There would be two battles happening on the eighteenth of September in the Nine Dragon lake, one of them being between Ye Chen and Du Gujue while the other being between Xiao Chuhe and Lu Shaoyou—both of whom were among the top five young warriors. No matter which battle it was, it would attract a lot of attention for sure.
Therefore, before it was even September, a lot of people had already started their journey. They would rather be early than late and miss out on all of the highlights, especially for those of who did not live in the Sky Martial Region.
…
In the Nine Dragon Lake in the Nine Dragon Mountain…
It was just like one year ago. The place was already filled with people before the date was even close. It was so loud as people just seemed to continue to arrive.
"Brother He, you are late!"
"It is not me being late, it is you arriving too early!"
"Haha, do not try to look for excuses. Drink three glasses first!"
It was so loud inside the Nine Dragon Lake.
On the second day, things got even more exciting.
"Look, Shangguan Fei and Helian Wuhua are here as well!"
"One of these two warriors had beaten Heishui Master, who was ranked sixty-three, while the other had beaten Huoyun master, who was ranked sixty-nine as well. They will not be that easy to take on."
"They would not have come like this if they did not think that they had the power for it. These two will end up on that ranking for sure."
Everyone chatted. One year ago, there were only six warriors who were below the age of forty years in the first ranking—the top five young warriors and Ye Chen. But this time, there might be more than ten of them in total; the figure might even reach beyond fifteen, which would be twice as the year before.
"Brother Shangguan, long time no see!"
Helian Wuhua wore long black robes and a long blade around his waist. Both of his legs were extremely long as if they were able to jump out anytime for an attack, killing any enemies there might be.
On a small mountain not that far away from him, a young man in blue robes stood there, wearing a gold crown on his head. He had thick eyebrows and big narrow eyes, whilst both of his arms and feet were massive as well. His weapons of choice were two short spears. With them crossed in front of his chest, they looked like the tongue of a poisonous snake, seeming both aggressive and evil.
"Brother He, indeed long time no see!"
Shangguan Fei looked at Helian Wuhua with a bit of worry written on his face. They had both competed with each other a couple of times, but none of the battles had brought out any results. It would take a long tiring battle to see any actual result.
"Hehe…This time, you did not just come for a show, did you?" Helian Wuhua said casually.
Shangguan Fei said determinedly, "Naturally not just that."
"Me neither." Helian Wuhua looked serious.
…
On the third day, Situ Hao arrived as well.
Judging from his reputation, he was way more famous than both Helian Wuhe and Shangguan Fei, since the first two had only beaten powerful warriors who were ranked in the top sixties, while Situ Hao had beaten Tu Yuan, who was ranked thirty-three, and that too with only one sword attack.
Although they did not come with a friendly intent, they did not plan to challenge Situ Hao. since they were very aware of his power and the fact that it would be impossible for them to win even without him using his defensive sword spell.
Situ Hao was looking extremely cold, and had picked a flat peak as his landing spot. He quickly looked around before turning back.
"Ye Chen, my defensive sword spell has reached the second realm. This time, I will beat you for sure!"
No one really knew about the fact that Situ hao had lost to Ye Chen before.
Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!
More and more warriors arrived here. After today and tomorrow, it would finally be eighteenth of September. If one looked up, they could see people flying past in the sky in a never-ending stream.
Amongst these people were a lot of young warriors; some of them were traveling in groups while some others traveled on their own. Excited expressions reflected on their faces. For some of the Sea of Souls Realm, they were here just for the show, since barely any of them could really learn anything from watching the battle. As young martial geniuses, their comprehensive ability wasn't too advanced, and they might not be able to learn anything from here at all.
"The Sky Martial Region is indeed a great place for the powerful martial geniuses…None of them here seem to be weaker than us."
On top of a small hill, some young men and women stood there side by side. The speaker was a young man with a longsword around his waist and a cold look on his face.
"This might be for the best. Before, we were all so famous. Even if it were in the southern regions, no one would dare to underestimate us. But once we got here, we finally experienced tough times and hardships. Wasn't it Ye Chen's way of getting more powerful so quickly?"
These people were indeed Li Daoxuan, Yan Chihuo, and Bing Ling from the South Rudra Region. Besides Murong Qingcheng and Ye Chen, only these three had reached the Sea of Souls Realm. Of course, Sikong Sheng had not been heard from for a long time now, so no one knew where he went and how powerful he had gotten. Meanwhile Tuo Baku and Gu Youyun, who were at a similar age as Ye Chen, had not been able to make a breakthrough since they were all still very young.
On the fourth day, Ye Chen finally arrived.
Due to the fact that Murong Qingcheng was still in closed up training, Ye Chen had come on his own.
"Ye Chen is here!"
"I wonder if he has made another major breakthrough. Right now, it has been a full year, and too many young warriors have caught up. If he is not careful, he will be surpassed easily."
"Yeah! Although Ye Chen's position is great, it is quite awkward as well. There are top five young warriors above him, and many more powerful young warriors behind him."
Ye Chen's arrival had caused a major commotion as everyone there looked over at him, wishing to grasp some new details from his scent.
Yan Chihuo glanced at Ye Chen, and a strange feeling appeared in his heart.
Before when they were in South Rudra Region, all of them were way more famous than Ye Chen, and they would get all the attention from everyone wherever they went. But right now, they came to the Nine Dragon Mountain inside Sky Martial Region and no one cared about them, as if they were nobodies. On the other hand, Ye Chen's arrival had attracted all of the attention.
In just eight years of time, the tables seemed to have turned completely.
"Oh? Ye Chen is here! Should we hang out with him for a while?" Shangguan Fei and Helian Wuhua saw Ye Chen and an expectant look appeared on their faces.
Although Ye Chen was ranked forty-eight on the ranking, which was higher than Heishui master and huoyun master, it was still from the ranking before, and the two rankings were not that far apart from each other. Meanwhile, they were able to beat those two warriors within three to four attacks. So, they should be ranked in the top twenties at least in the last year's ranking. Even if Ye Chen had made quite some progress, they might not lose to him at all.
Most importantly, as long as they made sure that they did not lose, then it would be a win for them. On the contrary, unless Ye Chen was facing the top five young warriors, he could not lose at all. Otherwise, he would not be able to maintain his position right now, which would not be different from losing.
"Let me go first!"
Shangguan Fei did not plan to give up on this opportunity as he flew out first. Helian Wuhua shook his head; he also planned to challenge Ye Chen.
Putting away the flying puppet, Ye Chen landed lightly onto a massive mountain nearby. He noticed Li Daoxuan and the other two, so he nodded to greet them.
"Ye Chen, tomorrow will be the day that you will battle with Du Gujue. How about we battle a little first?" Shangguan Fei stood above in the middle of the lake and his voice was enhanced with the help of his Zhen yaun, spreading out in the whole area.
"Hm? Shangguan Fei is about challenge Ye Chen?"
"These people indeed did not just come for the show. They are even aiming for Ye Chen!"
"But seriously, I do not think Ye Chen can win for sure, can he? Shangguan Fei had beaten Heishui master, who was ranked 63rd in the ranking, with only four attacks."
"It is indeed a bit tricky. But, Ye Chen must have made some improvement as well, mustn't he?"
"You are challenging me?"
Ye Chen was a bit surprised. To be honest, according to Shangguan Fei's reputation, leave alone now, Ye Chen could beat him even half a year ago. The two of them were not on the same level at all. It was indeed out of his expectation when he learned the news.
Thinking back, Ye Chen chuckled. Indeed, for the past year, he had been so secretive about the past battles. No one really knew what his real power was like, which was normal after all.
"What? Are you afraid?"
Shangguan Fei saw Ye Chen's expression and thought that he was not prepared for this at all. So, he secretly let out a breath. He thought that perhaps there was a winning chance for him after all.
"Bring it on!" Controlling his expression again, Ye Chen said lightly.
Hearing him, Shangguan Fei was furious. He was waiting for Ye Chen to go over to him, and did not think that the latter would just stand there and wait for him instead.
"Alright!"
Taking a deep breath, Shangguan Fei tried his best to control his anger. He knew that if he won, there would be no way Ye Chen would continue with this attitude.
Boom!
The lake exploded as Shangguan Fei shot toward Ye Chen at an extreme speed. Midway, he held a short spear in both of his hands, drawing a semicircle before shooting it out.
"Snake Dragon Combined Attack!"
Shangguan Fei had performed his killing attack right in the beginning as an almost-solidified light appeared from the thick spears. Two massive evil looking figures appeared—a long dragon with its claws waving in the air and an evil poisonous massive snake. The two tangled together, shooting out at the same time.
Shoo! Shoo!
Ahoo!
The massive snake and dragon roared together, and the qi shot out into the sky.
"Such a powerful killing attack! The massive snake has the gentleness while the dragon as the aggressiveness. With the two combined together, normal warriors would not have a chance at all."
Everyone held their breath as they watched Ye Chen, wanting to see what he was going to do.
"Too weak!"
Ye Chen shook his head as he took out this gold sword before waving it out.
Pop!
With Ye Chen being the center, a massive pattern spread out before exploding eventually, covering the massive snake and dragon.
Although both of them were water creatures, which meant they would be more than comfortable with water, this gold pattern was not just made of the water profound. Instead, it was a combination of water and gold profound, so it had both the gentleness of water and the tough sharpness of the gold.
Plus, compared to half a year ago, the gold pattern of his was even more powerful.
Crack!
Without a moment of stopping, the second the massive snake and dragon clashed with the Gold Pattern, they started to shatter back into pure energy. What was more horrifying was that the Gold Pattern started to spread out, mixing up the power and energy of the dragon and snake together and shooting it back toward Shangguan Fei.
"Not good!"
Shangguan Fei looked so pale as the double spears crossed together, trying their best to block out the attack.
Boom!
Just like a normal person running into a tsunami, Shangguan Fei was blown backward without a single chance to fight back.