320: Chapter 320 Battle Between Players of the Same Level

As soon as Ling Juexiao said this, the entire venue was in an uproar!

Naming Gao Ling, who had a long-standing grudge against Ye Tian, to step onto the stage, and furthermore demanding that Ye Tian suppress his cultivation to the True Martial Fifth Stage—this was no fair verification; it was clearly murder by proxy, and nothing more than blatant humiliation and deliberate obstruction!

"Ling Juexiao! What is the meaning of this!"

Elder Tianshu was furious. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up, the pressure of his Sea Transformation Third Stage erupting outwards. "Your Wanren Sword Pavilion Disciple lost, so you resort to such despicable tactics, inciting internal strife among our Disciples, and even demanding Ye Tian tie his own hands and feet? This is absolutely preposterous!"

High on the platform, Perfected Qingxu also frowned slightly.

Facing Elder Tianshu's angry rebuke, Ling Juexiao's expression remained unchanged. Instead, he sneered indifferently, "Why must Fellow Daoist Tianshu be so angry? This proposal of mine is precisely for the sake of the word 'fairness'.

Everyone witnessed the battle between Xiao Chen and Ye Tian just now. Xiao Chen was only at the True Martial Tenth Level, while Ye Tian was at the True Martial Tenth Level, and the power of lightning naturally suppresses the wind element.

Therefore, while Young Friend Ye won easily, it is inevitable that people would think he took advantage of his cultivation and elemental attributes. It is hard to convince the crowd, and even harder to verify whether his 'Solid Foundation' stems from his own arduous efforts to Cultivate, or if it was piled up through fortuitous encounters and external forces."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the entire venue, his voice rising, "Now, Nephew Gao Ling is also at the True Martial Fifth Stage, similar to Young Friend Ye's Realm when he left the Sword Pavilion.

If Young Friend Ye is truly as he claims, with an incomparably Solid Foundation, and all his skills were tempered through life-and-death struggles, then even if he suppresses his cultivation to the True Martial Fifth Stage, his combat awareness, comprehension of Cultivation Technique, and application of Martial Skill should far exceed that of an ordinary person of the same Realm!

Only through such a competition can we truly see whether his skills were obtained through his own tempering, or if he relies on a high Realm and fortuitous external forces!

Could it be that Fellow Daoist Tianshu has so little confidence in his own Disciple's 'Solid Foundation'? Or is it that... Young Friend Ye has had his cultivation skyrocket in the few months he left the Sword Pavilion, when in reality his Foundation is unstable, and once his Realm is suppressed, his true colors will be revealed?"

These words were extremely sinister!

Using "fair verification" as a pretext to carry out "suppression and restriction," he had, in turn, put Elder Tianshu and Ye Tian on the spot.

If Ye Tian dared not accept the challenge, or performed poorly after suppressing his cultivation, it would confirm suspicions of an "unstable Foundation" and "reliance on external forces."

If Ye Tian accepted the challenge and won, Ling Juexiao would still achieve his goal of exhausting Ye Tian, making fellow Disciples kill each other, and further observing Ye Tian's trump cards.

Either way, he would not lose.

"You...!" Elder Tianshu was so angry his beard and hair stood on end, but he found it difficult to find a reason to refute this for the moment. The opponent was fixated on the point of "fairly verifying the Foundation," which was extremely tricky.

In the spectator seats, the Disciples who supported Ye Tian were filled with righteous indignation, angrily cursing Ling Juexiao for his shamelessness.

Meanwhile, some Disciples who were already suspicious of Ye Tian, as well as those from the faction of Gao Ling and Han Li, began to chime in.

"Pavilion Master Ling makes sense! Whether it's a mule or a horse, let's bring it out and take it for a walk at the same Realm!"

"Exactly! If Ye Tian is really that amazing, what is there to fear in a battle of the same Realm?"

"I think he has a guilty conscience and doesn't dare to, right?"

"He doesn't even dare to suppress his cultivation, yet he claims he isn't relying on his Realm to suppress others?"

Amidst the noisy discussions, Gao Ling stood on the Sword Testing Platform, his head held high and chest puffed out, his face full of excitement at the prospect of impending revenge.

He considered himself an expert among those of the same Realm. Even if Ye Tian was powerful, once suppressed to the True Martial Fifth Stage, could he really turn the world upside down?

He had come prepared, and he even had items secretly bestowed by Senior Brother Han Li... In this battle, he would definitely wash away his previous shame and cripple Ye Tian!

The pressure gathered on Ye Tian once again.

Countless gazes—some worried, some gloating, some curious—were fixed tightly upon him.

Ye Tian stood there, listening to Ling Juexiao's high-sounding words and looking at Gao Ling's gloating face, and sneered inwardly.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze passing over the triumphant Gao Ling, and looked directly at Ling Juexiao in the guest seats, saying, "Since Pavilion Master Ling wishes to see the results of this Disciple's 'tempering,' this Disciple will naturally oblige."

He turned to Xing Tiexin and cupped his hands, saying, "Elder Xing, this Disciple is willing to suppress his cultivation to the True Martial Fifth Stage and engage Senior Brother Gao Ling in a battle of the same Realm."

"Ye Tian!" Elder Tianshu urgently tried to stop him, his eyes full of worry. There were too many variables in a battle of the same Realm, and furthermore, Gao Ling clearly had ill intentions and might resort to underhanded tactics.

"Revered Master, do not worry." Ye Tian cast a reassuring look at Elder Tianshu.

He then looked at Gao Ling, the corner of his mouth curling up, which made Gao Ling feel an inexplicable chill in his heart. "It just so happens that I have some 'old debts' to settle with Junior Brother Gao Ling. A battle of the same Realm is fair."

As his voice fell, Ye Tian said no more, and the surging aura of the True Martial Tenth Level around his body quickly receded.

In just a few breaths, his aura stabilized at the Early Stage of the True Martial Fifth Stage, almost identical to Gao Ling's.

"Good! You have guts!" Ling Juexiao clapped his hands, but there was not a hint of appreciation in his eyes, only cold calculation. "Since that is the case, Elder Xing, you may begin."

Xing Tiexin took a deep look at Ye Tian, waved his hand to set up the protective light barrier again, and announced in a deep voice, "The second challenge: Ye Tian versus Gao Ling. The rules are the same as before. Begin!"

"Clang!"

Almost the moment the word "Begin" fell, Gao Ling, who had long been ready, struck first!

He knew well that Ye Tian's movement technique was strange and his combat awareness was formidable; he absolutely could not let Ye Tian seize the initiative.

The long sword in his hand unsheathed; it was actually a Profound Rank High Grade spirit sword of decent quality.

"Ye Tian! Die!" Gao Ling shouted sharply, and the sword light exploded instantly, turning into thirteen points of cold glint that enveloped Ye Tian's entire body!

This was a fast sword technique he had cultivated arduously, and he was confident that among those of the same Realm, few could completely evade it.

However, Ye Tian just stood quietly in place, not even drawing the sword from his back.

He watched the thirteen incoming cold stars as if watching a child dancing with a sword. With a light step, he leisurely passed through the opponent's sword moves; the sharp sword edge could not even touch the corner of his clothes.

"What?!" Gao Ling was startled. His sword momentum did not stop; his wrist turned sharply, and the thirteen cold stars suddenly gathered, merging into one, stabbing straight at Ye Tian's back! The change in move was undoubtedly fast.

But just as his sword momentum was about to change, Ye Tian had already quietly shifted half a step sideways, simultaneously tapping a finger on Gao Ling's Shenmen acupoint!

Gao Ling felt his wrist go numb, a sharp force penetrating it, causing the power of the sword light to greatly diminish and its direction to skew.

"First move," Ye Tian said calmly, his figure already at Gao Ling's left side.

"Damn it!" Gao Ling was both shocked and angry. He hurriedly retracted his sword to defend himself, while simultaneously gathering force in his left palm and violently striking towards Ye Tian's chest and abdomen, the palm wind biting.

Ye Tian also struck out with his left palm. As the two palms met, Gao Ling let out a muffled groan; his arm was in excruciating pain, the Qi and blood in his body churned, and his left palm was faintly numb. He retreated several steps before stopping.

"Second move," Ye Tian closed in again.

"Bastard! You forced me to do this!"

Gao Ling bit his tongue tip hard and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the long sword. At the same time, his left hand quickly reached into his bosom, and a deep blue Talisman was instantly activated, turning into a sheet of bone-chilling ice mist that instantly enveloped a radius of several zhang.

Not only did it greatly restrict vision and spiritual sense, but the chill could also freeze true essence and slow down movements!

This was clearly a rather sinister auxiliary Talisman. Although it was not a forbidden weapon for direct attack, using it in a battle of the same Realm was already on the verge of violating the rules!

"It's a High Grade Cold Mist Talisman! It can freeze true essence!"

"Gao Ling is too despicable!"

"Elder Xing, he is violating the rules!"

The Disciples supporting Ye Tian shouted angrily.

Xing Tiexin frowned, but did not immediately intervene. Although this Talisman was unorthodox, strictly speaking, it did not exceed the vague boundary of "conventional means," so he needed to observe further.

Inside the ice mist, a ferocious grin appeared on Gao Ling's face. The Cold Star Sword Technique he cultivated, when combined with this ice mist, doubled in power!

He merged his figure into the ice mist and silently stabbed towards the position where Ye Tian had previously been, while his left hand gripped three poisonous Sangmen Nails, preparing to launch a sneak attack at any moment.

However, his sword, which he was certain would hit, struck nothing but air.

Ye Tian was gone.