Nine Astra Skies

The Scarlet Flame Sect, massacred? Ye Chen's words were like a bolt of thunder, clapping in Ye Zong's ears. He was dumbfounded. He had thought that the Xiwu Ye Clan had leeched onto the Stygian Sect and the Oracle Sect through some method. Now, it seemed like that was not the case. The experts of the Stygian Sect and the Oracle Sect were happy to be ordered around by Ye Chen. Ye Chen was above the Stygian Sect and the Oracle Sect!

Moreover, Ye Chen had proclaimed that he would mobilize these forces to massacre the Scarlet Flame Sect! If Ye Chen had said this while standing alone upon the stage, Ye Zong would merely laugh heartily. However, with the Stygian Sect and the Oracle Sect acting this way, he had no option but to seriously consider Ye Chen's position.

"What's going on?" Ye Zong had a splitting headache. He could not fathom how the Xiwu Ye Clan, which he had never taken seriously, could have the capability to mobilize experts from the Stygian Sect and the Oracle Sect. How did the Xiwu Ye Clan do it?

Every sect present was staring at Ye Chen in a stupefied manner. Could Xiwu Ye Clan be some super family? Ye Chen must have some assurance to be able to speak like this!

Perhaps only a small portion of people knew that the Xiwu Ye Clan was not a super family at all, just an incomparably small ant that they could have easily stepped upon in the past!

Ye Zong was in a dilemma. What could he do now to deal with Ye Chen? Ye Chen had stated that he would send someone to massacre the Scarlet Flame Sect. In this matter, Ye Zong dared not risk it. If he did not capture Ye Chen, how would he dare to show his face anymore?

They were in the Scarlet Flame Sect!

At the moment, Ye Rou's gaze at Ye Chen was rather incredulous as well. She wiped away her tears. In her view, Ye Chen was just like a heavenly god, glowing with golden light. No matter what happened to her, Ye Chen would guard her. She stood up slowly – she would not surrender to destiny!

Ye Chen glanced at the young lord of the House of Storms, Zong Yi, and snorted coldly. "Young guy, I don't want to bully the weak. Since you're infatuated with Little Rou, I'll agree to your proposal if you can defeat me. If you can't, you'd better go back to whatever house you're from and take a few more years of milk!"

Bully the weak? Ye Chen was even younger then Zong Yi!

"Really?" Zong Yi looked at Ye Chen, a cold glint in his eyes.

"Of course!" Ye Chen was thinking, 'Although I'd agree to you proposing to Little Rou, if she turned you down, I can't do anything. In any case, you can forget about marrying Little Rou. I'm giving you this chance to challenge me just so I can teach you a lesson.'

A wild thought occurred to Zong Yi. Ye Chen looked to be only seventeen, eighteen years old. 'What ability could he possibly have to defeat me? My cultivation base is mid-Heavenly Venerable Rank, the foremost prodigy among the youth of the Central Empire.' If he was not apprehensive of Ye Chen's background, he would have attacked long ago!

"In the tournament arena, anything goes?" Zong Yi watched Ye Chen coldly. If any incident happened in the arena, with so many people watching, the forces behind Ye Chen also could not say much.

"Anything goes!" A smirk tugged at Ye Chen's lips as he nodded.

"Very well!"

Since Ye Chen himself had agreed, that was his death wish. Zong Yi hollered as he sprang up, his hands forming claws as he lunged at Ye Chen.

Storm Hawk Strike!

The Celestial Chi surging from Zong Yi's right hand turned into a hawk's claws, swiping down at Ye Chen. The Celestial Chi was like numerous sharp blades that nearly tore space apart.

Storm Hawk Strike was the House of Storms's pinnacle of knowledge, a Tier Eight martial art technique. Its power was extremely overbearing, being one of the martial arts techniques which had made the House of Storms's lord famous back then. Although Zong Yi was only at mid-Heavenly Venerable Rank, even top Heavenly Venerable Rank masters would not dare to take on Storm Hawk Strike directly!

Although Zong Yi did not know who Ye Chen was, he had an intuition that Ye Chen and Ye Rou had a deep bond. Zong Yi's adoration of Ye Rou had become his inner drive. He could not wait to kill Ye Chen and did not think about much else.

Storm Hawk Strike made a booming sound that caused the spectating powerhouses of the various major sects to tremble slightly. Zong Yi's Storm Hark Strike was seventy, eighty percent perfected. Given enough time, there would be no one among the youth who could contend against this.

That other guy who looked seventeen or eighteen years old – with his level of strength, could he fight against Zong Yi? He had provoked Zong Yi directly with his words. He did not know his place!

As Ye Chen watched Zong Yi lunging at Ye Chen, she stopped breathing for a moment. She had a clear idea of Ye Chen's abilities. At his current cultivation base, how could he match against a mid-Heavenly Venerable fighter? Throughout this period, she had cultivated madly. In addition to her unique attributes, her cultivation base had progressed swiftly. Even so, up until now, there was still a wide gap between her and Zong Yi. She could have never imagined that, after they had parted, Ye Chen's strength would shoot right up.

"Watch out!" By one side, the elders of the Stygian Sect and the Oracle Sect shouted nervously. If anything happened to Ye Chen, they would be hard-pressed to explain to the Leo King.

Although Ye Chen possessed the Leo King's Token, from their point of view, Ye Chen was so young. His cultivation base was surely not that strong. How could he defeat Zong Yi who was the number one combatant among the Central Empire's younger generation?

"Oh well. I'd like to see what kind of techniques will be wielded by the number one youth fighter of the Central Empire. Let me tell you – a number one fighter like you is <anno data-annotation-id="a1883385-7cd7-855c-94aa-ccb09119392d">merely a frog in a well, looking up at the sky!</anno>" Ye Chen snorted. He was not going to hold back.

"Your tongue is sharp indeed. Go to hell!" Zong Yi's expression turned malevolent.

When he saw Zong Yi coming toward him, Ye Chen smirked coldly. Flames surged up from his body and he immediately unleashed Crimson Clouds Searing Skies.

With a "bang", Ye Chen's Fire-type Celestial Chi and Zong Yi's Water-type Celestial Chi collided, resulting in a deafening explosion. The entire tournament stage seemed about to split down in the middle.

Ye Pang who was currently standing on the stage too, felt these two forces spreading toward him and he stumbled backward. The blood and Chi in his body were turbulent and he was overwhelmed with shock. Even though he was also a Heavenly Venerable Rank fighter, there was a significant difference between his cultivation base and those two!

If Ye Pang stayed here, he would be crushed to bits by the Celestial Chi of Ye Chen and Zong Yi. He hurriedly leaped off the tournament stage.

In the raging midst of fire and water, two figures soared up, locked in close combat. "Bang bang bang"– the blows they exchanged were very fast. The common disciples could not make out their movements at all. Only Mystique Venerable Rank experts could see the fight.

The three Mystique Venerable Rank elders of the House of Storms were pale with alarm. They were well acquainted with Zong Yi's cultivation base. Among the younger generation, Zong Yi had not yet met his match for his strength had far surpassed those of his age and he was undoubtedly a prodigy. To think that he would encounter someone younger than him today, who could fight equally against him.

"Storm Armor!" Zong Yi's body was covered in light blue armor. Under the sun's illumination, it was bright and dazzling.

The various sects below all exclaimed in surprise.

"It's the Storm Armor!"

"I wonder how refined this Storm Armor is compared to the House of Storms' lord?"

"Back when the House of Storms' lord unleashed his Storm Armor, almost no one could break through it. At top Mystique Venerable Rank, he had slain in a row twelve powerhouses at the same level and moved up to beginner Godly Venerable Rank. I didn't expect that Zong Yi would've learned this martial art technique too! I'm afraid that at this point, the young lord is the foremost combatant below Mystique Venerable Rank!"

"Boom"– Ye Chen's Fury of Shattering Earth landed upon Zong Yi's body and the faint blue armor simply sent out a few ripples.

"Today, you've forced me to use Storm Armor. To die at my hands is your honor!" Zong Yi laughed icily and kicked toward Ye Chen's neck. That kick was incomparably overwhelming. His right foot sliced through the air and created an intense sonic boom.

The three Mystique Venerable elders from the House of Storms exchanged worried glances. The youth who was battling Zong Yi had unknown origins. If he was killed by Zong Yi, it might cause some trouble for the House of Storms. Even if anything was allowed in the tournament arena, it was difficult to guarantee those backing Ye Chen would not do something in retaliation. Nevertheless, they saw that Zong Yi was attacking like a bolt of thunder, determined to kill Ye Chen. This did not seem right.

Zong Yi was young and wild. It was inevitable that he would be more short-tempered. Plus, he was jilted, so it was not surprising he would attack so viciously. If the other youth was defeated, the three of them had better step in and keep him alive! Otherwise, the resulting catastrophe would be boundless!

Sensing that Zong Yi's leg was whistling toward him, Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and raised his left hand to block.

"You're using a hand to block my kick. You're asking for it!" Zong Yi laughed coldly. 'Go to hell!' he thought.

With a "bang", Water-type Celestial Chi swelled outward. Ye Chen merely fell back a short distance whereas Zong Yi was blown backward, retreating many steps.

"That's impossible!" Zong Yi's heart was howling in fury. With the power of this kick, even refined steel would be smashed to dust under the impact. As he imagined it, Ye Chen's left hand would be broken, then his kick would land on Ye Chen's neck. However, he had never thought that Ye Chen would casually block it with his left arm.

A red light gleamed across the armguard on Ye Chen's left hand, then spread outward. Ye Chen had used the armguard to block Zong Yi's kick. He did not feel any of the impact. It was all nullified by the armguard. This Skyfire Armguard was truly impressive!

The spectators below were stupefied. They could not see the Skyfire Armguard beneath Ye Chen's right sleeve and were thus incredibly taken aback. Everyone had felt the power of Zong Yi's kick earlier, yet it was breezily withstood by Ye Chen. This was completely unexpected.

Could this be some secret technique?

"If you have other techniques, unleash all of them." Ye Chen glared at Zong Yi coldly. Among the Heavenly Venerable Rank, Zong Yi's strength was truly impressive. Ye Chen's own cultivation base was only at top Heavenly Venerable Rank. Plus, he had cultivated this himself, unlike Zong Yi who had guidance from above. "Surely the young lord of the House of Storms has more than this smidgen of capability?"

"You dare to look down upon my House of Storms's martial arts learning? Well, you asked for it!" Zong Yi's face puffed up like a tomato. He hovered in the air and slowly drew out a long blue sword from his Heaven-Earth Pouch. This sword seemed to be condensed from water, shimmering like an autumn puddle.

"The Storm Sword!" Those below gasped in shock.

"Is the lord of the House of Storms going to pass on his position to the young lord?"

No one had expected Zong Yi to pull out the Storm Sword. Even the three elders from the House of Storms wore astounded expressions.

<annotations style="display: none;"><ol class="tinymce-annotation-container"><li data-annotation-id="a1883385-7cd7-855c-94aa-ccb09119392d">Refers to a Chinese idiom, meaning someone ignorant. See: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chinese_Stories/The_frog_of_the_well</li></ol></annotations>",