C3 Facing Ye Xuan's Face

"Ye Xuan, I've said it before, you don't deserve to challenge me in the realm of Martial Souls!"

Ye Chen approached his opponent with measured steps, then mercilessly planted his foot on Ye Xuan's fear-stricken face, sneering as he did so.

His words struck Ye Xuan like a vicious slap, contorting his face into an expression of utter humiliation.

"Remember this in your next life, Ye Xuan. There are some people you simply cannot afford to cross!"

"Boom!"

Before Ye Xuan or Ye Yang could even grasp what was happening, Ye Chen's ninth-level Body Tempering Stage strength erupted, combined with the might of his 8,000 Jin physical power, and he brutally stomped on Ye Xuan's head.

The sound that followed was sickening, like a watermelon splitting open, as a gory red liquid oozed out.

"Ye Chen, you...!"

Upon witnessing this, Ye Yang, who had been stunned into silence, snapped back to reality, glaring at Ye Chen with venomous eyes.

Ye Yang had never imagined Ye Chen would dare to slay Ye Xuan so audaciously.

"Ye Yang, the Ye family has been good to you, even making you the Great Elder. Yet you betrayed us during my father's critical breakthrough, stealing my Bone Structure, shattering my Martial Soul, and attempting to seize control of the Ye family. For such treachery, what punishment is sufficient?"

Ye Chen cut off Ye Yang's retort with a cold laugh, kicking aside Ye Xuan's body and fixing his icy gaze on Ye Yang, who stood a short distance away.

"You wretched cur, to kill Ye Xuan right before my eyes... you will pay with your life!"

Resentment seared across Ye Yang's face as he watched his kin meet a gruesome end. Ignoring Ye Chen's accusations, he unleashed his Martial Soul Stage Level Two Cultivation, bearing down on Ye Chen with oppressive force.

In his grip, a long halberd Martial Soul, gleaming with five yellow lights, materialized, amplifying his aura to its peak.

"Boom!"

No sooner had he spoken than Ye Yang, gripping the long halberd Martial Soul, charged at Ye Chen with ghostly speed, the halberd's chilling gleam aimed to strike him down.

"Kneel before me!"

As the halberd's force struck, Ye Chen's robes billowed, his aura erupting with a sneer of contempt on his face. Behind him, the Heaven Devouring Dragon Soul unleashed a blinding golden radiance before roaring into action.

"Boom!"

The golden dragon's shadow descended, its overwhelming might effortlessly shattering the halberd's force and striking Ye Yang.

In a flash, a thunderous crash echoed, and Ye Yang's previously savage expression instantly petrified.

His face twisted in terror and disbelief as he slowly lifted his gaze to Ye Chen.

"Splat!"

With the sound of a Blood Mist bursting forth, Ye Yang was hurled dozens of meters, crashing into the dungeon wall like a kite severed from its string.

"How... How is this possible?"

Terror etched on his face, Ye Yang's mind went blank. Struggling to rise, he looked up at Ye Chen with a mix of ferocity and disbelief.

Ye Chen's Bone Structure and Martial Soul had been stolen by him; by all accounts, Ye Chen should have been nothing more than trash!

But what he hadn't anticipated...

With his Level Two Martial Soul Stage power, he was utterly defenseless against Ye Chen, who seemed no better than trash!

Moreover, Ye Chen had used only the Heaven Devouring Dragon Soul to defeat him soundly!

"Old fool, still fancy taking the Bone Structure from me and destroying my Martial Soul?"

Approaching the defeated Ye Yang, Ye Chen's smile was tinged with mockery and disdain.

"You... You've already taken my Bone Structure and Martial Soul, how could you possibly have such formidable power?"

It wasn't until Ye Chen stood before him that Ye Yang shuddered to clarity. The Ye Chen before him had been reduced to nothing, or so he thought, otherwise, how could he have been imprisoned in the dungeon?

But if Ye Chen was truly nothing, how had he managed to kill Ye Xuan and leave him gravely wounded?

It was beyond belief!

"Trash? Excellent, since that's what you believe, I'll show you who the real trash is!"

As Ye Chen's voice fell, the ninth level power of the Body Tempering Stage erupted from within him.

Simultaneously, the golden Bone Structure within Ye Chen unleashed a fearsome pressure, pinning Ye Yang to the ground so firmly he couldn't budge an inch!

"What!?"

Ye Yang's eyes bulged in sheer disbelief at the sight.

The overwhelming pressure radiating from Ye Chen's golden Bone Structure rendered him utterly immobile, forcing him to kneel helplessly on the ground.

The blinding golden radiance emanating from Ye Chen's Bone Structure was particularly intense, nearly impossible to gaze upon directly!

Ye Chen... possessed a golden Bone Structure!

"How... How can this be?"

Ye Yang was dumbstruck, his voice tinged with astonishment.

It was common knowledge that Bone Structures were classified into four ranks: heaven, earth, black, and yellow!

Only a Bone Structure of the Heaven Rank could project such terrifying, dazzling golden light and exert a pressure so strong that it could subdue an ordinary warrior with a Yellow Rank Bone Structure to the ground!

Yet, the Bone Structure within Ye Chen was one he had personally stripped away!

How could Ye Chen have regained a Heaven Rank golden Bone Structure?

His mind reeled in shock and bewilderment, struggling to grasp the reality before him.

"Old fool, now that you realize who the real weakling is, it's time for you to close your eyes for good!"

Ye Chen's cold smile widened upon witnessing Ye Yang's shocked and incredulous face, and he spoke.

"Boom!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Heaven Devouring Dragon Soul behind Ye Chen burst forth, unleashing a thunderous dragon's roar as it surged towards Ye Yang.

"Ye... Ye Chen, I am the Great Elder of the Ye family, you wouldn't dare kill me!"

But before Ye Yang could finish, the Heaven Devouring Dragon Soul struck, slaying him where he stood.

"Old fool, it seems you haven't realized that I've just killed you, the treacherous Great Elder of the Ye family!"

Ye Chen remarked, his smile chilling as he observed the scene unfold before him.

"Boom!"

Yet, in the moment following his words, Ye Chen felt a surge of Qi throughout his body, climbing higher and higher as a vortex of Spirit Energy spiraled out from within him.

Clearly, the Spirit Energy vortex had formed as a result of the Heaven Devouring Dragon Soul consuming Ye Yang's Fifth Grade Yellow Rank halberd Martial Soul.

In that instant, Ye Chen distinctly felt a third yellow glow emanate from the Heaven Devouring Dragon Soul, and a massive surge of Spirit Energy rushed toward his Martial Markings.

"Boom!"

With the explosive sound of the Spirit Energy vortex, Ye Chen's body shook violently. The immense Spirit Energy within the vortex slowly coalesced into a golden Martial Marking, spiraling within him.

This was the unmistakable sign of his cultivation ascending from the ninth to the tenth level of the Body Tempering Stage!

Simultaneously, Ye Chen's entire body jolted.

He could vividly sense that his Nine Dragon Heaven Swallowing Technique had progressed to the third level of the Dragon Blood Stage!

"Now that both Ye Yang and Ye Xuan have fallen by my hand, the Ye family is free of concern. I'm curious how much longer my father will remain in seclusion. Perhaps I should head to the Spiritual Mist Mountains to slay a few Demon Beasts, aiming to elevate my cultivation to the Martial Soul Stage," he mused.

With the realization that the Heaven Devouring Dragon Soul could enhance his power by absorbing Martial Souls and Demon Beast Cores, a sharp glint appeared in Ye Chen's eyes. He then swiftly departed the dungeon and set off toward the Spiritual Mist Mountain Range.