Chapter 416: Shocking the Entire Arena!

Not to mention Zhao Chengqian and his group, even Shi Haoran and the other disciples were caught off guard by Ye Yuan's sudden move.

"No way, what is the little junior brother trying to do? Being the first to step onto the arena, isn't that too risky?" You Guang frowned.

"Exactly! This is reckless. Does he think he can challenge ten thousand martial artists all by himself?" Tang Zhi also found it unbelievable.

Shi Haoran sighed and said, "The little junior brother often does things beyond our expectations, beyond what we can fathom. He must have his reasons for doing this. Let's just watch."

For a moment, a chorus of jeers erupted, all saying Ye Yuan was overestimating himself.

Sure enough, before long, a martial artist at the ninth level of Crystal Formation leaped onto the arena, cupped his fists, and said, "I am Wang Jie, here to challenge Young Master Ji!"

Ye Yuan smiled slightly and said, "Please!"

Since the other party was courteous, Ye Yuan naturally wouldn't put on a sour face.

However, he would not be lenient in his actions.

Wang Jie knew that this Ji Qing dared to be the first on stage, so he must have some skill. But relying on being two minor realms higher than Ye Yuan, he wasn't too worried.

Suddenly, a spirit artifact longsword appeared in his hand, and he shouted, "Shadowless Sword Art!"

Wang Jie's figure suddenly burst forward, thrusting toward Ye Yuan at incredible speed!

This Shadowless Sword Art was not undeserving of its reputation.

But... he was up against Ye Yuan!

"Ah!"

Everyone was expecting a fierce battle, but suddenly a miserable cry rang out, and Wang Jie crashed heavily to the ground!

Wang Jie's speed was so fast that some weaker martial artists had already lost track of his figure.

At that moment, it seemed as if Wang Jie had fallen out of thin air, which was very strange.

"This... what just happened?"

"I don't know either. Ji Qing clearly stood there without moving! Could it be that Wang Jie was fooling around and fell by himself?"

"Fooling around? You're the one fooling around! Showing your low intelligence in front of so many people? Wang Jie would have to be brain-damaged for that!"

"But... Ji Qing really didn't move! Or was his movement so fast that none of us could see it?"

"No! He indeed didn't move!" Suddenly, a young man in gray robes spoke up.

The other two didn't mind and asked curiously, "Then what happened?"

"It was a soul attack! This Ji Qing's soul technique is very strong!" the young man said solemnly.

Exclamations of surprise arose all around!

It was actually an extremely rare soul attack—such a method was too bizarre for martial artists in the Windstorm Realm!

Martial artists in the Windstorm Realm were fervent about martial arts, pursuing the extremes of Yuan power and artistic conception, but very few used soul secret techniques to launch soul attacks.

This aspect was almost a shortcoming for all martial artists in the Windstorm Realm!

Just then, Wang Jie struggled to get up from the arena, cupped his fists toward Ye Yuan, and said, "Thank you, Brother Ji, for showing mercy. Wang Jie admits defeat wholeheartedly!"

Wang Jie's speed was indeed very fast; even if Ye Yuan used a soul attack, hitting him accurately was not an easy task.

But during his movement, Wang Jie suddenly felt a sharp pain in his mind and fell down, showing how powerful Ye Yuan's soul attack was!

Moreover, Wang Jie deeply felt that Ye Yuan hadn't used his full strength in that strike; otherwise, he might have become an idiot by now!

If he were still ungrateful and attacked Ye Yuan, it would probably be more than just a sharp pain.

So, he conceded defeat very straightforwardly.

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Your speed is good, but the pursuit of the sword is not about ultimate speed. You... have gone astray."

Wang Jie trembled all over, as if understanding something, and bowed to Ye Yuan, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Brother Ji. Wang Jie will never forget it!"

Ye Yuan nodded slightly and accepted it calmly.

In terms of the sword, Ye Yuan could be considered the best in the lower realm. His guidance naturally benefited Wang Jie immensely.

Ye Yuan saw at a glance the flaw in Wang Jie's practice of the Shadowless Sword Art and pointed it out.

Pursuing speed in swordsmanship is correct, but speed is not everything.

The sword is the gentleman among weapons, emphasizing agility, grace, and grandeur.

Blindly pursuing speed will lose the essence of the sword, and ultimately, one's achievements will be limited.

Ye Yuan's single sentence saved Wang Jie countless detours. Accepting his bow was only natural.

In fact, Wang Jie had reached a bottleneck in his artistic conception cultivation, so he traveled the world seeking opportunities for breakthroughs.

This time, he came to the Xiao family's martial arts tournament not for Xiao Ruyan, but to find a chance to compete with young experts.

Without many scruples, he was the first to step onto the arena and was very polite to Ye Yuan.

He never expected that Ye Yuan would see the problem in his swordsmanship at a glance and point it out.

His gratitude toward Ye Yuan was beyond words!

"Hmph! Heterodox methods will never be accepted in refined circles!" Zhao Chengqian sneered.

But Shangguan Yunyun rarely spoke up, saying with a smile, "My view differs from Brother Zhao's. Ji Qing's strike just now was extraordinary, showing his profound attainments in soul cultivation. When soul cultivation reaches a very high level, it can indeed compete with martial artists!"

"That depends on whether he can reach that level! This time he just happened to encounter a Crystal Formation realm martial artist. If he meets a Sea Transformation realm martial artist, I'd like to see how he uses his soul attack!" Zhao Chengqian said displeasedly.

This time, Shangguan Yunyun didn't refute, knowing that Zhao Chengqian was right.

Although soul attacks were bizarre and powerful, once one was prepared, they were hard to succeed.

Moreover, using soul attacks to fight across realms was even more difficult than for martial artists!

Although the soul of a Sea Transformation realm martial artist hadn't undergone a qualitative change, it was still much stronger than that of a Crystal Formation realm martial artist.

Ye Yuan's advantage could only be shown among Crystal Formation realm martial artists at most.

This martial arts tournament would ultimately be decided by real martial strength.

If this Ji Qing relied only on soul attacks, he wouldn't last long.

"Brother, if it were you, could you block his soul attack?" Shangguan Lingxue asked curiously.

"Well... if I had gone up just now, I might have suffered a great loss too. But now, it should be him who suffers." Shangguan Yunyun thought for a moment and replied.

Shangguan Lingxue said in surprise, "His soul attack is that powerful?"

Zhao Chengqian, displeased that Shangguan Lingxue praised Ye Yuan, said, "What's so powerful? It's just a sneak attack trick! This kind of method is rare, so no one was prepared. Once prepared, it's almost useless. I want to see how he handles what comes next!"

Shangguan Lingxue giggled and said, "Last time, although Ji Qing was almost killed by you, he was only at the second level of Crystal Formation then. It shows he is also extremely strong in martial arts! Now that he's at the seventh level of Crystal Formation, his combat power is probably close to that of a Sea Transformation realm martial artist. It won't be easy for ordinary people to defeat him, right?"