156: Chapter 156 We must protect the honor of the Ji family!

Beneath the arena, Ji Ziyue was completely stunned.

She stood there on the stone pillar, hands covering her small mouth, eyes wide, looking at her brother on the arena who was covered in blood but still standing, then at Ye Fan, who was gasping for air but looked full of excitement.

Her mind went blank.

"Brother... lost?"

"The Divine Body of the Eastern Wasteland... lost?"

"The Holy Son of the Ji Family... lost?"

She couldn't believe it.

But everything before her eyes left her no choice but to believe it.

On the arena, Ji Haoyue struggled to stand up, but as soon as he propped his body up, he fell back down. He was covered in wounds, his aura withered, and he had completely lost his combat ability.

Ye Fan looked at him without continuing his attack.

The battle was over.

He had won.

He turned around, looked at the young girl beneath the arena who was completely stunned, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Ji Ziyue met his gaze, and her body trembled slightly.

In those eyes, there was excitement, exhaustion, and a hint of a smug, mischievous smile.

It was just like a year ago in the Tomb of the Azure Emperor, when he had subdued her.

Ji Ziyue bit her lower lip, and a complex emotion welled up in her heart.

"Brother lost."

But why, besides feeling heartache for her brother, was there also a hint of... an indescribable feeling in her heart?

She watched Ye Fan, the youth standing on the arena covered in blood yet smiling, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say.

The night wind blew by, and the flags on the arena fluttered noisily.

Ye Fan stood there like a young war god who had just returned from the battlefield.

Ji Ziyue stood in the distance, watching him, remaining motionless for a long time.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Suddenly, Ji Haoyue forced his battered body to slowly stand up.

His body was trembling, and blood was still spilling from the corner of his mouth, but he stood up.

Seeing this, Ye Fan frowned slightly.

"You lost."

He stated the fact calmly.

Ji Haoyue looked at him and suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly.

In that laughter, there was bitterness, self-mockery, and an indescribable complexity.

"Brother!"

Ji Ziyue was anxious as she watched her brother's appearance. She had never seen her brother lose his composure like this; from childhood to adulthood, he had always been that high-spirited, proud, and confident Holy Son of the Ji Family. When had he ever been this disheveled?

"Yes! I lost..."

Ji Haoyue's laughter gradually subsided, his voice becoming low.

"Lost to some wild boy from who knows where... lost to a novice in the Dao Palace Realm... To think that I, the dignified Divine Body of the Eastern Wasteland, the Holy Son of the Ji Family... have been defeated so decisively..."

He raised his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

The blood stained his sleeves, but his gaze was incomparably clear.

He looked at Ye Fan; the Battle Intent in his eyes had not faded in the slightest, but instead burned even more intensely.

"Ye Fan, you won. I lost."

Ye Fan did not speak, just watched him quietly.

Ji Haoyue continued, "As Ziyue's brother, I have failed. I could not avenge my sister, and instead, I was beaten by you into such a sorry state. I concede."

He paused, then changed his tone.

"But!"

"As the Holy Son of the Ji Family, as the Divine Body of the Eastern Wasteland—I cannot lose!"

His voice suddenly rose, carrying an unquestionable firmness.

"Ye Fan, I can lose to you as Ziyue's brother. But I absolutely cannot lose to you as the Holy Son of the Ji Family, as the Divine Body of the Eastern Wasteland!"

"This is not just my pride, but the glory of the Ji Family, the dignity of the Divine Body!"

Ye Fan looked at him, and a complex emotion welled up in his heart.

He was not angry, not furious; instead, he felt a sense of mutual appreciation.

This was a true Prodigy.

Losing meant losing, and admitting it meant admitting it. But he had his own bottom line, his own persistence.

Ye Fan nodded.

"I understand."

Ji Haoyue looked at him, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.

"Ye Fan, don't blame me for using my seniority to bully the young."

The aura around him began to climb.

"Although your strength is in the Dao Palace Realm, your true combat power has already surpassed the Dao Palace Realm. Your Physique even counters my vision; all signs indicate that you have many secrets."

"But none of that matters now."

He took a deep breath and roared up at the sky!

The roar was like a Dragon's cry, resounding through the night sky!

The wounds on his body began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. The wounds inflicted by Ye Fan, the fractured knuckle bones, the damaged Meridians—all were recovering rapidly.

His aura was also climbing crazily.

Dao Palace First Layer—Dao Palace Second Layer—Dao Palace Third Layer—Dao Palace Fourth Layer—Dao Palace Fifth Layer—

"Boom!"

"Four Poles Secret Realm!"

First Layer—Second Layer—Third Layer—Fourth Layer!

In the end, his aura stabilized at the Fourth Layer of the Four Poles Secret Realm.

Peak state.

Ji Haoyue stopped his long roar, lowered his head, and looked at Ye Fan.

In his eyes, Battle Intent burned like fire.

Ye Fan looked at him, a smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.

He had thought that Ji Haoyue might try to welch on his concession, but he hadn't expected the other party to be so upright.

Losing meant losing, and admitting it meant admitting it. But as the Holy Son of the Ji Family, he had glory that he had to defend.

Such a person was worthy of respect.

"Is that so?"

Ye Fan said softly.

"I understand. In that case, let us fight again!"

He looked around, then looked at the arena beneath his feet.

Although this arena was not small, with a diameter of three hundred meters, it was still too small for beings like them.

Just now, in the battle at the same Realm, both of them had almost destroyed the arena. Now that Ji Haoyue had recovered to the Four Poles Secret Realm, this arena could not withstand their battle at all.

"It's just that this arena is a bit small; we cannot unleash our full power."

Ji Haoyue nodded.

"Follow me."

He turned around and flew in one direction.

Ye Fan followed closely behind.

Ji Ziyue stood in place, watching their departing figures, opening her mouth as if wanting to say something.

She wanted to persuade her brother not to fight anymore.

Her brother had already suffered such heavy injuries; although he had recovered, the exhaustion from the previous battle remained. Besides, that guy Ye Fan was too strange; who knew what trump cards he still had?

But hearing her brother's words, "As the Holy Son of the Ji Family, I cannot lose," the words got stuck in her throat, and she couldn't say them no matter what.

She knew this was her brother's pride.

This was the dignity that the Holy Son of the Ji Family had to defend.

She could not stop him, nor should she stop him.

Ji Ziyue bit her lower lip, took a deep breath, and followed them.

——

The three of them soon arrived at another arena.

This arena was more than twice as large as the previous one, with a full diameter of one thousand meters. The area around the arena was carved with Formation runes, faintly exuding a powerful aura.

Ji Haoyue landed in the center of the arena and looked at Ye Fan.

"This arena can withstand attacks from the Dragon Transformation Realm, enough for us to fight without holding back."

Ye Fan landed opposite him, looked around, and nodded with satisfaction.

A one-thousand-meter diameter was big enough.

The two stood opposite each other, one hundred meters apart.

The night wind blew by, and the flags on the arena fluttered noisily.

Ji Haoyue looked at him, his aura circulating around his body, and the pressure of the Fourth Layer of the Four Poles Secret Realm spread out.

Ye Fan took a deep breath, and the holy blood in his body began to boil.

This was his first time facing an opponent in the Four Poles Secret Realm.

And not just an ordinary Four Poles Secret Realm opponent; it was the Divine Body of the Eastern Wasteland, the Holy Son of the Ji Family, an existence invincible within the same Realm.

A gap of one major Realm and four minor Realms.

He could feel that pressure.

That kind of pressure was like a mountain pressing down, making it hard to breathe.

But Ye Fan did not retreat.

In his eyes, Battle Intent burned.

The stronger the opponent, the more his fighting spirit was ignited.

Ji Haoyue looked at him, a flash of appreciation in his eyes.

"Ye Fan, are you ready?"

Ye Fan clenched his fists, golden light circulating on them.

"Come."