Chapter 538: Sneak Attack

By now, the Mountain Dweller was all smiles again.

He was clearly quite confident in his own strength. After revealing the depths of his power at the Peak of the Primordial Mansion Realm, his tone had taken on a haughty edge.

No one found this surprising.

After all, the Mountain Dweller was an expert who had been famous for a long time. His reputation in the surrounding area was renowned, and many second-rate factions had once tried to recruit him.

You have to understand, second-rate factions were overseen by Great Powers of the Divinity Transformation Realm.

And yet, even that wasn’t enough to sway the Mountain Dweller. He seemed to yearn for a free and unfettered life of cultivation, unconcerned with methods to reach the Divinity Transformation Realm. He had even rejected the invitations from those second-rate factions.

Of course, this also served as a testament to his immense self-confidence!

‘I will find the method to break through to Divinity Transformation on my own! I don’t need to seek guidance from the true experts in those major factions!’

“Excellent! The Mountain Dweller is finally here!”

“I knew it! With the Clan Leader fallen, the Mountain Dweller definitely wouldn’t sit by and do nothing!”

“Now that he’s here, no matter how powerful this kid is, I doubt he’ll be able to stir up any more trouble!”

“…”

The remaining members of the Luo Race began to whisper amongst themselves, their gazes toward Ye Chen filled with ill intent.

With the Mountain Dweller present, they were clearly emboldened and no longer as fearful of Ye Chen as before.

Ye Chen watched this unfold with cold detachment. He could, of course, hear all their whispers, but he paid them no mind, offering only a slight smile.

‘So be it.’

‘I’ll just send you on your way as well.’

Ye Chen shot the Mountain Dweller a cool glance, then he moved!

No one had expected it. Even when facing a figure as notoriously dangerous as the Mountain Dweller, Ye Chen showed not a hint of fear. He even dared to be the one to attack first.

Even the Mountain Dweller was momentarily stunned. Ye Chen’s move had taken him by surprise as well.

But he quickly recovered, a frigid look appearing on his face.

‘Fools rush in, as they say.’

‘Since this boy is so determined to die, I don’t mind indulging him.’

With this in mind, the Mountain Dweller watched Ye Chen arrive before him. He raised his withered, skeletal hand, preparing to strike.

The next moment, he found that Ye Chen’s figure had vanished.

“Hm?”

The Mountain Dweller’s aged face flickered. ‘Behind me?’

He spun around instantly, only to be met by Ye Chen’s plain, unadorned fist.

“BAM!”

The Mountain Dweller took the punch head-on, pulling his energy inward and frantically circulating his Spiritual Power. Behind him, the vast phantom of a Spiritual Sea began to surge.

And yet, the blow still injured him.

He clenched his jaw, his face flushing crimson as he stumbled back several steps.

Finally, unable to bear it, he violently spat out a mouthful of blood, the crimson flush on his face subsiding slightly.

Silence descended upon the scene.

The crowd stared blankly, a chill creeping into their hearts.

By taking the initiative, the young man had actually managed to injure a figure like the Mountain Dweller.

This horrified them. ‘Is there truly no one who can handle this young man?’

“It seems the one who needed to know their place was you all along.”

Ye Chen slowly withdrew his fist, a faint smile on his face. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“You’re courting death!”

A cold glint flashed in the Mountain Dweller’s eyes. Ye Chen’s actions had thoroughly enraged him. No longer able to restrain his murderous intent, he took a single step and appeared right in front of Ye Chen.

A surging wave of power roiled around him. As a Cultivator extremely close to the Divinity Transformation Realm, his combat power was undoubtedly formidable.

A mere wisp of his spreading aura felt as heavy as a mountain to the members of the Luo Race, crushing them to the point they could hardly breathe.

Yet Ye Chen’s expression remained as placid as an ancient well, completely undisturbed.

Facing the Mountain Dweller’s furious assault, he calmly raised his arms and conjured dozens of palm afterimages.

Each palm carried enough terrifying force to easily obliterate a Primordial Mansion Realm expert, forcing the Mountain Dweller’s expression to shift drastically. He dared not be careless.

The two clashed head-on, exchanging dozens of blows in the blink of an eye.

Ye Chen remained as composed as ever, but the Mountain Dweller was clearly struggling. His footing grew unsteady and his body swayed, looking as if he was about to collapse.

By now, it was obvious to everyone that in a direct confrontation, the Mountain Dweller was no match for Ye Chen.

The onlookers couldn’t help but gasp.

Just how powerful was this young man?

He clearly didn’t even have a cultivation base, yet he could force a powerhouse like the Mountain Dweller onto the back foot. It was simply beyond belief!

Although Ye Chen had a slight edge, the combat strength he had recovered was, at best, barely on par with the Divinity Transformation Realm.

Taking down the Mountain Dweller was not something he could accomplish in a moment.

However, Ye Chen was in no hurry. He needed a battle this evenly matched to force the divine beast’s fire seed inside him to release its power, nourishing his flesh and stimulating the potential of his Chaos Five Elements Body to hasten his recovery.

In other words, if the battle continued, Ye Chen’s combat power would only grow stronger.

The Mountain Dweller, on the other hand, was constantly expending Spiritual Power and would inevitably be defeated once he was exhausted.

And that was exactly what happened. As time passed, the Mountain Dweller grew increasingly alarmed.

Not only was the young man’s offense flawless, pressing him at every turn, but he also seemed to grow stronger with every exchange. His power felt endless, as if he would never tire.

He, on the other hand, had been fighting with all his might in every single clash. His Spiritual Power was depleting rapidly, and he was already beginning to show signs of exhaustion.

No one knew how much longer Ye Chen could last.

But the Mountain Dweller knew one thing for certain: he himself was about to reach his limit.

Watching the Mountain Dweller struggle, the members of the Luo Race grew more and more agitated, their hearts filling with profound worry.

If even the Mountain Dweller couldn’t defeat Ye Chen, then the Luo Race was truly doomed to be annihilated today.

Qing Lian also watched the battle intently, her heart pounding with tension.

Although it seemed on the surface that Ye Chen had the upper hand…

But everyone knew the Mountain Dweller had been famous for many years. He had maintained his fearsome reputation to this day, always coming out on top. This meant he was by no means someone to be underestimated.

‘Until the very last moment of the fight, you absolutely cannot let your guard down!’

And just as she thought, right as Ye Chen’s palm was about to strike the Mountain Dweller’s head, the old man suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a blade.

The blade was wreathed in powerful fluctuations of Spiritual Power—it was a mid-grade spiritual weapon.

The instant it appeared, it erupted with an incredible force and shot toward Ye Chen’s throat.

“SWISH!”

Hot blood sprayed through the air.

Ye Chen was seen clutching his throat, fresh blood seeping endlessly from between his fingers.