Chapter 136: Battle Against Yuming

"Go for it, Senior Brother Yuming!" shouted the members of Yuming's faction, cheering him on. These individuals hailed from various prominent clans and sects, whom Yuming had managed to rally through a mix of his strength and tactical maneuvers, partly to rival Su Zi.

As Yuming stepped onto the stage, he cast a casual yet intensely provocative glance at Su Zi.

"Hmph, that Yuming. He's only reached the early stage of the Void Realm thanks to some fortuitous encounter back in the day. Compared to our Young Mistress, he's far inferior," Su Wu said, curling her lips in disdain.

"Exactly. Our Young Mistress is a peerless prodigy, already at the mid-stage of the Void Realm, vastly superior to Yuming. Let alone our Young Mistress, either of us could easily put him in his place," Su Die echoed from the side. Their rivalry with Yuming was an open secret, and neither side bothered to feign friendliness, making their mutual antipathy crystal clear.

"Don't speak foolishly. Never underestimate Yuming. To inherit the legacy of a high-tier beast elder means he is far more formidable than he appears. Even I dare not take him lightly, let alone you two," Su Zi rebuked them, though her tone lacked harshness, given that their factions were already at loggerheads. "Still, I didn't expect him to be paired up against Ye Zihan right off the bat. I wonder who will emerge victorious."

A trace of subtle anxiety flickered in Su Zi's eyes. Noticing this change, Su Wu and Su Die felt a twinge of worry, though their concern wasn't for Ye Zihan, but for Su Zi herself.

"Young Mistress..." Su Wu hesitated before speaking.

"Hmm?" Su Zi turned her gaze toward her.

"Could it be that you..." Su Wu trailed off, unsure whether she should voice her thoughts.

"Speak your mind," Su Zi frowned, slightly displeased by the hesitation.

"Young Mistress, have you fallen for that fellow Ye Zihan?" Su Wu finally mustered the courage to blurt out the question.

Taken aback by the sudden query, Su Zi froze in place. Even Su Die was shocked that Su Wu would dare broach such a topic; despite their close bond with Su Zi, matters of the heart were absolute taboos for subordinates to question.

"What—what nonsense are you uttering!" Su Zi scolded in a fluster, though an inexplicable blush bloomed across her cheeks, lending her an ethereal charm. Her gaze instinctively drifted toward Ye Zihan.

"This maid deserves death," Su Wu quickly lowered her head.

"Enough. Such topics are strictly forbidden from now on. I am solely focused on cultivation, striving to reach a higher realm as soon as possible," Su Zi offered a thinly veiled excuse, instantly regretting it internally. *Why on earth am I even explaining this?* she chided herself.

Although Ye Zihan's strength surpassed Chen Yiyan's, his fame lagged behind. Chen Yiyan had carved a terrifying reputation for himself through fierce battles in Profound Martial City, slaughtering numerous youthful powerhouses. Combined with his identity as a member of the Burning Heaven Phoenix Clan, his name was widely known.

As for Ye Zihan, the name sounded utterly unfamiliar to most in attendance, sparking immediate murmurs among the crowd.

"Who on earth is this Ye Zihan? How come I've never heard of him?"

"I don't recognize him either. Who knows where this young powerhouse crawled out from? To have cleared the trials and emerged from the Demonic Abyss, his strength surely cannot be underestimated."

"Even so, Yuming is one of the Young Masters of the Misty Rain Pavilion, and his competitive edge is no less than Su Zi's. Running into Yuming means Ye Zihan's luck has run out."

Amidst the surrounding chatter, two other figures wore expressions of profound perplexity—the Twin Phoenixes of the Phoenix Academy.

"Sister Qingruo, why does the name Ye Zihan sound so familiar to me? Have we heard it somewhere before?" Yun Han asked, looking up at Meng Qingruo with a puzzled expression.

"Do you remember Sister Zixue?" Meng Qingruo countered instead of answering.

"Ah! I remember now! Sister Zixue's own brother is named Ye Zihan. Could it be him?" Yun Han realized in a flash of insight.

"How could that be? Sister Zixue told us herself that Ye Zihan was a good-for-nothing lacking even a Five-Elements Soul Origin, and that he died six years ago. It's likely just a coincidence of sharing the same name," Meng Qingruo shook her head, dismissing the notion.

"Sigh, if only it really were him. Sister Zixue would be so happy."

"Indeed. Thinking about how Sister Zixue will soon be forced to marry someone she despises fills me with sorrow, but unfortunately, we lack the power to help her right now." Meng Qingruo let out a soft sigh. Sensing the sorrowful turn of the conversation, the two fell silent.

Up in the VIP viewing gallery, Mo Wuhuan watched the arena with taut, nervous tension. The moment things went awry, he was prepared to leap forward himself. He cared little for what others might think; the psychological conditioning and absolute terror Ye Zihan had instilled in him ensured that Mo Wuhuan was now a thoroughly devoted and loyal servant.

"Exalted Sovereign, you seem rather nervous?" Sitting beside him was the mistress of the Willow Water City, a voluptuous and alluring beauty named Hua Zhishui. The city had been renamed after she assumed control. Despite her ravishing and youthful appearance, her true age was that of an ancient matriarch; she merely maintained her visage through profound cultivation.

"Heh, perhaps it's simply been too many years since I've witnessed the sparring of such juniors, especially two peerless geniuses. I'm just a bit excited, that's all," Mo Wuhuan hastily straightened his posture and replied with a forced smile.

His explanation was clearly a perfunctory brush-off. However, as an apex expert at the peak of the Eight-Trigrams Realm—surpassing Hua Zhishui in strength—she dared not press the matter further despite her lingering suspicions, turning her gaze back to the arena below.

"Yuming of the Misty Rain Pavilion, early stage of the Void Realm, Earth Seal Master." Gazing at the youth of similar age whose strength apparently rivaled his own, a surge of inexplicable jealousy welled up inside Yuming. Accustomed to being the favored son of heaven, he rarely encountered peers who outshone him.

The immediate pressure he felt from Ye Zihan twisted his envy into murderous intent. He resolved to eliminate a genius even more dazzling than himself. Even though the opponent's superficial cultivation surpassed his, Yuming was no stranger to defeating foes with higher realms.

"Ye Zihan, mid-stage of the Void Realm, Wood Summoner!" Possessing a soul realm superior to Yuming's, Ye Zihan sharply perceived the shift in his adversary's mindset. He sneered inwardly while maintaining a calm, impassive exterior as he replied.

"Are you affiliated with the Ye Clan?" Ye Zihan's indifferent tone carried a hint of disdain, further fueling Yuming's murderous intent, which he masked even more tightly.

"I merely share the surname!" Ye Zihan retorted coldly.

Realization dawned on Yuming, and dispensing with further pleasantries, he rapidly widened the distance between them. His hands blurred as he formed complex seals. Following a surge of earth-elemental origin energy, rows of razor-sharp, iron-hard earth spikes violently erupted from the ground within a three-zhang radius around Ye Zihan.

"Earth Seal—Spike Eruption!" Yuming shouted the name of the technique only after the hand seals were complete and the attack was unleashed.

*Clang, clang, clang!*

Ye Zihan had anticipated the move the moment Yuming began weaving his seals. His mid-stage Void Realm soul perception was far from illusory, and coupled with his supreme talent encompassing all five elements, his comprehension of Earth Seals actually surpassed Yuming's. For Yuming to execute an Earth Seal like Spike Eruption right in front of Ye Zihan was nothing short of playing the fool in front of an expert.

Effortlessly sidestepping the attack, Ye Zihan counter-attacked by swiftly forming his own hand seals.