676: Chapter 676 He likes beautiful women too!

The main hall was brightly lit, with many figures moving about.

The Head of the Bai Family, Bai Canghe; the Sect Leader of the Hehuan Sect, Sect Master Yin Meinian; the Sect Leader of the Ghost Sect, Gui Duanchang; and the leaders of several other powers were sitting around a massive mahogany round table, discussing something.

The moment Great Elder Tianxuan Zi pushed the door open and entered, the discussions in the hall came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone's eyes simultaneously landed on Great Elder Tianxuan Zi.

And then...

Each and every one of them was dumbfounded.

What were they seeing?

A crimson palm print had appeared on Great Elder Tianxuan Zi's face!

Gui Duanchang's brow furrowed. "Fellow... Fellow Daoist Tianxuan Zi, what happened to your face?"

With a dark expression, Great Elder Tianxuan Zi walked to the round table and slumped into an empty chair.

Then,

he picked up a teacup from the table and drained it in one gulp.

The tea was cold, which was just right to dampen the fire in his heart.

"It was Ye Chen."

Great Elder Tianxuan Zi set down the teacup and coldly spat out those three words.

The air in the main hall seemed to freeze.

Everyone's expressions were frozen in the same frame...

Shock.

Disbelief.

And a hint of... schadenfreude?

But no one dared to laugh.

Because the one who had been slapped was the Great Elder of the Tianyi Sect, a powerhouse at the peak of the Golden Core Stage.

Among those present, even the weakest was at this level of strength; to laugh would be to make an enemy of the Tianyi Sect.

Bai Canghe took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart, and asked in a low voice, "Ye Chen did this? How did he dare?"

"How did he dare?"

Great Elder Tianxuan Zi let out a cold laugh.

"What is there that he doesn't dare?"

"He is the Chief Instructor of the Dragon Group. He even dared to kill an elder of my Tianyi Sect, so what else wouldn't he dare?"

Sect Master Yin Meinian tucked away her folding fan, her delicate brows slightly furrowed. "Fellow Daoist Tianxuan Zi, didn't you go to negotiate with him? How did... it come to blows?"

Great Elder Tianxuan Zi's expression turned even more unsightly.

"I went to negotiate with him, to tell him to enter the Kunlun Ruins directly and not to interfere with the Martial Arts Tournament, but what happened!?"

"He directly attacked this old man!"

"Before I could even finish speaking, he slapped me."

"I didn't even have time to react before I was sent flying by the slap."

Everyone's expressions grew even more solemn.

He didn't even have time to react?

They all knew Ye Chen was strong, but they hadn't expected him to be strong to this extent.

Great Elder Tianxuan Zi, at the peak of the Golden Core Stage, couldn't even dodge a single slap from Ye Chen.

Then what exactly was Ye Chen's cultivation level?

Could it be that he is also at the Nascent Soul Stage?

Bai Canghe's face darkened completely.

"It seems we have all underestimated Ye Chen's arrogance."

"There's an eighty to ninety percent chance he's hiding some unknown secret."

"A secret?" Gui Duanchang's brow arched, and a glint of greed lit up in his eyes.

"The Head of the Bai Family is right. For a young man in his early twenties to reach the Nascent Soul Stage in the Secular World is abnormal in itself."

"He must possess a massive treasure!"

"Heavenly materials, earthly treasures! Ancient cultivation methods! Lost secret techniques! Any one of these things would be enough for us to fight over tooth and nail."

"Kill him, and our Nine Great Forces can reach the next level!"

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became heated.

Several sect leaders leaned in and whispered to each other, their eyes flashing with greedy light.

Gui Duanchang was right.

For Ye Chen to reach the Nascent Soul level in his twenties was far too unusual.

Especially in this Age of Dharma Decline, where spiritual energy is sparse; the cultivation environment of the Secular World is more than a grade lower than that of the Kunlun Ruins.

Never mind the Nascent Soul Stage; being able to cultivate to the Heaven Realm was already as rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns.

But what about Ye Chen?

At such a young age, he was able to suppress Great Elder Tianxuan Zi, who was at the peak of the Golden Core Stage.

What did this mean?

It meant he must have some sort of heaven-defying fortuitous opportunity!

Sect Master Yin Meinian took a deep breath and asked sinisterly, "Then, Head of the Bai Family... has your plan begun?"

Bai Canghe picked up his teacup and took a shallow sip.

"Don't worry, I have already cast the net."

"Powerhouses from all paths have already headed to the Capital and Xiamen City."

"We just need to wait for that day to pull the net in."

"At that time, no matter how difficult Ye Chen is to deal with, he will have to obediently lay down his weapons and surrender."

"Even if he doesn't surrender, he will still be affected."

Sect Master Yin Meinian smiled charmingly. "The Head of the Bai Family is indeed far-sighted."

Gui Duanchang also nodded, the greed on his face suppressed.

"As long as we hold his weakness, even if he is at the Nascent Soul Stage, he will have to be obedient."

Sitting in his chair, Great Elder Tianxuan Zi touched the swollen palm print on his face, a trace of venomous resentment flashing in his eyes.

"That brat dared to slap this old man's face. I will make him pay back a hundredfold."

Bai Canghe glanced at him and said calmly,

"Fellow Daoist Tianxuan Zi, please be patient. The Martial Arts Tournament is tomorrow."

"At that time, we will have plenty of opportunities to deal with him."

Great Elder Tianxuan Zi nodded. "The Head of the Bai Family is right. I will wait."

Bai Canghe stood up and walked to the window with his hands behind his back, looking out at the night sky.

"Ye Chen, oh Ye Chen, you really shouldn't have crossed us."

"And you especially shouldn't... have so many weaknesses."

...

The next day, as the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Ye Chen was woken up by a knock on the door.

He opened his eyes and glanced at the phone by his bedside; it was 6:30 AM.

He sighed, rolled out of bed, and opened the door barefoot.

There,

outside the door, Yan Qingwu was wearing a sharp black tracksuit with her long hair tied in a high ponytail, looking heroic and striking.

"Why are you still sleeping? You're going to be late!"

Ye Chen leaned against the doorframe and yawned. "Late for what?"

"The Martial Arts Tournament!"

Yan Qingwu's eyes widened. "Today is the open qualifiers! The Top 60 advancement matches!"

Ye Chen was still groggy from sleep. "I signed up?"

Yan Qingwu was speechless. "Nonsense, the old man used his connections to sign you up."

"Oh."

Ye Chen nodded. "Then I'll go wash up."

After saying that, he turned back into the room and closed the door behind him.

Standing at the door, Yan Qingwu almost had her nose hit by the door panel.

She was even more speechless. "Does this guy have no sense of crisis at all?"

Five minutes later.

Ye Chen changed his clothes and walked out of the room.

Yan Qingwu looked him up and down and couldn't hold it in anymore.

Because...

He was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, plus a pair of flip-flops!

Her mouth twitched. "You're wearing this to the Martial Arts Tournament?"

Ye Chen looked down at his clothes.

"I'm not going on a blind date, what's wrong with wearing this?"

Yan Qingwu was at a loss for words.

The two walked to the elevator, where Shen Qingyi and the other two were already waiting.

And so,

they got into a car and headed north along the mountain road.

Ye Chen rubbed his eyes and suddenly asked, "By the way, Qingyi, did you guys not sign up?"

"No." Shen Qingyi and the other two looked at each other and shook their heads. "Not only have we not signed up, but the Ancient Tomb Sect hasn't signed up either."

Ye Chen: "..."

He had actually forgotten about this.

Immediately,

Ye Chen took out his phone and made a call to Wang Tianlong.

A few seconds later,

Wang Tianlong's excited voice came through. "Master? What are your orders?"

"Can you arrange some spots for the competition?" Ye Chen didn't stand on ceremony and got straight to the point.

Wang Tianlong immediately replied, "I can!"

"Then help arrange it for my Ancient Tomb Sect." Ye Chen said calmly, "Do I need to report how many disciples there are?"

Wang Tianlong said with a chuckle, "No need for such trouble. I'll arrange it for you right away; it'll be done in ten minutes at most."

"Fine."

Ye Chen nodded with satisfaction. "I trust your work."

With that,

he hung up directly.

The Ancient Tomb Sect had also successfully signed up.

The group watched this scene, dumbstruck.

Good grief!

Having connections really does make things easier!

...

More than an hour later, the car drove into a primeval forest.

This was Shennongjia.

Ancient trees towered all around, blotting out the sun.

The car traveled through the dense forest for about half an hour before the view ahead suddenly opened up.

A massive valley appeared before their eyes.

The valley was surrounded by steep cliffs covered in green vines. A waterfall cascaded down from the cliff top on the left, forming a clear stream at the bottom of the valley.

On both banks of the stream was a flat meadow, which was currently a sea of people.

Tens of thousands of people from the martial world had gathered here.

Some wore Taoist robes, some wore Tang suits, some were in Western suits, and others were in martial attire with sabers or swords at their waists. Their outfits were varied, and their auras were extraordinary.

The car carrying Ye Chen's group of five stopped at the valley entrance. Upon getting out, they immediately attracted many surrounding gazes.

It wasn't because of Ye Chen, but because of Yan Qingwu and Shen Qingyi.

With two stunningly beautiful women standing together, it was hard not to draw attention.

"Look, look! Those two women are so beautiful!"

"My god, which sect are they from? Their beauty is off the charts!"

"The one in the black tracksuit looks like the eldest miss of the Yan Family, Yan Qingwu! I've seen her on the news!"

"The Yan Family? The Yan Family of the Five Great Families of the Capital?"

"Yes, yes, yes, that's the Yan Family! I heard she's also with the Dragon Group!"

"Why is someone from the Dragon Group here for the Martial Arts Tournament?"

"What do you care? Anyway, being able to see such beauties makes today's trip worth it!"

...

The discussions exploded as countless gazes lingered on Yan Qingwu and Shen Qingyi.

Ye Chen had his hands in his pockets, looking speechless.

As expected.

Beautiful women are the focus wherever they go.

It's no wonder the martial world is getting worse and worse; everyone's heads are filled with lust all day long.

Well...

Beautiful women, he liked them too.