Above this world, four figures stood in the void.
They looked down.
The world's Qi was actually turbid beyond measure, and countless fragments of collapsing Power of Rules filled the air!
This was a Heavenly Dao that had crumbled!
One of the men said, "You're saying that an unfathomable expert in this barren land has cultivated the power of Dao Laws?"
"Yes." A blue-faced man nodded. "But I suspect he came from a higher-dimensional world."
Had Lu Changsheng been here, he would certainly have recognized him.
This was the very man who had confronted him above the Blood Prison Secret Realm!
"He could only have come from a higher-dimensional world. After all, this barren land's Heavenly Dao has crumbled, and its Power of Rules has shattered into fragments. It's impossible to comprehend Dao Laws here!"
"But there are still two unanswered questions."
A woman's voice rang out. "Oh? What questions?"
The blue-faced man looked over, his expression grave. "First, why would someone from a higher dimension take an interest in this barren land? This world's secret couldn't possibly have leaked out. After all, the four of us swore Heavenly Dao oaths never to divulge it."
"Second, how did they get inside? This world is sealed now. No one can enter or leave. Even we can only project ourselves into this world at a great cost."
One of the men shook his head. "There's no way to know. Still, I think projections of the four of us should be able to deal with that person."
The woman nodded in agreement. "He's an unstable factor. We can't let him ruin our plan."
"All right."
The black-robed figure, who had remained silent all this time, nodded and spoke. "Then make preparations. We'll set out immediately and dispose of that person."
With that said.
The four vanished from where they stood, as though they had never appeared.
A day passed.
The exchange between the four regions' academies officially began.
Ye Qiubai and the others headed to the venue as well.
Along the way, Huang Yuan repeatedly reminded them, his expression grave, "When the time comes, you must avoid being eliminated. I'll hold off the other teams' leaders."
Then he looked at Ye Qiubai and said casually, "Ye Qiubai, your task is to conceal yourself as much as possible and earn more points from the shadows.
"Now that your strength has been exposed, the others will definitely devise tactics to target you."
As the dean's disciple, Huang Yuan naturally knew the procedures of the exchange competition.
The first round of the Martial Dao exchange used a points system.
All participants would be transported to the Azure Flame Mountain Range.
They could earn points by defeating Devil Beasts.
Of course, if they encountered enemies and were defeated, all their points would be seized, and they would be eliminated.
Standing beside Ye Qiubai, Xin Hongyi teased, "Looks like someone's looking down on you?"
Ye Qiubai did not argue. He shrugged.
They arrived at the venue.
The people from all four regions' academies had gathered there as well.
Jian Chaomian led the Northern Region Hidden Dao Academy.
Liao Meisheng stood behind him with a gloomy expression. When he saw Ye Qiubai arrive, killing intent flashed in his eyes.
Ye Qiubai ignored him.
"The Eastern Region's leader is Tian Cheng. His physical strength is terrifying. He was born with divine strength."
"The Western Region's leader is Zhang He. He cultivates the Buddhist Vajra Body, which no one can break through. His palm techniques are incomparably domineering, too."
Zhong Wu explained from the side.
He would not participate in the Martial Dao exchange either. He was a participant in the Confucian Dao exchange that would follow.
"As for the Northern Region, their leader is Jian Chaomian."
Just then, four figures arrived together high in the sky.
Qin Tiannan was among them.
The other three were, of course, the deans of the other three regions' academies.
At the sight, everyone bowed in their direction.
One of the four stepped forward.
He was Wu Deshi, dean of the Northern Region Hidden Dao Academy.
He was also an expert ranked twelfth on the Four Regions Martial Ranking!
A full fourteen places above Qin Tiannan.
That alone was enough to prove that Wu Deshi was considerably stronger than Qin Tiannan.
Wu Deshi waved a hand, and a formless force immediately lifted everyone present out of their bows.
"Today marks the exchange competition between our four regions' Hidden Dao Academies. The gathering of all our academies' prodigies here is a blessing for the Hidden Dao Academy."
"We'll begin with the Martial Dao exchange today. You should all understand the first round's rules. The other three deans and I will transport you to the Azure Flame Mountain Range."
With that, the four deans stepped forward, and a teleportation array slowly rose beneath them.
As the four poured in Spiritual Qi, the space around the teleportation array began to distort.
Then Wu Deshi said, "All right. Students participating in the Martial Dao exchange, enter the teleportation array."
At his words, the students from the four regions began stepping inside one after another.
As Ye Qiubai started forward, a voice reached him.
"I'm counting on you."
It was Qin Tiannan's voice.
Ye Qiubai looked over and found Qin Tiannan watching him.
Seeing this, Ye Qiubai nodded.
Even if it was not for the Hidden Dao Academy or Qin Tiannan.
For his master and the Cottage, he still had to ensure that Qin Tiannan retained his position as dean.
After all, if a new dean took over, could the Cottage remain aloof from everything as it had before?
Ye Qiubai would not allow such an unexpected turn to occur.
With that thought, Ye Qiubai strode into the teleportation array!
Heaven and earth spun around him.
A lush canopy of green came into view.
Countless towering ancient trees reached straight into the sky.
Yet Ye Qiubai keenly sensed something.
A faint trace of Demon Qi lingered in this place!
Suddenly, the Dark Demon Sword began to tremble.
Ye Qiubai could feel Dark Demon's excitement.
Clearly, the Demon Qi here was extremely pure.
Perhaps his Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon would be even more powerful here.
Just then, a stone appeared in Ye Qiubai's hand.
A number was imprinted on its surface.
At present, however, that number was 0.
This should be his points...
To earn points, he had to either kill Devil Beasts or... plunder other people!
Just then, Ye Qiubai turned. A rumbling sound was charging toward him from a short distance away!
A massive cloud of dust!
Within the dust, the shape of a four-legged Devil Beast could faintly be seen charging toward him!
Roar!
A roar rang out, its sound waves actually carrying sonic booms!
Even someone in the Golden Core Realm would probably be unable to resist those sonic booms and would be shattered outright!
With his wooden sword in hand, Ye Qiubai slowly swung forward!
Sword Qi sprang forth.
It canceled out the sonic booms.
At the same time, countless streams of Sword Qi swirled around Ye Qiubai!
They formed enormous Qi swords that slashed toward the charging four-legged Devil Beast!
The four-legged Devil Beast seemed to possess a trace of intelligence. Seeing the Sword Qi slash toward it, it sensed danger and chose not to meet it head-on!
Instead, it drove all four feet into the ground, bringing its forward charge to a halt.
Then it abruptly leaped aside, evading the several streams of destructive Sword Qi hurtling toward it!
But the very next instant, Ye Qiubai had already vanished from where he stood!
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before the four-legged Devil Beast.
He slashed!
Its head hit the ground without so much as a sound!
Ye Qiubai took out the points stone and looked at it.
The 0 on it had risen to 10.