One by One!

With a subtle shake of his head, Xia Feng also took his leave, his thoughts unknown as he swiftly vanished from the astonished students' sight.

"The Disciple Committee... left just like that?"

"Wasn't he supposed to be punished? Don't tell me Xia Feng has some inside help!"

"Shut up, idiot. This is Empyrean Sun Academy. Do you think the Xia Family can bend its rules? While the Xia Family is prestigious, no family can challenge the Academies."

As the students discussed the incident, Xia Mingrou, who had witnessed the entire scene, wore a puzzled expression.

"Xia Mingrou!"

A voice from her phone near her ear snapped her out of her daze.

"Tell Xia Feng to appeal for a counter-investigation and delay the punishment. We'll send someone soon! Remember, he mustn't be crippled, even if he's expelled, that's acceptable. Do you understand?"

The voice on the phone was commanding, leaving Xia Mingrou speechless.

"I don't think you need to send anyone. The Disciple Committee left without taking brother away."

The voice on the other end fell silent for a moment before speaking again, "What about Feng'er?"

"He left. I'll chase after him and ask for an explanation," she spoke softly, her voice tinged with respect for the person on the other end.

Evidently, the person she was talking to was someone close to her.

"Very well."

With that, the call ended.

...

The Empyrean Sun Academy wasn't the most powerful academy, but it certainly wasn't the weakest. Its founder, known as the Battle God, was the master of the most potent Divine Art, which gave the academy its name, "Empyrean Sun Battle Arts."

Xia Feng looked into the memories of his predecessor and examined the Martial Art. If he disregarded his identity as a Dao Lord, he might have been impressed.

Unfortunately, Xia Feng found the art to be of limited use. The only reason he gave it slight praise was that it originated from an era without Qi.

It could barely be cultivated to the 9th Stage of Qi Refinement.

Xia Feng felt it was a shame, as the disparity between the Martial Dao and Immortal Dao was too immense.

In a way, even an average Immortal Practitioner could defeat the mightiest Martial Dao expert.

With a frown, Xia Feng continued walking at a slow pace. "I'll have to leave this small star quickly. It can't possibly sustain my cultivation."

He longed to sit down and cultivate, but the world's Spiritual Qi was too thin.

It would take hundreds of years to complete even basic Qi Refinement. Xia Feng's mortal body barely had a lifespan of 150 years, and he couldn't withstand the erosion of time with it.

With these thoughts in mind, Xia Feng wasted no time and headed straight to the Martial Hall. Ignoring the chattering students, he presented a token to the Elder behind the reception.

"Which Martial Hall would you like to enter?" the Elder asked with a kind smile.

"Combat Arena."

"At what level?"

"Level 10."

The Elder paused briefly before nodding. "Name?"

"Xia Feng."

"That will be 1000 Academic Points. Are you sure you want to challenge level 10?" The Elder kindly reminded him that 1000 Academic Points were not insignificant.

Xia Feng nodded casually.

"Then head into one of the pods and insert the card. Take care and don't overexert yourself," the Elder advised kindly.

Xia Feng nodded before taking the golden card, about the size of his palm, and entered a large hall filled with metallic pods, where some students were already inside while others chatted outside.

Unlike the outside world, the Academy blocked internet access, so the students here were unaware of what had transpired in the Main Hall.

"Xia Feng!?" a student noticed him and jogged over.

He was burly and tall, quite different from the students Xia Feng had encountered so far. The guy patted his shoulder and asked, "What are you doing here?"

He was surprised to see Xia Feng here. Just last month, he had argued with Xia Feng over whether the Combat Arena or Sparring Arena was better.

'Jiang Yu, Martial Stage 6. Friend,' Xia Feng briefly registered the information in his mind.

"I was bored."

Jiang Yu laughed upon hearing that. "You, bored? Stop joking. Anyways, I'll leave. You do your thing."

He felt something was off about his friend, but since he couldn't tell, it was better to leave.

Xia Feng entered one of the pods, and just as the hatch was about to close, Jiang Yu turned around and asked, "What level are you planning to fight in?"

However, the hatch closed, and Xia Feng didn't bother to respond. He also didn't notice hurried footsteps entering the Hall.

...

Xia Feng's vision blurred, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself in a barren wasteland. The sky was blood-red with a black moon, and the ground was purplish.

[Please Select The Level You Wish To Fight In.]

A message appeared before his eyes, and he chose Level 1.

The message disappeared, and the ground rumbled slightly before returning to calm.

Then, something massive and terrifying appeared before him.

An imposing, dark-furred wolf beast with fiery, malevolent eyes.

[Level 1!]

Xia Feng's eyes grew cold.

[Start!]

The moment "Start" was uttered, Xia Feng disappeared like lightning and appeared above the beast.

Before the beast could comprehend what happened, Xia Feng's fist landed on its head.

Boom!

Blood rained down, but incredibly, none of it touched Xia Feng. It was as if he were protected by an invisible force field.

The wolf, with its head burst open, slowly faded away, and the ground trembled once more.

[Level Complete!]

[Completion Time - 1.2 seconds.]

[Move To Level 2?]

Xia Feng mentally nodded, and he reappeared where he had been standing.

[Level 2!]

Just as the message appeared, two wolves materialized this time.

[Start!]

As before, Xia Feng vanished and reappeared above one of the beasts, slamming his fist down.

The beast's head exploded, but this time, the other one, devoid of fear, pounced on Xia Feng instantly.

It opened its large mouth to devour him, but Xia Feng didn't allow it. He sidestepped and pierced the beast's eye with his hand.

The beast soon slumped to the ground, and the ground beneath him trembled.

[Level Complete!]

[Completion Time - 3.4 seconds.]

[Move To Level 3?]

Xia Feng nodded expressionlessly.

...

While Xia Feng was in the Combat Arena, chaos had already erupted outside.

Students were rushing into the Combat Arena one by one. The crowd grew larger by the second.

Jiang Yu who was leaving was startled and didn't understand what was happening.

He caught a slight chubby student that was running. The student was about to lash out but instantly minced his words as he saw Jiang Yu's frame.

"Uh can I help you?"

"What's with all of you? What are you guys running for?" He asked, not understanding what was wrong.

"Oh!" The student had a relieved expression and took out his phone before flashing it to Jiang Yu.

Jiang was puzzled but as he read the message his grip loosened and the student left.

Jiang Yu was frozen in place for a few seconds before he hurriedly took out his phone and rushed to a certain page.

The Academy had its own website. It was the only website the students could use.

On the screen Jiang Yu navigated to a certain page.

[Combat Arena Rankings!]

[ Level-1

1. Xia Feng (1.2s)

2. Jiang Shen (4.4s)

3. Su Yowei (6.3s)

.

.

.

]

"T-This... Impossible!"

He was an extreme Matrial Arts fanatic and his greatest idol had been his older brother, Jiang Shen.

Jiang Shen was a prodigy never seen before, his name alone made the other top students from different Academies tremble in fear.

How could that lazy playboy from the Xia Family break his brother's record?

Jiang Yu felt his world turn over.

But the reason he was panicking was not just this. The person who just showed him his phone was instead displaying the record for Level 2!

Jiang Yu shivered before hurriedly tapping the next button.

[Level-2

1. Xia Feng (3.4s)

2. Jiang Shen (9.2s)

3. Su Yowei (11.5s)

.

.

.

]

...

Like Jiang Yu, someone else was also stunned speechless.

Xia Mingrou had hurriedly chased after Xia Feng but by the time she realised he was in the Combat Arena it was too late.

She decided to head to the Arena and wait for him there but something strange happened.

She noticed a lot of students were rushing towards the Combat Arena as well. A sense of Deja Vu occured to her and she trembled.

She asked a student what was going on. The student was stunned by Xia Mingrou's beauty but something crazier was happening so he answered and left.

"Check the Combat Rankings!"

Xia Mingrou was confused and hurriedly checked the rankings.

"What!?" Xia Mingrou who was like a fairy, reserve and gentle but cold gasped in surprise.

She couldn't help it.

Why was Xia Feng on the top ranking for Level 1 and 2?

Even her own rank was 7 after repeated efforts. She felt that it was because of her low Martial Stage otherwise she could've been first as well.

She also knew Xia Feng's strength well. He was her sparring partner and 7 out 10 times she won.

Just as she felt her head spin she noticed a glaring "!" on the arrow sign which led to the next levels ranking.

An ominous feeling loomed over her as she hesitantly pressed it.

[Level-3

1. Xia Feng (5.1s)

2. Jiang Shen (14.8s)

3. Su Yowei (21.1s)

.

.

.

]