Chapter 39: Counterattack

## Chapter 39: The Absolute Counterattack

Below the stage, righteous indignation boiled, the voices denouncing Ye Chen rising and falling like waves.

This clamor below the stage caused the fierce battle above to momentarily pause, granting the battered Qi Hao a chance to catch his breath.

"Using sorcery! Despicable and shameless!" The disciples of Ren Yang Peak still clung to this point, their accusations growing ever more unrestrained.

Hearing this, a cold light flickered in Ye Chen's eyes. He swept a glance at the Ren Yang Peak disciples and spoke in a frigid tone, "Dare you utter that again?"

"What? You used sorcery and now forbid others from speaking?" A white-clothed disciple of Ren Yang Peak retorted.

"You may silence one man's mouth, but can you silence everyone here?"

"Instead of cultivating the orthodox path, you choose the heretical way."

One fist cannot contend against four hands. Facing the tide of inverted black and white slander, though angered, he could not halt the torrent of abuse.

The weight of public opinion was terrifying.

Ye Chen truly felt the truth of this.

*Zheng!*

While Ye Chen's attention was diverted, Qi Hao on the opposite side suddenly launched an attack, a crescent-shaped sword light slashing towards him.

*Pu!*

Fresh blood splattered. Ye Chen was instantly injured, a ghastly blood gash appearing across his chest.

"Die!" Roaring, Qi Hao’s face was contorted with ferocity, like a rabid dog pouncing. A faint light lingered on his index finger as he pointed it out.

*Pu!*

A blood hole was instantly gouged out of Ye Chen's right shoulder.

Another sneak attack.

Staggering backward, Ye Chen's face turned instantly frigid.

That day in the back mountains of Heng Yue Sect, he had been injured by Qi Hao's sudden sneak attack. Today's scene was eerily similar.

Due to the successive sneak attacks, Ye Chen was in a sorry state, his form quite wretched.

Qi Hao, like a madman, gave Ye Chen no chance to catch his breath. Palm prints, fist shadows, and sword light rained down, covering the heavens and the earth.

"His mother, does he want face or not?" Xiong Er below, truly unable to watch further, slapped the table and jumped up, instantly breaking into curses.

But at this moment, who would pay him any heed?

"Beat him down!" Seeing Qi Hao's absolute counterattack, the disciples of Ren Yang Peak roared with voices that shook the heavens.

"How could Senior Brother Qi lose?" Seeing Ye Chen retreat repeatedly, Su Xin Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

"I rely, is there no justice under heaven?" Xiong Er directly leaped onto the table, straining his throat in a loud howl.

One must know, he was the bookmaker for the outer bets.

The spirit stones wagered on Qi Hao's victory amounted to a staggering seventy to eighty thousand, while those wagered on Ye Chen's victory were only one hundred. This meant that if Ye Chen lost, he would have to compensate seventy to eighty thousand spirit stones to the bettors.

Naturally, it wasn't solely about the spirit stones.

Though he had known Ye Chen for a short time, he had seen through Ye Chen's character: he was absolutely a person worth forming a deep friendship with. He truly considered Ye Chen a friend. Seeing Ye Chen first slandered and then sneak-attacked, the anger in his heart was truly ignited.

*Pu!*

*Pu!*

On the battle stage, fresh blood splattered continuously.

Ever since being successfully sneak-attacked by Qi Hao, Ye Chen had no time to react, being relentlessly battered by Qi Hao towards the edge of the battle stage.

Go die!

Accompanying a roar, Qi Hao's sword pierced through the air.

*Pu!*

Fresh blood splattered again.

However, this time Ye Chen did not dodge. He gritted his teeth and allowed his shoulder to be pierced, yet he did not fall off the battle stage.

"Today, new grudges and old will be settled together."

Ye Chen's voice was ice-cold to the extreme. With his left hand, he fiercely grasped Qi Hao's long sword, and his right hand was already infused with majestic true qi. A fist landed squarely on Qi Hao's face.

Injured by a single blow, Qi Hao was sent staggering by Ye Chen's punch.

Before Qi Hao could regain his balance, Ye Chen followed with a palm strike, sending him stumbling backward.

War!

With a sonorous roar, Ye Chen, regardless of the flowing fresh blood, again pounced towards Qi Hao like a male lion.

He was truly provoked to anger. Facing a group of sanctimonious, insidious, and cunning people, he no longer held back. He charged towards Qi Hao, the mystery of the Beast Heart's rage nearly unleashed, in an absolute counterattack.

*Roar!*

*Roar!*

Every time Ye Chen made a move, there was a beast's roar, erupting from his fury.

Ah...!

Qi Hao roared in anger, his hair disheveled. Regardless of how many secret techniques he possessed, once Ye Chen closed in, he was again suppressed and battered. His entire body's strength had nowhere to vent, and many secret methods could not be unleashed in time.

"Sorcery! He's using sorcery again!"

Seeing Qi Hao being suppressed again, the disciples of Ren Yang Peak began to make noise once more.

Soon, the watching disciples also echoed them, this time with even greater momentum than before.

They weren't all disciples who were on good terms with Qi Hao. They were heartache over their spirit stones.

One must know, there was still an outer bet below Feng Yun Terrace.

Everyone present, except for Xiong Er and Ye Chen, had bet on Qi Hao to win. If Qi Hao were to lose, their spirit stones would be gone forever.

"Using sorcery is too despicable!"

"Get off the stage! You are not qualified to duel with Senior Brother Qi!"

"Drag him to the Discipline Hall!"

Cursing voices, reprimanding voices, and angry shouts again formed a tide. The large hat of sorcery was once again buckled onto Ye Chen's head, attempting to use this method to halt the fight on the stage once more, to buy time for Qi Hao to catch his breath.

But, having been calculated once, how could Ye Chen make the same mistake again?

He did not stop his attack. Like a fierce beast, his moves were strong and overbearing, every punch drawing blood, leaving Qi Hao powerless to retaliate.

Ah...!

Qi Hao's face was ferocious to the point of distortion, yet it was of no avail.

"Boy, well done!" Xiong Er, standing on the gambling table, didn't know where he had summoned a white cloth from, waving it desperately.

"Senior... Senior Sister, what should we do?" Below the stage, the disciples of Ren Yang Peak all looked towards Su Xin Yue.

Su Xin Yue was also somewhat panicked. How could she have imagined that Ye Chen would possess such fighting strength? Even injured repeatedly, even being forced to the edge of the battle stage, he could launch an absolute counterattack. Everything was beyond her expectations.

*Bang!*

On the stage, Qi Hao was sent flying by Ye Chen's punch.

With another *bang*, Qi Hao's falling body smashed the battle stage, causing it to crack open.

However, when he stood up, a ferocious smile still hung at the corner of his mouth. "Ye Chen, you ultimately cannot defeat me."

Hearing this, Ye Chen, who was just about to charge in again, suddenly frowned.

He discovered that the true qi circulating in his body was all bound by a powerful force. Even the sea of his dantian was imprisoned.

"Heaven Spirit Curse!" Ye Chen glanced at his arm, only to find a yellow talisman stuck there, already slowly merging into his body. Looking closely, wasn't it precisely the Heaven Spirit Curse?

"It is the Heaven Spirit Curse!" The disciples below were in an uproar. How precious was the Heaven Spirit Curse? They hadn't expected Qi Hao to actually possess such a curse talisman.

"With his true qi imprisoned, Ye Chen is doomed to be powerless to retaliate!"

"This time there's no need to lose money!"

"So, Senior Brother Qi had planned this from the beginning." The disciples of Ren Yang Peak breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The battle that followed would have no suspense.

"Qi Hao, does his mother want face or not?" In the field, only Xiong Er was tearing his throat and cursing. "You're dueling with someone in the Qi Condensation Realm, and you actually use the Heaven Spirit Curse! Can you be any more despicable?"

However, at this moment, how could Qi Hao listen?

He was already consumed by shame and anger. His mind now held only one thought: to defeat Ye Chen, at any cost.

Opposite him, Ye Chen's face was like frost.

This was his first time being struck by the Heaven Spirit Curse, and he truly felt its terror. With his current strength, it was absolutely impossible to break free.

"My true qi is imprisoned, I cannot defeat him."

The light in Ye Chen's eyes flickered uncertainly. With his dantian sea imprisoned, just as his true fire was sealed, even if his flesh was strong and his combat ability outstanding, in a situation with no true qi, there was absolutely no possibility of victory.

Ha ha ha...!

Opposite, Qi Hao's ferocious and unrestrained laughter could be heard.

"I will make you wish for death." Qi Hao drew out his sharp killing sword and approached step by step. He was in no hurry; he wanted to fully savor Ye Chen's powerless rage.

"Who wishes for death who dies is still uncertain." Hooking a cold smile at the corner of his mouth, Ye Chen again prepared for the fierce battle.