Ye Chen lifted his head, a brief glimmer flickered in his dark pupils as his eyes pierced through his uncle's face. He took a step forward before he announced, "Uncle… Here I come."
Honestly, Ye Zhanxiong had considered reserving about ninety-percent of his actual strength when he punched because Ye Chen's level was probably only at the mid-Sixth Stage, even by his most forgiving estimation. Still, if he took into account the strange purity of his nephew's Celestial Chi, he was sure that the young man would probably only augment his powers close to those at the peak of the Sixth Stage.
However, there was something about his nephew's unearthly appearance that instantly set off Ye Zhanxiong's seasoned instincts. Suddenly, he felt compelled to view his opponent in a more serious light.
Ye Chen took a step forward, and Ye Zhanxiong stiffened. He could feel an oppressive torrent of Celestial Chi Pressure being emanated from the Sixth Stage fighter in front of him, and actually threatened an Eighth Stage fighter like himself!
'That's impossible. How can a lower Stage fighter exert Pressure on a higher Stage fighter?' Ye Zhanxiong's mind raced. 'His powers seemed to rival mine. Chen can fight me on equal footing!'
In a split second, Ye Zhanxiong dropped any thoughts of doubt, quickly revolved his Celestial Chi and summoned more of them to the surface of his skin to reinforce the Chi Construct armor.
Within Ye Chen's body, the Nine Astra—nine Chi Vortices that had resembled the celestial bodies in space—rotated and orbited at a rapid pace.
It was as if Ye Chen had entered a trance. Celestial Chi arose from his right hand and the young man took another step forward.
Ye Zhanxiong felt himself bracing from what was equivalent to a frightening blast of Celestial Chi. Although it felt different in comparison to normal Chi Pressure due to its lack of hostility, he still knew what this unpleasant sensation meant. His Celestial Chi was incomparable to Ye Chen's!
'Th-that's impossible!' Ye Zhanxiong's face paled.
"Rumbling Thunder Burst!" Ye Chen pushed his palm forward and executed one of the Ye family's most basic martial art techniques.
Yet, instead of the technique's usual mediocrity, one could detect a mysterious force in every precise detail of Ye Chen's movement, as if an origami of power and mystery had been unfolded before their very eyes in that one brief flex of his arm.
Ye Zhanxiong gave a low growl and retaliated with his own attack. His palm met Ye Chen's right in the middle of their trajectory.
A loud thunderous rumble shook the building. Floods of shockwaves that were created by the impact of their clashing Celestial Chi swept the juniors off their feet as they stumbled and struggled to remain in their spot. Even Ye Changxuan, Ye Zhantian and the rest of the more seasoned fighters could feel the unrestrained chaos exploding from the impact.
Ye Zhanxiong stumbled about six steps backward and panted. Yet, Ye Chen only took two steps back and maintained a composed expression.
'Did Ye Zhanxiong just… lose in this tussle?!'
The crowd was baffled. Ye Changxuan and Ye Zhantian were left speechless, even with their martial art experience and knowledge combined.
Ye Zhanxiong was now a mid-Eighth Stage master and yet his cultivation base and skills in manipulating Celestial Chi were starkly inferior to Ye Chen's. Could it be that the young man before them had already attained the mid-Eighth Stage?
'Mid-Eighth Stage. By the age of seventeen?!'
The realization unexpectedly echoed in the crowd's mind. It festered in their minds and made their skin crawl. When was the last time the House of Ye had ever witnessed such a rare and unique martial art genius?!
The color drained from everyone's faces. When Ye Chen's and Ye Zhanxiong's attacks clashed, most of the audience were pushed about twelve feet away by the oncoming shockwaves and still, they could feel their skin being stung by the unruly blow. By the time they could finally lift their heads, they realized that the result had been a complete opposite of their expectations; Ye Zhanxiong was in fact the one who was defeated!
Horrified, they looked at the young man in confusion. In their mind's eye, despite not being much older than any of them, Ye Chen's figure seemed to have grown taller and mightier where his towering shadow shrouded them.
History had repeated itself. These juniors fawned over Ye Chen just as they had three years ago with unwavering admiration and respect befitting the gem of their generation.
Ye Zhanxiong had not expected himself be to be so thoroughly unparalleled to the young Chief even with all of his strength. He could only force an uneasy smile as he said, "Uh-oh. It seems that your son has long surpassed me in power!"
He turned to face Ye Zhantian more directly before continuing, "If you really want to know Chen's true prowess, you should probably examine him yourself, Big Brother."
Traces of his excitement could be heard below his quaking voice.
Hearing Ye Zhanxiong's remark had pulled Ye Chen back to reality in a shock. Admittedly, as the youthful tendency to come out at the top of any given competition had taken over him, the young Chief allowed himself to bask in that indescribable trance during their duel. Furthermore, Ye Chen had summoned all of his Celestial Chi to its peak performance because he was as just as curious about his current power level.
Now that he was made aware of his surroundings once again, Ye Chen quickly retracted his Celestial Chi.
In a blink of an eye, the air in the clan's meeting hall subsided into a state of tranquility.
The crowd, especially those of the Zhan cohort, was once again taken aback in genuine wonder as they watched how easily and swiftly Ye Chen had calmed the rampaging Celestial Chi before drawing it back to himself.
Meanwhile, Ye Zhanxiong's comment spurred the juniors which in turn instantly launched a lively, buzzing discussion of their own.
"Whoa! Did you see that? Big Brother Ye Chen is just as powerful as Uncle Zhanxiong!"
"Just as? Come on, Uncle himself had said it, they weren't even in the same league anymore. Big Brother Ye Chen is now more powerful than Uncle Zhanxiong!"
"Dang. How fast is his cultivation speed? Hadn't Big Brother Ye Chen just recovered from his damaged meridian channels a while ago? Now look at him, he could put a mid-Eighth Stage fighter on edge! Only heaven knows how is all of this possible!"
Ye Rou stood in a corner quietly as she watched and wore a heartfelt grin. 'Big Brother Ye Chen had finally regained what was rightfully his,' she thought to herself and felt moved.
Ye Zhantian raised a hand and the hall was instantly silenced.
"That is all for today's test," he declared. What Ye Chen had pulled off the was most captivating thing they had seen all day. What kind of prodigy could achieve the mid-Eighth Stage by the tender age of seventeen, even when compared to the list of geniuses that had surfaced over the course of the most recent five or six centuries?
This was not just a miracle of the Ye clan, it was a miracle of the entire Donglin county!
"What happened in this hall stays in this hall!" Ye Changxuan scanned the fascinated faces of his clansmen and commanded solemnly. "Do not tell anyone else about Chen's progress, either!"
The crowd hollered a collective affirmation, yet they were dazzled at the prospect of their Big Brother Ye Chen attaining the legendary Tenth Stage. When that finally happens, the House of Ye would never have to care about the House of Yun, or even the Second-rank Prince and his government in the Donglin county no more.
"Dismiss. Return to your training and do so diligently!"
With Ye Changxuan dismissing their eventful meeting, the clansmen headed towards the exit, but not before their eyes lingered on their new Chief as they murmured excitedly among themselves.
When the news of Ye Chen assuming the position of the Chief was first broken to the clan, the consensus was one of uneasy skepticism. However, all of those doubts had all been snuffed out at the young man's exemplary display of skills. Their newfound strong confidence filled the place of those doubts; Ye Chen was going to be the lodestar who would usher the family into a glorious future!
Perhaps one day, these clansmen would fully understand the honor of being led by Ye Chen and knowing him personally.
There were only Ye Chen, Ye Zhantian, Ye Changxuan and his uncles left in the hall.
Studying his son, Ye Zhantian concluded that he had only satisfaction towards the young man's cultivation progress, so much so that he made a mental reminder to never worry about it in the future again. With Ye Chen's prowess being improved to such a degree, the House of Ye's collective combat power had been fortified too.
"When did you advance to the Eighth Stage, Chen?" Ye Zhanlong and the rest asked quickly.
Ye Chen shook his head. "I've yet to attain the Eighth Stage." He corrected. "I'm only at the peak of the Seventh Stage."
The seniors froze. Back then, it had been regarded as a miracle on its own when Ye Chen had successfully overpowered a Sixth Stage fighter just by being at the peak of the Fifth Stage. Yet this?
Unlike the gap between the Fifth and the Sixth stage, the gap between the Seventh Stage and the Eighth Stage was enormous, especially when taking into account that the Eighth Stage allowed the pugilist to utilize Chi Construct for further offensive and defensive enhancements. It was hard to reconcile what had been known about power discrepancies between Stages with what they had observed from Ye Chen, who had claimed that he was only at the peak of the Seventh Stage.
"I admit it. You simply cannot define a genius with average metrics, can you?"
They were sure that one day, Ye Chen would reach a height even they could not comprehend!
"Chen, your uncles and I have studied your revisions on Shadow Storm Talon and found the amended version suitable to be practiced. You should probably branch your repertoire out of martial techniques to further improve your skills," Ye Zhantian said while unable to conceal his satisfaction.
"I have already mastered the Shadow Storm Talon, Father," Ye Chen replied candidly. Now that everyone had known of his true powers, he no longer needed to hide this fact from them, either.
The crowd's hearts seemed to have collectively skipped a beat, but their surprise was short-lived. The Primordial Thunder Body was an even more advanced technique to learn, and yet the very same young man before them had easily mastered it over a span of a few days. Judging from his understanding of martial arts, it would not be far-fetched at all for Ye Chen to master Shadow Storm Talon in even fewer days.
More importantly, they were starting to acknowledge that such a feat would hardly be surprising if it was coming from Ye Chen. Indeed, if the practitioner were anyone else, the best of them would still need a few months to successfully master the technique, even with the Thunder Emperor Technique backing them.
"Uncle, there's something that is still puzzling me. Rumbling Thunder Burst has always been one of the more mundane and basic attacks, but when I saw Chen execute it, it felt divine. It was as if there was an inexorable undercurrent of mystical force coursing through that attack. Wouldn't you agree?" Ye Zhantian asked, frowning. Out of everyone present, Ye Changxuan was the most knowledgeable. He was hoping the elderly's experience could help clear this problem.
"Could it be?" Ye Changxuan's old, wrinkled hands were quaking mildly. "Could this be… the effects of attaining what was called, the Absolute Martial Truth?"
"Absolute Martial Truth?" Ye Zhantian echoed, although his voice was filled with questions more than wonder.
"It was said that whoever managed to attain the Celestial Chi Tenth Stage would also be enlightened to a personal understanding of martial arts itself. A true savant would realize their own Absolute Martial Truth, a set of personal convictions and innate knowledge of what true power is. Once one attained that Absolute Martial Truth, the speed and depth of their cultivation would soar to a height like no other. One could only join the ranks of the Venerable after discovering their Absolute Martial Truth!" Ye Changxuan inhaled a deep gulp of breath. "Could it be that the Ye clan is finally seeing the rise of an ultimate prodigy?"
The old man could hardly contain his emotions. How many years had it been since the old man had dedicated his life diligently to cultivation just so he could be strong enough to ensure the survival of his clan? When he saw that Ye Zhantian was still framed by the plateau of the Eighth Stage while age was catching up with Ye Changxuan himself, the old man had feared the omen of gloom in the Ye clan's future.
Yet, everything had changed now. Naturally humble, Ye Changxuan automatically attributed all of these miracles to the powers of the Ye clan's revered ancestors.
Ye Zhantian may not know exactly what an Absolute Martial Truth was but he knew instinctively, just by Ye Changxuan's description, that it must have been a mark of an extraordinary being: "One could only become a Venerable after they had realized their own Absolute Martial Truth."
Ye Zhantian gave his son a meaningful glance, his heart burst with pride.
He was far from the only one. Everyone else in the hall had now looked at Ye Chen differently. There was no need to voice it out, everyone knew that the single most important person in the clan right now was Ye Chen.
"W-when… When did you realize your Absolute Martial Truth, Chen?" Ye Changxuan quickly asked.
"Um, I'm not exactly sure." Ye Chen was stumped for a while. 'Absolute Martial Truth? You mean that strange state I had entered?'
"To have realized one's Absolute Martial Truth was to reach a new state of martial arts prowess, Chen. A good friend of mine who works as an imperial guard told me about how one's cultivation progress could be augmented once they had attained their personal Martial Truth. As a matter of fact, think about the billions of people in the Xiwu Empire! Then, think about how, despite the passing of centuries, there were only a handful of people who had ever realized their own Absolute Martial Truth! Did you know that Emperor Mingwu was one of these rare pugilists who had attained his personal Absolute Martial Truth? The power he understood was 'conquest'."
Ye Changxuan turned to Ye Chen, his right hand shaking uncontrollably as if it was channeling all of the joy and exhilaration in his heart. The old man knew that he was witnessing the rise of a prodigy from the Ye clan, possibly a culmination of all of the merits and fortune the clan had ever accumulated throughout the centuries.
"Tell me, Chen. What is your Absolute Martial Truth?"