Chapter 447 - 422: Intense Duel

Zhaang Ye descended from the arena, and the audience erupted into a frenzy. The way Zhaang Ye had defeated Baili Shuangshuang was almost identical to how Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining had done it. Throughout the entire fight, Zhaang Ye hadn’t moved an inch from his spot, had used only a single hand, and had defeated Baili Shuangshuang with the same ease. In this battle, Zhaang Ye demonstrated a level of strength that was not the slightest bit weaker than that of Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining.

As Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining watched Zhaang Ye descend from the arena, a glimmer of apprehension flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly suppressed by an intense battle lust.

The four super geniuses—Lie Xuefeng from Eastern Snow Sand City, Luo Fusheng from Southern Black Stone City, Bizhi Orchid from Western Star-picking City, and Blood Chongyang from Northern Qu Mountain City—also took notice of Zhaang Ye. A hint of surprise flickered in their eyes. After sizing him up for a moment, they quickly turned their attention elsewhere.

To these four super geniuses, Zhaang Ye was merely a fairly powerful genius, unworthy of their extended attention. Their focus was on the five supreme experts: King of Hell, Mo Luo; Sword King Ye Cangtian; Power King Red Cliff Celestial Ape; Blood King Netherworld Green Blood; and Spear King Fengyun Sheng.

Among the five supreme experts, only Sword King Ye Cangtian, Spear King Fengyun Sheng, and Power King Red Cliff Celestial Ape were paying attention to Zhaang Ye. Of them, Sword King Ye Cangtian and Spear King Fengyun Sheng had more discerning eyes than the others. They vaguely sensed that Zhaang Ye was more than he seemed, so they paid him a little more attention. As for Red Cliff Celestial Ape, he was bent on avenging his junior brother, Xingxing’Er, and thus kept his eyes fixed on Zhaang Ye.

Meeting the crowd’s gazes, Zhaang Ye walked at a steady pace toward his seat. When he passed Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining, the latter spoke up, "Very good, very good. Zhaang Ye, your strength is quite impressive. I look forward to our fight."

At that, Red Cliff Celestial Ape let out a grating cackle. "Excellent. Zhaang Ye, the stronger you are, the more interested I am. I will defeat you, grind you into the dust, and make you eat dirt!"

Zhaang Ye simply nodded at Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining, completely ignoring Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s provocation as he ambled back to his seat.

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s disdainful expression, a flash of killing intent emanated from Red Cliff Celestial Ape. Zhaang Ye’s dismissive attitude was a provocation in itself. Red Cliff Celestial Ape was enraged, his fists clenching so tightly they went CRACK.

In the group point matches, Zhaang Ye had consecutively defeated two opponents, Ba Changming and Baili Shuangshuang, displaying his immense strength. In the following four matches, his opponents all conceded immediately. As a result, Zhaang Ye’s victory count reached fifteen, bringing his point total to forty-five.

Zhaang Ye was racking up one victory after another in the group point matches. Yangx Guyuan, another genius from the Land of Divine Abandonment, also achieved decent results in the group stage. He fought sixteen matches, winning nine and losing seven, for a total of twenty-seven points. If everything went smoothly, he would have no trouble making it into the top ten.

Zhaang Ye’s old acquaintance, Tu Feiyuan, had a record even better than Yangx Guyuan’s. Tu Feiyuan appeared rotund and exceedingly clumsy, but in reality, his movements and attacks were not the least bit slow. He had another advantage: he was incredibly tough. Even if he took a direct palm strike from a Half-step True Dao Expert, he would emerge unscathed.

Relying on his speed and toughness, Tu Feiyuan achieved a record of ten wins and six losses, reaching thirty points. At this rate, entering the top ten of his group would be a simple matter.

Round after round, the matches continued, lasting from morning to afternoon, and then from afternoon into the night. When the sky began to darken, a thousand Luminous Pearls rose into the air, their soft light illuminating the entire valley as bright as day.

In the nineteenth round, Zhaang Ye ran into Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining.

Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining had bronze skin, large hands and feet, and bulging muscles. A wild aura filled the air with his every move, like a terrifyingly ferocious beast. He stood like a statue in the center of the arena and said slowly, "Zhaang Ye, I know you’re still holding back. In this fight, bring out all your strength! Otherwise, you’ll suffer a miserable defeat!"

"Yeah!"

"So badass!"

"Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining! Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining!!"

The words of Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining drew a storm of cheers. The tens of thousands of spectators near the arena, seeing the two experts about to face off, roared in unison, making the arena’s Protective Shield tremble.

Hearing the deafening roar, the three Sect Elders focused their attention on Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining and Zhaang Ye. The Seventh Elder of the Sect watched Zhaang Ye from afar, chuckled, and said, "This Zhaang Ye’s performance is quite impressive. Baili Shuangshuang’s Innate True Qi has reached ninety-one percent purity, yet she still suffered a crushing defeat at his hands. However, his opponent in this fight is Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining. I’m not optimistic about his chances."

Eighth Elder Chi Haisheng stroked his beard and nodded. "Zhaang Ye’s performance in the group stage has truly exceeded my expectations. To think that a genius like him could come from the Land of Divine Abandonment. However, Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining is an expert ranked in the top ten. I’m afraid the outlook for Zhaang Ye in this fight is bleak."

Ninth Elder Deng Jian Gong, however, was more optimistic about Zhaang Ye. He said, "This Zhaang Ye is no simple character! The Tornado he unleashes faintly contains the Realm of a Space Storm, and its power is immense. Moreover, the Cultivation Technique he practices is highly unusual; it surprisingly contains hints of Ancient Elephant Power, Ancient Dragon Power, and Ancient Phoenix Power. This is simply incredible. I dare say that in this fight, even if Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining wins, it will be a very tough victory. Perhaps Zhaang Ye might even defeat Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining and shock everyone."

Seventh Elder Jin Zhongyu and Eighth Elder Chi Haisheng were both slightly stunned. Then, Seventh Elder Jin Zhongyu laughed. "Old Nine, you’re overestimating Zhaang Ye. Although his potential is good, his combat strength likely falls far short of top-tier geniuses like Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining. I don’t favor Zhaang Ye in this fight."

Chi Haisheng nodded in agreement. "Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining loves to kill and has practically climbed up on the bones of other experts, so his leaderboard rank is a bit inflated. However, among the five thousand geniuses, his actual combat strength can definitely rank in the top twenty. The outlook is grim for Zhaang Ye."

Ninth Elder Deng Jian Gong chuckled. "I’m sticking to my view. Well, the match is about to start. Let’s just watch and see."

The three Elders smiled in unison and turned their gazes to the arena.

On the arena stage, the moment the referee’s voice fell, Zhaang Ye and Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining struck simultaneously.

SWOOSH!

With a wave of his hand, Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining’s Innate True Qi transformed into a thirty-zhang-long Black Sword. Wreathed in the faint rumble of thunder, it stabbed straight toward Zhaang Ye. But just as he made his move, Zhaang Ye also waved his palm. A brilliant golden Tornado, accompanied by a cacophony of strange sounds, flew straight at Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining.

BOOM!

The Black Sword and the Tornado met in mid-air and immediately exploded with a cataclysmic roar. Amidst the thunderous sound, Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining let out a long laugh and shouted, "What a powerful Tornado! Now, take another one of my attacks!"

Following his voice, the Innate True Qi in the air suddenly transformed into tens of thousands of Small Swords that flew toward Zhaang Ye with a sharp whistle. This ability to directly transform ambient Innate True Qi into Short Swords, all thanks to his exquisite control and immense Spiritual Power, was precisely the source of Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining’s strength. Previously, when Baili Shuangshuang faced this attack, she was defeated in an instant.

Zhaang Ye chuckled. "These swords of yours are no threat to me."

As he spoke, a dense barrage of Tornadoes met the Short Swords. Amidst a crackle and pop of clashing Innate True Qi, all the Short Swords manifested by Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining were annihilated by the Tornadoes. Zhaang Ye pushed his palm forward and shouted, "Now you take a hit from me!"

FWOOM!

Following Zhaang Ye’s push through the air, the dense Tornadoes suddenly merged, forming a massive, hundred-zhang-tall Tornado that bore down on Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining. Feeling the immense Devouring Power contained within the Tornado, Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining was secretly shocked. ’This Tornado of Zhaang Ye’s is already thirty to forty percent similar to the legendary Space Storms! His Tornado technique is perfect for both offense and defense. It’s absolutely brilliant!’

Startled, Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining took a step forward. A mighty Sword Gang surged skyward, piercing straight into the heart of the Tornado. Torn apart by this massive Sword Gang, the Tornado immediately stopped spinning and exploded in mid-air, scattering into golden light that filled the sky.

"Awesome!"

"Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining! Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining!"

"Zhaang Ye! Zhaang Ye!"

The brief, long-range exchange between Zhaang Ye and Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining had displayed incredible Control Power, leaving the audience’s blood boiling with excitement as they roared with abandon.

Amidst the audience’s roars, Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining leaned forward slightly, an almost tangible aura locking firmly onto Zhaang Ye. The long-range exchange may have looked like a draw, but Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining understood that the Tornado Zhaang Ye had unleashed contained Profound Mysteries and was terrifyingly powerful. He had been forced to unleash his Sword Gang just to disperse it.

In other words, in that last exchange, Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining had already been at a disadvantage. The Black Sword he had unleashed was simply no match for Zhaang Ye’s Tornado.

Locked on by the aura of Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining, Zhaang Ye felt a wave of unease wash over him, as if he were being stared down by a terrifying Barbaric Beast. Zhaang Ye knew the real fight was about to begin. In response, he released his own immense aura to confront Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining from a distance.

The roars of the audience gradually died down. They all held their breath, waiting for the intense showdown between Zhaang Ye and Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining.

——————

Thank you, thank you all for your subscriptions, rewards, and Recommendation Tickets. And an even bigger thank you for your monthly tickets. With all your amazing support, I have no reason not to give my all. I’ll be at my computer all day today and will definitely fulfill my promise.

——————(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)