Heaven rewards diligence; he fought his way through chaos to become a saint.

Chapter 141 Responding to the Challenge

According to Manager Chen, Lu Hanhai's strength is at the first level of the Core Formation stage, but he has extremely rich experience in martial arts competitions.

Once they exchange blows, Ye Ci felt it was best to learn as much as possible about his opponent.

"Manager Chen, do you know if this person has any powerful moves or any secret techniques he might have?"

"A trump card, a secret weapon?"

Manager Chen and Wang Ya pondered for a moment, then shook their heads in unison: "Never heard of him. We only heard that he cultivates the Earth True Qi and has mastered the Vajra Indestructible Body martial art. Earth Qi is inherently heavy and good at defense, so this person must be extremely durable. With the addition of his martial art, I'm afraid it would be difficult for ordinary people to hurt him."

"It's possible that this is how Lu Budao got his reputation."

"Okay then."

After listening, Ye Ci nodded and said, "You two go directly to the Wu family and arrange to have a fistfight with him tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? You agreed?"

"Yes."

Before long, Ye Ci arrived at the Shen family's residence.

"Master Ye is back!"

Several guards practicing martial arts in the front yard stood up one after another. Wu Tan didn't even have time to wipe the sweat from his face before he hurriedly shouted and ran over to meet them.

The other guards felt contempt, because it was Wu Tan who had spoken ill of Ye Ci behind his back before.

They have absolutely no dignity as warriors.

Shameless scoundrel.

However, at this moment, no one had a chance to complain to Ye Ci, so they all took the initiative to come forward and greet him.

"Master Ye, how's your arduous training going lately? Have you made any progress?"

"I heard that the leader of the Yanqing Sect is at the tenth level of the Core Formation stage. We've never even seen someone like that before?"

When asked, Ye Ci casually replied with "yes".

Ye Ci did not neglect these old guards of the Shen family, even though they had some complaints about him before, he could understand.

After all, in other people's eyes, she had only saved Master Shen by sheer luck.

Seeing Wu Tan and the others at the mansion, Ye Ci guessed that Shen Wanzhou and Shen Yixi should both be there today.

Sure enough, upon hearing the commotion outside, Shen Yixi and Shen Xin came out from inside, their two graceful figures standing quietly under the porch waiting.

Shen Yixi wore a thin dress today. The fabric was light, soft, and sheer. Her waist was extremely slender, and her figure was plump and graceful. Her full and eye-catching curves were accentuated by a few strands of hair falling beside her cheeks. Her eyebrows and eyes were extremely beautiful.

Aside from being a bit older, Shen Xin was just as good, and even had a hint of affection for Ye Ci in her eyes.

"Is the old man there?"

"exist."

Ye Ci remained expressionless and continued walking inside without stopping.

Shen Yixi hesitated, then said, "Ye—the offering—"

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Ci said, "I've accepted the challenge and have already sent Manager Chen to inform the other party."

He walked ahead without turning his head.

Shen Yixi paused for a moment, then said softly, "I only asked Manager Chen to ask you, not to force you to fight."

She sensed that Ye Ci was unhappy, so she offered an explanation.

Shen Xin, standing nearby, looked surprised. She hadn't expected her niece, who was usually so arrogant and haughty, to speak so gently to Ye Ci, as if afraid of offending him.

She looked like a wronged young wife.

Shen Yixi followed behind and continued to explain, "The other party is a master of the Dan Jin (a martial arts technique) and is a frequent sparring opponent. Elder Ye, please don't—"

Just then, Ye Ci suddenly stopped and slowly turned around.

His arm muscles tensed instantly, and in a flash, he suddenly threw a punch into the air.

boom!

A thunderous explosion rang out.

At that moment, to everyone's astonishment, a path was blasted open from the dust beneath Ye Ci's feet, and dust and smoke billowed up.

"Am I not the one who has attained enlightenment?"

The voice was gentle.

It was quiet all around.

None of the martial arts masters in the courtyard dared to speak.

They all stared solemnly at the young man's retreating figure, deeply shocked and silent.

More than two months!

Embrace the elixir!

The silence lasted for several breaths before Shen Xin covered her mouth, her eyes filled with a hint of fear.

Shen Yixi was surprised for a moment, and then a strange light appeared in her beautiful eyes.

She then gracefully bowed and said gently, "Please forgive my rudeness; I have underestimated Lord Ye."

Ye Ci calmly glanced at him: "No need for that. You can tell me directly if you have anything to say in the future. We're both at the first level of the Core Formation stage, why wait until now?"

Shen Yixi pursed her lips and said softly, "I understand."

As she spoke, she lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes concealing the bitterness in them.

Mixed with a bit of frustration.

Indeed, the two of them came from Songjiang together, and he knew each other's abilities, but when faced with a problem, they seemed to be testing each other, and were quite unfamiliar with each other.

but----

Shen Yixi felt a surge of joy in her heart. So, he was upset that I was being too formal?

At this moment, Wu Tan, who was in the courtyard, realized that he had reacted too slowly. He shouted loudly and rushed forward, saying, "Lord Ye's divine might is unparalleled, invincible under heaven!"

He fell to the ground, almost bowing down in reverence.

Everyone was astonished, never expecting Wu Tan to be so flamboyant.

*******

The next day.

As dawn broke and the morning mist had not yet completely dissipated, a vacant lot by the dock had already been designated as today's arena.

It was called a fighting arena, but in reality, there was no structure whatsoever; it was simply an open space with no obstructions on all sides, left out by passersby.

The only marker was a few old wooden planks casually placed at the edge of the open space, marking out an area—simple yet eye-catching.

The open space around.

The merchants' permanent stalls next to the docks were bustling with activity. Many of them had heard that there was another fistfight today, so they brought out tables and chairs early to sit under the stalls and wait to watch the excitement.

Besides the shantytowns, there were also some scattered tea stalls around, with a few rough wooden tables and benches under the tea stalls.

The stall owner, carrying a teapot, busied himself brewing tea and informed the scattered customers around him that there would be a boxing match today.

Boxing matches are common in Wucheng, and everyone enjoys them. So, the idlers sit by the tea stall, order a pot of tea, and crane their necks to look at the center of the open space, waiting for the show to begin.

Before long, two figures walked side by side.

Walking on the left was Wu Zhenshan, the head of the Wu family. He was a plump man wearing a dark blue brocade robe and had a cheerful smile on his face.

Beside him was Lu Hanhai, dressed in a short-sleeved jacket, tall and vigorous.

The two walked straight to the tea stall at the edge of the open space and sat down. The stall owner quickly came forward, brewed two bowls of hot tea, and respectfully stepped aside.

Wu Zhenshan picked up his teacup, gently blew away the foam, and said with a smile, "Master Lu, the Shen family is quite wealthy and generous. In the past, they charged higher prices for medicinal herbs than we do, yet no other merchants stepped forward. It was up to you and me to make the move."

Upon hearing this, Lu Hanhai waved his hand and said, "I have known you for many years and have received favors from you, so I will naturally help you. I heard that the Shen family has three experts at the Transformation Realm, one of whom is a young man who is their retainer. It is said that he has joined some minor sect, and the one who agreed to the fistfight today is this person."

"Yes."

Wu Zhenshan nodded: "Foreign merchants can't afford to hire a Dan-level martial artist, they can only hire some Hua Jin martial artists. In the entire dock, there are very few families with similar resources to mine who have Dan-level martial artists. I thought the Shen family would spend a lot of money to hire those martial artists who have been fighting for years, but I didn't expect that he would directly call his own Dan-level martial artist to fight."

"That offering is utterly ridiculous; they actually dared to come."

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