Ye Zhen's Advantage (Second Update)

"Martial Arena?"

Ye Zhen narrowed his eyes. Li Xuelong's vicious intent became clear in an instant.

Private fights between Qi Yun Sect Outer Disciples were forbidden. Once discovered, they would certainly be punished severely. In other words, as long as Ye Zhen refused to enter the Martial Arena, Ma Hun could do little to him under normal circumstances.

But once they stepped onto the Martial Arena, both parties' lives and deaths were left to fate. Even if one was beaten to death or crippled, even the sect could find no fault with it.

That was why, to take revenge, Ma Hun and his little lackey Li Xuelong had come up with such a vicious scheme. They wanted to provoke Ye Zhen and force him onto the Martial Arena.

But Li Xuelong was too wicked. That kick on the mountain path just now had been far too vicious. If Ye Zhen had reacted a little slower, he would nearly have lost his life.

If Ye Zhen had truly fallen off the cliff and died because of Li Xuelong's kick, then he would have died for nothing. Even if his death had seemed somewhat suspicious, the sect would not investigate it deeply.

If an Outer Disciple fell to his death, it could only be blamed on his own stupidity, not on anyone else.

The scheme was simply too poisonous.

"What, you don't dare enter the Martial Arena? You spineless coward, I knew long ago that you wouldn't dare!" Li Xuelong continued to curse viciously, his face full of delight.

"Coward!" Ma Hun looked at him with utter contempt.

A cold glint flashed through Ye Zhen's eyes. Today, he absolutely had to teach Li Xuelong a lesson. However, he had spent these past days training with his head buried in cultivation, and did not even know Li Xuelong's exact cultivation.

More critically, Ye Zhen had spent these days solely cultivating the Essence Blood Origin Body Art that Instructor Liao had passed down to him. He had not yet had time to practice any powerful martial skills or movement techniques. Under such circumstances, if he wanted to teach Li Xuelong a lesson, he would have to use some means and directly bring his own advantage into play for a greater chance of victory.

Ye Zhen knew very clearly what his greatest advantage was at present!

"Then let's go! It's only the Martial Arena. Who's afraid of whom?" Ye Zhen shouted angrily, craning his neck.

"Li Xuelong, have you no shame? Why are you bullying a newcomer again? You want to enter the Martial Arena, right? I'll go with you!"

The joy that had just surfaced on Li Xuelong's face at Ye Zhen agreeing to enter the Martial Arena suddenly froze. His voice became somewhat stammering. "Li... Senior Brother Li!"

"Li Yuncong, you can't rely on your position as third on the Earth Ranking to bully us. Who said we were bullying Ye Zhen? He was the one who took the initiative to challenge Li Xuelong in the Martial Arena." Seeing Li Xuelong grow timid, Ma Hun said lazily.

Li Yuncong ranked third on the Earth Ranking.

"Ma Hun, don't think I don't know your little tricks." Turning around, Li Yuncong patted Ye Zhen on the shoulder. "Junior Brother, ignore them. Li Xuelong has been an Outer Disciple for more than a year. He has nearly completed his blood qi body tempering and is about to break through to the Blood Refining Fifth Level. How many days have you been an Outer Disciple?

"Listen to me. Cultivate properly, wait a year or so before entering the Martial Arena with him, then beat him flat on the ground."

At those words, Ye Zhen's eyes suddenly lit up. Li Xuelong was only at the peak of the Blood Refining Fourth Level and had not yet broken through to the Blood Refining Fifth Level. With this information, Ye Zhen's odds of victory, originally only fifty percent, abruptly climbed to eighty percent.

"Senior Brother Li, you don't know. Li Xuelong nearly got me killed today. I must enter the Martial Arena with him and vent this anger properly!" Ye Zhen said, disregarding Li Yuncong's advice.

"Good, Ye Zhen, you said it!" Li Xuelong was overjoyed upon hearing this. Pointing toward the Martial Arena on East Arrival Peak, he said, "Come on, let's go to the Martial Arena!"

"Ah, Ye Zhen, you..."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Li!" Ye Zhen mysteriously blinked at Li Yuncong, leaving him inexplicably stunned.

A large group of black-clad Outer Disciples followed Ye Zhen and Li Xuelong toward the Martial Arena, though some left midway.

"Hey, there's something exciting going on. Why aren't you watching?"

"There's no suspense! That Ye Zhen only rose from a Menial Disciple to an Outer Disciple ten-odd days ago. His cultivation hasn't even broken through to the Blood Refining Fourth Level. Li Xuelong, meanwhile, is already at the peak of the Blood Refining Fourth Level."

"Even without suspense, it's still something to watch. Don't forget, Ye Zhen was first on the Fish Dragon Path!"

"Bullshit. Last year's number one on the Fish Dragon Path among the Menial Disciples got played half to death by Ma Hun too. But you're right. Cultivating in the mountains is boring, so we might as well watch the show."

Listening to everyone's words, Li Yuncong could only sigh softly. When he looked at Ye Zhen, there was already a trace of pity in his gaze. Although, by his sharp eye, Ye Zhen seemed to have stepped into the Blood Refining Fourth Level, how could he possibly be a match for the seasoned, ruthless Li Xuelong?

The Martial Arena was one of the liveliest places on all of East Arrival Peak.

More than eight thousand Outer Disciples lived on East Arrival Peak. Among them, especially the male disciples, were at the age when youth and hot blood easily stirred. Since the sect forbade private fights, disciples frequently entered the Martial Arena to settle their grudges.

Bang!

With an explosive sound, a black-clad Outer Disciple was kicked off one of the Martial Arenas. In midair, blood sprayed wildly from his mouth.

Immediately, some cheered, some ran over to save him, while the victorious Outer Disciple on the stage looked exceedingly pleased with himself.

"Ye Zhen, you coward, why aren't you coming up here to die?" Li Xuelong, whose treacherous scheme had succeeded, leapt onto the Martial Arena in high spirits.

"Ye Zhen, are you really going to enter the Martial Arena and fight Li Xuelong? I heard Li Xuelong is known among the Outer Disciples for being ruthless. Anyone who has entered the Martial Arena with him has gotten off lightly with broken arms and legs."

"Ye Zhen, if you ask me, take one step back and the sea will be vast and the sky boundless. You should endure this anger for now." Shi Tianjia advised hesitantly.

The commotion here was considerable. At some point, Shi Tianjia and Feng Haoran had also come over to Ye Zhen.

"You can't endure it. If you endure this time, next time he'll dare to shit on your head!" Feng Haoran said, looking at Shi Tianjia with disdain. "Fight him! Even if you lose, use a desperate, injury-for-injury style. Even if you have to bite him with your teeth, bite him until he fears you, make him never dare bully you again!"

"But this is a battle you're bound to lose. There's no need at all..."

"Who wins and who loses is not certain yet." With a cold snort, Ye Zhen suddenly leapt onto the Martial Arena.

The moment Ye Zhen stepped onto the Martial Arena, Jin Yuanbao, who spent every day hanging around nearby, began shouting, "Jin Yuanbao's betting table is open! Fish Dragon Path's number one, Ye Zhen, versus Li Xuelong! Come place your bets! If Ye Zhen wins, one pays two—no, one pays three! If Li Xuelong wins, one pays..."

Halfway through opening the betting table, Jin Yuanbao suddenly jolted. He had discovered that when he announced Ye Zhen's odds, the many Outer Disciples showed no reaction whatsoever. But when he started to announce Li Xuelong's odds, the gazes of all the Outer Disciples waiting to place bets abruptly gathered on him.

No one knew better than him that Ye Zhen had only just become an Outer Disciple. Seeing Ye Zhen's enraged expression, he immediately realized that Ye Zhen had been provoked into taking the stage.

"Oh no. If I open this betting table, it'll simply be a table for handing out money. It'll definitely bleed me dry!"

His eyes darted, and Jin Yuanbao suddenly clutched his stomach. "Ow, my stomach! My stomach hurts! I must have eaten something bad!" With a cry of pain, Jin Yuanbao clutched his stomach and slipped away in a flash, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

The black-clad Outer Disciples who had been about to place bets and make money for nothing pointed at Jin Yuanbao, who had fled under the excuse of needing to piss, and cursed loudly, calling him far too sly.

"Heh, I was planning to bet several hundred taels on Li Xuelong and make a fortune. Looks like I won't be earning this money." Ma Hun said gleefully beneath the stage.

"Senior Brother Li, please come up and act as witness, lest someone say I'm bullying a newcomer. Ye Zhen came up here of his own accord!" Li Xuelong suddenly said to Li Yuncong below the stage, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.

Without any hesitation, Li Yuncong agreed.

"You are fellow disciples. Though this is a martial fight, try to stop before things go too far!" Li Yuncong said. "All right, the martial fight begins!"

"Hahahaha, Senior Brother Li, if I can hold back, then I'll stop before things go too far." Amid his laughter, Li Xuelong's aura abruptly changed. He stomped the ground, his fist shadows shifted, and a savage aura rose around him. With several swift strides, he pounced toward Ye Zhen like a fierce tiger descending the mountain.

Mortal-tier High Grade fist art—Four Directions Dragon Tiger Fist!

As Li Xuelong charged at Ye Zhen, his speed grew faster and faster, and his fist shadows changed ever more swiftly, even producing another phantom image. In the end, his entire body seemed to transform into a fierce tiger descending the mountain, pouncing at Ye Zhen!

In contrast, Ye Zhen seemed to still be standing there in a daze, his hands holding the opening stance of the most basic Bear King Mountain Shoulder Fist.

"He's still using the Mortal-tier Low Grade Bear King Mountain Shoulder Fist. At a time like this, what is he still holding back?" Shi Tianjia frowned.

"He isn't holding back. He simply doesn't know any! That day, he never entered the Scripture Depository at all!" A trace of worry appeared in Feng Haoran's eyes as well.

"Facing me, you still dare use an outdated fist art like the Bear King Mountain Shoulder Fist? You're courting death!"

Roar!

A soul-shaking tiger's roar burst from Li Xuelong's mouth and nose as his fists, like sharp claws, covered down upon Ye Zhen.

Dragon-Form Tiger Pounce!

Ye Zhen still did not move in the slightest. Yet his eyes remained fixed on Li Xuelong's descending fists.

"Was Ye Zhen scared stupid or what?" Someone beneath the Martial Arena had already begun to sigh.

Almost at the exact moment that person sighed, Ye Zhen suddenly moved. His body shook, and a string of crackling bone explosions burst forth. His fists shot out fiercely.

Bear King Mountain Shoulder!

It was the most ordinary move of the Bear King Mountain Shoulder Fist, yet because of Ye Zhen's timing, it accurately met Li Xuelong's fists head-on.

Cultivation, and the superlatively pure blood qi within his body—this was Ye Zhen's advantage.

At the instant his fists shot out, the Blood Qi Vortex in his dantian shuddered violently, and an immense amount of pure blood qi surged forth. Before their fists had even met, the Qi Gang densely packed five inches beyond Ye Zhen's fists and palms had already blasted forward.

Sss! Sss! Sss!

The sound of fingers being severed suddenly rang out. Li Xuelong's five fingers were directly sliced off by the Qi Gang outside Ye Zhen's fists and palms, flying away sideways as blood splashed everywhere!

"Ah, my hand!"

As Li Xuelong's miserable scream rang out, the Outer Disciples who had found the fight boring and were preparing to leave instinctively turned their heads. Their eyes instantly widened into perfect circles.

Li Xuelong's severed fingers were not the end of it. Ye Zhen's fist smashed viciously into Li Xuelong's mangled palm, sending Li Xuelong flying sideways like a kite with its string cut.

At the same time, Ye Zhen's body had already pursued him like a shadow.

Ma Hun, who had been calmly waiting below the stage to watch Ye Zhen's miserable state, went blank with shock. He suddenly froze and cried out, "How is this possible?!"

********

P.S. The second update is here. The third update to make up for what I owe may be a little late, around midnight. Old Pig's hands are slow, so brothers, please forgive me!