Hell Emperor.

Chapter 609 Ye Jie - Realm Breakthrough
Ye Jie's loud shout immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Curious glances fell upon Ye Jie, and the onlookers gasped in surprise, speculating about his identity.

"Who is this person, so audacious as to challenge the Dragon Clan..."

“I’ve never seen him in the city before. He must be from out of town and has no idea how powerful the Dragon Clan is.”

"The Dragon Clan defeated even the Yellow Lizard King, who was at the peak of the sixth rank. It seems they still had some strength left to unleash. How could such an unknown nobody possibly challenge them?"

"The betting's here! Let's see how long this daring challenger can last against the Dragon Clan..."

Hearing the whispers of the crowd around him, Ye Jie remained calm and turned his gaze to the Dragon Clan.

Long Zhong glanced at Ye Jie. Judging from his aura alone, Ye Jie's strength was only at the fifth level, far inferior to the Yellow Lizard King whom he had defeated. He wondered what gave him the confidence to dare to step onto the stage and challenge at this moment.

"A mere fifth-level cultivator dares to challenge me on stage? You really don't take me seriously! The moment you step onto the stage will be your death day!"

Long Zhong's eyes flashed with a fierce light. Defending the arena was no easy task. In addition, he might face a chaotic battle with many opponents in the end. If he could not use swift and decisive measures to make an example of the challengers in front of him and establish his authority, he was afraid that such challenges would continue indefinitely, which would be a drain on his mental strength and immortal energy.

Sensing the killing intent emanating from Long Zhong, Ye Jie's expression darkened. Although once you step onto this arena, life or death is irrelevant, it's rare to see someone like Long Zhong who intends to kill right from the start.

As Ye Jie stepped onto the stage, the Dragon Clan, without waiting for him to introduce himself, took the initiative and charged towards Ye Jie. As they moved, a loud dragon roar rang in everyone's ears. The aura of the Azure Dragon burst forth and gathered on the sweeping fist, determined to crush all the powerful enemies in front of them into dust!
"Die, Dragon Prime Minister!"

Upon hearing the name of this move, everyone exclaimed in surprise. Not long ago, the Dragon Clan defeated the Yellow Lizard King with this move, even smashing the lizard's head into a mess. Now, they used this move as soon as they made their move, clearly intending to kill the challenger completely with minimal effort!

However, the overwhelming momentum was abruptly halted in front of Ye Jie. The fist that Long Zhong threw had lost its power at some point, and was blocked by something unshakable in front of him. Upon closer inspection, it was clearly Ye Jie's raised palm that blocked the fist.

"This is impossible... You actually managed to block my Dragon Form Subduing Demon?"

Even Long Zhong was stunned by the scene. According to his original prediction, Ye Jie should have been nothing but a lump of minced meat by now. Who would have thought that not only was he not dead, but he was also as if nothing had happened, and he had not even taken a step back.

"What exactly are you... ah!"

Long Zhong was filled with doubt. This strength was definitely not something a fifth-level immortal could possess. The strength Ye Jie displayed was absolutely beyond his appearance. Just as he was about to speak, the pain from his arm made his face contort in pain.

Ye Jie exerted a little force, and Long Zhong's arm was twisted into a pretzel. The intense pain made Long Zhong cry out that something was wrong. He turned his palm into a knife and decisively cut off his own arm, then quickly retreated.

Crimson blood splattered on the ground with a loud splash, but Long Zhong paid no attention. He glared angrily at Ye Jie, only then realizing that he had been tricked and had been severely injured in one careless move.

This unexpected turn of events left the audience completely silent. After a long while, a very faint sound finally broke out.

"What did I just see? That person actually injured one of the Dragon Clan members?"

"How is this possible? With the strength of the Dragon Clan, he is undoubtedly the Holy Envoy of the Faith. How could he be so seriously injured?"

The discussions among the crowd felt like needles pricking Long Zhong's heart. Every question they posed sounded so harsh to him. He, who aspired to become the leader of all the Holy Envoys of the Church with an invincible spirit, could not tolerate such a defeat.

"Damn it...you dare to hurt me! No matter who you are, you're dead now!"

Long Zhong's face darkened, and his eyes blazed with fury, eager to kill Ye Jie.

A resounding dragon roar erupted from his body, containing the oppressive power of a divine dragon descending to earth. The blood from the wound on his arm began to burn, and every drop of dragon blood that fell to the ground became a weapon he wielded with ease, simultaneously granting him even greater power. He let out a furious growl:

"The Dragon Weeps Blood!"

Upon hearing that name from afar, Ren Changhong's expression changed slightly: "Divine Dragon Weeping Blood? How does he know that move?"

Shen Qingge seemed to have noticed something and asked, "Master, have you heard of this move?"

Ren Changhong nodded slowly: "That's right... It belongs to the power of the Dragon's Blood Weeping. It can return the injuries to the body to the enemy with ten times the power. If one cultivates it to a high level, it can even exert a hundred or a thousand times the power. It is one of the immortal techniques that are not passed down! If I remember correctly, the Dragon's Blood Weeping is the unique move of the Dragon Form Envoy!"

"Dragon-shaped Envoy?" Li Feie was stunned. Such a unique title caught her off guard.

Su Miao seemed to remember something: "The Dragon Form Envoy is a Ghost Immortal from the Beast Form Hall, with astonishing strength. He is the strongest among the Beast Form Envoys. I didn't expect this person to be able to use the Dragon Form Envoy's techniques. Could it be that he is the Dragon Form Envoy of this era..."

Before the words were finished, a strange change occurred in the distance.

With the immense divine power condensed from the dragon's weeping blood, the dragon's strength reached its peak. Raising his only remaining left arm, he gathered all the injuries he had just suffered into the next attack!
"Die! Eight Dragon Gods - Ten Lands Breakthrough!"

As Long Zhong finished speaking, a golden phantom of a dragon god appeared above everyone's heads. The dragon's roar soared to the heavens, shaking the entire ten directions of the world. It could be clearly heard throughout the entire Fulousha City, and even the numerous restrictions set up outside the imperial palace could not stop it.

"That dragon's roar..."

"He is a dragon, and he made the greatest contribution in the battle to destroy the Ksitigarbha Temple. Becoming a Holy Envoy of the Fa is a reward he deserves."

Inside the imperial palace, numerous high-ranking officials in brocade robes gathered. Upon hearing the dragon's roar from afar, their faces revealed expressions of approval or appreciation.

"quiet."

The whispers coming from before the throne silenced everyone, who bowed low. A few even had beads of sweat on their foreheads, afraid that they had spoken too loudly and displeased the person on the throne.

"The Dragon Clan has been defeated."

Another whisper fell, but its meaning was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, causing the assembled officials to gasp in surprise. They had all heard of Long Zhong; he was one of the guardian deities of the former Ksitigarbha Hall, and the strongest among them, ranking first. In the entire city of Fulousha, there were very few who could surpass Long Zhong.

Yet, this renowned and powerful figure, who stood above millions, received only a word of defeat from the person on the throne. How could this not surprise everyone?
The crowd lowered their heads even further, no one was foolish enough to question the man's judgment. Many were quick-witted and had already begun to try to win over the Dragon Clan members, and even started planning for the future.

In the arena, after Long Zhong burned his entire immortal essence to unleash an unparalleled and supremely powerful attack, he suddenly sensed something was amiss.

The attack was unleashed, but there was no sign of the enemy being completely torn apart, or even their soul being scattered. Facing this overwhelming and powerful blow, Ye Jie remained calm, his eyes maintaining a serene and composed demeanor.

"Is this your full-force attack? It seems it's nothing special!"

Ye Jie didn't intend to be polite to him. His immortal essence condensed, and the power of the Saint Realm was no longer suppressed. He only revealed one-tenth of his power, which blocked all of the dragons' bombardment and used it to launch a counterattack.

An even more powerful dragon aura, threatening to engulf the entire world, erupted from Ye Jie's body, instantly engulfing the dragons.

Faced with the Venerable One named after a dragon, Ye Jie couldn't help but find it somewhat laughable. Despite the dragons' fierce appearance, in Ye Jie's eyes, they were no different from young dragons that had not yet reached adulthood. Since that was the case, Ye Jie was not stingy in letting him experience the true power of a divine dragon!

"Divine Dragon Transformation: Hidden Dragon Soars from the Abyss!"

As soon as Ye Jie finished speaking, the dragons felt their dragon essence completely out of control, and in an almost out-of-control manner, it rapidly escaped from his body and converged in Ye Jie's direction.

Long Yuan's escape was so decisive, even bordering on panicked, that Long Zhong's meridians were completely torn apart, his blood vessels burst, and his skin ripped open. The fleeing Long Yuan transformed into the sharpest blade, piercing through his entire body, leaving him with not a single patch of unscathed skin. Even his dantian was blasted open, leaving a large hole that allowed one to see his back.

As Ye Jie finished circulating his energy, Long Zhong collapsed to the ground, his entire body covered in blood. The intense pain spread, but ironically, it made his consciousness even clearer.

To the Dragon Clan's horror, he could not sense any movement of Dragon Essence within his own body. No matter how he called out, it was like a mud ox sinking into the sea. His body seemed to have turned into an unyielding stone, no longer possessing the strength that once dominated the continent.

Ye Jie slowly withdrew his hand. Relying on the power of the Hidden Dragon Soaring Abyss, all the dragon essence within the dragons' bodies had now become nourishment for Ye Jie, replenishing his strength.

The pure dragon essence within the dragon's body even emanated a faint yearning from the Divine Dragon Transformation of the Saint Realm.

No matter how strong Ye Jie is, his own realm is only at the mid-stage of the fifth level, while Long Zhong's realm is as high as the seventh level!
When Ye Jie refined all the pure dragon essence of the seventh rank using the Divine Dragon Transformation, and it became Ye Jie's own power, the powerful nourishment contained within spread out, causing Ye Jie's realm to loosen, and he actually broke through his realm directly!

Ye Jie seemed to hear the crisp sound of a vessel breaking. As the powerful dragon essence merged into his body, his cultivation level rose straight to the late stage of the fifth rank, and it did not stop until he reached the peak of the fifth rank. Only when he faced the bottleneck of the sixth rank did his strength subside.

"He broke through... Moreover, he broke through two minor realms in a row. It seems that this Dragon Clan has some strength. However, with his dragon essence depleted and his meridians broken, he probably won't be able to be arrogant anymore."

Ye Jie slowly clenched his fist, feeling the powerful force surging in his palm, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

Speaking of which, this is the first time Ye Jie has achieved a breakthrough through his own efforts since becoming an immortal.

Previously, he had relied on modifying his rank records in the Book of Life and Death to advance his realm, and he had almost forgotten the difficulty and joy of breaking through through his own efforts.

The breakthrough in realm that can be achieved by simply changing a few words in the Book of Life and Death would require thousands of years of arduous effort from an immortal in reality. Thinking of this, Ye Jie couldn't help but sigh.

"What...what did you do? What kind of move was that?"

Long Zhong collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with utter horror. Ye Jie, who was only at the fifth level of cultivation, had actually managed to seize the seventh-level dragon essence from his body. Not only was he not overwhelmed by the power of the seventh-level dragon essence, but he had also completely refined it, using it to break through his cultivation level. Such a thing was unheard of in ancient and modern times.

Before Long Zhong could figure it out, he felt a tremendous force come his way, and Ye Jie threw his entire body away, causing him to fall heavily off the stage, which meant his defeat.

Below the stage, the crowd remained silent for a long time. Even though they had witnessed the entire battle, all that remained in their hearts was a sense of absurdity and disbelief.

"How is this possible... The Dragon Clan actually lost, and lost so thoroughly..."

"What did I just see? He actually refined the cultivation of the Dragon Clan? What kind of sorcery is that?!"

"This person is unfathomable. It seems that he is destined to be the winner of this arena. Let's find another place."

The crowd chattered amongst themselves. Some exclaimed in amazement at Ye Jie's strength, while others sighed with regret at the Dragon Clan's defeat. Still others glanced around, seemingly plotting something.

No matter what people say, it doesn't change the fact that Ye Jie has won the final victory.

The defeat of the Dragon Clan, along with the strength displayed by Ye Jie, undoubtedly shocked the restless crowd. Even the Dragon Clan, who were once invincible, have now lost all their cultivation and are like cripples. Anyone who dares to be so blind as to challenge Ye Jie will face an unpredictable fate.

As night fell and the bright moon hung high in the sky, Ye Jie was not challenged by anyone.

At the various arenas set up throughout the city, numerous challengers fought fiercely for the final spot as Holy Envoys of the Faith, resulting in countless deaths. However, Ye Jie's arena remained deserted, without a single challenger in sight.

As midnight fell, a loud announcement resounded throughout the city:

"The time has come. The Holy Envoy for Protecting the Fa has been chosen. Please follow the envoy into the Imperial Palace to receive the rewards from the Yama Emperor."

"finally come……"

The announcement that came to his ears made Ye Jie take a deep breath. Winning the arena match was just the beginning. Now, he was finally able to face the figures of ancient legends. It was impossible for him not to be excited.

Soon, several richly dressed envoys arrived to confirm the name of Ye Jie, the final winner.

Ye Jie did not forget that this was not the original era of everyone. If unnecessary records were left behind, it might distort the future history. He then gave a false name and, led by the envoy, entered the magnificent imperial palace.

(End of this chapter)