Chapter 697: Changes In The Masters Ranking
Hiss!
Mo Feng already knew that Ye Chen's strength had reached an extraordinary level, having exchanged pointers many times in South Rudra Region. However, he never expected that it had gotten to the extent of killing dozens of experts with one slash of his sword. After all, these experts were not the usual Sea of Soul experts; each and every one of them had a cultivation base of late Sea of Soul realm. It was especially true for the green-robed old man. As a hall leader of Water Wave Sect, his strength was no lower than his own, and might even have been higher. Before Ye Chen, however, they were no different from common Sea of Soul realm experts, not even capable of retaliating.
"I'm afraid that this guy is only a step away from half step King level." Mo Feng said inwardly.
Half step king level was almost no different from a peak Sea of Soul Master, but the former's strength lay in Zhen Yuan. Life and Death realm comprised of the King Zhen Yuan, and half step king had what was called the Semi King Zhen Yuan. Semi King Zhen Yuan was no longer liquid, but solid, which could easily condense into a Zhen Yuan crystal. Even if this Zhen Yuan crystal lost the control of its master, it would not come apart, but maintain its form. Most importantly, this Zhen Yuan crystal could aid others' cultivation, termed as semi extreme grade energy crystal. It was obviously precious beyond measure.
Legend had it that the King Zhen Yuan could condense into all sorts of gems, diamonds, and even some unique crystals. Moreover, the sturdiness of objects condensed from King Zhen Yuan defied all common sense. For example, a Zhen Yuan gem was ten folds harder than a gem of the same grade.
Collecting some storage rings and somewhat damaged upper grade artifacts, Ye Chen turned around and said, "Big brother Mo Feng, you return and manage the scene. I'll go and see how is it going over there, alright?"
Black King Hall Leader's strength would be more or less the same as Black Dragon Hall Leader and Red Dragon Hall Leader. If he possessed some secret arts, he might be able to escape from the two. Thus, Ye Chen must go and oversee the situation, striving for not letting a single one escape.
"Sounds good! Seems like I'm not needed." Mo Feng smiled bitterly and shook his head as he initiated return with his people.
Once Mo Feng and his group left far into the distance, the golden sword on Ye Chen's back involuntarily unsheathed and transformed into a golden light stream, appearing under Ye Chen's feet. Next, he stepped on it and channeled his Zhen Yuan and soul power. With a rustle, the golden sword shot forth with a speed dozens of times that of sound, leaving behind clear sword scars which didn't dissipate for a long time.
"Haha...Just you two aren't enough to stop me!"
The black-robed man was battling against both the Black Dragon Hall Leader and Red Dragon Hall Leader alone. Although he was at an absolute disadvantage, he managed to remain undefeated. It was not because his strength was higher than the two; in fact, all three of them had similar strengths. However, the black-robed man had an absolute water profound defensive skill. This defensive martial skill seemed like a dim green colored water wave that wrapped around his whole body. Upon falling on this water wave, the attacks of Red Dragon Hall Leader and Black Dragon Hall Leader were not weakened, but actually slipping away, transmitting only thirty to forty percent of their power.
"So troublesome! Take my Red Python Silk Fist!" Red Dragon Hall Leader had a fiery temperament. As his attacks failed one after another, his eyes opened wide like two copper bells while he roared and punched out. Sixteen huge flaming pythons coiled around the black-robed man's body, firmly binding him.
"Break!"
The black-robed man's face flushed red as he repeatedly punched, instantly destroying nine of the flaming pythons.
"Void Cutting Chop!"
The Black Dragon Hall Leader's weapon was a semi extreme grade black blade. As he swept his blade, a dense blade light appeared, carrying a Qi of extermination. He then chopped at the water wave protecting black-robed man.
Puchi!
Although the blade strike didn't destroy the water wave, it created an opening.
"Haha!"
The Red Dragon Hall Leader and Black Dragon Hall Leader had a high degree of coordination. As soon as the opening appeared, the former immediately caused one of the flaming pythons to bore into it. On the other side, the black-robed man was not too slow either. He immediately condensed the water wave, turning it almost solid; thus, he firmly locked the flaming python in place.
Unfortunately, the Red Dragon Hall Leader's objective had already been met.
"Explode!"
The Red Dragon Hall Leader gave a muffled shout, and the flaming python exploded immediately, directly destroying the green water wave. Watery light sprinkled everywhere while half of the black-robed man's body had been burnt black, causing him a substantial internal injury.
"You two...There will be a day you'll die by my hands!" The black-robed man growled, his seven apertures leaking blood and his hair completely disheveled.
"You have to escape first!"
As the Red Dragon Hall Leader spoke, the six flaming pythons outside the black-robed man's body also exploded one after another. The blazing flames combined together to form a huge flaming mushroom cloud.
"Water Escape!"
Right at this moment, the black-robed man's figure spun, turning into a green-colored stream and escaping into the distance. Its speed was so high that it seemed formless and incorporeal.
"Not good!" The faces of Red Dragon Hall Leader and Black Hall Leader changed before they hurriedly chased after it.
The black-robed man seemed to have used a technique that overdrew one's potential. His speed kept increasing, soon leaving them dozens of li behind. It seemed that they would soon lose him.
Suddenly...
Slash!
A black-colored sword light flickered, cleaving the green stream into two. The black-robed man couldn't even cry out, instantly turning into a dismembered corpse.
The killer was none other than Ye Chen.
A few hundred li away, he had already sensed the presence of black-robed man. Thus, he instantly switched from the Defensive Sword Flight to Sword Light Flight and chased after him at top speed. With an astonishing speed behind him, he slashed out once he got close enough.
"Deputy Ye!"
The Red Dragon Hall Leader let out a sigh of relief.
"You two are fine, right?"
The Red Dragon Hall Leader smiled and said, "What could happen to us? Although, this guy really had a lot of life saving tricks."
First the green water wave, and then an even stronger water escape...Black King Gate Hall Leader was more or less the same as the two of them in terms of strength, but they still found it exceptionally difficult to stop him. One could also say that under normal conditions, if one wished to kill an expert of the same level, it would only be possible if the latter didn't escape. Otherwise, at least three people would be required to have any certainty of killing one.
After all, not everyone could be as well-rounded as Ye Chen.
By the time the three individuals returned to the battlefield, the battle had concluded long ago. The troops of Black King Gate and Water Wave Sect were annihilated. On the other side, Dragon God Celestial Palace only suffered a casualty of two hundred people.
In one assignment, the four enemy forces lost six thousand people. Their losses were extremely miserable, and they would probably take a long time to return to their prime.
Upon their return to the Dragon God Celestial Palace, this good news traveled throughout the Dragon God Celestial Palace at an astonishing pace. Ye Chen once again turned into the focal point, and many even began to call him Dragon God Celestial Palace's war god. As long as he was present, Dragon God Celestial Palace could win any battle.
Since Ye Chen had made such an astonishing contribution, his rewards were obviously not low. Although the majority of it was of no use to him, he still had Ye family and Sky Cloud Sect to think about. The more rewards he could obtain, the better it would be. After all, although his status was high, Dragon God Celestial Palace was not founded by him. At most, he could get hold of some treasures useful for him. He could neither take advantage of his identity nor could he ask for a large amount of resources for the Ye family and Sky Cloud Sect.
Apart from the rewards, he was also awarded a Dragon God Medal. This medal was the highest honor for individual battle achievements, and the medal itself was a unique treasure which could accumulate a large amount of Zhen Yuan, approximately one third of the whole Zhen Yuan in Ye Chen's body—it was clearly a priceless treasure.
As for the others, they also obtained rewards and medals. For example, Lin Canghai, Chen Yuxin, and Luo Yunsong, as disciples of the palace, each obtained an Iron Blood Medal. This medal was ranked third. The three hall masters received the War Dragon Medal, which was more or less the same as the Iron Blood Medal.
In short, the medals distributed this time were more than that in ten years combined, because the achievements obtained this time were more than those achieved in a decade.
...
Unwittingly, the time flew by. Traces of battle could be seen everywhere on the Blood Battle Ocean. The battle had already entered its final stage.
"Dark Devourer!"
Beside Ye Chen, a purple-robed masked woman was making seals with her hands so quickly that it could make one dizzy. Outside her body, deep dark energy waves rippled out.
Near the enemy's head, a dark sphere that was constantly spinning and sinking inwardly appeared. The dark sphere seemed like a black hole, emitting an astonishing attractive force. Suddenly, the powerful enemy was devoured to his bones. Immediately afterward, the dark sphere swelled several times while warping and distorting as if about to crumble, then spit out a storage ring and some upper grade artifacts.
"Powerful!" Ye Chen praised.
He could tell that this move of Murong Qingcheng had been created in reference to a black hole and had a devouring effect. It would not dissipate unless it devoured a certain mass. In other words, if one weren't willing to pay a certain price and tried to dodge it instead of breaking it, or if one had insufficient strength, their only conclusion would be to be devoured.
"Its structure is still not too stable. If only I can see a true black hole..." Murong Qingcheng blinked, seeming somewhat dissatisfied,
"You have to learn walking before thinking of running. Although we can't go to the starry sky, True Spirit Continent also has same dangerous regions analogous to black holes. If there is an opportunity, we can surely make a trip."
More than a year had passed. Six months ago, Murong Qingcheng finally created her own dark profound martial skill- Dark Devourer. Although this technique was still far from being perfect, its offensive power was not weak at all. It would certainly be useful even against opponents of the same level. So, she gave up bitter cultivation for the time being and arrived at Dragon God Celestial Palace.
She was already aware of Ye Chen and Xu Jing's relationship. She originally came to have a look at Xu Jing, but unfortunately, Xu Jing had been in seclusion for many years, and nobody knew what significance her seclusion carried. In short, she considered Xu Jing as her biggest rival. Although she didn't wish to push her away, she felt a sense of crisis from the other. Thus, she couldn't act as if nothing was going on.
On the other hand, Ye Chen had gone through all sorts of big and small battle experiences this year, with every single one ending in victory. In the dozens of battles he'd fought, the four enemy forces had begun to exercise extreme caution. Thus, even though he won, the situation of total annihilation of the enemy occurred only once or twice. The situation of Blood Battle Ocean was gradually stabilizing, and both sides were somewhat restrained, no longer acting wantonly.
After waging wars for a long time, Ye Chen had begun to feel somewhat dull, and was already thinking of quitting the position of Azure Dragon Hall's deputy and returning back to the continent. The current hall leader of Azure Dragon Hall was none other than the eighteenth elder of Elders Association, Elder Yu, temporary substituting for Wei Longtao. Although his strength was inferior to Wei Longtao, and was even under Black Dragon, White Dragon, and Red Dragon Hall Leaders, he was not lacking compared to them due to his relationship with Ye Chen.
The battle had turned too easy, and the enemy was not able to raise any waves at all. Murong Qingcheng said, "In your absence, the continent has grown by leaps and bounds in one year. As of now, although the current number one on Masters Ranking is still you, all the other positions have been snatched by other geniuses. Du Gujue is ranked second and Tantai Mingyue is ranked third, astonishing everybody. Fourth is Bai Wuxue, Yan Fengfeng is fifth, Lu Shaoyou is sixth, Xia Houjun at seventh, and Situ Hao is eighth. They are slowly rising, leaving behind the likes of Xiao Chunhe and others who are not present on the continent. Bei Minghui is thirteenth, and at the sixteenth spot is actually Chu Zhongtian, representing the rise of the young generation. In addition to all this, Du Gujue has already defeated Master Sky Sword and the equally famous Master Nibbana Blade."
"The change is huge indeed."
Ye Chen didn't feel surprised. One didn't expect a great progress from the older generation in a short time. However, it was easy for peak geniuses to improve by leaps and bounds. He didn't have any doubt that he would not be able to preserve his first position after a while. The competition was too fierce!