Chapter 11 - Challenges !! (2/2)
“I am your clan-brother, Ye Meng. I may not be a worthy challenger but perhaps you could show me why!” Unable to contain his contempt toward Ye Kongyan’s brazenly-egotistical attitude, Ye Meng was the first to jump onto the stage.
“You flatter me, Little Brother Ye Meng. Please, after you.” Ye Kongyan calmly made a gesture of invitation.
Ye Meng began to revolve the Celestial Chi within him, giving out a low growl. “Lethal Storm Strike!”
He threw a steady punch imbued with the potent power of a tiger’s leap. Ye Meng may only be sixteen of age but he had already attained Celestial Chi Mid-Fifth Stage, which exhibited the boy’s own acuity in martial arts. Unfortunately, in this match, he still fell short of Ye Kongyan’s level.
Seeing that his opponent’s attack was a tad bit threatening, Ye Kongyan did not take it lightly. Instead, he revolved his own Celestial Chi and parried it steadily with one of the most basic of Ye clan martial arts techniques — the Thunderclap Fists.
“That is a display of an undeniably solid foundation in the martial arts from Ye Meng right there. With the aid of a Chi Deposition Pill, it’s actually possible for the child to attain the Sixth Stage before turning eighteen.” Ye Moyang observed as he intentionally tossed a knowing glance at Ye Zhanlong — Ye Zhanlong’s unconditional doting on Ye Chen had always perplexed Ye Moyang. Every Chi-amassing Pill, Chi Deposition Pill, and other similar panacea had never been given to his own sons and instead, Ye Zhanlong gave them all to Ye Chen, who wasn’t even getting better or showing the effects of any pills at all.
Hearing Ye Moyang’s remark as well as its subtext, Ye Zhanlong unconsciously clenched his hand into a tight fist. How could he not be angered by Ye Moyang’s suggestion? Ye Chen was like his own son to him, and as he had seen how much agony the young man had been subjected to during every full moon night for the past three years, Ye Zhanlong could not possibly watch the young man suffer any longer. He would rather spend his own Chi-amassing Pills or Chi Deposition Pills if it meant a chance to relieve Ye Chen from his pain.
Ye Chen had been quietly listening to the adults’ exchange with each other. Standing behind them, he could hear everything loud and clear. Now that his meridian channels had made a complete recovery, he was no longer the deadweight in the family. As his eyes wandered to the ring where the match was taking place, he saw that Ye Kongyan had already gained a huge upper hand.
“Big Brother Ye Chen, I don’t know why but I think Ye Kongyan’s powers have strengthened. You need to be more careful.” Ye Chen was not aware that Ye Rou had somehow shifted her position and was now standing right beside him.
“Mm.” Ye Chen nodded.
“This jade pendant… It’ll enhance your Celestial Chi to a certain degree. Please, wear it,” Ye Rou said as she removed a beautiful pendant from around her fair, supple neck and squeezed it lightly into Ye Chen’s hand.
A stream of warmth immediately coursed through his palm, prompting Ye Chen to open up his hand and examined it. It was a circular pendant with a phoenix sculpted onto it, looking very much like it would come to life at any given moment. Ye Rou seemed to have worn this pendant without ever taking it off and it showed as Ye Chen could still feel the lingering warmth of the girl’s body on the pendant.
When he had examined the jade pendant longer, Ye Chen became more and more sure that the origin of this pendant must be truly out of the ordinary.
“This is your mother’s keepsake, isn’t it? I can’t fathom the thought of breaking it, even if by accident! Please, it’s better that I return it to you so that you can keep it safe,” Ye Chen replied. Not only was this pendant incredibly valuable but he was also puzzled by an unexpected reaction from the Flying Dagger itself — it had been buzzing ever since his hand touched the surface of the jade. From this point alone, Ye Chen was sure of the unnatural property of this invaluable jade pendant, and the only way he could think of to protect it was to have Rou’er keep it.
“But—” Ye Rou hesitated.
“Oh, don’t tell me you have no faith in my abilities… You know I won’t lose!” Ye Chen emanated an aura of pure confidence as he reassured her.
Watching his face, Ye Rou’s eyes reddened a little. ‘That confident Big Brother has finally returned!’ a thought raced through her mind. Hence, she nodded and wore that pendant assuringly around her neck again.
Regaining his old, the self-assured persona combined with his newly-forged solemnness and radiant manner, other girls within the clan could not help but stare in Ye Chen’s direction. Their instincts seemed to tell them that something about Ye Chen was very different from before.
The result of the match had finally been revealed as the crowd’s attention was once again drawn back to the ring.
With a loud peal, Ye Meng and Ye Kongyan’s palm met forcefully. Ye Meng took a few steps back from the impact, his steps shaky and wobbly as his face paled. Meanwhile, Ye Kongyan looked as calm and unperturbed as before.
“Excuse me if I hurt you, Little Brother.” Ye Kongyan, with an air of serenity, stopped his attacks and placed his left palm on his right fist very gently, showing his opponent the Baoquan (TN: It’s a common greeting in Chinese martial arts. It literally means “fist-wrapping gesture”) gesture.
“Brother Kongyan has defeated me fair and square. You’re truly more superior than I,” Ye Meng replied before leaping off from the ring.
At this point, the youngsters who had been watching the duel were chattering excitedly.
“Brother Kongyan is truly exemplary! In fact, I bet the distance between him and the Sixth Stage is only a fine line!”
“Hear, hear!”
Personally, Ye Kongyan was very pleased with his current power. Despite his recent battle with Ye Meng, he had not felt any shortness of breath or loss of Celestial Chi at all. After taking the Chi Deposition Pill that day, Ye Kongyan had successfully attained the Sixth Stage three days later.
The schism between the Fifth Stage and the Sixth Stage had always been wide. The Sixth Stage was the cutoff point into the territory of master pugilists, which made it a drastically different league than its immediate preceding Stage. The reason why no one had seen through his true Stage yet was because Ye Kongyan had deliberately pulled back his punches.
More of his clan-brothers, such as Ye Ming, had jumped into the ring to duel with Ye Kongyan but none of them had managed to defeat him nor made him sweat.
“Anyone else?” Ye Kongyan scanned the surrounding after yet another victory as he probed the crowd.
The juniors looked among themselves but they had grown completely silent.
Watching Ye Kongyan plowed through challenger after challenger had greatly enraptured Ye Moyang. Hence, when he saw that the stream of challengers had ceased, Ye Moyang quickly turned to Ye Changxuan and asked, “Former Chief, it seemed that the match is drawing to an end. So, has Kongyan proved himself worthy of the mantle of Successor Chief?”
Ye Changxuan was just about to answer him when a voice awkwardly cut through the air.
“Hold your judgments, my esteemed seniors. I would like to challenge Brother Kongyan.”
Every pair of eyes in the audience was instantly fixated on Ye Chen. The clansmen were instantly stumped in disbelief that the person who spoke and the last person who had issued a challenge was nobody else but Ye Chen? Did they hear it right?