Su Rong’s gaze fell on Ye Chu. She had witnessed him block the chief guard earlier. Although the chief guard was not as powerful as Ye Tian, it still represented Ye Chu’s strength. A flicker of hope involuntarily rose in Su Rong’s heart.
“Why are you staring at him like that?” Zhang Su’er noticed Su Rong lost in thought while looking at Ye Chu and asked curiously.
Seeing Zhang Su’er staring at her with surprise, Su Rong took a deep breath and said softly, “Perhaps Ye Chu really can win this fight!”
Su Rong’s words made the women around her look at her strangely. Their gazes could not help shifting towards Ye Chu.
At this moment, Ye Chu stepped towards Sha Shan. Sha Shan was panting heavily from his continuous attacks. Seeing Ye Chu approach, his expression changed, turning cold and gloomy.
“Do you think I’m afraid of you? Even if your hand is made of steel, you’re going to die today!” Sha Shan produced silver needles in his hand. They gleamed with a pitch-black lustre that sent chills down people’s spines.
The moment the silver needles appeared, the faces of the Yao Kingdom crowd changed. They had seen the power of those needles. Who could withstand such a lethal weapon?
“Just a few broken needles, and you think you can threaten me? You really think too highly of yourself!” Ye Chu sneered. He finally made his move. His figure left the spot where he had stood unmoving until now.
Ye Chu’s speed was astonishing, like a gust of wind. In an instant, he was beside Sha Shan.
Such lightning-fast speed made Ye Tian suddenly straighten up. His eyes sharpened, pupils widening dramatically. The shock in his heart was beyond words. This speed had far surpassed his own! How had he achieved it?
Su Zhengping and the others reacted the same way. Their gazes burned as they stared at Ye Chu, waves surging in their hearts.
“Die!” Sha Shan was terrified by Ye Chu’s speed. He shot the silver needles forward fiercely, his face twisted with sinister intent as he tried to take Ye Chu’s life.
But the silver needles did not achieve the effect he had imagined. The needles that had defeated Ye Tian were swept up by Ye Chu with a flick of his sleeve. All of them were caught. Ye Chu showed no fear of the baleful qi that terrified even cultivators!
Taking advantage of the moment Ye Chu blocked the needles, Sha Shan unleashed a kick with the strongest power he had ever exerted. The energy could split rocks and shatter mountains. It shot straight towards Ye Chu’s chest. The true essence of the Mountain-Splitting Leg was displayed to its fullest, carrying a terrifying aura that made hearts tremble.
Even though Pang Shao knew Ye Chu was strong, watching this kick still made him tense up. A trace of nervousness rose in his heart!
“That’s enough!” Ye Chu looked at the incoming kick. He leaped into the air and spun gracefully. With a single kick, not as violent or domineering as Sha Shan’s, and without any flourish, it landed like an ordinary person’s kick directly on Sha Shan’s overpowering strike.
“Crack…”
A crisp sound of breaking bone rang out. Sha Shan was sent flying horizontally. His Innate-level Mountain-Splitting Leg was crippled by Ye Chu’s casual kick. His entire leg bent unnaturally, blood beads surfacing on the skin.
“Boom…”
Sha Shan crashed to the ground. The earth trembled several times from the impact.
Everyone present felt their hearts tremble along with the ground. Liang Shan’s eyes widened. Su Zhengping and Ye Tian abruptly stood straight. The watching crowd in Yao City all drew in a sharp breath.
Zhang Su’er and the group of women covered their open mouths with delicate white hands, standing frozen in place.
Only Pang Shao swallowed hard, feeling his mouth go dry. Damn it! Was this his true strength? With a casual strike, he crippled a Seventh Layer Intent Transformation cultivator who had unleashed an Innate-level leg technique! In just one year of absence, his growth had become terrifyingly monstrous!
Pang Shao shivered. He thought to himself how fortunate it was that he had not clashed with Ye Chu. Otherwise, he would have ended up with a bruised face and swollen head, lying in bed! The gap between them was now even wider than a year ago!
The Sand Kingdom group also rose from their seats. Their expressions were filled with horror as they stared at the lazy young man in the arena. Sha Shan’s full-power burst with the Innate-level leg technique had been comparable to the Eighth Layer of Intent Transformation Realm. Yet such power had been casually crippled by Ye Chu in one strike. Just how strong was he? Ninth Layer? Or even the Innate Realm?
“Is there anyone else who wants to come up?” Ye Chu toyed with the silver needles he had caught in his sleeve. His face wore a smile as he looked lightly and provocatively towards the Sand Kingdom side.
Such an attitude sent the Yao Kingdom side into wild excitement. At this moment, they had completely forgotten that Ye Chu was the scumbag they had always cursed!
Zhang Su’er swallowed and could not help asking Su Rong, “Did you know he was this strong? That’s why you said he would win?”
Su Rong gave a bitter smile and shook her head. “If I had known, would I have tried to stop him!”
Zhang Su’er thought about it and realised it made sense. But this guy was simply too shocking.
“Heh heh! Surprised, right?” Pang Shao saw Ye Tian staring at Ye Chu and grinned mischievously. “He rarely wants to step up. You still wouldn’t let him go. Opportunities like this don’t come twice. But even I’m surprised. I didn’t expect him to become this strong. I originally thought dealing with this guy would still take Ye Chu some effort.”
Hearing Pang Shao say this, Su Rong and the others all turned their gazes towards him. Ye Tian even asked, “You already knew Ye Chu was this powerful?”
Pang Shao rolled his eyes. “Nonsense! A year ago, he and I caused havoc together in the Thirty-Six Caves. We even snatched away a cave master’s favourite wife. You think I wouldn’t know?”
Su Rong heard Pang Shao’s words and could not help exclaiming, “You really caused havoc in the Thirty-Six Caves?”
“You know about it?” Pang Shao was a little surprised. Apart from their group, not many people knew about that incident. Especially in a small kingdom like this, almost no one had heard of it.
Seeing Pang Shao and everyone looking at her, Su Rong could not help giving a bitter smile. Back then, when Ye Chu had mentioned these things, she had thought he was just spouting nonsense. She never imagined it was all true! How embarrassing that she had secretly mocked him in her heart!
Ye Tian and Ye Chao fell silent. They had originally thought Ye Chu might have undergone some transformation in these three years. But this transformation was far too complete. From a notorious good-for-nothing, he had left them far behind like dust in the wind. Now he had completely surpassed these so-called young geniuses.
Ye Tian could not help glancing at his father. He wondered what his father felt now after having just mocked Ye Chu earlier. Seeing this scene must be complicated.
Just as Ye Tian thought, Ye Li looked at the arena with a complicated expression, his face dazed and absent-minded.
“Do you know what Ye Chu has been doing these three years?” Su Rong suddenly asked Pang Shao. This made Pang Shao quite surprised. This woman had always hated him to the extreme. Normally she avoided him like the plague, let alone speaking to him first. Yet now she was actually asking him a question.
“I know some things, but not everything!” Pang Shao shrugged. “Perhaps His Highness knows more.”
“His Highness?” The group looked confused.
Pang Shao did not explain further. He gave a sly laugh and stepped towards Sha Shan. This guy had beaten him up. Now he could finally give him a proper thrashing.
Seeing Pang Shao actually attack Sha Shan and slap him hard across the face, the Sand Kingdom group erupted in fury. They glared at Pang Shao and roared, “Stop it!”
Pang Shao ignored them and continued slapping Sha Shan fiercely while kicking him repeatedly. “Damn it! You dared to hit this young master? Today I’ll kick you to death!”
“Courting death!” The Sand Kingdom people were enraged. “How dare you injure Sha Shan? We’ll kill you!”
Ye Chu glanced at Pang Shao. Seeing Pang Shao shrink back a little, Ye Chu could not help sneering in disdain. “Useless! Since I’ve already stepped up for you, just go ahead and beat him. Is a small fry like this worth restraining yourself for?”
Pang Shao grinned. “With your words, I’m completely at ease!”
With that, he kicked even harder.
“Stop!” The Sand Kingdom people finally could not hold back and stepped forward, glaring furiously at Pang Shao.
Ye Chu blocked their path and said calmly, “My friend is only beating up one of your people. No need to make a fuss. Anyone who dares come up will end up just like Sha Shan!”
The not-so-loud voice carried utter dominance. It made Ye Tian and the others involuntarily turn their heads to stare at Ye Chu!
Zhang Su’er and the group of women had their beautiful eyes sparkling. They could hardly believe that this seemingly lazy young man could also display such arrogance that looked down on all rivals!