The moment Liu Tao's body crashed heavily onto the stone ground beneath the competition stage, a suffocating silence blanketed the entire Qingyun Sect arena. Every pair of eyes, whether belonging to outer sect disciples, inner sect elites, or even the elders seated on the high platform, widened in sheer disbelief as they stared at the slender figure standing tall on the wooden platform. The cheers, the whispers, and the heated discussions that had filled the air just moments before vanished entirely, leaving only a deathly stillness that hung over the square like a heavy cloud.
Ye Chen stood calmly at the center of the stage, his hands still resting loosely behind his back, his expression unchanged from the start of the battle. There was no trace of arrogance or excitement on his face, only a calm indifference that made his victory all the more astonishing. To him, defeating a Qi Refining Realm sixth-layer disciple like Liu Tao with a single casual strike was nothing more than a trivial matter, not worth the slightest emotional fluctuation. He had faced far more powerful foes in his past life, and this mere skirmish in a sect disciple competition was barely a blip on his path of cultivation.
It took several long seconds for the stunned crowd to break free from their daze, and then a wave of uproar exploded across the arena, so loud that it seemed to shake the surrounding mountain peaks. Disciples leaned forward in their seats, craning their necks to get a better look at Ye Chen, their voices rising in frantic, disbelieving chatter. Some pointed at the stage with trembling fingers, others exchanged wide-eyed glances, and a few even pinched themselves to make sure they were not dreaming. Never before had they seen such a lopsided battle in the monthly disciple competition—an inner sect disciple with a solid cultivation base being defeated in just one move, with no room for resistance at all.
Among the crowd, the disciples who had once mocked Ye Chen as a useless waste, who had claimed his previous victories were nothing but luck, now turned pale and fell silent. Their faces were filled with shame and unease, as they realized how wrong they had been. This was no fluke; Ye Chen possessed strength that far surpassed the level of ordinary inner sect disciples. Those who had made snide remarks behind his back now lowered their heads, fearing that Ye Chen would remember their insults and seek retribution later. Even the disciples who had been neutral toward him now looked at him with a mix of awe and fear, fully aware that this young man was no longer someone they could ignore.
On the high platform, the sect elders, who had initially only cast casual glances at the competition, now focused their full attention on Ye Chen. Their sharp, experienced eyes swept over him, carefully examining every detail of his demeanor and the faint residual spiritual energy around him. The elder in charge of overseeing the competition, a white-bearded elder with a profound cultivation base, stroked his beard and nodded slightly, a flicker of approval flashing in his eyes. "This child's control over spiritual power is impeccable, and his combat intuition is far beyond that of ordinary disciples. Even without using any profound martial skills, he can easily defeat his opponents. He is a rare genius in our sect."
Another elder, whose gaze was sharp and calculating, frowned slightly as he looked at Ye Chen. This elder was Liu Tao's backer in the sect, and he had placed high hopes on Liu Tao to secure a good ranking in the competition and become his direct disciple. Ye Chen's crushing defeat of Liu Tao had completely ruined his plans, and a trace of cold hostility flashed through his eyes. He quietly observed Ye Chen, his mind spinning with dark thoughts, determined to find a way to put this arrogant young man in his place and avenge Liu Tao's humiliation.
As the noise of the crowd continued to surge, several of the top inner sect disciples, who had been waiting quietly for their own matches, also turned their gazes toward Ye Chen. These disciples were at the seventh or eighth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, well-known elites in the inner sect, and they had long been considered favorites to win the competition. Previously, they had not taken Ye Chen seriously at all, dismissing him as a minor character who would be eliminated in the early rounds. But now, their expressions had turned solemn, and they narrowed their eyes as they regarded Ye Chen as a formidable rival.
Zhao Hao, the most promising direct disciple candidate in the inner sect, stood at the front of the elite group, his eyes fixed on Ye Chen with a cold glint. At the eighth layer of Qi Refining Realm, he had always been arrogant and conceited, believing that no one in the inner sect could match his strength. Seeing Ye Chen's sudden rise to fame and stealing the spotlight, he felt a surge of jealousy and anger. He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white, silently vowing to defeat Ye Chen soundly if they met in the next rounds of the competition, to let everyone know who the true strongest inner sect disciple was.
Ye Chen remained completely unfazed by all the gazes fixed on him—whether they were admiring, fearful, jealous, or hostile. He had long been accustomed to being the center of attention, both in his glorious past life and his current rebirth. These trivial reactions from the sect disciples meant nothing to him. He slowly turned and stepped off the competition stage, his movements calm and unhurried, as if he had just finished an ordinary training session rather than a stunning victory in a major competition.
He found a quiet corner in the spectator area, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes slightly to rest his mind. He ignored the noisy crowd around him, focusing all his attention on adjusting his spiritual energy and preparing for the next round of matches. He knew that this victory was only the first step; the real challenges were still ahead. There were still many powerful disciples in the competition, and every next match would be more difficult than the last.
More importantly, he could sense a faint malicious intent lingering in the air, directed straight at him. It came from the elder on the high platform who had stared at him coldly, as well as from those jealous elite disciples. Ye Chen's lips curled into a faint, cold smile. He had never feared any enemies or conspiracies. Whether it was an open battle or a secret plot, he would face it head-on with his absolute strength.
The monthly disciple competition was far from over. For Ye Chen, this stage was not just a place to prove his strength, but a stepping stone to climb higher in the Qingyun Sect. He would continue to move forward, defeating every opponent in his path, shocking everyone with his power, and securing the status of a direct disciple that he deserved. And for those who dared to stand in his way or harbor malicious intentions toward him, he would not show the slightest mercy.
As the next round of matches began, the arena gradually returned to its previous lively atmosphere, but everyone's attention would occasionally drift back to the quiet young man in the corner. Ye Chen's name had already spread throughout the arena in an instant, and everyone was waiting with bated breath to see what kind of amazing performance he would deliver in the next battles. The undercurrent of tension in the competition was growing stronger, and a storm was quietly brewing around Ye Chen, ready to erupt at any moment.