The Greatest Harvest

Bang!

Hong Bao's fist, shimmering with golden light, slammed into Ye Zhen's shoulder like a golden meteor, causing the crowd beneath the stage to hold their breath instantly.

The scene that the many Outer Disciples had expected—or rather, speculated—where Ye Zhen would be sent flying by a single punch, did not occur. The moment the blow landed, Ye Zhen's shoulder vibrated rapidly at a strange frequency; it looked somewhat like a wave, but even more like the body of a slippery, elusive snake.

Snake-Wandering Steps, Slippery Snake Style!

Hong Bao's fierce expression suddenly froze. The sensation in his hand, as if he had struck a slick loach, told him that this punch, which he had deemed a guaranteed kill, had not inflicted much damage on Ye Zhen at all. Oh no!

Almost simultaneously, Ye Zhen's hands, which had snaked out from under his ribs like a spirit snake, flashed and struck repeatedly at his chest and ribs. At this moment, Ye Zhen's hands moved like a living serpent, his ten fingers dancing in succession, each fingertip flicking out a tiny point of cyan light.

Puff, puff, puff, puff!

As Ye Zhen's ten fingers flicked rapidly, the specks of cyan True Essence between his fingertips were driven directly into Hong Bao's body.

Every time a point of cyan light was driven into him, Hong Bao's body would tremble inexplicably.

Pa, pa, pa, pa, pa!

In what felt like an instant, Ye Zhen's hands struck thirty-six times across Hong Bao's body. The moment the thirty-sixth strike landed, a look of sudden terror rose in Hong Bao's eyes.

Because in that instant, he could no longer feel the True Essence within his body—or rather, the True Essence inside him could only swirl within his dantian, completely unable to surge out.

Not only that, but the golden Fist Qi that had covered his fists also receded like a receding tide.

"Pulse Severing and Essence Sealing, the killing move of the Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand, Pulse Severing and Essence Sealing?" Gu Duozhi, who was watching the battle from below, stood up abruptly.

Ugh!

Standing there unable to circulate his True Essence, Hong Bao refused to give up. He swung his arms, which he could still barely move, toward Ye Zhen's head.

With a flick and a thrust of his hands, two crisp cracks sounded; Ye Zhen had dislocated Hong Bao's shoulder joints. The moment his arms hung limp and useless, Ye Zhen let out a sharp shout, "Hi!"

A Five Peaks Divine Fist landed solidly on the vital point of Hong Bao's chest. A spray of blood erupted from Hong Bao's mouth, and he was sent flying by the punch.

As Hong Bao flew through the air, the sound of him repeatedly breaking through the Pulse Severing True Essence echoed incessantly; that was Hong Bao frantically driving his True Essence, attempting to break through Ye Zhen's Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand.

Ye Zhen's body suddenly crouched and sprang, a palm-blade dense with True Essence slashing toward Hong Bao's throat.

Ye Zhen's figure was like lightning, and Hong Bao's pupils contracted to the limit; for the first time, terror appeared in his eyes.

A palm-blade dense with True Essence could cut through metal and jade; its sharpness was even greater than that of a sword. If this strike landed, Hong Bao would undoubtedly die.

Yet, Hong Bao's True Essence was currently sealed, and the thirty-six points of Pulse Severing True Essence that Ye Zhen had planted in his body had not even been broken through by half. He could only watch helplessly as Ye Zhen's palm-blade slashed toward him.

The moment the palm wind reached his body, Hong Bao's eyes widened to the extreme, bloodshot veins even bursting across them.

Death was so close to him at this moment!

Just when Hong Bao thought he was surely going to die, a jade bead arrived before the others, slamming fiercely into Ye Zhen's palm-blade and knocking it off course.

Slash!

Ye Zhen's palm-blade hacked heavily into Hong Bao's collarbone, snapping it into two pieces and causing Hong Bao to suffer another heavy blow, collapsing to the ground unable to rise.

Ye Zhen turned abruptly, his gaze fixed unkindly on the Sect Deacon guarding the Martial Arena. It was he who had intervened just now; counting this, it was the second time he had blocked him. At this moment, the Sect Deacon was already walking toward the fallen Hong Bao.

"In a few years, you will realize that killing is not the only way."

"Besides, this is my duty. If you were the disciple about to be killed, I would do the same."

After offering this explanation, the Sect Deacon guarding the Martial Arena glanced at the fallen Hong Bao, tapped him a few times to reset his dislocated joints, and announced, "Ye Zhen wins!"

Below the Martial Arena, there was an instant of silence, and the gazes of the thousand Outer Disciples became incredibly dull. Jin Yuanbao, standing before the gambling table, even rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Hong Bao, his arms just restored, clenched his fists tightly.

He dared not look up, nor did he dare to stand.

His pride and his arrogance had been shattered to pieces by Ye Zhen in this instant.

In the past, he had run rampant, demanding that everyone yield to him, insisting on special treatment for everything he did, all because he felt he was powerful and deserved such privileges. Even Gu Duozhi dared not provoke him; this was the treatment a strong person deserved.

But now, his former arrogance had become a joke—a joke easily punctured by Ye Zhen.

"Hahahaha, won! Ye Zhen won, Ye Zhen won!" Jin Yuanbao laughed excitedly, every ounce of fat on his body seemingly laughing along with him.

"Brothers, thank you for your silver! I'm rich, I'm rich!" A quarter of an hour ago, Jin Yuanbao had been cursing the Senior Disciple Brother Gu Duozhi for forcing him to open the betting pool, wishing he could tear Ye Zhen's mouth apart.

Now, he wished he could grab Ye Zhen's mouth and kiss it twice, if Ye Zhen were willing.

Jin Yuanbao's wild laughter drew the dissatisfaction, and even the anger, of the thousand Outer Disciples who had lost their silver. Many of them had thought this was a golden opportunity to pick up easy money and had even wagered their entire net worth.

The angry glares of a thousand people immediately made Jin Yuanbao realize things were going south. Decisively, he grabbed the sacks of wagers and jumped behind the Senior Disciple Brother Gu Duozhi, wisely shutting his mouth for fear of inciting further public outrage.

Gu Duozhi loved to present himself as impartial; at this moment, the only one who could protect him was Gu Duozhi.

Senior Disciple Brother Gu Duozhi was still wearing a look of shock, lost in the memory of Ye Zhen's Pulse Severing and Essence Sealing hand, his face filled with disbelief.

The reason for this was that Gu Duozhi had also once recognized the power of the Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand and chosen to study it, spending over half a year in bitter practice.

After half a year of hard work, Gu Duozhi's Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand could be considered to have achieved minor success, but the killing move, the Pulse Severing and Essence Sealing hand, was something he could never master.

Striking thirty-six times within a single breath—even after half a year of hard work and breaking through to the True Essence Realm, he still hadn't managed it.

Yet, Ye Zhen had just done it, and he had done it as if it were perfectly natural.

Not long after, the thousand Outer Disciples gathered here gradually dispersed, and even those who had lost everything walked away with resignation.

A bet is a bet; in front of such a large crowd, these young and reckless Outer Disciples couldn't bring themselves to do something as shameless as welching on a deal.

"Hahahaha, five thousand taels! Shi Tianjia, I've won five thousand taels! That's enough to trade for over twenty Blood Origin Pills. With this, my cultivation can finally break through to the Blood Refining Fifth Level."

Feng Haoran waved his winnings at the stunned Shi Tianjia, laughing heartily as he strode away, leaving Shi Tianjia standing there like a wooden chicken.

The eight hundred taels of silver and two hundred Sect Contribution Points he had wagered on Hong Bao represented his entire net worth. The silver had been given to him by his family, and the two hundred Sect Contribution Points were the result of four months of risking his life to complete Sect Missions, which he had been too frugal to spend until now.

And now, it had all vanished in an instant!

"Jin Yuanbao, you've made a fortune this time." Senior Disciple Brother Gu Duozhi, having snapped out of his daze, suddenly smiled at Jin Yuanbao.

"A small fortune, just a small fortune. It's all thanks to you, Senior Disciple Brother, all thanks to you." Jin Yuanbao nodded repeatedly.

Hearing this, Gu Duozhi paused for a moment, recalling that it was he who had practically forced Jin Yuanbao to open the betting pool.

"Right, Jin Yuanbao, let me ask you something. I heard that this Ye Zhen was still a Menial Disciple four months ago. Is that true?" Gu Duozhi asked.

"It's true, it's true. Senior Disciple Brother, you know about the Fish Dragon Path held specifically for Menial Disciples four months ago, right? A dark horse, this Ye Zhen was a dark horse that appeared out of nowhere, and he helped me make a killing."

"So it really is true. Tell me, do you know which menial peak Ye Zhen stayed at before?" Gu Duozhi asked suddenly.

"The menial peak Ye Zhen was at before? Let me think... oh, right, Hundred Pine Peak. It was Hundred Pine Peak. Back then, when Ma Hun tried to bully Ye Zhen, the steward of Hundred Pine Peak even came out to back him up," Jin Yuanbao replied.

"Hundred Pine Peak, I see..." Having said that, Senior Disciple Brother Gu Duozhi drifted away, though a trace of something enigmatic appeared on his face as he turned.

After Gu Duozhi had walked away, Jin Yuanbao muttered in confusion, "Why would the Senior Disciple Brother want to know which menial peak Ye Zhen came from?"

At that very moment, the Earth Ranking on Heaven and Earth Cliff flickered a few times, and Ye Zhen's name immediately replaced Hong Bao's at the second position on the Earth Ranking.

Hong Bao's name dropped to the third position, and Li Yuncong's name shifted down to fourth.

As his own ranking changed, the Identity Jade Token he carried with him reacted accordingly. Looking at his Identity Jade Token, Li Yuncong gave a bitter smile; after half a year of grueling cultivation, how had his ranking gone backward instead of forward?

At the same time, when the Earth Ranking changed, Steward Liu, who managed East Arrival Peak, let out a soft sound of surprise: "Huh? A new top three on the Earth Ranking?"

The moment he stepped out of his room to take a closer look, Steward Liu was shocked.

Simultaneously, within the clouds above the Martial Arena, a pair of elegant eyes suddenly vanished. "He actually won. That's quite a surprise..."

"Senior Disciple Brother Jin, can we sit down and split the loot now?" Ye Zhen laughed as he ran toward Jin Yuanbao. In truth, this was the biggest gain from this battle.

Hong Bao, who had just been carried away for medical treatment, heard Ye Zhen's shout and couldn't help but spit out another mouthful of blood.

He had wagered his entire net worth with Jin Yuanbao, and now that he had lost, he had become a penniless pauper.

It didn't matter that he was broke, but what infuriated him was that half of his wealth was about to fall into Ye Zhen's hands. This was a classic case of funding the enemy—funding the enemy!

***********

ps: Young ones, Hong Bao has already started funding the enemy; where is your support?

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