On the shattered training plaza, many students were filled with hesitation. Although they were all geniuses from various places, aside from the elite students of the Heaven-tier Academy, the students of the three major academies were all cultivators below the Xiantian realm, their strength not particularly formidable. Going to the demonic beast-ravaged Demon-Suppressing City, they wouldn't have much ability to protect their own lives; they would likely end up as food in the bellies of the demonic beasts.
After thinking this through, many chose to back down. But no one blamed them, because rushing to the battlefield out of momentary pride despite knowing one's own inadequacy wasn't courage—it was foolishness.
The Crown Prince was not angered by these people's retreat. However, it wasn't just the students of the three major academies; even some of the elite students within the Heaven-tier Academy actually chose to back down, which greatly disappointed him. He snorted coldly, "All useless trash. If you don't even dare to go to the battlefield to slay demons, how will you ever dare to become true powerhouses in the future?"
The faces of those retreating, hesitant elite students of the Heaven-tier Academy turned green and white, looking utterly wretched. Yet, faced with the Crown Prince's questioning, they had nothing to say.
Ye Chen couldn't help but shake his head. Were these still the so-called elite students of the Heaven-tier Academy? They were nothing more than a bunch of cowards, of course, this was only a portion of them; one couldn't generalize.
People like the Thirteenth Prince, Li Hu, and Hua Shaoyang all chose to participate. The red-clothed woman and Vivian, both young women, did the same. Even a considerable number of students from the Earth, Mystic, and Yellow-tier academies resolutely chose to head to the Demon-Suppressing City to fight, to protect their home and country.
"Ye Chen, see you tonight!"
The Crown Prince was very aloof. In his eyes, Ye Chen was his only rival. He nodded towards him, left these words, then turned and left. His body moved like a swift wind, covering seven or eight zhang with each step. Within a few steps, his figure had receded into the distance, completely disappearing from everyone's sight.
"Ye Chen, I'll head back first. See you tonight!" the Thirteenth Prince also said. The red-clothed woman followed the Thirteenth Prince as he left, making Ye Chen thoughtful, as if he had come to understand something.
As for Xia Mang, Li Hu, and even Yang Yi and others, they all left dejectedly, disappearing without a word.
Finally, Ye Chen also left, but he did not go to the Alchemist Heart Palace to find Li Yun. Because he knew, with the outbreak of the demonic beast turmoil, the highly anticipated auction event most likely could not be held as scheduled.
What a pity. He had already prepared sufficient capital to participate in the auction, never expecting the demonic beast turmoil to occur suddenly.
To be honest, he was quite curious about what kind of treasure the so-called divine secret treasure was.
After leaving, Ye Chen wandered alone through Xia Feng Academy. It could be said he hadn't experienced such idle moments for a long time. The last time he was idle was when he was accompanying Ye Zimei.
In the end, he didn't go to the Gravity Pagoda to cultivate. Instead, he came to a patch of lush green grass beside a beautiful small lake within the academy, lay down on his back, chewed on a blade of foxtail grass, lazily basking in the sun, enjoying this rare moment of leisure.
Old Yan appeared, looking at the lazy Ye Chen, and said, "You little rascal are quite content with your leisure. The demonic beast turmoil has begun, and you're the one who caused it. Now, the entire Xia Feng Kingdom is in a state of panic, yet you, the biggest mastermind behind it all, are here enjoying a sunbath."
Ye Chen said indifferently, "Whether I'm the mastermind or not isn't important now. Whether we acted or not, this bone fragment would have been stolen sooner or later. The demonic beast turmoil was bound to happen eventually. It's just that in the end, the one who ended up with it was me, not someone else."
Old Yan raised his eyebrows. "Are you talking about the Martial God Hall?"
"The Martial God Hall is a very mysterious organization, probably a superpower comparable to the three great empires and the one great academy. Even if not, it's not far off. This treasure map bone fragment contains a heaven-shaking secret. The Martial God Hall won't let it go easily; they will definitely try to seize it sooner or later. I even suspect that the reason this demonic beast turmoil started half a month earlier is because the Martial God Hall or a similar force was secretly stirring up trouble."
Ye Chen analyzed, believing that the reason the Demonic Beast Mountain Range launched this historically most terrifying turmoil half a month early was because people from the Martial God Hall had secretly intervened, suspecting that Xia Feng Kingdom had obtained the bone fragment. But since it wasn't handed over, they provoked this situation to force Xia Feng Kingdom to surrender it.
As for why they didn't openly use the Martial God Hall's prestige to coerce them, there was probably some kind of restraint, forcing them to act this way.
Old Yan fell silent. Ye Chen's analysis was very reasonable; the reality was likely exactly so.
Then he said, "Little Chen, you're going to participate in this turmoil, is it because..."
Ye Chen slowly smiled and nodded in admission, making Old Yan shake his head helplessly. This guy's guts were really big, even having such thoughts—simply seeking death.
Lying there, Ye Chen's mind grew hazy, and he slowly fell into a deep sleep, actually dozing off without any vigilance.
He didn't know how much time had passed. The sun set in the west, and Ye Chen finally awoke, sensing a faint, pleasant fragrance wafting towards him. He immediately understood: a girl had come to his side, and moreover, she was an acquaintance.
He slightly opened his eyes and looked beside him. A gentle, serene young girl was sitting with her knees hugged to her chest, wearing mint-green robes and a plain long skirt. The breeze blew, lifting her black hair to brush against her face.
As if sensing something, the girl looked at Ye Chen. Her bright eyes held a shallow smile, like a hundred flowers blooming. She brushed aside her hair and said softly, "Young Master, you're awake."
"Vivian, why have you come?" Ye Chen looked at the girl, somewhat puzzled.
Vivian smiled. "I just came for a walk, to look at this familiar academy. I didn't expect to see you here, Young Master, sunbathing and sleeping lazily. Aren't you worried at all about the demonic beast turmoil?"
Ye Chen looked up at the sky, basking in the warm sunshine, and said calmly, "What is there to worry about? Since it has come, accept it calmly. After all, whether I worry or not won't change anything."
Vivian was first taken aback, then couldn't help but laugh. As expected of the Young Master, he was indeed extraordinary.
And so, a young man and a young woman sat on the grassy bank of the lake, wordless, yet in this silence, there was more meaning than in words.
He didn't know how long had passed when Vivian suddenly stood up and said, "Young Master, would you be willing to accompany Vivian for a walk?"
Ye Chen looked at the girl, still in her usual mint-green robes, standing there gracefully like a fresh, beautiful lotus flower—unstained by the mud, unadorned by the clear ripples. For a moment, he seemed to see a deeply familiar shadow etched into his soul and couldn't help but utter, "Chen'er..."
But when he focused his mind again, it was no longer that girl who had once lingered in his heart, and he felt somewhat downcast.
"Chen'er?" Vivian was puzzled. After Ye Chen came back to his senses, he smiled faintly. "Because my name is Ye Chen, my parents are used to calling me Chen'er, so I was just talking to myself."
Was it really just talking to himself? Vivian felt a pang of sadness in her heart. She had clearly seen, when the youth called out that name, a trace of heart-wrenching tenderness deep in his eyes—something she had never seen before.
It must be someone Ye Chen Young Master likes.
Vivian's expression dimmed slightly. Ye Chen had always been slow in such matters and didn't understand why. He patted the girl's head and said, "Vivian, what's wrong?"
The girl immediately showed a smile and shook her head. "It's nothing, Young Master, you're overthinking."
The two walked together along the bank of a small lake within the academy. The small lake rippled with emerald waves, and the banks were planted with weeping willows. The breeze blew, the sunshine was bright, and it looked like a place for lovers to rendezvous, making Vivian blush instantly. Looking again at the occasionally smiling, sun-filled youth beside her, she became even more shy and lowered her head.
At this moment, she wished this path would never end.
They walked like this, though Ye Chen felt slightly awkward because he simply couldn't find a topic. Finally, Vivian looked at the silly, dazed youth and couldn't help but purse her lips into a smile, like a spring breeze brushing the face, bright and moving. Her bright eyes and gentle smile held a hundred charms, making the youth couldn't help but stare in a daze.
"Young Master, you—"
Before Vivian could finish her sentence, Ye Chen interrupted her, saying, "Vivian, from now on, just call me by my name, Ye Chen. This 'Young Master, Young Master' isn't very comfortable for me."
Vivian blushed and nodded, searching for words to say, "Young—Ye Chen, I truly never expected you to be Ye Chen."
"That's not strange. After all, in the past, my dantian was crippled, my cultivation lost. Overnight, I went from a genius to a cripple. How many people thought I still had a chance to climb back up?" Regarding his past experiences, Ye Chen had no taboos. Perhaps it was just his unawakened self. After awakening, he could face all of this calmly.
Vivian nodded and then fell silent. Suddenly, she said, "Ye Chen, thank you. If it weren't for you stepping forward, grandfather couldn't have been saved, and I would have..."
Ye Chen stopped her words. "We are friends. Helping is only right."
"Friends... just friends..." Vivian murmured somewhat absentmindedly.
Regarding Vivian's words, Ye Chen shook his head with a slight bitter smile. How could he not know Vivian's feelings? Perhaps she really did like him somewhat. This could be known from her kissing him in front of everyone in the Alchemist Heart Palace.
Living in this world, women were reserved and shy. They would never easily reveal their emotions, let alone kissing, which undoubtedly expressed inner feelings.
But he couldn't easily accept this affection, because his heart was already filled with several beautiful figures; others found it difficult to intrude. Moreover, he didn't want to hurt Vivian. He would eventually leave Xia Feng Kingdom, even leave the Tian Du Continent.
The two of them were merely passersby in life. Some things needed to be resolved sooner rather than later.
Finally, Ye Chen resolutely turned and left. Vivian just stared blankly at the youth's departing back, mist gathering in her eyes, teardrops falling, dampening the clothes on her chest.
At this moment, she understood Ye Chen's meaning, but she was unwilling...
Night deepened. Beneath the Power Monument on the training plaza, Elder Duanmu appeared—precisely that Martial God realm existence from Xia Feng Academy who was heading to the Demon-Suppressing City.
On the dilapidated plaza, compared to the densely packed hundreds of figures earlier, it now appeared much sparser, with only a few dozen figures. More than half were elite students from the Heaven-tier Academy.
Seeing this scene, Elder Duanmu couldn't help but sigh softly.
The Crown Prince walked towards Ye Chen. Even he, usually serious, revealed a hint of a smile. "You truly didn't disappoint me."
Ye Chen smiled lightly but deliberately did not face the young girl behind him who was looking at him with melancholy eyes.
"Let's set off," Elder Duanmu said. Then, with a shudder of his body, radiant light blotted out the sky as he led this group of disciples soaring into the air, heading towards the Demon-Suppressing City.