Third Place

Zhang Haoran gave a cold smile. His body stretched out as he swept toward the two of them like a roaming dragon. Before he had even arrived, his fist, wrapped in blue streams of air, blasted forth with all its might, trailing a brilliant tail of light. At a glance, it looked as though a blue dragon of energy trailed from his fist, its tiger's roar shaking the heavens.

Before the punch had fully landed, Wu Zongming and Ye Chen already felt unable to keep their footing. It was as if an unparalleled savage dragon were pouncing at them from ahead, its Great Momentum crushing down on them until they could not summon the thought of resistance.

Of course, refusing to resist meant there was only a Death Road.

Just as Ye Chen was about to move, he discovered that Wu Zongming had long been prepared.

"Zhang Haoran, don't think you can defeat me with the Tiger Roar Dragon Fist alone. Blazing Self-Sacrifice Art!" Wu Zongming pressed his palms together, and his essence, energy, and spirit rapidly surged, standing toe-to-toe with Zhang Haoran's fist Momentum. Then he lunged forward bodily, throwing a punch that seemed slow but was in fact fast.

Ye Chen's heart jolted at the words. The Blazing Self-Sacrifice Art was an extremely domineering supplementary cultivation art. At the cost of burning Internal Energy, it could raise one's strength to a new level. But once its duration ended, the body would suffer a certain degree of damage. Used too many times, it could even cripple someone.

Boom!

The two fists collided, and debris on the ground sprayed in every direction.

The next moment, both men flew backward, spitting out small mouthfuls of blood in midair.

"No wonder you dared to go against me. So you learned the Blazing Self-Sacrifice Art." The Blazing Self-Sacrifice Art was not of a particularly high grade, merely Human-grade High-tier, but once activated, it could raise one's strength by around thirty percent. Its side effects, however, were too severe. At best, it damaged the body; at worst, it crippled the user. No one dared use it frequently, and the Flowing Cloud Sect had classified it as one of its forbidden skills. Even if Zhang Haoran forced Wu Zongming to stay now, he would have to pay a tremendous price himself. It might even affect his advancement to the True Condensation Realm.

Just as Wu Zongming was about to speak, he noticed people approaching from behind. With a cold snort, he said, "I'll take my leave!"

Whoosh!

Before the effects of the Blazing Self-Sacrifice Art had faded, Wu Zongming pushed his speed to the limit, stirring up a wave of heat as he charged into the passageway and vanished in a flash.

"I have to admit, your luck is very good."

Zhang Haoran wanted to teach Ye Chen a lesson, but he feared Wu Zongming would snatch first place. Besides, he was injured now, and that Tiger Roar Dragon Fist had consumed more than half the Internal Energy in his body. Whether he could still get what he wanted was uncertain. He could only leave behind those meaningful words before flashing into the passageway in pursuit.

Ye Chen sneered inwardly and remained where he was, continuing to dispel the chill.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

In only a short while, at least a dozen people entered the passageway.

After another brief moment, Ye Chen opened his mouth and exhaled a breath of cold air. His right hand tightened around the hilt of his sword, and with a light tap of his foot against the ground, he shot into the passageway like an arrow loosed from the bow.

Inside the deep passageway.

Wooden Man Swordsmen leaped out one after another, slashing at anyone they saw. The dozen or so people ahead of Ye Chen had no choice but to slow down, lest they be eliminated at the final stretch.

"Damn it, that guy behind us is so fast." The last person saw Ye Chen ignore the attacks of the Wooden Man Swordsmen, always slipping free from danger at critical moments, and could not help crying out.

Aah!

The moment he finished speaking, a Wooden Man Swordsman chopped him to the ground. He bitterly regretted letting his attention wander.

Ye Chen swept over him, cutting apart the incoming wooden blade with a casual stroke. Then, by the narrowest of margins, he slipped between two Wooden Man Swordsmen, his timing perfectly precise.

The reason Ye Chen could remain so composed was entirely due to his powerful Soul Force. Without even needing to look, he could sense everything within five meters around him. After making precise calculations, he swiftly chose the best route, saving quite a bit of time.

He passed five people!

He passed ten people!

He passed thirteen people!

Ye Chen finally returned to third place, leaving the fourth-place contender far behind.

The exit of the Wooden Man Alley was unexpectedly in the same direction as the entrance. In other words, all the challengers had effectively made a huge loop inside. It was hard to imagine just how large this so-called Wooden Man Alley was.

Though the exit was in sight, that did not mean the challenge had been cleared.

A slender, short Wooden Man Swordsman stood at the exit. Its entire body was fashioned from hundreds of pieces of dark-red wood, and it held a long, narrow blade. It seemed to possess no fluctuations of life, yet it radiated a terrifying, demonic power.

Tap, tap!

The Wooden Man Swordsman charged toward Ye Chen, growing faster and faster. When it came within five steps, it swung its blade in a swift slash.

Clang!

Ye Chen felt as if the Fine Steel Sword in his hand were about to fly from his grasp, and he was secretly shocked by the Wooden Man Swordsman's strength.

Its first strike had been blocked, but the Wooden Man Swordsman's second blade followed immediately after. There were no changes to it—only speed and ruthlessness.

"Seeking Gaps!"

Ye Chen steadied his mind. With a flick of the Fine Steel Sword, it darted out like a loach slipping through mud, stabbing the Wooden Man Swordsman's elbow joint from a tricky and bizarre angle.

Though he had not broken its elbow, he had created an opening in its blade-swinging motion. Ye Chen immediately drove a fist into its chest.

Bang!

The Wooden Man Swordsman went flying backward.

Challenge cleared!

Outside the exit, Elder Lin looked at Ye Chen with some surprise. Smiling, he said, "Congratulations on taking third place. These are three Clear Wind Jade Dew Pills. As for the Human-grade High-tier Martial Skill and cultivation art, you will need to choose them yourself at the Martial Arts Pavilion. This is a token for the second floor of the Martial Arts Pavilion. It may only be used once."

After putting away the Clear Wind Jade Dew Pills and the token, Ye Chen finally let out a sigh of relief. This third place had not come easily.

Wu Zongming walked over with a cheerful smile. "Having a Human-grade High-tier cultivation art and not having one are two entirely different levels. I'm afraid your strength will catch up to mine before long."

Ye Chen, with only sixth-layer Qi Cultivation Realm cultivation, had withstood one of Zhang Haoran's punches. The cultivation art and martial skills he practiced were not particularly high-grade either, which made Wu Zongming extremely curious about him and gave rise to a desire to befriend him. After all, one more friend was always better than one more enemy.

Ye Chen said modestly, "Not at all. If not for you, whether I could even have walked out standing would still be in question."

"Let's not mention that. When you have time, we should exchange pointers more often."

"Certainly."

"Oh, right. Be careful of Zhang Haoran. He may not be able to do anything to me, but he might cause trouble for you. It's best to stay on guard."

Ye Chen nodded and looked toward Zhang Haoran.

Zhang Haoran's expression was extremely ugly. This time, he had truly suffered a major setback. Not only had he failed to gain any advantage over Wu Zongming, he had also failed to accomplish what he had promised his cousin. Fortunately, he had secured first place with the Inch Travel Step. Otherwise, he really would have spat blood.

As for Ye Chen, he did not care much about Zhang Haoran. With a Human-grade High-tier cultivation art, he was confident he could raise his strength by another level in a short time. If he were given a few more months—enough to cultivate his Internal Energy to the seventh or eighth layer and bring his cultivation art to its highest realm—it would not be impossible for him to contend head-on with Zhang Haoran. Of course, Zhang Haoran's Tiger Roar Dragon Fist was a threat and exceedingly difficult to deal with. It could be called one of the finest among Human-grade Top-tier Martial Skills. But Ye Chen was no inferior either. He possessed the Human-grade Top-tier sword art, the Thirteen Peaks Sword Style. With this extraordinary sword art, Ye Chen truly had nothing to fear.