Ye An stared intently at the Underworld King. It seemed that he was related to his ancestors. This puzzled him a bit; had no one told him about his own identity?
But it didn't matter.
Ye An wasn't interested in answering the question. He pushed off the ground and charged forward with a burst of speed!
He sprinted directly toward the Underworld King.
At this moment, several collapsing spaces suddenly appeared in front of the Underworld King, acting as a kind of alternative shield that blocked Ye An's advance.
Ye An threw his fists forward.
"Boom!"
His fist intent shattered the collapsing spaces but failed to harm the Underworld King. In the blink of an eye, the Underworld King appeared next to Ye An and delivered a powerful blow.
Ye An defended, but was sent flying once more.
In the VIP viewing hall.
Emperor Qi's expression was grave as he watched the situation unfold. Ye An was at a disadvantage and had little chance to turn the tide. He couldn't handle the collapse.
If he continued to struggle with it, things would be troublesome.
The gods were also somewhat dazed. The Divine Realm's fortunes had plummeted recently, largely due to Ye An's influence. The first four matches had each been worse than the last, causing doubt among the gods about their own strength.
Was there really no one in the vast Divine Realm who could deal with Ye An?
Before today, the gods knew little about the Underworld King as a war machine. Most didn't know who he was or why they should trust him.
But now.
Seeing Ye An's struggling figure, they were somewhat excited.
"The Underworld King is so strong?"
"He's overwhelming Ye An with no chance to fight back."
At this moment, the gods had forgotten their ancestral teachings of avoiding close combat. The Underworld King's strength had conquered them.
In the arena.
The Underworld King, expressionless, walked toward Ye An from a distance.
"What is your relationship with Ye Tianwen?"
Seeing Ye An's silence, he took a step forward. It was as if the earth absorbed him, and he appeared right in front of Ye An, as if in a mythological tale of shrinking space.
He then raised his hand, carrying a collapsing vortex, and struck downward.
In this lightning-fast moment, Ye An's mind was racing.
How to deal with the Underworld King's collapse?
There was no solution yet. But close combat was his strong suit!
He bent down, raised his fists, and dodged the strike before lunging forward.
The Underworld King had set up collapsing vortices in front of him.
But it was a feint!
Ye An paused, gathering energy for half a second, and threw a powerful punch at the Underworld King's face.
Unexpectedly, the Underworld King's eyes darkened but he didn't dodge. Another collapsing vortex instantly appeared in front of him, and Ye An's punch only created a crack.
Next, Ye An glanced at the ground.
He saw that the soil beneath the Underworld King had disappeared, collapsed into a white point, and was then ejected.
Ye An swayed his head to avoid it. The white point exploded behind him, creating a deep pit.
However, the piece of earth beneath the Underworld King was permanently gone.
This encounter revealed more about his opponent. The Underworld King could absorb almost all materials.
Except for Ye An's martial intent.
If Ye An used elemental powers, they might have been absorbed as well. Luckily, he didn't use them.
In a sense, fighting with someone like him reduced the Underworld King's combat effectiveness by about 30%.
Ye An's thoughts raced, and he took the initiative again, throwing another punch, but it was blocked by a collapsing vortex, as expected.
He threw the next punch!
A trace of coldness appeared in the Underworld King's eyes.
The Flowing Water Mountain Punch?
It was meaningless.
At the moment Ye An's second punch was thrown, the Underworld King used his shrinking space technique again and vanished, missing the attack.
But he didn't appear anywhere on the ground.
Ye An looked up.
He saw the Underworld King standing amidst a storm, hands forming a seal.
Divine Art: Star Annihilation Cannon!
A tiny collapsing vortex appeared at his fingertips, absorbing the immense power from his spiritual sea and erupting in the blink of an eye!
"Boom!"
The energy cannon that lit up the world exploded instantly.
Ye An sank to his knees.
"Mountain Collapse!"
He didn't dodge. He threw a punch fiercely!
"Boom!"
The energy of the Star Annihilation Cannon was extinguished by his strike.
But Ye An's expression remained grim.
As the Underworld King released the cannon, he again used his shrinking space technique.
At the moment Ye An's punch landed, the Underworld King, holding a collapsing vortex, appeared behind him and delivered a chopping strike!
"Zzz!"
The Wind Rising barrier and the Xuanwu Earth's defense were ripped apart.
Blood splattered.
The gods in the viewing area stood up in shock.
"Ye An is injured?"
"Damn!"
"He's being completely suppressed, so fierce!"
"Ye An is done for! This is the power of our Divine Realm!"
Meanwhile.
The Human Realm was silent.
Everyone watching the battle felt a chill down their spines.
How could there be such a terrifying monster?
Despite the Underworld King's seemingly simple attacks, anyone with insufficient martial intent would have perished in the initial domain.
Yet, Ye An's martial intent, presumably the strongest in the Human Realm, barely held up.
And it seemed that the Underworld King was handling the situation with ease, not even using his full strength...
In the arena.
Ye An, who had been sent flying, got up again, staring at the Underworld King with a fixed gaze.
His mind stirred.
The Dao Fruit, blooming!
Golden-red martial intent soared into the sky.
The Underworld King looked at the martial intent dragon and raised his hand.
"Zzz!"
A tearing sound echoed in everyone's ears.
The crowd looked up.
The sky was torn open by an invisible force, creating a scarlet rift.
The blood-red light illuminated the Underworld King, who continued to look down at Ye An.
As Ye An saw this, a vague memory from the past suddenly became clear.
Back in the hotel, in a dream.
A red-eyed monster wielding a curved blade came through time and space to kill him. But fortunately, a majestic man with a broken horn and gray hair saved him.
At this moment.
The Underworld King bathed in blood-red light bore a strange resemblance to that red-eyed monster.
He had asked about Ye Tianwen's relationship with him.
The death of his ancestor had been shrouded in mystery, an unsolved case to this day.
But now he understood everything.
Ye Tianwen must have been killed by them.
The Underworld King was not a lone entity but likely part of a special group with the ability to traverse time and space to kill someone.
Ye An scanned the audience, examining their faces, and then looked at the Underworld King...
"You are truly from the Divine Realm!?"
The Underworld King sneered, "I am not from the Divine Realm."
"I am the Son of Heaven!"
The blood-red light merged into the Underworld King's body, and his aura exploded, engulfing the entire battlefield. The power of collapse was terrifyingly enhanced.
For that was the Dao Fruit!
The Dao of Killing!
The method of gathering the Dao of Killing was simple.
Kill people—enough strong and numerous people.
The Underworld King's age clearly indicated that he shouldn't have this Dao Fruit!
Thus, his origins were certainly more than just a so-called Divine Fetus!
Suddenly, the Underworld King seemed to recall something and said indifferently, "You are the source of the turmoil, aren't you?"
As he spoke, he raised his hand.
A blood-red curved blade appeared in his palm, its blade covered in numerous eyes, each containing collapsing power.
His voice then rose sharply, meant for everyone in the heavens and worlds to hear.
"I am the Son of Heaven!"
"The Arbiter of Fate!"
"Long ago, my kin killed the previous source of turmoil."
"Now, I will kill the next one."
"To restore order and set everything right."
But that wasn't all.
The Underworld King's bloodthirsty eyes seemed to see through everything about Ye An.
He suddenly recited several names.
"Ji Qing, Li He, Mu Kuang, Mu Xiaoye, Fang Tianlian, Liu Jun, and many others…"
"You actually changed the fate of so many people?"
"But they didn't have your martial intent, which makes them easy to deal with."
Ye An's gaze was fixed on the Underworld King.
"So you mean, you will kill Ji Qing?"
The Underworld King replied coldly, "Not just her, but all of them will be judged by me."
Ye An, with an expressionless face, retorted, "What if you die?"