Chapter 295 - 43: Successive Breakthroughs

Chapter 295: Chapter 43: Successive Breakthroughs

Chen Ye’s gaze focused on arena number seven.

The master of arena number seven was a young-looking Swordsman, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He wore brocade robes, wielded an expensive, ornate longsword, and had a look of pure arrogance on his face.

His Swordsmanship was nimble and swift, bearing some resemblance to the style of the Celestial Sword Manor, yet it was also slightly different.

Chen Ye guessed the man was likely a disciple from a family affiliated with the Celestial Sword Manor. Having been exposed to their techniques from a young age, he had only learned the basics.

But even those basics were enough to make him stand out from the crowd.

Moreover, the man was vicious. Every strike aimed for his opponent’s vitals. In a short time, two challengers had already been severely injured and carried away.

He also seemed to relish the feeling of crushing his opponents, humiliating them with insults after every victory.

"Trash! With such pathetic skills, you dare attend the Immortal Ascension Ceremony?"

"Get lost! Don’t embarrass yourself here!"

He quickly won three consecutive matches. Just two more wins, and he would advance directly.

Sword in hand, he stood tall and swept his cold gaze over the crowd below. "Who else wants to come up here and die?"

His words ignited the crowd’s anger, but for a moment, no one dared to step onto the stage.

Just then, a hoarse voice came from the back of the crowd.

"I’ll give it a try."

Everyone turned toward the sound. They saw a thin, sallow-faced Swordsman with a blade wrapped in tattered cloth on his back, slowly walking up to arena number seven.

It was Chen Ye.

The brocade-robed youth looked Chen Ye up and down. Seeing his poor and ragged appearance, a contemptuous smile touched his lips.

"Old man, you look half-dead. You should just go home, lie down, and wait for death. Why come here looking for trouble?"

Chen Ye ignored his taunts, simply walking to the center of the arena and stopping.

"Loose Cultivator, Du Dao, here to challenge."

"Hmph! You don’t know what’s good for you!"

Before his voice had even faded, the brocade-robed youth moved!

With a flicker of his body, his longsword bloomed into a dazzling screen of Sword Light, like a peacock unfurling its tail, instantly enveloping Chen Ye.

The technique was as deadly as it was beautiful.

Yet, faced with the sky-filling Sword Light, Chen Ye seemed frozen in place, as if scared stiff.

A flash of cruel delight crossed the brocade-robed youth’s eyes.

He could already picture this ignorant fool being diced into a thousand pieces by his Sword Light.

But just as the Sword Light was about to reach him, Chen Ye moved.

He didn’t draw his blade, nor did he dodge. Instead, he took a single step forward.

A very small step.

Then he raised his blade, still wrapped in tattered cloth, and brought it down in a casual chop against the impenetrable net of swords.

However, this seemingly casual chop landed with perfect precision on a single node within the dazzling Sword Light.

This node was the linchpin of all the youth’s Sword Techniques—and his greatest weakness!

CLINK!

A soft sound rang out.

The cloth-wrapped blade passed through the Sword Light.

The next second, the exquisitely beautiful Sword Light vanished in an instant, like a popped balloon.

The brocade-robed youth let out a pained grunt. He was sent flying backward, crashing hard onto the edge of the arena as his longsword flew from his grasp.

He struggled to get up, but felt as if his meridians had been thrown into chaos by an unseen force. His True Essence flowed in reverse and his blood surged. A sweet taste filled his throat, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

"What... what did you do...?"

He stared at Chen Ye, his face full of terror, his eyes a mixture of confusion and fear.

He hadn’t even seen how the other man had struck, nor had he felt the blade touch him.

But he had lost all the same—a baffling and inexplicable defeat.

Below arena number seven, there was dead silence.

Everyone was stunned by the scene.

If Chen Ye’s one-hit victory over the burly Mad Axe yesterday had an element of cleverness to it,

then today, facing this highly skilled, brocade-robed Swordsman, he had still won with a single, casual strike.

This was no longer a clever trick.

This was absolute domination through sheer strength!

Chen Ye didn’t answer the brocade-robed youth’s question. He simply walked to the center of the arena and said in his hoarse voice, "Who’s next?"

Below the stage, silence.

After a long while, a very cautious-looking man armed with twin daggers took a deep breath and leaped onto the arena.

This man with the twin daggers was clearly far more cautious than the brocade-robed youth had been.

He didn’t launch a fierce attack right away. Instead, he lowered his stance and circled Chen Ye slowly, trying to find an opening.

But Chen Ye just stood there quietly, his back slightly hunched and his eyes clouded. His entire body seemed to be one big opening.

And yet, the more it was so, the more unnerved the man became.

He had witnessed the previous fight and knew that this sickly-looking Swordsman was a dangerous opponent.

After a stalemate that lasted a full half-minute, the man could finally take it no longer.

With a loud shout, he exploded forward, lunging at Chen Ye from the left.

The dagger in his left hand was a feint, meant to draw Chen Ye’s attention.

The one in his right hand was the true killing blow, striking like a venomous snake toward Chen Ye’s ribs!

He had practiced this combination hundreds of thousands of times, mastering its core tenets of speed, precision, and ruthlessness. Countless experts had died by this very move.

But the instant he launched his attack, Chen Ye moved. With just a slight flicker, the man’s vision blurred, and he lost sight of his opponent.

’Not good!’

Alarm bells screamed in his mind, and he tried to retreat without a second thought.

But it was too late.

THUD. The man felt as if a sledgehammer had slammed into the back of his neck. His vision went black, and he instantly lost consciousness.

Chen Ye withdrew his blade, still wrapped in its tattered cloth, and looked at the man crumpled on the ground. He shook his head.

’Too slow.’

Under the gaze of the Tribulation Eye, from the very moment the man had formed the intent to attack, every one of his movements and follow-up techniques had been laid bare for Chen Ye to see. He posed no threat at all.

The second battle, another victory.