Ye Zhen's Advantage (Second Update)

"Martial Arena?"

Ye Zhen narrowed his eyes, instantly seeing through Li Xuelong's vicious intent.

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

But once they stepped onto the Martial Arena, the two sides would leave life and death to fate. Even if one were beaten to death or crippled by the other, not even the sect could find fault with it.

That was why, in order 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 earlier had been far too ruthless. If Ye Zhen had reacted any slower, it would nearly have cost him 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 deeply.

If an Outer Disciple fell to his death, they could only blame him for being stupid, not anyone else.

The scheme was too poisonous.

"What, too scared to get on the Martial Arena? You spineless coward, I knew long ago you wouldn't dare!" Li Xuelong continued to curse viciously, his face full of smug 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. But these past days, he had only buried himself in cultivation and did not even know Li Xuelong's exact cultivation level.

More critically, Ye Zhen had spent these days solely cultivating the Essence Blood Origin Body Art passed down by Instructor Liao. He had not yet had time to cultivate any powerful martial techniques or movement arts. Under such circumstances, if he wanted to teach Li Xuelong a lesson, he would have to use some means and fully unleash his own advantage to stand a better chance of winning.

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

"Then I'll go! It's only the Martial Arena—who's afraid of who?" Ye Zhen raised his chin and shouted angrily.

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

The delight that had just risen onto Li Xuelong's face upon hearing Ye Zhen agree to the Martial Arena abruptly froze. His voice turned somewhat stammering. "Li... Senior Brother Li!"

"Li Yuncong, you can't use your position as third on the Earth Ranking to bully us. Who said we were bullying Ye Zhen? He was the one who voluntarily wanted to go to the Martial Arena with Li Xuelong." Seeing Li Xuelong shrink back, Ma Hun drawled lazily.

Li Yuncong was 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's shoulder. "Junior Brother, ignore them. Li Xuelong has been an Outer Disciple for over a year. His blood and qi body tempering is nearly complete, and he 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, then wait a year or so before going to the Martial Arena with him. Then beat him down until he has to crawl."

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 chances of victory, which had originally been only fifty percent, abruptly rose to eighty percent.

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

"Good, Ye Zhen, you said it yourself!" Li Xuelong was overjoyed. 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 gave Li Yuncong a mysterious blink, leaving Li Yuncong staring blankly for a moment.

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

"Hey, there's something exciting happening. Why aren't you going to watch?"

"There's no suspense! Ye Zhen only advanced from Menial Disciple to Outer Disciple ten or so days ago. He hasn't even broken through to the Blood Refining Fourth Level. Li Xuelong, on the other hand, 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. The number one on the Fish Dragon Path among last year's Menial Disciples was still played into ruin by Ma Hun. But you're right. Cultivating in the mountains is boring, so we might as well watch the show."

Hearing everyone's words, Li Yuncong could only sigh softly. The way he looked at Ye Zhen now carried a trace of pity. Although, by his discerning eye, Ye Zhen seemed to have already stepped into the Blood Refining Fourth Level, how could he possibly be a match for the seasoned and 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 youths at the age when hot blood easily surged to their heads. Since the sect forbade private fights, disciples often went to the Martial Arena to settle grudges at the slightest provocation.

Bang!

With an explosive crash, a black-clad Outer Disciple was kicked off one of the Martial Arenas. While still 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 getting up here to die?" Li Xuelong, whose scheme had succeeded, leaped onto the Martial Arena, high-spirited and proud.

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

"Ye Zhen, I'd say that taking one step back opens up a sea and sky. You should just swallow this anger," Shi Tianjia advised hesitantly.

The commotion here was rather great. At some point, Shi Tianjia and Feng Haoran had also gathered in front of Ye Zhen.

"You can't swallow it. If you swallow it this time, next time he'll dare shit on your head!" Feng Haoran looked 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 until he fears you, until he never dares bully you again!"

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

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

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

Halfway through opening the betting pool, Jin Yuanbao suddenly jumped in shock. He had noticed that when he announced Ye Zhen's odds, the many Outer Disciples showed no reaction at all. But when he began to mention Li Xuelong's odds, the gazes of all the Outer Disciples waiting to place their bets suddenly converged on him.

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

Damn it, if I open this pool, it'll practically be a betting pool that hands money to everyone. I'll definitely lose myself to death!

His eyes darting, Jin Yuanbao abruptly clutched his stomach. "Ow, my stomach! My stomach hurts! I must have eaten something bad!" With a pained cry, Jin Yuanbao clutched his belly and slipped away in a flash, vanishing in an instant.

The black-clad Outer Disciples who had been about to place bets and make easy money pointed at Jin Yuanbao, who had fled under the pretext of needing to pee, and cursed him furiously for being far too slippery.

"Heh, I was planning to bet a few hundred taels on Li Xuelong and make a fortune. Looks like I won't be making that money after all." Ma Hun spoke below the stage, gloating over another's misfortune.

"Senior Brother Li, please come up and serve as a witness, so no one can say I'm bullying a newcomer. Ye Zhen came up here voluntarily!" Li Xuelong suddenly called to Li Yuncong below the stage, a cold gleam flashing through his eyes.

Without any hesitation, Li Yuncong agreed.

"You are all fellow disciples. Though this is a martial fight, try to stop at the point where you should!" Li Yuncong said. "All right, the martial fight begins!"

"Hahahaha, Senior Brother Li, if I can hold back, then I'll stop at the point where I should." Amid his loud laughter, Li Xuelong's aura abruptly changed. He stomped the ground, his fist shadows shifted, and a grim, tragic aura surged from his entire body. With swift strides, he pounced toward Ye Zhen like a fierce tiger descending the mountain.

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

Li Xuelong's speed increased as he charged at Ye Zhen, his fist shadows growing ever swifter until they even formed another afterimage. In the end, his entire body seemed to transform into a fierce tiger descending the mountain as he pounced at Ye Zhen!

In contrast, Ye Zhen seemed to stand there in a daze, his hands held in 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 for?" Shi Tianjia frowned.

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

"You dare use an antiquated fist technique like the Bear King Mountain Shoulder Fist against me? You're courting death!"

Roar!

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

Dragon-Form Tiger Pounce!

Ye Zhen still did not move in the slightest. His eyes were simply fixed dead on Li Xuelong's descending fists.

"Was Ye Zhen scared stupid or what?" Beneath the Martial Arena, someone had already begun to sigh.

Almost at the same moment that person sighed, Ye Zhen moved. His body shook, and a series of popping bone-cracks exploded out. His fists shot forward.

Bear King Mountain Shoulder!

It was the most ordinary move of the Bear King Mountain Shoulder Fist, yet through Ye Zhen's grasp of timing, it met Li Xuelong's fists with perfect accuracy.

Cultivation, and the incomparably pure blood and qi within his body—these were Ye Zhen's advantages.

The instant his fists struck out, the blood and qi vortex in his dantian trembled fiercely. An enormous amount of pure blood and qi surged forth. Before their fists even clashed, the Qi Gang densely spread five inches beyond Ye Zhen's fists and palms 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 sideways as blood splattered everywhere!

"Ah! My hand!"

As Li Xuelong's scream rang out, those Outer Disciples who had found the fight boring and were about to leave instinctively turned their heads. Their eyes immediately widened round.

The severing of Li Xuelong's fingers was not the end. 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 figure had already pursued him like a shadow, closing in to kill.

Ma Hun, who had been calmly waiting below the stage to see Ye Zhen's miserable state, froze. Then he cried out in shock, "How is this possible!"

********

PS: The second update is here. The third update to make up the debt may be a little late, around midnight. This old pig's hands are slow, so brothers, please forgive me!