184: Chapter 184 Heavenly Emperor Fist

The two stared at each other, a tense atmosphere permeating the air.

"You hit my younger brother," Wang Teng said, his voice cold.

"He deserved it," Ye Fan's reply was concise and direct.

A flash of anger crossed Wang Teng's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. He sneered, "Deserved it? Even if my brother was in the wrong, it's not your place to teach him a lesson."

"Then what do you want?"

Wang Teng looked at him and said word by word, "Give me an explanation."

"What kind of explanation?"

"An arm."

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding people gasped. An arm? This wasn't an explanation; it was clearly an attempt to cripple Ye Fan.

Ye Fan's face also darkened. "Are you sure?"

Wang Teng sneered. "What, are you afraid? You're just a Saint Body in the Dragon Transformation Realm; do you think you're worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as me? In this age, only an Emperor's son like Ji Zi is worthy of being compared to me. What kind of thing are you?"

His tone was full of disdain, as if Ye Fan were merely an ant in his eyes.

"Saint Body? The Ancient Desolate Saint Body was indeed powerful in the Ancient Era, but that was the Ancient Era. In this age, the Saint Body has long since declined. You're just a Loose Cultivator in the Dragon Transformation Realm, only daring to be so arrogant because of the Ji Family's protection. Without the Ji Family, you are nothing."

As Ye Fan listened to these words, his expression grew colder and colder. He wasn't a man without a temper; he had just been able to restrain it until now. But Wang Teng's words had completely infuriated him.

"Are you finished?" he asked, his voice terrifyingly calm.

Wang Teng raised an eyebrow slightly.

Ye Fan looked at him and said word by word, "You say I'm not worthy of being mentioned alongside you, you say the Saint Body has declined, and you say I rely on the Ji Family's protection. Fine, today I'll show you whether the Saint Body has truly declined or not."

He took a step forward, and the golden blood energy around his body began to boil.

"You want an explanation? I'll give you one. But it won't be an arm; it will be a battle."

Wang Teng was stunned for a moment, then laughed. The laughter was full of irony. "You want to fight me? You, a mere Dragon Transformation Realm, want to fight me, a Half-step Great Power?"

"What, you don't dare?" Ye Fan countered.

Wang Teng's laughter stopped abruptly. A flash of anger crossed his eyes. "Don't dare? I wouldn't dare? Since you're seeking death, I'll fulfill your wish."

He leaped down from his war chariot and landed in front of Ye Fan. The two stood dozens of feet apart, staring at each other.

The surrounding crowd automatically dispersed, leaving a large open space. The Holy Lord of the Ji Family, the Elders, the Disciples, and various Cultivators who had rushed over upon hearing the news all stood at a distance, watching the two in the field tensely.

Ji Zi walked out from the Ji Family and stood at the front of the crowd, looking at Ye Fan's back with a complicated expression in his eyes. He didn't stop them because he knew Ye Fan needed this battle.

Ji Haoyue stood beside him, also looking at Ye Fan's back. His fists were tightly clenched, and an indescribable emotion welled up in his heart.

Ji Ziyue stood at the edge of the crowd, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her clothes, her eyes full of worry. She knew Ye Fan was strong, but Wang Teng was a Half-step Great Power of the First Heaven of the Sendai Realm, a whole Major Realm higher than Ye Fan.

"Ye Fan..." she whispered his name, her voice filled with tension.

In the field, the two faced off.

Wang Teng looked at Ye Fan with disdain. "The Ninth Transformation of the Dragon Transformation Realm, and you dare to challenge me? Today, I'll show you what a gap truly means."

Ye Fan said nothing. He simply clenched his fists and closed his eyes.

It had been three years.

From the moment the Golden Age arrived, he had been pondering a question: How should the path of the Saint Body be walked? The power of the Ancient Desolate Saint Body was great, but relying solely on one's Physique would only get one so far. Ji Zi had given up his Great Emperor Bloodline to forge his own path. What about him? He also had to walk his own path.

For three years, he had been groping and trying. He fused his understanding of combat, his insights into the Dao, and his control over the Saint Body's power all together. Punch after punch, time after time. Countless strikes, countless failures, and countless times starting over.

Finally, a year ago, he found his own path.

He opened his eyes.

In that instant, his aura changed. He was no longer that gentle youth, but a Heavenly Emperor looking down upon all living beings. Around him, the golden blood energy began to condense, forming a blurry phantom. That phantom stood behind him like a deity, like an emperor.

Wang Teng's pupils contracted slightly. He felt a pressure, a kind of pressure he had never felt before.

"What is this?"

Ye Fan didn't answer. He simply raised his fist.

Heavenly Emperor Fist.

This was the Cultivation Technique he had created for himself. Based on the Saint Body, it integrated his understanding of the Dao, his insights into combat, his will, his beliefs, and his own path. Every punch was his interpretation of the Dao; every punch was a declaration of war against fate.

"Come." His voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable majesty.

Wang Teng's face completely darkened. He realized he had underestimated this opponent. This Saint Body of the Dragon Transformation Realm was much stronger than he had imagined. But so what? He was Wang Teng, the Reincarnation of an Ancient Emperor, a Half-step Great Power of the First Heaven of the Sendai Realm. He would not lose.

"Courting death!"

Wang Teng roared and struck first. His speed was at its peak, appearing before Ye Fan in an instant and striking with his palm. That palm contained all the power of a Half-step Great Power; wherever the palm wind passed, the Void Realm twisted.

Ye Fan did not dodge.

He met the attack, throwing a punch.

The golden fist radiance and the palm print collided.

"Boom—!!!"

With a thunderous roar, the entire earth trembled. The shockwave spread in all directions, forcing the Cultivators standing in the distance to retreat repeatedly. Layers of the ground were overturned, debris flew everywhere, and dust filled the sky.

Wang Teng retreated three steps.

He looked up at Ye Fan, his eyes filled with shock.

Ye Fan stood where he was, without retreating a single step.

His fist was bleeding, but his eyes were full of Battle Intent.

"Is this all your strength?" he asked, his voice calm.

Wang Teng's face turned ashen. He didn't speak, but simply attacked again.

Amidst the loud noise, Wang Teng retreated three steps. He looked up at Ye Fan, his eyes full of shock. Although that palm strike just now wasn't his full power, it wasn't something a Dragon Transformation Realm Cultivator should have been able to withstand.

Yet Ye Fan not only caught it but also didn't retreat a single step. What was going on?

Ye Fan didn't speak; he just clenched his fists, the golden blood energy boiling like a sea around him.

He felt the long-dormant power within him awakening—the power of the Eight Forbidden, the capital of the Ancient Desolate Saint Body for fighting across Realms.

There was a chasm between the Ninth Transformation of the Dragon Transformation Realm and the First Heaven of the Sendai Realm, but for the Saint Body, this chasm was not insurmountable.

Wang Teng's face darkened completely. He realized he had indeed underestimated this opponent.

But he couldn't lose, and he wouldn't. He was Wang Teng, the Reincarnation of an Ancient Emperor, the number one of the younger generation in the Northern Plains. How could he lose to a Loose Cultivator in the Dragon Transformation Realm?