Chapter 18

"Who, dare to sneak attack me!" Ma Yan screamed.

In the crowd, Ye Xiwen no longer hid his figure, pushing through the people. Seeing Ye Xiwen, Wang Lie immediately stepped forward happily and said, "Brat, you're back! You disappeared without a word for a whole month, where did you go!"

"I went to the back mountain to train!" Ye Xiwen replied.

"Huh, I can't even see through your cultivation level now!" Wang Lie looked at Ye Xiwen with some surprise. In terms of talent, he and Ye Xiwen were about the same, with Wang Lie being slightly stronger. So, from childhood, he had always been a bit stronger than Ye Xiwen. But this time, upon seeing his friend again, he found that he couldn't see through his friend's cultivation level.

He couldn't see through Ye Xiwen's cultivation level, but Ye Xiwen could see through his. Wang Lie's seclusion was very successful, breaking through from the third level of the Later Heaven stage to the fourth level, reaching the middle rank among the inner disciples.

"Let's talk about this later. What's going on with you, how could you be extorted by him!" Ye Xiwen coldly stared at Ma Yan and said.

"I just broke through to the fourth level and wanted to buy a secret manual here. Who knew he would extort me. What a lousy secret manual, he wants five hundred low-grade spirit stones!" Wang Lie's chubby face was full of indignation. "I didn't buy it, but he accused me of looking at it!"

If it were a genuine innate cultivation method, five hundred low-grade spirit stones would be cheap, even five thousand wouldn't be too much. But it was clearly incomplete; otherwise, it wouldn't be priced at five hundred low-grade spirit stones.

This was a common situation because not everyone who obtained a secret manual would get a complete one. Some were incomplete, and the more incomplete they were, the less valuable they were. This was why a genuine innate cultivation method could be sold for just five hundred low-grade spirit stones.

"Looking for death, it was you, the bastard, who attacked me!" Ma Yan's face was twisted with rage, his hand still aching, and his eyes flashed with murderous intent.

With a step, his tall and strong body leaped out, pouncing on Ye Xiwen and throwing a punch.

"Bang!" Ye Xiwen, of course, was prepared for his sudden attack, immediately spreading his palm to catch the punch.

"Rumble!" Ye Xiwen grabbed Ma Yan's fist, and with a rumbling sound, he twisted it forcefully.

"Crack!"

"Ah!" Another pig-like scream, Ma Yan's wrist was directly broken by Ye Xiwen. Ye Xiwen's current strength exceeded that of nineteen fierce tigers, while Ma Yan, at best, had the strength of four tigers. How could he compare to Ye Xiwen in terms of strength?

"Get lost!" Ye Xiwen roared, lifting his foot and kicking forcefully.

"Bang!" Ma Yan was hit squarely by the kick, his strong body flying up like a kite with a broken string, landing heavily on the ground, spitting out foam, and losing consciousness.

Everyone around looked at Ye Xiwen with disbelief. Ma Yan, who could rank in the top twenty among the inner disciples, was kicked unconscious by Ye Xiwen. Who was this person?

Since Ye Xiwen was usually very low-key, or rather, not very strong, few people paid attention to him, so no one really recognized him.

Everyone was thinking, where did such a ruthless person come from, knocking out a peak fifth-level Later Heaven Ma Yan with one move? He must be a real tyrant!

Of course, due to Ma Yan's notorious reputation here, no one spoke up for him. Most people were secretly cheering.

Ye Xiwen searched Ma Yan's body and found the "Heavenly Immortal Step" manual. Without looking at it closely, he put it away. In public, he didn't use his spatial ring, as it might cause envy from others.

"Let's go!" Ye Xiwen turned to Wang Lie and said.

The two quickly left the market. Wang Lie couldn't wait to ask, "How did you become so strong? Tsk, tsk, that Ma Yan was actually kicked away by you!"

"Hehe, I've always been this strong!" Ye Xiwen laughed, of course, he wouldn't mention the special space.

"Tch, I know you, brat!"

The two bickered all the way back to their homes.

When Ye Xiwen returned home, Ye Kongming also came back from outside. Seeing Ye Xiwen, he smiled and said, "You're back!"

He didn't say anything about Ye Xiwen's month-long absence. Martial artists often traveled for months, even years or decades, so it wasn't unusual. Before settling down, Ye Kongming himself had traveled extensively.

Besides, Ye Xiwen had told them before he left.

"Good, you've become much more composed!" Ye Kongming nodded in approval. He had invested a lot of attention in this adopted son.

"Look at you, you've lost weight, you must not have been eating well!" A mother's concerns were always different from a father's.

"Good timing, you're back just in time for the sect's grand competition in a few days!" Ye Kongming said, "The rewards for this grand competition are very generous, the top hundred will all receive substantial rewards!"

"Yes, Father!" Ye Xiwen nodded. He had returned to participate in the grand competition, but not just to be in the top hundred, as Ye Kongming hoped. He aimed for at least the top five, to compete for the championship.

"Why did the sect summon you this time?" Mother Xia Chunxue asked Ye Kongming.

"It's just that the Zhang family wants to co-host this year's core disciples' competition with us!" Ye Kongming said, "The Zhang family suggested that this year's core disciples' competition be held in the Blood Essence Realm!"

"What, the Blood Essence Realm!" Xia Chunxue was somewhat surprised.

Ye Xiwen was also a bit taken aback. He, of course, knew what the Blood Essence Realm was. In this world, apart from the True Martial Realm, there were always various small dimensional spaces, some created by powerful cultivators, others formed naturally. Some were vast, spanning thousands of miles, while others were just a few miles.

After countless years, these small spaces had each developed their own life forms.

The Blood Essence Realm was one such small world, filled with various strange beasts and spirit herbs. Its entrance was in Qingfeng Mountain, and the key to opening this small world was held by the Yiyuan Sect and the Zhang family. It was said that many years ago, the founding ancestor of the Yiyuan Sect and the ancestor of the Zhang family discovered it together, and both gained great benefits from it, which led to the establishment of the Yiyuan Sect and the Zhang family.

The Blood Essence Realm opened periodically. It wasn't always open because it was too small and had weak self-recovery capabilities. Closing it for a period before reopening was a form of sustainable development.

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I couldn't get internet at home, so I had to come to the internet cafe to update, hence the half-hour delay. Sorry!

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