The punch carried the might of thunder. The sound of its passage through the air was like the rumble of lightning, and its speed was so incredible that even though Meihui zi wanted to dodge, she couldn't.
"Bang—" Meihui zi took Ye Bufan's punch squarely. True qi and electricity surged chaotically within her body. The energy was extraordinarily violent. Meihui zi tried to suppress this power with her inner strength, but the more she suppressed it, the stronger it became, even making her entire body go numb.
With her consciousness blurring, Meihui zi plummeted rapidly from mid-air. In the next second, Ye Bufan appeared on the ground and struck her with a palm, sending her flying out of the arena. Meihui zi immediately lost consciousness.
"In this match, Ye Bufan wins!"
The owner of the Tianxing Martial Arts Hall eagerly announced Ye Bufan's victory to the crowd.
"I'm not convinced!" Yamamoto Natsuryu shouted from the stage, "Your Great Xia cheated."
"Whoa, is this a sore loser throwing a tantrum?"
In the live stream, Yamamoto Natsuryu's sudden outburst sparked a new wave of discussion.
Yamamoto Natsuryu leaped onto the stage and addressed the camera, saying, "Your Great Xia cheated. This person is not among the top five of the Martial Arts Tournament."
Ji Feiyang, unable to tolerate it any longer, leaped onto the stage.
"Mr. Yamamoto, this competition never stated that it would be the top five from the Martial Arts Tournament participating," Ji Feiyang said with a cold smile. "You were the one who said that since the Martial Arts Tournament had concluded, we should take this opportunity to assess the strength of the new generation of martial artists in our Great Xia. We never said it was for the top five of the Martial Arts Tournament to compete."
Yamamoto Natsuryu stared intently at Ji Feiyang, momentarily speechless.
Ji Feiyang walked up to Yamamoto Natsuryu, leaned in, and whispered into his ear, "Mr. Yamamoto, everyone has seen the petty tricks of your Ying Kingdom. Even if you had won, it would have been a dishonorable victory. Now that you've lost, are you still not prepared to accept it? There are several cameras filming you right now. It won't be our Great Xia becoming a laughingstock to the world, but your Ying Kingdom."
"You..."
Yamamoto Natsuryu's face turned completely red with anger. Ji Feiyang secretly relished his success and walked off the stage with Ye Bufan.
At this moment, a swarm of reporters surrounded them, eager to interview Ye Bufan. However, Ji Feiyang was swift, pulling Ye Bufan away and disappearing in a flash.
Consequently, all eyes shifted to Yamamoto Natsuryu.
"Mr. Yamamoto, what are your thoughts on this exchange match?"
"..." Yamamoto Natsuryu, with a grim expression, did not reply.
"Mr. Yamamoto, do these five individuals represent the cream of Ying Kingdom's new generation? After this defeat, what are your plans?"
Yamamoto Natsuryu forced a smile at the camera and said, "No comment."
"Damn! He's clearly not convinced."
"How could he be convinced? Ye Bufan took down three of them directly, fighting three at once. Do you think he's happy?"
"I don't care if he's happy or not, but I'm extremely happy right now."
Yamamoto Natsuryu and his group went to the rooms arranged by the Tianxing Martial Arts Hall to talk. To show hospitality, Ji Feiyang had also arranged for the best doctors to examine them.
On the Great Xia side, a room was also prepared. However, Ji Feiyang did not call for other doctors. Instead, Ye Bufan voluntarily offered to treat the injuries of the three who had participated.
In the room, Cheng Xueyi clasped his fists towards Ye Bufan and said, "Ye Bufan, I was narrow-minded before. I apologize for what I said. I hope you don't mind."
Ye Bufan smiled slightly and replied, "I didn't take it to heart. We all fought for Great Xia, so we are brothers who fought together. There's no need to be so polite."
As he spoke, Ye Bufan pricked Cheng Xueyi, Yu Ying, and Lu Gongming with silver needles.
The silver needles vibrated slightly. Soon, the three felt a warm current flowing through their bodies.
Yu Ying and Lu Gongming spat out some congealed blood. The blood emitted a faint foul odor.
"Hmm?" Ye Bufan frowned as he looked at the blood the two had spat out.
"What's wrong?" Ji Feiyang, seeing Ye Bufan's frown, quickly stepped forward to ask.
Ye Bufan pulled Ji Feiyang aside and explained, "Among the poisons they were afflicted with, there's a trace of the Spirit Devouring Poison. Although it's not easily detectable now, over time, the Spirit Devouring Poison will inevitably become more pronounced."
"What?" Ji Feiyang's expression turned furious upon hearing Ye Bufan's words.
"Yamamoto Natsuryu intends to harm our Great Xia martial artists!" Ji Feiyang said, preparing to confront Yamamoto Natsuryu, but Ye Bufan stopped him.
"Right now, they are undoubtedly congratulating themselves. If we go to him without any evidence, he won't admit it," Ye Bufan said. "The best way to counterattack is when they are celebrating their supposed success, they discover their scheme has failed, and we slap their faces hard."
Upon hearing this, Ji Feiyang realized that what Ye Bufan said made perfect sense.
"Brother Ye, do you think their sudden arrival in our Great Xia has something to do with a clandestine plot?" Ji Feiyang asked, his calm demeanor returning, but a hint of worry creeping in. "No, I need to find someone to keep a close watch on them."
After resolving the injuries of Yu Ying, Lu Gongming, and Cheng Xueyi, Ye Bufan bid farewell to everyone and left the Tianxing Martial Arts Hall in a car driven by Ji Feiyang.
Meanwhile, in the resting room for the Ying Kingdom delegation.
"What? You're saying you can't sense the eggs of the Spirit Devouring Poison anymore?" Yamamoto Natsuryu stood before Okura Yoshikiyuki, looking at her with disbelief.
"It seems there's an expert in Great Xia."
Yamamoto Natsuryu's eyes darted around, and Ye Bufan's image immediately came to mind.
"Is it him? It shouldn't be," Yamamoto Natsuryu analyzed the current situation. "Anyone who can cultivate someone like Ye Bufan must be one of those reclusive masters. Could it be that something has happened to those old reclusive figures of Great Xia?"
The more Yamamoto Natsuryu thought about it, the more something felt off. He finally took out his phone, intending to report this situation to his superiors.
"Mr. Yamamoto, you mentioned that Ji Weizhi's Spirit Devouring Poison was suddenly lifted. Could it be related to this Ye Bufan? I noticed that the relationship between Ye Bufan and Ji Feiyang is quite unusual," Yamamoto Toshirou, standing beside him, commented.
"It's possible! Very possible," Yamamoto Natsuryu slapped his hand. "With such a monstrous genius appearing in Great Xia, the higher-ups will surely send someone. Let's first continue investigating how Ji Weizhi's Spirit Devouring Poison was lifted. As for the rest, we'll wait for instructions from above."
"Meihui zi, what do you think his strength level is?" Yamamoto Natsuryu asked.
Meihui zi opened her eyes from meditation and analyzed for Yamamoto Natsuryu, "On the competition stage, he didn't seem to use his full strength. It's certain that he has been a Great Martial Venerable for a long time."