Benefits Are Not a Problem

Breaking through the second realm isn't exactly a secret. Li Ye, who only had a vague understanding of martial arts as a normal person, knew about it. Those who had been exposed to it much earlier would naturally know more clearly than him.

Top-tier martial arts are still martial arts; they aren't some earth-shattering, top-secret information that can't be revealed.

Li Ye also knew that the Martial Arts Major was different from ordinary people. No matter how much a Preparatory Student practiced martial arts, it was still within the acceptable range for ordinary people – at most, they'd be a bit stronger and have more explosive power.

Once they broke through the Dragon Gate, they'd be considered 'great heroes,' always flying around. For these people, accumulating favor through ordinary means was useless.

It was better to show off their skills, making their Martial Arts Major careers easier.

Now that someone had come knocking, and he was already a bit annoyed, he might as well deal with it all at once.

Looking at the astonished yet fearful gazes of the others, Li Ye nodded silently in his heart.

The effect exceeded his expectations; it was simply outstanding.

The principal returned. He had been beaming when he left, and he was still smiling on his way back.

"Oh my! Sparring among Martial Arts Students is normal, but you can't do it at any time. The semester has just begun. If you don't give me face, you can't not give Teacher Gu Yang face either. You hit too hard. You're all classmates, so you should try to hold back. And with the martial arts competition coming up, this is a loss of an important combatant."

The principal looked at Xiang Feipeng, who was being carried out on a stretcher, then turned to Li Ye. Although his face had become worried, the smile in his eyes couldn't be hidden.

A brawl?

Serious injury?

Those weren't issues.

As long as the person wasn't dead, with modern conditions, as long as you were willing to spend money, the injury could be treated, even if it meant a long recovery.

What was important wasn't that Xiang Feipeng was injured and fainted. Gu Yang judged that he would be hospitalized for at least two months. What was important was that he was injured by a single person.

He knew about Li Ye. As someone who came from the Preparatory Course and immediately joined the Three Dragon Gate, he had paid attention to him.

Fourteenth Middle School was an ordinary high school, and there weren't many people with high cultivation. The emergence of someone from the Three Dragon Gate was worth noting. At the time, he had regretted that Li Ye had joined late; it would have been better if he had come a year earlier.

Now, looking at it, it wasn't late at all!

He could defeat Xiang Feipeng!

And it was almost an instant kill. With such strength, the martial arts competition would be even more secure. Once Xiang Feipeng recovered, his ranking at Fourteenth Middle School would definitely rise!

Thinking of this, the principal couldn't maintain his pained expression any longer and almost burst out laughing.

"I'll go to the hospital to see student Xiang. Teacher Gu, you educate student Li Ye. Make sure student Li Ye understands the seriousness of the situation."

The principal then quickly left.

Gu Yang sighed and said to the surrounding students, "Alright, go back to your training. All new Martial Arts Students, follow me. I'll talk about student Li Ye. You wait a moment, I'll chat with you in detail later."

Li Ye nodded. Seeing Gu Yang call away Deng Hao, Jia Dong, and two others, he leaned back into his original corner.

This time, no one dared to look at him. Especially Guo Chuming, whose head was shrunk like a quail, trying to hide behind his classmates, afraid of being noticed by Li Ye.

"Really?"

It was Yao Leden again, looking incredulous. "You're actually on the breakthrough realm path! You're clearly a Preparatory Student!"

"What? Preparatory Students aren't allowed?"

Li Ye chuckled, "I've been accumulating strength for a long time."

Yao Leden gave a look that said, 'Are you taking me for a fool?'

How could a Preparatory Student accumulate strength for a long time when their Blood Essence hadn't even materialized?

But now, the facts were right before her eyes. She had to believe it even if she didn't want to, especially after defeating Xiang Feipeng.

"You're amazing. That was Xiang Feipeng, who was usually arrogant and even the principal had to coax him. And you just smashed him like he was a piece of clothing."

Yao Leden gave him a thumbs-up. "Look at those people. Although they don't dare to look at you, they must be happy inside. Let me tell you, besides you newcomers, there's only one person here who hasn't been bullied by him."

Hearing this, Li Ye looked at the cold-faced beauty leaning against the wall nearby. She also looked over at him. Li Ye smiled and nodded, as if to greet her.

"How many people in our school are on the breakthrough realm path?" Li Ye asked curiously.

"About three and a half."

Yao Leden held up three fingers, with one bent halfway. "See that big guy? Yang Jie. He's at the Five Dragon Gate realm and learned the [Thirteen Great Protectors Iron Body Golden Bell Shield]. His Iron Body Technique can withstand swords and blades, but his martial arts are only mid-tier. He's half a 'Adamantine Gate' practitioner."

"The Xiang Feipeng you just beat, it's said his martial arts can directly lead to the 'Divine Movement Gate.' His Lightness Skill is superb, but you managed to catch him."

"And Fu Chuxue, she's even more remarkable. She learned a top-tier martial art passed down in her family, and it's said she can directly reach the Three Gates."

Three Gates?

And Eight Dragon Gate?

Li Ye looked over in surprise. His realm was much higher than his.

There's always someone better.

Li Ye never thought he was invincible just like this. After all, martial arts were just martial arts; others weren't without them. Pan Zhengyang said his Master used to hang him up and beat him, but Director Pan wasn't invincible back then.

If he were invincible, would he still be a bureau chief in a small city like Ningjiang?

But he had thought he should be fine at least within this school, only to find a mountain towering above him.

"People like that, the school would be fighting to recruit them, right?"

"Of course. The principal of Ningjiang No. 1 High School visits every few days, offering an incredibly good deal, but she's unmoved. I heard she only agreed to come here because the principal was good friends with Fu Yan in the past, and she came as a favor. Anyway, someone like her can practice martial arts anywhere."

Yao Leden said with envy, then asked, "By the way, are you also practicing the 'Divine Movement Gate'?"

He had caught Xiang Feipeng so easily; his speed was certainly not slow.

Li Ye thought for a moment. "I'm practicing the 'Adamantine Gate'."

Yao Leden's eyes widened. "Huh?"

She looked Li Ye up and down, even poking his arm with her finger. Then she looked at Yang Jie's towering, muscular physique not far away, her face full of disbelief.

Iron Body Technique experts were always fierce-looking and imposing. How could Li Ye look so normal?

"Really, you'll get to see it if you have the chance," Li Ye said. "Martial arts just have different focuses. My martial art incorporates some Lightness Skill."

When he was fighting, he realized that if he had to truly deal with Xiang Feipeng, he might not have been able to catch him so easily. It was mainly because he acted fast.

The opponent hadn't reacted in time, and by the time he was caught, he couldn't escape.

"You're no fun. I was being nice and reminding you just now, and I wasn't going to ask you about your martial art," Yao Leden said with a hint of disappointment.

But she didn't dwell on it and immediately smiled. "You beat Xiang Feipeng, so the main player is free. It'll definitely be you. With your martial arts skills, our ranking in this martial arts competition will surely rise, and we can choose a better training spot."

Martial Arts Students were very pragmatic about this. As long as you were strong enough, it didn't matter if you acted like a complete lunatic, because you could genuinely bring benefits.

Li Ye understood this from what Yao Leden had said earlier.

So why should he hold back? If he could defeat someone and become the main player, all the resources and benefits would come his way.

He hadn't made any progress for over half a month. He wanted to rely on the resources from the Martial Arts Major to improve himself. Otherwise, given his aptitude, there was no way he could make any progress.

"Even with the 'Eight Dragon Gate,' the ranking won't improve? Her martial art is 'Break Three Realms,' so she should be very strong, right?" Li Ye asked.

His own martial art, 'Break Three Realms,' felt incredibly powerful when he practiced it. The 'Eight Dragon Gate' should be even stronger.

"Overall ranking."

Yao Leden said, "Fu Chuxue is ranked first in Ningjiang City, but the others below aren't strong enough. What's the point of having just one first place? We're a school, not a fighting arena."