Yun Yifei was at the peak of rank seven. Hence, none dared to challenge him. Some contenders had leaped into the other arenas for a fight. Even the other youngsters from the Eighteen Houses of Lianyun or different clans performed well too, with most of them being rank six and above.
Bam. Mo Teng had defeated a rank six opponent from the House of Yan.
Yan Yin, who was watching from the side, looked to be in a foul mood.
“My apologies, Lord Mo.” Mo Feng saluted Yan Yin with a smile.
Yan Yin returned the gesture though deep down, he was cursing him.
“Is no one going to take on Yifei?” Yun Yixuan asked rhetorically as he looked at Yun Yifei who stood in the arena.
“Those who possess a talent like Yun Yifei in the pool of youngsters are rare and few,” Qin Yu suggested. The rest of the rank nine combatants who sat by the side too, agreed unanimously.
“Yifei is the first talent the Eighteen Houses of Lianyun has ever had!”
“For the past hundred years or so, even the entire Donglin County has seen very few youngsters who have achieved the peak of rank seven before the age of eighteen.” Yan Yin and the rest cheered on.
“If Yifei keeps this up, he’ll surely surpass me someday, maybe even achieve rank ten at some point.” Yun Yiyang smiled approvingly. “When I was his age, I was only a mid-rank six. They’re getting stronger by the generation.”
Ye Changxuan paid no attention to Yun Yiyang, Yan Yin, and the rest as they continued to boast about their achievements. All that talk about a number one talent was nothing compared to Little Chen who had grasped the world of Martial Truth inside out!
Ye Chen stared at the arena on the far end and smirked, revealing his composure. It was not his time to act yet.
Just then, Mo Feng looked over to Ye Chen.
“Lord Ye. Little Chen is rank six, yes? I heard he’s considered the top talent of the Ye Clan. Why don’t you let him join the match instead of having him stand around doing nothing?” Mo Feng smiled slyly. “You could let him compete with my grandson. After all, it’s just a competition. A friendly spar wouldn’t break anything more than a bone or two.”
Ye Changxuan was beginning to find Mo Feng rather impatient. As he was about to respond, Ye Chen calmly clapped back, “Don’t worry Grandpa Mo, I will join the fight soon.”
Ye Chen’s words upset Mo Feng greatly. It was as if Ye Chen was implying that Mo Feng could not wait for him to get on the stage any quicker. Mo Feng snorted under his breath before turning over to speak to the rest.
Li Xu found himself smiling as he eavesdropped on the conversation between Mo Feng and Ye Chen. He looked at Ye Chen again. He found the boy’s feistiness rather likable, only he wondered if his powers would match up just the same. Given the boy’s rather indifferent attitude and maturity, he could not help but be interested in him.
People come and go from the stage. Numerous youngsters hailing from the clans of Donglin County had challenged Yun Yifei to a match but they were all soundly defeated.
Soon, Yun Yifei would bag the title of Donglin County’s Top Talent.
Down went another contender. Another clean sweep done well. The rest of the youngsters below the arena all faced down, none daring to meet his eye. A look of disdain showed on his face.
“What a bunch of spoilsports.” Yun Yifei looked down and caught a glimpse of Ye Chen calmly gazing over. Recalling the incident that happened back at the Ye Castle, he smiled wryly before calling out to him, “Ye Chen of the Ye Clan, I hope you haven’t forgotten about our deal. Why don’t you come up here and fight instead of chickening out at the bleachers?” Yun Yifei beckoned over.
Ye Chen frowned upon seeing Yi Yifei’s face. He could have ignored him but chose not to do so. If he did not put Yun Yifei in his place today, he would probably take the Ye Clan for a bunch of pushovers.
Ye Changxuan turned to look at Ye Chen.
“Grandpa, I’m going now,” Ye Chan said as he marched toward the stage.
“Very well.” Ye Changxuan nodded. He was worried that they might draw further attention to themselves once Ye Chen had shown his true power and not that he did not stand a chance against Yun Yifei.
“Not to worry Lord Ye, Yun Yifei will go easy on him.” A snobbish Yun Yixuan smiled as he noticed Ye Changxuan’s rather somber expression.
The rest of the audience broke into laughter.
Yun Yixuan was insulting them but Ye Changxuan was not having any of it. He retorted, “I’m not worried about Little Chen. I just wonder if Yun Yifei can withstand his blows. I fear that if Little Chen succeeds in beating Yun Yifei to a pulp, it’ll be a huge slap to the Yun Clan and when that happens, you’d have to intervene.”
“You’ve overestimated your men. There’s no way a little fry like Ye Chen could be a match for Yifei. Maybe in your biggest dreams.” Yun Yiyang snorted.
Li Xu looked at the audience and then back at Ye Changxuan. Having realized what was going on, he smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Lord Ye. If the little boy from the House of Ye wins, I’ll ensure both of you a safe path out of the Yun Castle.”
Ye Changxuan felt better after hearing Li Xu’s words. He had said those words to elicit a response from Li Xu though he did not expect that Li Xu would respond. He did not mind if harm came his way but certainly not for Little Chen as he was the future of the Ye Clan. Given that he had Li Xu’s word, he no longer had anything to fear and Yun Yiyang certainly would not dare go against Li Xu either.
“It’s not like our clan can’t take a loss.” Yun Yiyang protested. This time, right here in the Grand Martial Tournament of the Eighteen Houses of Lianyun, there was no letting Ye Changxuan getting away alive or he might return with a vengeance. Ye Changxuan sure was a sly old fox. If Li Xu had sworn to protect Ye Changxuan and Ye Chen, then the Ye Clan would just have to strike from the shadows.
“Good to know.” Ye Changxuan let out a jolly laugh. It looked like Yun Yiyang and Li Xu did not have that great of friendship after all. Yun Yiyang thought of bootlicking Li Xu yet he did not look the part. An idea came to his mind. Looking at Ye Chen from behind, he added, “Give it all you’ve got, Little Chen. No need to go easy on him or Lord Yun might accuse us of giving them a handicap.”
Ye Chen was confused. What exactly did grandpa mean by that? Was he implying that he need not hold back and just beat Yun Yifei up? Seeing that grandpa was a little more relieved now, Ye Chen eased up too. He glanced at the crowd, particularly Li Xu and turned back to ascend into the arena.
Mo Teng too had just defeated a challenger. He looked over at Ye Chen who was walking toward Yun Yifei’s arena and pouted. Even he would never think to challenge Yun Yifei. Maybe Ye Chen got a death wish.
The youngsters surrounding the arena moved aside when they took note of Ye Chen. They looked at him with sympathy. Thus far, the rank seven combatants who had taken on Yun Yifei were all defeated with ease. It looked like Ye Chen was in for a world of hurt too. One could only speculate the feud that Ye Chen and Yun Yifei had for him to do so.
The audience fixed their gaze on the arena that Yun Yifei was standing.
Using his body to propel him forward, Ye Chen leaped onto the arena.
Now that Ye Chen had come forth, Yun Yifei responded with a terrifying smile. “Back at the Ye Castle, I told you I’d beat you at the Grand Martial Tournament of the Eighteen Houses of Lianyun. Who would’ve thought you’d show up? You’ve got guts!”
“Thank you for the compliment. We’ll see if you’ve got what it takes to do so.” Ye Chen smiled in astonishment. He thought of Little Xuan and how Yun Yifei wanted to have her hand in marriage. He should take a good look at himself in the mirror! Since grandpa had told him not to hold back then he was going to go all out this time around.
“Even in death, I see you’re still as poetic as ever!” Yun Yifei took a deep breath and began channeling his Celestial Chi. A glimmer of light radiated from him. The audience gasped.
Those who were watching Yun Yifei below the stage looked at him with fear.
“That’s a Chi Construct. He may be at the top of rank seven but soon, he’ll probably break through rank eight!”
“This is truly amazing! He’s only eighteen years old!”