565 Three Freaks?

"Interesting!"

Hai Wuya chuckled, his interest in Ye Chen piquing a little. A genius capable of breaking into the sixth level absolutely couldn't be looked down upon. In reality, the gap between the sixth and seventh level was not small. He and Yan Fengfeng were both geniuses who had broken into the seventh level. However, a genius capable of breaking into the sixth level might not be much inferior than them in the future. After all, if the difference between aptitudes was not too large, they might be overtaken. Aptitude was merely one standard, and one shouldn't be stuck on it too much.

"How is it?" Yan Fengfeng turned her beautiful eyes around and asked Hai Wuya.

The latter said, "A very high aptitude, not far from us, and can even catch up. But, to become a leading character in the future battle of geniuses, still a bit lacking. You should be aware that those guys are really freaks…We can barely keep up."

"Let's watch a bit more before drawing any conclusions." Yan Fengfeng also wished to see how many steps Ye Chen could take, and if he could break into the seventh pass.

…

The seventh level began!

Ye Chen sharply looked ahead.

Buzz…

Sounds of spatial ripples echoed unceasingly, and following it, human figures appeared one after other.

In the blink of an eye, sixty four yellow-robed sword artists appeared before Ye Chen. Although these sword artists were deathly and without a trace of vitality, the sword Qi curled outside their bodies were exceptionally strong. The sword Qi of sixty four artists converged, causing several fine sword scars to appear on the desolate ground and an invisible shockwave to spread out.

"Chop!"

If it had been a normal person, they would have certainly retreated as fast as they could to look for an opportunity to deal with them one by one. Even if there weren't too many opportunities, it would be better than confronting sixty four powerful sword artists together. Engaging such sword artists whose cultivation base and will was not inferior to oneself in a group battle would be simply suicidal. However, Ye Chen charged forth as he removed his protective Zhen Yuan and used Sword Light flying art, raising his speed to the peak.

Creak Creak Creak!

The dozens of sword artists at the front raised their sword and slashed out crescent moon shaped sword Qi. It interweaved together like a giant net, closing in on Ye Chen.

Bang!

En-route, Ye Chen abruptly shot forth; this was his true speed limit.

The dozens of sword Qi slashed at his back, creating a spatial ripple. He streaked through the small crack between the sword Qi while unsheathing the longsword at the same time. A golden sword radiance sprayed among the crowd of sword artists.

Three skulls flew in the air while spinning. Ye Chen suddenly held his breath and transformed into a black shadow, gliding right above the ground and through the crowd of sword artists.

The instant he transformed into the black shadow, at least seven black interweaving sword Qi slashed out in the void. If Ye Chen had been late in the tiniest bit or shown any hesitation, he would have been slaughtered. Under the seven sword Qi, even his corpse wouldn't have been found.

Every split second included many variables. At this moment, there was no room for the slightest amount of error.

Rumble!

The remaining sixty one yellow-robed sword artists separated, revealing Ye Chen in between. He sneered and closely followed one sword artist.

Swoosh

That sword artist collapsed, not through Ye Chen's hands, but that of another sword artist. A violent shockwave pushed Ye Chen away, following which, he arrived behind another sword artist.

One by one, yellow-robed sword artists fell. If they had intelligence, they would have certainly been quite sullen at their death.

"Void Shattering Finger!"

When the yellow-robed sword artists had completely separated and Ye Chen could no longer conceal himself, he issued the Void Shattering Finger toward the two nearest sword artists. A huge cyan colored hand pounded the two into the floor, ignoring the spatial distance. The surface quaked, knocking back the three-four yellow-robed sword artists who were charging through the air.

Bang!

Shockwaves spread out and sword Qi flew in all directions. The entire area was incessantly suffering sword Qi cuts.

…

"Still not out, he must have gone to the seventh level!"

After a certain time had passed, all the candidates should have been evaluated. The gazes looking out for Ye Chen kept increasing, suddenly making him the focal point.

"Seventh level has sixty four mental conjurings of similar cultivation base and will. To arrive at this stage, apart from Dugu Jue and Tantai Mingyue, there were only nine individuals."

"From this day on, it has become ten."

"Where did he come from? Such high aptitude, how come his name was never heard before?"

"He's with Yan Fengfeng."

"Phoenix Master Yan Fengfeng? No wonder…!"

Amidst the discussions happening while looking in Ye Chen's direction, a few glances were sent toward Yan Fengfeng.

Yan Fengfeng's fame in Sky Martial City was too huge. She had a great background, and the strength of a Sea of Soul Master, titled Phoenix Master. In terms of speed, she was the number one in the Sea of Souls realm; nobody could rival her.

Her fame in Sky Martial City was no less than those few young tyrants who had shaken the world. The person she had brought, how could he be weak?

Hai Wuya was moved for the first time. He didn't expect that Ye Chen could reach the seventh level, and it seemed that he was still fighting, not defeated yet.

"Now, I'm getting a little convinced about what you said." Sucking in a deep breath, he turned his attention back toward Ye Chen, bitterly smiling as he slowly continued, "Even if he can't be the leading character, he would be a vital supporting one."

Leading characters… that role only had a few spots.

However, supporting characters shouldn't be looked down upon either. Often, their roles were no less important than the leading ones.

"He actually reached the seventh level."

Xie Zhiqiu clenched his fists, not daring to believe his eyes. He originally thought that there was merely a hair's difference between him and Ye Chen that could be overcome at any moment. However, the current scenario made him suffocated.

Ling Luohan spoke no words. Ye Chen's astonishing performance was within his expectations. He wasn't convinced of Xie Zhiqiu, but surely of Ye Chen.

On the other side, Li Xiaoyun and Jing Aoxuan sucked in a breath. In the southern sector, perhaps only Astral Spirit Son was able to compete with Ye Chen, given that the former could quickly catch up. Otherwise, regardless of how much potential he had, it would be a waste.

Time trickled by, and only the final lot of candidates was left.

…

"Seventh pass is thrilling indeed…Every step is filled with killing intent."

Ye Chen had never forced himself to this extent. While confronting a multitude of yellow-robed sword artists, his spirit, mind, and Qi had remained at the peak at all times. He couldn't loosen up by even one bit, for he knew that one slip was enough to have his body dismembered.

Swish Swish!

Sword Qi crisscrossed, interweaving into a net. Ye Chen shuttled through this net like an insect while the surrounding yellow-robed sword artists preyed upon him like spiders, unceasingly spitting out 'silk' at him in groups of three and five.

At this moment, the time spent on the seventh level was equal to combined six previous levels. Moreover, the remaining yellow-robed sword artists were still left by more than half.

"Twin Sword Style!"

His two swords crossed while Ye Chen jumped and slashed at a yellow-robed sword artist, wishing to chop its head off. But, he failed due to having to deal with a pincer attack of several other yellow-robed sword artists.

Shua!

Without any hesitation, he flew back and charged upward. His Zhen Yuan flow reversed and body turned into a mountain, rapidly falling down under gravity.

Peng Peng!

Several sword Qi collided together like fireworks, signifying the danger at every point.

"Really forcing to my limits!"

Ye Chen's spirits were completely strained, and his strength had already been brought out beyond normal. However, the danger here was excessive as well. If one were to consider killing in the sixth level easy, in the seventh level, one had to spend two folds or even three to four folds energy to kill one. Here, there was only a hair-thin difference between killing and getting killed.

Peng!

Stepping on a yellow-robed sword artist, Ye Chen's figure spun on his shoulder, causing the figure underneath to spin as well. With a stamp, the latter was flung outward before getting cleaved by three sword Qi beams.

As the time kept increasing, huge waves were set off outside.

"This…How long is it gonna go for? Don't tell me he is trying to clear it?"

"Last year, Du Gujue and Tantai Mingyue spent half a day. From this, one can easily see how frightening the seventh level is."

Everybody was astonished; Hai Wuya and Yan Fengfeng had grave expressions. They were individuals who had reached the seventh level, and thus, they were quite clear of the situation there. Every level would double the conjuring images. However, it would be manageable up to the seventh level because at that stage, the number of images would sharply increase from thirty two to sixty-four. This was no simple increase; just like every straw that could break a camel's back, every increment was simply another torment, and an increase of thirty-two was simply a despair in itself.

Yan Fengfeng was ranked five, but she had only killed six, and Hai Wuya had merely killed four. Apart from Du Gujue and Tantai Mingyue, they didn't believe that anybody could kill more than ten in the seventh level. However, at this moment, it seemed Ye Chen was quite likely to destroy this belief.

"I also didn't expect that he could reach this step." Yan Fengfeng let out a breath. When her master previously said that Ye Chen would have astonishing accomplishments, she only half-believed it. After all, being raised in Sky Martial City, she had seen too many peerless geniuses. There was no lack of Ye Chens here.

Hai Wuya said, "The appearance of those two is already appalling…They are comparable to your master from early days. If one more such person appears, this era will be raised to another level, a great era rarely seen since the ancient times."

Deep down, he actually didn't believe that Ye Chen could succeed in the seventh level. It was simply because he didn't think that three freaks with monstrous talent could appear at the same time in this world. Although their talents hadn't matured yet, and thus couldn't be discussed along with the young tyrants that had shaken the heavens, with their freakish aptitudes, this would only be a matter of time.