Martial Conquest of the Nine Desolates
Chapter 118 - 116: Shocking, Still Shocking

Chapter 118: Chapter 116: Shocking, Still Shocking

Inside the white palace, every movement of the two figures carried a strong Martial Arts True Intent, weaving around them as they engaged in an intense battle.

"Get out of my way!"

Xiao Ye’s eyes blazed like the fierce sun, emitting an unbearable brilliance, as he infused his Martial Arts True Intent into the Heaven Burning Slash. A vast Flame Blade Light surged toward Liu Yiyi.

Even after battling for half an hour, Xiao Ye remained extremely valiant, whereas Liu Yiyi showed signs of exhaustion.

This was to be expected, after all, Xiao Ye’s understanding of Martial Arts True Intent was a level higher than Liu Yiyi’s, and his foundation was much deeper.

Moreover, if one paid close attention, it would be apparent that with each battle, the power of Xiao Ye’s Heaven Burning Slash grew by a sliver. Although each increment was subtle, the cumulative improvement over half an hour was rather significant.

In other words, like that green-clothed girl, Liu Yiyi had become a mere sparring partner for Xiao Ye; only, Liu Yiyi was being overwhelmed and Xiao Ye had taken the lead.

"How could he be this strong!" Liu Yiyi’s beautiful face turned pale; she was shocked and furious as she found herself barely able to withstand Xiao Ye’s attacks.

Boom!

At that moment, Xiao Ye lifted his hand and a Sword Light cleaved through the void, its length suddenly extending to 180 meters. It swept over mightily, smashing Liu Yiyi’s attacks to pieces and then, without losing momentum, striking her directly.

Hum!

An Energy Shield emerged around Liu Yiyi, blocking the Sword Light, but she was still blasted away, slamming into the wall and spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"Haha, my Heaven Burning Slash has now integrated three and a half parts of the Flame True Intent!" Xiao Ye laughed loudly, his face alight with excitement.

Indeed, in the fierce battle with Liu Yiyi, he had been attempting to infuse the newly grasped ten percent of the Flame True Intent into his Heaven Burning Slash.

Now that he had mixed in an additional ten percent, the power had magnified considerably, nearly reaching the Fifth Grade Combat Technique limit, and he had effortlessly defeated Liu Yiyi without any suspense.

"There’s even Innate Armor?" Xiao Ye suppressed the excitement in his heart and cast an indifferent glance at Liu Yiyi.

Beneath Liu Yiyi’s torn clothes, she wore a dark cyan armor—it was this very armor that had blocked his Sword Light.

Xiao Ye understood that this armor was likely given by the Third Elder to Liu Yiyi as a protective measure, an Innate Level Weapon.

"Liu Yiyi, do you now realize who is looking up to whom?" After leaving these words, Xiao Ye, holding the Heavenly Termination Saber, strode towards the palace’s rear exit.

With the Time Tower now in his possession, his future was filled with endless possibilities.

His aim was to ascend the Martial Arts Peak, to contend with the monstrous geniuses of the True Spirit Continent, and he no longer cared about the feelings of his green years.

To him, his own future was what Liu Yiyi needed to look up to!

Liu Yiyi, slumped in the corner of the wall with a defeated expression, trembled upon hearing Xiao Ye’s words, her eyes dazed as she gazed at Xiao Ye’s departing figure.

"Could it be... that I was wrong in the past?" Liu Yiyi was somewhat lost in thought.

But then, the figure of a man with a longsword on his back flashed in her mind.

"No, I am not wrong! Xiao Ye can never compare to Brother Zhao Qian!" A renewed gleam shone in Liu Yiyi’s beautiful eyes.

...

Outside the palace, the waiting crowd was growing impatient.

"Damn, how much longer does the palace’s Gatekeeper and Direct Disciple plan to go easy on Xiao Ye!"

They had been here for nearly two hours and still had not seen Xiao Ye emerge.

"Junior Sister Three, your disciple is somewhat excessive," the Great Elder opened his eyes, which had been resting closed, and his tone was filled with displeasure.

Fully aware she was at fault, the Third Elder inwardly cursed: "This girl is still holding onto past feelings!"

Boom!

Suddenly, the palace began to tremble violently, and intense light shot up into the sky, causing countless Runes to follow and extinguish.

"What’s happening?" The crowd looked towards the palace with bewildered shock. Could it be that Xiao Ye was about to be ejected?

Quickly, the Array that had enveloped the entire palace disappeared, and a white palace with its grand entrance gone appeared lonely before everyone’s eyes.

"The Array is broken?" The Great Elder, Second Elder, and Third Elder all trembled.

As Black Robed Elders, they were acutely aware that there could only be one reason for the Array’s disruption—the Gatekeeper intimately connected to the Array had been defeated!

In this moment, even with their composure, they couldn’t help but be greatly shocked, especially the Third Elder, her phoenix eyes filled with disbelief.

In her view, there was no way Liu Yiyi could lose to Xiao Ye.

"Has this girl lost her mind, going so easy to this extent?" The Third Elder, frustrated beyond measure, quickly rushed towards the palace.

Meanwhile, the crowd hastily followed.

Inside the palace, only Liu Yiyi remained, leaning against the wall.

"Master." Liu Yiyi softly spoke upon seeing the Third Elder, her face marked with guilt.

"You actually dared to go easy on Xiao Ye. Just wait and see how I deal with you!" The Third Elder spoke coldly before heading towards the back door of the palace.

"Go easy?" Liu Yiyi was stunned, but soon realized what was implied, and her face was filled with a bitter smile.

Did Xiao Ye still need her to go easy on him?

...

Exiting the palace’s rear door, Xiao Ye had a trace of a smile on his face: "Having passed the third trial, I wonder what sort of expressions the Great Elder and the others will have?"

Thinking this, Xiao Ye stood still and waited.

"Xiao Ye!" As expected, it wasn’t long before the four Black Robed Elders emerged in succession from the rear door of the palace.

The Third Elder stared at Xiao Ye, exuding an icy aura, with cold light surging in her phoenix eyes.

"Liu Yiyi let you pass the third trial, yet you dared to strike her down!"

Hearing this, a cold laugh echoed inside Xiao Ye’s heart. So the Third Elder and the others truly did not believe that it was his own strength that got him through the third trial?

"Third Elder, did you see Liu Yiyi going easy on me?" Xiao Ye asked coldly.

The Third Elder’s breathing hitched, her face turning to anger. Even now, Xiao Ye dared to mock her—it was sheer ignorance of life and death.

Then, she became stunned because a tremendously strong Martial Arts True Intent surged from Xiao Ye’s body, causing the temperature around to climb rapidly.

40% of the Flame True Intent erupted! A wave of suppression swept across the entire area.

Fifteen Flame Lotuses circled around Xiao Ye, the invisible hot wind causing his robes to flap loudly.

Silence!

The Inner Sect Disciples who followed were all agape, their expressions incredibly vivid, as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

"How is this possible!" The expression on Leng Feng’s face was dull, as if he had become a wooden carving.

The Great Elder and Second Elder, who had been expressionless before, trembled, their murky eyes staring fixedly at Xiao Ye; those fifteen Flame Lotuses were so dazzling and bright in their eyes.

"40% Martial Arts True Intent!"

Feeling the power of that Martial Arts True Intent, everyone’s hearts raced and heads spun.

It turned out that Xiao Ye, even before becoming a Direct Disciple, had already comprehended the Martial Arts True Intent to 40%—his insight was terrifying indeed!

He had passed the third trial, not because the Gatekeeper went easy on him.

"Monster!" someone muttered under their breath. Even Leng Feng was far from being comparable to Xiao Ye; there was a vast difference between them.

At this moment, many Inner Sect Disciples stealthily glanced at the Great Elder and Second Elder.

Originally, these two had discarded Xiao Ye like trash. Who could have anticipated that Xiao Ye was actually a pearl covered in dust, the light he emitted incomparable to any other.

"Now the Great Elder and Second Elder must be filled with regret," someone guessed inwardly.

The Great Elder’s expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"It turns out the old man was mistaken, Xiao Ye, your insight is indeed very good. Now the old man asks you, are you willing to become my Direct Disciple?"

"As the Great Elder, I can provide you with more resources than other Direct Disciples. Given time, your achievements will definitely not be inferior to Zhao Qian’s," the Great Elder said.

"Xiao Ye, as long as you are willing to become my Direct Disciple, you can make any request, and I will try my best to fulfill it," the slightly plump Second Elder said with shining eyes, as if he saw a rare treasure.

Swoosh!

Everyone felt their heads spin. When had they ever seen the high and mighty Great Elder and Second Elder, brimming with various temptations, all to take one person as a Direct Disciple?

However, Xiao Ye remained silent, his mocking smile growing even wider.

Before he revealed his Martial Arts True Intent, they paid him no attention, but now they were eagerly trying to win him over. Such behavior disgusted him.

"Sorry, I already have a Master," Xiao Ye said coldly, his gaze turning towards the four Elder who had remained silent throughout.

The Fourth Elder had not said a word from the start, as if she trusted him completely.

"Whoever treats me with sincerity, I will regard him as Master. Otherwise, even if a mountain of treasures were placed before me, do not expect me to call them Master," Xiao Ye said indifferently, his tone echoing the Fourth Elder’s.

Everyone felt their throats go dry. Xiao Ye had actually rejected both the Great Elder and Second Elder—what audacity!

"Ha ha, good! The old man really didn’t misjudge!" The Fourth Elder smiled in response to Xiao Ye’s gaze.

The Great Elder and Second Elder sighed upon hearing this, their feelings towards Xiao Ye extremely complex.

Because of their oversight, they had let a genius with such terrifying understanding slip through their fingers, an undeniable regret.

"Come with me," said the Fourth Elder to Xiao Ye, then turned to walk away with her hands behind her back, heading out of the valley.

A hint of doubt suddenly rose in Xiao Ye’s heart; he felt that the Fourth Elder was not particularly surprised to see his revealed Martial Arts True Intent, as if she somehow knew about it already.

Xiao Ye was puzzled but did not ask; instead, he stepped forward and followed.

"This kid!" The Third Elder’s face darkened. She never expected Xiao Ye to be so fearsome.

Every time she recalled her previous mockery of Xiao Ye, her cheeks burned with pain.

Xiao Ye had chosen not to reveal his Martial Arts True Intent but to proceed through the trials instead, essentially throwing her words back in her face with actions.

"My Martial Arts, you do not understand!"

Those words Xiao Ye had said to her in the Chongyang Secret Realm were still echoing in her ears, but now they carried a heavy significance.

Everyone knew that Chongyang Sect was about to witness the rise of an exceptional powerhouse.