"No way, am I seeing this right?"
"My heavens, that cripple Ye Chen actually dodged Cousin Ye Zhengyang's attack, and not just once."
"How did Ye Chen suddenly become so powerful!?"
Exclamations of shock filled the hall. The more they watched, the more astonished they became.
Ye Zhengyang's methods were ruthless, his attacks swift and fierce. Many of the moves that seemed inescapable in their eyes were effortlessly avoided by Ye Chen, one by one. It was as if he could foresee every single one of Ye Zhengyang's attack trajectories, leaving everyone dumbfounded, unable to react for a long time.
Compared to Ye Chen's uncanny dodging, Ye Zhengyang was filled with more rage. He considered himself the number one among the Ye family's younger generation, with his Houtian Ninth Layer cultivation, and had always believed himself superior to others.
Although Ye Chen had once been so brilliant that even he had to look up to him, that was ultimately in the past. Now, he was just a cripple, someone Ye Zhengyang should look down upon and scorn. But now, despite exhausting all his methods, he couldn't even get close. What kind of situation was this?
Now, he actually felt like he was being played with in the palm of someone's hand, and by a lowly cripple at that. How could he possibly endure this?
Just as Ye Zhengyang threw a punch, expecting Ye Chen to dodge as usual, with a *whoosh*, under the stunned gazes of the crowd, Ye Chen did not retreat but instead advanced, stepping forward, his face brushing past Ye Zhengyang's fierce fist as he met it head-on, throwing a heavy punch of his own.
*Thud!* A black eye immediately appeared on Ye Zhengyang's handsome face, looking comical and ridiculous.
After the punch, Ye Chen quickly retreated, leaving Ye Zhengyang seething with anger.
Not only could he not hit this cripple Ye Chen, but he had been disfigured instead, and this was definitely done on purpose to make him lose face.
Ye Chen just sighed lightly. It wasn't that he didn't want to knock Ye Zhengyang down, but Ye Zhengyang's physical constitution at Houtian Ninth Layer was far superior to Ye Hua's at Houtian Fifth Layer. With his current strength, he simply couldn't harm the other party. Only the face was the most fragile, allowing him to strike, resulting in this scene.
"Ye Chen, what kind of man are you? If you have any guts, stop dodging and face me head-on!" Finally, after attacking at least fifty moves, Ye Zhengyang roared, his eyes wide with fury. He had never felt so aggrieved as he did today.
With his prestigious Houtian Ninth Layer martial cultivation, he actually couldn't truly harm this Ye family cripple. Did that mean he was inferior to this waste?
This was absolutely intolerable.
Behind him, other clansmen also shouted, "That's right, Ye Chen, you cripple! You don't dare to face a head-on battle, you're not a man!"
"If you have guts, fight Cousin Ye Zhengyang head-on!"
Many of the clan's younger generation mocked Ye Chen, accusing him of not being a man, only knowing how to dodge, not daring to fight head-on, using provocation tactics.
But these so-called provocations were extremely crude in his eyes, unable to stir the slightest ripple in his heart. After dodging another fierce punch from Ye Zhengyang, he quickly retreated ten steps away, facing the other from a distance, and suddenly said, "Ye Zhengyang, how old are you this year?"
"Twenty," Ye Zhengyang was taken aback, replying instinctively.
"How old am I?" Ye Chen asked again.
"Sixteen."
"So you know I'm only sixteen! You actually want me, a kid four years younger than you, to fight you. Don't you think your demand is utterly shameless?" Ye Chen mocked, his expression causing Ye Zhengyang's face to alternate between green and white, looking quite awkward.
Indeed, Ye Chen was merely a sixteen-year-old youth, while Ye Zhengyang was twenty. There was a four-year age difference between them. The so-called challenge between men seemed more like bullying the younger.
Everyone present was stunned, only now realizing that Ye Chen was only sixteen. It was just that they had been used to bullying him, and his recent performance had been so mature and composed that people unconsciously overlooked his age.
So, once reminded, Ye Zhengyang remembered: the Ye Chen before him was only sixteen years old...
Ye Zhengyang's face turned green, then white. He snorted coldly, "You are indeed sixteen, but a real man should fear no challenge. You don't even dare to accept a challenge, what kind of man are you?"
"Sorry, I'm only sixteen. Before the coming-of-age ceremony, I shouldn't even be considered an adult, just a boy, not a man," Ye Chen calmly tossed out another sentence that almost made everyone burst out laughing.
To be precise, Ye Chen really was just a boy. The so-called 'man' status only came after the coming-of-age ceremony...
In this world, the true coming-of-age ceremony was held at seventeen.
"But since you insist like this, then I—" In an instant, Ye Chen's words made everyone's hearts leap. Was he really going to accept the challenge?
Ye Zhengyang clenched his fists, ready to teach this youth who had brought him shame a profound lesson, to make him understand that his own status in the Ye family was something to be looked up to, not defiled.
But the next moment, the topic shifted. Under everyone's astonished gazes, Ye Chen said, "Then I—will ask my father to have a match with you."
Everyone was stunned, not understanding.
Ye Zhengyang almost roared, "Ye Chen, what do you mean by that?"
"Didn't you say a real man should fear no challenge? I think you should challenge my father. Or are you admitting you're not a man?" Ye Chen responded with a faint smile, but his words left everyone dumbfounded.
What a sharp-tongued Ye Chen. This was turning the other's own words against him.
This time, Ye Zhengyang had truly tripped over his own feet.
Ye Zhengyang's entire handsome face darkened completely. Asking him to challenge Ye Ao—that was simply seeking death.
Although he prided himself as the number one among the Ye family's younger generation, Ye Ao was the undisputed number one in the Ye family, a super powerhouse at the Xiantian Realm. His own cultivation was far inferior to Ye Ao's, incomparable.
The other could slap him to death with one hand.
Ye Zhengyang snorted coldly, "Hmph, you only know how to say such things. Without your father, you are nothing."
Ye Chen glanced at him and said, "Would you dare say these words three years ago?"
Ye Zhengyang was immediately speechless. Even the others present wouldn't dare speak like that. Three years ago, Ye Chen was the youngest Xiantian powerhouse in the Xia Feng Kingdom, a peerless genius of his generation. Not to mention three years ago, even the current Ye Zhengyang wouldn't dare challenge the Ye Chen of three years ago.
Houtian Ninth Layer and Xiantian seemed separated by just a thin line, but the gap between them was truly like heaven and earth, insurmountable.
"Unfortunately, times change. You are no longer the genius of the past. The you now is just a cripple," Ye Zhengyang said coldly. Suddenly, as if remembering something important, he gave a cold smile. "I recall that half a year from now will be your coming-of-age ceremony. If you were still the genius of before, naturally no one would dare challenge you for the position of family head. But the you now... I think even if I, as your elder brother, step forward to challenge, no one would say anything."
"Heh heh, although attacking you on usual days might seem like bullying the younger, when it comes to the position of family head, anyone can challenge. Of course, during the challenge, you should understand that accidents can happen. If I accidentally injure or cripple you, Cousin Ye Chen, don't blame me, your elder cousin."
Listening to these words with their obvious threat, the corner of Ye Chen's mouth slowly curved up into an arc. He just looked at Ye Zhengyang like that, causing Ye Zhengyang's originally smug expression to instantly turn ugly. Somehow, the other seemed to be looking at him with the condescending gaze of an adult looking at a little child. What kind of look was that?
"Ye Chen, what is that look in your eyes?" Finally, after staring at each other for a moment, Ye Zhengyang couldn't help but roar.
Ye Chen shook his head, but the smile at the corner of his mouth grew even more mysterious. "Nothing. I was just thinking about how to beat you up in the most satisfying way."
As these words fell, the entire hall fell into silence!