Chapter 449 - 324: You’d Better Protect Your Ape Fur

On the arena, Zhaang Ye stood perfectly still, his feet having left two shallow prints on the Purple Jade Arena’s surface. Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining, on the other hand, was sitting cross-legged on the ground, his face deathly pale. He had clearly suffered a serious injury in their earlier clash.

The audience members rubbed their eyes hard, finally confirming what they had just seen. In that earth-shattering exchange, Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining had lost!

Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining—ranked tenth on the leaderboard, a man of unfathomable strength—had actually lost to Zhaang Ye in a direct confrontation and was now gravely wounded!

BUZZ!

After a moment of shock, the crowd erupted into a buzzing cacophony of discussion.

"Heavens, are my eyes playing tricks on me? Did I see that right? Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining actually lost!"

"Zhaang Ye defeated Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining! He’s just too powerful! That guy, Zhaang Ye, is incredible!"

"Unbelievable, just unbelievable. To think that Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining, an expert ranked tenth on the leaderboard, would fall to Zhaang Ye."

"Right? The strike from Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining was absolutely earth-shattering. But Zhaang Ye took it so easily. That man’s strength is simply unfathomable!"

"The Younger Generation has another top-tier expert! I think this Zhaang Ye has a real shot at breaking into the top ten and becoming an Inner Sect Disciple of the Sect in one fell swoop!"

...

While the audience chattered excitedly, the few top experts of the Younger Generation remained silent.

Sword King Ye Cangtian studied Zhaang Ye for a long moment. A hint of surprise touched his lips, and he chuckled. "Well now, Zhaang Ye! I never expected you to have such skill! Excellent. After the group stage, allow me to test you and see just how strong you really are."

Waves of battle intent surged from Spear King Fengyun Sheng. He glanced at Zhaang Ye from afar and muttered, "I actually misjudged him! Heh, good thing I’m not the only one."

Spear King Fengyun Sheng glanced over at King of Hell, Mo Luo, and Blood King Netherworld Green Blood. He keenly sensed that while their faces were calm, the slight fluctuations in their auras betrayed their surprise.

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—these four peerless geniuses silently watched Zhaang Ye. The expressions on their faces varied, but they were all shocked to their core. Each of them had already added Zhaang Ye to their list of rivals.

The three Elders of the Green Cloud Sect exchanged glances, a bitter smile appearing on all their faces simultaneously. The Seventh Elder cleared his throat and said, "Shameful, truly shameful! I’ve lived a long life and consider myself a good judge of character, yet I completely misjudged him today!"

The Eighth Elder, Chi Haisheng, and the Ninth Elder, Deng Jian Gong, also felt secretly ashamed. They were both over three hundred years old, and their Cultivation had reached the True Dao Eighth Layer. Their judgment was exceptionally sharp. Normally, their assessments of people were spot-on, but they had both been utterly wrong today.

On the arena, Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining let out a long breath and stood up. His gaze fell upon Zhaang Ye as he said with a wry smile, "Zhaang Ye, your power is immense. This battle... I have lost."

Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining was now utterly convinced of his defeat. The compressed Innate True Qi he had painstakingly gathered using the power of his Hand Seal had been instantly shattered by Zhaang Ye. The backlash of his own Innate True Qi had roiled his blood and qi, severely injuring him on the spot. Faced with Zhaang Ye’s terrifying methods, Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining had no choice but to admit defeat.

Zhaang Ye stretched his arms and said, "Your Hand Seal is quite impressive, being able to compress Innate True Qi like that. If you could have compressed it two or three more times, I would have had a hard time taking your full-power strike."

"Two or three more times?" A bitter smile appeared on Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining’s face. ’Compressing my Innate True Qi three times is already my limit. If I tried to force it any further, I wouldn’t need Zhaang Ye to kill me; I’d self-destruct and die on my own.’

At that moment, the referee walked over and announced Zhaang Ye’s victory.

Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining dusted himself off and strode down from the arena.

Seeing Red Cliff Celestial Ape below the arena, a smirk suddenly appeared on Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining’s face. He muttered, ’Zhaang Ye’s strength is terrifying. I doubt even some of the more powerful Barbaric Beasts could defeat him. However, Red Cliff Celestial Ape is known as the ’Power King,’ renowned for his physical might. When that kid Zhaang Ye runs into him later, he’s in for a world of hurt. Hehehehe...’

Zhaang Ye stepped down from the arena and was about to return to his seat to rest when his Identity Recognition Jade Token suddenly flashed. A line of red text appeared: "Match Twenty: Zhaang Ye versus Zi Wuming."

Zhaang Ye shook his head slightly and returned to the arena.

In Group Twenty-Five, Zi Wuming was considered a formidable fighter. He had fought nineteen matches, losing only to Red Cliff Celestial Ape and Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining, and had won the other seventeen. Zhaang Ye had just defeated Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining and was at the peak of his momentum. An ordinary genius disciple would absolutely not want to fight him now.

But Zi Wuming did not concede. He flew onto the arena, his eyes flickering with a hint of excitement. Zhaang Ye had just endured an earth-shattering clash with Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining, a clash that had left his opponent severely injured and forced to retreat for Healing. Zi Wuming refused to believe that Zhaang Ye could have emerged from that exchange completely unscathed.

Zi Wuming stared intently at Zhaang Ye, thinking, ’Zhaang Ye just traded a heavy blow with Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining. His arms and internal organs must be injured. Today, I’ll use everything I have to knock him off this arena!’

Convinced that Zhaang Ye was injured, Zi Wuming’s aura instantly swelled, making him seem like a massive, unshakeable mountain, fearless against any storm.

The referee walked over, glanced at Zi Wuming, and asked, "Zi Wuming, for this match, will you be forfeiting or competing normally?"

Zi Wuming drew a silver Long Sword and replied without hesitation, "Competing normally, of course! I greatly admire Brother Ye’s power and wish to experience his earth-shattering strength for myself."

The referee nodded, motioned for the two to take their positions in the center of the arena, and then announced, "Begin!"

The moment the referee gave the command, Zi Wuming immediately retreated ten zhang. With a VMMMM from his silver Long Sword, an incredibly sharp Sword Gang tore through the air, slashing toward Zhaang Ye.

Zi Wuming knew Zhaang Ye’s strength was astounding, so he first retreated ten zhang to create distance before launching a long-range Sword Gang attack. This was the strategy he had planned all along. He believed that by attacking from afar, Zhaang Ye would be unable to touch him, no matter how great his power was.

Below the arena, Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining saw through Zi Wuming’s plan at a glance. A cold sneer formed on his lips as he muttered, "Idiot! If Zhaang Ye were that easy to deal with, I wouldn’t have been defeated. That guy exudes a faint trace of Ancient Sword Intent, which means his Saber Technique is exceptional. In the face of Zhaang Ye’s Sword Gang, distance is useless!"

Zhaang Ye also saw through Zi Wuming’s intentions. A look of mockery appeared in his eyes as he thought, ’This kid is so naive. He really thinks I can’t touch him just because he’s far away.’

CRACK!

Zhaang Ye waved his hand, and a golden, seemingly tangible Sword Gang suddenly tore through the void and slammed into Zi Wuming’s Sword Gang. This golden Sword Gang contained an immense amount of Celestial River Righteous Qi. After shattering Zi Wuming’s attack in one blow, it continued onward with a sharp whistle, flying straight for Zi Wuming.

"Ah!"

Zi Wuming was horrified. He frantically poured out all the Innate True Qi in his body, desperately unleashing a long Sword Gang of his own. After a screech of metal on metal, Zi Wuming finally managed to block Zhaang Ye’s Sword Gang.

Just as Zi Wuming was about to breathe a sigh of relief, his vision was suddenly filled with golden light. It turned out that while Zi Wuming was busy blocking the first Sword Gang, Zhaang Ye had waved his hand again and sent out a second one. This Sword Gang was stronger, faster, and more terrifying than the first. The moment it was launched, it was already right in front of Zi Wuming’s face!

Scared out of his wits, Zi Wuming thought in despair, ’What a terrifying Sword Gang! Could it be that Zhaang Ye wasn’t injured at all from his clash with Clouds Parting and the Sun Shining? I miscalculated! I miscalculated! I’m done for!’

In his terror, Zi Wuming had just raised his Long Sword horizontally when Zhaang Ye’s Sword Gang crossed the forty-zhang distance and slammed into his body. The force sent both Zi Wuming and his sword flying. He crashed to the ground below the arena like a stone, his clothes shredded into fine strips by the Sword Gang, leaving him in a pathetic state.

SPURT! SPURT! SPURT!

Zi Wuming spat out three mouthfuls of blood and fainted on the spot.

The referee glanced at the unconscious Zi Wuming, shook his head slightly, and announced, "Round twenty, Zhaang Ye is the victor."

With this victory, Zhaang Ye was now on a twenty-win streak. His group stage score had reached sixty points, tying him for first place with Red Cliff Celestial Ape. Red Cliff Celestial Ape stared at the scoreboard beside the arena and let out a low roar. "There can only be one person in first place, and that’s me! Zhaang Ye, I’ll defeat you soon and knock you off the top of that scoreboard."

Zhaang Ye’s seat was not far from Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s. Hearing the roar, a cold glint appeared in his eyes. Just then, Red Cliff Celestial Ape looked over, and their gazes clashed in mid-air like four sharp blades.

Red Cliff Celestial Ape gave a grim smile and said, "Zhaang Ye, there are twenty-three rounds in the group stage, and we’re already through twenty. It’ll be our turn soon. You’re about to get a beating from me."

Zhaang Ye smiled faintly and replied, "Red Cliff Celestial Ape, who’s going to be beating whom is still up in the air. You’d better be careful to protect that ape fur of yours. It would be a shame if I knocked it all off."

Zhaang Ye’s words thoroughly enraged Red Cliff Celestial Ape. He clenched his fists tightly, his aura turning as cold as Profound Ice.

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