Li Xuan had used his initial phase Level Seven to defeat the peak Level Seven Li Wei. Li Xuan's true strength made even the most unshakeable inner disciples—those who were on the level of Eminent Masters—turn to look at him.
By that point, Li Xuan had obviously possessed the qualification to challenge a Level Eight Eminent Master!
The most affected person was none other than Li Ye.
"My state is suppressed!"
Li Ye felt a little helpless even though he did not think his cultivation speed was any slower than others. He could even say that the Lunar Dream Heart Sutra allowed him to cultivate extremely fast. In addition, vampires had a naturally-occurring high degree of compatibility with their bloodsoul. He could level up and battle as though he was doing mundane things such as eating and drinking. In any case, the time he had was too short—it had only been less than three months since he first manifested his bloodsoul!
The huge pressure made Li Ye feel a slight repose in the bottleneck that originally constrained him at peak Level Four.
That discovery delighted him! Everyone was clearly under the mistaken impression that he hid his real state, when in actual fact, his real state was only peak Level Four! It was only by virtue of his special vampiric properties that he looked much stronger than a Level Six martial cultivator.
"Just a little bit more. If I can face an even greater threat!"
He felt the blood in his body begin to boil, which was an odd phenomenon. Although vampires were not exactly like the rumors made them out to be, their blood was still rather cold and they were quieter than most ordinary people. At that point in time, his blood began to heat up like boiling water. A fiery sensation permeated through his body and flowed into his heart, causing it to beat vigorously like an engine injected with fuel!
If he could look inside his heart at that moment, he would surely notice the tiny bloodsoul crystals within. They used to be the size of a sesame seed, but they were beginning to grow into the size of rice grains!
Concurrently, the bright red blood flowed unbridledly into his heart, after which a dark red viscous liquid then flowed out.
Back in the outside world, Li Xuan exhibited his real peak Level Seven state. He no longer held back, choosing instead to deliver an attack. His entire body approached suddenly, like a gust of wind.
"Li Ye! This ends here!"
There was a glimmer of smugness in his eyes. He had held back for so long just to wait for that day. His intention was to shock everyone and challenge the clan's prodigies!
Before him was a mere appetizer in the form of Li Ye. Even if Li Ye had become a dark horse, he did not warrant serious attention; at best, Li Ye was just another stepping stone.
Bang!
The punch struck the center of Li Ye's chest. It sent Li Ye flying in addition to laying a thin layer of ice crystals on his chest. The daunting cold invaded Li Ye's body at once, as if to freeze his blood!
"Hmph! The real power of Ice Crystal Fist is not external. It's actually the chilling iciness that invades your body, freezes your blood, and even threatens to freeze all your internal organs!"
With that strike, Li Xuan did not seize the opportunity to finish it off. In his opinion, everything was guaranteed. After suffering from his punch, only an opponent who was stronger than him could dispel the coldness using their strong bloodsoul strength. Otherwise, the most likely outcome was death!
"Don't blame me for being cruel. You can only blame yourself for challenging me at the wrong time!"
Standing with his hands behind his back, Li Xuan was like a king. He looked down at the crowd with conceit and indifference, coupled with a considerable amount of confidence in his eyes.
On the other hand, Li Ye's was forcefully pushed back a dozen steps after being punched. He did not stand firm until he reached the edge of the arena. His body was white and covered with a layer of frost, and so was his eyebrows. There was no trace of warmth in his body, like a corpse buried deep under a snowy mountain.
"Lost the battle already? Li Xuan is really terrifying. His execution of the Ice Crystal Fist could probably spell trouble for a Level Eight Eminent Master, let alone a Level Seven Martial Master!"
New was always better and people always focused on the strong. During that moment, Li Xuan's arrogant posture, with his hands behind his back, made him look like Prince Charming in the eyes of countless girls. Some distant female descendants were already cooking up secret plans to hook up with the clan's new rising star.
Crack!
Just as Li Xuanji was about to open his mouth and declare Li Xuan's victory, he suddenly heard a faint cracking sound.
Subsequently, everyone saw the ice on Li Ye's body shatter and fall to the ground. The crowd had erroneously believed he had suffered too great an injury and had fainted or possibly died.
"Hmm?"
Upon seeing that Li Ye was still well and alive, Li Xuan frowned, as if a little bit dissatisfied with the result.
"Li Ye hasn't given up yet. He's like a reincarnated cockroach!"
"It's useless, even if he survived the previous move, the gap in his and Li Xuan's strength is still there. He doesn't have a chance at all."
"Li Ye, if you can't, just say so, don't force yourself."
Li Xuanji could not help but whisper to himself. Li Ye was the only one who heard it.
Astonished, he looked at Sixth Elder. The man had always been fair and just within the clan. He was a kind-hearted elder despite his cold disposition. In his memory, the man whom he should address as Sixth Uncle did not interact much with him.
"Don't worry, Elder. It's minor!"
Li Ye smiled slightly and ignored Li Xuan's strange look. He then moved his hands and feet.
"Li Ye, you seem to be really impressive, since you were able to withstand the punch just now. But do you really think you stand a chance?"
Faced with the half-smiling Li Xuan, Li Ye's answer was very simple!
"
Countless shadow-kicks came one after another, but it was a pity that it lacked the haziness that was present in Li Gei's execution. However, the killing intent was much more than Li Gei's.
"It's useless! Your Windstorm Kick is only at its introductory stage. It doesn't threaten me at all!"
He sneered, and the cold air suddenly gushed forward like a cold wind in Siberia. A thin layer of frost covered the entire platform.
Sure enough, Li Ye's figure was exposed immediately, further intensifying the mocking in Li Xuan's eyes.
"You're finished! This'll end here!"
Li Xuan snickered and delivered a punch. With a sharp cracking sound, he plunged his fist right through Li Ye's chest. During that attack, Li Xuan did not hold back, with his killing intent appearing instantly!
"NO!"
Along with that scene was an exclamation of shock coming from the stands! It was Li Yating, whose pretty little eyes had a hint of anger and nervousness. She stood up abruptly.
Others who were in the stands had different looks. Among them, Li Huangran had a sense of glee and relief in his eyes. The rest had much more convoluted expressions.
Soon after however, someone exclaimed in surprise.
Grimness replaced joy after Li Xuan punched through Li Ye. He clearly did not feel that he actually punched through a human body.
Sure enough, Li Ye disappeared slowly without any blood flowing out.
"An afterimage!"
Many people then reacted. It turned out to be just an afterimage! Not the real person!
"This isn't good!" The feeling of unhappiness and alertness appeared briefly in Li Xuan's heart. He turned around immediately, but it was already too late.
"Behind you!"
It was Li Huangran who shouted. Unfortunately, Li Xuan turned around only to see a pair of blood-red abysses, as if his soul could drown in that deep and bottomless hole.
Bang!
Li Xuan's body fell out of the arena and into the crowd. Many people howled in anguish immediately, with some even having their bodies covered in ice.
"Li Ye, wins!"
Looking at the passed-out Li Xuan, Li Xuanji looked profoundly at Li Ye and immediately announced the result.
The conclusion was nothing short of unexpected. Who could have imagined that Li Ye would turn defeat into victory? Even then, there were still people who felt the frustration of Li Xuan's defeat.
Huh! Li Huangran exploded into a rage and shattered the armrest of his seat with one palm. He had high expectations for Li Xuan, and Li Xuan was also equally as furious. From the beginning, Li Xuan showed impressive strength and tenacity, but in the end, he was defeated in such a humiliating manner. How could Li Huangran not feel angry in such a scenario!
Nevertheless, he did repeat the same actions he did earlier. Instead, he glanced across Li Ye and Li Hounian with a murderous intent, then flung his sleeves and huffed.
"Good boy!"
Li Hounian patted Li Ye's shoulders enthusiastically. He was then quite relieved, especially as Li Huangran left with a fling of the sleeves. For the time being at least, no one dared to touch a single strand of Li Ye's hair.
Taking his seat on the position where Li Xuan had earlier sat, Li Ye made a successful challenge and moved up one spot.
"The seventh-place inner disciple."
Deep down, he was quite excited. He never once imagined that he would reach such heights.
Inner disciples were known to be different from outer disciples. Only the strongest thirty of their peers could become inner disciples, whom the clan will give their greatest support!
Who would ever dare to call him trash again?
He even saw hints of inexplicable fear in the way some of the elders looked at him!
"They see your father's figure in you."
A voice sounded in his ear. It turned out to originate from Li Xuanji, the Li clan's famous poker face. Li Ye looked amazement, but realized that Li Xuanji was not looking at him at all.
"My father's figure..."
Li Ye pondered on that. He had few memories of the man, knowing only that almost the entire Wu Prefecture City respected him during that fateful year. Even the other two great clans remained cautious in his shadow for many years until he left Wu Prefecture City.
Next up, many of the inner disciples also launched challenges to try and move up one or two places, but no one reached the top ten. After all, everyone else in the top ten was at least Level Seven Martial Masters, with the exception of Li Ye, of course. It was a futile exercise to compare them with normal martial cultivators.
Li Ye was in no hurry to challenge a second time. He calmed himself down to sort out his situation.
"Martial Spirit Level Five, I can't believe I had a breakthrough!"
As it turned out, it happened during the fight with Li Xuan earlier. Instead of causing him serious injury, the punch helped him to break through the bottleneck at once, elevating him from peak Level Four to Level Five!
"If I fight against Li Gei now, I won't need the bloodpupil. I'm confident of having a surefire victory! Even if I fight Li Xuan again, the odds are at least sixty percent!"
Martial Spirit Levels Four and Five seemed to have a negligible gap. For Li Ye however, it was at least a twofold enhancement!