Bang…
Spiritual energy collided, and the two figures separated as soon as they met.
Liu Mu retreated three steps, his face filled with surprise.
Ye Yuanyuan had only reached the fifth level of the Spirit Sea Realm, yet she was able to withstand his attack!
On the other side, Ye Yuanyuan’s face was pale.
She had only just advanced to the fifth level of the Spirit Sea Realm, and the time she had spent transitioning from sword arts to whip arts was very short; she still couldn't fully control it as she wished.
With this move, she was clearly at a slight disadvantage.
But even so, everyone was completely surprised.
At the ninth level of the Spirit Sea Realm, each time a Spirit Sea was condensed, one's strength could increase severalfold.
The two had vastly different cultivation realms, yet Ye Yuanyuan was still able to block the attack.
This was truly astonishing.
"What are you doing?"
At this moment, a thunderous shout suddenly rang out.
There was the clatter of armor, and then a well-ordered group of people marched forward, bringing with them a wave of killing intent along with the shout.
From inside the carriage at the center, a figure stepped out and quickly walked over.
The young man wore a silver silk robe and a silver crown on his head. The appearance of the crown changed everyone's expressions.
"What are you doing?"
The middle-aged man standing beside the young man shouted again.
"Greetings, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
"Greetings, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
In an instant, everyone present knelt down.
Only Qin Ning, Qin Hai, and Ye Yuanyuan remained standing.
The person who had just appeared was the Second Prince of the Beiming Empire, Prince Wu, who was also Crown Prince Ming Wu, recently enfeoffed a few days ago!
Several princes had originally vied for the position of Crown Prince.
But no one expected that a few days ago, Emperor Ming Yong had issued an imperial decree, enfeoffing Ming Wu as the Crown Prince, and furthermore, the Qin family was granted the title of marquis.
This incident could be said to have caused a stir throughout the entire Imperial Capital.
But no matter what, Ming Wu was now the Crown Prince.
Although the Liu family was a powerful clan in a prefecture, they still had to show respect when facing imperial authority.
Throughout the entire Beiming Empire, the disciples of the Heavenly God Academy were highly renowned, but when facing imperial power, there was no distinction of superiority or inferiority.
Moreover, most disciples, after completing their studies, entered the imperial family to seek status, enhance their strength, and become the head of a city, which was enough to bring glory to their ancestors.
Facing the Crown Prince, no one dared to be rude.
At this moment, Liu Mu's expression was extremely cautious, no longer showing any of his previous arrogance.
No matter how strong Liu Kaiyuan was, the Liu family was still behind him; there was no way to resist the imperial family!
Glancing over and seeing Ye Yuanyuan, Qin Ning, and Qin Hai still standing, Liu Mu secretly sneered.
These three fools truly did not know how to live or die!
To dare to be so disrespectful in front of the Crown Prince, in a moment, as long as he said a few words, these three would definitely incur the Crown Prince's hatred.
"Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
Liu Mu stepped forward and respectfully said, "This humble one is Liu Mu, a disciple of the Liu family from Liu Prefecture. I have had the honor of meeting Your Royal Highness before!"
Liu Mu's eyes were cunning. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Royal Highness, Ye Yuanjuan, relying on her strength, bullied the weak and attacked my Liu family's Liu Yuanjuan in front of so many people. She completely disregarded the law and spoke extremely rudely."
"I beg Your Highness to uphold justice for my Liu family!"
As soon as Liu Mu finished speaking, he bowed to the ground, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
This time, even Ye Yuanjuan would not be able to contend with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
After all, although the Ye family was a powerful family in the empire, controlling dozens of commanderies, these were merely bestowed upon them by the current emperor.
The Crown Prince before them was the future emperor. If Ye Yuanjuan dared to act rudely, the Ye family would certainly not be able to live in peace.
"Uphold justice?"
Ming Yu heard this, nodded, and said with a smile, "Good, I will handle this fairly!"
"Commander Du!"
"Your Highness!"
Ming Yu ordered, "Tie these three up for me and give each of them one hundred heavy blows!"
Hearing this, Liu Mu's face lit up with joy.
This time, Ye Yuanjuan, Qin Ning, and Qin Hai were all finished!
But suddenly, an arm reached out from nowhere and dragged him away.
Hey, wait a minute, that's not how the story was supposed to go!
Liu Mu immediately looked up, only to see Ming Yu's indifferent expression looking at him.
"Also, send someone to ask Liu Hanyu, ask if his Liu family has been in charge of Liu Commandery for too long, to the point where they've cultivated nothing but these good-for-nothing wastes who look down on everyone!"
Ming Yu snorted and waved his hand.
Liu Mu, Liu Jing, and Liu Yuanjuan were immediately dragged away.
"Your Royal Highness..."
At this moment, Liu Mu was completely stunned, his entire body frozen.
What happened?
Lou Zhan Tian, who was standing nearby, was also a little confused at this moment.
Ye Yuanjuan was the eldest daughter of the Ye family. The Ye family was indeed dozens of times stronger than the Liu family.
However, Liu Kaiyuan of the Liu family was now a highly influential figure in the Heavenly God Academy in the Beiming Empire, and he also had deep roots within the Heavenly God Academy.
The Crown Prince protected Ye Yuanjuan like this, was he not afraid that Liu Kaiyuan would be shamed into anger?
And at this moment, Liu Mu, who was being dragged away, was completely bewildered.
For the sake of a Ye Yuanjuan, the Crown Prince wanted to punish him!
Punish a seventh-level Spirit Sea realm genius!
Even if he didn't want to offend the Ye family, wasn't the Crown Prince afraid of offending Liu Kaiyuan?
*Thwack...*
A heavy blow landed, and Liu Mu's face turned pale.
This punishment did not use ordinary heavy sticks, but a type of spiritual artifact. One blow would cause skin to tear and flesh to rip, it was no laughing matter.
The sound of the heavy blows echoed continuously.
Liu Mu, Liu Jing, and Liu Yuanjuan all screamed madly.
While everyone was still astonished, unable to understand why the Crown Prince would act so severely for Ye Yuanjuan, Ming Yu had already walked towards Qin Ning.
What was going on?
Everyone was dumbfounded.
"Young Master Qin, are you alright?"
Ming Yu cupped his hands and said with a smile.
"I'm fine!"
Qin Ning waved his hand, then looked at Lou Zhan Tian and said, "Senior Brother Lou, can I enter now?"
"Yes... yes... you can enter now!"
Lou Zhan Tian extended his hand in invitation, wanting to say something, but was completely unable to speak.
Now, even a fool understood that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince acted not for Ye Yuanjuan, but for... Qin Ning, Young Master Qin?
Qin Ning ignored Liu Mu and his group and walked straight into the Heavenly God Academy.
The Heavenly Dao Academy has stood firm in the Northern Dark Empire for tens of thousands of years, and countless powerful martial artists have emerged from it.
Returning to this place once again, Qin Ning was filled with emotion.
Slowly stepping forward, Qin Ning's eyes suddenly lit up.
Before him, behind the gates of the Heavenly Dao Academy, a massive martial arts arena had appeared.
At this moment, people were coming and going on the arena, bustling with activity. Within the arena, four stone pillars stood tall, reaching towards the sky, incredibly majestic.
"These are the Four Symbols Sacred Pillars of the Heavenly Dao Academy. It's said that they were personally erected by Patriarch Tian Qingshi. They can also be considered a symbol of the Heavenly Dao Academy!" Ming Yu walked up behind Qin Ning and respectfully explained.
Hearing this, Qin Ning nodded.