Earlier, Jian Ao did not lift a finger even when Ye Futian was in mortal danger; however, Ye Futian still saved many people from the Tianshen Academy on the battlefield. Although he did not expect that Jian Ao would thank him or anything of that sort, he thought that Jian Ao would have at least been neutral. Unexpected to him, Jian Ao actually said something like that.

While he did credit Ye Futian’s achievements, saying that Ye Futian had lied to the princess and the people of the Divine Prefecture was the same as agreeing that he was guilty and should be punished for it!

A typical example of biting the hand that feeds him.

However, Ye Futian was somewhat confused. What was the reason for Jian Ao to target him?

Between the two of them, there was no conflict of interest. In addition, a person on Jian Ao’s level would not do something without his own logic. Could it be that he was doing it for Jian Qingzhu?

Was he, Ye Futian, an obstacle to Jian Qingzhu’s path to success?

After all, before he appeared, Jian Qingzhu was undoubtedly the most exceptional person in that era. From the abilities and strength of Shen Hao, Di Wu, and the rest, it was obvious that they could not beat Jian Qingzhu. If Ye Futian’s group did not appear, Jian Qingzhu might have really become an unparalleled existence in the Nine Realms in this era. In addition, Jian Hao had always wished to send Jian Qingzhu to the Divine Prefecture to train beside the Princess.

So, did it mean that this was the reason why Jian Ao was targeting him? To help pave Jian Qingzhu’s way?

Even Jian Qingzhu was looking at Jian Ao with an odd expression. He was a little bit confused. The Tianshen Academy preached and trained in the Central Emperor Realm. The elders in the Jian clan had always had high hopes for him, constantly wishing that he, Jian Qingzhu, would become a symbol of the 3,000 Realms of the Great Path, and in the future, to cultivate in the Divine Prefecture.

Moreover, he had been striving for this all his life.

While Ye Futian’s appearance out of the blue and peerless grace and talent had completely overshadowed him, he would still walk his own path. At that moment, his elders’ move in attempting to undermine Ye Futian confused him. With their temperament, why would they do that?

To help pave his way?

If that were the case, he did not need it.

Moreover, regardless of the reason why Ye Futian decided to hide his real strength, his contribution during the battle was something that everyone had witnessed. Furthermore, Ye Futian also saved him and a lot of the others from the Tianshen Academy. While Ye Futian did not start acting earlier, it was still ultimately his choice. They were not qualified to force him to do it.

“Father’s words… I’m afraid I have to disagree with them.” At that moment, Jian Qingzhu walked forward. He bowed gently to Princess Donghuang, sitting above the steps. “I am sure that Your Majesty saw with your own eyes what happened on the battlefield. I was also there. Ye Futian prioritizing the safety of those from the Heavenly Mandate Academy is only human nature. If it were me, I would do the same and place the safety of the Tianshen Academy’s practitioners as my number one priority. I believe all of you present here would do the same. Who would say that they’d be willing to sacrifice their own?

“While putting the safety of the people from the Tianshen Academy, as well as others, as a pre-condition, Ye Futian was always giving his all while on the battlefield. His displays have always been the most exceptional in every major battle. He has killed many enemy Renhuangs. The reason we were close to being defeated was due to the other factions from the Divine Prefecture showing weakness. After that, it was only because Ye Futian released his true strength that we managed to turn the tide. If it weren’t for Ye Futian, many of the people from the factions here would still be on the battlefield. I do not think that those who have been saved are qualified to indict and convict the person who turned the tide around.”

Jian Qingzhu’s words made many people focus their gaze on him. Even Princess Donghuang seriously took a look at him.

To say that at that time required a certain degree of courage. After all, many factions targeted Ye Futian. Apart from the top factions within the Nine Realms, there were also factions from the Divine Prefecture. At that moment, they had allied. It was an alliance to target and deal with Ye Futian.

For Jian Qingzhu to defend Ye Futian under the circumstances, it naturally required a great deal of courage.

Moreover, he implied that the people from the factions were not qualified to say that Ye Futian was guilty.

“Stand down. This place has no room for you to speak,” Jian Ao scolded Jian Qingzhu. Jian Qingzhu glanced at Jian Ao’s eyes. Jian Ao’s gaze was incredibly serious, seemingly unhappy with him. However, Jian Qingzhu did not avert his gaze.

Practitioners should always be frank and honest, after all. It was something that Jian Ao thought him, so why would he go against his own belief and original intention now?

If it were for him, Jian Qingzhu felt that it was unnecessary.

Ye Futian was a little surprised. He did not expect that Jian Qingzhu would stand up and have an opinion that opposed his family. It impressed Ye Futian. However, it also meant that it became harder for him to understand the Tianshen Academy.

Jian Ao… What exactly was he thinking?

Princess Donghuang’s gaze returned to Ye Futian. Then, she asked, “Power of Yin, aren’t you going to explain a bit?”

Hearing her words, gazes began to focus on Ye Futian again. The Power of Yin was something they had suspected; however, no one dared to bring it up. Everyone had their own guess.

“Answering the princess,” said Ye Futian. Then, he continued and said, “That day in the Shadow Realm, I was pursued by cultivators from the Evil Emperor Realm and was forced to go straight towards the core of the Shadow Realm to avoid the cultivators of the enemy. I went all the way to the Yin Storm Zone, and by then, my plane level could not support me anymore. So, I activated the emperor’s will, which I inherited in God’s relic to protect my body. I also used the power I cultivated in an attempt to refine the Power of Yin to preserve myself.

“However, the Power of Yin was too strong. It infiltrated my body and spiritual soul. It was impossible to block it, and because of that, I was infiltrated and fainted. It seemed as if everything had stopped. Only my survival instinct and will to live kept me refining the Power of Yin even as I became unconscious. As for what happened after that, I am sure your highness princess already knows. After I woke up, I learned that I had refined a decent amount of the Power of Yin that could be used by myself. As such, I synthesized them into my attacks. However, I did not know just how strong this power was. It was my first time unleashing it.”

What Ye Futian meant was that he himself did not know his real strength. As such, he was then able to explain why he had not utilized his full strength earlier. It was because he did not know that he could be that strong.

Naturally, he dared not talk about getting possession of a divine item. That was too much. Fear was the reason why those factions wanted to get rid of him. If he added the divine item into the mix, the number of people wanting to kill him would only increase.

Moreover, most knew just the dangers of the core area of the Shadow Realm. No one would believe that Ye Futian’s plane level was high enough for him to obtain a divine item there. At most, they would guess whether the will of the emperor had kept him alive and helped him master the Power of Yin.

However, even as it was, Ye Futian was still considered extremely dangerous.

“Right now, you can quibble however you want,” said Shen Gao of the Divine Palace coldly. After that, he looked at Princess Donghuang and said, “Your royal highness, our Shen Clan lost at least ten Renhuangs in this battle. They were the core of our Shen Clan. They were also incredibly talented. If it were really because we were weaker than the enemy overall, then there is nothing more I can say. However, our Shen Clan fought in a bloody battle while someone hid his strength, ultimately causing a lot of unnecessary casualties. My Shen Clan is not worthy of asking for anything; however, whether the princess rules an award or a punishment, from this day forward, our Shen Clan will officially declare war against the Heavenly Mandate Academy.”

On this day, a great opportunity had presented itself. Cultivators from each side had come out and ended the Battle of the Original Realm.

So, there was finally time to take a look at their affairs.

Last time, the Princess set a rule for the Battle of the Original Realm. To fight, they needed to request a battle assignment at the Empty Imperial Palace and not hurt the innocent.

This time, they would use this as an opportunity to request a battle assignment.

With this commotion that they had made, even if the Princess did not convict Ye Futian, she would no longer intervene in their grudge anymore, right?

They said that Ye Futian was guilty and should be beheaded. However, they also understood that it was almost impossible to convict Ye Futian.

They had to strike first. They had to control the situation better. At the very least, they could not let the princess lean towards Ye Futian. If that were to happen, everything would be for naught and they would not be able to do anything.

“Our Golden Divine Nation would also like to request a battle assignment,” said Gai Cang.

After that, each of them consecutively requested battle assignments. The people from the Heavenly Mandate Academy, as well as Ye Futian, did not seem too thrilled.

They saw Ye Futian’s strength and did not want to give him the opportunity to turn things around.

The oppressive mood was subtle. These factions were some of the strongest factions in the Divine Prefecture and Original Realm. Their strength could not be underestimated. Even Princess Donghuang could not ignore their existence. These top factions were powers that the Divine Prefecture needed to rely on.

Cao Jun stood behind Princess Donghuang. His gaze swept across the room. Mixed in his dignified gaze was a sense of coldness. It was an incredibly sharp gaze.

On this day, on the outside, they said that they wanted to indict Ye Futian; however, in truth, they were also putting pressure on the Princess.

He could naturally see that the people feared Ye Futian’s potential. They did not want a person like this to get the opportunity to reach the skies in one go. That was the reason why they struck first. Striking before the Princess could decide if Ye Futian was guilty or not. This was their method for stopping the princess from awarding Ye Futian and thinking highly of him.

After all, if and once the Princess awarded Ye Futian and decided to cultivate and develop him, everything would have already been set in stone. By then, if they wanted to change, it would already be too late.

They were all old foxes, cunning and calculative.

They were not only planning against Ye Futian but also the Princess.

Then, the next moment, a powerful aura from afar reached their location. Many people raised their heads to look towards the source of the aura. There, they saw surges of a golden Divine Light of Space, a group of cultivators descended from the sky. Darkness followed as the Empty Imperial Palace was completely enveloped.

The Evil Emperor Realm and the Dark Court’s cultivators had arrived.

The people raised their heads to look at the two. The Evil Emperor Realm was led by Shi Xie. The Dark Court was led by the Lord of the Underworld, who stared coldly at Ye Futian with a gaze full of killing intent.

“The Empty Divine Realm and the Dark Court have lost. You are all here at the Empty Imperial Palace because you want to breach the agreement and start a war?” Cao Jun’s gaze swept across the enemy cultivators as he spoke coldly. The reason the war began in the first place was due to a mutual understanding between the three factions.

Even though the factions wanted the Original Realm, each of the three sides did not want to lose too many troops. That was why an arranged fight was introduced. Lower Renhuangs would fight to lower their losses to the minimum. Each side had its own concerns. Otherwise, none of the three sides dared to imagine what would be the result of the battle.

At that moment, since the Divine Prefecture had won the battle, there was a lower likelihood of them going back on their words.

Otherwise, they would only have no choice but to wage a real war.

“Since we’ve lost, we will admit defeat,” Shi Xie answered. “However, us coming here to visit you is not considered going back on our agreement, isn’t that right? Our Evil Emperor Realm will promise not to get involved in all Original Realms affairs. Please continue whatever it is you are doing. It is even better if you can ignore us.”

Many people frowned. The two other major factions were definitely unhappy about the defeat.

Moreover, Ye Futian killed a lot of their people!