Chapter 450 - 425: Sliced Off 1 Small Tuft of Ape Fur

The competition continued.

The group stage matches had been going on for a full day and night now. As the group stage drew to a close, the contestants fought even more desperately, and almost everyone was injured.

In the twenty-first match, Zhaang Ye’s opponent forfeited. Zhaang Ye won without a fight, bringing his score to sixty-three points.

When the twenty-first match ended, the Red Cliff Celestial Ape suddenly rose to his feet with a long laugh. The contestants in Group Twenty-Five all knew of the grudge between the Red Cliff Celestial Ape and Zhaang Ye. Hearing his booming laughter, they instantly realized the battle between the two was about to begin and turned their gazes toward Zhaang Ye.

Zhaang Ye glanced at his Jade Token. On it, the words were clearly displayed: "Match Twenty-Two: Zhaang Ye vs. Red Cliff Celestial Ape."

The battle between the Red Cliff Celestial Ape and Zhaang Ye had finally arrived.

Zhaang Ye calmly put away his Jade Token and walked toward the arena.

Seeing Zhaang Ye and the Red Cliff Celestial Ape both heading for the arena, the crowd immediately knew that a heaven-shaking duel was about to take place between these two experts. Some of the more belligerent spectators leaped to their feet, letting out earth-shattering roars. The atmosphere was already electric before the fight had even begun.

"Red Cliff Celestial Ape! Red Cliff Celestial Ape!"

"Red Cliff Celestial Ape, show us your power!"

"Zhaang Ye! Zhaang Ye! Take down the Red Cliff Celestial Ape!"

"WOOO! Kill him! Kill him! Kill, kill, kill!"

Amidst the roaring of the crowd, Zhaang Ye and the Red Cliff Celestial Ape arrived on the arena stage at the same time, standing face to face. Auras clashed and gazes locked as the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi above the arena surged wildly.

Zhaang Ye’s expression was grave. Only by standing before the Red Cliff Celestial Ape could one truly feel the terrifying pressure he exuded. To Zhaang Ye, the man felt like a seething volcano, liable to erupt with scorching magma at any moment and incinerate everything in its path.

Zhaang Ye’s combat prowess already placed him among the elites of the Younger Generation. Yet the Red Cliff Celestial Ape could still make him feel immense pressure. This alone proved that the Red Cliff Celestial Ape was worthy of his title as a supreme expert.

At the referee’s signal, the Red Cliff Celestial Ape suddenly took a step forward and sneered, "Zhaang Ye, aren’t you supposed to be incredibly strong? Let’s see you take a punch from me!"

"BOOM!"

Even as the words left his mouth, his fist was already smashing down toward Zhaang Ye. The punch was impossibly fast and impossibly powerful. As it flew, his Innate True Qi scraped violently against the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi in the air, creating a long trail of fire. It was like a meteor hurtling straight for Zhaang Ye!

A glint flashed in Zhaang Ye’s eyes. He didn’t dodge or evade. Instead, his palm suddenly traced the arc of a brilliant golden Celestial River, meeting the Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s fist head-on.

"RUMBLE!"

Zhaang Ye’s power and the Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s power collided heavily. Under the impact of the two immense forces, the arena suddenly shook, and the entire valley trembled from the force of the blow.

The spectators’ eyes all went wide as they gasped. Someone muttered, "What terrifying power! The Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s strength is frightening, but Zhaang Ye’s is just as scary!"

Someone else nodded and said, "Just a single, simple clash was enough to make the whole valley shake. It looks like even this sturdy Purple Jade Arena won’t be able to withstand their abuse."

The audience broke into discussion, with most people not favoring Zhaang Ye. After all, Zhaang Ye was just a dark horse, whereas the Red Cliff Celestial Ape was a long-famous, veteran expert. In comparison, people were much more optimistic about the Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s chances.

While the crowd was talking, the Red Cliff Celestial Ape and Zhaang Ye viciously traded three more blows on the stage. The power of both fighters was incredible. After four direct clashes, the Purple Jade Arena beneath their feet was already covered in cracks. Yet neither of them had moved an inch, staunchly receiving the full force of their opponent’s attacks.

"HISS!"

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s performance, the crowd was utterly astounded.

Zhaang Ye was a full head shorter than the Red Cliff Celestial Ape, looking almost like a child standing before him. But despite this, Zhaang Ye had exchanged four blows with the Red Cliff Celestial Ape and hadn’t lost any ground. This display of immense power left not only the audience stunned, but even the other talented contestants speechless.

"This Zhaang Ye’s strength is just ridiculous."

"Yeah, seriously. He looks a bit thin, I never would have thought his strength was so astounding."

"Incredible. That Zhaang Ye is an absolute monster. His power is terrifying, simply unbelievable!"

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s formidable performance, the other talented contestants all gasped in shock. Even the two supreme experts, Sword King Ye Cangtian and Spear King Fengyun Sheng, were secretly astonished.

After his initial shock, Ye Cangtian suddenly burst out laughing and muttered to himself, "Oh, Red Cliff Celestial Ape, Red Cliff Celestial Ape, you’ve really met your match this time! This Zhaang Ye’s strength is astonishing. Trying to overwhelm him with pure power will be no easy task! HAHAHAHA! To think you can’t even overpower some nobody with your strength. Red Cliff Celestial Ape, you’re going to be a laughingstock!"

After four direct clashes, the Red Cliff Celestial Ape was starting to lose face. He was known as the "Power King," yet the Zhaang Ye before him was not the least bit weaker in terms of strength. After four exchanges, he hadn’t gained the slightest advantage, which left him both shocked and enraged.

"ROAR! I don’t believe this! Zhaang Ye, take a few more of my fists!" The hair all over the Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s body stood on end as his frame suddenly swelled by a full size. Innate True Qi erupted wildly from his seven orifices, making him look like a terrifying Barbaric Beast.

"BAM! BAM! BAM!"

The Red Cliff Celestial Ape smashed his fists heavily toward Zhaang Ye. With every punch, the very air for a thousand zhang around them trembled. Just watching from outside the arena made the spectators feel incredibly uncomfortable.

Facing the Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s bombardment, Zhaang Ye showed no weakness. He gave a cold smile and said, "Red Cliff Celestial Ape, is this all the strength you have? I could take ten thousand more of your punches, and you still wouldn’t be able to do anything to me!"

As he spoke, Zhaang Ye met the assault with fists and feet, trading blows with the Red Cliff Celestial Ape without giving an inch. The sounds of their impacts were incredibly deep and muffled, like the steady beat of a great drum. The spectators near the arena couldn’t bear the terrible noise and covered their ears.

After trading over a thousand blows with Zhaang Ye, the Red Cliff Celestial Ape knew he could no longer overwhelm Zhaang Ye with strength alone. Since brute force wasn’t working, his only option was to unleash his Innate True Qi and his Combat Skills to defeat Zhaang Ye with overwhelming momentum!

"WHOOSH!"

The Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s figure blurred, transforming into a dense swarm of afterimages. Each shadow was illusory and ethereal, making it impossible to tell which was real. The myriad shadows lunged at Zhaang Ye all at once. Caught off guard, a piece of Zhaang Ye’s sleeve was torn away by the Red Cliff Celestial Ape.

Zhaang Ye’s gaze turned cold. His two hands suddenly formed a pair of brilliant golden blades. The two blades drew a resplendent golden arc, slashing toward the Red Cliff Celestial Ape with profound mystery.

"PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!"

Zhaang Ye dispersed the Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s afterimages in one move. He then began to spin rapidly, and as he spun, he let out a short cry, "Taste my blade!"

SHING!

Zhaang Ye transformed into a Tornado, unleashing his Mountain-Breaking Slash. A golden Celestial River, wreathed in layers of wind, suddenly appeared before the Red Cliff Celestial Ape. This was none other than Zhaang Ye’s Self-Created Combat Skill—Mountain-Breaking Slash!

Zhaang Ye’s slash was swift and vicious. As he executed it, a terrifying Devouring Power locked firmly onto the Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s body, making it impossible for him to dodge. Left with no choice, the Red Cliff Celestial Ape could only rely on his brute strength to take Zhaang Ye’s Mountain-Breaking Slash head-on.

"CLANG!"

Two immense forces collided in mid-air. The Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s towering figure was actually forced back three steps by Zhaang Ye’s slash. As he steadied himself, his gaze suddenly froze. He discovered a small tuft of greenish hair on Zhaang Ye’s palm. It was the hair from his own arm!

It turned out that when Zhaang Ye had unleashed his Mountain-Breaking Slash, not only had he forced the Red Cliff Celestial Ape back three steps, but he had also sliced off a small tuft of his hair!

The Red Cliff Celestial Ape possessed the bloodline of an Ancient Celestial Ape. As a result, the hair on his body was as thick as an ape’s. The tuft Zhaang Ye had sliced off was as dense as a patch of grass, each strand like a steel needle, and looked quite frightening.

Sensing something unusual about the tuft of hair, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but inspect it for a moment.

Seeing Zhaang Ye slice off the Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s hair and then proceed to examine it right in front of him, several of the top ten experts couldn’t help but smirk. They knew that the Red Cliff Celestial Ape cared most about the hair on his body. For Zhaang Ye not only to cut it off but also to scrutinize it was a blatant provocation!

"ROAR!"

Watching Zhaang Ye cut off his hair and then inspect it right in front of him, the Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s fury blazed. He was currently in the arduous process of practicing a strange cultivation method. Once this strange cultivation method was mastered, the hair all over his body would form a thick protective layer that even experts of the same rank couldn’t break through. Now that Zhaang Ye had sliced off a tuft of his hair, it had a huge impact on his Cultivation. The Red Cliff Celestial Ape was now shocked and enraged. He was filled with killing intent!

The Red Cliff Celestial Ape gritted his teeth and snarled, "Zhaang Ye, you’re courting death! You’ve successfully infuriated me, and I’m going to make you pay a heavy price! Celestial Ape Bloodline, activate!"

Following the Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s great roar, an aura filled with annihilation suddenly erupted from his body. Everyone within five hundred zhang of the arena was forced to their knees by this terrifying presence!

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Hehe, fourth update of the day. This author has finally fulfilled his promise. Thank you for your monthly tickets and subscriptions! When I’m feeling a bit better, I’ll keep the explosive updates coming!

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