Thousand Mountains Blanketed in Snow

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In Ye Chen's hands, the Vajra Fist seemed to come alive, evolving countless subtle applications and steadily blocking Ye Jun's chain kicks.

"Hardness and softness as one, with no distinction between yin and yang—this is the highest realm of a powerful fist art." City Lord Lin drew a sharp breath. At his age, he had seen more geniuses than he could count, yet few had reached Ye Chen's level in Martial Arts.

Ye Jun's face darkened. He had already thrown eleven kicks, yet he had failed to injure Ye Chen in the slightest. His opponent's difficulty far exceeded his expectations.

"Ghostfire Fourfold Spiral Kill!" "Three-Kill Ghost Path!"

The next seven kicks could be combined into two ultimate moves. Ye Jun gathered all his Internal Energy and launched a deadly attack at Ye Chen.

At this moment, Ye Chen could not help but lament that he did not have enough martial skills. Setting aside sword techniques, he only had the Human-grade High-tier Martial Skill Vajra Fist. As for the Hegemon Fist, it was far too overbearing; with his current cultivation, training it was fraught with difficulty and could even harm himself.

Before I return this time, I must break through to the True Condensation Realm. Once I become an Inner Sect Disciple, I'll have as many Human-grade Top-tier Martial Skills as I want. At least I won't be this awkward anymore.

Facing this "dangerous" situation, Ye Chen gave a bitter smile and raised his strength to thirty percent of its peak before punching seven times into the air.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang...

Bursts of air exploded across the arena, forcing Ye Chen back several steps until his footing grew unsteady. Looking up, he saw the purple-clad Ye Jun flying like a kite with a snapped string, tracing a graceful arc through the air before landing at the edge of the crowd.

"Good, that was a beautiful win!" Only then did Ye Tianhao let out a breath of relief, exchanging smiles with Shen Yuqing.

Beside them, Ye Batian gave a dry laugh and turned his gaze toward Ye Tang, hoping his most prized son could vent his anger for him.

On the other side, Ye Xiaomei giggled heartlessly. "I told you! Ye Chen would win."

Hearing that, Ye Xuan frowned. In that instant just now, she had clearly sensed Ye Chen's strength double. Otherwise, he could not have defeated Ye Jun so easily.

"Ye Chen wins. Third match: Ye Hai versus Ye Ming!" Though the Third Elder was somewhat surprised, he did not think much of it. After all, Ye Chen's cultivation was a notch above Ye Jun's, so his victory was only natural.

The battle between Ye Hai and Ye Ming was extremely fierce. Their styles were alike as well—every move was ruthless and decisive, without the slightest hesitation. At many moments, they seemed to bear a grudge against each other, fighting desperately to put the other to death.

"Ye Ming, if you must blame someone, blame your insufficient cultivation!" At last, Ye Hai displayed the strength he should have possessed, sending the still-struggling Ye Ming flying with two consecutive palm strikes.

"Ye Hai wins. Fourth match: Ye Xuan versus Ye Jin!"

Among the crowd, Ye Jin thought for a moment before raising a hand. "I concede."

The Third Elder nodded and said to the final contestant, Ye Lin, "Now you may choose your opponent. If you win, you may replace him. If you lose, you will be eliminated."

Ye Lin looked at Ye Xuan, Ye Tang, and Ye Hai, then shook his head. He then looked at Ye Chen, the last one remaining, and still shook his head. "Third Elder, I concede!"

He absolutely could not defeat the first three. As for Ye Chen, although he was not a True Condensation Realm martial artist, judging from the previous two matches, no one below the True Condensation Realm could possibly be his opponent. Why humiliate himself? He might as well simply admit defeat. At this point, he no longer had any mind to think about the top three.

"Very well. Four people remain: Ye Tang, Ye Chen, Ye Hai, and Ye Xuan. The first match will be Ye Tang against Ye Chen, and the second Ye Hai against Ye Xuan. The winners will enter the finals and compete against each other for first place in the Ye Family Gathering. After that, there will be contests for second and third place. Do you have any objections?" The Third Elder swept his gaze over the four.

The four of them, including Ye Chen, shook their heads.

The Third Elder continued, "Since that is the case, rest for a quarter hour first. Try to recover the True Qi you have expended, lest you find yourselves short of True Qi later."

With that, he plopped down, lifted his teacup, and began drinking tea.

In the arena, the remaining four exchanged glances. More precisely, Ye Tang, Ye Hai, and Ye Xuan looked at one another. Only Ye Tang, for some reason, cast a glance at Ye Chen, as if telling him that he would make him pay later. The other two all but ignored Ye Chen. After all, they were competing for first place. With Ye Chen's peak Qi Cultivation Realm Tenth Layer cultivation, he was simply not qualified to interfere.

Ye Chen merely smiled indifferently and returned to his seat to rest briefly.

"Ye Xuan, up to now, you should have used only thirty percent of your strength. Am I right?" Ye Hai had already regarded Ye Xuan as his greatest opponent and spoke to probe her.

Ye Xuan lightly brushed the hair before her forehead aside and said calmly, "Other than you two, no one is qualified to make me use more than sixty percent of my strength."

"More than sixty percent? Stop boasting. Once I deal with Ye Chen, I'll let you witness North Snow Manor's Blizzard Saber Technique." Ye Tang sneered.

Ye Xuan turned and walked toward her seat, leaving behind a single sentence. "I have seen many astonishing geniuses in Jade Valley: Eldest Senior Brother Young Master Jade, Second Senior Brother Palm Absolute Liu Wuxiang, and Third Senior Brother Shi Potian. Compared to them, you are merely an average genius. You do not possess the ability to challenge those above your level, so if you face me, defeat is inevitable."

Before the finals had even begun, Ye Hai could already feel the atmosphere of drawn swords and bent bows. His breathing grew slightly hurried. By now, he was not fighting solely for first place; more than that, he fought for the sake of fighting. After all, they were all geniuses, yet they had to determine who was stronger and who was weaker.

A quarter hour soon passed.

Without needing the Third Elder's announcement, Ye Chen and Ye Tang walked to the center of the arena and stood ten meters apart.

"Do not make pointless struggles. You are absolutely no match for me. After defeating you, I still have to defeat Ye Xuan and Ye Hai." Ye Tang was impatient to fight Ye Xuan, and his interest in Ye Chen had instead diminished considerably. He wanted to end this battle as quickly as possible.

Ye Chen said, "Impulsiveness and impatience are great taboos for a martial artist. In that regard, you have already lost."

"Enough nonsense. Fall!"

As Ye Tang circulated his True Qi, his white robes fluttered without wind, and streams of icy white air emerged around him, causing the temperature within several yards to plummet. He stamped hard on the ground and shot forward like a drifting swan, countless hand blades chopping toward Ye Chen.

"Thousand Mountains Blanketed in Snow!"

This move was originally a saber move, yet Ye Tang had adapted it into hand blades. Though its power had diminished greatly, it was more than sufficient against martial artists below the True Condensation Realm.

Ssshh! Ssshh! Ssshh!

The air was sliced apart in an instant. White hand blades layered upon one another, covering the mountains and plains.

"Break!"

Raising his strength beyond sixty percent, Ye Chen neither retreated nor yielded. His fists struck out in rapid succession, like a hundred arrows released at once, like a surging river, crashing into the countless hand blades with savage force.

In an instant, the sounds of exploding air rose one after another, blasting turbulent wind currents into existence at the center of the arena—powerful enough to easily blow away a Fierce Tiger.