Seeing this other martial artists around him began discussing.

"I suppose among everyone here, only Sun Zhen would dare challenge Prodigy Li directly."

"That is true. Although Sun Zhen is not ranked among the Five Great Prodigies and never participated in the Hidden Dragon Tournament, it is not because his strength is lacking. The real reason is simply his age."

"Sun Zhen is already over thirty years old, which means he exceeded the age limit for the Hidden Dragon Tournament long ago. Otherwise, with his strength, he absolutely would have had the qualifications to compete for a position among the Five Great Prodigies."

"I wonder who is truly stronger, Prodigy Li or Sun Zhen?"

"If one of the other three prodigies had arrived instead, whether it was Su Fengyan, Li Hao, or Huang Chen, Sun Zhen probably would not dare challenge them so openly. But Li Yun..."

The moment Sun Zhen stepped forward and openly confronted Li Yun, whispers immediately spread throughout the crowd.

Although Li Yun had now ascended to the position of one of the Five Great Prodigies, his rise had simply been too recent. Compared to the others who had long since established their prestige throughout the younger generation, Li Yun still lacked the same overwhelming reputation in the eyes of many people.

More importantly, Li Yun’s cultivation was still only at the seventh level of the Qi Sea Realm.

Even though he had already displayed astonishing combat strength during the Hidden Dragon Tournament, there were still many people who found it difficult to truly take a seventh level Qi Sea Realm cultivator seriously.

Because of this, quite a few Martial Artists still doubted the legitimacy of Li Yun’s title as a Prodigy.

Sun Zhen was precisely one of those people.

Sun Zhen himself possessed extremely formidable strength. He was already at the sixth level of the Essence Qi Realm and had comprehended two different Intents to the terrifying level of fourty percent mastery.

He had also cultivated the mid grade Profound Rank cultivation art, the One Qi Heavenly Sea Art, all the way to the ninth layer while mastering several powerful Profound Rank martial arts techniques.

With such a terrifying foundation, Sun Zhen’s overall combat strength was enough to rival ordinary experts at the seventh level of the Essence Qi Realm.

Naturally, someone with that level of power did not think highly of a newly risen Prodigy like Li Yun.

Li Yun merely smiled faintly after hearing the surrounding discussions.

"Hehe... do all of you truly think I needed your help to enter the Flame King Hall?"

His voice was calm and indifferent, yet his words instantly caused many expressions to stiffen slightly.

"Hmph!"

Sun Zhen let out a cold snort, clearly unwilling to continue arguing.

"I do not care to waste more words with you. Since you want the Flame King’s Legacy, then prove that you are qualified to take it!"

The moment his voice fell, Sun Zhen clenched his hand tightly.

Buzz!

A massive battle axe suddenly appeared within his grasp.

The axe was dark and heavy, while countless ancient patterns covered its surface. The instant it appeared, a fierce and domineering aura swept through the entire hall like a violent storm.

At the same time, an intense burning ambition emerged within Sun Zhen’s eyes.

Because he had been born a few years too early, he had lost the qualification to participate in the Hidden Dragon Tournament. As a result, he had also missed the greatest opportunity for fame among the younger generation.

This had always remained one of the greatest regrets in his heart.

But now...

A new opportunity had appeared before him.

"If I defeat Li Yun here today," Sun Zhen thought to himself excitedly, "then I can take his place and become a new Prodigy!"

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

A Martial Artist who never even participated in the Hidden Dragon Tournament, yet still rose to become one of the Five Great Prodigies...

Once news of such an achievement spread throughout the world, his name would undoubtedly become legendary.

"Hehe..."

A faint smile unconsciously appeared on Sun Zhen’s face as his fighting spirit surged higher and higher.

Li Yun naturally saw through Sun Zhen’s thoughts immediately, but he could not even be bothered to expose them.

He simply stood calmly with his hands behind his back, his expression relaxed and indifferent as though he did not place Sun Zhen in his eyes at all.

"Very well," Li Yun said lightly. "Since you insist on challenging me, let us begin."

His gaze landed calmly on Sun Zhen before he continued in an unconcerned tone.

"I only hope your strength is worthy of your confidence. Otherwise..."

A faint smile appeared on Li Yun’s face.

"This battle will be far too boring."

"So, Li Yun, are you saying that I, Sun Zhen, am nothing more than an arrogant fool blinded by overconfidence?" The moment he heard Li Yun’s indifferent words, Sun Zhen’s expression instantly darkened. His face became extremely ugly as anger surged within his chest.

"Hmph!"

He let out a furious snort while glaring coldly at Li Yun.

"Today, I will personally see what gives you, a newly risen Prodigy, the confidence to act so arrogantly before me!"

The instant his voice fell, Sun Zhen no longer wasted another word.

"Heavenly Sea Tyrant Axe!"

Boom!

A terrifying wave of qi suddenly erupted from Sun Zhen’s body as he circulated the One Qi Heavenly Sea Art to its absolute limit. The power of the ninth layer cultivation art exploded outward like a roaring ocean, causing the surrounding air to tremble violently.

And along with that, Sea Intent and Water Intent were also both released at the 40% source mastery.

From the very beginning, Sun Zhen directly unleashed a powerful killing move without holding back in the slightest.

The ancient battle axe in his hand tore through the air with overwhelming momentum.

At that moment, the countless ancient runes engraved upon the axe body suddenly lit up one after another. Brilliant light flickered violently across the surface of the weapon while vast quantities of qi poured into the axe.

In the next instant, an enormous axe ray condensed in the sky.

The axe light radiated a fierce and domineering aura as it descended toward Li Yun’s head with unmatched destructive force, as though it intended to split both heaven and earth apart.

Boom!

The moment the axe ray slashed downward, the surrounding air exploded violently.

Visible ripples spread throughout the plaza like raging tidal waves while the enormous pressure caused the entire ground to tremble faintly beneath everyone’s feet.

"What a terrifying attack!"

"The power behind that strike is enough to threaten even true Essence Qi Realm experts!"

"No wonder Sun Zhen dared challenge Prodigy Li directly. His strength is far greater than I imagined!"

"Although Li Yun possesses the title of Prodigy, his cultivation is still only at the seventh level of the Qi Sea Realm. I wonder how he plans to resist such an attack."

"Could it be possible that he will lose in a single move?"

As the crowd witnessed the terrifying might behind Sun Zhen’s attack, shock immediately appeared across countless faces while exclamations continuously rang throughout the hall.

Meanwhile, Li Yun simply raised his head calmly and looked at the enormous axe ray descending toward him.

His expression did not change in the slightest.

There was neither nervousness nor pressure visible on his face.

Instead, a faint trace of disdain slowly appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Is this all you can do?"

His calm voice echoed through the hall.

The next moment, Li Yun’s body trembled slightly.

Whoosh!

Instantly, countless pitch-black ancient runes began appearing across the surface of his skin.

Those mysterious runes emitted layers of dark black light that wrapped around his body like flowing shadows. At the same time, a terrifying aura gradually spread outward from Li Yun’s figure.

Then suddenly—

A massive black hole slowly emerged behind him.

The dark vortex rotated endlessly while releasing an incomparably terrifying devouring force, as though it could swallow everything in existence.

The surrounding light even began to distort faintly under the influence of that black hole.

"Go."

Li Yun softly uttered a single word.