With the help of the Demon Tiger Secret Blood Art, Lin Tian’s current offensive was faintly stronger than Ye Chen’s. The moment they made contact, he could tell that the situation was in favor, and a sneer appeared on his face. However, it turned stiff in the very next moment.

At the point of Ye Chen’s two sword’s intersection, a thumb-sized thunder sphere sprouted. It was dark blue in color, and the lightning it released was also dark blue in color. Countless wriggling lightning snakes shot out, instantly converting more than a thousand meters wide area into a lightning zone.

Rumble!

The thunder sphere grew at a pace far greater than Lin Tian’s reaction speed. It was only thumb-sized initially, but in just a few moments, it expanded several hundred folds, then several thousand folds. His figure was blasted by the resultant explosive energy; every bone in his body creaked, making his body sore.

The two made contact only for a brief moment,

Shua!

The impact Ye Chen received was far less than Lin Tian. After retreating for a hundred or so steps, he stamped his foot backward in the void, and his figure turned into starlight, shooting forward.

“Not good!”

At this moment, Lin Tian’s muscles were sore, and he would only be able to bring out thirty-forty percent of his current strength. If he tried to defend forcefully, his defeat was certain…There was no question about it.

“Heaven Sieved Armor, Release!”

At the moment of peril, Lin Tian’s protective Zhen Yuan thickened by several inches, seeming like a layer of jade. Furthermore, inside Lin Tian’s robe, a silhouette of a mystical armor appeared. Following the appearance of this armor, sets of mysterious lines appeared on his protective Zhen Yuan. These lines were interlinked with each other like fibers of a lotus root, which stayed together even if the root itself snapped. They slowly circled around Lin Tian.

“Half-step Top Grade Armor!” Ye Chen suddenly stopped.

“With this armor, I’m now invincible. Hereon, your defeat is certain.” Lin Tian originally didn’t wish to bring out this armor. As far as he was concerned, nobody other than five young tyrants had the qualifications for him to bring out this armor.

“Half-step Top Grade, Heaven Sieved Armor! This time, Ye Chen is screwed. Without breaking through Lin Tian’s defense, he has no way of injuring him while Lin Tian can simply ignore defense and go full-out offense. After a while, Ye Chen will certainly lose.”

“I heard that Lin Tian obtained this armor from the treasure pagoda. I wonder how many floors he had reached.”

Nobody despised him for using a half-step top grade armor. For a martial artist, treasures and artifacts were considered a part of their strength, and their use was not considered unfair at all. After all, obtaining treasures required one to brave numerous dangers.

Ye Chen sized Lin Tian’s armor and said, “Let it be. You and I don’t have much enmity. We can end this here, though I hope you don’t come looking for trouble later.”

Destroying Duan Lengya was already enough. It had not come to a life-and-death enmity. Ye Chen didn’t wish to offend one of the four great clans, the Lin family as well. The situation had not worsened to such an extent.

“You want to leave?”

Lin Tian’s face turned sinister. He and Ye Chen indeed didn’t have much enmity; Lin Ku’s injuries were not heavy either. A few months of healing would be enough to reach his peak condition, without leaving behind any negative effects. However, injuries could be healed, but lost reputation couldn’t be gained back. Today, he absolutely couldn’t let Ye Chen leave unscathed.

“What, you still want to fight?” Ye Chen frowned.

“You are not afraid, are you Ye Chen? A treasure is also a part of one’s strength. My eldest brother obtained this armor on his own. Nobody would condemn him for using it.” Lin Ku’s voice came from underneath, carrying a faintly complacent tone. Lin Tian’s expression also relaxed as he stared Ye Chen with an oppressive gaze.

“Hehe” Ye Chen laughed, “I’m afraid? Since you want to continue, we’ll fight.”

Buzz!

His storage ring flickered, and a dark blue sword appeared in his hands. The sword gave off a tyrannical aura. Even before it was unsheathed, destructive lightning filled the skies.

“What! Half-step Top Grade Sword!” Lin Tian cried out.

The faces of spectators underneath changed. Lin Ku, in particular, seemed as if he was about to say something, but he immediately closed his mouth with his face stunned.

Clang!

The Thunder Calamity Sword had been unsheathed. A lightning arc flashed on the sword’s body as Ye Chen looked straight at Lin Tian and said indifferently, “Lin Tian, If you want to battle, we’ll battle. I’m not afraid in either case.”

“Damn it! How could he have a Half-step Top Grade sword?” Lin Tian was inwardly regretting.

“What, you want to give up?” Ye Chen could see the indecisiveness in Lin Tian’s gaze.

“Give up? How is it possible! Today, we must determine who is stronger, you or me.” At this stage, Lin Tian had no way of retreating. He could only fight. If he didn’t fight, he would incur far more ridicule compared to losing.

“Let’s see if your sword is sharper, or whether my armor’s defense is stronger. Demon Tiger Blade!”

With the Demon Tiger Secret Blood Art’s stimulation still present, Lin Tian roared and shot toward Ye Chen with his blade raised high in the air.

“Breaking your defense is nothing much.”

Ye Chen didn’t intend to meet Lin Tian head-on. The latter was a body-refiner expert and liked to fight head-on, but that might not be the case for him. The previous encounter was merely for him to test the limits of his offensive power. He had already obtained the results. This time, he would thoroughly defeat his opponent.

Swoosh!

A sword light flickered as Ye Chen raised his speed to limits and suddenly appeared to the right of Lin Tian. The Thunder Calamity Sword pierced through, using perfected Unceasing Growth.

The defensive layer covered with runic engravings caved in slightly before cracks appeared at its edges, looking like a spider web. It seemed to be on the verge of shattering like a glass.

Seeing Ye Chen not clashing head-on, Lin Tian immediately swept his blade horizontally. However, what he hit was merely a void image.

“Gold Quake!”

Above him, Ye Chen slashed down from upside down position. With that, a magnificent sword light wave with sawtoothed edge stabbed at Lin Tian’s defensive cover.

Creak Creak Creak!

Dazzling sparks flew everywhere before Lin Tian’s defensive cover was slightly cleaved open. At the crucial moment, Lin Tian stabbed his blade upwards, breaking the sawtoothed edge.

Seeing the saw-toothed wave destroyed, Ye Chen smiled. Lin Tian’s defenses were weaker than he had expected, and he indeed specialized in strength. Therefore, although his Zhen Yuan cultivation base was comparable to his, it was not as consolidated, neither his Zhen Yuan was as pure. An artifact required Zhen Yuan to operate, and thus, he couldn’t exhibit the Heaven Sieved Armor to its limits.

Woosh Woosh Woosh…

Ye Chen circled around Lin Tian and continued sending out attacks. Lin Tian’s reactions were good, and he was able to block every two out of three attacks Ye Chen sent his way.

“Here comes my opportunity!”

Faking a strike, Ye Chen was able to force Lin Tian’s reaction. Thereupon, he again crisscrossed the two swords and smashed into Lin Tian’s defenses.

Screech!

Sword scars emerged on Lin Tian’s defensive cover one after another, seeping through.

Following a thunder sphere’s explosion, the protective cover shattered like an egg and completely crumbled. The huge aftershock made Lin Tian bleed from his seven apertures. The blood patterns on his face dimmed, then completely disappeared, seeping back inside his body. There was a limit on the Demon Tiger Secret Blood Art’s usage. For Lin Tian to use this art for so long, he was bound to suffer a considerable backlash. Suffering from both internal and external injuries, Lin Tian would be weak for quite a while.

“Lin Tian lost!”

“Duan Lengya, Lin Ku, Mu Yunhe, and Lin Tian…the four of them fought Ye Chen one after another, but they still lost miserably. I daresay, within three months, Ye Chen’s name will stun the world. Everybody will know his name, and his fame will soon catch up to the five young tyrants.”

“Is there even a need to say that? To beat Mu Yunhe and Lin Tian, it will be difficult for his fame to not increase.”

As discussions were brewing, Ye Chen flew to Murong Qingcheng’s side, also shooting a glance Lin Ku inside the restaurant.

Sensing Ye Chen’s gaze on him, panic appeared on Lin Ku’s face. His body was seriously injured, and a lot of his meridians were severed. In this condition, he wouldn’t be able to endure a single move from Ye Chen.

“Let’s leave!”

Ye Chen had no intention of pursuing Lin Ku. After all, the main perpetrator was Duan Lengya; others were merely accomplices.

As Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng left, Lin Ku let out a sigh of relief and eventually moved.

As he glanced at lying Duan Lengya and Mu Yunhe, as well as his own heavily injured eldest brother, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly. This time, they indeed fell down head first. Who knew that Ye Chen would become so powerful in these few months. Previously, in the battle against Hai Wuya, they held a complete advantage. If not for Yan Fengfeng’s presence, they would not have let Ye Chen’s group off lightly. But now, just Ye Chen alone came and they didn’t even have the qualifications to fight. But, what frightened him the most was that a few months ago, Ye Chen wasn’t even his match.

…

In more than a month’s time, the events of West Mound City spread everywhere in Sky Martial Region. Everybody knew that a person named Ye Chen had defeated Duan Lengya, Lin Ku, Mu Yunhe, and Lin Tian one after another. Such a strength left the other young geniuses appalled.

Dugu Clan…

“Ye Chen, I didn’t expect your progress to be this quick. The current me is definitely your opponent. But, this is just the beginning. Once I have the strength to challenge Xiao Chuhe, I’ll challenge you as well.”

Sitting cross-legged under a tree, Dugu Jue’s eyes shone. It could be seen that compared to two months ago, his Zhen Yuan was much sturdier, reaching the peak of mid Sea of Soul realm. During the battle with Taishi Chong, he had just broken through into the mid Sea of Soul realm, and didn’t have enough time to consolidate his cultivation base. Therefore, he was incapable of using treasures to advance cultivation base to the peak of mid Sea of Soul realm.

The news of Ye Chen’s triumph had just reached Dugu clan. It was his eldest brother, Dugu Ming, who conveyed it to him. At first, he was also quite stunned. However, he was able to soon calm down. Momentary ups and down didn’t mean anything. Since Ye Chen could improve, others could do so as well. Only when one side was incapable of improving further would the victor be determined. After all, every level had a limit. For example, Zhen Yuan cultivation could only reach the peak of Sea of Soul realm, profound could only be comprehended to mid-rank; and under usual circumstances, will could only reach the peak of the fourth stage. Those who were capable of reaching the fifth stage were extremely few.

The five young tyrants were basically at a stage where they basically couldn’t improve. Therefore, they stood at the peak of the young generation. Even though Lin Tian was considered an existence close to them, he couldn’t even endure a few moves from Xiao Chuhe. Therefore, the five young tyrants almost stood at the peak of this level. To overtake them, one also had to stand on the peak of this level.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep