"Iron Sand Palm! Wu Hao had cultivated his Iron Sand Palm to greater attainment!"
Many people knew his worth, especially since he was a prodigy who broke into the top ten during the past year's Prodigy Summit. Added attention would certainly be paid to the likes of Wu Hao.
The Iron Sand Palm was also a Yellow Rank Advanced battle technique. Although the threshold to cultivate it was low, there were few people who took up the technique and cultivated it thoroughly. The reason behind that was hardship and pain—one had to cultivate it in the midst of hot iron sand for years on end.
However, once the cultivation was successful, one's palms would be as hard as steel. Even some premium weapons were unable to scar those palms.
"Be careful! His Iron Sand Palm is faintly toxic!"
Li Yuanjia, who had suffered earlier in the hands of the technique, immediately reminded Li Ye of the exact cause that inflicted damage on him. If strength was used as a measure, the difference between himself and Wu Hao was actually insignificant. If it were not for the opponent's sudden attack, in addition to the toxins weakening his strength, he would not have lost so quickly.
Wu Hao was seen smirking. His palms were black and there was a stench emanating from them.
"I can't let it hit me, otherwise the toxin will enter my body!"
There was no need for Li Yuanjia to remind him. It was very clear that the air currents from Wu Hao's palm had a sickly-sweet smell to it. A tiny little whiff was enough to send one's brains into a dizzy.
All of a sudden, Li Ye's entire figure split into four and were positioned in different directions.
"It's the Footstep Mirage!"
At the sight of that scene, strange expressions were present on the faces of those few Li clan members. The Footstep Mirage was one of the few basic Yellow Rank Advanced physical techniques present in the Li clan. Many inner disciples wanted to cultivate it but gave up after finding it too difficult.
Li Ye's execution was clearly a sign of successful cultivation. To add to that, he reached the lesser attainment stage in one fell swoop. How could they not be surprised!
"As a Yellow Rank Advanced technique, even a Level Six cultivator would find it hard to execute the Footstep Mirage. Level Seven Martial Masters could barely use it, too. How is Li Ye able to do this?!"
They had doubts in their hearts, but they suppressed them for the time being and paid attention to the confrontation between Li Ye and Wu Hao.
"Hmph! Do you think you can escape just by using a physical technique!"
Wu Hao was actually rather surprised to see Li Ye split into four. Although he did not know what Li Ye's physical technique was, he could see that it was a rather advanced one. Wu Hao's first attack landed in thin air, but he did not panic. He then shot four currents out of his palm at the same time, all toward each of Li Ye's doppelgangers.
"The doppelganger is just an illusion, after all. Let's see where else you can escape to this time!"
It must be acknowledged that Wu Hao was more than capable of being the Wu clan's second-placed disciple. Only Wu Batian was above him, and in addition, he was also among the top ten in the previous Prodigy Summit. Wu Hao's reputation was surely not an undeserved one.
He saw the root of the problem at a glance and adapted to it immediately. He shot out four palms in succession. Regardless of which one was the real body, Li Ye would be eating out of Wu Hao's palm if the attacks struck him.
Unfortunately, Wu Hao underestimated the Yellow Rank Advanced Footstep Mirage. Remnant though the technique might be, it was not that easy to just dispel it.
His attack landed on one of the doppelgangers, causing it to vanish.
"Windstorm Kick!"
Li Ye was waiting for that moment. Just as the doppelganger was struck, he felt a change in Wu Hao's concentration. It was then that there was some slack, prompting Li Ye to move rhythmically and deliver countless kicks.
As the fastest of all three techniques that Li Ye had mastered, the characteristics of the Windstorm Kick were to win by volume and speed!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wu Hao hardly expected a puny Level Five cultivator to escape his attack and even land a blow on him.
"You wanna die!"
Who was Wu Hao? He was one of the best in the Wu clan, second only to the prodigious Wu Batian. Even if the entire Wu Prefecture City was considered in the equation, there were few people in the city who could defeat him. Among his peers, no one came close to defeating him except the four prodigies!
There were several footprints on his face and some appeared on his chest. In the end, he was unable to escape each attack, but such strikes were not enough to hurt him. His face however, had an exceedingly ugly expression!
"I can't believe I was hit by a Level Five trash!"
Whoosh! The aura of a Martial Master erupted from his body, causing many people around to feel choked. In particular, those lower than Level Seven had to retreat because they could not take it.
"Such menacing aura!"
As the person at the forefront, Li Ye was the first to feel it. Most of the aura came directly at him.
"Kiddo! Time for you to die!"
Wu Hao's black palm was like a grim reaper's sickle. The stench was incredibly nauseating.
"Ice Crystal Fist!"
The cold chill weakened the toxic wind immediately, but that one strike was overwhelming enough that he was unable to hold it all off.
"Cloudflip Palm!"
There was a flash of light in Li Ye's eyes. Although the opponent's Iron Sand Palm was strong, the power dropped by at least twenty percent after being blocked by Ice Crystal Fist. In that split second, the air from Li Ye's palm surged forward like the waves of the sea, colliding immediately with Wu Hao's gust of air.
Boom!
The two palms clashed with each other. Li Ye staggered back about ten steps before he could properly regain his posture.
On the other hand, Wu Hao only took a half step back and stood firmly.
Everyone, including the two who came with Wu Hao, was surprised.
"This kid is weird! He's clearly only Level Five, but it feels like he has Level Seven strength."
"Also, he clearly performed three different types of techniques in succession. It looks to be at least Yellow Rank Intermediate or even Yellow Rank advanced. He cultivated three battle techniques, plus one physical technique. That means there's four techniques in total. How the hell did he do that? "
"Kiddo, it seems that I really underestimated you! You should feel proud that you are able to face me like this even though you're only Level Five!"
Li Ye rolled his eyes and had no interest in Wu Hao's flattery. Instead, he was thinking to himself, "Wu Hao really is one of the top ten talents in the Prodigy Summit. Eminent Masters are several times stronger than Martial Masters! Unless I use the Sword Control Technique or my bloodpupils, my chances of winning are less than ten percent!"
Be that as it may, his trump cards—whether it was the bloodpupils or the Sword Control Technique—should not be used on a whim.
He then suddenly noticed something, "I'll use him as my turning point to have a breakthrough!"
The two exchanged numerous blows, with Li Ye relying completely on the advantage of the Footstep Mirage to maintain a deadlock temporarily. Even so, it was still an unbelievable sight.
"Looks like my father was correct about this kid. He'll be the biggest dark horse in the Prodigy Summit!"
Li Yuanjia felt a bit bitter to see Li Ye sparring on par with Wu Hao, whom Li Yuanjia was unable to deal with during their brief encounter. Li Yuanjia should be acknowledged as a genius. Otherwise, he would not have had such progress in his cultivation before turning twenty, much less become the second-placed inner disciple.
However, he found that his progress was as slow as a snail when he compared himself to Li Ye. Ten days ago, Li Ye was only at peak Level Four. To up his level with such speed was practically unheard of.
By then, Li Ye was like a lone boat in the midst of a storm, with destruction looming at any time.
Concurrently, Wu Hao's immense pressure showed signs of loosening the bottleneck in Li Ye's bloodsoul strength.
"Good! As expected, a quick breakthrough can only come by fighting!"
As it were, he actually used Wu Hao as a sharpening stone to stimulate the potential breakthrough to Level Six.
Wu Hao was beginning to get more anxious. He did not take things seriously from the beginning and used up to forty or fifty percent of his strength then. As things progressed, he was almost at full strength, but he was still incapable of being a threat to the strange boy in front of him.
"There's something odd about this kiddo! Why can't I just deal with him quickly!"
Wu Hao was known to have achieved sixth-placed in the last Prodigy Summit. Only one hand was needed if one were to count the number of peers in Wu Prefecture City who could beat him!
Finally, Li Ye felt the floodgates opening for his distinct bloodsoul strength. At the same time, the vital force in his body increased directly by more than threefold!
"Breakthrough! Martial Spirit Level Six!"
A stronger breath than before burst out of his body.
"This kiddo used me to have a breakthrough! Damn!"
A person like Wu Hao was able to notice that fact immediately. He was furious to no end because of that! No one had ever insulted him like that! Any one of Wu Prefecture City's Four Great Prodigies would at least show some courtesy to Wu Hao.
At that moment, he was treated as a whetstone by a piece of trash that was not even Level Seven.
Li Ye continued to remain unafraid after breaking through!
"Wu Hao! You made your move, now it's my turn!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Li Ye created six doppelgangers at once.
"He's crazy! He just increased his proficiency in the Footstep Mirage!"
Li Gei would surely be massively shocked if he was present at the scene, for Li Ye's proficiency in the Footstep Mirage had already surpassed that of his predecessor, who had previously immersed himself in the technique for many years.
"It's useless! You still can't hurt me even if you break through!"
Wu Hao roared and thrust out his palms instantly. The frightening wind, accompanied by those stinking toxins, attempted to engulf all six of Li Ye's figures.
"Rainstorm!"
Li Ye gave him no such chance. Those six figures were exactly like real humanoids. Numerous shadow-kicks began striking instantly, thus breaking his Iron Sand Palm.
Bang!
Wu Hao could only feel a sharp pain at the bridge of his nose. His entire body was then sent flying by a kick.
"Wu Hao lost!"
The ensuing spectacle made Wu Hao's other two companions exchange looks of disbelief.
At the same time, the Li clan group cheered from aside! Whether or not they looked highly upon Li Ye, they were genuinely cheering for him at that point in time.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
A roar, similar to that of a wounded beast, was heard. Wu Hao was then seen to stabilize his body in the air. His expression was fierce as he yelled and he then overwhelmed everyone with a strong pressure. Some weaker individuals even groaned slightly and had a hint of blood flowing from the corner of their lips.
Li Ye was surprised that Wu Hao could withstand his Windstorm Kick and still maintain such levels of strength. As it were, Li Ye was not afraid. An icy coldness radiated from him and he delivered a direct hit!
"Stand down!" The formidable ice-cold atmosphere instantly covered Wu Hao with a layer of white frost, with Li Ye simultaneously hitting the bridge of his nose once again!
Crack! Everyone could clearly hear the fracturing sound of Wu Hao's nasal bone. It could never withstand two hits in quick succession, not unless it was made of refined steel!