Xia Qixi was the number one genius of the Celestial Gold Kingdom and a scion of its incredibly powerful Xia family. With her noble status, she was the girl every talented disciple in the entire Celestial Gold Kingdom dreamed of.

Xu Bomming was certainly no exception.

Xu Bomming had admired Xia Qixi for a long time. However, while the Xu family was also one of the Celestial Gold Kingdom’s top families, there was a considerable gap between them and the Xia family. Furthermore, Xia Qixi’s extraordinary talent made Xu Bomming feel deeply inferior.

Now, seeing Ye Xuan, the champion of the Floating Light Assembly, appear alongside his Senior Sister Xia Qixi, Xu Bomming immediately grew wary. When he saw her about to give the Xia family’s ancestral Jade Pendant to Ye Xuan, his hostility surged.

The Xia family’s Jade Pendants were spoken of in mythical terms throughout the Celestial Gold Kingdom. They were said to have the ability to warm and nurture one’s Profound Veins and enhance the cultivation of one’s martial soul. Xu Bomming’s master once had the good fortune to come into contact with one of the Xia family’s Jade Pendants, and he couldn’t stop praising it after returning.

However, the Xia family only possessed four such Jade Pendants in total. Basically, only the most important members of the Xia family could receive one.

Seeing Xia Qixi actually trying to give this Jade Pendant to Ye Xuan, Xu Bomming instantly grew anxious.

"Do I need you to meddle in my affairs?" Xia Qixi snapped coldly.

"No, Senior Sister..."

"Alright, stop arguing. I couldn’t accept this Jade Pendant anyway. I’ll be taking my leave."

Ye Xuan frowned, not wanting to stay here any longer. The Jade Pendant Xia Qixi had presented, however, gave him a new theory about her identity.

"Hmph. Good, you know your place." Xu Bomming was visibly relieved.

"Insolent! Back down at once!" Xia Qixi finally lost her temper. Ye Xuan was her savior, and hearing Xu Bomming speak to him like that filled her with rage.

Hearing Xia Qixi rebuke him so harshly for Ye Xuan’s sake, Xu Bomming’s own anger flared. He sneered, "Senior Sister, I, Xu Bomming, have always followed your lead. When have I ever disobeyed you? But this time, I must speak up."

"I admit this Ye Xuan’s talent in Soul Refining is formidable, but he’s not even twenty years old. How strong can he possibly be? I don’t know how he saved you, but don’t let yourself be deceived."

"Some people these days are masters of setting up elaborate schemes. It can be hard to tell what’s real and what’s fake. You need to be careful."

"To hear you talk, it’s as if you’re so much stronger. Am I blind? You think I can’t even see something like that?" Xia Qixi retorted coldly. If Xu Bomming weren’t a disciple from her own Celestial Gold Kingdom, her personality dictated that she would have taught him a lesson long ago.

Although she knew Xu Bomming’s Martial Dao cultivation was strong and that he had broken through to become a Tier Four Celestial Martial Artist, in her eyes, if they were to truly fight, Xu Bomming would be defeated by Ye Xuan in an instant.

Forget Xu Bomming; what about the many elders of her Celestial Gold Kingdom? What would happen if they faced Ye Xuan? She had witnessed Ye Xuan’s power with her own eyes. The word ’genius’ was hardly enough to describe him.

Xu Bomming saw that while Xia Qixi didn’t argue back, the dismissive look in her eyes was crystal clear. An idea struck him, and he strode in front of Ye Xuan with a sneer. "Ye Xuan, I don’t know what trick you used to make Senior Sister trust you so much, but I, Xu Bomming, don’t believe for a second that you actually saved her. If you’ve got the guts, have a match with me. If you can win, I, Xu Bomming, will never say another damn word to you again."

When Ye Xuan had arrived in the valley, he had noticed that contestants from many kingdoms were gathered there. He had been wondering what was going on and just wanted to return to the Liuyun Kingdom’s group to ask about it. He never expected Xu Bomming to pester him nonstop from the very beginning, and he was starting to get annoyed.

’Whether I was capable of saving Xia Qixi is none of his business,’ he thought. ’And whether I’m strong or weak doesn’t have a damned thing to do with him either.’

Therefore, Ye Xuan couldn’t be bothered to respond to Xu Bomming’s provocation.

Seeing that Ye Xuan had no intention of making a move, the sneer on Xu Bomming’s face widened. He became even more certain that Ye Xuan must have used some trick to deceive Xia Qixi. He quickly moved to block the departing Ye Xuan and said mockingly, "What? The great champion of the Floating Light Assembly doesn’t even have the courage to spar with me?"

Ye Xuan looked at him coldly and said, "Who the hell do you think you are? Why should I spar with you? Get lost."

Xu Bomming froze for a moment after hearing Ye Xuan’s words, then he erupted in fury. "Brat, I was originally just going to test your strength. I didn’t expect you to dare speak to me like that. In that case, this won’t be just a simple test."

As soon as the words left his mouth, before Ye Xuan could even speak, Xu Bomming suddenly threw a punch.

He was afraid Senior Sister Xia Qixi would object, so his punch was swift and sudden. Profound Power flowed over the surface of his fist, resembling a fierce dragon crossing a river, unleashing an astonishing wave of power.

He wanted to teach Ye Xuan a lesson. In his mind, this one punch would absolutely be enough to knock Ye Xuan to the ground, perhaps even make him cough up blood.

In fact, from the moment Ye Xuan had appeared in the valley with Xia Qixi, the disciples from the various kingdoms had all been paying attention to the situation. They just hadn’t crowded around. Now, seeing Xu Bomming actually attack Ye Xuan, they were all shocked, especially the disciples from Liuyun Kingdom. They had only been watching before, but now they rushed over one after another.

This was especially true for Yun Aoxue, who was among them. She had actually noticed Ye Xuan long ago and had just been watching quietly. Now, seeing Xu Bomming’s terrifying punch, she was both shocked and furious.

She knew how powerful Xu Bomming was—he was one of only two genius disciples from the Celestial Gold Kingdom to have broken through to become a Celestial Martial Artist. His strength was formidable. If she had known he would attack Ye Xuan, she definitely wouldn’t have just watched from the sidelines; she would have rushed in sooner.

Unlike the worried and nervous disciples of Liuyun Kingdom, the group from the Celestial Gold Kingdom all had looks of excitement on their faces. Many of them were also unhappy that Ye Xuan was walking with their Senior Sister Xia Qixi. Now that they saw their Senior Brother Xu Bomming openly attacking Ye Xuan, they were thrilled to death.

’He dares to walk with Senior Sister Xia Qixi? Hmph, he deserves a taste of our Celestial Gold Kingdom’s iron fists.’

But to their surprise, Senior Sister Xia Qixi, who had been so worried about Ye Xuan just moments ago, didn’t move an inch.

Ye Xuan felt the overwhelming force of the punch sweep toward him like a gale-force hurricane. The Profound Power sealed off the space around him completely. He knew Xu Bomming was using his full strength, intending to land a vicious blow. Ye Xuan’s gaze turned cold, and he threw a punch of his own.

’He wants to trade blows with me?’ Xu Bomming sneered internally. He had poured all of his Tier Four First Layer Profound Power into this punch. As for the technique, while it looked simple, it was a high-grade Earth Grade Cultivation Technique, which was considered absolutely heaven-defying within the Thirteen Nations Alliance.

Forget a genius who wasn’t even twenty, like Ye Xuan; even some veteran Celestial Martial Artists would suffer a hidden loss from this punch. Xu Bomming could already picture Ye Xuan’s miserable state, wailing in agony under the force of his fist.

With that thought in mind, Xu Bomming’s fist violently collided with Ye Xuan’s in mid-air.

The instant their fists met, Xu Bomming’s expression changed. The sneer on his lips vanished, replaced by a flicker of terror that bloomed in his eyes.

From Ye Xuan’s fist, he felt an irresistible force surging toward him.

’Not good!’

He immediately tried to retreat, attempting to dispel this ferocious power, but before he could even react, that terrifying force had already traveled past his fist and surged violently into his right arm.

BANG!

Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, Xu Bomming was sent flying backward like a kite with a snapped string. He spat out a mouthful of blood and crashed hard onto the ground, looking utterly pathetic.

He clutched his right arm in agony, his face twisted in pain. His entire right arm had been completely broken by that single blow.

Everyone present couldn’t help but gasp, then stare at Ye Xuan in shock. They had been here for some time and had a clear understanding of the strengths of the disciples from the various kingdoms.

In terms of strength, Xu Bomming, at the Tier Four First Layer, was definitely one of the top five figures among all the disciples present. Even for the older generation of elders, injuring him with a single punch would be no easy feat.

They never imagined that this Ye Xuan would send Xu Bomming flying and leave him severely injured on the ground with just a single move.

Ye Xuan flicked his hand as if brushing off a speck of dust, then said coldly, "Trash like you wanted to test my strength? If it weren’t for Xia Qixi, it wouldn’t have been as simple as just a broken arm."

The crowd was dumbfounded. Watching Ye Xuan lecture Xu Bomming so domineeringly, they felt no sense of indignation. Instead, they all looked at Xu Bomming with pity.

What Ye Xuan said wasn’t unreasonable. If they were anywhere else, and some disciple weaker than them dared to provoke them so brazenly, a broken arm would probably be the lightest punishment.

Still, Xu Bomming was a Tier Four Celestial Martial Artist. How could Ye Xuan possibly be so strong as to severely injure an expert like him with a single punch? The crowd simply couldn’t wrap their heads around it. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"I knew it. How could an ordinary disciple possibly trouble him?" Yun Aoxue stopped in her tracks, a charming smile gracing her lips as her heart was finally put at ease.

She then took a few steps to stand before Ye Xuan, looking at him with a sweet smile. "Ye Xuan, are you all right?"

"Teacher Yun Aoxue," Ye Xuan said with a pleasantly surprised smile. "How could I not be?"

After arriving in the Floating Light Secret Realm, Ye Xuan hadn’t heard any news of Yun Aoxue and had been a little worried. Now, seeing Teacher Yun Aoxue safe and sound, his own heart was put at ease.

"By the way, Teacher Yun Aoxue, why are so many disciples gathered here?" Ye Xuan asked.