Tuoba Wan'er had left the Dragon Phoenix Academy. News of her departure caused quite a fuss in the academy, especially among the higher-ups. They all thought that she was unhappy with their hospitality.

  Fortunately, she had gone to the principal before leaving, telling him of her intention to take a look at the world and that she would return in a year.

  The elders only calmed down after hearing the principal's explanation, but anyone who was not blind could see that this departure probably had something to do with Xiang Shaoyun, as he was nowhere to be seen when she left.

  From that, it was obvious something must have happened between them. Fortunately, news of her departure was soon overshadowed by the opening of the primary-grade Dragon Phoenix Battleground.

  The Dragon Phoenix Battlegrounds belonged exclusively to the Dragon Phoenix Academy. Apart from ancient inheritances, optimal advancement treasures could also be found there. The battlegrounds were separated into three grades—primary, middle, and high.

  The disciples of the academy were basically all in the Emperor Realm, and they were only qualified to enter the primary-grade battleground. To enter the other two battlegrounds, they needed to reach different levels of cultivation.

  The primary-grade Dragon Phoenix Battleground was located at one of the Nine Great Unique Zones, the Forest of Antiquity. The Forest of Antiquity was the best cultivation location for wood cultivators, and it hosted the primary-grade battleground. Many disciples were unaware of that.

  Now that the battleground was one day away from opening, the numerous disciples had returned from all around the world. Those in seclusion all came out as well, awaiting the battleground's opening.

  About 200 people were gathered at 1 Dragon Villa. These were the elite members of the Overlord Legion, while the others were told to stop coming as the villa couldn't fit so many people. They were all here to wait for Xiang Shaoyun to leave seclusion.

  They had all heard about Xiang Shaoyun's outburst, but not many knew the actual situation. However, they did not care. The only thing they cared about was whether Xiang Shaoyun would join them at the battleground.

  Since the establishment of the Overlord Legion, Xiang Shaoyun had not done a lot for the Legion, yet he had been able to establish a prestige surpassing everyone else in the Legion. Hence, he was basically the Legion's soul. If the soul scattered, the members would scatter as well.

  Xiang Shaoyun hadn't been doing anything in the cultivation room. He sat there silently, his body drooping as long hair covered his face. A dreadful darkness shaped like a devil shrouded his body, exuding a baleful aura that flooded the entire room. The aura was terrifyingly corrosive, and nobody would dare to get within the aura's range.

  If it wasn't for the formations completely isolating the room from outside, the specter would have soared out of the room, appearing before the others. Someone who knew his stuff would be able to recognize that the specter greatly resembled an Imperial Nether Clan member.

  \r\r\r

  After the incident with the women, Xiang Shaoyun seemed to have relived the betrayal of Di Lin and Xia Yunxi, and his heart was assaulted by an intense sorrow that he could hardly bear.

  When he first entered the room, he directly activated the formations to lock himself in. That way, he prevented himself from going mad, or he would have done something with unimaginable consequences.

  In the room, he allowed his devilish aura to fully erupt. He lost control over his balefulness as he unleashed furious attacks all over the room, completely venting his anger. Fortunately, the room was protected by high-level formations. No matter how he attacked, nobody outside could feel anything.

  After he exhausted himself, he finally sank into silence. Even so, a terrifying red glow remained in his eyes. The devil blood within him had fully awakened, transforming his bearing and making him look somewhat sinister.

  In the past, he had given off a warm vibe, but now, he gave off an absolutely sinister and cold feeling, making him look increasingly mysterious. He was no longer the same amiable and approachable person.

  Even after he calmed down, his heart was still aching. However, he had also started reflecting on all that had happened.

  Scenes of his interactions with the women surfaced in his mind one after another. Finally, he concluded that he hadn't really wronged them, yet they had gone ahead and done that to him. He was filled with disappointment.

  "Perhaps love is not something I can have," Xiang Shaoyun mocked himself.

  He recalled his sister, Ye Chaomu. Perhaps she was the only one who would stand by his side no matter what. As for the others, he shouldn't have expected too much from them.

  "I still need to retake the Ziling Sect. I still need to kill Di Batian to avenge the uncles. I shall forget any unnecessary affairs. In any case, Wan'er had probably gotten engaged with me for her freedom. Now that she has her freedom, I will let our relationship end here," said Xiang Shaoyun with a sigh.

  He stood up, and as he flung his hair around, he discovered that his hair had grown darker and longer. It had a glossy look to it, giving off a devilish feeling. He had a feeling his hair was now as tough as an emperor-grade weapon, as though he could use his hair as a weapon now.

  "This must be the hair of the devils. If I'm being honest, it looks kind of cool," mused Xiang Shaoyun with a distorted smile. He tied his hair up, revealing a face that looked even more heroic than before. His temperament had changed completely.

  At this moment, he had grown even more mature and more unfeeling, as though he had transformed from a boy to a man. He had indeed suffered a mental breakdown, but upon recovery, he became more clear as to what his goal was, becoming someone who was even more rational and pragmatic than before. Perhaps every man would need to go through an experience like this to mature……

  The time for the primary-grade Dragon Phoenix Battleground's opening had arrived. The people in 1 Dragon Villa were waiting anxiously, yet the cultivation room's door remained shut, filling them with disappointment.

  Apart from being worried that Xiang Shaoyun would miss this opportunity, they were also worried that he would not recover from his mental breakdown. The academy issued an order to all the disciples to convene, and they started leaving for the gathering point.

  It was at that moment that the door slowly opened. A slender figure sauntered out of the room, and a voice rang out, "Sorry for making you worried, brothers and sisters. Let's head to the battleground."

  Chapter 832: I Won't Mind It Even if All of You Come Together

  At the academy's largest training field, all the disciples were gathered in preparation to partake in the battleground.

  The principal even personally appeared to give the disciples words of encouragement, wishing them luck to obtain exceptional results in the excursion. He also mentioned that those entering the Dragon Phoenix List's top 100 would obtain different degrees of rewards. Even those in the top 1,000 would be rewarded with contribution points. As for the others, they would not obtain any rewards.

  After the speech, the elders started distributing protective jades to the disciples. These jades were ingeniously designed. One only needed to crush it during a moment of danger, and one would be directly brought out of the battleground. Of course, using the jade also signified one's elimination from the battleground. These jades were given to reduce the casualties among the disciples. The ones capable of lasting until the end would become the true victors.

  After the elders finished prattling on and on about the battleground, the disciples finally understood their mission this time.

  They needed to kill numerous devilish plants, such as devil trees, man-eating flowers, and murderous vines. One should not look down on these plants as they all had at least a basic level of intelligence. They were good at disguise and skilled at attacking with numerous crafty methods. Many of them were highly toxic as well and could penetrate one's defenses in completely unexpected ways.

  These plants were the majority of life forms in the Forest of Antiquity. They had been living in the forest for a long time and were extremely powerful. Just surviving in the zone for a year would be extremely hard for many disciples. Killing a large number of devilish plants would be even harder.

  Apart from that, the disciples could also fight each other for points. That was also how the final rankings would be decided. One could say that competition would be extremely stiff among the disciples at the battleground. The truly top disciples would be determined there.

  Before the teleportation formation was activated, Han Chenfei and the Han Clan sisters found Xiang Shaoyun once again. Looking at his hair that seemed much thicker than before, an indescribable emotion welled in their hearts.

  They wanted to say something to him, but he completely disregarded them as he directly walked past them with the Overlord Legion members. Their hearts hurt badly, as if there were knives slicing pieces of their hearts off.

  "W-Why did he become like this?" Han Xuewei asked. As she was the one with the softer personality, she started tearing up.

  "He looks like he is completely seeing us as strangers now," said Han Qianwei with a sad sigh.

  Han Chenfei frowned as she felt extremely unwell as well. However, she had nothing to say. Yu Caidie was among the crowd and had also seen the scene. A complicated look was in her eyes as she sighed inwardly, His overbearing aura is finally back.

  If the others were to hear this, they would be thoroughly shocked. Was the previous Xiang Shaoyun not overbearing enough?

  He was still young, but he had challenged many geniuses in a row. He had been soaring rapidly, beating up several individuals from the Dragon Phoenix List. Even Di Lin was a victim of his blade. One ought to remember that Di Lin was a direct disciple of Elder Situ, a previous generation elder.

  Although Elder Situ had not provided a response, it was without doubt that Xiang Shaoyun's act of slaying Di Lin would not be without consequences. His many feats proved just how tyrannical Xiang Shaoyun was in the eyes of the other disciples.

  "Xiang Shaoyun, for the matter of you bullying my sister, we will settle it at the battleground," said Yu Ziyang as he stood before Xiang Shaoyun, looking down at him.

  \r\r\r

  The surrounding disciples were shocked to see Yu Ziyang issuing Xiang Shaoyun a public declaration of war.

  Beside Xiang Shaoyun, Ouyang Chuanqi replied, "Sure, but you need to get through me first."

  "Hmph. Both of you are already mine," said Yu Ziyang with a cold snort.

  "Hehe, big words, but too bad you're not qualified to be speaking like that," said Xiang Shaoyun with a somewhat sadistic smile.

  His words were akin to a sudden thunderclap that stunned everyone around them. Who was Yu Ziyang? He was one of the top five freaks among the disciples. Apart from Baili Yixiao and Zhan Wushuang, he was evenly matched with Ouyang Chuanqi and Huang Tianji. Thus, Xiang Shaoyun's boastful words were exceedingly shocking.

  What was the source of Xiang Shaoyun's confidence? Did he have the strength to back his confidence? Then again, very few people could actually see through Xiang Shaoyun's current cultivation.

  Yu Ziyang could guess that Xiang Shaoyun had advanced considerably. But even so, speaking that way was still too egotistical. He felt like Xiang Shaoyun had gotten way over his head.

  Even Ouyang Chuanqi had not expected Xiang Shaoyun to suddenly be so arrogant. This was completely unlike Xiang Shaoyun's usual self.

  "Good. Very good. You got guts. Remember your words. Both of you are mine," said Yu Ziyang with a sneer. It had been years since someone looked at him with such contempt.

  At this time, a different voice rang out from not far away, "Brother Ziyang, why don't you let me have Xiang Shaoyun. I really want to experience the might of his high-grade nine-star physique."

  Everyone looked over and saw Huang Tianji arriving with Huang Xiaoyue and a group of people from the royal clan. The speaker was none other than Huang Tianji. Beside him, Huang Xiaoyue was looking at Xiang Shaoyun in astonishment, evidently surprised at Xiang Shaoyun's massive change in a short few days.

  Xiang Shaoyun also turned to look at Huang Tianji before saying, "I won't mind even if all of you come together."

  Arrogance!

  Pure arrogance!

  Not even the likes of Baili Yixiao and Zhan Wushuang would dare utter such words.

  "Why don't you let me have this prince. I really want to witness the might of his royal highness," said Ouyang Chuanqi.

  The surrounding disciples quickly moved away from them. These four were disciples of great fame, and they stood at a completely different level than others. Nobody wished to be accidentally harmed by their confrontation.

  The battleground had yet to open, yet the smell of gunpowder was already thick in the air. Everyone was taken aback, but they also knew that Xiang Shaoyun was the culprit. What remained to be seen was whether Xiang Shaoyun was really as strong as the other three geniuses.

  "What are all of you doing standing around? Get on the formation. We won't wait for you when the time arrives," an elder's voice rang out.

  Finally, the hostile atmosphere was dispelled. Despite so, this was merely a prequel to the actual carnage that would unfold at the battleground. The disciples were filled with hope and expectation.