Chapter 44

Zhang Ruochen's first opponent was a young martial artist in a yellow robe, who looked to be around eighteen or nineteen years old, with his cultivation reaching the Middle Rank of the Yellow Apex Realm.

To be able to cultivate to the Middle Rank at such a young age, he could be considered a martial genius.

The young martial artist in the yellow robe held a sharp war saber and said with a full voice, "Hao Family, Hao Shiqi, the first to challenge you. Draw your sword, sir!"

Zhang Ruochen pressed his right hand on the hilt of the Flash Soul Sword and gently shook his head, saying, "You are not worth me drawing my sword. If I do, I might hurt you."

"Arrogant!"

The young martial artist in the yellow robe infused his true qi into the saber, activating the two force-type inscriptions within it. The weight of the saber increased to 287 pounds.

He held the saber with both hands, swinging it so densely that it was impenetrable, and quickly charged towards Zhang Ruochen.

With his momentum, even a martial artist at the Great Rank of the Yellow Apex Realm would not dare to clash with him head-on.

"Whoosh!"

Zhang Ruochen stood still, not moving an inch. He raised his arm, and the scabbard swung out, striking the young martial artist in the yellow robe on the neck.

"Clang!"

The saber fell to the ground.

The young martial artist in the yellow robe let out a cry of pain, fell off the stage, and landed in a daze.

He held his neck, climbed back onto the stage, picked up the saber, and stared at Zhang Ruochen with a mix of fear and respect, saying, "Thank you for sparing my life."

Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen's sword was still in the scabbard; otherwise, his head would have already flown off his neck.

Second match, win!

Third match, win!

Fourth match, win!

In the next three matches, Zhang Ruochen won consecutively.

He stood in the center of the stage, as steady as a rock, never moving his feet throughout the entire process.

All the opponents who challenged him, regardless of their cultivation level, were all knocked off the stage with the same move, without exception.

"How can this young man be so powerful? Luo Tian, who has reached the Great Rank of the Yellow Apex Realm, was also knocked off the stage with a scabbard, without even a chance to retaliate." A noble girl of sixteen years old stared at Zhang Ruochen with curiosity.

Zhang Ruochen was indeed too young, yet his strength was terrifying. A martial artist at the Great Rank of the Yellow Apex Realm could not even force him to take a step back, let alone make him draw his sword.

"He must have cultivated his sword intent to the 'sword follows the mind' realm. If one cannot break his sword intent, anyone who goes up will only be knocked off the stage with one move."

Xue Bingsheng, holding a folding fan, said with a smile, "Ha! Don't you know his identity?"

"What identity?" the crowd asked.

Xue Bingsheng said, "He is the Ninth Prince of Yunwu County, who, during the year-end assessment, defeated a Great Rank genius with his cultivation at the Small Rank. With his cultivation speed, he should have already reached the Middle Rank. Unless a martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Apex Realm steps in, no one can defeat him."

"Ha! So he is the famous martial genius, the Ninth Prince. I will go and challenge him."

On the viewing platform, a bald giant with two iron hammers in his hands leaped over ten meters and landed on the stage.

"Ninth Prince, I, Guo Sihai, come to challenge you for the fifth match. Be careful, my pair of iron hammers together weigh 800 pounds. If you get hit, even an iron man would be crushed." Guo Sihai said.

Martial artists who could win five consecutive matches in the Yellow Level Martial Arena almost always had the cultivation of the Great Perfection of the Yellow Apex Realm, with only a few geniuses reaching the Great Rank.

Guo Sihai was a martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Apex Realm, standing eight feet tall, with arms thicker than Zhang Ruochen's thighs, and his body covered in palm-sized muscles.

"Guo Sihai has innate divine strength and can burst with thirty thousand pounds of force at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Apex Realm. The Ninth Prince is likely to lose!"

Hearing the crowd's discussion, the Ninth Princess also began to worry, as he was facing a Great Perfection martial artist.

A Great Perfection martial artist and a Great Rank martial artist were not in the same league.

"Roar!"

Guo Sihai roared, his bones making a "crackling" sound. He swung his two iron hammers, which moved like windmills, creating waves of wind.

"Wild Martial Hammer Technique!"

Guo Sihai unleashed a lower-grade human-level martial technique, bursting with all his strength, and both iron hammers simultaneously struck towards Zhang Ruochen.

One hammer aimed at Zhang Ruochen's head, the other at his legs.

Under such a fierce attack, even if Zhang Ruochen's cultivation was strong, he would definitely have to retreat.

As long as Zhang Ruochen retreated, his subsequent moves would follow in quick succession, defeating him with a thunderous force.

"Smack!"

Zhang Ruochen still only used one move, swinging the scabbard to strike one of the iron hammers.

That hammer immediately changed direction, hitting Guo Sihai's chest.

"Thud!"

Guo Sihai, along with his two iron hammers, fell off the stage.

"How... how can this be?"

Guo Sihai, holding his bloody chest, struggled to stand up and stared at Zhang Ruochen, who stood straight in the center of the stage. He had not seen how Zhang Ruochen swung the scabbard.

He only knew that he was knocked off the stage by his own iron hammer.

"Even Guo Sihai couldn't force him to draw his sword. How can he be so strong?"

Xue Bingsheng's expression became slightly serious, saying, "The Ninth Prince's sword intent realm has at least reached the middle stage of 'sword follows the mind,' and it might even have reached the high stage."

"That's impossible! Even among Xuan Apex Realm martial artists, few can cultivate to the high stage of 'sword follows the mind.'"

Xue Bingsheng smiled slightly, saying, "We'll see! This is only the fifth match. The martial artists who will appear later will only get stronger. Someone will eventually test his strength. If he can last until the eighth match, I will personally step onto the stage and defeat him."

At this moment, the Ninth Princess and Shan Xiangling were also very shocked. Zhang Ruochen's strength was completely beyond their expectations.

"Defeating a Great Perfection martial artist in one move! Has the Ninth Prince's cultivation already broken through to the Great Rank of the Yellow Apex Realm?" the Ninth Princess said.

"Definitely the Great Rank of the Yellow Apex Realm!"

"How long has it been since the year-end assessment? The Ninth Prince's cultivation has improved by two ranks, which is truly unbelievable." Shan Xiangling said with her eyes filled with admiration.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed that such a heaven-defying genius existed.

A Great Perfection martial artist of the Yellow Apex Realm stepped onto the stage, a young woman in a green robe, also wielding a sword.

The young woman in the green robe stood opposite Zhang Ruochen, carefully observing his every move, trying to find a weakness.

"Completely without any weakness! Since there is no weakness, I must force him to reveal one."

"Whoosh!"

The young woman in the green robe moved with lightning speed, holding a thin sword, and attacked Zhang Ruochen's legs.

Even if she couldn't defeat Zhang Ruochen, forcing him to move his feet would be an achievement.

As long as he moved his feet, he would definitely reveal a weakness, making it easier to defeat him.

Zhang Ruochen finally showed a serious expression. The young woman's sword technique was very powerful, reaching the 'sword follows the mind' realm. Although it was only at the initial stage, it was already much stronger than other Great Perfection martial artists.

Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and relied on his ears to listen to the sound of the sword cutting through the air.

"Clang!"

He swung the scabbard towards the air, blocking the young woman's sword aimed at his legs.

The young woman was slightly stunned, then quickly changed her move, executing three sword techniques in quick succession. Each one was accurately blocked by Zhang Ruochen.

When she tried to use the fourth move, a sharp pain hit her chest, and her ribs felt as if they were pierced.

Zhang Ruochen, holding the scabbard, pointed it at the young woman's chest and said calmly, "You have lost."

Fortunately, it was just a scabbard. If it had been the tip of the sword, the young woman's heart would have been pierced.

The young woman sheathed her thin sword, bowed to Zhang Ruochen, and said, "Ninth Prince, you are truly a martial genius. I accept my defeat wholeheartedly."

Another Great Perfection martial artist of the Yellow Apex Realm was defeated, still unable to force the Ninth Prince to take even a step back.

"Hmph! Truly despicable. He is only sixteen years old, yet his martial cultivation has reached such a level. He must not be allowed to live, absolutely not."

Liu Chengfeng was extremely angry and said to a guard standing behind him, "Go and call Han Fu. Tell him it's time for me to use him."

"The servant will go and invite Master Han immediately!" The guard immediately left.

Liu Chengfeng stared at Shan Xiangling on the viewing platform, a lecherous smile on his face, "Shan Xiangling, when Zhang Ruochen dies on the stage, who will save you? Ha ha!"

Due to Zhang Ruochen's heaven-defying performance, the entire Yellow Level Martial Arena was boiling with excitement, with deafening cheers.

Finally, Zhang Ruochen faced his seventh opponent.

Hong Tao, with the cultivation of the Great Perfection of the Yellow Apex Realm, had opened the Mystic Ice Divine Martial Mark and had a record of winning seven consecutive matches four times in the Yellow Level Martial Arena.

Moreover, he had also reached the initial stage of 'sword follows the mind.'

However, he did not use a sword but a whip, which followed his mind.

"Hong Tao greets the Ninth Prince. If I offend you in any way, please forgive me." Hong Tao was polite, always smiling, but his eyes were sharp.

Hong Tao lightly touched his wrist, pulling out a golden long whip.

The golden long whip was thirteen meters long and as thick as a little finger, seemingly made from the tendons of some savage beast, a true martial treasure.

Just to straighten the long whip was not something an ordinary person could do.

"Snap!"

Hong Tao's arm trembled, and the golden long whip immediately spun, like a snake, circling around his body, appearing very flexible and emitting a golden glow!