Best Young Master

Chapter 1529: Chapter 1400: A Battle Between Friends, the Step Technique Revealed!

The matches unfolded one after another, and soon the ten matches of the third round were over. The talented participants each had their wins and losses, with overall strength not differing too greatly.

Talents are also divided into different levels, and coupled with the distinct selection criteria of the Immortal Academy and the Imperial Academy—which doesn’t value family or background—many of the strongest heirs of the Di Clan and the Saint Heirs of the Holy Land were all recruited by the Imperial Academy. Naturally, the strength and talent of their recruited disciples vary greatly.

After two rounds of matches, it was nearly noon. Lan Yingfei announced the end of the morning matches, and after a short rest, the afternoon matches continued.

With his words, the various heroic lords in the VIP seats and the participating contestants all exited the scene, as did some of the academy’s disciples.

Only the spectators, who were loose cultivators from outside the academy, refused to leave. They were all as if on a rush of adrenaline, eagerly discussing their thoughts on the morning matches, gesturing animatedly as they debated.

Due to the tournament, the Immortal Academy was generous, preparing a sumptuous lunch with heavenly materials and earthly treasures used to stew the Xuan Beast meat, which was incredibly nourishing for cultivators.

Some of the Xuan Beasts used as ingredients were actually powerful to the Lord Realm. Special strong people had to refine their bloodthirstiness from the flesh; otherwise, it could not be used as food.

Ye Fan and the other participants had the good fortune to eat these ingredients considered heavenly materials and earthly treasures by the academy.

After the meal, everyone’s Essence Qi was revitalized, and faces were glowing with health, eagerly wanting to engage in battle to expend their excess energy.

After finishing lunch and taking a short rest, the afternoon matches began.

"For the first match of the fourth round, Ye Fan versus Shi Ye, please come to the stage!"

With the words of the referee, Lan Yingfei, Ye Fan and Shi Ye exchanged smiles and both stepped onto the stage, facing each other.

"Brother Ye Fan, since I’m not your match anyway, let’s just go through the motions, shall we? Please, don’t thrash me," Shi Ye said with a chuckle to Ye Fan.

"Yaling adjusted my odds to the lowest, so I have to win the championship no matter what, I’ll have to wrong you," Ye Fan said with a wry smile.

"What are you saying? There’s no wrong in it! As long as you can win the championship, I’d be willing to be pummeled by you into a pig-beast!" Shi Ye laughed heartily. "I’ve even asked Sister Yaling to bet on you winning..."

"You..."

Ye Fan was speechless, surprised at Shi Ye’s confidence in him.

"What’s going on? The match has already started, so why aren’t they making a move?"

Seeing the two chat happily, the spectators below were unsatisfied; they came to watch a match, not a conversation.

Hearing the murmurs of the spectators, the two exchanged smiles, and then Ye Fan was the first to say, "Let’s start, can’t let people say we came for a chat."

"Alright!"

Shi Ye roared, wielding his stone staff with power over ten thousand pounds, slamming it towards Ye Fan’s head, with the gray-white stone staff shooting divine radiance everywhere.

Even knowing he was not Ye Fan’s match, he chose to give it his all, wanting to test the results of his recent cultivation against Ye Fan.

"Swoosh!"

Ye Fan’s figure moved, leaving an afterimage in place, dodging Shi Ye’s fierce strike.

"Roar!"

Missing his strike, Shi Ye roared, swinging his stone staff like a windmill, slashing and smashing, with divine radiance piercing through the void.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Ye Fan only defended, not attacked, using the Chasing Star Step to leave phantom trails on the stage, slipping through the gaps in Shi Ye’s attacks each time.

"This step technique..."

"Could it be that kind of long-lost step technique?"

The faces of several heroic lords in the VIP seats changed, noticing Ye Fan’s exquisite step technique, exchanging glances with each other.

"It’s said that four thousand years ago, there was an unparalleled sect named Shen Xing Sect. Their sect’s ultimate skill was a miraculous step technique, unmatched in speed, claiming to grasp the moon from the upper nine heavens, to catch turtles from the five oceans, and with one step, mountains and rivers would shift. Ye Fan’s current step technique bears similarities to Shen Xing Sect’s miraculous technique, could they have a common origin?"

The Saint from the Ancient Sacred Land had a grave expression.

"Impossible? Four thousand years ago, Shen Xing Sect, relying on their unmatched miraculous step technique, thought they could invade the Flying Immortal Palace and obtain the Immortal Elixir to extend the old sect master’s life. But they ended up utterly defeated, with no legacy left behind," a heroic lord said doubtfully.

Four thousand years is a vast stretch of time for ordinary people, with countless dynasties rising and falling, leaving behind few secrets. Even preserved ones become legends, their credibility in question.

However, it is different for ancient legacies like the Ancient Sacred Land, which has a deep heritage and possibly even possesses an unrivaled strong person sealed from that era. Four thousand years of history is nothing to them.

"That’s right!"

The Ancient Saint nodded, saying, "Four thousand years ago, Shen Xing Sect, relying on their world-renowned step technique, believed they could break into the Flying Immortal Palace and obtain the Immortal Elixir to extend the old sect master’s life, but unexpectedly, they were utterly defeated, with their legacy abruptly cut off."

At this point, many heroic lords’ expressions turned grim.

The reason is simple: the rapid downfall of an unparalleled sect left its remaining disciples to be divided by the Imperial Academies, unparalleled sects, and Holy Lands.

An unparalleled sect is undoubtedly a treasure trove, from cultivation techniques and martial arts to collections of heavenly materials and earthly treasures, spiritual artifacts, even spirit stones and strange stones, enough to make a small sect rise swiftly.

Yet—

All these eventually ended up in the hands of other Di Clan, Holy Lands, and unparalleled sects, with the Ancient Sacred Land also participating in the division, obtaining some secrets.

While they were discussing, the match on stage had already reached its outcome. Shi Ye had gone on an all-out attack for thirty minutes, yet he hadn’t even touched the hem of Ye Fan’s clothing, leaving him exhausted and with no choice but to concede defeat.

"Ye Fan wins!"

After Lan Yingfei announced the result of the match, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ye Fan and Shi Ye walked off the stage with their arms around each other’s shoulders, chatting and laughing.

"Did that Wild Man deliberately throw the match? Otherwise, with his strength, how could he possibly lose to someone like Ye Fan, who’s only at the Early-stage Divine Realm?" someone asked doubtfully.

"They are brothers. Even if he threw the match, what can you do about it?"

"Even if all his friends throw matches to let him win, he definitely won’t achieve a complete victory in the round-robin. You should know, many people don’t want him to advance!" someone snorted coldly, their gaze intentionally or unintentionally sweeping toward Li Tianfeng and others.

After these two days of matches, many in the academy had heard of Ye Fan’s "glorious deeds" in the Southern Domain’s genius competition, and naturally knew about the cousin relationship between Zhou Zhaolong and Qing Zi, who died at Ye Fan’s hands.

As the acknowledged second figure among this year’s disciples, Zhou Zhaolong naturally had many loyal followers by his side, among whom Li Tianfeng was one.

Everyone was well aware that since it was a round-robin tournament, Ye Fan and Li Tianfeng would inevitably face each other sooner or later, and when that time came, it would surely be a battle between dragons and tigers.

Up to now, only a few, including Ye Fan and Li Tianfeng, had maintained a perfect record.

As the competition continued, it was likely that only one or two people would maintain an undefeated record until the end, and ultimately only one person could remain undefeated, or no one might advance with an undefeated record.

While people were deep in discussion, Lan Yingfei announced: "Second match of the fourth round, Ling Ziyuan versus Sun Biyue!"

"Wow!"

As soon as Lan Yingfei spoke, the crowd erupted in excitement. Everyone’s eyes glowed green, for it was a duel between two beautiful women, which was absolutely a visual feast for the young disciples of the Immortal Academy.

Though there were quite a few female cultivators in the academy, represented by the Four Great Immortals including Yaling, they rarely engaged in battles, focusing instead on quiet cultivation, making a duel between two beauties a rare spectacle.

Undoubtedly, Sun Biyue could be considered a beauty. Although she lacked the grace and elegance compared to Yaling, she was still a charming beauty.

At this moment, Sun Biyue’s black hair flowed like a waterfall, her gauzy attire accentuating her curvaceous figure. Her exposed slender arm gleamed like jade, exuding an enticing radiance.

In contrast, Ling Ziyuan donned a purple dress, her demeanor dignified and beautiful, her black hair neatly coiled into a bun adorned with a rosewood hairpin, emanating a soft, noble glow, much like a fairy descended to the mortal realm, exuding an air of immortality amid tranquility.

"Mr. Li, I’ll be back shortly!"

Sun Biyue’s jade-like fingers caressed Li Tianfeng’s face, her enchanting demeanor and captivating gaze enchanting everyone around.

"Go ahead, and I wish you victory!" Li Tianfeng held her jade hand, gently squeezing it, and said lightly.

"Kill!"

As soon as she ascended the stage, Sun Biyue let out a light cry and struck her palm towards Ling Ziyuan, her vast divine power roaring like a mighty river.

Being of the same Mid-stage Divine Power Realm, Sun Biyue dared not be careless, attacking with full force as soon as she entered the stage, hoping to catch Ling Ziyuan off guard and secure a swift victory.

"Purple Qi Comes from the East!"

Ling Ziyuan shouted gracefully, also delivering a palm strike. A purple divine radiance surged, clashing fiercely with Sun Biyue’s attack.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, both retreated three steps simultaneously.

The stage glowed brilliantly, with the defensive array patterns lighting up to nullify the aftermath of their attacks into nothingness.

Without the defensive array patterns, just this one strike would have obliterated the entire stage. Mid-stage Divine Power Realm cultivators could manipulate elemental power from between heaven and earth, wielding unimaginable might.

"Cut!"

Sun Biyue’s fingers formed a knife as she slashed toward Ling Ziyuan, unleashing a blaze akin to a Flame Divine Saber, shining brightly, seemingly ready to cleave the void, with the divine fire fiercely leaping and scorching intensely.

"It’s over!"

Ling Ziyuan snorted coldly, her entire body enveloped in a faint layer of purple light. She punched out, with purple divine radiance splitting the sky, shattering the Flame Divine Saber.

Then, Ling Ziyuan quickly charged forward, executing the Purple Smoke Pavilion’s ultimate technique. Her palm, like a knife, instantly broke through Sun Biyue’s defense, slicing horizontally at her neck.

"Huh?"

Sun Biyue was utterly unprepared for Ling Ziyuan’s hidden strength. At the moment her defense was breached, she realized something was wrong, but it was too late. With a muffled groan, she was knocked unconscious by Ling Ziyuan’s palm strike.

"Ling Ziyuan wins!"

Lan Yingfei gave Ling Ziyuan a deep look. While in the Immortal Secret Realm, she had been extremely low-key, not participating in any Xuan Beast hunts, leading him to misjudge her. Unexpectedly, Ling Ziyuan’s true strength was so formidable!

Soon, Sun Biyue regained consciousness, her face flushed with embarrassment. It truly echoed her own words, "I’ll be back shortly," as she couldn’t even withstand three moves before being defeated by Ling Ziyuan.

"I lost!" Returning to the waiting area, Sun Biyue said to Li Tianfeng with unease, her head lowered.

"It’s okay, it’s not your fault. She had hidden her strength earlier." Li Tianfeng comforted her with a few words, then cast his gaze toward Ye Fan.

He knew about Ling Ziyuan’s affection for Ye Fan.

In his view, it would feel quite satisfying to crush Ye Fan underfoot right in front of Ling Ziyuan!

...

...