"What a disgrace! I can’t believe I have such a useless younger brother. But I won’t let him jump around for long. When I run into him, I’ll kill him for you."
In the crowd, Gongsun Hao glanced at Gongsun Tu before stepping forward to draw a bamboo stick.
The bamboo sticks were still being distributed by Gongsun Qingyue.
"Father..." Gongsun Hao looked at Gongsun Qingyue with a burning gaze. He believed his father understood his intentions and would definitely arrange for him to fight Ye Xuan. As the older brother, he had to make Ye Xuan pay for the humiliation his younger brother had suffered.
Gongsun Hao held his bamboo stick, which had the number eight written on it.
After he drew his stick, Ye Xuan also drew one. Gongsun Hao walked straight toward Ye Xuan and said coldly, "You won’t be so lucky when you face me next. Your time in this tournament ends here."
Ye Xuan said nonchalantly, "Why? Did you draw number nine?"
"Huh? You’re number nine?"
Gongsun Hao was taken aback. He took a closer look at the bamboo stick in Ye Xuan’s hand. Sure enough, Ye Xuan’s stick wasn’t number eight; it was number nine!
He looked back at his father, his eyes filled with confusion. Why hadn’t his father paired him with Ye Xuan this time? Was it a mistake made in the heat of the moment?
He quickly calmed down and said coldly, "Ye Xuan, you’re lucky you didn’t draw me."
"Is that so?"
"Of course. I hope you don’t lose too early, because I have a feeling that we will definitely be fighting each other next time! I will return all the humiliation my younger brother suffered back to you. You severed his arm, so I will sever yours. You sent him flying, so I will send you flying. Very fair, right?"
Ye Xuan replied indifferently, "Indeed fair, but that’s only if you have the strength."
Gongsun Hao said disdainfully, "When you face me, you’ll find out whether I have the strength or not."
As the two conversed, Gongsun Wenjin’s voice echoed across the arena.
"Alright, those who drew numbers one through ten, step up to the arenas and begin your battles."
As his words fell, Ye Xuan turned and walked to the number nine ring, while Gongsun Hao headed to number eight. Their rings were twenty meters apart.
Gongsun Hao kept watching Ye Xuan, wanting to see exactly who his opponent would be. At this moment, he was actually praying for Ye Xuan. He prayed that Ye Xuan wouldn’t encounter an opponent who was too strong—definitely not Gongsun Po, or anyone else capable of fighting for the top three spots.
Soon, a man walked toward Ye Xuan and stood opposite him. Seeing this man, Gongsun Hao’s pupils constricted.
"How could it be Uncle Hong!"
This man was none other than Gongsun Hong. As soon as Gongsun Hong appeared, the surrounding spectators were all astonished.
"Look, Ye Xuan’s opponent is actually Uncle Hong!"
"This kid has terrible luck. Hmph, this is for the best. It’ll keep a country bumpkin like him from thinking our Gongsun Family has no experts."
"Uncle Hong, send him flying with one punch! Show him the formidable strength of us Gongsun Clan Members."
Meanwhile, at Gongsun Qingyue’s location.
Gongsun Xin couldn’t help but frown. "Second Brother, you did that on purpose."
Gongsun Qingyue didn’t speak, but his gaze was somewhat sinister. Ye Xuan’s strength had indeed exceeded his expectations. He actually really wanted to have Gongsun Hao fight Ye Xuan, but he worried that if Gongsun Hao wasn’t a match for Ye Xuan either, their lineage would lose too much face.
He had just asked Gongsun Xin and learned that Ye Xuan’s cultivation was at the 9th Layer of the Super Spirit Realm. Ye Xuan had been able to defeat Liu Ruoxi at the 5th Layer. Now that his cultivation had advanced another four layers, it was highly likely that Hao wouldn’t be his match!
Therefore, he didn’t arrange for Gongsun Hao to fight Ye Xuan, but instead swapped in Gongsun Hong. Gongsun Hong’s cultivation was also at the 5th Layer. Using him to test Ye Xuan’s strength was perfectly suitable.
"You are Ye Xuan..." In the number nine ring, Gongsun Hong frowned slightly upon seeing Ye Xuan. It seemed that fighting Ye Xuan put him in a somewhat difficult position. "I have a good relationship with Yanran. Why did you have to be my opponent? Never mind, I’ll go easy on you later. Go choose your weapon first."
"I’ll choose first? Alright."
Ye Xuan didn’t act arrogantly. His mother had told him that this Uncle Hong was at the 5th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm. Being matched against him so early surprised Ye Xuan a little. Logically speaking, the person in charge of drawing lots wouldn’t let the strong experts face off this early. After all, this was just an internal family tournament; there was no need to be so strict.
Gongsun Qingyue was truly targeting him at every turn.
Soon, Ye Xuan selected a mid-grade Ghost-level sword. Only a mid-grade sword could easily injure his opponent upon landing a hit.
"You have a good eye. Selecting a mid-grade Ghost-level weapon is indeed your only sliver of a chance to injure me. Of course, it’s just a sliver. Since you chose a sword, I’ll choose one too."
There weren’t many types of mid-grade Ghost-level weapons available—only two swords and two sabers.
"Direct Lineage, Gongsun Hong."
In a small family, Gongsun Hong’s status would only be considered among the Side Branches. But in a large family, as long as one shared a direct bloodline with the Patriarch, and as long as the Patriarch hadn’t been replaced, all descendants with that direct bloodline belonged to the Direct Lineage. If Gongsun Wenjin stepped down and Gongsun Xin became the Patriarch, only then would Fourth Grandpa’s lineage be reduced to the Side Branches.
"Ye Xuan."
"Please enlighten me."
"It’s starting! Uncle Hong, insta-kill him!"
"Country bumpkin, weep and despair! Now that you’ve run into Uncle Hong, you have no future left. Uncle Hong will teach you how to behave. You’ll soon learn what the difference between heaven and earth truly means!"
The Gongsun Family members were all thrilled, seemingly already envisioning Ye Xuan being beaten to a pulp.
At this moment in the number nine ring, after exchanging names, neither of them made the first move. As an elder whose cultivation had reached as high as the 5th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm, Gongsun Hong naturally felt embarrassed to strike first.
He said with considerable grace, "Ye Xuan, you first."
Ye Xuan didn’t speak. He knew that Gongsun Hong, and even the vast majority of the Gongsun Family, looked down on him. None of them believed that an illegitimate child like him had the qualifications to fight a 5th Layer Demon Spirit Realm expert.
Then he would let the facts speak for themselves. Today, he was going to shock the world and make their jaws drop!
Suddenly, a terrifying aura erupted from Ye Xuan’s body. Above his head, a massive Golden Snake materialized. A terrifying pressure swept across the entire martial arts arena.
In that instant, everyone felt as if a Big Mountain was pressing down on their shoulders. Those with weaker cultivation were forced straight to their knees. The blood in their veins trembled in fear—a fear that made them unable to even lift their heads.
Those who were mid-battle in their respective rings suddenly froze. Everyone engaged in combat turned their heads to stare at the massive Golden Snake above Ye Xuan.
"How does this country bumpkin have such a powerful aura?"
"It’s too strong. I can feel my legs shaking."
"What grade of Beast Soul is that?"
Gasps of amazement finally echoed out. Both the younger generation and the elders had their eyes wide and mouths agape.
"Is this... a Fierce Beast’s Beast Soul?"
"Eldest Brother, your grandson actually has such talent? Even the Beast Souls in our bodies are trembling!"
In the stands, Ye Xuan’s Fourth Grandpa, Third Grandpa, and the others were also astonished. After their initial surprise, they simultaneously sighed.
"What a pity. His surname isn’t Gongsun."
At this moment, in the number nine battle ring, Ye Xuan’s voice rang out.
"Uncle Hong, have you suppressed the chaotic Spiritual Qi running wild in your body yet? If you have, I’m going to start my attack."
The corners of Ye Xuan’s mouth curled into a smile—a smile filled with a thirst for battle.