The blue stone slabs of the martial arts arena gleamed with morning dew. As Ye Fan walked inward, stepping on the damp stone surface, the Jiuxiao Huanpei at his waist suddenly trembled, emitting a clear chime like a buzzing bee. Lifting his gaze, he saw Zhao Batian sitting on the red-wood chair to the right of the main seat, his knuckles clenched so tight they turned pale. Beside him, Zhao Wuji's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his eyes fixed like venom-tipped needles on the Hanshui Saber at Ye Fan's waist.
"Young Master Ye has arrived!" someone shouted, and the din in the martial arts arena abruptly subsided a fraction. The Ye Family Third Elder stroked his beard and laughed heartily, beckoning to Ye Fan: "Come quickly, little friend! You shall take the first match!"
Ye Fan nodded in agreement. The moment he stepped onto the arena platform, he felt something unusual about the blue stone slabs beneath his feet—a chill crept up through the soles of his shoes into his bones, as if something was writhing underground. Dropping his gaze to sweep across the edges of the platform, he caught sight of dark red powder embedded in several stone crevices, identical to the Array Core materials of the "Origin-Breaking Curse" he had seen in his past life.
*City Lord Zhao has quite the tricks,* Ye Fan sneered inwardly, though a faint smile hung on his face as he cupped his fists toward the crowd below.
The first three opponents were all collateral scions of the Ye Family, with whom Ye Fan usually had no interactions. The first to mount the platform was a lean youth who charged forward brandishing a pair of bronze short hammers. Ye Fan stood his ground, neither dodging nor evading, and pushed out lightly with his left palm—this was precisely the "Cloud Hands" technique he had deduced last night. The youth's hammer force vanished like a clay ox entering the sea, and instead he was dragged off balance, stumbling and falling flat at the edge of the platform.
"Well done!" The Second Elder slapped his thigh and cheered, "This deflection technique is even more marvelous than the 'Soft Cloud Vigor' I spent three years practicing back in the day!"
The second opponent was a sword-wielding young man whose sword light struck like a snake, aiming straight for the throat. Ye Fan was in no rush to dodge; the clear spring within his Inner World churned, running through the opponent's sword paths three times over in his Sea of Consciousness. Just as the sword tip thrust to within three inches of his face, he suddenly spun, his saber scabbard tapping lightly against the opponent's wrist. With a crisp *clatter*, the longsword dropped to the ground, and the youth stepped back while clutching his reddened wrist, his eyes filled with shock: "Brother Ye, this... is this able to predict my moves?"
The third match was even simpler. Seeing the first two defeated so cleanly, that opponent lost his nerve before the fight even began, revealing countless flaws when he swung his saber. Ye Fan didn't even draw the Hanshui Saber, using merely the scabbard to tap the opponent's Jianjing acupoint, sending him collapsing to the ground in a cold sweat of pain.
The atmosphere in the martial arts arena thoroughly heated up. The onlookers who had previously been whispering among themselves all stood up. The collateral scions of the Ye Family clenched their fists and shouted, "Brother Ye!" Even a few foreign caravan managers pulled out silver coins to place bets: "Isn't this young master of the Ye Family about to break the ten-year clan tournament record of our Qinglan City?"
Zhao Batian tapped a dull rhythm against the back of his chair with his knuckles. He turned his head to look at his son and lowered his voice: "That Origin-Breaking Curse should be taking effect. The Thousand-Machine Gu inside your body..."
"Don't worry, Father," Zhao Wuji tugged at his collar, where several purplish-blue faint traces crawled along his neck. "I tried it just now; that little brat's internal vigor scatters the moment it touches me, hitting me like cotton against a stone." He licked the corner of his mouth, his knuckles cracking as he clenched them. "Later on, I'm going to make him crawl off this platform on his knees!"
The moment the gong for the finals sounded, Zhao Wuji leaped onto the martial arts arena. Today he wore dark-colored activewear embroidered with golden thread cloud patterns on the shoulders, and a heavy black iron sword hung at his waist—that sword weighed a full thirty catties, and though he usually couldn't even lift it steadily, at this moment he swung it in a sword flourish as if it were a mere straw.
"Brother Ye, forgive me," he said with a smile, though there was not a trace of warmth at the bottom of his eyes.
Ye Fan stared at the blue marks on his neck, and the clear spring within his Inner World suddenly whipped up a violent surge. He could clearly perceive that a malevolent, toxic aura was coursing through Zhao Wuji's meridians, forcibly boosting his strength to the fifth stage of Body Tempering—the Jade Bone Realm—and this was clearly achieved by devouring life essence through Gu Insects.
"What kind of miraculous tonic did Young Master Zhao take?" Ye Fan chuckled, gently stroking the scabbard. "Last month at the city gates, you even sprained your waist just lifting this sword."
Roars of laughter erupted from below the platform. Zhao Batian's face instantly turned beet red, and he slammed his teacup to pieces. "Audacious!" The laughter cut off abruptly.
Zhao Wuji's face twisted into a purplish-blue, and he brought the heavy sword down with a howling gale. "Go to hell!" Ye Fan spun to evade, his saber scabbard tapping toward the opponent's wrist. But this time, the moment his internal vigor touched Zhao Wuji's skin, it scattered as if crashing against oiled paper. The purplish-blue fine traces crawled from Zhao Wuji's arm toward the tip of the sword, and the speed of the heavy sword increased by a further thirty percent.
*The Thousand-Machine Gu...* Ye Fan's pupils constricted slightly. In his past life, he had seen Southern Xinjiang Gu masters use this insect, utilizing the host's life essence as kindling to elevate strength by two realms in a short time, though afterward the host would be reduced to a human human-pork-arugula-like amputee. To win, Zhao Batian was even scheming against his own son!
The spectators below sensed something was amiss. The Third Elder frowned and muttered, "Why is this Young Master Zhao's aura so erratic? Could it be..."
*Bang!* The heavy sword hacked into the dark iron pillar at the edge of the arena, sending sparks flying in all directions. That dark iron pillar was originally three inches thick, yet at this moment it was cleaved with a half-inch-deep notch—such strength was clearly the cultivation of the Qi Condensation Realm!
"Qi Condensation! He broke through to Qi Condensation?"
"Impossible! Young Master Zhao only reached the fourth stage of Body Tempering last month..."
Amidst the discussions, Zhao Batian stood up and clapped in loud laughter: "It seems my worthless son received pointers from an expert recently, making a spectacle before you all." He glanced toward the main seat of the Ye Family. "Brother Ye, the rules of this clan tournament never said one couldn't break through, did they?"
Ye Family Patriarch Ye Zhan's cane smashed heavily onto the ground. "City Lord Zhao has quite the schemes!" Ye Fan retreated to the edge of the platform, his fingertips gently grazing the guard of the Hanshui Saber. Within his Inner World, the torn page of the "Thunder Burst Technique" suddenly radiated brilliant light, and the final lines of text fully emerged—that was the thunder-vigor incantation specifically designed to vanquish evil entities!
"Young Master Zhao, your sword..." Ye Fan suddenly raised his head, thunder light flashing in the depths of his eyes. "...is too heavy."
He drew his saber from its scabbard. The Hanshui Saber was originally frost-blue, but at this moment it cast a blinding white glare, the blade vibrating and humming as it actually stirred muffled thunder to rumble within the drifting clouds overhead.
"Thunder Burst Technique, First Form!"
The saber light was like lightning, cleaving toward Zhao Wuji's heavy sword. The instant the two forces collided, Zhao Wuji let out a miserable scream, and the heavy sword dropped to the ground with a *clatter*. The purplish-blue fine traces on his neck suddenly bulged, thrashing wildly beneath his skin like countless tiny snakes, and he staggered backward, black blood spilling from the corners of his mouth.
"The Gu Insect has suffered a backlash!" someone shouted.
Ye Fan sheathed his saber and pointed at the stone crevices at the edge of the arena: "Everyone, please look. This crimson flame powder in the stone cracks is the Array Core of the Origin-Breaking Curse. City Lord Zhao was afraid I would display my full strength, so he deliberately set up an evil array on the arena." He looked back at Zhao Wuji's neck. "As for Young Master Zhao..."
Several Ye Family guards stepped forward to pin down Zhao Wuji, peeling back his collar. Gasps of shock echoed across the entire arena—those purplish-blue fine traces were clearly living creatures! Several thumb-thick black worms were writhing their way out from beneath his skin, their bodies still stained with blood.
"The Thousand-Machine Gu!" Ye Zhan's cane made the blue stone slabs tremble violently. "Zhao Batian, to scheme against my Ye Family, you even used your own son as a Gu vessel?"
Zhao Batian's face instantly turned deathly pale. He staggered back two steps, knocking over the tea table behind him. Several city guards rushed forward to protect him, only to be intercepted by the Ye Family guards—the guards on duty at the martial arts arena today were originally men of the Ye Family.
"Father, save me!" Zhao Wuji shrieked as he grabbed the hem of Zhao Batian's robe, only to be shaken off viciously. Zhao Batian stared at the Jiuxiao Huanpei at Ye Fan's waist, madness flashing in his eyes: "That pendant... that is an item from the Ye Family forbidden grounds! You stole a divine artifact, how do you plead?"
"City Lord Zhao seems to have forgotten." Ye Zhan pulled a bronze token from his bosom. "When the forbidden grounds opened last month, it was this old man who personally gave the master-recognition token to little Ye Fan. Everyone in Qinglan City saw this Jiuxiao Huanpei recognize its master." He turned to the surrounding townsfolk. "As for City Lord Zhao himself, hoarding illicit Gu and setting up evil arrays—how does he plead?"
The martial arts arena exploded into an uproar. Several merchants who had been oppressed by Zhao Batian rushed up to curse him, and even the local gentry who usually maintained good relations with him retreated far away. When Zhao Batian was pinned to the ground, he suddenly raised his head to look at Ye Fan, his gaze like that of a dying wolf: "You won today... but the sky of Qinglan City has yet to be settled!"
Ye Fan stood upon the arena platform, gazing at the father and son of the Zhao family being dragged away, his fingers pressing lightly against the Jiuxiao Huanpei. The cyan patterns on the surface of the pendant suddenly surged violently, and he could clearly perceive that deep beneath the Zhao Estate in the southeast of the city, an even more sinister and venomous aura was churning.
"It seems this is only the beginning," he murmured softly, gazing into the gathering dusk.