When they saw Zhaang Ye actually lift Lee Yan into the air, the members of the Lee Family all stood with their mouths agape, their faces a mask of disbelief. As part of the Lee Family, they knew Lee Yan’s abilities better than anyone. They never would have imagined that Lee Yan, who had always been renowned for his strength, would one day be lifted up by someone else!

The experts from the Zhou and Lee Families were also dumbfounded. Although Lee Yan was only ranked sixth among the top ten masters of the Younger Generation, when it came to strength, he was the undisputed number one and had defeated countless experts. How could they believe that such a master, famous for his strength, had been defeated in a contest of pure power by Zhaang Ye?

The experts from the Lee, Luo, and Zhou Families were stunned, but even Zhaang Yijian, Zhaang Ying, and Zhaang Yizhi of the Zhaang Family were taken aback. They knew Zhaang Ye’s Body Refining Techniques were impressive, but they never expected them to be this overpowering. Not even Lee Yan, famed for his power, could gain an advantage!

"ROAR!"

On the Martial Arts Arena, Lee Yan simply couldn’t accept the fact that Zhaang Ye was holding him aloft. With a furious roar, he suddenly attacked Zhaang Ye with his two feet and free hand, striking at Zhaang Ye’s head and chest like three iron pillars.

Lee Yan’s attack was fierce, but he had forgotten one thing: with his body lifted by Zhaang Ye, his lower body was completely exposed. By attacking Zhaang Ye with his legs, he left himself even more vulnerable.

Zhaang Ye tilted, shook, and pressed down with his arm. Before Lee Yan’s attacks could even land, he felt his body plummet as Zhaang Ye slammed him into the ground.

"BOOM!"

The force of Zhaang Ye’s slam was immense. Even though Lee Yan’s Purple Copper Golden Body Cultivation was accomplished, this vicious slam left his entire body numb, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Lee Yan was incredibly tough; the numbness lasted only for the blink of an eye before he recovered. But that sliver of time was more than enough for Zhaang Ye to launch another attack.

Zhaang Ye formed his other hand into a Hand Blade. It cut through the air with a sharp whistle as he chopped down at the top of Lee Yan’s head. Lee Yan’s expression changed. His palms flew up to cross and block Zhaang Ye’s Hand Blade, but Zhaang Ye was just too fast. Before Lee Yan’s hands could even reach his head, the Hand Blade had already struck.

"CRACK!"

No matter how tough Lee Yan was, his head was still a relative weak point. After the loud sound of impact from Zhaang Ye’s chop, Lee Yan’s body convulsed. Zhaang Ye had driven the upper half of his body into the Martial Arts Arena, and he was knocked out cold on the spot.

The referee on the Martial Arts Arena finally snapped back to his senses and announced, "Second match, Zhaang Ye wins!"

The Lee Family Elder flew onto the stage, pulled Lee Yan out, and took a look. He saw that several of Lee Yan’s neck bones were broken, and both of his thighs had been shattered by the slam. It would be a long time before he could even think of recovering his combat ability. Seeing Lee Yan’s grievous injuries, the Lee Family Elder frowned, glared at Zhaang Ye with displeasure, and barked, "You only needed to decide a winner! Why the need for such a heavy hand!"

With that, he carried Lee Yan off the stage.

Zhaang Ye gave a wry smile. He hadn’t actually intended to be so vicious. Lee Yan’s physical body was just so tough that if he had held back, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat him and would have suffered a fierce counterattack instead. Under the circumstances, he had no choice but to strike a bit harder.

The next match was Zhaang Ying against a True Disciple from the Lee Family.

The Lee Family True Disciple’s name was Lee Yuan Mountain. He had an Early Stage Martial Arts Fifth Layer Cultivation, and Zhaang Ye could feel a surging killing intent from him even from a distance. After a glance at Lee Yuan Mountain, Zhaang Ye sized up Zhaang Ying and couldn’t help but worry.

Although Zhaang Ying could use her talent in Body Technique to defeat an ordinary Martial Arts Fifth Layer expert, this Lee Yuan Mountain was clearly someone who had crawled his way out of a pile of corpses. Such people were vicious and merciless, with exceptionally rich combat experience. They dared to fight and risk it all. Zhaang Ying’s peak Martial Arts Fourth Layer Cultivation was probably not enough to deal with someone like him.

At the referee’s signal, Zhaang Ying’s figure transformed into a streak of purple light, circling the Martial Arts Arena. As she moved, the thin Long Sword in her hand, coordinated with her Footwork Technique, launched a series of attacks that were both dazzling and impossible to defend against.

This was the first time Zhaang Ye had seen Zhaang Ying in action. Seeing her speed and various miraculous footwork, Zhaang Ye nodded slightly. Zhaang Ying’s speed was astonishing, and the attacks she launched in coordination with her Footwork Technique always managed to strike at her opponent’s vital points. An ordinary Martial Arts Fifth Layer expert truly would be no match for such fierce and unpredictable attacks.

Unfortunately, this Lee Yuan Mountain was no ordinary Martial Arts Fifth Layer expert.

Lee Yuan Mountain stood calmly in a corner of the Martial Arts Arena. Whenever Zhaang Ying attacked, he would swing the Long Sword in his hand and block her attacks one by one. His Swordsmanship was sharp and ruthless, and his eye was extremely precise. No matter how strange Zhaang Ying’s attacks were, he could always block them with ease.

Seeing Lee Yuan Mountain waiting patiently for his moment, Zhaang Ye shook his head slightly. ’Don’t be fooled because Zhaang Ying seems to have the upper hand, attacking from all sides,’ he thought. ’This kind of assault consumes a great deal of True Qi. Once her True Qi is exhausted, her speed will slow down. The moment Lee Yuan Mountain counterattacks, she’ll be in danger.’

Sure enough, after a wild flurry of dozens of strikes, Zhaang Ying’s speed dropped slightly. Noticing this, a sharp glint flashed in Lee Yuan Mountain’s eyes. He suddenly swung his Long Sword, slashing out.

As Lee Yuan Mountain slashed, a Hidden Force erupted from the Long Sword, like a Fierce Beast charging forward. Zhaang Ying’s Cultivation was only at the peak of the Martial Arts Fourth Layer. Faced with such a terrifying strike, she didn’t dare to block and hastily dodged out of the way.

Forcing Zhaang Ying back with a single strike, Lee Yuan Mountain immediately seized the initiative. He unfurled his Long Sword, creating flashes of Sword Light and a thousand streams of Sword Qi, forcing Zhaang Ying to dodge left and right with no power to fight back.

"YAAH!" Zhaang Ying cried out in alarm as a flash of Sword Light skimmed over her head, shearing off a lock of her hair.

With her hair cut by the Sword Qi, Zhaang Ying began to panic and immediately fell into greater danger. First, the Sword Qi sliced off the hem of her dress. Then, the aftershock of another strike grazed her shoulder, leaving a bloody gash. Realizing she was defeated, Zhaang Ying retreated, leaping toward the edge of the Martial Arts Arena.

But just as she leaped into the air, a sharp strand of Sword Qi shot through the air, aiming straight for her legs. The Sword Qi came so suddenly that even Zhaang Ying couldn’t dodge it completely. She barely managed to shift her body a few inches in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the catastrophe of having her legs severed.

Even so, the aftershock of the Sword Qi still hit her legs. They were instantly mangled, a mess of bloody flesh, revealing the bones of her calves.

Zhaang Ye leaped up and brought Zhaang Ying back down. Once they were below the stage, Zhaang Ye saw the severe injuries on Zhaang Ying’s legs, and a silent anger flared in his heart.

’Zhaang Ying was already retreating, voluntarily jumping off the stage. For Lee Yuan Mountain to still attack... That last burst of Sword Qi was clearly intentional. His goal was to sever her legs and destroy a True Disciple with special talent in Body Technique!’

Zhaang Tianlong had obviously reached the same conclusion. He stared coldly at the Lee Family Elder and said, "Lee the Fourth, my Zhaang Family disciple was clearly leaping off the stage. For your man to still strike so viciously, you must give me an explanation."

The Lee Family Elder chuckled. "Elder Zhaang, I don’t need to give you any explanation. Your disciple hadn’t conceded yet, so of course my Lee Family member would continue to press his advantage. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Continue to press, expand his advantage... Good, good, good!" Zhaang Tianlong sneered, turned to Zhaang Yijian, and said, "Zhaang Yijian, when you go up later, you must not show any mercy to your opponent. As long as they haven’t conceded, feel free to press your advantage!"

Hearing Zhaang Tianlong’s command, the faces of the Lee, Zhou, and Luo Family Elders all changed. Zhaang Yijian was the number one expert of the Younger Generation, and his strength was extremely formidable. If Zhaang Yijian truly intended to fight to kill, their disciples would be in grave danger.

"Hmph!" The Lee Family Elder glared fixedly at Zhaang Tianlong. But Zhaang Tianlong met his gaze without flinching. Their eyes clashed, and it seemed they might come to blows without another word.

"Alright, alright. The competition is what’s important right now." The Zhou and Luo Family Elders, who had been enjoying the show, stepped forward. Although they might have wanted to see the two fight, now was not the time. They each stepped up to placate one of them, and the tense atmosphere between the Lee Family Elder and Zhaang Tianlong eased.

The Zhou Family Elder waved a hand and said, "In a battle on the Martial Arts Arena, if one’s skills are inferior, injuries are inevitable. As long as it’s not intentional, it’s fine. Alright, let’s continue the competition."

Zhaang Ye watched the conflict between the two Elders and shook his head slightly. He knew the matches from here on out would be even more intense, even more brutal. A single careless mistake on the Martial Arts Arena could even cost someone their life.

And indeed, in the matches that followed, both sides held nothing back. Every match stained the Martial Arts Arena with blood. One True Disciple from the Luo Family even had an arm brutally severed by a True Disciple from the Zhou Family. If the referee hadn’t quickly intervened, that Luo Family disciple might not have even kept his life.

In the face of such fierce fighting, even Zhaang Yizhi couldn’t escape unscathed. His opponent was Zhou Chen Mountain, ranked seventh among the top ten masters of the Younger Generation. In their brutal fight, Zhaang Yizhi took a palm strike to the back, immediately spitting out three mouthfuls of blood, his internal organs severely injured.

However, in the very next match, Zhaang Yijian immediately avenged Zhaang Yizhi. Relying on his supreme Swordsmanship, Zhaang Yijian used just two strikes to shave off half of another Zhou Family True Disciple’s thigh, a truly miserable sight.

Zhaang Yijian’s dominant performance immediately put the disciples of the Zhou, Lee, and Luo Families on high alert. Knowing they were no match for Zhaang Yijian, they turned their hostile gazes toward Zhaang Ye. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)