"General Ji, is this how your Great Xia treats guests?" Yamamoto Natsuryu asked Ji Feiyang, checking the injuries of Koshikawa Kaito with displeasure.
"Damn it, I haven't even come looking for you yet. Is this your so-called martial arts spirit?" Ji Feiyang retorted, "The first one to say ninjas used poison, fine. But this one, explain to me, why poison?"
Yamamoto Natsuryu's face turned ashen. "How would I know Koshikawa's fingernails were poisoned? We'll explain this after he recovers."
"You!" Ji Feiyang glared at Yamamoto Natsuryu, then flicked his hand away.
"General Ji, you should be more concerned about who you'll send out next," Yamamoto Natsuryu said. "From what I know, the three people you sent out just now were the top three contenders in this martial arts tournament. But we haven't even fielded our top three fighters yet."
As Yamamoto Natsuryu spoke, a smug grin spread across his face, and he deliberately raised his voice when he said the last half-sentence.
Ji Feiyang's expression darkened. He glanced back at the remaining two individuals. These were the fourth and fifth ranked contestants in the martial arts tournament, Li Anhuai and Fan Dengxian.
After a moment of deliberation, Ji Feiyang turned his gaze to Ye Bufan.
"Brother Ye, if this continues, something bad might happen," Ji Feiyang said to Ye Bufan.
Ye Bufan understood Ji Feiyang's meaning. He nodded heavily at him and slowly walked onto the martial arts stage.
"What the hell, who is this idiot? Why is he going up?" In the live stream, the moment Ye Bufan stepped onto the stage, it exploded.
"Was he among the top five in the martial arts tournament? How is he so young?"
"A disciple of the Tianxing Martial Hall here, let me explain. This is Ye Bufan. You all know about Nangong Yi breaking through to Martial Venerable a few days ago, right? He broke through during his fight with this guy."
"What good is that? Nangong Yi just entered Martial Venerable too."
"Yeah, yeah. He looks like he's only eighteen or nineteen. Isn't he just walking to his death?"
"It's him!" Just then, someone posted a comment. "A few days ago, I saw him at the entrance of Tianxing Martial Hall cripple the Martial Alliance elder, Li Bai."
As soon as this message appeared, the comment section's fervor escalated to a new level. Netizens from all over the country began searching for information on Ye Bufan.
"Damn, this guy just appeared out of nowhere. Can't find any information."
"You upstairs, are you lying? Crippled a Martial Alliance elder at such a young age? I find that hard to believe."
"Agreed. You upstairs, swear on it?"
"Damn! If I'm lying, may I be hit by a car when I leave and my family's businesses go bankrupt."
"Stop talking. Let's just watch the scene unfold. We'll know soon enough if it's true."
On the scene, Ye Bufan's appearance on stage silenced the entire arena. Especially on the side of the Ying nation, Ye Bufan was not in their intelligence records.
"General Ji, what? Are you out of fighters? Are you planning to throw the match by sending an eighteen or nineteen-year-old child to embarrass yourselves?" Yamamoto Natsuryu sneered.
Ji Feiyang narrowed his eyes and smiled. "You think you can find out who our true ace is? Go ahead and try."
Seeing Ji Feiyang's confident demeanor, Yamamoto Natsuryu was taken aback. He glanced back, and a fair-skinned young man nodded. He then leaped from his seat and landed on the martial arts stage.
"General Ji, since that's the case, we won't show any mercy just because he's young. We hope you won't be angry if he gets hurt," Yamamoto Natsuryu said, implying they wouldn't hold back from harming Great Xia's future pillar.
Ji Feiyang couldn't help but laugh. He reminded Yamamoto, "This is what I wanted to say. Don't get upset if you lose later."
"Hmph! Then we shall see the outcome," Yamamoto Natsuryu replied.
On the martial arts stage, Ye Bufan stood still, calmly observing the young man who had appeared.
"My name is Tsukue Jin. Please state yours," Tsukue Jin said, clasping his hands in a salute. His gaze towards Ye Bufan was full of disdain.
"Ye Bufan." Ye Bufan saw that the other party hadn't clasped his hands in return or made any other gesture.
Tsukue Jin noticed that Ye Bufan hadn't saluted him and questioned, "Great Xia is known as a land of etiquette, isn't it? Why don't you even know how to perform a proper martial arts salute?"
"You didn't salute me first, so why should I salute you? If you're impolite to me, I have no need to be polite."
"Good!" As soon as Ye Bufan finished speaking, a round of applause erupted from the Great Xia side of the audience.
Seeing this, Tsukue Jin couldn't find a good rebuttal and turned red with anger.
"Very well. I hope you won't be more pathetic than the previous fighters," Tsukue Jin said to Ye Bufan.
Ye Bufan looked at Tsukue Jin with an indifferent expression and asked, "If you want to fight, fight quickly. Stop spouting so much nonsense. Or better yet, why don't the two of you and the remaining one come at me together? I'll finish up and go home for dinner."
"Whoosh—" Ye Bufan's words caused an uproar throughout the entire venue, and even more so in the live stream.
"Damn, I know he's bragging, but this bragging feels so good. Hahahaha."
"I feel good too. As long as the opponent doesn't feel good, I'll start."
"Are you guys stupid? He's just provoking the opponent. He's probably going to suffer later."
"You upstairs, can't you have some faith in our own people? It was mentioned earlier that he crippled a Martial Alliance elder."
"He crippled a Martial Alliance elder, but can you? I certainly can't."
The live stream was abuzz with arguments. Meanwhile, the fight on the stage officially commenced.
"Idiot!" Tsukue Jin was furious that Ye Bufan completely disregarded him and decided to teach him a lesson.
He gathered his inner energy into his hands, and a sword aura appeared on his body. A faint phantom of a snake materialized behind him.
"Using a sword?" Ye Bufan sneered.
"Crimson Serpent Swordplay."
The opponent formed a sword seal and charged at Ye Bufan, unleashing a sword strike.
As a sword cultivator himself, Tsukue Jin was essentially displaying his swordsmanship in front of Guan Yu.
"Your sword is so slow, do your family know?" Ye Bufan's voice boomed across the arena.
"Bang—" Before anyone could even register what happened, Tsukue Jin was sent flying backward.
Tsukue Jin crashed heavily below the stage, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Yamamoto Natsuryu could hardly believe his eyes, and almost everyone present was stunned.
"Good!" Ji Feiyang exclaimed excitedly, clapping. He swallowed hard, remembering how he himself was sent flying by Ye Bufan's palm when they first met.
"What the f— Did you guys see him make a move?"
"No! Can we get a replay? Quick, replay it."
"Who cares? He defeated the opponent in one move. So satisfying."
"Awesome!"
"Damn, that was awesome."
In the live stream, a barrage of virtual gifts poured in...