With each of Chu Ying’s punches, the watching cultivators felt their hearts tremble.
Fierce. Brutal.
That was the best description for Chu Ying, the number one Holy Son Candidate.
“Archaic Sacred Body? So that’s all it is.” Chu Ying sneered as his voice rang in Ye Junfan’s ears, fueling the latter’s rage. But Ye Junfan no longer had any strength to fight back.
He had already used the Eightfold Heavenly Dragons. What else could he rely on?
“Do you admit defeat?” Chu Ying stepped on Ye Junfan’s chest, looking down on him from above with a cold, disdainful glint in his eyes.
Ye Junfan clenched his fists tightly, but he had no strength to resist. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly summoned the yet unfinished Myriad Origins Cauldron once again.
The small cauldron shot out from his divine sea.
“You think repeating the same move will work?” Chu Ying sneered, “Since the will of the Archaic Sacred Body is this stubborn, then I’ll go all out. That counts as respect, right?”
With one slap, Chu Ying sent the cauldron flying and grabbed Ye Junfan’s arm, crippling it on the spot.
“Ahhh!”
Ye Junfan let out a blood-curdling scream. His eyes turned bloodshot from the excruciating pain.
On the Martial Arena Peak, many disciples flinched.
Was Chu Ying really going to cripple Ye Junfan?
“Enough! This is a proper duel. How can you be so cruel and brutal? Stop!” Yao Ruoxi finally couldn’t bear it and shouted coldly as she made a move.
A powerful aura burst from her, instantly suppressing every disciple present.
“Holy Saintess, don’t!” Elder Lu Lin, the referee, stepped in at the perfect moment, attempting to stop Yao Ruoxi.
Yao Ruoxi’s eyes flashed slightly as she struck with a palm. Elder Lu Lin didn’t resist and let himself be knocked flying, putting on a show.
As the referee, he couldn’t break the rules—but the Saintess could.
In the blink of an eye, Yao Ruoxi launched a palm strike toward Chu Ying on the stage. Her slender fingers were surrounded by terrifying currents.
Since becoming the Supreme Profound Holy Land’s Saintess, Yao Ruoxi had received immense support. Her cultivation had reached the 9th stage Cave Heaven Realm, and her first Cave Heaven already contained nine Dharma Images.
Yet she hadn’t advanced to the Soul Palace Realm because she was also aiming for seven Cave Heavens.
Seven Cave Heavens were rare. Across all the sacred lands, those who reached the Sacred Lord Realm had almost all passed through the seven Cave Heaven stage. Only a rare few had reached it through six Cave Heavens and other fortuitous encounters.
So, seven Cave Heavens had become a sign of potential for stepping into the Sacred Lord Realm.
As Yao Ruoxi’s palm approached, a cold glint flashed deep in Chu Ying’s eyes.
“I was still thinking of showing a bit of sentiment. After all, you may be heartless, but I, Chu Ying, am not ungrateful.”
“Heh. Since that’s the case…”
Chu Ying activated a thought.
Add side-effect target: Yao Ruoxi.
[Side-effect designated targets]: Yao Ruoxi, Ye Junfan, Su Yichen, Xiao Yan.
[Number of side-effect targets]: 4 (Current max: 5)
Glutton Fiend Technique.
Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Suppressing Art.
Seven Emotions Chaotic Fist.
Chu Ying stomped on Ye Junfan, using the force to leap up and throw a punch at Yao Ruoxi’s palm.
Just as Chu Ying’s fist flew out, Yao Ruoxi suddenly felt a violent tremble in her internal organs. Blood surged up her throat.
She let out a muffled grunt and forcefully suppressed the blood.
Boom!
With the Glutton Fiend Technique, Chu Ying wasn’t afraid of Yao Ruoxi’s attack.
The stronger her attack, the more he could absorb and reverse it.
As for the backlash? Sorry, you’ll take it for me.
Fist and palm collided midair, both dispersing instantly.
Yao Ruoxi’s body wavered slightly in midair.
Chu Ying landed firmly on the arena, standing tall and proud.
In that moment—
Silence fell across the entire place.
All the elegant Holy Son Candidates had their mouths open in shock, forming perfect little ‘o’s that made people want to stuff something in.
Their minds were in chaos.
“Yao Ruoxi has long been unfathomable… yet Chu Ying could take a strike from her?”
The number one Holy Son Candidate, Luo Ruyan, had a flash of clarity in her eyes.
“Chu Ying may already have the true strength to become a Holy Son…”
The number two Holy Son Candidate, Lu Hongyi, had a dark, unreadable gaze and muttered softly.
“Interesting, very interesting. Someone this strong was actually abandoned by the Saintess?”
The seventh Holy Son Candidate, Lin Zhixue, thought of something else entirely. Her smile turned strangely amused.
Looking again at the reactions of the Holy Son Candidates, all of them were utterly dumbfounded.
“Pfft!”
Su Yichen’s heart filled with fear.
Chu Ying actually blocked the Saintess’s move?
Could Chu Ying truly be strong enough to sweep through all the Holy Son Candidates?
As that thought formed, his organs trembled violently, and he suddenly spat out blood, “Pwah—damn it!”
Su Yichen cursed internally, but blood kept pouring from his mouth.
Xiao Yan’s condition was exactly the same.
Both of them looked utterly confused.
Why were they suddenly injured again for no reason?
“Is the Saintess going to break the rules of the Holy Son Candidate Tournament?”
Chu Ying’s expression was icy.
As he spoke, he grabbed Ye Junfan, who had just barely regained consciousness, and cast a glance—light but deliberate—at Yao Ruoxi.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Due to the earlier sudden backlash, Yao Ruoxi hesitated, unsure of what had happened to her body, and didn’t make another move.
“Where did my injury come from?”
Yao Ruoxi frowned and checked herself internally. To her shock, she found that many of her meridians were showing signs of rupture, and her organs had taken a hit from some overpowering and aggressive force.
“Urgh!”
By now, Ye Junfan couldn’t tell if his pain came from injury or just the endless beatdown.
Crack!
Chu Ying was ruthless. He directly shattered all four of Ye Junfan’s limbs.
“Archaic Sacred Body, do you admit defeat?” Chu Ying’s voice floated out, light and cold.
Elder Lu Lin had long been itching to say something. He finally shouted loudly, “Ye Junfan, defeat is defeat. If your skill is lacking, are you unable to even admit it?”
He feared something might happen to Ye Junfan, but Chu Ying had not violated any rules, so he couldn’t intervene directly.
All he could do was try to remind Ye Junfan to yield.
But who could understand the humiliation boiling in Ye Junfan’s heart?
His face was mangled, twisted with rage and unwillingness.
If it weren’t for that strange cultivation mishap a few days ago, he would have stepped into the Cave Heaven Realm!
Had he reached the Cave Heaven Realm, would he have lost this fight?
At that moment, the tide of opinion below the arena had already turned—especially among the Holy Son Candidates.
“So this is the Archaic Sacred Body? His pride is too inflated. Even when beaten like this, he can’t admit defeat. That’s not persistence, that’s stupidity.”
“Is it really so hard to admit someone else is stronger? Who’s he putting on this act for?”
“If you can’t face failure, it just means you don’t believe in your own future. What kind of achievement could such a person reach?”
Taunts, contempt, and ridicule spread one after another.
Ye Junfan looked at Chu Ying, who was approaching him step by step.
His expression was twisted with fury and dread.
He wasn’t afraid—he was in pain.
Physical and mental pain!
This was the greatest setback and humiliation he had faced since he began cultivating.
As Chu Ying closed in—
Ye Junfan instinctively propped himself up, dragging his body backward.
Then, as if something had clicked in his mind, he suddenly stood up with strength from who-knows-where.
“Chu Ying! The humiliation you gave me today—I, Ye Junfan, will return it a hundred, no, a thousand times over!” Ye Junfan pointed at Chu Ying and roared.
Chu Ying narrowed his eyes, about to go in for another combo.
“I admit defeat!”
But Ye Junfan roared with bloodshot eyes.
The entire arena erupted.