With just one move, Ian Song defeated Travis Yuleman, who was ranked third on the Great Jin Dragon List.
Even Sword Immortal Blake Rivers and Young Lord Orion couldn’t do that.
But Ian did it, which means his strength already surpasses the Great Jin Dragon List.
Before this, plenty of people thought Ian Song was just arrogant and clueless, but seeing this, those rumors all turned out to be true.
The next moment—
Travis Yuleman got up from the ground, bowed deeply to Ian Song, and said, "I’ve lost. Thank you, Brother Ian, for going easy on me!"
"No worries!"
Ian Song waved his hand and said loudly, "Those voice transmissions weren’t my idea. Someone was deliberately stirring things up, hoping the Dragon List’s young talents would come find trouble with me. So you’ve all been used!"
As soon as he said this, everyone started thinking deeply.
Honestly, Ian’s reputation shot up way too fast, and it was all hype designed to stir up hate. If he were building his own fame, he’d never do it like this.
So clearly, someone was deliberately boosting him and making him a target.
If Ian had said this before beating Travis Yuleman, people would’ve thought he was chickening out and afraid to face the top three on the Dragon List. But now, after winning with one move, nobody thinks that anymore.
"Brother Ian, do you know who started these rumors?"
Travis asked. Even though he’d admitted defeat to Ian, he still felt pretty frustrated. Hearing he’d been used made him furious—he wished he could tear apart whoever spread the rumors.
"If I’m not wrong, it was probably the Eastern Prince’s heir who sent someone to do it!"
Ian answered calmly.
Since they sent so many people to cause him trouble, and Ian wasn’t the type to just take it lying down, he decided to return the favor.
"Thanks for telling the truth, Brother Ian. I’ll take my leave!"
Travis Yuleman cupped his fists toward Ian Song, then strode off.
Very soon—
News spread fast: Ian Song had beaten Travis Yuleman with just one move. At the same time, everyone heard that the voice transmissions were all a setup by the Eastern Prince’s heir to try and 'kill Ian with praise.'
The next evening—
Another bombshell dropped.
Drake Easton, the Eastern Prince’s heir, got brutally beaten by Travis Yuleman—rumor had it his ribs were broken and he looked absolutely miserable.
Eastern Prince’s Estate.
After taking some miracle pills, Drake Easton’s injuries were mostly healed, but getting beat up by Travis like that was a huge embarrassment.
"Ian Song! I swear I’ll kill you!"
"Shut up!"
Suddenly, a stern middle-aged man strode in, glaring at Drake Easton.
"Father, that Ian Song went way too far! I want revenge!"
Drake Easton shouted.
"Revenge, my ass!"
The Eastern Prince slapped Drake Easton flying, then snapped, "Before Travis Yuleman came back to the capital, he killed a late-Tribulation fiend. And yet, he still lost to Ian Song in one move. That means Ian is basically invincible at the Tribulation realm. You want revenge? Who are you going to send—can anyone beat him?"
After being scolded by his father, Drake Easton was left dumbfounded. "Dad, is that really true? How could Ian Song be so strong? Isn’t he just a low-level class teacher?"
The Eastern Prince sneered, "If he was just an ordinary teacher, would Heavenly Tome Academy let him lead the team for the Tri-Academy Summit? For all we know, he’s their secret weapon!"
Drake Easton went silent, looking completely defeated.
"So, are you still thinking about revenge?"
"No, Dad. I’m done with revenge!"
Smack!
Drake Easton got slapped flying again.
"So what if you’re weaker than him now? Are you planning to stay that way forever? Ever heard of the Da Yu Empire?"
Drake Easton nodded blankly.
"Yu King Palace from the Da Yu Empire is recruiting. Know why Travis Yuleman came back to the capital?" The Eastern Prince continued.
"Wait, does he want to join Yu King Palace too?" Drake Easton blurted out.
"Exactly!"
The Eastern Prince nodded. "Not just Travis—Blake Rivers, Young Lord Orion, and the top three on the Phoenix List are all gunning for Yu King Palace. You’re lucky. My senior brother is an elder there, and I’ve already secured a spot for you. So get training—break through to the Tribulation realm before Yu King Palace arrives. Once you join as an Inner Sect disciple, even the emperor will have to show you respect. By then, Ian Song won’t matter at all!"
Drake Easton’s eyes lit up, and he nodded hard. "Don’t worry, Father. I’ll definitely join Yu King Palace!"
"Good. Go train!"
The Eastern Prince waved him off.
Yu King Palace?
Ian Song looked at Travis Yuleman, not sure why he’d brought up that power.
Yu King Palace is a superpower under the Da Yu Empire, which rules over the Great Jin Imperial Court.
The Da Yu Empire has eighteen imperial courts under it. Great Jin is just one of them. Ian Song learned all this from ancient texts.
Every hundred years, Yu King Palace sends people to all eighteen courts to select disciples. Getting in is a one-way ticket to the top—if you become an Inner Sect disciple, you’re made an earl the moment you return to Great Jin.
If you make it as a true-inheritance disciple, you might even be granted kingship!
At this point, Travis Yuleman’s expression grew excited.
"So, Travis, are you telling me this because you want me to apply too?" Ian asked, testing the waters.
"Exactly. Yu King Palace never takes more than ten disciples each round, and everyone fights for those spots. Blake Rivers and Young Lord Orion have already teamed up, and I don’t get along with them. If they join forces against me during the assessment, I could get eliminated. That’s why I want to partner with you, Ian!"
"With your reputation, pulling other Dragon List rankers should be easy. Why ask me?" Ian laughed.
"Not just anyone’s qualified to team up with me, Travis Yuleman!" he said proudly.
"Alright, I’m in!" Ian Song nodded.
Travis Yuleman was stunned. He hadn’t expected Ian to agree so quickly—he’d even prepared some treasures to sweeten the deal.
"Ian, the Yu King Palace envoys should arrive in about half a year. Use this time to level up your cultivation—the stronger you are, the better your chances!"
"Got it! Thanks for the tip!"
After seeing Travis off, Ian couldn’t help but smile. "Looks like it’s almost time to leave Great Jin."
Half a month flew by.
Ian got the notice: the Tri-Academy Summit would start in three days, and he and the Heavenly Tome Academy crew had to get ready.
So, Ian lifted the seals on the other teachers.
He also released the students from the illusion realm.
Three days passed in a flash.
Led by the Dragon List students, Ian and his group arrived at the Tri-Academy Summit venue.
The summit was held inside a massive illusion realm, with twisted rules—if you died inside, you’d just get teleported out.
"Look, that’s Ian Song!"
"Whoa, he’s even cooler than the rumors said!"
"I heard Travis Yuleman couldn’t take even one move from him. If only I could be his dual cultivation partner!"
"Dream on! You’re not even on the Phoenix List—why would he ever look at you?"
...
All along the way, everyone was talking about Ian Song. Some even cheered his name out loud. The teachers and students from Heavenly Tome Academy were stunned—just what had Mr. Song done to become so famous in the capital?
Soon enough—
Ian and his crew reached their assigned spot and waited. Then, they saw the teachers and students from Dragon Academy and Wolf Academy arrive.
Then the emperor arrived, bringing the crown prince, other princes, and princesses.
He gave the teachers and students from all three academies an encouraging speech.
And with that, the summit began.
Once inside the illusion realm, Ian and the Heavenly Tome Academy crew were teleported to a small town.
The place was packed with illusion-born creatures, but none of them were strong—the toughest barely reached the Core Formation stage.
For the next three days, all three sides would build up their strength. Only after that could they attack each other.
There were rules to the fighting, too: soldiers versus soldiers, generals versus generals.
Basically, teachers fought teachers, students fought students, and illusion soldiers faced illusion soldiers.
The town had a population of over a hundred thousand.
First order of business: recruit soldiers.
So Ian started directing the teachers to lead teams for mining, forging weapons and armor, and brewing all kinds of pills.
After all, there were no weapons, armor, or pills in town—they had to make everything themselves.
Once he gave out the orders, Ian started setting up formations in and around the town.
After three days, he finished the formations and began training the troops.
The soldiers were weak, so winning would depend on battle formations. Ian taught them several arrays and had them drill day and night.
Ten days later—
Ian called a meeting with nine teachers.
"How many weapons have we forged?"
"How much armor have we made?"
"What about pills?"