Soul Attack

A spinning top...

This taunt shattered the dead silence below the stage.

"Holy... holy shit?!"

"One kick? Just one kick?!"

"Am I seeing this right? Zhao Kai is at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining! Even his protective spiritual energy was kicked apart?"

"What kind of freak is this Ye Xingchen?!"

"Cough... cough cough!"

In the distant ruins, Zhao Kai struggled to rise.

The moment he moved, a mouthful of blood mixed with chunks of internal organs sprayed out. A large section of his chest had caved in, and a distinct shoeprint was a shocking sight.

Had he not been wearing Ironback Armor, that kick would have punched straight through his heart.

Lost?

He had actually lost to a blacksmith at Qi Refining, Fourth Layer?

Impossible...

"Cheating... you cheated!!"

Zhao Kai, hair disheveled, roared himself hoarse. "There wasn't even a trace of spiritual energy fluctuating around you! How could you possibly break through my defenses?! You must have used a forbidden artifact! I refuse to accept this!!"

The moment those words came out, the "resource faction" disciples who had lost money immediately clutched at them like drowning men grasping a lifeline.

"Right! He definitely cheated!"

"I knew it! How could someone at Qi Refining, Fourth Layer instantly defeat someone at the Sixth Layer? He definitely used some underhanded trick!"

"Investigate him thoroughly! You must investigate! Empty out his storage pouch and inspect it!"

"You shameless scum, get out of the sect!"

The crowd was filled with righteous indignation, spittle flying everywhere.

"Bullshit!"

The poor-background disciples on the other side would not stand for it.

"If you can't afford to lose, just say so! Elder Ye already said the rules remained unchanged. Which rule says forbidden artifacts can't be used?"

"Exactly! Did Zhao Kai fry his brain by swallowing too many pills? He's barking here because his skills are inferior!"

"Who was it that said they wanted to see Senior Brother Ye get beaten flat? Does your face hurt?"

The two camps instantly erupted into a fierce argument, shoving and hurling insults as the scene briefly spun out of control.

Ye Xingchen stood on the platform, looking at the clownish rabble below. A mocking curve touched his lips, and he could not be bothered to argue.

"Enough."

A cool, crisp voice descended from the high platform.

Carrying unquestionable majesty, it instantly suppressed all the clamor.

Ye Zhiyu slowly rose to her feet, her moon-white dress stirring despite the absence of wind.

She did not spare Zhao Kai a single glance. Her gaze settled on Ye Xingchen, and a barely perceptible trace of approval flashed in her eyes.

"There was no spiritual energy fluctuation in his body. That strike just now was purely physical strength."

Her gaze swept across the crowd, her tone indifferent. "If your skills are inferior, go back and cultivate. Standing here and yapping like dogs only disgraces the sect."

The elder had delivered the final verdict.

The disciples who had been shouting moments ago instantly shut their mouths.

"Did you hear that?"

Ye Xingchen walked to the edge of the platform with a beaming smile, looking down at Zhao Kai from above as he extended a hand and crooked his long fingers.

"Thanks for letting me win. Ten Blood-Coagulating Pills, no credit accepted."

That punchable expression was infuriating beyond measure.

Zhao Kai was so enraged that blood rushed to his heart. With another "Pwah," he spat out a mouthful of old blood and nearly fainted dead away.

Supported by his companions, he trembled as he pulled a jade bottle from his robes and viciously smashed it toward the platform before fleeing in utter disarray.

Ye Xingchen caught the jade bottle in midair and pulled out its stopper to sniff it.

The bloody scent was rich, and the quality was quite good.

"Thank you for Senior Brother Zhao's generous gift."

Delighted, he tucked the pills into his robes, then swept his gaze toward those below the platform who had shouted the loudest earlier.

Wherever his gaze passed, people lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes at all.

What a joke.

Even Zhao Kai at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining had been crippled by a single kick. Were they supposed to go up there and offer themselves on a platter?

"That's it?"

Standing in the middle of the platform, Ye Xingchen sighed with lingering dissatisfaction. "Weren't quite a few of you eager to see me get beaten up just now? This is a rare opportunity—once you miss this village, there won't be this shop. My rates are very fair."

The entire venue fell silent as a cicada in winter.

This was naked extortion.

But he had the strength to extort them.

"If there's no one, I'm calling it a day..."

Ye Xingchen prepared to step down from the platform.

"Interesting."

"To erupt with such power using only your physical body, it seems you have put quite a bit of hard work into body refinement."

The crowd automatically parted to form a broad passage.

A young man in brocade robes walked out.

"Bai Zhan?!"

Someone cried out in surprise.

"Bai Zhan, ranked third among the outer disciples? Peak Seventh Layer of Qi Refining—he wants to challenge him?!"

"Now there's a show to watch! Senior Brother Bai Zhan was born with a Sword-Spirit Physique. He's a sword dao genius, and his sword-control art is invincible."

Ignoring the discussion around him, Bai Zhan strode directly to the front of the platform.

Then, with a casual toss, he threw a brocade pouch at Ye Xingchen's feet.

Clang.

The pouch hit the ground with a heavy yet pleasing clatter.

"There are fifty Middle-Grade Spirit Stones in there."

"I will only strike once."

Bai Zhan raised his head, battle intent blazing in his eyes. "If you can take it, the money is yours. If you can't, I'll cover the medical expenses."

Fifty Middle-Grade Spirit Stones!

Converted into Low-Grade Spirit Stone, that was a full five thousand!

Ye Xingchen's previously lazy stance instantly straightened.

Five thousand Spirit Stones!

A warm, enthusiastic smile immediately piled across Ye Xingchen's face. The speed at which he changed expressions left the audience below the platform marveling in awe.

"Aiya, Senior Brother Bai is far too polite!"

"What do you mean, whether I can take it or not? Talking about money hurts feelings... but since Senior Brother is being so sincere, this junior brother can only reluctantly risk his life to accompany a gentleman!"

Bai Zhan did not move.

The sharp sword named Spirit-Severing remained slung across his back, its sheath perfectly still.

He merely stared at Ye Xingchen, a cruel curve pulling at the corner of his lips.

Hum.

In an instant, a wave of chill swept through the area.

The disciples near the front of the platform suddenly wrapped their arms around themselves. Though the blazing sun hung high overhead, they felt a grim chill crawling up their scalps.

This was the Divine Baleful Sword Art.

It did not cultivate spiritual energy, only killing intent.

It used killing intent to temper the soul. Before the sword was drawn, the soul was already severed.

In Bai Zhan's eyes, the platform had turned into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. He was an asura amid that sea of blood, transforming his strongest mental assault in this life into an invisible venomous thorn and viciously stabbing it toward the brow of that foolhardy youth.

This blow was enough to turn a cultivator at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining into an idiot.

However.

He met a pair of eyes.

Ye Xingchen stood where he was, his gaze clear.

Faced with that overwhelming bloody illusion, there was no fear in his eyes, no panic—only an almost bored indifference.

"Is that all..."

"You're showing off your big blade before Guan Yu. You're courting death!"

Deep within Ye Xingchen's sea of consciousness, a tiny soul figure that had yet to fully take shape opened its eyes slightly.

Only a sliver.

Boom!

An ancient, vast aura instantly awakened within Ye Xingchen's body.

It was the soul power cultivated through the Origin Heaven Art. Though it was still very weak for now, in terms of quality, it surpassed the Baleful Deity Art by countless dimensions.

If Bai Zhan's divine sense was a muddy little stream, then what Ye Xingchen mobilized at this moment was a vast and boundless sea of stars.

Ye Xingchen did not use even a trace of spiritual energy. He merely followed Bai Zhan's line of sight and casually pushed that soul power back.

"Get lost."

Ye Xingchen's lips did not move, but a thunderclap exploded deep within Bai Zhan's mind.

Rumble!

The mountain of corpses and sea of blood in Bai Zhan's eyes instantly shattered.

What mountain of corpses and sea of blood? What resentful souls and vengeful ghosts? At that moment, all of it vanished like smoke in the wind.

In its place was endless darkness.

It was the chaos at the beginning of the universe, the void that devoured all things.

Within that void, an incomprehensibly towering figure slowly opened a sliver of its eyes.

Only a sliver.

Heaven and earth collapsed, and the river of stars flowed backward.

Bai Zhan's supposedly peerless "killing aura" was not even dust before this vast soul power, as mighty as the will of heaven.

Pfft.

In the real world, Bai Zhan's body suddenly stiffened.

His once-proud head seemed to be firmly pressed down by an invisible hand. He had no choice but to lower it, no choice but to submit.

Cold sweat instantly soaked through his brocade robes, pouring wildly from the tips of his hair.

He was trembling.

His mind was blank, his thoughts frozen. Even his scream caught in his throat, and he could only make hoarse "huh huh" sounds like a broken bellows.

To everyone below the platform, the scene was strange to the extreme.

The two simply stared wide-eyed at each other.

Ye Xingchen looked utterly innocent.

Yet Bai Zhan looked as though he had seen a ghost, his face deathly pale, his entire body shaking like a sieve as the whites of his eyes began rolling upward wildly.