Author note: Sorry for being late. I was thinking of entering a competition here in the webnovel, but I am still not sure if to enter the competition or not. What do you guys think should enter or not?
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After all the students exited the Dragon Forest, they were all gathered in front of the Azure Fang Pagoda.
Fu noticed many academy staff were looking at Ye Feng with malicious intent. Fu was surprised at the look that the academy staff were giving to Ye Feng. Even Ye Feng was surprised at the malicious intent they were giving him. He was confused at that and asked himself, "What is going on? Why are the academy staff giving me this malicious look? Did I offend them in any way?"
Fu turned to Ye Feng and asked, "Why are the academy staff giving you this look? What did you do this time? They look at you like you have killed their wives or their sons." Ye Feng shocks his head. He was speechless at what Fu just said: "No idea, but my gut is telling me that things will be troublesome for me from now on in the academy." Fu nodded to Ye Feng; he also had the same feeling as Ye Feng.
Instructor Li stood in front of the students and said, "Alright, the Monster Cores Hunting Competition is officially over. The academy staff will approach each team and count the monster cores that each team has gathered from the Dragon Forest to determine who are the winners of this competition".
The academy staff started approaching the teams to count the monster cores they brought with them from the Dragon Forest. Some academy staff were approaching Ye Feng with malicious intent. Ye Feng and Fu narrowed their eyes at them, getting ready for a fight, but Senior Zhao approached Ye Feng and Fu before other academy staff could. He gave Ye Feng and Fu a friendly smile and said, "Hello, Ye Feng, Fu, you can call me instructor Zhao. Please show me all the monster cores you collected from the Dragon Forest.".
Ye Feng nodded to him and gave him the space belt that contains all the monster cores he and Fu collected from the Dragon Forest. Senior Zhao released all the monster cores stored in the space belt. He and the others who were nearby were shocked to see numerous monster cores come out of the space belt. The monster cores form a small mountain. Senior Zhao couldn't believe the number of monster cores Ye Feng and Fu collected. He gave an unnoticeable smile after he clamed down. "Hehe, now I understand why the princess is very interested in them.".
After counting all the monster cores in front of him, Senior Zhao stored the monster cores back in the space belt and gave the space belt back to Ye Feng. Senior Zhao then said to them with a smile, "Ye Feng, Fu, you both did incredibly well. I have no doubt your team will be one of the champions of this competition. Keep up the good work." Both Fu and Ye Feng cupped their fists and said, "Thank you, teacher Zhao." Senior Zhao waved his hand lazily and walked away.
All the academy staff and students who were present were shocked when they saw the amount of monster cores that Ye Feng and Fu obtained from the Dragon Forest. They were speechless. Some of them were looking at Ye Feng and Fu in jealousy, and some of the academy staff were giving Ye Feng malicious looks.
After the academy staff counted the monster cores that all teams gathered, they reported the results back to Instructor Li. After getting the results, instructor Li announced the results to the students and also announced the two teams that won the competition. The winners were team Ye Feng and Fu, who collected the highest number of rank-two monster cores in the competition. The other team that won consisted of five students who were in the Saint Force realm. They collected the highest number of rank-one monster cores in the competition; Ye Feng and Fu. won a badge each, which allows them to access level four of the library. The other team that won the competition also received their prize. Each member of the team received a badge too; with this badge, they can enter the third level of the library.
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After Instructor Li gave the rewards to the winners of the competition, he dismissed the students. Fu and Ye Feng bid each other farewell and went their separate ways. Ye Feng started walking towards his dwelling. After a few minutes of walking, five middle-aged men wearing academy staff robes surrounded Ye Feng. They brandished their saint weapons at him. When Ye Feng saw this, he quickly summoned his Blood Dragon Fang, then Ye Feng narrowed his eyes and asked, "How can I help you teachers?" All five of the academy staff smirked evilly at Ye Feng, and one of them said, "Don't take it personally, kid. The Zhang clan put a huge reward on your head." The one who said this to Ye Feng was a bold, tan-skinned, muscular middle-aged man who was wielding a huge Mace Saint weapon. He and the other four academy staff charged at Ye Feng, and Ye Feng got ready to battle them. He knows this battle will be extremely tough for him.
The bold middle-aged man swung his saint weapon at Ye Feng, who blocked it with his Blood Dragon Fang. "CLANK, CRACK!" Ye Feng was sent flying, and his Blood Dragon Fang cracked. He vomited a glob of blood from his mouth after the Blood Dragon Fang cracked. The other four took this opportunity to finish Ye Feng off. Ye Feng watched helplessly as the four swung their saint weapons at him. He was too slow to react and defend himself. However, out of nowhere, another four academy staff members appeared and blocked the saint weapons that would have claimed Ye Feng's life. Senior Zhao looked coldly at the five academy staff who were engaging Ye Feng in battle and said with narrow eyes to them, "You five really got some guts bullying a student in the academy, aren't you afraid of the consequences?".
The five of them turned around to leave quickly after their attempt to kill Ye Feng failed, but suddenly a strong gust of wind came down at them from the sky, "FWOOOSH.". Everybody heard an angry voice from the sky: "Where do you think you five are going?" The five who attacked Ye Feng grew pale when they heard the voice of the academy headmaster. The bold middle-aged man muttered, "It is the headmaster; this is bad." The headmaster landed on the ground and looked menacingly at the five who attacked Ye Feng. They gulped their saliva nervously when they saw the menacing glare from the headmaster: "You five dare attack a student inside the academy. You really got a lot of courage. Good, very good.".
The bold middle-aged man said nervously, "Headmaster, it is a misunderstanding." The headmaster summoned his saint weapon, which was a golden gauntlet in his right hand. The gauntlet had big and long metal claws. With a gust of wind, the headmaster disappeared and then appeared in front of the bold middle-aged man. The headmaster clutches the bold man's saint weapon. with his gauntlet. The gauntlet started to shine brightly, and after one second, everybody heard a loud, shattering sound: "CRASH." The bold man's huge Mace Saint weapon shattered into small pieces, and the bold yelled loudly in extreme pain, "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH." He started coughing up globs of blood from his mouth.
After the headmaster shattered the bold man's saint weapon, the bold man fell to the ground; he was in a very fatal state. The other four who attempted to kill Ye Feng took a step back in fear: "Headmaster, have mercy." The headmaster chuckled. "I am usually a very calm person, but you all attacked one of the students in my academy with the intent to kill him, and you think I will stand by and do nothing about it." One of them then said to the headmaster, "But what about him? He almost killed Zhang Bo and Zhang Wei; if they hadn't activated the flare formation when they did, they would have died in the Dragon Forest." The headmaster nodded. "You are right, but Zhang Bo and Zhang Wei broke the iron rule of the academy; they almost killed Ye Long, according to the report I received, and Ye Feng gave them the punishment they deserved.".
They were speechless at what the headmaster said, and the headmaster continued, "You five are expelled from the academy along with Zhang Wei and Zhang Bo. You all have one hour to leave the academy. Now leave. You are an eye sore.".
They quickly grabbed the bold man and left as fast as they could. The head master then turned to Ye Feng and said, "Ye Feng, you are coming with me; we need to have a long chat with each other." A gust of wind started surrounding Ye Feng, and both he and the headmaster flew away. They left Senior Zhao and the other four academy staff members standing, and they watched them as they disappeared into the sky.
Senior Zhao looked at the men that accompanied him and said, "You all may leave. I need to go and make my report to the princess." The four academy staff members nodded to senior Zhao, and they started leaving one by one.
Senior Zhao walked towards Rou Dwelling in order to tell her what just happened, and he smiled. "I wonder what the princess will say after I tell her this good news.".
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The headmaster arrived at the medical bay while carrying Ye Feng with him. He looked at the Radiant Saint Masters in front of him and said, "Heal him, his saint weapon cracked." After the Radiant Saint Masters received their orders from the academy headmaster, they started healing Ye Feng. After ten minutes, the Radiant Saint Masters healed Ye Feng completely, and then both Ye Feng and the headmaster walked towards the headmaster office.
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The headmaster sat on his chair after entering his office and looked seriously at Ye Feng. "Listen carefully, Ye Feng, because of what you did to Zhang Wei and Zhang Bo, the followers of the Zhang clan who are in the academy will be targeting you from now on in order for them to get the reward that the Zhang clan head put on your head." Ye Feng narrowed his eyes and asked, "Zhang clan followers? What do you mean?" The headmaster started explaining, "You are a young master from the Ye clan. I am sure that you are aware of the Zhang clan's alchemy skills. Their skills are renowned in all the hidden dragon kingdom even the nearby kingdoms are aware of their alchemy skills." Ye Feng nodded in affirmative at what the headmaster just said. The headmaster continued, "Thanks to their alchemy skills, they bought the loyalty of many powerful experts in the hidden dragon kingdom. Some of them are in our academy, like those who attacked you."
Ye Feng's eyes widened in surprise, and the headmaster continued and said with a serious tone, "You need to get stronger and raise your cultivation quickly. I can protect you from the Zhang clan inside the academy, but outside the academy, you will be on your own." Ye Feng's eyes kept narrowing, and a serious expression was present on his face. The headmaster tossed a badge to Ye Feng, and Ye Feng caught the badge. The headmaster said to him, "This badge will let you access level five of the library; use it well, and I also advise you to try accessing the Asura Sword Spirit World again." Ye Feng nodded solemnly. He cupped his fist. "Thank you, headmaster, for everything you have done. I will make sure your kindness isn't in vain". The headmaster smiled and nodded. He then waved his hand and said, "You may leave." Ye Feng nodded and left the headmaster's office.
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Senior Zhao entered Rou dwelling after she gave him permission to enter. He kneeled down. "Princess, I come to give you an update. Young master Ye Feng encountered Zhang clan followers just after the Monster Cores Hunting Competition ended." Rou narrowed her eyes behind the curtain and said with a cold voice, "Tell me everything.".
Senior Zhao told Rou everything that happened: how Ye Feng Blood Dragon Fang cracked when he blocked an attack from the Mace Saint weapon wielder; how the men he brought with him blocked the killing blow that was aimed at killing Ye Feng; and finally, how the academy headmaster arrived, then shattered the saint weapon of the bold middle-aged man. Senior Zhao then told the princess that the headmaster had expelled the five Zhang clan followers, along with Zhang Bo and Zhang Wei, from the academy.
Rou smiled at the news She then started thinking about her next course of action. After a few minutes, she said, "Well, I think I will use Ye Feng as bait to expel all the Zhang clan followers from the Azure Dragon Academy." Senior Zhao was surprised and asked, "How are we going to accomplish this, if I may ask?" Rou smiled at his question and said, "By using their own greed against them." Senior Zhao was confused and asked, "Their own greed?" Rou giggled, "Yes, all cultivators are greedy. Senior Zhao, no one can deny that. I have no doubt that the head of the Zhang clan put a big reward on Ye Feng's head. The Zhang clan followers will be tempted by the reward, so they are going to attack him again soon." Senior Zhao's eyes widened when he heard this: "You and your men will protect Ye Feng from the shadow, and when you fight against Zhang clan followers, I want you guys to make a big commotion so the headmaster will arrive at the fight scene and will have no choice but to expel the Zhang clan followers from the academy. It is time for us to clean the academy from all the Zhang clan followers.".
Senior Zhao nodded with a smile. "Your wish is my command, princes. I will go to deliver your orders to our men. Please excuse me." Rou nodded and said, "You may leave.".
Senior Zhao stood up and left Rou's dwelling.
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Ye Feng entered his dwelling and sat in the lotus position. He started thinking about how he almost got killed by Zhang clan followers today. He also thought about everything the headmaster told him. His eyes narrowed the deeper he thought about Zhang clan followers. "I need to increase my cultivation and my strength as soon as possible. I have many rank-two monster cores that I collected from the Dragon Forest. I can use them to increase my cultivation." He nodded to himself at that. "The headmaster also told me I should try and re-enter the Asura Sword Spirit World, but the problem is, I had no idea how to re-enter the Asura Sword Spirit World. However, I got some theories on how to re-enter the Asura Sword Spirit World." Ye Feng narrowed his eyes and sighed, "There is no point in thinking about the Asura Sword Sprit World; right now, my priority is to increase my cultivation." He summoned all the monster cores he had from one of his space belts, and then he started absorbing monster cores one by one.
It didn't take long for Ye Feng to breakthrough into the fourth layer of the Saint Master realm.
After Ye Feng's breakthrough to the fourth layer, he went to eat some food for himself in the academy dining hall. Many students were looking at him in jealousy for winning the Monster Cores Hunting Competition and collecting a large amount of the monster cores.
After having his fill in the dining hall, Ye Feng went to the library and started reading about cultivation comprehension in the library.
After exiting the library, he returned to his own dwelling and continued absorbing the monster cores. He got left until night came and went to bed.
Ye Feng continued going to the library and reading about cultivation comprehension and absorbing his monster cores. After three weeks, he brokethrough into the fifth layer of the Saint Master realm.