Chapter 135 Encountering the Temple Once Again

"Actually, Su Zi and Yu Ming are both Young Masters of the Misty Rain Pavilion."

"Isn't that obvious nonsense?" Ye Zihan shot him a blank stare, signaling him to get straight to the point.

"Moreover, the Misty Rain Pavilion doesn't have just one Young Master."

"Do you want me to beat you up?" Both Chen Yiyan and Mo You, who had just woken up and joined in on the gossip, were furious.

"I'll talk, I'll talk!" Realizing he had provoked the wrath of the crowd, Yan Chen hurriedly begged for mercy.

"The title of Young Master of the Misty Rain Pavilion exists because the fathers or mothers of these individuals hold supreme positions in the pavilion. There are three Pavilion Masters in total; the First Pavilion Master is Su Zi's mother, and the Third Pavilion Master is Yu Ming's father. Therefore, both of them are Young Masters of the Misty Rain Pavilion." After finishing, Yan Chen noticed that everyone still wore puzzled expressions and asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Still don't understand?"

"You mentioned the First Pavilion Master and the Third Pavilion Master, but what about the Second Pavilion Master?" Ye Zihan asked.

"The Second Pavilion Master? It is said that the Second Pavilion Master of the Misty Rain Pavilion inexplicably disappeared later on. I have no idea where they went."

"Oh, so that's how it is." Everyone had expected some juicy gossip, only to find out that the Second Pavilion Master had simply vanished.

"Quiet! The final battle of the City Lord contention is about to begin. Those who have passed the trial and wish to compete, come forward to draw your numbers."

At this moment, the resonant voice of a Seven-Star realm powerhouse in charge of the stage rang out, instantly drowning out all the murmurs below.

"Zihan, the drawing has started. You should go up quickly."

Because the participants in the final battle for the City Lord position had to be contenders themselves, teams that had previously entered the trials together could only send forth one representative.

However, most of these groups consisted of families or factions led by a principal figure. Just like Ye Zihan's group, which was led by Ye Zihan, Su Zi's group was led by Su Zi.

Clearly, the opposing group was led by Yu Ming. The others were mostly there to lend support, knowing full well that their strength was no match for the other competing powerhouses, and very sensibly chose to step aside and let Yu Ming go up.

Ye Zihan also knew that since the Misty Rain Pavilion had multiple Pavilion Masters and Young Masters, competition was naturally inevitable. It was obvious that the two Young Masters from the Misty Rain Pavilion were rivals, otherwise Su Zi and Yu Ming would not have operated in separate factions.

Silently, Ye Zihan walked up to the stage, drew a lot from the Seven-Star realm powerhouse, handed it back for registration of his information, and then stepped down to watch the other contenders drawing their lots.

Most of the participants in this final showdown were young powerhouses, with almost no older veterans. This was virtually an unwritten rule; if senior experts participated, it would inevitably attract even more powerful figures, making the competition far more intense. Even so, a somewhat older middle-aged man had appeared on the scene. His strength was only at the mid-stage of the Earth realm, which was neither exceptionally strong nor particularly weak.

When he took the stage, the Seven-Star powerhouse in charge of issuing the tokens was visibly startled, but still allowed him to draw his lot. However, the look he gave the man clearly showed disapproval, as he obviously did not believe the man could claim final victory. Being at the mid-stage of the Earth realm in his forties meant his strength and talent fell far short of the requirements for becoming the City Lord of Nameless City.

Su Zi and Yu Ming successively went up to draw their lots. The two exchanged a cold glance when they met, then walked down separately. Their relationship was clearly far from friendly.

Suddenly, a black-robed youth in his twenties caught Ye Zihan's special attention. The youth had thick eyebrows, narrow eyes, and a sinister gaze. Feeling the source energy fluctuations emanating from the youth, Ye Zihan's entire body trembled, and an intense wave of fury and hatred instantly erupted in his eyes.

"Zihan? What's wrong?"

Sensing that something was amiss with Ye Zihan, Yan Chen and the others quickly asked.

"It's someone from the Illusory God Palace," Ye Zihan said through gritted teeth in a low voice, the veins on his clenched fists bulging.

"You mean that guy in black?" Yan Chen noticed that Ye Zihan's gaze remained fixed on the black-robed youth and immediately asked.

"Yes," Ye Zihan nodded. Because of his two mentors, Hong Yan and Lan Yu, and the fact that the Illusory God Palace was secretly plotting against Ye Zixue, Ye Zihan harbored an intense hatred for the organization.

"Huh?" Ye Zihan's gaze was too intense, and the black-robed youth, whose strength had already reached the late stage of the Earth realm, quickly noticed it. Following the sensation, he looked over and immediately spotted Ye Zihan glaring at him with a dark expression.

A faint, chilling gleam flickered in the black-robed youth's eyes, the corners of his mouth curling upward into a disdainful smile. His expression then shifted into one of murderous intent as he cast a meaningful look at Ye Zihan before turning and walking to the side of the stage.

The Illusory God Palace had already begun operating across the Three Realms. Having killed quite a few people, they had naturally made many enemies, and those hostile to them were by no means few. The black-robed youth assumed Ye Zihan was a survivor targeted for elimination by the Illusory God Palace, and murderous intent instantly arose in his heart.

This time, acting on his master's orders, he was determined to seize control of Nameless City. Using Nameless City as a base, he intended to gradually infiltrate the entire Beast Domain, bringing all eleven regions of the Beast Domain under the banner of the Illusory God Palace to fulfill their grand plan of unifying the Three Realms.

"Shall I kill him?"

Hearing that it was Ye Zihan's enemy, Chen Yiyan immediately felt a surge of battle-thirsty impulse. Whenever combat was involved, Chen Yiyan felt as though his blood were burning.

"No need," Ye Zihan stopped them.

"I'll deal with a guy like this myself. Since he's participating in the finals as well, I'll cut him down right in the arena!"

A dense murderous aura permeated Ye Zihan's tone. The source energy within his body began to roil and brew, adjusting his state to absolute perfection.

Mo Unhuan, seated on the platform, also noticed the situation. As the guardian of Nameless City and a peak Eighth-Trigram realm powerhouse, his status and strength were not something the Ten City Lords dared to underestimate. This was precisely why, despite the Ten City Lords coveting Nameless City, none of them had ever succeeded in taking it. They kept each other in check, and with Mo Unhuan holding the fort, anyone wanting to forcefully occupy Nameless City would have to pay a devastating price.

Ye Zihan's emotions had clearly fluctuated just now. Mo Unhuan held this master of his in extremely high regard; if any harm came to Ye Zihan, they would likely all be finished. Seeing the hateful glare Ye Zihan directed at the black-robed youth, Mo Unhuan had already made up his mind.

"That brat must die!" As a peak Eighth-Trigram realm powerhouse, Mo Unhuan truly feared no one. With Nine-Palaces experts remaining in seclusion from the world, peak Eighth-Trigram realm strength represented the absolute pinnacle of mortal combat power. As for the peerless powerhouses of the Ten-Directions realm, there were only a handful across the entire continent, and they were either wandering about carefree in unknown realms or cultivating in closed-door seclusion to break through to even higher planes, refusing to lower their status to meddle in worldly affairs.

Therefore, Mo Unhuan immediately pronounced a death sentence upon the black-robed youth.

One by one, all the competing contenders finished drawing their lots. Once the pairings were finalized, the official in charge announced the official commencement of the final battle.

The first match featured the mid-stage Earth realm middle-aged man named Fu Tianlei. He was the head of a minor clan, with many family disciples following him and cheering him on from the sidelines.

Fu Tianlei's opponent was also a formidable powerhouse, as well as a disciple of the Heavenly Mechanism Mansion—one of the four major factions of the mortal realm. However, this person was not Qingquan whom Ye Zihan had met during the Five Elements Gathering, but another outstanding young man at the early stage of the Earth realm, who looked to be around thirty years of age.

"Kid, you're from the Heavenly Mechanism Mansion, and I don't want to hurt you. Your strength is no match for mine, so I advise you to surrender and forfeit of your own accord. Otherwise, if you end up beaten and crippled, you'll have no one to blame but yourself," Fu Tianlei said with lingering reservations.

"Knowing that I'm from the Heavenly Mechanism Mansion, why haven't you begged for mercy and crawled off the stage yet? As the head of some petty clan, instead of staying home to look after your people, you dare come here to contend for the position of City Lord of Nameless City—you truly don't know how to spell death!"

Lu Zhentian, the disciple of the Heavenly Mechanism Mansion, was even more arrogant than Fu Tianlei, demanding outright that his opponent kneel and get lost. This completely shattered Fu Tianlei's reservations. His expression grew cold as he drew his weapon—a Night-tier broadsword—and let out a low roar, whipping up a torrential wave of blades imbued with scorching heat as he charged at Lu Zhentian.

Lu Zhentian narrowed his eyes, finally forcing himself to take this opponent seriously. He hadn't come here to contend for the City Lord position; arrogant though he was, he was no idiot and knew the City Lordship was beyond his reach. He simply wanted to use this opportunity to spar with experts and temper himself.

Clearly, Fu Tianlei's strength ignited his fighting spirit. With a wave of his hand, a silver silken ribbon materialized in his grip.

"Golden Hunt—Iron Lock Across the River!"

The silken ribbon vibrated with wave-like undulations, firmly blocking Fu Tianlei's attack right in front of him.

True to his identity as a disciple of one of the four major factions, although Lu Zhentian's cultivation realm was slightly inferior to Fu Tianlei's, his source energy refinement was even greater. Relying on his profound and pure source energy, he effortlessly blocked the opponent's onslaught.

"Plum Blossom Shadow Pierce!"

While blocking Fu Tianlei's broadsword attack, Lu Zhentian simultaneously scattered a handful of plum-blossom-shaped dart spikes, launching them at Fu Tianlei using a specialized technique.

"Heaven and Earth Lend Power, Iron Horses and Frozen Rivers!"

Fu Tianlei's fighting spirit soared to new heights. Having had his attack blocked, he concentrated all his power into a single point, appearing in that fleeting instant to merge with heaven and earth itself, while the broadsword in his hand invisibly magnified manifold.

"Break!"

With the power of a single strike, he shattered the plum blossom darts. However, a faint fragrance wafted into his nose. Before Fu Tianlei could hold his breath, he inhaled a significant amount, immediately feeling a wave of dizziness wash over his brain as he thought to himself, *Not good!*

"Ha! Now that you've been poisoned by my plum blossom toxin, let's see how much strength you have left."

*Whoosh—!*

*Clap!*

The silken ribbon danced wildly like a silver serpent, lashing against Fu Tianlei's body. Fu Tianlei felt utterly weak and powerless, unable to dodge in time as he was wrapped up by the ribbon. Though Lu Zhentian was arrogant, he harbored no intent to kill. With a flick of the ribbon, Fu Tianlei was instantly hurled off the stage, landing squarely amidst his own subordinates.

"Clan Head!"

"Rest assured, he's just temporarily unable to muster his strength; he'll be fine after a little while," Lu Zhentian said indifferently to the group, after which the referee announced Lu Zhentian's victory.

"Next match, Ye Zihan versus Yu Ming!"