Chapter 15

More than three hundred people entered the Fish Dragon Path in a single file, not too quickly, with about two breaths between each person. As soon as someone entered, shouts, the sound of force collisions, and screams immediately filled the air.

Ye Zhen's position was in the middle. When he stepped into the Fish Dragon Path, he just happened to see a miscellaneous disciple in front of him being swept out of the Fish Dragon Path by an iron stake, landing in the water pools on either side of the path.

Directly eliminated!

Whoosh!

An iron stake, seemingly made of fine steel, suddenly shot out from the front, sweeping horizontally towards Ye Zhen. With a quick embrace and a light flip, Ye Zhen dodged the iron stake.

But at the same time, two iron stakes cut towards Ye Zhen from the front, leaving him no place to hide.

Dodging the iron stake on the left, Ye Zhen gathered his breath and momentum, then suddenly punched out, his fist colliding fiercely with the iron stake on the right. The old copper-colored iron stake let out a mournful cry and quickly retracted.

This was the Fish Dragon Path of the Qi Yun Sect, a passage one zhang high and two zhang wide, stretching endlessly. The passage seemed to be entirely made of iron, driven by some unknown force, making it quite mysterious.

As long as someone passed by, countless iron stakes hidden inside would attack from all directions. One had to either pass them or defeat them.

At the same time, a tall miscellaneous disciple behind Ye Zhen, after passing the iron stakes that had attacked Ye Zhen, suddenly rushed forward, staring at Ye Zhen with fiery eyes.

"Ye Zhen, you stay here!" With a swift move, the miscellaneous disciple leaped and kicked towards Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen didn't even turn his head, suddenly curling his body and leaping to avoid an iron stake, completely ignoring the miscellaneous disciple who had attacked him.

Bang!

After Ye Zhen leaped over, an iron stake swept diagonally, originally aiming to attack Ye Zhen. However, Ye Zhen had just leaped over, and the miscellaneous disciple who wanted to eliminate Ye Zhen for the bounty was hit directly by the iron stake.

Moreover, being in the air, he had nowhere to borrow force or dodge, and was directly swept away by the iron stake, causing a large splash in the water below the Fish Dragon Path.

"Damn!"

Just by the sound, Ye Zhen's face was full of disdain. This guy was like someone whose eyes had been reddened by the Bone Washing Pill, not considering the place or the timing, and rushing to step on Ye Zhen to earn Ma Hui's bounty.

As a result, he didn't earn the bounty but lost his chance to become an outer sect disciple.

Ye Zhen found that as long as one's strength was sufficient, the Fish Dragon Path wasn't too difficult. This was also why Manager Zhao had such great confidence in Ye Zhen.

Passing through the stakes and pillars, he cautiously advanced, occasionally engaging in hard battles, and even surpassed several miscellaneous disciples. He didn't encounter any more fools like the one who tried to kick him for the bounty.

Along the way, the sounds of people falling into the water were constant, with many failing the challenge and being swept into the water. In comparison, Ye Zhen's progress through the Fish Dragon Path was quite fast.

Ye Zhen estimated that although he was only at the initial stage of the third level of Blood Cultivation, due to the early refinement of his blood and qi by the Mirage Dragon Pearl, his blood and qi were exceptionally condensed. His true combat power should be close to or even possess the combat power of the fourth level of Blood Cultivation.

Otherwise, Ye Zhen wouldn't have been able to defeat Ma Yuanwu, who was at the peak of the third level of Blood Cultivation, in a direct confrontation. If combat power were the criterion for cultivation, Ye Zhen would already have the qualifications of an outer sect disciple.

In such a situation, Ye Zhen found it particularly easy to pass through the Fish Dragon Path.

"Shi Tianjia, this first place is mine, Feng Haoran. You won't pass, try to take another hit from me!" Near the end of the Fish Dragon Path, Feng Haoran, with a proud look, was fiercely battling with the square-faced Shi Tianjia.

"Taste the power of my family's Killing Fist!"

"Hmph, my family's Nine Levels of Green Cloud isn't weak either!" Shi Tianjia shouted.

During the battle, Feng Haoran and Shi Tianjia each displayed their family's martial techniques, which were several times more exquisite than the Bear King Mountain Carrying Fist passed down by the Qi Yun Sect.

The two treated the iron stakes of the Fish Dragon Path as if they were nothing, moving and attacking each other freely, neither willing to let the other pass first. By the time Ye Zhen arrived nearby, they had been fighting for a long time, and their breathing was already somewhat hurried.

Seeing the battle between Feng Haoran and Shi Tianjia, Ye Zhen was stunned. It was the first time he had seen martial techniques other than the Bear King Mountain Carrying Fist, and at first glance, they seemed incredibly exquisite.

Feng Haoran, who was in the midst of the fierce battle, saw Ye Zhen's arrival and coldly snorted, "You came just in time. After I deal with him, I'll kick you and take the bounty on your head. A Bone Washing Pill is very useful to me!"

"Heh, Brother Ye, you have great skills," Shi Tianjia also spoke up, "Everyone is hostile towards you, yet you managed to reach here unscathed. Truly impressive!"

One sentence from each, Feng Haoran made Ye Zhen feel a sudden aversion, while Shi Tianjia made him feel a sense of goodwill.

Seeing Ye Zhen smile, Shi Tianjia suddenly said, "Brother Ye, why don't we team up..."

"Shameless!" Before Shi Tianjia could finish, Feng Haoran's face changed, and his attacks became even more fierce.

Hearing this, Ye Zhen's heart raced, but after a moment's thought, he understood the implications and smiled, shaking his head in refusal, "No rush, I'll wait for you two to decide the winner before I pass."

Currently, regardless of who won between Feng Haoran and Shi Tianjia, Ye Zhen's ranking would only be the difference between second and third place, and the rewards for second and third place were the same.

Moreover, Feng Haoran's combat power was formidable, and he had his family's martial techniques. If Ye Zhen wasn't careful and was knocked off the Fish Dragon Path, he would lose the opportunity to become an outer sect disciple, which would be a huge loss.

Seeing Ye Zhen refuse, Shi Tianjia's brows furrowed, while Feng Haoran visibly relaxed. Even if he was arrogant, he couldn't defeat Ye Zhen and Shi Tianjia together.

The longer the battle, the more Shi Tianjia was at a disadvantage, and he became increasingly anxious. Suddenly, Shi Tianjia shouted, "Brother Ye, be careful!"

Shi Tianjia was slapped away by Feng Haoran, his body like willow fluff, and he used an iron stake to change direction, seemingly involuntarily leaping towards Ye Zhen, while Feng Haoran's palm aimed directly at Shi Tianjia's back.

Just as Shi Tianjia was about to be hit by Feng Haoran, he suddenly exerted force on the iron stake, leaping high and flying over Ye Zhen's head.

In an instant, the situation changed dramatically.

Just moments ago, Shi Tianjia and Feng Haoran were fighting to the death, but Shi Tianjia's leap put Ye Zhen in the forefront, turning the battle into a face-to-face confrontation between Ye Zhen and Feng Haoran.

Facing the situation, Ye Zhen naturally wouldn't back down or fear Feng Haoran. He used the Bear King Emerging from the Cave technique to actively meet Feng Haoran.

Almost the moment Feng Haoran and Ye Zhen engaged, Shi Tianjia, who had just moved behind Ye Zhen, suddenly circled around Ye Zhen and attacked Feng Haoran.

"Feng Haoran, you go down!"

Soaring to the Heavens!

In an instant, the situation, or rather, under Shi Tianjia's ingenious planning, turned into a two-on-one battle.

In a flash, Feng Haoran was fighting two opponents!

"Shameless!"

"Ha ha ha, first place is mine, thank you, Brother Feng, for letting me through!" Seeing Feng Haoran about to be kicked out of the Fish Dragon Path by his and Ye Zhen's combined attack, Shi Tianjia laughed easily.

Ye Zhen's brows furrowed, feeling a strange discomfort. Shi Tianjia had even included him in his calculations.

"First place?" Feng Haoran's brows raised, his arrogant expression becoming even stronger. His figure suddenly moved, ignoring Ye Zhen's attack and directly attacking the side-attacking Shi Tianjia.

Bang! Bang!

Two consecutive sounds of fist and palm collisions echoed loudly in the spacious Fish Dragon Path.

Feng Haoran's full-force attack not only left Shi Tianjia, who was confident of victory, stunned, but also knocked Shi Tianjia backward, nearly falling off the Fish Dragon Path.

Ye Zhen's iron fist, however, hit Feng Haoran's unguarded shoulder without any resistance. Everything happened too quickly, and Ye Zhen could only instinctively react—reducing the force of his punch at the last moment.

But Ye Zhen's strength was so fierce that even with reduced force, the unguarded Feng Haoran was still knocked flying, directly falling off the Fish Dragon Path.

Shi Tianjia, who had just stabilized his position, saw Feng Haoran fall and a hint of smugness appeared on his square face.

At that moment, Ye Zhen suddenly felt a sense of disgust towards Shi Tianjia's square face, while Feng Haoran's arrogant face seemed more acceptable.

Shi Tianjia's sudden burst of movement startled Ye Zhen, trying to take advantage of Ye Zhen's distraction to seize the first place in the Fish Dragon Path.

However, Shi Tianjia was still some distance from Ye Zhen, and Ye Zhen was no slouch. In a few leaps, he rushed to the end of the Fish Dragon Path.

At the end of the Fish Dragon Path was a heavy door with five large characters: "First Transformation of the Fish Dragon!" These five characters made Ye Zhen's heart race. Could the Fish Dragon Path be more than this?

"Heh, congratulations, Brother Ye, for winning first place..."

The second to reach the end of the Fish Dragon Path was naturally Shi Tianjia, but his congratulatory expression was clearly somewhat uneasy.

"Good, very good, as long as you, Shi, didn't win first place, my mood is much better!" Feng Haoran, who had climbed back onto the Fish Dragon Path from the side, leisurely passed through the last section and reached the end.

"Brother Feng, you are truly blessed, you didn't fall into the water..."

"Ye Zhen, I, Feng Haoran, owe you a favor!"

Feng Haoran directly ignored Shi Tianjia and walked past him to speak to Ye Zhen. Clearly, Feng Haoran also knew that Ye Zhen had held back his punch; otherwise, that punch would have knocked him directly into the water, rather than leaving him with the strength to hang on the edge of the Fish Dragon Path.

**********

PS: Votes are running low, brothers, please vote, click, and collect, all kinds of requests!

Page flip, AD starts

Page flip, AD ends