the blink of an eye, Mu Jing appeared before Eli Shan and threw a strong punch with the intent to cripple Eli Shan.

The majority of people thought that Eli Shan wouldn't be able to withstand the powerful punch of the king, even Feng Qiang was not completely sure who would win.

But just as the punch was about to hit him, Eli Shan moved a little bit left, effortlessly evading the blow with a smile.

Mu Jing, completely shocked, began to relentlessly punch at Eli Shan, but to his bewilderment, his fist couldn't even touch him. In anger, he shouted aloud, "All you can do is dodge? Stand and face my punch, if you have the guts!"

Eli Shan sneered, "I am not interested in a man's hand."

Faced with Eli Shan's mockery, Mu Jing's eyes turned red in anger. He clenched his fist tightly, channeling all his power into it, ready to unleash his special technique.

As Mu Jing prepared to deliver his most powerful punch, he suddenly saw a punch coming toward him with lightning speed.

However, he was also a good fighter, how could he let a punch hit him? He suddenly tried to take a step back to dodge the attack, but to his shock, he discovered that he couldn't even move an inch!

His eyes widened as he watched the approaching fist grow larger and larger before his eyes. In a desperate frenzy, Mu Jing unleashed every ounce of his cultivation, but to his horror, he remained frozen in place, unable to budge.

"Lock of aura!"

The realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. To use the Lock of Aura, one needed to possess a higher realm or purer qi than their opponent. How was it possible that this seemingly ordinary individual, rumored to be incapable of cultivation, had cultivation higher than his sixth stage of the Tian Realm?

As he was thinking, Eli Shan's clenched fist transformed into an open palm and landed on Mu Jing's face. In an instant, his world turned upside down.

Eli Shan relentlessly pressed his hand against Mu Jing's face on the stage, making him cry in pain, "Aaah."

The force of the collision slowly shattered the fighting stage into pieces.

Sensing the immense pressure emanating from the stage, even the spectators, who were outside of the formation, had their expressions exponentially transformed. But more than that, they could not believe their eyes. The invincible king, a person admired by everyone for his strength, had been defeated so easily?"

In the arena, Mu Jing's face was buried on the stage. Just as everyone assumed the battle was over, Eli Shan held Mu Jing's leg and began to slam him from one side to the other side.

Soon, after feeling satisfied, Eli Shan threw the half-died Mu Jing at the edge of the stage.

At this moment, Mu Jing knew the clear difference between him and Eli Shan. He looked at him with his blood-red face and whispered with a trembling voice, "Monster!"

He understood that his only chance of survival was to step off the stage.

As he was thinking, he saw Eli Shan approaching him like a god of death. Looking at him there was only one thing that came into his mind: Run away!

What was humiliation and face in front of his life?

But before he could make a move, Eli Shan swiftly waved his hand, summoning a gust of wind that engulfed Mu Jing. In an instant, Mu Jing was hurtled towards Eli Shan, landing near him with visible cuts covering his body.

Eli Shan stood before him nonchalantly, hands casually tucked into his robe's pockets and an innocent smile on his face. However, to Mu Jing, this was the most dangerous smile he had ever seen.

Everyone around the fighting stage was dumbfounded as they looked at these two people.

They could not believe in their eyes that their king was getting played at by Eli Shan. And they had to say that Eli Shan was really so cruel too.

On the broken arena, Eli Shan waved his hand and wind intent pressed on the Mu Jing so much that he found it hard to even breathe.

Eli Shan sat near Mu Jing and held his hand with his two hands and gave him a gentle smile.

Mu Jing knew what he was about to do...

"Eli Shan, I apologize, please let me go, I will be your servant for my whole life, please just let me go. Aaaah."

Mu Jing kept begging for his life as eli shan kept breaking his hand, then his leg.

Eli Shan smiled innocently, "You were going to break my arms, then legs, and then kill me slowly right?"

"No, Eli Shan, I am sorry. Aaahhh."

"Do you think I am a hero of justice? Or do you think I am some dumb person? I know you will do your best to kill me if I let you go today. I would better not leave a potentially dangerous enemy alive."

Mu Jing couldn't refute it. After understanding that begging wouldn't do anything, he tried to threaten him, "Eli Shan, you don't know my background, even one of the teachers in the inner region is from my family. If you dare to kill me, your whole family will turn into ruins!"

Hearing his words, Eli Shan's hands trembled. Looking at it, Mu Jing's sinister smile grew wide, thinking his threatening words worked. However, his eyes soon widened in alarm as he once again saw a fist hurtling toward his face.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Eli Shan held Mu Jing's collar and began to punch his face relentlessly with his both hands. "How dare you to bring my family into this. How dare you. How dare you." Eli Shan's eyes turned red with anger, leaving no room for Mu Jing to utter another word.

Looking at the scene, the onlooker's hands began to tremble. Even Hao Yu, who was standing in the crowd, felt his body trembling in fear. He couldn't help but be grateful he hadn't spoken overly ill of Eli Shan's family the last time they met.

The scene was so cruel that it was sure to be censored.

Many of the onlookers, who had never witnessed such brutality before, felt vomit looking at the scene. At that moment, a collective thought echoed through the crowd: Never involve Eli Shan's family in a fight!

After getting a bit calm, Eli Shan stood up, leaving Mu Jing in a pool of blood, and waved his hand.

Suddenly, a sharp wind intent, imbued with a hint of sword intent, formed around him one after another, filling the entire arena. The intensity of it sent a chill running down the spines of everyone around the stage. Eli Shan moved his hand in a chopping way, and all sharp winds rushed towards Mu Jing at unimaginable speed.

Mu Jing was completely in despair at this moment, and couldn't even move a bit. But looking at the sharp winds, he couldn't help but shout with all he had got, "No."

The sharp winds neglected all of his defenses like a hot knife cutting through a butter and in an instant, evaporated all of his bones.

Looking at it, Eli Shan's expression didn't even change as he thought to himself, "Why I don't feel anything even when I cut them like vegetables? Am I so bad? Am I the villain of the story?"

Below the stage, silence spread over.

No one dared to utter a word. No one even dared to breathe hard, afraid that Eli Shan might find it offending.

In the midst of this stillness, there was one more thought that occupied everyone's minds, a sentiment that only Feng Qiang dared to voice, her eyes gleaming with both admiration and a smile. "King, a new King has been crowned!"

Eli Shan looked at her in shock. Feng Qiang nodded and smiled warmly at him.

When everyone heard the same thing that was going on in their mind, they also started to shout, trying to curry favor with Eli Shan.

"The new king, Eli Shan, has emerged!"

"Long live the new king!"

"The king is strongest ever this time."

"The new king is invincible, even many teachers can't fight him."

Everyone started to butter him but Eli Shan didn't say anything.

He jumped over from the stage and walked toward Feng Qiang, who was standing in the middle of the crowd. As he walked, the crowd parted to make way a for him.

Eli Shan was also enjoying this feeling and kept smiling in his heart. As he approached Feng Qiang, he nodded at her and held her hand gently. With an air of indifference, he addressed the crowd. "I have said it before too but I will say it again, Feng Qiang is my one and only friend. While I will be under house arrest for breaking the rules, if anyone dares to even touch a hair of hers, you should know the consequences."

Everyone nodded vigorously.

Feng Qiang's eyes glistened with gratitude as she spoke, "Thank you so much, Eli Shan. You've done so much for me, and all I did was cause you trouble."

Eli Shan gently shook his head, a warm smile gracing his lips. "What are you saying? Am I so distant from you now huh? No need to thank me, understood?"

Feng Qiang nodded with a smile, a warm feeling blossoming in her heart.

"Good girl. Now, I must accept my punishment for breaking the rules. I'll be under house arrest for two years. I'll meet you again in two years."

Feng Qiang felt guilty upon hearing it and whispered softly, her voice filled with sadness, "I am sorry, because of me..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she felt a hand landed on her shoulder. Looking ahead, she met with Eli Shan's smiling face, his teeth on full display as he spoke, "What are you saying? Aren't we friends?"

Feng Qiang felt sweet by his words. "Then cultivate well, my one and only friend, Eli Shan."

Eli Shan innocently smiled back and nodded. "Yes, I will. See you soon."

With a light tap of his foot, he ascended toward his mountain peak, leaving everyone gazing at him with a mixture of admiration and horror in their eyes.

At this moment, if Eli Shan wanted he could have chosen the king's palace to live in, but now he was used to his old little home so he would not change it for now.

And for a cultivator, it was the same no matter where he cultivated.

Inside his room, Eli Shan sat down and smiled with excitement.

Time to cultivate relentlessly for two years!