Heaven-Dominating Martial Emperor

The entire arena fell silent.

The members of the four great families, in particular, were so shocked their jaws dropped.

Bai Yujie was a miserable sight. From just a single punch from Ye Chen, his chest had caved in, and his aura had weakened to a critical point.

This made the major powers in the arena realize that the young man who had been hiding throughout Dongxuan City actually possessed terrifying strength.

Enough to gravely injure a Fifth-Layer Divine Might Realm Cultivator with a single punch!

Moreover, it was said that Bai Yujie's master was from the Central Province, making Bai Yujie a Cultivator from there as well.

The Central Province's Cultivation Realm was far more established than the eastern region of the dynasty, so Bai Yujie was by no means an ordinary Fifth-Layer Divine Might Realm Cultivator.

Yet even so, he couldn't withstand a single punch from Ye Chen and was easily defeated.

The middle-aged man's brow furrowed.

Li Yu, however, watched with a look of keen interest.

'Today is just full of surprises.'

'So the eastern region of the dynasty was hiding such a terrifying genius?'

Li Jianyin raised an eyebrow, his gaze flickering.

'That aura… it's familiar.'

Ye Chen was the mysterious swordsman who had appeared in Lingtian Pavilion that day.

He had thought the Sword Dao was Ye Chen's greatest strength, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

"I knew it."

Master Jingde watched the scene, a wry smile on his face.

Master Jialan's heart trembled, utterly terrified by the power Ye Chen had just displayed.

If even these senior Cultivators were so affected, it went without saying for the younger ones.

They simply couldn't imagine how a young man who looked to be their age could possess such an immense level of cultivation.

Especially the Immortal Demon Lord!

His face was ashen, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

'The man I was obsessed with defeating has actually grown this powerful!'

'The gap between us is as wide as the heavens and the earth. How could anyone not feel despair?'

"As expected of Master!" Chi Ming was thrilled, though not surprised.

In his eyes, Bai Yujie was nothing more than a fragile weakling before his master.

"Well? Do you want to continue?"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ye Chen slowly came to a stop before Bai Yujie, looking down with a cold expression at the man who was now little more than a heap on the ground.

"..."

Bai Yujie's body trembled. He struggled to prop himself up, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at Ye Chen.

"Your aura... it's clearly only at the Divinity Transformation Realm... How can you be this strong?"

He voiced the question in his heart—one shared by most of the people present.

Ye Chen gave him an indifferent glance and was about to speak.

But in the next moment, a flash of white light suddenly erupted from the arena floor.

Bai Yujie, mustering all his remaining cultivation, took advantage of Ye Chen's lowered guard to launch a sudden sneak attack!

"I haven't surrendered yet, you fool!!!"

"Only I will take first place in the Peach Blossom Banquet today!"

With a savage expression, Bai Yujie brandished a silver needle, whipping up a torrential storm as he aimed for Ye Chen's eyes.

As a young Cultivator from the Central Province, he might not have been a peerless prodigy, but he had always looked down on the so-called geniuses from other regions.

In his eyes, the so-called geniuses and prodigies from the eastern region of the dynasty were nothing but frogs in a well—short-sighted and narrow-minded.

They weren't even worthy of being his opponents!

Being gravely injured by Ye Chen's punch was a severe blow to Bai Yujie's pride, and it made him resolve to win this fight by any means necessary.

"That bastard!" In the stands, Li Jianyin suppressed the urge to intervene, a cold glint in his eyes.

The Peach Blossom Banquet was meant to be a friendly competition of martial arts and Dao discussion; killing was forbidden.

Yet every move Bai Yujie made was lethal. He held nothing back, clearly intending to kill Ye Chen on the spot!

"Such tactics are truly despicable," Li Yu also said in a low voice, his tone laced with disapproval.

"Fellow Daoist Li, what do you mean by that?" the middle-aged man asked, frowning slightly. "In a martial competition, any method is permissible as long as it leads to victory. That includes sneak attacks and assassination techniques."

As they spoke, Bai Yujie's silver needle was already closing in on Ye Chen's eyes.

How terrifying could a sneak attack from a Divine Might Realm Cultivator be?

At the last possible moment, Ye Chen managed to turn his head, but the silver needle still struck his face.

A harsh sizzling sound followed, and even the air seemed to crackle. Only then did the crowd realize the needle's tip was coated in an exceptionally terrifying poison—one that could even corrode the air itself!

The next moment, the silver needle fell to the ground with a crisp CLINK.

Ye Chen covered his face, his expression unchanging as he said, "This needle is coated in a Sixth-Grade Baleful Poison, enough to melt a Divine Might Realm Cultivator into a puddle of blood."

"Are you so desperate that you'd break the rules and try to kill me?"

Bai Yujie stood frozen, staring at the needle on the ground. He clearly hadn't expected his sudden sneak attack to have had so little effect on Ye Chen.

"You... You're alright?" he asked, looking up at Ye Chen in a daze.

"Did you really think a petty trick like that would work? That I'd have no defenses at all?"

Ye Chen's tone was indifferent. He moved his hand away, revealing several dragon scales covering the spot where the needle had struck. A faint purple light shimmered on their surface.

Bai Yujie's eyes widened. He finally realized his sneak attack had been blocked!

"You..." He swallowed hard, about to say something more.

But Ye Chen had already struck out with his palm!

This time, he held nothing back. His indifferent eyes were filled with endless coldness and killing intent!

"No... No!"

The mortal threat sent a chill through Bai Yujie's entire body. He struggled to move, only to find he was completely powerless!

Under the unimaginably terrifying pressure, the already gravely injured man was like an ordinary person trapped in a swamp, unable to even twitch.

"Bastard! You dare!"

In the stands, the middle-aged man shot to his feet, slamming his hand on the table as he roared!

But Ye Chen completely ignored him.

The vast Palm Force, wreathed in the echoes of a desolate dragon's roar, erupted with a power that made hearts tremble.

"BOOM!"

The entire martial arts arena seemed to shake.

The arena, forged from Top-Grade Soul-Condensing Cold Iron, nearly failed to withstand the force of Ye Chen's palm, and a web of fine cracks spread across its surface.

But that was to be expected.

Who could have imagined that an arena built specifically for the younger generation of Cultivators would one day have to withstand a terrifying power capable of suppressing the Divine Might Realm?

Watched by countless eyes, Bai Yujie was slammed into a pile of gore, his body and soul utterly annihilated.