Semi-Sovereign Level!
The vital force emanating from the Li clan's Head Elder made everyone feel as though they were walking on thin ice. For those below Level Seven, many were suffocating and could barely move half a step!
The same was true for Li Ye. He never expected the old man to reach that level!
More accurately, it was halfway to that level!
"Semi-Sovereign Level!" Li Ye's expression changed. The formidable vital force locked him in place and prevented him from escaping.
"Little b*stard, I used to give you lenient treatment and let you off constantly on account of your father! I didn't expect you to be so ungrateful and cross the line! My anger today will never be fully vented if I don't kill you!"
Li Yue was his grandson! The anger in his heart was clear for all to see after he watched Li Ye kill his own grandson!
"Old man! Spare me your pompous words! By all means, just come and kill me!"
Li Ye was unmoved and did not give up hope, despite the Head Elder's cultivation surpassing his original expectations. He initially thought that the strongest individuals in the Li clan were only Level Nine Grandmasters, barring the Supreme Elder who never showed himself. It therefore surprised him that the Head Elder had already reached the Semi-Sovereign Level!
"I'll just have to take a gamble then!"
Various scenarios then began playing in Li Ye's mind. Ordinary means had no effect on a powerhouse who had broken free of Martial Spirit Levels and was already a Semi-Sovereign Level. The only option for him to have a lifeline was if he paired his bloodpupils with the Sword Control Technique!
"Well then! I'll grant you your wish, seeing as you are desperate to make it out here alive!"
Dense killing intent flashed in the eyes of the Head Elder. Li Yue's death and resentments of yesteryear did not make him waver in the slightest. He lifted his hand and thrust his palm out directly at Li Ye!
"Bloodpupils!"
Li Ye's eyes turned blood red all of a sudden and resembled a sea of blood. His disturbing spiritual strength surged instantly into the Head Elder's mind. Even though the old man was at the Semi-Sovereign Level, there was still a piercing pain in his mind after being hit with that unusual attack.
Compared to ordinary people however, the Head Elder's soul was obviously much stronger. Although he felt a sharp sting, he did not lose consciousness.
"Sword Control Technique!"
At that moment, the Head Elder heard the sound of something cutting through the air and heading toward him. Such danger was something he had never experienced for many years. It forced him to instantly drop all thought of killing Li Ye. He turned to the blasting sound behind him and hacked his palm in the direction of the sound!
Ding!
The sound of metals clanging against each was heard. Everyone watched as a long sword was directly split into half by the Head Elder's palm. At the same time, blood could be seen dripping out of his palm. To everyone's surprise, he was injured! The shock forced him to stumble five or six steps back.
"Who was it! Who attacked me from behind!"
Although the Head Elder managed to break the sword with his palm, the near-death panic made him bellow angrily, all while a feeling of terror began surfacing in his heart!
'The sword's power was really strong. I would have been in big trouble if I did not react in time!'
"It was blocked!" Li Ye was even more shocked than the Head Elder was!
"The Semi-Sovereign Level is really terrifying. The Sword Control Technique can instantly kill anyone below Level Eight, but he managed to break the sword in half with his palm!"
Li Ye responded just as quickly. The Head Elder was vigilant, believing that there was a strong attacker coming at him from behind. Li Ye seized the brief respite and darted out of the arena at once.
"Where are you going!"
The Head Elder shouted loudly when he saw Li Ye making an escape. The next moment however, Li Ye's body was seen to split into two, then two into four, four into eight, and finally eight figures split into sixteen figures.
"How is it possible! Sixteen figures! Shouldn't there only be twelve doppelgangers if the Footstep Mirage is trained to perfection?"
The Head Elder was certainly no stranger to the Footstep Mirage. He might not have cultivated the technique, but he studied its contents to some extent. Due to that knowledge, it was easy to imagine the shock and surprise he felt when he saw sixteen of Li Ye's doppelgangers.
"You must not be allowed to live!"
His murderous intent toward Li Ye was intensifying even more, following which he delivered a hacking with his palm.
Boom!
Seven or eight doppelgangers were directly destroyed in an instant. A pothole about one foot deep appeared on the ground, demonstrating the might and terror of the Head Elder's palm.
"With that power, a Level Eight Martial Master, will be killed instantly!"
Li Ye had already rushed out of the arena by then. The crowd then evaded him.
"Stop!"
A menacing palm current rushed forward from up ahead. Although the vital force was not as formidable as the Head Elder that was behind him, Li Ye's expression changed dramatically and he did not dare to charge forward. Instead, he delivered out his own palm attack.
Stormcloud Palm!
Bang! A wave of air directly forced aside everyone who was behind him. Li Ye was pushed back somewhat by the impact. He groaned, and the bright red liquid at the corner of his mouth became more pronounced.
"Li Mo!"
Li Ye's heart sank when he stared at the figure in front of him.
Li Mo, one of Wu Prefecture City's Four Great Prodigies, stopped him! Highly acclaimed as the Li clan's foremost genius, Li Mo pushed Li Ye back with one palm and stopped Li Ye from going anywhere.
"Li Ye, you killed my brother! You have nowhere to go today! Why don't you just surrender!"
Li Mo's cold expression did not show any sadness due to his brother's death. Instead, there was indifference in the depths of his eyes.
"Surrender? You think I'm an idiot? Li Mo, you're one of Wu Prefecture City's Four Great Prodigies, so since I'm still going to die anyway, come at me and show me what you're made of!"
Li Ye felt extremely irritable then. On the one hand was the situation he fell into, while on the other was his jumbled-up mindset that resulted from Li Yue's words!
Aunt Yun occupied a complicated position in Li Ye's mind. It was not until Li Yue's words that Li Ye realized how much he cared for Aunt Yun. He could not imagine what would happen if Li Yue's words were true! His sole thought was to forge a bloody path and rescue Aunt Yun!
"You? You overestimate yourself! Go back home!"
Boom! Li Mo sneered and blasted a single punch without even using battle techniques. The terrifying force made Li Ye's expression change, prompting him to thrust both palms out. It was the Stormcloud Palm borne through Li Ye's merging of two combat techniques.
Barely seconds after Li Ye thrust out his palms, his body soared up into the air and he delivered a kick!
"Stormcloud Kick!"
There was no doubting Li Ye's insane cognizance of battle techniques. Fusing the Windstorm Kick and the Cloudflip Palm was not only limited to a palm technique—the execution was still possible even with a kick technique!
"My power is still too far behind Li Mo's. It's still not enough even if I triple the power of my Stormcloud Palm!"
As expected, Li Mo was completely unmoved. He sneered and repelled the strength of Li Ye's palm. However, his expression flickered slightly and a trace of seriousness was finally present. He raised both arms and crossed them in front of his body.
Thump!
The kick was Li Ye's strongest attack! After all, leg strength was at least double that of arm strength! Li Mo was kicked back more than ten steps.
"Li Ye! You've successfully angered me!"
Li Mo finally showed his rage and bellowed after being kicked away by Li Ye.
At that moment, a menacing vital force appeared out of nowhere, leaving everyone—including Li Mo—unable to move.
"Grandfather!"
Upon seeing who it was, Li Mo retracted his fierce disposition and reverted back to indifference.
Instead, it was Li Ye's heart that sank completely.
It was only then that the crowd reacted from the sudden confusion just now. Many were shocked when they looked at the frail teenager there!
"He fought two moves against Li Mo, one of Wu Prefecture City's Four Great Prodigies, but did not end up being at a disadvantage. This kid is insane!"
Although the encounter with Li Mo was short-lived, many people saw the exchange.
It was no big deal if it were anyone else who did it. Li Mo's was so well-known in Wu Prefecture City that even three-year-old children knew of him. Neither him nor any of the four prodigies could be compared with their peers. On the contrary, they were much stronger than some older generation heavyweights!
If Li Ye could do that to Li Mo, it was more than sufficient for him to join the ranks of Wu Prefecture City's top prodigies.
"Vile b*stard! You were so ruthless with a member of your own clan! Are you still not surrendering!"
The Head Elder's stern voice and dignified look suggested that he was guarding against something. He did not immediately move to kill Li Ye.
His strange behavior puzzled many people.
The Semi-Sovereign Level state was more than enough to strike fear into everyone. With that kind of power, it was impossible for Li Ye to survive by the old man's hands.
Curiously, why did he look fearful and alert, as if defending against someone?
"Could it be?"
Li Ye' had a sudden realization when he saw the Head Elder's demeanor. "I was the one who controlled the flying sword attack earlier. Is it possible that no one noticed that?"
Li Ye understood immediately after taking a quick glance at everyone's reaction!
The Head Elder obviously believed that there was a strong individual behind the scenes, waiting for an opportunity to strike. As a result, he was rather afraid to lay down his guard. Li Ye was initially in some despair, but there was finally a bit of hope for the boy!
"You wretched b*stard! What else do you have to say! I'll make sure you die quickly today!"
"Pfft! I have nothing to say! Everyone knows that you rule over the Li clan anyway!"
A hint of irony appeared on Li Ye's face, eliciting a sour expression from the Head Elder. However, the rest of the people seemed to be in deep thought. In fact, the changes within the Li clan over the past few years were common knowledge and everyone knew what transpired. Many people subsequently found out that Li Ye was the son of Wu Prefecture City's legendary Li Kainian, and one could not help but connect the dots after seeing how everything unfolded.
"You have a sharp tongue, don't you! In that case, I'll personally carry out the clan rules and deal with a vile b*stard like you!"
The Head Elder's fear began subsiding after the delay and was no longer hesitant. He lifted his hand and was about to strike with his palm.
At the same time, Li Ye was ready to act after having accumulated his power. His eyes were slightly red, but everyone believed that it was just normal anger and resentment instead of something else.
"Wait!"
Then, someone shouted abruptly.
With that, everyone watched as someone jumped onto the platform and stood in front of the Head Elder, halting the old man.
"Li Yuanjia! What are you doing!"
"Head Elder, please wait a moment!"
The person stopping the old man was Li Yuanjia, Li Hounian's adopted son. As the Li clan's second-placed inner disciple, there were many who knew of him. He was widely expected to compete for one of the top ten spots in that year's Prodigy Summit. Countless people looked on with interest after he interjected and interfered.