Chapter 12: Challenge Zhao Long of Di Yang Peak

## Chapter 12: Challenging Zhao Long of Diyang Peak

"Audacious!" Ye Chen roared, his anger ignited. Zhang Tao, like a cornered beast, lunged forward, his face a mask of distorted fury, still smarting from the humiliation of being injured by a first-layer Qi Condensation cultivator days prior.

*Zheng!*

It was the Imperial Sun Sword Qi once more, cleaving through the air. Zhang Tao seemed to have gone mad, wildly swinging his arm.

Facing the incoming sword qi, Ye Chen neither dodged nor retreated. He charged forward like a fierce tiger, allowing the sword qi to leave bloody gashes across his body. Compared to the torment Zhang Fengnian and the others had suffered, this pain was negligible.

Seeing Ye Chen endure his sword qi with his bare flesh, Zhang Tao's expression shifted. Ye Chen was already upon him.

"You deserve to die!" A sudden, violent roar erupted. Ye Chen closed the distance to Zhang Tao in a single stride, his fist clenched tight. He used no True Qi, relying solely on the explosive power of his physical body, and smashed it squarely into Zhang Tao's face.

*Pu!*

Zhang Tao spat blood, reeling backward from the impact. His entire face was a mangled mess. Before he could regain his footing, Ye Chen's foot lashed out, sending him flying. Another mouthful of fresh blood sprayed into the air.

"This…" The other two Hengyue disciples stared, shock etched on their faces. A probationary disciple in the second layer of Qi Condensation, without even using True Qi, had actually brought down Zhang Tao! This completely defied their understanding.

"Kill! Kill! Kill them all!" A maddened roar tore through the air, snapping the two from their stupor. Zhang Tao, his hair disheveled, summoned his remaining lackeys.

"Let's go together." Realizing Ye Chen was no easy opponent, the two Hengyue disciples attacked from left and right, their palms suffused with True Qi. One condensed a palm knife, the other a sword blade – both basic Qi manipulation techniques.

However, in Ye Chen's eyes, these were nothing.

"Scram!"

With a booming roar, Ye Chen unleashed his Thunderbolt Palm, sending the disciple on his left flying. When he landed, he was a bloody mess.

Turning abruptly, Ye Chen sprang like a tiger, closing in on the disciple on his right. He easily evaded the disciple's palm knife, and a single palm strike shattered his shoulder bone. Flipping his hand, he delivered another punch, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Having dispatched the two disciples, Ye Chen kicked Zhang Tao aside, then swiftly unleashed four streams of sword qi, severing the chains binding Zhang Fengnian and the others.

"Grandfather!" As soon as he was free, Tiger Kid rushed to Zhang Fengnian's side.

"Senior, it is all my fault." While furiously infusing True Qi into Zhang Fengnian, Ye Chen spoke with self-reproach, his eyes filled with guilt. Had it not been for him, perhaps Zhang Tao wouldn't have descended into such madness.

"Little friend, do not blame yourself." Zhang Fengnian was indeed heavily injured. Though advanced in age, Ye Chen's True Qi protected his heart meridian, ensuring he wouldn't be in mortal danger.

"Ye Chen swears here and now, I will never let you all suffer harm again."

After three full hours of ministrations, Ye Chen withdrew his True Qi. Zhang Fengnian was out of danger and would recover in a few days. Tiger Kid, nourished by the True Qi, also had no serious issues. Only the little spirit eagle, whose wounds hadn't healed from the previous days and whose wings were pierced by hooks, would likely require several months of therapy.

Having settled them, the expression on Ye Chen's face turned instantly frigid.

"We know we were wrong, we know we were wrong!" One of the Hengyue disciples, beaten into submission, pleaded desperately.

"Wrong means paying the price." An icy voice echoed, like a majestic decree. Ye Chen raised his foot and with a single kick, shattered the disciple's Dantian.

*Ah…!*

A bloodcurdling shriek rent the air.

"My Dantian! My cultivation!" The disciple cried out in agony, clutching his profusely bleeding lower abdomen. He was drenched in cold sweat from the pain. From this moment on, he was no longer a lofty immortal, but a complete and utter waste.

Ye Chen was already walking towards the other disciple.

"No, no, no…" That disciple's face was a mask of panic. He scrambled backward, but his fate was sealed.

*Ah!*

Another agonizing shriek echoed as that disciple's Dantian was also shattered by a kick, his cultivation scattered completely. He too was no longer an immortal, and a miserable life awaited him. Unable to endure the blow, he fainted on the ground.

Finally, Ye Chen slowly turned, his gaze falling upon the blood-soaked Zhang Tao.

Zhang Tao was truly terrified. He had never imagined Ye Chen would be so ruthless, actually crippling their cultivation. As a participant in this affair, he was also destined to suffer the same fate.

"Do you know who my master is? My master is Ge Hong, the Peak Master of Diyang Peak! You dare injure me?" Zhang Tao roared, yet he seemed incapable of grasping the severity of the situation, still trying to intimidate Ye Chen with his master's name.

"I told you, no one can save you today." The icy voice was still bone-piercing. Ye Chen delivered a clean, decisive kick, crippling Zhang Tao's Dantian.

*Ahah!*

Zhang Tao's screams were truly bone-chilling. At this moment, he too was no longer a high-and-mighty immortal, destined to be abandoned by the sect. A life of misery awaited him. Only now did he regret, regret provoking Ye Chen, thus bringing about this great calamity.

"The pain you inflicted, I shall return a hundredfold." Ye Chen's anger seemed unquelled. He took out three silver needles from his storage bag and inserted them into Zhang Tao's body.

These silver needles were the poison needles from the hunchbacked old man, refined from the essence of Borer Worm toxin. Ye Chen had personally tested them; these poison needles would not cause immediate death. The poisoned person would endure the torment of countless tiny insects biting their body. Looking at it now, using them on Zhang Tao was perfectly fitting.

*Ahah!*

The toxin was already spreading. Zhang Tao wailed incessantly, clawing at his own body, leaving a trail of bloody marks.

"Let me go, please, let me go!" Zhang Tao clung to Ye Chen's legs. "It was all Senior Brother Zhao, all Senior Brother Zhao Long! He wanted the Heavenly Spirit Curse, that's why he sent me! It has nothing to do with me!"

"Zhao Long." Hearing this name, a sudden cold light appeared in Ye Chen's eyes.

Turning abruptly, Ye Chen strode towards the door, his entire being suffused with a thick aura of malevolence and an irrepressible killing intent. He would ascend the mountain and challenge Zhao Long to a decisive battle. This ascent was destined to be a battleground stained with blood.

"Even if I die, I will make you pay a painful price."

At this moment, on Zhengyang Peak, Ge Hong sat high on the lecture platform, imparting his cultivation insights to the disciples of Diyang Peak.

"The path of cultivation should respect Heaven and Earth. Heaven and Earth are paramount. Qi is the foundation of man. Cultivators should focus on refining Qi."

Below, the disciples filled the seats, all respectful and attentive. Every word uttered by Ge Hong was etched into their hearts, daring not to be negligent in the slightest. They greatly feared this strict and demanding master.

Casting a glance below, Ge Hong gently stroked his beard.

Looking at those eyes filled with awe, he felt even more like an esteemed expert. He greatly enjoyed this feeling of being high above. On Diyang Peak, he was heaven, the king who held sway over everything.

"Zhao Long, I await you at the Wind Cloud Platform!" Suddenly, an icy voice echoed up Diyang Peak.

"Who is challenging Senior Brother Zhao?" The scene erupted into a sudden clamor.

"Could it be disciples from the other two main peaks?"

"Whoever it is, it's useless. Senior Brother Zhao Long is about to break through to the sixth layer of Qi Condensation and possesses master's secret techniques. Within the outer sect of Hengyue Sect, apart from the true disciples of the three main peak masters, who can possibly defeat him?"

And below, Zhao Long had already risen, a playful smile still lingering at the corner of his mouth. He seemed to recognize the voice as Ye Chen's.

"Dragon Child, may I know who is challenging you?" On the lecture platform, Ge Hong closed his eyes and recuperated, his voice laced with disdain. Zhao Long was his personally trained disciple, and one of the few he held in highest regard. He was always very confident in Zhao Long.

"Reporting to Master, it is a probationary disciple named Ye Chen."

"Ye Chen?" Ge Hong's voice sank. He frowned slightly, seemingly recalling the events at the Nine Clear Pavilion. He asked, "Is that the Ye Chen who is sixteen years old but only cultivated to the first layer realm?"

"Master knows him?" Zhao Long was somewhat astonished.

"He wanted to become a disciple of my Diyang Peak, but I refused. My Diyang Peak never accepts such waste."

"So that's it!" Hearing Ge Hong's explanation, the disciples in attendance all showed expressions of sarcasm, a chorus of cold laughter rising.

"I see, that Ye Chen wants to enter Diyang Peak but failed, so he resorted to this method to attract Master's attention, hoping Master would accept him as a disciple."

"Truly a brilliant scheme."

"Go then!" On the lecture platform, Ge Hong closed his eyes again, saying casually, "A little punishment is fine, but don't be too heavy-handed, lest others say my Diyang Peak bullies people."