Chapter 22

"Combat Platform?"

Ye Zhen’s eyes narrowed, and Li Xuelong’s malicious intentions became instantly clear.

Qiyun Sect’s outer disciples were forbidden from private duels, and if discovered, they would be severely punished. In other words, as long as Ye Zhen did not agree to go to the Combat Platform, under normal circumstances, Ma Hui would have no way to deal with him.

However, if he went to the Combat Platform, both parties would face life and death on their own, and even if one was killed or crippled, the sect would find no fault.

Therefore, to seek revenge, Ma Hui and his little follower Li Xuelong came up with this malicious idea, trying to anger Ye Zhen and force him to go to the Combat Platform.

But Li Xuelong was too wicked; the kick he gave on the mountain path was too ruthless. If Ye Zhen had not reacted quickly, it would have almost cost him his life.

If Ye Zhen had really died from falling off the cliff due to Li Xuelong’s kick, he would have died in vain. Even if his death seemed a bit suspicious, the sect would not investigate deeply.

The death of an outer disciple from a fall could only be blamed on his own clumsiness, not on others.

This thought was too poisonous.

"What, you dare not go to the Combat Platform? You coward, I knew you wouldn’t dare!" Li Xuelong continued to curse maliciously, with a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Coward!" Ma Hui looked at him with disdain.

A cold light flashed in Ye Zhen’s eyes. He had to teach Li Xuelong a lesson today, but he had been so focused on cultivation that he didn’t even know Li Xuelong’s exact level of cultivation.

More importantly, Ye Zhen had only been practicing the Blood Essence Body Technique taught by Instructor Liao and hadn’t had time to practice powerful martial techniques or body movement techniques. In such a situation, to teach Li Xuelong a lesson, he would have to use some tricks and leverage his advantages to increase his chances of winning.

Ye Zhen was very clear about his current greatest advantage!

"Go, I’ll go. It’s just a Combat Platform, who’s afraid of who?" Ye Zhen said angrily, his neck stiffening.

"Li Xuelong, do you have any shame? How can you bully new disciples again? Want to go to the Combat Platform, right? I’ll go with you!"

The joy on Li Xuelong’s face at Ye Zhen’s agreement to go to the Combat Platform suddenly froze, and his voice became somewhat stammering, "Li... Li Senior Brother!"

"Li Yuncong, you can’t bully us just because you’re ranked third on the Earth List. Who said we bullied Ye Zhen? He volunteered to go to the Combat Platform with Li Xuelong." Seeing Li Xuelong’s fear, Ma Hui said lazily.

Li Yuncong, ranked third on the Earth List.

"Ma Hui, don’t think I don’t know your tricks." Turning around, Li Yuncong patted Ye Zhen’s shoulder and said, "Junior Brother, ignore them. Li Xuelong has been an outer disciple for over a year, and his Blood Essence Body is almost complete, about to break through to the Fifth Level of Blood Cultivation. You’ve only been an outer disciple for a few days.

Listen to me, practice well, and after a year or so, go to the Combat Platform with him and beat him up."

Hearing this, Ye Zhen’s eyes suddenly brightened. Li Xuelong was only at the peak of the Fourth Level of Blood Cultivation and hadn’t broken through to the Fifth Level. With this information, Ye Zhen’s chances of winning, which were originally only fifty percent, suddenly increased to eighty percent.

"Senior Brother Li, you don’t know, Li Xuelong almost killed me today. I must go to the Combat Platform with him to vent my anger!" Ye Zhen said, ignoring Li Yuncong’s advice.

"Good, Ye Zhen, you said it!" Li Xuelong was overjoyed, pointing towards the Combat Platform and saying, "Let’s go, to the Combat Platform!"

"Hey, Ye Zhen, you..."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Li!" Ye Zhen winked mysteriously at Li Yuncong, making him pause in confusion.

A group of black-robed outer disciples followed Ye Zhen and Li Xuelong towards the Combat Platform, with some leaving along the way.

"Hey, there’s a show, why don’t you go watch?"

"No suspense! Ye Zhen only became an outer disciple from a servant disciple a dozen days ago and hasn’t even broken through to the Fourth Level of Blood Cultivation. Li Xuelong, on the other hand, is at the peak of the Fourth Level."

"Even without suspense, there’s still a show to watch. Don’t forget, Ye Zhen is the first in the Fish Dragon Path!"

"Bullshit, wasn’t the first in the Fish Dragon Path among the servant disciples last year also crippled by Ma Hui? But you’re right, mountain cultivation is boring, so let’s just watch the show."

Hearing everyone’s words, Li Yuncong could only sigh softly, his gaze on Ye Zhen filled with pity. Although, with his keen eye, Ye Zhen seemed to have already reached the Fourth Level of Blood Cultivation, how could he be a match for the seasoned and ruthless Li Xuelong?

The Combat Platform was one of the busiest places on Donglai Peak.

Donglai Peak was home to over eight thousand outer disciples, and among these outer disciples, especially the male ones, were in their youth, easily becoming passionate and impulsive. Due to the sect’s prohibition on private duels, disciples often went to the Combat Platform to resolve their grievances.

"Bang!"

A loud explosion, a black-robed outer disciple was kicked off one of the Combat Platforms, spewing blood in mid-air.

Immediately, there were cheers, people rushing to help, and the victorious outer disciple was gloating.

"Ye Zhen, you coward, get up on the platform and die!" Li Xuelong, having succeeded in his scheme, jumped onto the Combat Platform, full of confidence.

"Ye Zhen, are you really going to the Combat Platform to fight Li Xuelong? I heard Li Xuelong is notorious among the outer disciples for his ruthlessness. Anyone who goes to the Combat Platform with him ends up with broken arms or legs at best."

"Ye Zhen, I say, take a step back and the sky will be wide and open. Swallow this insult for now?" Shi Tianjia hesitated, trying to persuade him.

The commotion was quite loud, and before long, Shi Tianjia and Feng Haoran had also gathered in front of Ye Zhen.

"Can’t swallow it. If you swallow it this time, he’ll dare to defecate on your head next time!" Feng Haoran looked at Shi Tianjia with disdain, "Fight him, even if you lose, use a desperate strategy to exchange injuries. Even if you bite, you must bite him so hard that he won’t dare to bully you again!"

"But it’s a sure loss, there’s no need..."

"Who knows who will win." With a cold snort, Ye Zhen leaped onto the Combat Platform.

As soon as Ye Zhen got on the platform, Jin Yuanbao, who hung around the Combat Platform all day, started shouting, "Jin Yuanbao’s betting is open! Ye Zhen, the first in the Fish Dragon Path, against Li Xuelong. Come and place your bets! Ye Zhen wins, 2 to 1, no, 3 to 1. Li Xuelong wins, 1 to..."

Halfway through his announcement, Jin Yuanbao was startled. He noticed that when he mentioned Ye Zhen’s odds, the outer disciples showed no reaction, but when he mentioned Li Xuelong’s odds, the waiting bettors immediately focused their attention on him.

Ye Zhen had just become an outer disciple, and his angry face suggested he had been provoked into the fight.

"Trouble, if I open this betting, it’s just giving away money, I’ll definitely lose!"

With a quick glance, Jin Yuanbao clutched his stomach, "Ouch, my stomach, it hurts, I must have eaten something bad!" With a cry of pain, Jin Yuanbao clutched his stomach and disappeared in a flash.

The black-robed outer disciples who were about to place their bets cursed Jin Yuanbao for being too cunning.

"Ha, I was planning to bet a few hundred taels on Li Xuelong to make a big profit. Looks like I won’t make that money." Ma Hui said gleefully from below the platform.

"Senior Brother Li, please come up to the platform as a witness, so no one can say I’m bullying a new disciple. This is Ye Zhen’s voluntary decision!" Li Xuelong suddenly said to Li Yuncong below the platform, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

Without hesitation, Li Yuncong agreed.

"We are all fellow disciples. Although it’s a combat, try to stop at the point of contact!" Li Yuncong said, "Alright, the combat begins!"

"Ha ha ha, Senior Brother Li, if I could hold back, I would stop at the point of contact." With a laugh, Li Xuelong’s aura suddenly changed. He stomped his foot, and his fists moved, generating a fierce aura as he pounced on Ye Zhen like a tiger descending from the mountain.

A high-quality martial technique of the Mortal Rank — the Four Directions Dragon Tiger Fist!

As Li Xuelong pounced on Ye Zhen, his speed increased, and his fists moved faster, even creating a shadow. In the end, he seemed to transform into a tiger descending from the mountain, pouncing on Ye Zhen!

In contrast, Ye Zhen stood there as if in a daze, his hands performing the basic starting posture of the Bear King Mountain Carrying Fist.

"Still using the low-quality Bear King Mountain Carrying Fist, what is he holding back for at this moment?" Shi Tianjia frowned.

"He’s not holding back, he doesn’t know it! That day, he didn’t even enter the scripture hall!" Feng Haoran’s eyes also showed a hint of worry.

"Facing me, you still dare to use the outdated Bear King Mountain Carrying Fist, asking for death!"

Roar!

Li Xuelong let out a heart-stopping tiger roar, his fists like claws, covering Ye Zhen.

Dragon Walks, Tiger Pounces!

Ye Zhen remained motionless, but his eyes were fixed on Li Xuelong’s fists.

"Is Ye Zhen scared stiff or what?" Some people below the Combat Platform sighed.

Almost at the same time as the sigh, Ye Zhen suddenly moved, his body vibrating, and a series of bone-cracking sounds erupted. His fists shot out with great force.

Bear King Mountain Carrying!

The most ordinary move of Bear King Mountain Carrying, but because of Ye Zhen’s timing, it accurately met Li Xuelong’s fists.

Cultivation, and the super-pure blood essence in his body, were Ye Zhen’s advantages.

The moment his fists shot out, the blood essence vortex in his dantian trembled, and a massive amount of pure blood essence surged out. Before the fists even met, the qi aura surrounding Ye Zhen’s fists five inches away struck.

Sssss!

The sound of fingers being cut off suddenly rang out. Li Xuelong’s five fingers were severed by the qi aura around Ye Zhen’s fists, blood