Burning My Life to Defeat You!

After refusing Gu Ningxue's "request for help" call, Lin Yuan's life returned to its former peace.

He could not even be bothered to think about that mess with the school team.

With a backhanded move, he had Uncle Zhong blacklist the contact information of every single person on the school team.

At last, the world was quiet.

Meanwhile.

The flames of war in the National University League only grew fiercer.

Having lost Lin Yuan, that BUG-level existence, Ye Xuan finally became the most eye-catching star on the school team.

Like a tireless beast, he slaughtered his way through all challengers atop the arena.

Relying on the secret arts taught by the Extreme Dao Ancestor and a fighting will far beyond that of ordinary people, he won battle after battle, leading Capital Martial Arts Academy all the way through the ranks.

Yet as the tournament progressed, the opponents he encountered grew increasingly formidable.

Bang!

On the arena, Ye Xuan was blasted flying by an enormous force. He rolled across the ground in a miserable tumble several times before finally stopping.

A sweet taste rose in his throat, and a thread of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

His opponent was Magic City Martial Arts Academy's ace, a muscular giant at Marrow Cleansing Realm Fourth Level who possessed the "Invulnerable Diamond" physique.

The man's defense was simply monstrous to an outrageous degree!

It was as though he had poured every single skill point into defense!

When Ye Xuan's Mountain Crushing Fist landed on him, it was no different from scratching an itch. It could not break through his defense at all.

"Damn it!"

Ye Xuan gritted his teeth and Crawled Up from the ground, the frustration and fury in his heart nearly bursting forth.

He realized that he had been wrong.

There was a limit to challenging those above one's level.

Against ordinary Marrow Cleansing Fourth Level Martial Artists, he could crush them with the advantages of his cultivation technique and experience.

But among those who had fought their way to this stage of the National League, which one was an easy opponent?

They either possessed special physiques or cultivated supreme techniques. Every one of them was a heaven-favored prodigy.

Before these true geniuses, his ability to challenge above his level was beginning to look rather inadequate.

The gap between him and his goal of crushing the entire field was glaringly obvious!

"Teacher! I need power! Greater power!"

Late at night.

Inside the hotel room, Ye Xuan roared unwillingly in his heart.

Within his Consciousness Sea, the Extreme Dao Ancestor remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a faint sigh.

"Brat, there is a path that can grant you strength enough to crush those at the same level in a short time. It is just... the price is immense."

"What path?!"

Ye Xuan's eyes lit up at once, like a drowning man clutching at his final lifeline.

"This is a forbidden secret art, known as the Burning Blood Dragon Transformation Technique."

"This technique can forcibly burn a portion of your life potential and martial foundation, transforming them into the Most Pure cultivation. It will allow you to break through your bottleneck in an instant!"

"But the price is that your future martial path will become incomparably rugged. If you cannot obtain immense resources to make up for it, the difficulty of every breakthrough will be several times greater than that of ordinary people!"

"And... it will continue burning your life..."

The Extreme Dao Ancestor's voice became incomparably grave.

"I'm willing!"

Ye Xuan answered almost without hesitation.

The future?

He could no longer afford to care about that!

All he wanted now was to win!

To gain power!

To stomp that high-and-mighty Lin Yuan viciously beneath his feet!

If he could not defeat Lin Yuan, then his martial path had already been severed anyway!

"Good! Since your mind is made up, this old man will lend you a hand!"

As the Extreme Dao Ancestor's words fell, an incomparably vast and sinister stream of information flooded into Ye Xuan's mind.

"Aaaaah—!"

Ye Xuan let out a pained roar.

He felt as if his blood were burning, while his marrow and meridians were forcibly torn apart and reassembled by an overbearing force!

That agony was even more intense than being sliced by a thousand blades!

Yet at the same time, an unprecedentedly powerful force began to grow wildly within his body!

Boom!

Marrow Cleansing Realm Third Level!

Rumble!

Marrow Cleansing Realm Fourth Level!

In just a few minutes, his cultivation was forcibly raised by two minor levels.

It soared directly to Marrow Cleansing Realm Fifth Level!

The next day's match.

Ye Xuan once again faced the muscular giant with the "Invulnerable Diamond" physique who had left him helpless the day before.

"Kid, how are you going to scratch my itch today?"

The giant mocked him with a Face Full Of disdain.

Ye Xuan remained expressionless and merely raised his fist slowly.

The next second, he moved!

His figure was fast as lightning!

"What?!"

The giant's pupils suddenly contracted.

Before he could react, a fist wrapped in terrifying power had already slammed solidly into his chest.

Bang—!

A dull, thunderous impact rang out!

That protective Gangkqi, said to be "Invulnerable Diamond," shattered instantly like papier-mâché!

The disdain and mockery on the giant's face froze in an instant, then turned into boundless terror.

Crack...

Accompanied by a burst of bone-cracking sounds that set teeth on edge.

His hulking body flew backward like a cannonball, crashing heavily beneath the arena.

A large section of his chest had caved in, and he passed out on the spot!

One punch!

Just one punch!

The entire venue fell into Dead Silence!

Everyone had been so stunned by the terrifying combat power Ye Xuan displayed that their souls nearly fled their bodies!

After that brief Dead Silence came cheers like mountains roaring and seas crashing!

"How... how is that possible?!"

In the front-row spectator seats.

A martial arts commentator abruptly rose to his feet. "Yesterday, he clearly could not even break through his opponent's defense. How could he possibly blast Magic City's ace, who possesses the 'Invulnerable Diamond' physique, off the stage with a single punch today?!"

"That was a Diamond Body! They say it can even withstand low-grade magical artifacts head-on. How could it be beaten into this state with one punch?"

"His power... just how strong had it become?"

In the rest areas on both sides of the arena.

The contestants from the other universities were in even greater uproar.

"Marrow Cleansing Realm Fifth Level?! He was clearly only at the second level yesterday, yet he broke through two minor levels overnight? Is that something a fucking human can do?"

"That combat power is absurd! At Marrow Cleansing Fifth Level, he can crush a fourth-level opponent with a Diamond Body in one punch. If he reaches the peak of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, who the hell could stop him?"

"Capital Martial Arts Academy is about to defy the heavens this time! First they had Lin Yuan, and now Ye Xuan is this fierce too... Thankfully Lin Yuan withdrew from the tournament, or how would anyone even compete?"

The discussions spread like a rising tide.

From the spectator stands to the contestants' area, the way everyone looked at Ye Xuan had changed—

Shock, wariness, curiosity!

And...

An indescribable fear!

Ye Xuan merely swept a cold glance beneath the stage.

Taking in all those shocked and reverent gazes, a cold curve rose at the corner of his mouth.

This was the power he wanted.

Power enough to crush everything!

The matches that followed completely became Ye Xuan's personal showcase.

When facing a seeded contender who had been runner-up in the previous league.

The moment his opponent assumed a defensive stance, Ye Xuan's blood-burning finger wind pierced through his protective Gangkqi.

It struck his shoulder directly, and he screamed as he conceded!

When he encountered a Wind Spirit Body Martial Artist skilled in speed, Ye Xuan directly pushed his movement technique to its limit and surpassed him. One whip kick shattered his bones and tore his tendons!

Even when facing opponents at Marrow Cleansing Realm Fifth Level like himself who cultivated top-tier defensive techniques.

He could still rely on the explosive force granted by the Burning Blood Dragon Transformation Technique to forcibly break the deadlock and end the battle within three moves.

In only three short days.

Ye Xuan swept through every opponent with the force of withered wood collapsing before a storm.

Every victory came cleanly and decisively, even more exaggerated than his previous goal of crushing the entire field.

He was like a war god returned from hell, radiating an icy aura that warned the living to keep their distance.

Wherever he went, no one could stand against him.

"Martial Arts Prodigy! Ye Xuan Breaks Through Two Levels in One Day, Crushes Diamond Body with One Punch!"

"From Substitute to King! Uncovering Ye Xuan's Path to Rise—Is He Dragon Summer Martial Arts' True Future?"

"The National League's Greatest Dark Horse Is Born! Ye Xuan May Claim the Championship with an Undefeated Record!"

Only Li Xuan'er.

Every time she saw Ye Xuan's eyes grow colder and emptier after a victory, the unease in her heart intensified.

She could feel it.

The Ye Xuan who had once secretly been happy just from winning a training match was drifting farther and farther away from her.

In his place stood a stranger swept up by power and obsession.

Yet Ye Xuan did not care in the slightest.

His gaze had long since crossed the clamorous arena and settled on that figure who had never appeared.

Lin Yuan.

Wait for me.

Once I win the national championship, I will come find you.

When that time comes, I will use the power bought by burning my life to tear apart that calm, unruffled mask of yours completely and make you understand—

Who was the true heaven-favored prodigy!