Ye Chu shifted his body to the side and dodged the ferocious kick. He smiled and said, “You want to fight me alone? Why not all come at once?”
A commotion erupted below. Everyone’s gaze snapped to Ye Chu. “He… he… what did he say? He wants everyone to attack together?”
The crowd felt they were going mad. Did Ye Chu know who stood before him? The third-ranked genius of Yao City. A terrifying existence who had reached artistic conception realm. Even the king had once invited him to serve as captain of the palace guards.
In Yao City, the name Ding Kaiwei carried immense weight. Even older generation experts dared not provoke him lightly.
Yet now Ye Chu dared suggest they all attack together. Was this contempt for Ding Kaiwei, or did he truly possess such strength?
No one believed Ye Chu could be that powerful. He had only been gone three years. Even if a wastrel had turned into a genius, he could not be this monstrous.
Ding Kaiwei laughed in extreme anger, feeling deeply insulted. He roared, “One person is more than enough to deal with you.”
Ye Chu smiled but said nothing. His gaze turned to one corner. “Fatty. Hiding there thinking I cannot see you? What, you plan to side with Ding Kaiwei? Fine. The two of you can come at me together.”
Pang Shao jumped at Ye Chu’s words. He had not expected to be spotted even while hiding behind others. Seeing the sharp glint in Ye Chu’s eyes, Pang Shao’s heart nearly leapt from his chest. He quickly shook his head and laughed awkwardly. “No need. No need. I am just watching.”
Pang Shao instinctively stepped back twice. Are you joking? From Ye Chu’s current state, he was clearly on the verge of exploding. Pang Shao would never seek a beating. Ye Chu was fiercely protective. Seeing Liang Shan beaten so badly, it would be strange if he did not go berserk. Anyone who blocked Ye Chu’s path right now was asking for trouble. When this fellow lost control, no one could stop him. Pang Shao’s own madness at worst involved swinging a sword and chopping people. Ye Chu’s madness was far more frightening. He had personally witnessed it. The man had once nearly set fire to the entire imperial city.
Seeing Pang Shao show such weakness, Ding Kaiwei grew puzzled. He frowned, wondering what Pang Shao’s background was that he would adopt such an attitude towards Ye Chu.
“One person is enough to handle you. No need for Young Master Pang Shao to join.” Ding Kaiwei spoke somewhat ingratiatingly to Pang Shao. “Young Master Pang Shao, once I deal with this fellow, I will help you take care of the person you mentioned.”
Hearing this, Pang Shao jumped again and cursed loudly. “Who do you think you are? Are we close? Do not drag me into your mess.”
Pang Shao still harboured resentment from his own beating. Finding Ye Chu had yielded nothing. He had turned to Ding Kaiwei, thinking a joint effort might let him recover face. Who would have thought Ding Kaiwei would offend Ye Chu. Between the two, Pang Shao knew exactly which side to choose. If Ye Chu mistakenly thought he truly stood with Ding Kaiwei and decided to deal with him too, there would be nowhere to cry.
Pang Shao’s scolding left the crowd dumbfounded. They stared at him in disbelief. Moments ago he had been chatting and laughing with Ding Kaiwei. How could he turn on him so quickly?
Ding Kaiwei’s face flushed red with rage. He had never been scolded like this. Yet Pang Shao’s status prevented him from venting on the man. His anger could only shift to Ye Chu. He swept another kick, even faster than before.
Ye Chu dodged casually and said to Pang Shao, “It is fine. I can allow the two of you to team up.”
Ye Chu harboured great dissatisfaction with this dead fatty. Last time he had exposed his pretended faint in front of Bai Xuan. That was bad enough. Now he dared watch the show from the side. Did he truly think Ye Chu could do nothing to him?
“Haha. No need. No need.” Pang Shao shook his head repeatedly. “What is our relationship? How could I side with an outsider against you? Fight slowly. I will just watch.”
Ye Chu snorted in contempt, gave Pang Shao a disdainful glance, then turned his attention to Ding Kaiwei.
Seeing Ye Chu finally leave him alone, Pang Shao breathed a sigh of relief. But his small eyes soon gleamed cunningly. He lowered his voice to several people nearby. “All of you attack together. Help Ding Kaiwei. Take Ye Chu down.”
“Hm?” The men beside Pang Shao looked at him in confusion. Was Ding Kaiwei not enough to handle Ye Chu?
Seeing them unmoved, Pang Shao urged, “If you do not want Ding Kaiwei beaten badly, have your hall members attack together.”
The group exchanged glances, thinking they had heard a joke. They naturally did not believe Ye Chu possessed such strength. “Lord Ding Kaiwei is more than enough to deal with Ye Chu. My lord, just enjoy the show.”
“Damn.” Hearing their confident words, Pang Shao could not help cursing. “Fine. Since you ignore this young master’s kind advice, do not regret it later.”
The men paid no heed to Pang Shao’s warning and turned their eyes to the fight.
Ding Kaiwei’s kicks came relentlessly now, each more violent and swift than the last. Yet Ye Chu dodged every one with inches to spare.
“You can dodge for a moment. Can you dodge forever?” Ding Kaiwei snorted and said to Ye Chu, “Let me show you the true power of artistic conception realm third layer.”
Hearing Ding Kaiwei claim third-layer artistic conception realm strength, the many people in the hall gasped. Such a realm was enough to dominate Yao City.
Ding Kaiwei’s feet swept continuously. Each kick released bursts of force. The bursts gathered, forming visible arcs that slowly condensed into blade shapes. Sharp intent radiated from them. The moment this intent appeared, everyone felt immense pressure. Under its influence, their emotions were tugged, urging them towards violence. All eyes were drawn to the sharp blade intent.
This was artistic conception realm. Using one’s own realm to affect others’ emotions. A difficult achievement. Those who reached it gained a massive advantage.
Quite apart from the inherent power gap between true qi realm and artistic conception realm, merely influencing an opponent’s emotions could create openings. With one side weakened and the other strengthened, how could victory not be assured?
Thus, artistic conception realm remained exceptional among ordinary cultivators. Hard to attain. In a small royal city like Yao City, fewer than a hundred possessed it. They formed the city’s core strength.
The force condensed into crescent moon blades, carrying sharp blade intent. The intent emerged, and the surroundings grew oppressive. Immense pressure bore down on Ye Chu.
“Let me show you this young master’s triple blade intent.” As he spoke, the force blades flashed three times, slashing towards Ye Chu with exposed sharpness, unstoppable.
Yet amid the crowd’s pounding hearts, Ye Chu merely smiled. His lips curved into an arc. He shook his head and said, “Still too weak after all. I thought you might arouse some interest, but you are merely this. Defeating you requires only one move.”
Before the words fully left his mouth, Ye Chu stamped hard. An iron rod at his feet shot upward. He kicked it forward. The rod flew like an arrow, crashing straight into Ding Kaiwei’s triple blade intent. In a muffled impact, the condensed blade intent shattered instantly. The rod spun and struck Ding Kaiwei’s leg.
“Ah…” A scream rang out. Ding Kaiwei’s trousers tore from the rod’s impact. The struck leg became a bloody mess, blood flowing vividly red.
Watching Ding Kaiwei collapse unsteadily to the ground, the entire hall fell deathly silent. Everyone’s hearts felt struck by a boulder. They stood frozen, thoughts blank.
In the hall, apart from Ding Kaiwei’s echoing screams, not a single sound remained.
