Challenge the Second-Ranked

"What... what is he doing?"

"Communing through divine sense?"

"Why isn't Senior Brother Bai making a move? Is he gathering strength?"

Ye Zhiyu shot to her feet, staring fixedly at Ye Xingchen on the arena, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.

For that brief instant just now, she had clearly sensed a terrifying aura that made even her, a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, shudder in fear.

It vanished in a flash.

"This brat... what kind of monster is he?"

On the arena.

Ye Xingchen looked at Bai Zhan, whose eyes had begun to roll back, and curled his lip.

His mental fortitude was far too weak.

A little scare had reduced him to this. If Ye Xingchen had truly used even one ten-thousandth of his soul power, this man would probably have exploded into fireworks on the spot.

Ye Xingchen withdrew his thoughts.

That terrifying pressure instantly vanished.

He slowly strolled up to Bai Zhan, extended a long finger, and waved it before his eyes.

"Hey, Senior Brother Bai?"

"Wake up. It's morning."

"What's going on? Falling asleep in broad daylight? Or did you train too hard last night and your legs went numb?"

Bai Zhan remained standing stiffly.

Though the pressure had vanished, his mental defenses had completely collapsed. His entire person was in a disconnected, soul-out-of-body state.

"Tsk, looks like he's really gone numb."

Ye Xingchen shook his head with an expression that said, "I'm helpless."

He stretched out his finger and lightly poked Bai Zhan's shoulder.

"Fall."

The word was spoken lightly.

Bang!

The genius sword cultivator ranked third in the outer sect, once arrogant beyond compare, toppled straight backward like a rotten tree stripped of its support.

The back of his head struck the ground, kicking up a ring of dust.

Bai Zhan's eyes were wide open, his gaze unfocused. His body curled into the shape of a shrimp, foam spilling from his mouth as he completely passed out.

The entire venue fell deathly silent.

Thousands of disciples stood with their mouths agape, their jaws nearly dropping onto their feet.

What had happened?

What exactly had happened?!

There had been no flashing blades or flying swords, no collision of spiritual power.

He had just... poked him once?

The outer sect's third-ranked disciple had been disabled by a single finger?

"Holy... fuck..."

No one knew who first let out that dry groan.

Then the martial arts field exploded.

"Demonic sorcery! This is definitely demonic sorcery!"

"Ye Xingchen didn't use any force at all! I saw him poke him once!"

"Did Senior Brother Bai suffer a cultivation deviation while practicing last night?"

"This isn't scientific! This isn't cultivation!"

"..."

When Ye Xingchen had kicked Zhao Kai flying earlier, everyone had been shocked, but they could still understand it as innate divine strength or an exceptionally powerful body.

But this scene had completely exceeded the bounds of their understanding.

After all... it was simply too uncanny.

"Enough!"

From the high platform came a sudden, cold shout.

Ye Zhiyu rose to her feet, and the pressure of the Foundation Establishment Realm instantly blanketed the entire venue, crushing everyone until they could barely breathe.

The noise came to an abrupt halt.

She took a deep look at the seemingly harmless youth, forcibly suppressing the stormy waves in her heart as she said coldly,

"Bai Zhan practiced the Divine Baleful Sword Art and pursued rapid results too eagerly, leaving his soul unstable. Just now, he rashly stirred killing intent and suffered a backlash."

"This match goes to Ye Xingchen."

The elder had set the verdict.

Though most disciples still found it absurd, the explanation of "cultivation deviation" was far easier to accept than "Ye Xingchen glared Bai Zhan to death."

So he was just a lucky scavenger who had picked up a bargain!

The way everyone looked at Ye Xingchen changed from fear to jealousy and contempt.

This brat really had good luck!

"You let me win, you let me win."

Smiling brightly, Ye Xingchen bent down to pick up the brocade pouch from the ground. He weighed it in his hand, feeling utterly delighted.

Fifty Middle-Grade Spirit Stones, in hand.

Ye Zhiyu stood on the high platform, and the corner of her brow twitched.

What did this brat take the assessment for—a money-grabbing venue?

"Ye Xingchen has won two consecutive matches, earning twenty points and temporarily ranking first in the outer sect."

Ye Zhiyu's voice was not loud, yet it suppressed the clamor of the entire venue.

No one dared object.

The facts were right before them. Qi Refining, Fourth Layer had defeated the sixth and seventh layers—the record was as hard as an iron plate.

"According to the competition rules." Ye Zhiyu paused before continuing, "The current points leader has the right to proactively challenge any disciple present. If he wins, his points double. If he loses, his points are cleared, and his ranking is voided."

Win, and he took it all.

Lose, and he would roll out naked.

"There's such a good thing?"

His eyes gleamed like a hungry wolf spotting a flock of sheep as they swept back and forth across the crowd.

Wherever his gaze passed, the disciples who had been shouting moments ago instantly fell silent.

Some lowered their heads and frantically scraped the floor with their feet.

Some suddenly found the ants beneath their feet remarkably handsome and kept staring at them.

Others went even further, directly burying their heads in the backs of the senior brothers in front of them.

What a joke.

Zhao Kai's breastbone had been shattered, and Bai Zhan was still foaming at the mouth.

Who wanted to die that badly?

A martial arts field holding thousands of people had been crushed into complete silence by the gaze of a Qi Refining, Fourth Layer cultivator.

Ye Xingchen felt rather disappointed.

This generation of outer sect disciples was no good.

Timid as mice, without a shred of fighting spirit.

Whether you could do it or not... fight first and talk later!

He curled his lip and cast his gaze beyond this bunch of "weak-kneed shrimps."

His gaze passed through the crowd and finally settled beneath a towering ancient tree at the edge of the martial arts field.

At some point, a figure had appeared there.

Everyone followed Ye Xingchen's gaze.

Clad in blue whiter than snow, she was tall and slender, her black hair cascading like a waterfall. She leaned sideways against the trunk, her aura cold and proud, like a snow lotus blooming atop an icy mountain.

"It's Liu Qingqing..."

"She ranked second in the outer sect assessment, Qi Refining, Eighth Layer."

"Apart from Shen Yuan, the elusive first-ranked disciple who appeared and vanished like the Divine Dragon, she is the acknowledged strongest newcomer in the outer sect."

At that moment, Liu Qingqing's cold eyes looked over from afar as well.

Their gazes met.

Ye Xingchen's pupils suddenly contracted.

Not because of her beauty, nor because of the biting chill surrounding her.

But because of the jade pendant at her waist, gently swaying in the breeze.

Its flowing light overflowed in brilliant color, its spiritual aura pressing outward.

Top-grade!

This was absolutely a top-grade treasure that could be exchanged for a great deal of money!

Thus, beneath the gazes of thousands across the venue, Ye Xingchen raised a hand and pointed toward that ancient tree from afar.

Everyone's hearts instantly rose to their throats.

What was he going to do?

Could he have gone mad and decided to challenge her?

"Hey! You in blue over there!"

Ye Xingchen's lazy voice rang clearly over the martial arts field. "You look pretty well dressed. Got any money on you? Dare to come up and play a couple rounds?"

Silence.

A silence as dead as the grave.

Everyone stared dumbfoundedly. Some even suspected there was something wrong with their ears.

What had he just said?

Got any money?

Was there anything in this guy's brain besides money? That was Liu Qingqing! The outer sect's goddess! The ice-cold beauty! And the first thing you asked was whether she had money?

"Has Ye Xingchen... gone mad from poverty?"

"This is utterly beneath dignity! This is a duel, not a gambling den!"

"Has he gotten too full of himself? Two wins, and he no longer knows his own surname? That's Senior Sister Liu, Qi Refining, Eighth Layer!"

Scornful voices rose and fell beneath the arena. The faint awe they had just felt toward Ye Xingchen's strength was instantly washed away by his mercenary demeanor.

Even Ye Zhiyu on the high platform could not help rubbing her forehead.

If this brat kept his mouth shut, he could still pretend to be an expert. The moment he opened his mouth, his crooked merchant nature was exposed.

Beneath the tree.

Liu Qingqing froze for a moment.

She had imagined countless opening lines.

Provocative ones, arrogant ones, even frivolous ones.

But never this kind.

He was asking whether she had money?

An exceedingly rare, faint curve lifted at the corner of her lips.

The next instant.

A blue shadow flashed.

She rose with the wind like a weightless snowflake, tracing a graceful arc through the air.

She landed without a sound.

But the instant her feet touched the arena's bluestone.

Crack.

A layer of crystalline white frost spread madly outward from beneath her feet.

The cold was bone-deep, as though everyone had fallen into an ice cellar.

The disciples nearest the arena instantly had a fine layer of ice crystals form over their eyebrows, and they shivered from the cold.

Liu Qingqing stood quietly amid the frost and snow, her voice crisp yet carrying a coldness that kept others a thousand miles away.

"You want to challenge me?"