Although everyone doubted Ye Chen's ability to defeat Fa Zhen, the disciples still believed that Ye Chen had proven himself by reaching this point. From being seen as a mere simp, a useless waste of a disciple relying on connections, he had fought his way to second place in the sect. Even in defeat, he had earned honor.

  ...

  On the stage, Fa Zhen smiled slyly. As Ye Chen unleashed his rapidly moving purple gold hand, he already had a method to counter it.

  Boom...

  The battle began.

  Fa Zhen raised his hand and summoned a talisman. In an instant, flames spread across the arena, blocking everyone's line of sight.

  Ye Chen clicked his tongue in frustration. Although his Heaven Destruction Hand was incredibly fast, it could not match the immediate release of a spell from a talisman. At this moment, the raging fire in the air disrupted his vision, making it hard to lock onto the true position of his opponent.

  Unlike his direct clash with Li Xiaoyao and his Heaven Destruction Hand, the methods of this Magic Peak direct disciple were truly something to consider.

  As Ye Chen pondered how to break the situation, dozens of fireballs erupted from the flames and shot toward him.

  Without hesitation, Ye Chen raised his hand to summon a golden shield.

  Majestic Heavenly Dragon Shield!

  The fireballs collided with the golden shield and instantly vanished, without even leaving a ripple in their wake.

  Hidden among the flames, Fa Zhen paused, thinking to himself that this golden shield was so all-encompassing. It could either be highly draining on spiritual Qi, or unable to withstand concentrated attacks. Considering Ye Chen was merely at the Qi Refining stage, it seemed unlikely that he had trained in defensive spells that consumed too much spiritual power. Therefore, if he attacked at a specific point, he could easily break through.

  Fa Zhen formed hand seals and chanted incantations. Within moments, a long spear of fire materialized before him, its tip wrapped in swirling blue flames!

  Flame Spear Technique!

  The fiery spear, enshrouded in blue flames, shot out in the blink of an eye, charging toward Ye Chen, who stood behind his golden shield amidst the flames.

  Yet, Ye Chen was not standing idly by. He had been using the Emperor's Qi Viewing Technique to study the surrounding flames. The moment there was any sign of change, he could pinpoint the exact location of Fa Zhen.

  As soon as the fire spear formed, Ye Chen locked onto his opponent's position. He dispelled the golden shield and immediately unleashed his Heaven Destruction Hand, reaching toward the figure of Fa Zhen hidden within the fire.

  Fa Zhen was taken aback. Ye Chen was not attempting to defend himself—he was attacking. Did he wish to bring about a mutual defeat?

  But in the next instant, Fa Zhen understood the truth.

  Although Ye Chen's golden shield had vanished, a golden little dragon still circled around him. Just as the fire spear was about to strike Ye Chen, the golden dragon let out a furious roar and charged toward the spear.

  The blue-flamed spear collided with the golden dragon, shattering on contact. The blue flames that had wrapped around the spear were absorbed by the little dragon, transforming it into a golden dragon, now swirling with blue fire!

  Fa Zhen was left stupefied, but there was no time for him to think further. A purple gold Hand was already descending rapidly toward his head.

  With a clenched jaw, Fa Zhen quickly conjured another talisman, transforming himself into a fiery apparition just in time to dodge Ye Chen's Heaven Destruction Hand.

  Ye Chen was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected Fa Zhen to evade his attack.

  Hidden amidst the flames, Fa Zhen gritted his teeth. How was he supposed to counter this? It seemed there was no choice but to use that final technique!

  Fa Zhen steeled his resolve and spat three mouthfuls of blood. As the blood came into contact with the flames, it slowly formed into a blood-red, humanoid flame figure resembling him!

  Three humanoid flames, under his command, began to float around him, encircling Ye Chen.

  "Now, let's see how you defend!"Fa Zhen sneered. "This is my ultimate technique—Blood Spear Technique! Ye Chen, if you can withstand this, I'll admit defeat!"

  As his words fell, four blood-red spears began to take shape.

  Ye Chen, now trapped in the center of the encirclement, could feel the four powerful forces approaching. If it were only one attack, he could repeat his previous tactic and block it with the Majestic Heavenly Dragon Sheild, but with only one dragon, he couldn't fend off attacks from all four directions at once.

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  With a soft sigh, Ye Chen spoke helplessly, "In that case, don't blame me."

  In the next instant, Ye Chen gathered his spiritual qi to his fingertips, and dozens of sword qi shot out, targeting one of the blood figures. With another sweep of his hand, dozens of sword qi flew toward another blood figure. With each movement, hundreds of sword qi were unleashed in the blink of an eye!

  Meanwhile, the blood spears were still being formed, unable to release in time!

  The three blood figures dissipated instantly upon contact with the sword qi, and the blood spears, still in their nascent state, vanished without a trace. Fa Zhen was struck by the sword qi and staggered, falling to the ground, spitting another mouthful of blood.

  As the flames on the battlefield dispersed, Ye Chen stood at the center, his expression calm and composed.

  Fa Zhen no longer appeared so carefree. Blood dripped from his mouth as he lay on the ground, his eyes filled with a dazed, almost existential disbelief.

  He had lost? A cultivator with a fire spiritual root, defeated by someone one stage lower in cultivation. A waste with a third-grade spiritual root? How could his opponent's techniques be so powerful, so deftly mastered? Why was his spiritual energy so abundant, and his output so ferocious? What in the world was happening?

  Fa Zhen, once convinced he was invincible below Foundation Establishment, felt as if his Dao heart had shattered.

  Unable to accept this, he struggled to rise, shouting at Ye Chen, who had already turned and was about to leave the stage, "Why? I, with my rare spiritual root, have trained diligently for seven years—hardworking, abstaining from distractions, focusing only on cultivation and studying spells… Why are you the one who defeated me?"

  Fa Zhen truly could not accept this outcome. The disciples and elders watching the scene could understand his feelings. After all, in the world of cultivation, being defeated by someone of a lower level was always a humiliating experience.

  It would be seen as proof of weakness—someone who couldn't even defeat an opponent beneath their level. And Fa Zhen had always considered himself a genius. Now, he had been defeated by a man with inferior talent and cultivation, someone who was consumed by his pursuit of female cultivators, a simp.

  Who could accept such a turn of events?

  Ye Chen, upon hearing Fa Zhen's frustrated shouts, glanced back at him with a look of calm indifference.

  Still not satisfied? Do you know how painful it is to be a simp? Do you know how humiliating it is? Do you know how difficult it is to deal with these high-caliber female cultivators? Do you know how much I've sacrificed over the past three years?

  The three years of being a simp have been like walking on thin ice. The journey I've taken has been incredibly difficult. So why should you think that your seven years of hard work should surpass my three years as a simp? Do you really believe that my skills, cultivation, physical strength, and treasures were all handed to me by the system?

  No! Everything I have achieved was through my own hard work. Ah, right! System, when you send Yao Xi the Foundation Establishment pill later, you'd better put in some effort!

  ...

  Once Ye Chen leisurely descended from the stage, the previously silent arena erupted in astonished murmurs.

  The disciples' eyes were filled with disbelief. Even the elders were stunned by what they had just witnessed. The Master of Magic Peak wore a dark expression. Gu Yunyun's lips curled into a smile, though there was hidden shock in her eyes. After all, no one had anticipated this outcome.

  Ye Chen's combat prowess was simply terrifying. He had mastered a variety of powerful spells, some of which even the elders had never seen before. But if it were only his powerful spells, one could say that Gu Yunyun had played a part in his training. With her strength, it wouldn't have been hard for her to guide a direct disciple to this point.

  But having powerful spells wasn't enough. After all, no matter how strong a spell was, if it wasn't mastered thoroughly, its power would never be fully realized. However, the way Ye Chen controlled his spells during the battle left everyone in awe. Almost every spell he cast was at a masterful level, executed with such ease and precision.

  The stronger the spell, the more difficult it was to learn. Ye Chen had managed to comprehend so many spells to such a high level. His innate talent must be extraordinary—truly a genius.

  Beyond that, Ye Chen's spiritual power output was incredibly fierce and enduring. This meant his dantian must be much larger than an average cultivator's, with stronger meridians capable of withstanding more. And his physical strength was equally impressive.

  When considering all this, it was clear that Ye Chen was no mere weakling. If his spiritual root weren't so poor, if his chances of breaking through to Foundation Establishment weren't so slim, with his performance today, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the sect's number one genius.

  "I didn't expect Peak Master Gu, in addition to her extraordinary mastery of the sword, to also possess such sharp insight into young talents. I truly admire you,"one of the elders commented.

  "Fellow Daoist's eye for disciples is truly remarkable," another praised.

  "Fellow Daoist truly values quality over quantity. I foolishly believed the rumors that you only took Ye Chen in due to personal connections!"

  "Elder Chen, we must address these rumors within the sect. Slandering the Sect Leader is no small matter!"

  The elders' reaction only made Gu Yunyun's smile widen.

  Yes, yes, you're all right. I took Ye Chen in because of his talent, that's the truth. My disciple has really earned my pride today. And now he's the number one disciple in the sect. As his master, I can't just ignore this. I'll make sure to reward him once we return.

  The sect leader, having watched the match, glanced at Elder Chen once again. He then transmitted a message, saying, "Elder Chen, do you have an issue with Gu Yunyun or Ye Chen? We are all from the Green Cloud Sect, and we should be understanding of each other. Moreover, once Gu Yunyun breaks through to the Golden Core stage, the position of Sect Leader will surely be hers. If you continue to have a strained relationship with her, how will you handle things in the future? I'll pretend you never said anything."

  Elder Chen of the Internal Affairs Hall twitched his mouth.

  I'm not, I didn't.

  Ye Chen had soared ahead, even defeating Fa Zhen. This completely caught Elder Chen by surprise. But he couldn't really blame himself. A third-grade spiritual root, and still a simp? Anyone would think that person had no future.

  Elder Chen truly couldn't understand. Before, he thought Ye Chen had given up on everything. But now, he realized that Ye Chen only had a poor spiritual root. His other talents were extraordinarily strong.

  In such circumstances, how could anyone still act like a simp? Why not keep those resources for yourself? Absurd, truly absurd.

  ...

  Though Ye Chen had won, there was still a sense of regret in the hearts of many. After all, Ye Chen's spiritual root was too weak. Breaking through to Foundation Establishment would be incredibly difficult for him. Saying that giving Ye Chen a Foundation Establishment pill was a waste would not be an exaggeration. But despite these thoughts, it wasn't long before the moment to reward him arrived.

  Ye Chen, under the watchful eyes of all, was soon presented with a low-grade Foundation Establishment pill after receiving a few words of encouragement from the sect leader, who was at the Golden Core stage. Holding the pill bottle in his hand, Ye Chen's face was full of smiles. The Foundation Establishment pill was finally in his grasp.

  It was settled…