Eternal Holy Emperor
Chapter 71 - 63 Acknowledgment (4th update)

Chapter 71: Chapter 63 Acknowledgment (4th update)

"Is this all the strength you have? Too weak."

In front of the academy’s main gate, Ye Chen shook his head. This was his evaluation of the Thirteenth Prince.

As these words fell, the crowd was shocked!

Arrogant!

Far too arrogant!

Who was the Thirteenth Prince? A young prodigy who had reached the Innate Realm at the age of sixteen, his very presence in the Innate Realm was enough to terrify for it meant very few among his peers could stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

And that was just what he had achieved at sixteen. Now, at the age of twenty, he had been in the Innate Realm for a full four years.

Four years had passed, and with the Thirteenth Prince’s exceptional martial arts talent and the generous cultivation resources bestowed by the Royal Family, who knew what level his cultivation had reached now.

Many speculated that even though the breakthrough speed in the Innate Realm was nowhere near as fast as in the Acquired Realm, reaching the third level of the Innate Realm in four years was still possible for the Thirteenth Prince.

Such a figure was undoubtedly among the elite even in the highest-grade Heavenly Level Academy of Xiafeng Academy.

Yet now, he was described as "no match" by a mysterious young man, causing everyone present to frown, thinking him too presumptuous.

Although they had seen Ye Chen easily crush the Thirteenth Prince’s strike earlier, it was only a casual move from the prince, which didn’t prove much. At most, it showed that Ye Chen was indeed strong and might be able to match the Thirteenth Prince.

However, if the Thirteenth Prince’s full-strength strike was easily crushed, that would be an entirely different matter.

As for what everyone thought, Ye Chen didn’t care in the least, as if that was indeed the case. Only the Thirteenth Prince felt a heavy seriousness.

Only by truly exchanging blows could one feel how unfathomably deep Ye Chen’s strength was.

At least, to crush his Innate level strike with such an indifferent ease, even he couldn’t do it, making him feel uncertain about winning if they were to truly fight.

This young man was unexpectedly powerful.

But who was he, and when had such a dazzling young prodigy appeared in Xiafeng Country? Why had they never heard of him before?

Unable to contain himself anymore, the Thirteenth Prince stepped forward. His movements seemed slow, but were filled with mysterious swiftness. In an instant, he was in front of Ye Chen, swinging his palm again. A luminous treasure light flowed between his fingers, and True Yuan surged—a simple palm strike intended to test Ye Chen’s strength.

Ye Chen, immovable as a mountain, countered with a palm strike of his own. Golden Human Origin Power circled around his hand, clashing with the Thirteenth Prince.

Boom——

The ground trembled violently. Centered around the two men, a terrible wind arose, the hard flagstones shattered inch by inch, spreading out a radius of fifteen meters, even collapsing.

Both men stood their ground without retreating an inch, but the Thirteenth Prince’s palm was visibly trembling. Clearly, in this clash, he was at a slight disadvantage.

Among the onlookers were some sharp-eyed individuals. Seeing this, their pupils constricted; they were shocked. Could the Thirteenth Prince truly be inferior to Ye Chen?

Perhaps this mysterious young man was indeed a super expert stronger than the Thirteenth Prince of the younger generation.

Despite this, the Thirteenth Prince’s previously sullen expression suddenly brightened, shining like the sun as he gave Ye Chen a fist-and-palm salute, smiling warmly, "Young brother, your strength is formidable. I admit it and if I have offended you earlier, please forgive me, and do not take it to heart."

The crowd gasped. What did the Thirteenth Prince’s words imply? Was he acknowledging he was not a match for Ye Chen?

Ye Chen glanced at him with slight surprise. He hadn’t expected the Thirteenth Prince to so readily apologize and shift his form of address from "This palace" to "I," showing a significant change in his attitude.

Originally, Ye Chen did not have a favorable impression of the Thirteenth Prince, but seeing the other’s humble demeanor and willingness to apologize with such openness, his feelings warmed, and his expression softened. He nodded, accepting the apology.

The Thirteenth Prince did not take offense and continued, "Young brother, entering Xiafeng Academy requires a student token; it’s a rule that can’t be broken. If you don’t mind, why not come with me into the academy? As a student of a Heavenly Level Academy, I have the privilege to bring someone inside for the day."

Every student of a Heavenly Level Academy is an elite among elites, a true prodigy who must reach the Innate Realm before the age of twenty. Xiafeng Academy places immense value on these geniuses, granting them significant privileges.

Allowing them to bring outsiders in was one of their privileges.

Ye Chen shook his head at this, causing the Thirteenth Prince to gasp in surprise and sigh, thinking that Ye Chen was simply rejecting his invitation and feeling that he had lost an important opportunity to associate with a strong figure. However, the next moment, what Ye Chen took out from his bosom left everyone present wide-eyed and dumbfounded—

A student token!

This powerful and mysterious youth was unexpectedly also a student of Xiafeng Academy. Previously, Wuu Changwei and the others had spoken out and acted to prevent him from entering, even treating him with contemptuous disregard, not allowing him access to the academy at all, unaware that he possessed a valid student token.

But this was not the main point; the critical detail was that the student token in the hands of this mysterious youth happened to be a Black Iron Token!

Yes, a Black Iron Token, symbolizing the token of the Yellow-level Academy, which ranks at the bottom of the Heaven, Earth, Xuan and Huang Four Great Colleges.

Upon seeing this Yellow-level Academy token, everyone was immediately stunned.

This insider knowledge overturned everyone’s understanding, plunging the area into a deep silence, filled with disbelief.

To tell the truth, based on the strength Ye Chen had so far displayed, he could have easily entered the highest-grade Heavenly Level Academy in the entire academy. Since the Thirteenth Prince was a member of the Heavenly Level Academy and Ye Chen had managed to confront him without defeat, even a superficial battle would require combat power above the Innate Realm.

Obviously, Ye Chen met this standard; entering the Heavenly Level Academy would have been a simple matter for him.

Yet he was merely a student of the Yellow-level Academy.

Since when did the Yellow-level Academy have such a super expert, one whom even the Thirteenth Prince would deign to associate with, and why was this previously unbeknownst to them?

If this information were to spread, it would surely cause a huge uproar throughout Xiafeng Academy.

"This... this..." The Thirteenth Prince was taken aback.

In fact, this was the Xiafeng Academy token Ye Chen had obtained before he had fallen from the Genius Altar, when he was already a student of Xiafeng Academy and even a student of the Heavenly Level Academy, holding a Golden Token.

However, after participating in the Trial Road, his cultivation plummeted, and Xiafeng Academy subsequently revoked his eligibility as a student of the Heavenly Level Academy, so as not to dishearten Ye Chen too much, he was demoted to the status of a student in the Yellow-level Academy.

Therefore, this Yellow-level Academy token had been preserved until now.

Ye Chen, frankly, did not care about the rank of the student token, because even facing students of the Heavenly Level Academy, he did not fear them, as he possessed enough strength.

The hierarchical classification of Heaven, Earth, Xuan and Yellow was nothing more than a division of the students’ strengths. Still, for him, such classification was ineffective.

Even though the higher the academy, the more abundant the cultivation resources, compared to Xiafeng Academy, the Tiandu Academy, as a mainland Cultivation Holy Land, possessed infinitely richer cultivation resources. And he was about to head to Tiandu Academy for further studies. The cultivation resources of Xiafeng Academy—

Ye Chen honestly looked down upon them.

If it weren’t for a certain place within Xiafeng Academy that was somewhat useful to him, he wouldn’t have come at all.

Ye Chen handed the Black Iron Token to the gate guard and said, "This should allow entry, right?"

"Yes, of course, my lord, please come in."

At this time, where would the four gate guards dare to block his way? They hurriedly responded with respectful etiquette, not daring to show any neglect.

It wasn’t just because Ye Chen had the Black Iron Token; even the formidable Innate Realm power he had displayed earlier was enough to prevent them from stopping him.

The Thirteenth Prince followed him in and said with a smile, "Little brother, why don’t I accompany you into the academy? Would you mind?"

"Sure," Ye Chen nodded. He couldn’t well refuse, and besides, the other was a member of the Royal Family, with outstanding talent in cultivation, likely holding a significant position. If he were to cultivate this connection well, should any difficulties arise later within Xiafeng Country, it might be useful to leverage this relationship.

Thus, the two geniuses walked shoulder to shoulder into the academy, leaving a lingering shadow for the crowd.

Everyone could speculate that come tomorrow morning, Xiafeng Academy would surely be in an uproar...

PS: Finally caught up, two updates tonight as promised; talk is cheap, and late is better than never, right folks? Also, please throw me a recommendation vote!