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Kadi Yun lay on the ground, as large amounts of blood trickled down from his mouth.

Even with this unsightly scene, Kadi Yun had some experience with battles and tried to escape this situation.

After a few moments, he weakly stood up after the Lion's Barrage, and rushed wildly at the Uchiha.

Seeing a flurry of arms and legs flashing before his eyes, Sasuke knew that he wouldn't be able to directly take the attacks of a Saint.

He circulated Saint Energy into his feet and managed to dodge Kadi Yun's attack and circled around to his back, before using his Saint Force to amplify his attack on Kadi Yun's back.

Feeling the strong wind behind his back, Kadi Yun didn't hesitate for a second and evaded Sasuke by diving to the side. However, even as he dodged, Kadi Yun was amazed. No matter where he moved, he would always feel a wind blowing on his back; he wasn't able to keep up with Sasuke's movements.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he started to circulate his Inner Saint Energy on his arms.

Kadi Yun was completely unable to keep up with Sasuke, who smashed both of his hands into Kadi Yun's back, creating a cracking sound as he was hit by a violent attack. This caused Kadi Yun to stagger two steps forward, but since he was a strong Saint, he immediately steadied himself. However, his face had already paled, as he realized that Sasuke had hit the same place twice with his fists. Sasuke's strength could already be measured at the peak of the 9th layer, and despite Kadi Yun being stronger than him in rank, he was the one being injured more. At that moment, he could only feel a surge of Saint Energy and blood course through his body, his organs screaming in pain.

As Kadi Yun steadied himself, Sasuke had already arrived at his backside another time, and struck at his back with his right hand once more. Although the fist traveled at a speed that made it look like it was as light as a feather, the effect was anything but light. Anyone that had faced off against Sasuke before would agree that Sasuke's strength was more extraordinary than it looked.

Kadi Yun turned around abruptly, his eyes were indignant with anger. For a strong person like him to suffer this much from someone who was by all rights weaker than him, his simple plan to humiliate Sasuke was no longer as simple as he thought.

Kadi Yun snarled in anger, as his hand started to glow golden with his Saint Force. The huge concentration of Saint Force condensed into his hand as he faced Sasuke, aiming it towards Sasuke's chest. Seeing Sasuke attack with a seemingly light fist, Kadi Yun prepared to take it head on in order to get close to Sasuke for his own attack.

The situation turned into a critical point of the match, as both the fighter's attacks struck each other. Sasuke's seemingly light and weak fist silently struck against Kadi Yun's chest. Immediately, Kadi Yun's own fist let out a muffled sound as it struck against Sasuke's body, blowing apart a hole in the academy uniform, and revealing a tender white skin that would be the target of envy by many of the girls. But in the blink of an eye, the skin underneath became a pile of bruises after receiving Kadi Yun's blow.

After receiving a blow from Kadi Yun, Sasuke's face contorted in pain, and the color started to drain away from his face. And with the blow being enforced by such a huge amount of strength, his legs weren't enough to prevent him from sliding back, until he was a few inches away from the edge of the arena. At this moment, other than his paling face, Sasuke did not seem to have any other problems, despite Kadi Yun using his Saint Force to accentuate his attack.

At that moment Sasuke realised how great a difference existed between a Saint and a normal warrior.

Although Sasuke was only at the 8th layer, because he had been using Primordial Chaos Tempering to constantly strengthen his body since he was young, he had strengthened every single organ and part of his body to the utmost degree. So while on the outside, it seemed that Sasuke's physical body was quite weak, his actual ability to resist and take damage would leave anyone flabbergasted. Even though Kadi Yun was a Saint, without using his Saint Weapon, his regular attacks would not be able to seriously wound Sasuke; at the most, Sasuke would sport some small bruises.

On the other hand, while Kadi Yun was standing at the same place, his face had scrunched up in major pain as his body began to visibly tremble from the pain he was feeling.

Before, Sasuke's fist that seemed to be as light as a feather, impacted against his stomach and caused a peculiar feeling to be transferred over into him. The power forcibly entered his body and suddenly went berserk as it exploded within him, causing his internal body to go crazy from the pain.

Kadi Yun's face became incomparably dark, as he used all the Saint Force within his body began to combat the power that was rebelling inside. Since his Saint Force was stronger than Sasuke's, the foreign power within him was cleared away quickly, but the damage was done. At this point, Kadi Yun was suffering from internal damages as well. The damages weren't very serious, but it would definitely impact his performance in the battle for the worse if it dragged on.

Kadi Yun glared at the calm Sasuke in front of him with a shocked expression. He hadn't ever imagined that he would be put in such a difficult spot as a Saint by someone who was lower ranked than him. Although he wasn't using his Saint Weapon, his strength was still stronger than those at the peak of the 10th layer, let alone the 8th layer Sasuke.

At that moment, Kadi Yun finally realized how hard it was to deal with Sasuke, but it was too late to stop. Over the past few confrontations, he understood that without using the Saint Weapon, he would have a difficult time beating Sasuke and might even lose to him. With the Saint Weapon he would definitely win against him, but that wouldn't be a bright situation. Besides, he had also clearly stated that he wouldn't use a Saint Weapon against Sasuke. If he went back on his word now, then even if he won, his reputation would plummet to the bottom. After all, there were plenty of people watching the match, along with some seniors. Not only that but he was Kadi Yun–Gesun Kingdom's elite elder son of the Kadi clan; he couldn't lose now.

Kadi Yun was starting to reflect on his actions now, but then Sasuke decided to charge at him.

Kadi Yun narrowly blocked Sasuke's strike. His right arm was dislocated, and he hadn't had enough time to pop it back into place, so he could only use his left hand to block against Sasuke's attacks. Because of this, in face of Sasuke's Saint Force, Kadi Yun fell from his invincible position, and began to fight back earnestly now. He no longer belittled Sasuke, and started to view him as an opponent of the same level.

The two people continued to fight at a fast paced speed; the battlefield became fierce. Sasuke didn't dare to hold back since Kadi Yun's strength was much stronger than his own. With both of them in a deadlock, the two could only defend against each other.

Sasuke's attacks were getting stronger and stronger, while Kadi Yun was finding it harder and harder to resist . Gradually in front of Kadi Yun's eyes, all he could see were the fists of Sasuke's hands; his eyes were getting too tired to differentiate between the after images of Sasuke, and he could only rely on his listening abilities to tell when and where Sasuke would attack.

Finally, Kadi Yun became careless, and Sasuke struck out at his left shoulder with a powerful strike. Kadi Yun couldn't help but lag behind, as Sasuke began to bombard him with a plethora of attacks. It was almost as if Kadi Yun was in a very violent storm where he was battered from every angle.

Sasuke repeatedly hit Kadi Yun on the shoulder with ferocious attacks, and even Kadi Yun's strong Saint power could not bear the attacks. He constantly retreated and a trace of blood trickled out of Kadi Yun's mouth.

Seeing that Kadi Yun was already driven to the edge of the arena, Sasuke smirked. Sasuke gathered the Saint Force into his hand and struck Kadi Yun in the chest another time. This fist was a lot stronger than the last, and the moment the fist connected, Kadi Yun fell from the arena down onto the ground below.

Sasuke stood on the arena while breathing heavily. Since he was constantly using his entire strength, he had exhausted his supply of Saint Force, to the point where had had almost none left within his body. If Kadi Yun did not accept defeat here and now, then Sasuke would not be able to maintain his odds of winning for long.

The arena became quiet, as everyone stared at the lone figure standing on top of the arena. At this moment, everyone showed incomprehensible expressions. This had already exceeded anyone's wildest guess, and no one had thought that Sasuke would win against a Saint. Most importantly, he had defeated a Saint while coming out almost unharmed. Even though the Saint didn't use a Saint Weapon, this outcome was no less surprising nor predictable.

At this moment, the arena was completely silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. There were over 500 people that were watching, but not a single person dared to make a sound.

"Brother!"

A voice finally broke the spell of silence over the arena as the Kadi siblings sped over to where Kadi Yun lay on the floor.

As if awakened, everyone started to burst into noise, as if the seal of a pot had been broken. All around the arena, people were chattering away noisily with excitement and shock.

"Heavens, I'm not dreaming, an 8th layer student managed to beat a Saint. This is an unprecedented event in the academy history…"

"Is that Shangyang Xiang Tian really at the 8th layer? Even a person at the peak of the 10th layer wouldn't necessarily be able to beat a Saint who wasn't using his Saint Weapon…"

"Shangyang Xiang Tian's strength can't possibly be only at the 8th Saint Force layer. Who knows, he might have already condensed a Saint Weapon. Otherwise, how else would he be able to beat a student like Senior Kadi Yun, a Saint…"

"Perhaps Shangyang Xiang Tian used some sort of despicable method to win…"

Sasuke didn't bother to answer any of the comments and jumped down to where his older brother Shangyang Hu was. Looking at his brother's expression of extreme shock, Sasuke asked him with concern, "Brother, are you alright?"

Shangyang Hu became emotional after hearing the concern in his voice, and hugged Sasuke with both arms, though the Uchiha felt a bit uncomfortable with the public display of affection. "Little Brother, you're seriously amazing! You managed to beat Kadi Yun, a Saint. Your big brother truly admires you!" He said as he wrapped Sasuke in a huge bear hug.

Sasuke shook his head and let loose a small smile from the affection, before he quickly disentangled himself from his brother's arms, "Let's leave this place."

Shangyang Hu unconsciously turned around to look at the crowd before nodding his head, "Alright, Little Brother, let's go to your room first. You definitely have to tell me how you beat Kadi Yun, and then later tonight, I'll grab a few friends to come and celebrate!"

Sasuke smiled at his brother, "Brother, I can teach you how I beat Kadi Yun, but let's forget about the celebration."

"Fine, I'll listen to you. Come on, Little Brother, let's go back to your dorm – it's far too noisy here." Shangyang Hu started to pull his younger brother back towards the direction of the dorms.

"Shangyang Xiang Tian!"

Before Sasuke could take a step, a gentle and exquisite voice called out to him.

Hearing the familiar voice, Sasuke stopped out for a moment before turning around. Looking at the speaker, he recognized the figure of the running girl, particularly the pretty girl who had sat next to him in the library earlier.

"Yes?" Sasuke questioned, as he indifferently looked at the young girl.

The girl's voice was like a gentle stream of water as she laughed joyously. Slowly extending her arm out to reveal a purse, she happily said, "Shangyang Xiang Tian, you managed to win me 100 Purple coins, I really have to thank you."

Hearing this, Shangyang Hu appeared to have suddenly realized something. He slapped his forehead in great disbelief, "Oh! I just remembered! I put down 100 Purple coins; that was my entire savings and I didn't get it back. Little Brother, you go on without me, your big brother has to get his money back!" And with that, Shangyang Hu vanished like the wind, back to where the crowd of gamblers were.

Looking at Shangyang Hu rush back for his money, Sasuke couldn't help but smile amusedly, clearly understanding his Brother's motives. At that moment, the girl slowly walked up to Sasuke, studying his handsome features with her inquisitive eyes. "Hello! Shangyang Xiang Tian, my name is Yu Yue. May I ask you a question?"

Sasuke nodded and replied, "Yu Yue, if you have a question, you should go on ahead and ask, but I can't guarantee an answer."

"No worries!" Yu Yue gently laughed before asking, "Shangyang Xiang Tian, is your strength is really only of the 8th Saint Force Layer?"

Sasuke nodded his head without hesitation, "That's right, at the moment, I am currently in the 8th Saint Force layer."

Yu Yue was surprised after hearing his answer. With an astounded look, she exclaimed, "Shangyang Xiang Tian, you mean you really haven't reached the Saint level?" Her voice carried some doubt; clearly, she didn't believe him entirely.

Noticing the disbelief in her voice, Sasuke furrowed his brows and spoke with irritation, "Yu Yue, I seem to have answered your question."

Even though she was a beautiful girl that could cause people to fight for her favour, Sasuke had also seen his fair share of beautiful women in his previous life, and to him she wasn't any different from an ordinary girl.

Yu Yue immediately waved her hands in an apologetic motion as she laughed, "I'm sorry, Shangyang Xiang Tian, I'm just far too amazed. I hope you didn't take offense to what I said."

Her voice trailed off as Shangyang Hu came running back with a joyful face and a fat coin bag. When he arrived by Sasuke's side, he was tossing the purse up and down his hand as he snickered, "Little Brother, your big brother is very wise. In less than an hour, I've won 100 Purple coins." 100 Purple coins was by no means a small number to a commoner and for those who only ate a simple amount of food in their lives; 100 Purple coins could feed a family of three for the rest of their lives!

Staring at the coin purse in his brother's hands, Sasuke started to smile and said, "Yu Yue, if you have no other questions, then I'll be leaving first."

Yu Yue smiled back at him, "That's fine, I won't hold you up any longer. I haven't finished reading my books either, so I'll be returning to the library. Shangyang Xiang Tian, I'll see you later!"

Soon after, Sasuke brought his older brother back to his dorm and closed the door as they both walked in. Immediately, Shangyang Hu impatiently asked, "Little Brother, you've got to tell me what you did to beat Kadi Yun, and how strong you really are! It couldn't only be at the 8th Saint Force layer, you have to be a Saint!" As he spoke, Shangyang Hu's face revealed an impatient, excited face as he waited for an answer.

Sasuke gently shook his head, "I'm not. Big brother, my actual strength should be not too far away from the 9th Saint Force layer. As for reaching the Saint level, I believe I'm still quite far away from it."

Shangyang Hu looked at him with doubt, "Little Brother, if you say you haven't reached the level of a Saint, then how did you beat Kadi Yun?"

Sasuke smirked as he spoke, "How did I beat Kadi Yun? Big brother, did you not see the fight clearly?"

Shangyang Hu's head drooped down in embarrassment as he blushed, "That is…er…Little Brother…actually, actually I wasn't able to see the match all that clearly. Could you please tell your older brother?" Although Shangyang Hu had seen the match from start to finish, there were some things that could not be comprehended by eyesight alone. For example, Shangyang Hu had not been able to comprehend what happened when Sasuke struck at Kadi Yun with a punch that seemed to be as light as a feather, but still managed to significantly damage.

Sasuke sat on his bed, calmly looked at Shangyang Hu, and said, "Big brother, the only reason a student of the 8th layer like me was able to beat a Saint like Kadi Yun was because I relied on a few techniques to win."

"Techniques?" Shangyang Hu was still skeptical. He was no stranger when it came to techniques and skill, because in the academy, many of the teachers would often talk about their knowledge of their personal techniques. In a fight against equally matched experts, one would need to use extremely strong techniques in order to win, but such techniques weren't so easy to train in. Even if they did learn the techniques, only those with battle experience would be able to learn and perfect a technique to the point of being able to incorporate it into their fighting styles. What Shangyang Hu really confused was that, not only was Sasuke younger than him, but he has also only been at the academy for a few days now. Shangyang Hu couldn't help but be shocked when he saw that Sasuke had mastered such a technique.

"Little Brother, where did you learn a technique like that?" Shangyang Hu asked curiously.

Sasuke shook his head sadly, "Big brother, I can't tell you that."

In the very end, what Sasuke used was Profound Steps, an entirely new technique even for himself which he had gained from the Primordial Chaos Tempering. He doubted his brother could learn it without the entire technique itself.

Upon hearing that, Shangyang Hu had a look of sorrow on his face. The next thing Sasuke had said though, brought his spirits back up, "Big brother, if you are willing to learn another technique, I can teach you."

"For real? That's great! Little Brother, when can you get started on teaching me? How about now?" He was anxious to get started, and wanted to learn this amazing technique right away. Once he learned the technique, then it was even possible for him to challenge Saints who had condensed their Saint Weapons with his current power!

Sasuke laughed, "Big brother, it would be better to start tomorrow. I'll be waiting for you in the eastern grotto outside the academy tomorrow morning."

"Alright Little Brother, it's a deal! I'll be at the grotto tomorrow morning," Shangyang Hu promised. Although many of the academy teachers could help instruct one on learning a martial technique, he knew in his heart that fighting techniques were best taught by the previous generation in a clan. Techniques taught by the professors here would not be strong enough to overwhelm any of his opponents.

Afterwards, the two brothers chatted for a while, until Shangyang Hu finally left. Because Sasuke had used up most of his Saint Force to fight against Kadi Yun, he was exhausted and slightly injured. Because of that, he decided to use the Class 3 Monster Core in order to recover his health.

Little did he know that, the whole academy was already in an uproar about how Sasuke had beaten Kadi Yun. There wasn't anyone in the academy who hadn't heard about it, and it shocked both students and teachers alike. Everyone thought this to be inconceivable, and an event of this scale was practically unprecedented in the entire history of the Kargath Academy. No one had ever heard of a Saint, who had been strong enough to easily beat a person at the peak of the 10th layer be beaten by someone only at the 8th layer; even if a Saint did not use a Saint Weapon, he/she could still easily defeat someone of the 9th layer, let alone a rookie who was only at the 8th layer.

The news of the fight between Sasuke and Kadi Yun soon reached the ears of the headmaster.

Within the middle of the central tower in Kargath Academy, the headmaster pondered about the situation while standing next to the open window. As his eyebrows knit together, he asked, "Baien, is what you say true? Shangyang Xiang Tian actually beat the Saint Kadi Yun while he was only at the 8th Saint Force layer?" Even the headmaster couldn't believe it the first time, and his eyes twinkled in curiosity.

The vice headmaster, Baien, stood respectfully behind the headmaster. In response to the headmaster's words, Baien replied, "Headmaster, I've heard all of the students talk about it, but I'm not too sure of the exact details. But right now, this event has set the academy upside down; practically every teacher knows that Shangyang Xiang Tian has beaten the higher ranked Kadi Yun. Rumors have it though, that Kadi Yun didn't use his Saint Weapon, and fought bare handed against Sasuke."

The headmaster stroked his long white beard, in deep thought. "Since the rumors spread this wide, it would appear that it is true. Haha, it seems that Shang Bai has brought quite the complicated youngster. For a Saint to be beaten by an 8th later student, how inconceivable. Even if the Saint had recently broken through and didn't use his weapon, his strength should still be higher than one at the 10th layer. In all my years at Kargath Academy, I have never seen such a match where someone with a lower level won."

"Headmaster, what should we do about this situation? Sooner or later, the seniors of the school will search for the 8th layer student who beat a Saint, and become an inconvenience for Shangyang Xiang Tian," said Baien with a respectful tone.

The headmaster turned towards Baien and casually waved his hand, "Forget it, let them handle it by themselves. As long as they don't make a big deal out of it, we won't interfere. Besides, this should be a test for them; if they can't take everything thrown at them, then they won't mature into fine warriors."

In a blink of an eye, 3 days had past since the fight between Kadi Yun and Sasuke had taken place. Pretty much everyone in Kargath Academy knew about Shangyang Xiang Tian now, you couldn't even walk a few steps without hearing his name.

In the past 3 days, Sasuke had spent every morning teaching his big brother his techniques in the grottos.

Other than that, he spent the rest of his time cultivating; the Class 3 Monster Core had drastically improved his cultivation rate. He wanted to hurry up and reach the 10th layer so that he could rush straight into the Saint level.

Sasuke had been very curious on how condensing a Saint Weapon worked, but according to book explanations, once the Saint Weapon is condensed, it replaced one's Saint Force. From that moment on, the Saint Weapon would be the origin for one's power. While it remains in the body, it releases Saint Force, and when one summons it, the Saint Weapon becomes one's strongest weapon. With it, one's attack would be multiplied.

A Saint Weapon was one's energy; if it were to break, then that person would lose all of their cultivation progress as well as receiving a fatal injury. If the break was fatal enough, then the practitioner would die. However, a Saint Weapon was extremely strong, it wouldn't break unless the opposing side was vastly stronger than them.

The next morning, Sasuke opened his eyes signifying the completion of last night's cultivation. After 3 entire days of cultivation, the Saint Force inside Sasuke had been strengthened and he estimated that he was long since past the 9th layer. He would have to test his Saint Force to find out whether or not he became a 10th layer practitioner or a Saint.

Getting off his bed, Sasuke got dressed quickly before heading out of his dorm. The sky was still dark, and majority of the students were still cultivating or sleeping. The sports field was relatively peaceful since there were no people in sight. Only in remote corners did Sasuke see a few other early risers practicing.

Passing the field, Sasuke immediately headed towards the grotto. These past few days, Sasuke was to spend some time every morning to teach his older brother some knowledge about the aspects of fighting. After all, in his previous world, Sasuke was a wanderer and an expert for many years, so he had participated in countless battles. The amount of battle experience far surpassed that of the Kagarth Academy teachers. If actually compared, Sasuke already had the qualifications to go teach the Kagarth Academy teachers.

When Sasuke arrived at the grotto, he discovered that his older brother Shangyang Hu was already waiting there, and was currently sitting on a tree stump. He had an aimless expression, as he randomly swept his gaze around his surroundings in boredom. As soon as Sasuke appeared, he immediately stood up in excitement, and jumped up from the tree stump. He happily said, "Little Brother, you've finally arrived."

Sasuke smiled, "Big brother, why did you arrive so early?"

"Hehe, it's habit, just a habit. Little Brother, let's start now. I spent the whole day yesterday trying to make heads or tails of the utilization of power you mentioned yesterday morning, but I was still unable to understand it. Can you re-explain it in detail to your big brother, one more time?" Shangyang Hu asked in a slightly embarrassed tone.

"Of course." Sasuke smiled, and replied, "Big brother, I'll tell you about that tomorrow morning. Today, I'll personally demonstrate it to you." Saying this, Sasuke picked up a skinny stick next to his feet.

"Big brother, watch closely." Saying this, Sasuke took the branch and lightly waved it in the direction of a small tree, about the thickness of his wrist. When the branch approached the small tree, the skinny branch directly left his hand and silently pierced through the small tree, as if there were no obstacles at all. It seemed almost as if the small tree was originally only a mirage.

As he watched this strange scene, Shangyang Hu started to have major doubts. At that moment, a rustling sound was heard, as the small tree started to split in the middle, the top half crashing down.

Shangyang Hu opened his eyes wide and immediately ran towards the tree only to see the strangely smooth incision on it. It was almost as if a sharp sword had chopped the tree down. It was truly unimaginable since this fine cut done by a light slash of a flimsy tree branch had been enough to chop through the small tree.

Immediately, Shangyang Hu's eyes switched over to the small tree branch in Sasuke's hand. He ran on over and took it into his hands to look over, but not matter how much he looked at it, it seemed to be an average tree branch. As he brandished it softly, the tree branch merely swayed with his hand.

Seeing this, Shangyang Hu's doubt grew even more. He really did not understand how such a plain looking tree branch could cut down a tree trunk the size of his wrist. He exerting some strength into his fingers, and the tree branch in his hand broke in half.

"Little Brother, how in the world did you do this? How can such a weak little tree branch cut down a small tree?" Shangyang Hu asked, the doubt on his face could be clearly seen.

Sasuke laughed, "Big brother, this only requires Saint Force to accomplish it. Don't say its because of the tree branch; even if it's a needle or a sewing thread, they both can cut through a tree branch with ease. Of course, my current strength isn't strong enough to do that."

"What, a sewing needle and string can cut through a tree? Little Brother, do you have a fever or something? This can't be possible." Shangyang Hu cried out in shock. He couldn't believe what Sasuke had said at all since he had never heard of such a thing since he was born; to him, this was an impossible feat.

Sasuke smiled from the start to finish of Shangyang Hu's outburst; he had not expected him to react differently. But Sasuke didn't bother to explain; when the day came where Shangyang Hu's strength was strong enough, he would understand.

Sasuke picked up another tree branch from the ground and said, "Big brother, you're still wondering how I could use a tree branch to cut through a tree right? Take another look, I'll demonstrate one more time."

Shangyang Hu went silent as he became entirely focused on the tree branch in Sasuke's hand. He didn't dare to get distracted now, just in case he missed out on some details.

Waving the tree branch in his hands, Sasuke's eyes flashed once before the tree branch suddenly distorted in his hands, causing the bent parts of the tree branch to slowly straighten. In the way it had been warped, it was almost as if it had a life of its own, since it was moving in the same manner as a snake would. It slowly started to move around in midair–those who saw the sight would only be able to describe it as weird.

Shangyang Hu's eyes grew wide from this strange display as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. With his eyes so wide, he looked as if he'd seen a ghost. He couldn't believe it at all; it was only a tree branch, and yet it had unexpectedly started to move around by itself.

Sasuke's eyes started to emit an amazing light as he spoke, "Big brother, watch carefully." Sasuke grabbed onto the perfectly straight tree branch and walked forward with it towards another small tree nearby.

His movements weren't fast at all; in actuality, they were very slow. Inching towards the tree, the moment his tree branch touched against the tree, it was as if the tree branch was being absorbed into the tree. Slowly, the tree branch went deeper and deeper into the tree trunk before it finally skewered itself through it.

This act stunned Shangyang Hu into silence as he focused onto the impaled tree trunk. His mouth dropped open so much that an egg could fit inside. His eyes were filled with an expression of disbelief.

"Little Brother, how did you do that?" Shangyang Hu shivered in awe. Even his heart was violently pulsing as his eyes were still planted on the tree.

With a faint smile, Sasuke answered, "Big brother, it's actually not that hard to do this. As long as you harmonize your Saint Force with the tree branch, then even though it's just a normal tree branch, it will turn into a sharp weapon. If one's strength is strong enough, then the tree branch can cut as easily as an iron sword."

"To harmonize the Saint Force and the tree branch…" Shangyang Hu's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he muttered. Immediately, he grabbed a tree branch on the floor and following Sasuke's instructions, he began to infuse the tree branch slowly with his Saint Force.

At the very moment when his Saint Force made contact with the tree branch, the tree branch violently exploded and sent pieces of it flying throughout the air.

"Big brother, your Saint Force is excessively fierce, so the frail tree branch wasn't able to bear it. Also, you're not proficient enough to control your Saint Force to a fine level yet. Remember, when you harmonize the Saint Force into the tree branch, you must make sure to transform the Saint Force into a soft type of energy, not a violent one." Sasuke instructed.

Hearing that, Shangyang Hu became puzzled, "Little Brother, how does one make their Saint Force become a soft type of energy?"

"Turning the Saint Force into a soft type of energy is merely just a different way of using it, that's all. Trying to explain this mystery anymore would be useless since only you can understand yourself. Big brother, starting from today, whenever you have spare time, try to harmonize the tree branch with your Saint Force. This way, it'll also strengthen your Saint Force. In the future if you can reach the level I showed you today, it'll bring you many good benefits when you cultivate." Sasuke explained, almost as if he was a teacher instructing his students.

However, Sasuke knew that if Shangyang Hu wanted to accomplish what he had just demonstrated, trying to make a frail tree branch strong enough to pierce through a small tree in such a small time, it would definitely not be accomplished in such a short amount of time. This required a high mastery of one's Saint Force, and without a sufficient amount of practice, Shangyang Hu would definitely not be able to harmonize the two together. Having a wooden tree branch harden into a sharp weapon like an iron sword was not simple at all. Infusing an iron sword with Saint Force would be easier, for example, but while an iron sword could support a larger amount of Saint Force, a tree branch could not, and required a gentle control.

The concept behind what Sasuke did would have been much easier to understand if Shangyang Hu was a Shinobi. Ever since Sasuke had arrived into this world, he had noticed everything in this world had Saint Energy within it. If he picked up a stick of wood, he would transmit his Saint Force into it, much like how Chakra was used to Stick to a Tree. The theory behind tree walking was to harmonise oneself and one's Chakra with the Tree Surface. The Uchiha had merely applied the same to Saint Energy. Of course his own unique abilities played a role in it as well.

Back in the forest, Shangyang Hu nodded, and after some contemplation, once again picked up the branch to try again. However, without exception, every single one of his attempts resulted in failure; not a single time did he succeed. He was completely unable to merge the Spirit Force into the tree branch. Every time his inner Saint Force approached the tree branch, the branch would explode, unable to bear his overly fierce and intense Saint Force.

Sasuke stood on a side and watched Shangyang Hu practice, and at the same time, he continued to instruct his brother. They continued all the way until the sun had risen above them. Only then did Sasuke leave the grotto, leaving Shangyang Hu alone as he continued to try without stopping; next to him, the ground already had a huge pile of broken tree branches.

The sun was out as Sasuke walked across the sports field, where quite a few students were already exercising. Sparing a glance at those students, Sasuke proceeded to move on towards the library. During the past 3 days, Sasuke was constantly cultivating his Saint Force and did not have the time to go to the library at all. In Sasuke's eyes, the only thing the academy had to offer that really attracted him was the library. When it came to the classes taught by the teachers, Sasuke didn't have a single speck of interest, and he personally felt that it was a waste of time. The teachers didn't have anything worthwhile to teach him, but the library did. After all, the library had records of everything that had happened on the Tian Yuan continent.

"Hey look, isn't that Shangyang Xiang Tian? I heard he beat the Saint, Kadi Yun, while he was only at the 8th Saint Force layer…"

"It is, it is! I even watched Shangyang Xiang Tian fight in the rookie competition, but I didn't get a chance to see him fight against Kadi Yun, what a great shame…"

On the sports field, two males who saw Sasuke were pointing from afar, while looking at him with a huge amount of respect.

"Wow, Shangyang Xiang Tian is so cool and so strong. For him to beat the Saint, Kadi Yun, while at the 8th Saint Force layer; he really is my idol…" Another first year minor noble girl cried, as her eyes sparkled with infatuation.

More and more people started to gather on the field. As Sasuke walked across the sports field, many of the surrounding people started to notice him. Ever since he had beaten Kadi Yun three days ago, his name had spread around the academy in a mere few hours, and his reputation had skyrocketed to the point where even the teachers of Kargath Academy knew him by name.

Sasuke quickly crossed the field into a shady area which would lead him to the library. Because there weren't many people at the library, the path towards the library was fairly serene and quiet. With almost no people in sight, all Sasuke could see was the scenery of nature, as the wind scattered countless leaves into the air with a rustling sound.

Just then, the shadows of a few people suddenly appeared in front of Sasuke. It was a group of four people who were laughing and talking amongst themselves. A simple look at their school uniforms could identify them as students of the academy as well.

Sasuke didn't pay any attention to the group of students in front of him, and proceeded to walk past them. But as he just crossed them, the four students suddenly stopped talking, and then quickly surrounded Sasuke.

Stopping, Sasuke looked at the students surrounding him and noted that they were all seniors. With a cold look, he ordered, "Move."

The four students stood tall and proud as they circled Sasuke before one of them spoke up.

"Kid, you look unfamiliar, you must be a freshmen." The one in front of Sasuke smiled with an unfriendly stare at him.

Sasuke did not show any emotion as he stared at the speaker, speaking to his face, he gave a faint smirk, "And what if I am?"

Hearing this, the senior chuckled, "If you want to live peacefully at Kargath Academy, then it's important that you have people like us protecting you. But if you want our protection, then you need to pay us. Since you're a rookie, then you just need to pay us 10 Purple coins; how about it, a good deal right?" The student had a confident smile on his face; in his mind, he had already intimidated Sasuke. To him, Sasuke was smaller, and therefore weaker in terms of strength, and he felt that he had definitely overpowered him already. He was confident in his skills as well, since he had already pulled this off many different times, making him an experienced veteran. If he had met a stronger student, then of course he would have thought twice before pulling this scam off, but Sasuke didn't seem like a strong student, so this would definitely be a total success; resistance would be futile.

If Sasuke was just another commoner student, then the four students would not dare extort a protection fee from Sasuke if they wanted to remain in the academy. After all, all the upperclassmen in Kargath Academy knew that the headmaster always sided with the commoners of the academy. But these four students have been living in the academy for some time now, and they could tell which student was a commoner and which student was a noble. So when they saw Sasuke, they could clearly tell that Sasuke was a noble, and therefore dared to extort him for money.

Hearing him, Sasuke internally snorted; he hadn't thought that people would try to collect protection fees from him.

The Uchiha snorted in disdain. Before they could even respond, he shouldered his way past the older students and resumed to walk towards the library once more.

Sasuke's actions caused the four students to be startled. This situation had gone against their expectations, and none of them had expected to see Sasuke so straightforwardly decline their protection.

The four students immediately turned towards Sasuke, who was walking away from them. Their eyes flashed dangerously. The one student who had his shoulder pushed aside snarled, while his face turned unsightly.

"Brat, stop right there!" He yelled angrily. Stomping towards him, he immediately cut Sasuke off from his path, as the other 3 followed him and formed the circle, once more confining Sasuke in the middle.

"You dared to walk against me, are you tired of living?" The initial speaker cried before fiercely reaching out to slap Sasuke across the face with his palm.

Seeing the hand approach his face, Sasuke's smirked and looked on with an amused expression. He lifted his own right hand up to block the incoming hand, so quickly that the other students couldn't react in time. After intercepting that student's hand that was halfway to his face, Sasuke lashed out with his foot, and his kick connected with the student's chest. With a small gasp, the student was sent flying backwards, before he heavily fell down onto the ground some distance away.

The situation had suddenly escalated, surprising the other 3 students. None of them would have thought that their previously easy target to bully would suddenly become like this. Before they could even react, Sasuke had kicked their companion across the place.

But they soon regained their wits and started to sweat. Without even needing to discuss it amongst themselves, they all concluded that they needed to dispose of Sasuke.

Although they knew Sasuke's strength wasn't normal, these four students had run rampant in Kargath Academy and were not afraid of him. Even if Sasuke was that strong, the four of them combined could take him on, so they had nothing to fear. Not only that, but they all had strong clans backing them up, thus, they had a strong shield with them throughout the entire academy.

Sensing that the three other students were exuding out their Saint Force, Sasuke looked at them with a hint of disdain. The moment the three prepared to fight, the levels of their Saint Force had been revealed to him; the three of them were roughly at the 10th layer of Saint Force.

The three went into motion very quickly, and in a blink of an eye, they were in front of Sasuke. However, at the crucial moment, Sasuke's body swayed and dodged each one of their attacks.

While the 3 attacks failed to make contact, Sasuke didn't wait for them to recover, and immediately slammed his fist into one of the students' forehead so quickly that none of them could react.

The student who had his forehead hit immediately fainted onto the floor. At the same time, Sasuke's right leg kicked one of the other students in the chest.

Following the dull thud, because the youth had long been prepared, he managed to endure and only stumbled back a few steps after receiving the kick from Sasuke, and quickly steadied himself. Despite that, his complexion had turned pale as the two huge forces of energy hidden in Sasuke's kick had jolted his internal organs. Furthermore, faint strands of Saint Force had also flowed through Sasuke's leg into the youth's body, wreaking havoc among his internal organs.

Just as the youth had stabilized himself, Sasuke's second leg had already once again kicked out. Leaving behind afterimages in the air, the leg landed onto the chest of the youth once again. Moreover, the second kick landed perfectly on the same spot as the first, beautifully superimposing themselves on each other.

Having received two heavy hits in a row on the same spot, the damage the youth suffered was not as simple as adding one plus one. When Sasuke's second kick landed on the youth's chest, even if he had the strength of a 10th layer Saint Force, he would still suffer serious injuries. Waves of acute pain emitted from the vital organs within his body, instantly turning the youth's face white. His internal Saint Energy was also blocked, causing him to have extreme difficulty breathing. He staggered back a few steps before one last unsteady step brought him crashing to the ground, and left him unable to stand back up again.

Seeing Sasuke effortlessly dispatch a comrade who had a strength comparable to his own in the blink of an eye, the remaining youth's complexion changed. The foot that was just about to rush towards Sasuke suddenly stopped in its place, it was as if the soles of his feet grew roots which extended deep into the ground. The youth did not dare to take a step forward. Eyes filled with vigilance, the youth stared at Sasuke with an expression that had lost the smugness from before, and was instead now filled with an intense concentration.

Sasuke's calm gaze turned to glance at the youth, the corners of his mouth betraying traces of a sneer. Without a word, he turned and left towards the direction of the library.

After Sasuke left, the two youths who had been beaten to the ground by Sasuke raggedly crawled up from the ground, eyes seething with a poisonous hatred as they bore holes into Sasuke's back. One of them grumbled in a low voice, "Who is he, to be so strong that even all of us together were far from his match? Is this really a new student who had enrolled this year? How can he be so strong?"

"Who cares who he is; since he dared to offend us, we absolutely cannot forgive him." In a furious tone, another person also cursed. His tone was also somewhat weak, as if he was gasping for breath. This was the youth that had been kicked twice by Sasuke; presently, his internal organs had already received a serious jolt. If it were not for the fact that his strength was originally above that of Sasuke's, he wouldn't even have the strength to stand at this point.

Immediately, the spared student ran over to the fallen two students. Concerned, he asked the pale youth that Sasuke had kicked twice, "Luo Yun, are you alright?"

The student named Luo Yun nodded his head and spoke with a weak voice, "I'll be fine after a few days of cultivation." Turning around, he asked the other injured student and whispered, "Karl, you can find information around the academy faster than us; find out what that brat's name is then have Master Ming sort him out!"

Hearing his friend, Karl thought for a second before responding, "There's no need to, I think I already know who he is."

The other two student's face lit up as Luo Yun said, "That's great then, Karl, who is he?"

"In this years annual Rookie Competition, there was an unusually strong competitor, the very same one that beat the Saint, Kadi Yun, while being an 8th Saint Force layer practitioner. I think he's that person." Karl's face grew dark as he said it.

As the two students heard Karl, their faces immediately changed. Looking at each other, Luo Yun said, "Could he really be that Shangyang Xiang Tian?"

Karl nodded his head, "It's very possible. Within the newest group of freshmen, only Shangyang Xiang Tian could beat me. If he really is Shangyang Xiang Tian, then we can't even be considered his opponents on any reasonable level if he can really beat that Saint, Kadi Yun. Even if he didn't use his Saint Weapon, that's still enough proof of Shangyang Xiang Tian's strength."

"Hmph, even if he really is Shangyang Xiang Tian, he still dared to cross my path. I definitely won't let him have a peaceful time at this academy," spoke the first person who had been attacked by Sasuke.

Luo Yun's white face started to sneer as he growled, "That's good, our Luo clan's young master had been asking around for news about Shangyang Xiang Tian recently. If he hears about this, the young master will be happy. It's a pity that we didn't know where he was for the past few days; after searching for him, who knew that he would coincidentally just show up here and now?"

"Luo Yun, you go find the young master of your Luo Clan, Chen Feng and I will call out master Ming. I doubt that Shangyang Xiang Tian would be a match for master Ming." Karl growled.

"Fine, we'll all do what we need to, but I suggest that we leave one person behind to continue observing Shangyang Xiang Tian. Since the academy is so large, if Shangyang Xiang Tian decides to hide, we'd never be able to find him," Luo Yun proposed.

Karl nodded his head before turning to his friend behind him, "Chen Feng, you stay here and observe him; I'll go find master Ming."

"No problem!" Chen Feng promised without hesitation.

After the tasks had been split up, Chen Feng left to trail Sasuke, while the two other students picked up the still unconscious one and left to do their own task.

Within the library, Sasuke sat down at a nearby table with two books and began to eagerly read.

Because the day was still early, the library was very empty and quiet. Aside from Sasuke, there was only a middle aged female janitor nearby bustling around.

The woman was around 40 years old with an average appearance. Since she had no talent in cultivation, she was only at the 6th Saint Force layer, even though she was already 40. Even the weakest student in Kargath Academy was stronger than her.

The woman tilted her head up to look at the studying Sasuke, and although she didn't know his name, Sasuke had left a deep impression on her. Aside from the past 3 days, Sasuke had always been the first student to enter the library, and was always studying for the whole day. There were even some days where he didn't eat lunch to continue reading. The janitor lady had already been serving the academy for many years, but Sasuke had been the very first student she had ever seen that was so hardworking.

"What a hardworking child." She had muttered to herself as she set out to do her tasks.

In a large room, a youth around 20 years old stood in the middle of the room with his eyes closed. His body was positioned in a very strange way, and like a log, he just stood there without moving a single inch.

At that moment, a muffled knock was heard from the other side. At the same time, the youth with the closed eyes began to slowly open them and maintaining his strange posture, he stared at the door, "Who is it!" He called out.

"My lord, it's me, Luo Yun." Came the voice from outside.

"Enter!" He stated.

The door opened, allowing the 20 year old man to see one of the four students that was beaten up by Sasuke–Luo Yun.

Luo Yun looked at the weirdly positioned youth without batting an eye, as if this wasn't a strange occurrence. That was because this weird position was actually the Luo Clan's method of cultivation.

In the Tian Yuan continent, there weren't many training manuals recorded. Among the few of them were cultivation meditation, and even less people had mastered a new position to cultivate in. The Luo Clan was definitely the latter and would put their bodies into a position unique to them in order to maximize their cultivation.

Luo Yun walked over to the other youth and stooped over in respect, "Master, for the past few days you've been searching for the whereabouts for Shangyang Xiang Tian; I've just recently found and met him." Although Luo Yun had a great standing within his clan, in front of this youth, even he would not dare to be arrogant. That was because this youth was Luo Jian, the first son of the clan leader of the Luo Clan. Along with the loving affection from the clan leader, he was deemed to be the future successor of the Luo Clan, and so Luo Yun had wanted to curry favor with him.

"You've found Shangyang Xiang Tian!" Upon hearing that, Luo Jian's eyes brightened up. Noticing Luo Yun's pale face, Luo Jian's eyes trailed down Luo Yun's shirt to see the single footprint on his chest. With a haughty voice, Luo Jian said, "Seeing you in such a sorry state, it would appear that this Shangyang Xiang Tian forced you to suffer quite a bit."

Luo Yun's face grew angry as he spoke, "What the lord says is correct; I just recently saw Shangyang Xiang Tian and politely asked him to come visit my lord. But that Shangyang Xiang Tian was completely outrageous and arrogant beyond belief. Not only that, but he is extremely violent, and most importantly, he did not care for you at all. He said…he said that the lord…the lord is…" Luo Yun started to trail off from hesitation.

Luo Jian scowled, "Don't just stand there and stutter, what did Shangyang Xiang Tian say about me?!"

Luo Yun's eyes flashed with an indignant color as he hesitated for one last time. With a spurt of courage, he cried, "Shangyang Xiang Tian said that the master wasn't worth shit, and throwing a shoe at him would not be worth the effort!"

"What!" Luo Jian's face grew just as angry as his emotions. Although the Luo Clan was not extremely influential within the Tian Yuan continent, within the Gesun Kingdom, they were one of the most prestigious clans with a 200 year old history. In the Gesun Kingdom, the amount of clans that could beat them in power could be counted on one's hands. When it came to the successor of the Luo Clan, it can be said that Luo Jian was a noble of extremely high standards that even the crowned prince and princess of the kingdom could be considered to be on the same footing as he was. He didn't think that within the Kargath Academy there would be an unknown freshman that would dare to be so egotistical. In his entire life, he had never seen someone so arrogant towards him.

Luo Jian's stare grew cold towards Luo Yun, "He really said this?" The amount of anger was hardly being concealed by Luo Jian's tone.

Seeing Luo Jian's reaction, Luo Yun was secretly delighted, however, he quickly regained himself and said, "Yes my lord, what Luo Yun says is true. I wouldn't dare lie to you; this Shangyang Xiang Tian is truly too arrogant. He never saw you as anyone worthwhile, and even dared to spout out arrogant words. If we do not teach him a lesson, then I fear that the lord will lose face and be the target of ridicule within the academy."

The more Luo Yun spoke, the angrier Luo Jian became. Standing to his feet, he growled, "Where is Shangyang Xiang Tian? I want you to bring me to him, and if he truly doesn't see me as someone worthwhile, than I shall see how strong he is."

"Yes, of course! Please follow me my lord." Luo Yun exited the room and brought the angry Luo Jian out of the room with him towards the library.

At the same time within one of the rooms in Kargath Academy, the respectful Karl brought another 20 year old youth out and towards the library.

As they passed through the sports field, a few seniors noted the group with looks of surprise, their comments could be heard from all directions.

"Hey…isn't that person walking over there Lord Ming? He hasn't been seen around the academy for over a year already, what wind blew him here today?" A senior around the same age as him said in surprise.

"I've heard that a year ago, Lord Ming had already reached the middle levels of Sainthood, so there's no telling how strong he is now."

"Lord Ming is definitely the genius of Kargath Academy. He had condensed a Saint Weapon at the age of 19 and became a Saint. At the age of 20, he then reached the middle levels of Sainthood. One year has passed already, so the Lord Ming must had reached the upper levels of Sainthood with his talent in cultivation."

"Definitely, Lord Ming is the number one genius at cultivation at Kargath Academy. The headmaster had even said before that by the age of 23, Lord Ming would definitely become a Great Saint."

"Becoming a Great Saint by the age of 23, Lord Ming is truly amazing. Many of the seniors in Kargath Academy are still at the rank of the 10th layer of Saint Force."

As Karl walked down the path slowly, the seniors the saw the pair walk by continued to gossip. Lord Ming was a very well known figure within Kargath Academy, not for his character, but for his cultivation rate that would astound anyone. Within the Tian Yuan continent, he could be considered to be a prodigy blessed by the gods, and in Kargath Academy, he could be considered as standing at the peak of the strongest experts.

At this moment, Sasuke was still pouring his interest into the book in his hands, completely unaware of the incoming trouble.

In a flash, Luo Yun and Luo Jian arrived at the library gates. A few feet away from the big gates, the one who had been trailing Sasuke, Chen Feng, was leaning against a tree trunk. His eyes were constantly watching Sasuke, who was still reading with relish.

When Chen Feng saw Luo Yun with Luo Jian by his side, he immediately ran over to them. He bowed at Luo Jian, and with a charming face, said, "I didn't think that I would meet the lord Luo Jian here. I am truly honored to see you." Chen Feng was extremely respectful; although he too belonged to a clan, within the Gesun Kingdom, it was a very minor one. It was only when he was joined together with the children of bigger clans that he dared to collect money from those weaker than him. With this, he had a strong relationship with the Luo Clan that would definitely bring him many benefits. If he was lucky, then his own clan would be pulled up into the higher ranks with the help of Luo Jian; after all, Luo Jian was to be the clan's successor.

Luo Jian felt proud as he looked at the respectful Chen Feng, and gave a small wave of his hand, "Don't say anymore crap, is Shangyang Xiang Tian in the library?"

Even though Luo Jian had absolutely no trace of politeness, Chen Feng's look of respect didn't waver in the least. With a smile, he replied, "He is, Shangyang Xiang Tian is still in the library."

A sneer gradually formed on Luo Jian's face, as he got the answer he wanted, "That's good. Go inside and call him out for me." The library had a rule that all fighting inside was prohibited, and even Luo Jian had to respect that rule, despite his family having a great amount of influence.

"Yes, of course, master Luo. I'll have Shangyang Xiang Tian out immediately," Chen Feng said compliantly as he entered the library.

Inside the library, Sasuke's focus was still on his book; whenever he was in the library his guard was at its lowest. This was because within the library, he didn't have to worry about others causing trouble or asking questions, so remaining on guard wasn't needed.

While Sasuke was lost in his own world, he had the sudden feeling of someone's hand clasping down on his shoulder. Although he was still reluctant to part from his book, he looked to the youth standing next to me with a cold sneer on his face. From his memory, he remembered that this person was one of the four people who had tried to extort protection money from him.

Chen Feng stood by his side with a look of great joy at Sasuke's impending doom. With a strange tone, he said, "Shangyang Xiang Tian, I didn't think we'd see each other again so soon."

"Hm? You again?" Withoutithout a care, he spoke, "Want to get beaten again?"

Chen Feng's eyes flashed with anger, but he didn't dare make a move towards Sasuke. The library was strict on their rules, and he was sure that he wasn't a match for Sasuke.

Chen Feng stuck his chest out as his glared maliciously at Sasuke, and coldly said, "Shangyang Xiang Tian, although I am no match for you, Kargath Academy is not someplace you can rampage around. If you really have the guts, then follow me outside. Otherwise, prepare to stay in this library for the rest of your life." After dropping these words, Chen Feng directly walked out of the library. However, the words he had said had already attracted the attentions of all the students within the library. Immediately, many people began to shift their attentions to Sasuke with complicated expressions of envy, respect, and jealousy.

Sasuke slowly closed the book with a crossed expression. From Chen Feng's words it would seem that he got reinforcements to help him.

Sasuke's eyes had an amused look as he put the book back on the bookshelf and then walked towards the entrance of the library deep in thought. Although he knew people were waiting outside for him, if he didn't go out then people would think he was afraid of them. If Sasuke wanted to continue reading books in the library in peace, then he would need to reveal his own strength and inspire fear into the others. Otherwise more and more people would come and find trouble with him; there would be no point in coming to the library in that case.

Although he knew that the people outside were definitely not weak, it was possible that they were experts at the same level as Kadi Yun. However, Sasuke still did not show any trace of fear. He was confident that if he faced a Saint at his current level, even if he didn't win, he would not easily lose. After all, no matter if it were battle experience or techniques, Sasuke far surpassed anyone else at the academy. Moreover, he was a person who had experienced countless life or death situations.

As soon as Sasuke left the library, he looked up to find three youths standing outside the door. They didn't look very different from each other, as they all wore the school uniform. Two of the people were part of the extortion group Sasuke had met before, and the third one was looking at Sasuke with an expression full of arrogance. It was obvious that he had been a helper summoned by the other two.

Seeing Sasuke actually walk out of the library, Luo Yun began to laugh evilly. He whispered to Luo Jian standing next to him, "My lord, he is Shangyang Xiang Tian."

Luo Jian's arrogant eyes sized up Sasuke with an expression of disdain, and he coldly said, "Brat, are you Shangyang Xiang Tian?"

Sasuke gave Luo Jian a blank look. Luo Jian looked to be around 22-23 years old, and he had an extremely handsome appearance. However, his expression did not hide any of his arrogance.

"Who are you?" Sasuke indifferently replied to Luo Jian, his tone ice-cold.

Luo Yun, who was standing next to Luo Jian, shouted, "How dare you, Shangyang Xiang Tian. What kind of status do you have to dare to use that kind of tone to talk to my clan's lord? Do you want to get kicked out of this academy?"

"Shangyang Xiang Tian, hurry up and apologize to my lord. Otherwise, don't think you can stay at Kargath Academy for much long." Chen Feng did not miss the chance to suck up to Luo Jian, and yelled back at Sasuke in an indignant tone.

Hearing these two's words, the Luo Clan's lord, Luo Jian, became even haughtier, and his face was full of self-pride.

Sasuke's unchanged face gradually showed a hint of a sneer, and he looked at the three people with disdain, and said, "Based on your words, are you saying that the headmaster of Kargath Academy will listen to you three? Or perhaps, are you saying that Kargath Academy belongs to your clan, whoever you want to leave must leave? The three of you are really too audacious, to even dare to look down on the headmaster."

Hearing Sasuke's words, the expression of both Luo Yun and Chen Feng suddenly paled. Even Luo Jia, who had a huge clan backing him up, he could not stop his expression from turning unsightly, as he glared poisonously at Sasuke. Although he had the most influence backing him up out of the three since Luo Jian was the successor of Gesun Kingdom's powerful Luo clan, he did not dare to show any disrespect towards the headmaster of Kargath Academy. If Sasuke's words spread to the headmaster's ears, then they would be heavily punished. In the worst case scenario, they could be directly expelled. Even if Luo Jian had a powerful background, even if his father was Luo clan's clan leader, even if he was Luo clan's successor, there was no way he could get away of such a consequence completely cop-free. His Luo clan would definitely not be willing to offend Kargath Academy's headmaster for his sake.

Luo Jian's face turned gloomy, and he glared at Sasuke, "Shangyang Xiang Tian, you really are quite arrogant. I just wonder if you have the qualifications to be so arrogant."

Sasuke smirked in disdain, and coldly replied, "Stop wasting my time, just say why you've come looking for me."

Luo Jian let out a smile filled with a murderous intent. "The reason I came is very simple. I just wanted to see how someone like you defeated a recently advanced Saint, even if Kadi Yun didn't use a Saint Weapon. Shangyang Xiang Tian, are you really that amazing?" Luo Jian cracked the knuckles on both his hands before clenching them both. The loud snapping sound from his knuckles was clear to hear as a strong amount of energy started to emit from his body onto Sasuke's own.

At the same time, the people who were reading their books inside the library all closed their books. Everyone start to chatter excitedly as they watched the events that were happening with Sasuke with pleasure.

Regarding the Saint Energy that Luo Jian was emitting, Sasuke was not affected at all and stood straight like a towering mountain. Luo Jian's strength was clear to Sasuke and was not at all weaker to Kadi Yun; however, it was not strong enough for him to fear, instead, his fighting spirit rose.

As soon as they saw the two opponents were about to start fighting, the people in front of the library began to retreat, afraid that they would be affected by any shockwaves.

"How could we miss such an interesting battle?" Just before the two people were about to begin fighting, a voice suddenly rang out from the back, and a few youths wearing the school uniform walked out from behind.

There were a total of five people that had just arrived. Among them, one of the people was another person from the extortion group that Sasuke had encountered earlier. Sasuke did not recognize the other four, but anyone could tell with a single glance that they were from major clans. Their brows seemed to hold an aloof and remote expressions.

However, what drew Sasuke's attention was the youth standing in the center of the group of five. It was obvious from his eyes that he was the core figure the other four revolved around. He didn't seem that old; based on his appearance, he was probably around 20 years old.

"Everyone, look; isn't the person in the middle master Ming, who's been missing the past year? I didn't imagine that he would also come."

"That's right, it really is master Ming, our Kargath Academy's genius. It's said that a year ago, his power had already reached the middle Saint levels. With his talent in cultivation, I had thought during the past year, master Ming had already broken through to the Great Saint level and graduated. I didn't think that he was actually still on the academy grounds."

"I wonder what master Ming's current power is, and whether or not he has reached Great Saint level yet…."

"The three people next to master Ming seem to be powerful Saints who have already condensed their Saint Weapons. To think that the elites that are normally rare to see would all appear here…."

Seeing the students standing there, all of the students started to shout in alarm, rapidly increasing the noise in the environment.

"Ming Xiang, you've come at just the right time. If you were the slightest bit late, you would've missed this interesting show." Seeing the youth amongst the crowd, Luo Jian immediately stopped his imposing manner, and laughed as he greeted the youth. He then nodded at the other three students following behind.

Ming Xiang started to smile, "How could I miss a match like this?" He stared down at Sasuke with disdain before saying, "Do you think that's Shangyang Xiang Tian?"

"Correct, Lord Ming. He's definitely that Shangyang Xiang Tian who hurt our companions." Luo Jian said as he stood behind Karl.

Ming Xiang nodded his head and said slowly, "Shangyang Xiang Tian, you're definitely not bad, to even hurt my comrades!" His voice was getting darker with each word.

Sasuke's mind already understood that these were a group of unreasonable children with rich parents, so arguing with them was of no use; they would only listen to force. Thus, Sasuke didn't bother to say any trash talk; instead, he said coldly, "So what if we fight; if you're not happy with this, make the first move instead of spouting so much crap."

Hearing Sasuke's words, Ming Xiang's face gradually turned ashen, "Hmph. Then it's time to see how strong you really are." With that, his body started to glow so brightly that the light extended 10 meters away to where Sasuke was. Dashing forward, he launched his fist towards Sasuke's nose; against a person who wasn't even a Saint, he wouldn't even bother using his Saint Weapon.

Even Sasuke knew that Ming Xiang's strength far surpassed Kadi Yun; the difference in Saint Force was far too great with his own as well. Therefore, Sasuke absolutely could not afford to take that fist. Just when Ming Xiang's fist was about to connect with Sasuke's head, his head suddenly blurred and dodged the fist. At the same time, Sasuke's two fists went up to grab at the incoming arm from Ming Xiang. Assuming a horse stance, he stiffened his back and pulled at the arm with both of his own.

Originally, when Ming Xiang was attacking, his center of gravity had been leaning forwards. Now, Sasuke had pulled him further, he momentarily lost control over his body, and he began to fall forwards. However, Ming Xiang was quick to respond. Stamping on the ground with his foot, he exerted all his force to try to prevent any further pull from Sasuke. As he did that, however, Sasuke suddenly let go of Ming Xiang's arm and immediately pummeled at his stomach with a barrage of blows that were as fast as lightning.

Since Ming Xiang's center of gravity was now focused towards the back, when Sasuke had punched him with all his might, his legs couldn't help but stumbled backwards, as if he was struggling to avoid falling.

After falling back 10 steps, Ming Xiang finally regained his bearings but his face had long since turned into the same color as a pig's liver. With a dark and ominous expression, he glared at Sasuke maliciously. Because of his majestic body, he was considered to have one of the strongest in the academy, so how could he not feel furious at this? If the academy found out his body was actually hit and injured like this, then he would no longer have face within the academy and become a laughing stock.

After thinking about the consequences of this, he glared at Sasuke with a stare that could kill since this was an utter disgrace to him.

Already, the entire audience had became absolutely quiet. Luo Jian's own face had become sluggish as he stared at Sasuke with a surprised look. This was far beyond his wildest imagination, and not just his own, but everyone else watching. Ming Xiang was a talented genius when it came to cultivation, and even Saints couldn't match him in a hand to hand fight. To have Sasuke make him suffer such a loss and put him in such an ugly state was very surprising.

Glaring once more at Sasuke, Ming Xiang's arm started to release a silver type of Saint Energy before forming a two handed sword. He snarled, saying, "Shangyang Xiang Tian, I will definitely cripple you today!" With that declaration, he surged towards Sasuke with the silver sword in tow.

"Stop!"

Right as Ming Xiang had started to move, another deep voice had shouted over the crowd and noise. Immediately, everyone saw a rather robust and suntanned youth slowly walk forward.

When Sasuke saw the sturdy youth come forward, his eyes widened in shock. It was because this person was also a participant in the Rookie Competition and the person with the heavenly blessed strength–Tieta.

The moment when Luo Jian and Ming Xiang's men looked at Tieta, their faces started to change, an abject fear taking hold of them.

Luo Yun didn't recognize Tieta at all, so with an arrogant cry towards Tieta, he demanded, "Who are you? This is business concerning Lord Luo and Lord Ming so don't interfere, otherwise you'll regret it…"

"Shut your mouth!" Not even waiting for Luo Yun to finish talking, Luo Jian cut into Luo Yun's speech. Not even paying attention to Luo Yun's look of surprise, Luo Jian's face contained a smile towards Tieta as he bowed down in salute. "So it was brother Tieta after all, this one wonders what brother Tieta is doing here."

Tieta looked at him with an strange look before speaking in a low voice, "Who are you? I don't recognize you at all."

Not understanding why Luo Jian's face became so unsightly, Tieta directly walked towards Sasuke and lifted his hand to clasp onto Sasuke's shoulder. "Shangyang Xiang Tian, I didn't think I'd meet you here of all places! It has been so many days since I last saw you!" He boomed.

Sasuke also gave a faint smirk, "Tieta, let us put off this chat for now and let me take care of a few troublesome matters first."

Listening to what Sasuke said, Tieta's head whipped over to Ming Xiang and Luo Jian's group and slowly stared at them before pointing a finger, "Shangyang Xiang Tian, could it be that they're trying to bully you?"

"It could be said that way, yes, " Sasuke indifferently said as he shrugged.

As soon as he heard this, Tieta immediately rolled up his sleeves. He fiercely looked at the opposing group of people and loudly declared, "Shangyang Xiang Tian is my friend. Anyone who bullies him is bullying me as well. Whoever wants fight, come out. Even though my power might not be that strong, I, Tieta, am not afraid of you guys."

Hearing Tieta's words, Sasuke hesitated for a second. He looked at Tieta in confusion, not quite understand when he had become Tieta's friend?

Ming Xiang and Luo Jian's expressions changed. They glanced at each other with a serious look. It was obvious that they were somewhat afraid of Tieta. Even though Tieta's actual power wasn't very strong, and they could easily defeat him in a fight, Tieta had a formidable supporter that even the two of them were afraid to encounter. This was why they had never dared to touch Tieta at Kargath Academy.

Neither of the people spoke, and Karl and Luo Yun had already realized from Luo Jian's attitude that Tieta's identity was not normal. Thus, they made the smart decision off not making a sound. At that moment, the atmosphere had become slightly strange.

After quietly pondering for a while, Luo Jian was the first to break the silence, "Brother Tieta, this is a problem between me and Shangyang Xiang Tian; I hope you don't meddle with our affairs." Luo Jian's tone was extremely polite. He clearly understood that although Tieta was a commoner, his current status was without a doubt not any less powerful than his. It was even higher than his by a bit. Even if he was the successor to the Luo clan, his status was at most equivalent to Tieta's

Luo Jian's words made all the spectators shocked. There were quite a few seniors amongst them that recognized both Luo Jian and Ming Xiang, and they knew that although their individual statuses weren't that high, they both had great clans backing them up. And yet, at the moment, the two of them had suddenly acted polite to Tieta. This made the library's spectators curious about Tieta's identity. They couldn't imagine what kind of background Tieta must have to have been so domineering, and to make the insufferably arrogant Luo Jian and Ming Xiang so cautious and fearful.

Unfortunately, Tieta had no intention to appreciate the offer. Without giving face, he said, "I already said earlier, Shangyang Xiang Tian is my brother. His problems are my problems. If anyone has complaints, then everyone should direct them towards me."

Luo Jian's expression changed colors, and his eyes showed a serious expression. In regards to Tieta, he really didn't dare to offend him too much.

At that moment, Ming Xiang snorted, and he glared at Tieta. In a heavy voice, he said, "Tieta, do you really want to butt into this business?" Having suffered from Sasuke's hands, Ming Xiang had already formed a hatred for Sasuke in his heart. For a freshman that hadn't even reached Saint level yet to have put him in such a difficult situation was definitely a humiliation to his genius. If he didn't clean this situation up now, then he wouldn't be able to enjoy his time at the academy in the future.

"That's right, I want to get involved." Tieta's yelled back, his expression harsh. Even though he clearly knew how powerful Ming Xiang was, Tieta still did not show any sign of fear.

Sasuke pulled at Tieta and said, "Tieta, this is something between me and him. You shouldn't have come ; otherwise, you'll just get caught up in more trouble."

Tieta's eyes flashed with anger, and he suddenly turned towards Sasuke, frowning, "Shangyang Xiang Tian, what kind of words are those? Do you think that I, Tieta, is someone who would be scared of these things? Do you not think of me as your friend?"

Hearing this, Sasuke could not help but feel puzzled. When had he and Tieta gotten so close? They barely even met each other; the only time they had really interacted was during the freshmen martial arts competition.

This guy strangely reminded him of Naruto, who declared himself to be anyone's friend, even if the other person himself had no clue about it.

"Hmph, Tieta. since you want to suffer so badly, then don't blame me. Don't think that just because you're the headmaster's apprentice, I won't dare to attack you. Let me witness exactly how great the headmaster's apprentice's abilities are."

Hearing Ming Xiang's words, Sasuke was a bit shocked. He hadn't imagined that Tieta had actually become the headmaster's apprentice. If this news was spread throughout the academy, it would spur a great craze.

At this moment, Ming Xiang had already appeared in front of Tieta, and directly struck his fist against Tieta's chest. Because Tieta had a special status, Ming Xiang did not dare to actually hurt Tieta, and his fist only used fifth layer force. In his opinion, even if he only used the strength of the fifth layer, it still wasn't an attack that a Saint could receive, let alone someone below that, like Tieta.

Faced with Ming Xiang's attack, Tieta did not dare to be careless, and his face showed matchless concentration. He roared, then with his right arm seemingly as sturdy as steel, he fearlessly threw a fist at Ming Xiang to meet force with force.

Tieta and Ming Xiang's fists collided into each other, creating a loud boom. A fierce shockwave exploded as the two fighters flew backwards.

Feeling Tieta's power within his fist, Ming Xiang's face faltered slightly, becoming a look of astonishment. Although Tieta's strength wasn't at the level of a Saint, the energy in Tieta's fist was something that even a Saint couldn't release. If it weren't for the fact that Ming Xiang's strength was stronger than Tieta by so much, then he would have suffered a huge loss from that confrontation. But even though he had made it out relatively unharmed, Ming Xiang's shoulder had started to ache with pain.

Stretching his right shoulder a bit, Ming Xiang looked at Tieta in a new light, "The headmaster's apprentice is truly marvelous. The power inside your fist is likewise frightening, and completely dominated my own fist. If you were a Saint, then your fist would have forced me into taking a huge amount of damage."

Tieta's godly strength was an inconceivable amount of power that no one else could compare themselves too. His strength was so strong that even Sasuke gasped in astonishment. Against such a strong opponent, Tieta didn't suffer a single trace of damage.

Tieta boomed with a happy laughter, and said, "Try again, I'll return the favor immediately." He swung his fists in a ready position as he faced Ming Xiang.

Looking at Tieta, Ming Xiang's eyebrows knitted together as he looked the paling Luo Jian. "I'll stall Tieta, you go teach Shangyang Xiang Tian a lesson." Without a pause, he charged at Tieta and the two started to fight once more.

Thanks to Tieta's special status within the academy, Ming Xiang didn't dare to use his Saint Weapon, and instead used his twin fists to fight him. But after a few rounds of close combat exchanges, Ming Xiang began to grumble to himself about how absurd Tieta's strength was. Not only that, but Tie Tia's body was like steel, so combined with his enormous strength that complimented his Saint Force, there was no way Ming Xiang would be able to defeat Tieta without using his Saint Weapon, despite being stronger than Tieta. He was using the entirety of his strength, but could only accomplish very little, such as pushing Tieta backwards. In addition, he still didn't dare to fight head-on with Tieta for an extended period of time.

The students all watched Ming Xiang fight against the incredibly strong Tieta with wide eyes, as they took pleasure in watching the fight. Although many of the students here had never seen Tieta before, they all knew him by name. After all, he was the 2nd place winner of the Rookie Competition, and thus his name had spread throughout the academy. Still, many people were having a hard time believing that someone who wasn't even a Saint yet could fight toe to toe with Kargath Academy's talented genius, Ming Xiang.

The news that the Rookie Champion of the Rookie Competition, Shangyang Xiang Tian, was able to beat the Saint Kadi Yun had already shaken the academy. And at the moment, they were completely incapable of accepting the fact that Tieta, who wasn't even a Saint yet, could fight one of the strongest Saints, Ming Xiang, to a standstill.

While Ming Xiang fought fiercely against Tieta, Luo Jian didn't idle about. Rushing towards Sasuke, Luo Jian didn't bother to use his Saint Weapon since he was a middle rank Saint, so it would be a waste for him to use it against someone who wasn't even a Saint yet.

Luo Jian quickly ran towards Sasuke before he could even prepare himself, and used his right leg to kick him. The kick traveled at such a fast speed towards Sasuke's stomach, that he could feel a cold gale. The kick was both fast and so fierce, and had no hesitation at all. Since it was Sasuke, Luo Jian would never consider holding back.

Despite Luo Jian's kick being extraordinarily fast, he underestimated Sasuke's reaction and evasion speed. Just as Luo Jian was about to kick Sasuke, he narrowly dodged to the side, and so Luo Jian's leg only clipped his clothes. Although it had looked like Sasuke had only barely dodged the kick by the skin of his teeth, there was not a single trace of panic on Sasuke's face, instead, there was only a casual look of boredom.

Seeing his attack miss, Luo Jian's eyes reflected a shocked expression. However the next instant, the cyan Saint Force immediately appeared from within his body. As soon as it materialized, mysterious breezes began to surround his body.

Suddenly feeling the fierce gale from Luo Jian's kick, Sasuke's eyes revealed a look of amazement. According to the books he had read earlier this type of attack was an example of a Saint with a wind attribute.

A Saint with an attribute was generally stronger than a Saint without one by a large margin; not only that, but those with an attribute would generally have that added to their strength. Those with a wind attribute would definitely have their speed increased multiple times, and in the higher ranks, there would be very little that could compete with a wind attribute Saint in speed.

A cyan colored Saint Force started to flow out from Luo Jian as his right hand was completely wrapped up in it. With another quick dash towards Sasuke to attack him, this fist was even faster than before and even left behind a phantom image; the naked eye would not be able to see the fist at all.

His face growing grave, Sasuke leaned his head to the side and dodged Luo Jian's fist once more. His right leg immediately lashed out towards Luo Jian that was no slower than the fist earlier.

Luo Jian's eyes flashed dangerously as he realized Sasuke's speed was no slower than his own. Because of the high speed kick, Luo Jian had no time to dodge it. Without any other choice, the wind attributed Saint Force started to concentrate within his left hand as he brought it smashing down onto Sasuke's incoming leg.

Luo Jian wind attributed Saint Forced infused fist fiercely collided with Sasuke's leg, causing the weaker Sasuke to be sent flying back.

Sasuke's body was thrown back with great speed, but both of his legs dragged against the ground, using the friction to slow his momentum. Leaving behind two exceptionally clear drag marks on the ground, Sasuke estimated that he had been forced to retreat 10 meters back.

Luo Jian cracked his knuckles and stared at the rarely seen look of solemnity on Sasuke's face. In that short confrontation, Luo Jian realized that he could not view Sasuke as a regular person. Although his strength wasn't that of a Saint, his fighting capabilities were.

Luo Jian's eyes started to flash with a small amount of hesitation before he finally came to a conclusion . In this situation, if he wanted to defeat Sasuke as soon as possible, then he would have to use his Saint Weapon. Although this would be hard to avoid being subjected to everyone's laughter, but he knew that if he didn't use his Saint Weapon he would not be able to defeat Sasuke in a short amount of time. If it took a long time for someone like him to deal with a freshmen that wasn't a Saint, then it would create an even bigger impact on his reputation.

When he thought about how he, as a middle Saint level, was unable to defeat a person who had not yet reached Saint level, and even had to use a Saint Weapon to do so; Luo Jian could not help but feel vexed. It made his hatred for Sasuke develop even deeper. Today's battle, no matter who the victor was, he would still lose a lot of face. On the other hand, Sasuke would most likely have his reputation increased by today's battle, and his reputation would once again spread throughout the entire Kargath Academy.

Luo Jian's eyes shone with a cold light that could make one shudder, and nobody dared to look at him straight in the eyes. Accompanying his palm, a powerful cyan Saint Force began to frantically rush forth, gradually condensing into a cyan greatsword. It was about 5 feet long and 3 inches wide, and the entire sword was covered in a thick layer of cyan light. That sharp blade emitted blinding light rays from the reflection of the sun light, and the mere sight of it made people quake in fear.

Sasuke sensed that the cyan greatsword in Luo Jian's hand was emitting a powerful Saint Force, and his face gradually became more grave. Using a Saint Weapon, Luo Jian's power had multiplied, much higher than it previously was. If Luo Jian didn't use his Saint Weapon, then Sasuke could still deal with the fight, albeit with some difficulty. However, once the Saint Weapon was drawn, Sasuke could only cautiously take up the challenge. Based on his previous world's experience from the countless life or death battles he had gained, perhaps he would be able to hold off the attack. However, it would be extremely difficult to win.

With his Saint Weapon in hand, Luo Jian's imposing manner suddenly grew stronger. His eyes intensely glared at Sasuke, as he said, "Shangyang Xiang Tian, today I will definitely dispose of you." Luo Jian raised the cyan greatsword high in the air, and its cyan glow sharply increased in brightness, as its strong Saint Force managed to jolt even the few students observing the fight from within the library.

Luo Jian roared, as he quickly slashed the cyan greatsword down from above his head, leaving a gorgeous cyan trajectory behind it as it moved. The only thing that could be seen was the lightly fast cyan Sword Energy that shot out and headed straight towards Sasuke.

Sensing that the Sword Energy was extremely powerful, Sasuke's face immediately showed matchless concentration; that was definitely not something the current him could withstand. The cyan Sword Energy was so incomprehensibly fast that Sasuke didn't have the time to contemplate his actions. He gathered all his power into his legs, to prepare to dodge with all his might. Suddenly, a white figure shot out as fast as lightning at a pace even faster than the cyan Sword Energy, and stood in front of Sasuke as a shield.

When the cyan Sword Energy shot towards the white figure, it unexpectedly disappeared silently without a trace. Not even a single spark could be seen.

The white figure that approached was a middle-aged man around 40 years old. The man wore a white robe, and his scholarly face was extremely solemn. His pair of unordinary eyes were completely filled with anger.

When Luo Jian saw the white clad middle-aged man, his expression drastically changed, and his face paled. He made the cyan greatsword in his hand disappear in an instant, and immediately bowed to greet the man respectfully, "Vice headmaster!" These mere two words betrayed the traces of fear hidden in Luo Jian's voice.

Hearing Luo Jian address this middle-aged male like so, Sasuke paused. His gaze rested on the male's back for a bit, as his heart realized the man's identity. To his relief, it was the one who held the position second only the headmaster's: Kargath Academy's one and only vice headmaster, Baien.