The man's eyes flashed with sharp light, seeming intent on dissecting Ye Jingyu completely. Facing the coordinated attacks of several figures, Ye Jingyu's brow furrowed deeply. These were all masters of the Zhou level; they weren't opponents one could casually slay with mere physical strength, and his current body might not withstand the full measure of their power.

His gaze locked onto Shen, who initiated the assault. By the time Shen’s claws reached his shoulder, Ye Jingyu dipped his shoulder slightly, narrowly evading the strike. His right hand shot out like lightning, clamping down on Shen’s claw. He stepped forward slightly, pulling Shen backward and swinging him to his left flank, perfectly positioning him to intercept the next attacker—a creature whose head resembled a triangular serpent.

Shen never anticipated that his swift attack would be dodged so easily. Before he could regain his senses, his body was already off-balance. When he finally reacted, Ye Jingyu had pulled him close, using him as an impromptu shield. A startled cry escaped Shen’s lips as his free claw instinctively darted toward his own chest to defend himself.

The triangular-headed demon was named Jiao, a renowned general under the Lord of Greed and the brother of Jiao, the City Lord of Sky-Shooter City, one of the Nine Great Cities. Jiao was infamous for his ruthless strikes; he unleashed nearly all his strength in his initial attack. He had fully expected, if not to kill Ye Jingyu outright, then certainly to gravely wound him in the chaos. But he had never accounted for Shen suddenly appearing directly in his path. Under any other circumstance, Jiao would have seized the opportunity to annihilate Shen then and there, but now he understood: without Shen, defeating this human before them was impossible.

Since he had promised his elder brother that he would secure the position of Commander of the Blood Demon Legion, he absolutely could not afford to eliminate Shen carelessly now. The punch he had already launched was instantly retracted. The massive recoil force sent a jarring surge through his internal meridians, nearly forcing a spout of blood from his mouth—the pain was agonizing…

It was precisely at this moment that a figure shot out, appearing as if forcibly blasted away. In an instant, this figure materialized directly in front of Jiao. Jiao focused his vision and recognized Ye Jingyu—the very man they had just surrounded. How could he have been thrown out so quickly? Was his strength truly that limited? Before Jiao could process the bizarre turn of events, Ye Jingyu hammered out a punch…

How was this possible? Wasn't he just blasted away? How could he still muster such a strike under these conditions? Jiao’s mind reeled with confusion, yet instinctively, his arms shot up to block. However, he had just forcefully recalled his previous momentum. His bloodlines were still churning internally; this was the precise moment when old power dissipated, and new power had not yet fully formed, leaving him completely unable to resist such a devastating blow.

His arms were barely raised halfway when Ye Jingyu’s punch slammed into his sternum. Immediately, Jiao felt as if a nuclear bomb had detonated inside his core. A colossal wave of force flooded his body, causing him to be hurled backward uncontrollably. The area over his heart erupted in a massive cloud of blood mist from the impact of the savage fist energy. His internal Dark Power instinctively surged upward to protect the catastrophic wound, but he could no longer muster the strength to govern his own movements…

With a deafening Rumble, his entire body slammed against the outer barrier, finally collapsing heavily onto the ground beneath the arena platform…

Defeated? Had he truly lost just like that? Jiao’s mind was a blank slate. The duel had barely begun, and he was already knocked off the stage? What was happening? Was he dreaming? His strength was supposed to surpass that of the others present; why was he the first one eliminated?

Jiao didn't immediately try to rise. He lay prone on the ground, his eyes vacant with bewilderment. High above in the stands, within the private box reserved for Sky-Shooter City, the City Lord Jiao had sprung from his seat the moment he saw his brother ejected first, his own eyes wide with horror. Yet, his shock wasn't for his brother’s defeat, but for Ye Jingyu’s meticulous grasp of the battle dynamics.

Others might have missed it, but Jiao, one of the Seven Fiends of the Earth Alliance (Di Meng Qi Sha), had seen every single detail unfold. From the moment Shen launched his attack, Ye Jingyu had calculated every contingency. Facing the combined assault of six high-level experts, his strength alone offered many ways to break the encirclement, but in any scenario, he couldn't harm the six Zhou-level masters and would eventually have to face the fatal strike from the cloaked man.

Instead, by merely shifting his stance slightly and engaging Shen minimally, he ruthlessly carved an escape route through the gap, delivering the killing blow to Jiao precisely when the latter was retracting his force. Everything—every detail—was calculated with such precision. He had even anticipated that the initial wave of attacks would not be delivered with full commitment from the others…

This was evident in the fact that he had endured the pincer movement of several powerhouses without sustaining any injury. More importantly, he clearly predicted Jiao’s action of recalling his strength, allowing him to appear at that critical juncture before Jiao, executing the final blow. This level of strategic control was terrifyingly exact…

Witnessing Ye Jingyu’s skill, Jiao began to doubt himself, suspecting that even if he entered the ring personally, he might not be a match for this human.

It wasn't just Jiao who came to this realization. The other City Lords watching from the stands shared the same dreadful awareness; their shock was no less profound than Jiao’s. Even Yuan’s body involuntarily stood up from his seat, his face etched with astonishment. While his raw power might exceed Ye Jingyu’s on the stage, his command over battle flow could never match Ye Jingyu’s precision.

But they could never understand: it wasn't merely that Ye Jingyu controlled the battle with such accuracy; it was that through his Eye of Reincarnation (Lun Hui Zhi Yan), he could glimpse the threads of fate's trajectory—or rather, he could perceive glimpses of what was about to happen. Though these visions were neither perfectly clear nor entirely sharp, they provided more than enough information to dictate his tactics.

Of course, this didn't mean he saw everything or knew the opponents' next move explicitly; he merely grasped the general outline…

On the stage, the remaining five demons now wore expressions of profound gravity. The man entirely shrouded in black robes halted his movement, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes; he clearly hadn't expected Ye Jingyu to break their encirclement in such a manner.

As for the figure bound entirely in iron chains, his eyes suddenly ignited with light—a mixture of admiration, satisfaction, and an intense, burning will to fight…

For more novels, visit storyread.net.