Chapter 146: Feeding Moves

Ye Yuan looked at Su Yishan, who was kneeling on the ground with a face full of tears and snot, and laughed, “Young Master Su, I didn’t say I was going to kill you. Look how scared you are!”

Su Yishan was now like a startled bird, his mind completely out of his control.

Hearing that Ye Yuan intended to let him go, he couldn’t help but rejoice, “You… you mean it? Then… then can I leave?”

“Leaving is certainly not possible. You’ve seen all my secrets. If you leave and go around talking about my spatial spirit artifact, wouldn’t I be dead without a burial place?” Ye Yuan shook his head.

Su Yishan’s legs went weak with fear. Ye Yuan’s meaning was clear—he had to kill him.

"Don't worry, I can swear a Heavenly Dao oath that I will never speak of what I saw today!" As he spoke, Su Yishan raised his hand, as if he truly intended to swear the oath.

Ye Yuan waved his hand and said, "That won't be necessary. Su Yishan, I'll give you a chance, a chance for a one-on-one fight! Kill me, and you can leave this place."

Su Yishan was stunned, then his face fell as he said, "Ye... Young Master Ye, Master Ye, I truly know I was wrong. I shouldn't have opposed you, I shouldn't have brought people to the Boundless Forest to kill you."

Ye Yuan hadn't expected Su Yishan to be so spineless. His usual arrogant demeanor was completely gone, and now he was nothing but a shameless petty man.

Sometimes people are like this—until they face life and death, you can never truly see their character.

Perhaps someone who seems utterly noble in ordinary times becomes base and despicable when faced with a life-or-death choice; perhaps someone who seems cynical and ill-behaved in ordinary times faces death with complete equanimity.

Life has many facets, each one different.

Obviously, Su Yishan belonged to the former category.

If Ye Yuan had let the Stone Apes swarm him, Su Yishan might have fought to the death. But Ye Yuan surrounded him without killing, and with the brutal deaths of the Chang brothers fresh in his mind, Su Yishan's spirit completely collapsed.

Ye Yuan suddenly put on a stern face and said in a deep voice, "I don't have time to joke with you! If you don't want this chance, I can kill you right now."

At this moment, Su Yishan was clearly the type who yielded to force but not to kindness. Ye Yuan's anger made Su Yishan actually listen.

"But... but..." Su Yishan stammered.

"But I'm no match for you, right?" Ye Yuan laughed.

Su Yishan lowered his head, obviously acquiescing. But at this moment, he dared not say such words out loud.

"When I say I'll duel you, I mean it. Don't doubt that. However, the duel I'm talking about isn't now, and giving you this chance comes with conditions."

Hearing Ye Yuan say this, Su Yishan's eyes lit up, as if he had grasped the last straw.

"What conditions? As long as I can do it, I'll comply!"

"Hmm, I feel my cultivation base is about to stabilize. Once it's stable, I can break through to the Liquid Realm. Then, we'll fight to the death! But before that, to help me stabilize my base, I'll trouble you to spar with me," Ye Yuan said.

"Li... Liquid Realm? So soon?" Su Yishan was stunned.

Ye Yuan had just broken through to the ninth level of Yuan Qi not long ago, and now he was about to break through to the Liquid Realm?

When martial artists break through major realms, aren't they all cautious and treading on thin ice?

Back then, when Su Yishan broke through to the Liquid Realm, he had prepared for over half a year, and only dared to take that step when he was quite certain.

And at that time, Su Yishan was already a Half-Step Liquid Realm cultivator.

Ye Yuan was clearly still only at the peak of the Ninth Layer of Yuan Qi Realm—was he going to break through directly to the Liquid Realm?

Wasn't that too exaggerated?

In the State of Qin, breaking through to the Liquid Realm had to go through the process of Half-Step Liquid Realm; this was common knowledge to everyone, and no one had ever been foolish enough to directly break through to the Liquid Realm.

It wasn't that one couldn't break through directly, but the success rate of direct breakthrough was too low, so low that no one dared to try!

Breaking through directly from the Ninth Layer of Yuan Qi Realm to the Liquid Realm had a success rate so low it could be ignored!

With such a low success rate, who would dare to attempt it lightly?

Ye Yuan had just broken through to the Ninth Layer of Yuan Qi Realm not long ago, and now he was going to break through directly to the Liquid Realm—was that possible?

"Whether it's fast or not is none of your concern. Anyway, if I don't break through to the Liquid Realm, you won't be thinking of escaping, so you'd better pray for my speedy breakthrough," Ye Yuan said indifferently.

"But... but if I win, what if you go back on your word?" Su Yishan was no fool and voiced his doubt.

"Heh, that depends on my mood. Anyway, I don't care, but you have to gamble on this! Lose, and you're a dead man; win, and you can go back to being the young master of the Su family! This is your only chance. Take it or leave it," Ye Yuan said nonchalantly.

"No... no... I want this chance! Of course I want this chance!" Su Yishan quickly said.

This was Su Yishan's only glimmer of hope; he would be a fool to give it up.

Ye Yuan could have let those demonic beasts kill him now, but he himself insisted on making things difficult—how could Su Yishan let go of this opportunity?

Ye Yuan nodded and said, "Since that's the case, remember: you can only defend, not attack. Be my human sandbag completely! When the time comes, I'll have Yuan Fei watch from the side. If you show any intention to attack, you'll die a miserable death!"

Su Yishan had indeed thought about harming Ye Yuan during the sparring, but being called out by Ye Yuan, he immediately cast that idea out of his mind.

Are you kidding? A third-tier demonic beast watching from the side—if he revealed even a trace of killing intent, the other party would kill him without hesitation.

If Ye Yuan were an ordinary Ninth Layer Yuan Qi cultivator, it might be different, but given Ye Yuan's actual combat strength, Su Yishan couldn't possibly kill him in one strike.

So, it was better for him to honestly act as a human sandbag.

...

"Ye Yuan, you're not joking, are you? You're only at the peak of the Ninth Layer of Yuan Qi Realm, not even Half-Step Liquid Realm yet. How can you break through to the Liquid Realm? Ah! I know—you must be messing with Su Yishan!" Nanfeng Zhirou exclaimed, as if discovering something delightful.

But Ye Yuan shook his head and said, "Breaking through to the Liquid Realm within a few days is a must, even if it's impossible! If I don't break through, I won't be able to refine the Yuanyang Pill, and Lü'er won't be saved. So, no matter what, I have to break through to the Liquid Realm."

"But... you're not even at Half-Step Liquid Realm!"

"What is Half-Step Liquid Realm anyway? The transition from Yuan Qi Realm to Liquid Realm should be a smooth process. You artificially split it into Half-Step Liquid Realm and Liquid Realm, which actually undermines the foundation, making the Liquid Realm foundation unstable!" Speaking of Half-Step Liquid Realm, Ye Yuan showed a look of disdain.

"But... everyone breaks through to the Liquid Realm from Half-Step Liquid Realm. Could everyone be wrong?" Nanfeng Zhirou retorted unconvinced.

Ye Yuan, however, countered, "Is everyone you mentioned combined more powerful than my master? Master said that direct breakthrough is better. Do you think he would harm me?"

"..." Nanfeng Zhirou was left speechless.