Supreme of the Heavenly Realm

Atop the arena, two figures stood thirty paces apart, facing each other in a standoff.

Boom!

As a familiar gong sound echoed, the noise within the training grounds also gradually subsided. All eyes turned to the stage above, anticipating this exciting battle.

"I didn't expect you to make it this far, quite a surprise indeed."

Ye Ba's gaze was cold as he stared at Ye Xuan, finding it unbelievable that someone he could easily squash in the past had now become his rival for the title of clan champion. Even he had to admit, Ye Xuan's progress was quite rapid.

"Perhaps the bigger surprises are yet to come."

Ye Xuan responded indifferently to his so-called cousin, harboring not the slightest bit of fondness.

"Heh, it seems beating Ye Meng has really overinflated your confidence…"

Ye Ba looked at Ye Xuan with a somewhat mocking expression, "Fine then, I'll give you a hand to help you come back to your senses…"

No sooner had he finished speaking, the smile on Ye Ba's face abruptly froze, replaced by an extremely ferocious surge. His True Qi burst forth instantaneously, revealing swirling red hot currents that caused the temperature within several yards to soar.

As firelight appeared, Ye Ba's body suddenly launched forward, like a great roc spreading its wings, his legs kicking out with meteor-like force.

"Great Wilderness Fire Leg!"

Puff puff puff...

The fierce Qi force rubbed against the air, creating an impression akin to a sky filled with flames. His legs, wrapped in searing heat, fiercely pressed towards Ye Xuan.

"So, it's the Ye family's famed Low-rank Earth-grade Martial Art, the Great Wilderness Fire Leg. Judging by the fire and force he's displaying, Ye Ba has cultivated this skill for quite some time."

Nangong Bo looked surprised. In previous matches, Ye Ba had defeated his opponents with a single move. As for how strong he really was, probably only his father Ye Tianhao and he himself knew.

Mastery of Martial Arts isn't only about the rank; while a higher rank has its advantages, immersion and proficiency are equally vital parts. Newly learned skills compared to a set thoroughly mastered could produce vastly different powers.

Bang bang bang bang!

Facing the ferocious leg strikes that seemed to carry waves of flame, Ye Xuan's Qi sank to his Dantian, hands clenched into fists. The Heavenly Dominator Fist in his hands produced many intricate moves. With a continuous series of kicks, he managed to be pushed back more than ten steps but remained unharmed.

"Using Fist Skill instead of Saber Skill?"

Below the stage, Ye Meng watched the scene unfold with some surprise. The Saber Skill Ye Xuan used to defeat him earlier was quite domineering, yet now, it seemed he wasn't planning to use it. Against someone like Ye Ba, Ye Xuan was still handling himself with ease.

"Spinning Heaven Killing Earth!"

Frustrated that his continuous kicking hadn't crushed Ye Xuan, Ye Ba unleashed the Great Wilderness Fire Leg technique's lethal move, launching a deadly attack at Ye Xuan.

From the beginning, their battle saw no holding back, no probing, just a direct clash of full force against full force.

"Dominating Force for a Millennium!"

Realizing the severity of this move, Ye Xuan hesitated no further. He executed the ultimate technique of the Heavenly Dominator Fist. After advancing into the Martial Master Realm, this move, infused with his Thunder Attribute True Qi, grew even more ferocious. He met Ye Ba's kick head-on in a hard collision.

Boom...

The explosive sound of thunder and fire resounded, triggering an explosion at the center of the stage. Both the air and the floor burst open, and the two figures each staggered backward, retreating more than a dozen steps before coming to a halt.

The first exchange seemed to end in a draw.

"Well done, lad, I underestimated you. I know you're skilled with the saber, and just now, you blocked my Great Wilderness Fire Leg with only your fists. Hmph, you've kept your cards well hidden…"

Ye Ba locked eyes with Ye Xuan coldly. He thought that his leg technique would have forced Ye Xuan to give his all, yet the other still had strength to spare.

"So, you've run out of tricks already?"

Ye Xuan knew Ye Ba was not out of strength yet, but he still provoked him.

"I'm just a bit surprised, that's all. But what does it matter if you've hidden your abilities, when I too have held back? Let's see whose reserve is greater."

His gaze suddenly sharp, Ye Ba swiftly spread his gown open and pulled a short, silver mithril stick from within. Yet this short rod, after just a few twirls in his hands, extended into a long staff about two meters long. As he wielded it, it emitted an incredibly dense aura.

"An Earth-grade Weapon?"

After the silver-colored iron stick appeared, Ye Tianxiong on the main seat was also taken aback, then he looked toward Ye Tianhao's position with an unsightly expression. It seemed the latter had indeed gone through a lot of trouble to ensure Ye Ba's victory in this clan meeting, even acquiring an Earth-grade weapon from somewhere.

Others also felt somewhat contemptuous in secret. This was just an internal martial contest within the sect, and Ye Ba, with the Earth-grade weapon in hand, was undoubtedly going to have a great advantage. Even if he won the competition relying on the weapon's power, it would be somewhat dishonorable.

However, Ye Xuan's attention was not on the level of the weapon, but rather on the fact that Ye Ba had brought out such a long stick, which undoubtedly indicated that he might not be adept at leg techniques but rather stick techniques.

"Ye Xuan, now let me show you how powerful my Fiery Flame Stick Technique is."

A chill appeared on Ye Ba's face, and a layer of crimson light shone on the surface of his body, pouring into the iron stick in his hand. In an instant, the surface of the iron stick also displayed strands of red patterns, looking like a red-hot poker.

"Fiery Flame Stick Technique?"

Ye Xuan frowned slightly, then his expression changed. This Fiery Flame Stick Technique was not a martial art of the Ye family, but came from the only sect in the Great Xia Kingdom, Green Leaf Valley, a Mid Earth-grade technique. However, it was said that Green Leaf Valley's set of Fiery Flame Stick Technique was incomplete, having only two of the complete stick techniques.

Even so, the power of Mid Earth-grade martial arts must not be underestimated. Ye Ba had actually learned the martial arts of Green Leaf Valley.

"It looks like I really have to give it my all to win this competition."

Ye Xuan shook his head and then drew the Mortal Grade long saber from his back. Now, those outside probably thought that, whether in terms of cultivation, martial arts, or weapons, he was at a disadvantage to Ye Ba in every aspect. An ordinary person facing these many disadvantages might as well not even proceed with the competition and just concede.

"Going all out is useless; you are doomed to lose!"

A fierce light flashed in his eyes, and with a stretch of his figure, Ye Ba stepped on the ground like a flash of firelight, appearing in front of Ye Xuan. At the same time, the fiery stick in his hand swept across, with dazzling qi force bursting forth like fireworks, enveloping the front.

The light from the stick concealed within the fireworks thrust toward Ye Xuan with a heavy and ferocious force.

Hum.

At that moment, Ye Xuan also moved. He focused his gaze on a single point, concentrated intently, and then fiercely slashed out with his saber, striking the fiery stick with impeccable precision, producing dazzling sparks.

Clang clang clang clang!

Immediately, the fiery stick and saber light collided, eliciting dazzling sparks that obscured the figures of the two fighters. From the outside, one could hardly see the details of the exchange, only the sparks flying about, with the light of the saber and stick blinking incessantly.

Since adulthood, Ye Ba had always been the first genius of the Ye family, and his cultivation progress had been swift in recent years. He received guidance from an Elder of Green Leaf Valley, the First Grade sect of the Great Xia Kingdom, making him almost a disciple of Green Leaf Valley. Now, among the younger generation of the Ye family, he no longer had any competitors.

Ye Xuan did not have such a dazzling past. Speaking of which, his father was the top expert of the Great Xia Kingdom and should have inherited some excellent genes to a certain extent. What's more important, the one now controlling this body was Martial God Ye Xuan, whose memory and cultivation experience could not be assessed by ordinary standards.

Within the training field, there were five platforms in total, and the figures of the two moved back and forth on the five platforms. However, neither of them fell off the platform; instead, they tightly followed each other, and the battle was extremely fierce.

"Flame Cloud Earth Splitter!"

After a prolonged battle, Ye Ba also looked grim, his True Qi surging to the extreme. Following that, he smashed down with his stick fiercely, the ferocious stick force turned into a mass of flame clouds, falling from the sky with an overwhelming momentum.

Boom boom boom boom!

Ye Xuan met the attack with his saber, but as soon as the flame cloud made contact with the blade, it exploded violently, each explosion forcing Ye Xuan back a step. As this continued, he retreated again and again.

The force of the fierce impact left his arms numb, and Ye Xuan's expression also became tense. He forcibly stopped his retreat and then tightly gripped his hands together and slashed downwards fiercely. The sharp saber light, like a falling thunder, thundered down.

Thunder Blade Skill's second move, Thunder Slash!

Boom!

The firelight and thunderlight exploded, their power not to be underestimated, blasting a large pit in the ground of the platform. The residual energy spread, and cracks trailed out from beneath the feet of both fighters.

Both figures retreated simultaneously, but Ye Xuan only took ten steps back, while Ye Ba retreated as many as fifteen steps, nearly losing his footing and embarrassing himself.

"How is this possible?"

Ye Ba couldn't believe he was at a disadvantage, having a clear edge in all aspects. How could he possibly lose to Ye Xuan in a head-on confrontation?

Crack!

However, just as he was full of disbelief, several cracks suddenly appeared on the long saber in Ye Xuan's hand, and the next moment, the entire blade shattered into pieces and scattered on the ground.

"Couldn't hold up, eh..."

Ye Xuan furrowed his brow, the Mortal Grade saber's toughness was ultimately limited. To contend with Ye Ba's Earth-grade weapon and withstand the power of Earth-grade martial arts, it was bound to last only a short while.

"Haha, the heavens are truly helping me, Ye Xuan; without a weapon, I'd like to see how you can continue to stand against me." Seeing this scene, Ye Ba was initially startled but then immediately burst into loud laughter. Fortune was helping him. With Ye Xuan losing his weapon, no matter how skilled his saber technique was, it would be impossible to display, leaving him with nothing to fight him with.