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.

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.