A Martial God's Bloodline

Li Ye counted the finalists. They totaled fifty-six individuals. Seventeen of them, including himself, entered through the qualifiers in the preliminary round. Out of those seventeen, most were Level Six cultivators and only a few were lower than that.

Among them, Li Datou was the most eye-catching. At peak Level Five, he was the only one below Level Six but reached the final.

“The kid is born with divine power. Although his state is a bit lower, even those who were higher in level than him were blown away by a few punches!”

Many people were rather afraid of Li Datou’s natural power. Among them are Li Yijian and others. As strong players in the preliminary qualifiers that reached the final, they looked at Li Datou with a tinge of dread.

“This kid’s level may be a bit lower, but he might even make it to the top twenty of this Prodigy Summit!”

Nevertheless, there were still some people who scoffed at those chances. Taking the prodigies who participated in the Prodigy Summit last year as an example, many people found it to be a ridiculous comparison. Some even sneered, saying, “What’s so good about this natural-born divine power? The gap between Martial Masters and ordinary martial cultivators is much bigger than what you scatterbrains think!”

As soon as that sentence was heard, many people’s expressions tensed up and they smiled bitterly.

They were right—the gap between Martial Master and the martial cultivator was just too big!

Level Seven and below were known as martial cultivators who cultivate their bloodsoul and refine their inner spirit. Things would be different if one reached Level Seven—in addition to strengthening their body, a Martial Master could also awaken their bloodsoul strength’s true power!

“The hardened bloodsoul Qi!”

Li Ye thought of the previous battle between Li Huo and Li Mo. Li Huo, which ignited the hardened Qi of his bloodsoul, undoubtedly increased his attacking power by more than tenfold. Although such a method was not long-lasting, anyone under Level Seven were virtually unable to resist that attack. In addition, the bloodsoul strength within a Martial Master’s body was more than ten times that of the Level Six cultivator, making it rather easy to visualize the disparity.

Fifty-six people, with everyone drawing lots to determine their first opponents.

Li Ye pondered silently after hearing the rules for the final.

“Sometimes luck plays a part in one’s strength.”

Li Yuanjia shook his head with a smile and went up first to take the lots. Li Ye then noticed that the note in Li Yuanjia’s hand bore the number seventeen.

A respectable elder from each of the Three Great Clans was responsible for ensuring the fairness of the draw. Everyone would get a note with their numbers written on it.

“Everyone is allowed to draw one. Number one will pair with number fifty-six, number two with fifty-five, and so on so forth!”

Li Ye then went up. He took out a note from one of the wooden boxes, then opened it and saw a number written there: 29.

“Twenty-nine, eh?” That meant he would be competing for a spot in the next round with whoever that drew number twenty-eight.

He soon saw his opponent.

“A Li clan kid?”

Number twenty-eight was a young man from the Wu clan. He had a pejorative expression when he saw Li Ye’s face and did not think highly of Li Ye at all.

“Martial Spirit Level Seven, a Martial Master!”

Upon seeing the Wu clan’s young man, everyone shook their heads immediately and believed that Li Ye’s defeat was sealed.

Members of the Wu clan reveled in their luck at the first round, since they had encountered a soft little persimmon.

Only those who knew Li Ye’s ability had insinuative expressions. In particular, people such as Li Yuanjia—who had seen the extent of Li Ye’s skill during the inner disciples’ battle—looked at the Wu clan and eagerly anticipated an exciting battle.

“Boy, report your name.”

Wu Lei was relaxed when he realized that his opponent was only in the latter phase of Level Six. He made a come-hither movement at Li Ye, and glanced at him with a scornful and disapproving look.

“Li Ye.”

The crowd began placing their bets in secret. Many put their money on Wu Lei and only a few betted on Li Ye to make an upset.

“Although Wu Lei didn’t make it into the top ten at the Prodigy Summit last year, he still made it into the top twenty. His strength cannot be underestimated! Unless he faces some lunatic with the ability to make it to the top ten, it is impossible for him to lose. More so, when he’s facing a junior who is lower than him by one level! ”

Some people, believing they were knowledgeable individuals, talked privately to themselves as if they were very optimistic of Wu Lei’s victory.

“Wu Lei has a Level Seven strength and is not considered weak amongst those who are Martial Masters like himself.”

Wu Lei had taken out his weapon by then. It was a three-foot long sword.

“Sword cultivation!”

Li Ye frowned when he saw the weapon in Wu Lei’s hand. Sword cultivators were usually more powerful and formidable than their same-level peers.

“Although Wu Lei is only in the latter phase of Level Seven, his sword cultivation makes him a formidable opponent even for a peak Level Seven heavyweight.”

Li Ye set aside tiny hints of underestimation. Even though he had once defeated a peak Level Seven cultivator in Li Gei, he knew that he could not take Wu Lei lightly.

Sword cultivation attacks were often fatal! Underestimating the opponent would likely end in death.

“Boy, you’re out of luck because you met me!”

Chuckling wickedly, a ray of sword light sliced through at lightning-speed and pierced Li Ye’s throat!

Such speed! It was so fast that no one managed to react in time. All they saw was the sword light stabbing Li Ye in the throat. Everyone covered their mouths and exclaimed in shock almost immediately.

“Something’s not right!”

Wu Lei’s expression changed. He did not feel as though he pierced a human body. It was more like stabbing the air.

True to his expectations, the next moment, no blood was seen to flow out from the stabbed body. Instead, it began fading gradually.

“An afterimage!” Wu Lei whispered, then turned to direct his sword attack behind him!

Swoosh! It was yet another afterimage that was split into half. The results made Wu Lei’s originally-relaxed expression turn serious gradually.

“So fast!”

Everyone in the audience could clearly see that Li Ye had substituted himself for an afterimage just before Wu Lei’s attack came. At the same time, he paced his steps and appeared immediately behind Wu Lei.

Wu Lei’s response was similarly fast. He turned around and stabbed, but unfortunately, his attack was once again futile.

“Footstep Mirage!”

From the very start of the battle, Li Ye knew that his opponent was faster than an ordinary martial cultivator. The giveaway was when Li Ye saw Wu Lei’s sword cultivation. Li Ye then began his Footstep Mirage, searching for an opportunity to attack once he created his afterimages.

“Gentle Sword Breeze!”

Swoosh! A sword light in the shape of a crescent moon swept across all directions at once, slicing through two doppelgangers.

“Ice Crystal Fist!”

The cold air covered Wu Lei’s body in a layer of frost, slowing him down slightly.

“Rainstorm!”

Thump! Thump! Thump! In that split second, Li Ye appeared in all directions and began attacking the frost-affected Wu Lei fiercely.

“Wu Lei is under pressure!”

Seeing Wu Lei weary defense and disadvantageous position, many disbelieved Wu clan members had a solemn expression.

“Where did this boy come from? He’s obviously only latter phase Level Six, but he’s already cultivated two Yellow Rank Advanced techniques, to the point of greater attainment too!”

Over on the Li clan, Li Xuan and others had a dangerous look, as if not surprised by the result.

Minute traces of killing intent flickered quickly on some people.

Wu Lei was acknowledged as one of the top twenty during the last edition of the Prodigy Summit. He was not at all weak. It was a helpless scenario because he encountered a madman like Li Ye. A prolonged battle finally caused him to expose a flaw and he was promptly kicked out of the ring.

Li Ye mastered his own strength well. Wu Lei was kicked out of the arena but suffered only a slight injury. Although he was resentful, there was nothing he could do about it.

Li Ye won easily in the first round of the final.

With that result, the Wu and Yuwen clans did not seem too happy. Over on the Li clan’s side, everyone except Li Yuanjia looked at Li Ye with a convoluted expression.

Most of all, those aligned with the Head Elder had a gloomy look.

“Not only did this kid reach the final—he even won the first round!”

Li Mo also bagged an easy victory since he was one of the four prodigies at the last Prodigy Summit. Although his opponent had a peak Level Seven cultivation, he was defeated by just three of Li Mo’s moves.

It just so happened that he saw Li Ye’s victory, leaving him with a sunken expression.

Soon, half of the fifty-six people were eliminated, leaving only twenty-eight.

“The remaining twenty-eight are the strongest under-twenty-fives in all of Wu Prefecture City!”

In the first round, Li Ye noticed that there were many eliminations, including Li Yu. Li Yu happened to meet a Wu clan Martial Master and lost in less than ten moves.

Respectively, Li Yijian and Li Datou fought fiercely for a substantial length of time—both managed to reach the second round.

At that juncture, few people were below Martial Spirit Level Seven. In addition to the three from the Li clan, Li Ye noticed a rogue cultivator who was only peak Level Six yet had a body as hard as steel. The rogue cultivator managed to defeat a Level Seven cultivator.

“This person is one of the top ten mercenaries within Wu Prefecture City. His name is Jin Gang [1]. I have no idea where he gets his martial exercise. His entire body is as hard as iron! No ordinary sword or palm strength could hurt him at all.”

A loud voice was heard. Li Ye turned and saw a resentfully-irate Li Huo. Li Huo was the one who fought the ‘iron man’ earlier, though he eventually lost the battle and was made the butt of jokes.

“Normal means can’t break his defense?”

Li Ye was well aware of Li Huo’s strength. Under normal circumstances, Li Huo would have no issues in passing the first round of the finals, unless he encountered a Level Eight Eminent Master. Li Huo was unfortunately down on luck, as his Windstorm Kick lacked the necessary power. He encountered an opponent renowned for his defensive prowess and the attacks were subsequently stifled.

“Unless the weapon is ranked, it would be difficult to hurt him.”

Of course, he omitted to mention one other aspect—the use of hardened bloodsoul Qi could also break Jin Gang’s defense, but normal Level Seven Martial Masters would struggle to use the hardened bloodsoul Qi. Only Level Eight Eminent Masters could use that.