45: Chapter 45 Are you taking me for a fool?

The attackers all screamed as they were sent flying backward, crashing onto the edge of the martial arts arena and losing their eligibility for the competition.

She still wore a confident smile on her face, her eyes bright and lively; clearly, she did not take these ordinary Disciples seriously.

Wu Yun and Fang Yang also occupied their own corners. The dagger in Wu Yun's hand flashed with a cold light, and his entire body exuded a ruthless aura; anyone who approached him was severely injured by him without hesitation.

As for Fang Yang, relying on his burly physique and deep, steady aura, he stood in place like an iron tower, waving his hands.

His Mystic Power surged, repelling all the Disciples who came to besiege him.

Although the two were not as formidable as Zhao Tianlong and Wang Yuyan, no one dared to provoke them easily, forming their own safety zones.

Ye Yun chose a relatively remote corner, standing there quietly with his arms crossed.

His aura was restrained, making him look like an ordinary spectator, completely out of place with the surrounding slaughter.

At first, no one really noticed this masked youth; after all, under the halo of figures like Zhao Tianlong and Wang Yuyan, he appeared too unremarkable.

Coupled with his simple martial attire and rusty iron sword, it made people feel that his strength was mediocre.

Ye Yun's gaze crossed the chaotic crowd and landed precisely on Zhao Tianlong, a flash of icy brilliance crossing his eyes.

"Zhao Tianlong, relying on the power of the City Lord's Mansion, you have repeatedly bullied me. Today, this chaotic battle shall be your burial ground!"

The killing intent in his heart grew, yet he was not in a rush to make a move.

The situation was chaotic now, with various factions intertwined; acting rashly would only invite unnecessary trouble.

He had to wait—wait for most people to be eliminated, wait for the situation to become clear, and then take down Zhao Tianlong in one fell swoop to settle this grudge.

On the viewing platform, the heads of the major families watched with trepidation, while simultaneously unable to help but praise Zhao Shanhe in the VIP seating.

"City Lord Zhao, your son Zhao Tianlong is truly young and promising! With his 9th Stage of Martial Master Realm strength, he is already a leader among the younger generation. He will certainly have a place in the top three of this The Great Competition!"

"Patriarch Wang, your daughter Wang Yuyan is no less inferior. To possess such strength at a young age, truly, a tiger father has no dog daughter!"

"Indeed, indeed. With these two Geniuses present, our Shiyun City will certainly be able to make a name for itself before the Four Great Sects!"

Zhao Shanhe revealed a satisfied smile on his face, cupping his hands to thank everyone.

His gaze, however, would occasionally drift toward the envoys of the Four Great Sects on the high platform, carrying a hint of deliberate showing off.

"Four Envoys, my son Tianlong's Aptitude is passable. He has been diligent and hardworking all these years, and he has not failed my expectations."

Zhao Shanhe said toward the high platform, his tone carrying a hint of complacency.

The middle-aged envoy from the Qingfeng Sword Sect nodded slightly, his tone indifferent.

"Not bad, he is good material." The hot-tempered old man from the Lieyang Martial Gate also rarely nodded.

"His bones are sturdy, and his temperament is fierce enough; it fits the style of my Lieyang Martial Gate."

Only the stunningly beautiful woman from the Luoxue Sect remained expressionless, looking at the martial arts arena with indifferent eyes, as if she did not care at all about Zhao Tianlong's performance.

This made Zhao Shanhe feel slightly unhappy, but he did not dare to say much.

Meanwhile, Envoy Li from the Tianyang Academy was the most enthusiastic, gently waving his folding fan with a gentle smile on his face.

"Young Master Zhao has exceptional talent and outstanding strength; his future will surely be boundless. If he can enter my Tianyang Academy, I will certainly teach him with care and help him become a martial arts expert soon!"

Envoy Li's attitude was too enthusiastic, causing the envoys from the Qingfeng Sword Sect and the Lieyang Martial Gate to subconsciously glance at him, a hint of imperceptible mockery in their eyes.

They naturally could see the shadiness between Envoy Li and Zhao Shanhe, but hindered by their status, they did not point it out.

Zhao Shanhe was overjoyed and hurriedly cupped his hands to thank Envoy Li.

"Many thanks to Envoy Li for your kindness. If Tianlong can truly enter the Tianyang Academy, I will certainly not forget the Envoy's grace of cultivation!"

Just as everyone on the viewing platform was conversing, the situation on the martial arts arena had already undergone a huge change.

In just half an hour, most of the Disciples had already been eliminated.

Some were severely injured and unconscious, some voluntarily conceded, and some unfortunately lost their lives on the spot. The number of people on the martial arts arena had plummeted from over two hundred to less than fifty.

The ground was stained with blood and littered with broken weapons, and the smell of blood in the air grew increasingly intense.

The remaining Disciples' eyes were more vigilant, and their Battle Intent was also more intense.

After all, those remaining were all relatively strong; to stand out, one had to give their all.

Finally, someone set their sights on Ye Yun.

A burly youth walked slowly toward Ye Yun.

He was dressed in brown martial attire, holding a heavy mountain-splitting axe in his hand, his body exuding the aura of the 6th Stage of Martial Master Realm.

Among the remaining Disciples, this could be considered pretty good strength.

He sized up Ye Yun, seeing him standing alone in a corner, neither possessing a powerful aura nor having injured anyone.

The iron sword on his person was even more rusty.

A thought immediately arose in his heart to "pick the soft persimmon to squeeze."

"Kid, seeing you hiding your head and showing your tail, I assume you don't have much strength, right?"

The burly youth grinned, his tone carrying a hint of contempt.

"If you are sensible, get off yourself, lest Grandpa has to take action and take your life!"

The corners of Ye Yun's mouth curled slightly, the smile under his mask cold and playful.

"A soft persimmon?"

"Today, I will let you see who the real soft persimmon is!"

He did not speak, just quietly looking at the burly youth, his eyes calm and waveless, yet it inexplicably caused a chill to rise in the youth's heart.

"Hmph, putting on an act!"

The burly youth was angered by Ye Yun's attitude and roared, gripping the mountain-splitting axe with both hands and hacking down fiercely at Ye Yun!

The mountain-splitting axe carried a whistling wind, containing the Mystic Power of the 6th Stage of Martial Master Realm, its force heavy and deep; clearly, he intended to split Ye Yun in two with one strike.

Many Disciples nearby noticed the commotion here and turned to look.

In their view, Ye Yun would certainly be unable to withstand this strike and would most likely be eliminated on the spot.

Zhao Tianlong and Wang Yuyan also subconsciously looked over.

There was a hint of contempt in Zhao Tianlong's eyes, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth, clearly believing Ye Yun was vulnerable.

Wang Yuyan, on the other hand, had curious eyes, wanting to see just how much strength this mysterious masked man actually possessed.

Facing the whistling mountain-splitting axe, Ye Yun still stood in place, with no intention of dodging at all.

Just as the axe was about to strike him, he finally moved!

He saw his figure slightly tilt to the side, avoiding the edge of the mountain-splitting axe like a breeze, while his right hand gripped the iron sword at his waist and gently drew it.

"Clang!"

A crisp sound of sword-drawing rang out; the rusty iron sword left its sheath, but instantly erupted with a dazzling cold light.

Ye Yun flicked his wrist, and the iron sword thrust out like a spirit snake, fast as lightning, heading straight for the burly youth's chest.

The burly youth was greatly alarmed and wanted to dodge, but he discovered that Ye Yun's sword speed was simply too fast; he couldn't react in time.

He could only subconsciously circulate his Mystic Power, wanting to protect his chest.

"Pfft!"