Chapitre 20: Confrontation
As Xiao Chen and Ye Fan clashed, Ji Rongmei's gaze was fixed on Xiao Chen's every move.
She saw him leap into the air, his eyes suddenly locking onto her. With a charming smile on his lips, he winked in her direction, as if he'd been aware of her gaze all along.
Her mind went blank at his gesture, and her face flushed a deep red. "What was that just now? He... he was definitely looking my way!" she exclaimed, springing up from her futon, eyes wide with surprise and a shy expression.
"But what does he mean by that? Why did he wink at me like that?" she murmured, her voice tinged with confusion.
Outside, Ye Fan noticed his jade pendant shaking and jumping. He froze in place for a moment, and in that instant, Xiao Chen seized the opportunity to deliver a sneaky attack, sending Ye Fan flying with a powerful slap.
Ye Fan tried to block the strike, but it was already too late.
He was launched backward, crashing into the stone wall with a loud impact. As he slid to the ground, an imprint of his body was left on the wall, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Struggling to stand, he reached out to Ji Rongmei through voice transmission.
"Senior, what happened to you?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.
Realising that she had made too much commotion, Rongmei quickly composed herself and searched for an excuse.
"Ye Fan, the treasure here is the Heavenly and Earthly Fire," she replied calmly.
Ye Fan's eyes lit up with excitement at her words, but his joy was cut short.
Unable to shout due to the injuries from Xiao Chen's slap, his face was nearly disfigured. A surge of hatred flared within him—not only for the pain Xiao Chen inflicted but for the humiliation of being struck in front of Ji Rongmei!
Trembling with rage, his disfigured face twisted in anger as he glared at Xiao Chen.
'Damn, he is so ugly!' both Rongmei and Xiao Chen thought at the same time.
As Ye Fan focused his attention on Xiao Chen, Ji Rongmei breathed a sigh of relief, though her heart was still a whirlwind of emotions.
Recalling Xiao Chen's gesture just now, she felt a mix of embarrassment and shame.
"What does he want? Does he already know that I... am attracted to him?" she whispered, covering her face shyly with her hands.
At the same time, she felt a twinge of resentment toward him for daring to make such a bold move.
Ji Rongmei was known as the majestic general of the immortal Ye family and revered as a powerful senior in the upper realm but in reality, she was just a hundred years old.
She was considered young by the upper realm standards. It was her unparalleled talent that set her far beyond her peers.
In the original plotline, Ji Rongmei was so consumed by revenge that she disregarded worldly desires and distractions. Many in the upper realm saw her as a madwoman, known for always wearing her massive armor.
Yet only a few knew of her true nature—a pure-hearted, fiery-tempered, and naive young woman.
This naivety was precisely why Ye Fan and his father had managed to manipulate her into helping them. Despite her strong exterior, Ji Rongmei was, in reality, a pitiable soul with few friends and little warmth in her life.
As she continued watching the battle, Xiao Chen's showing off began to annoy her.
"Hmph, just you wait, you cheeky brat!" she muttered, puffing out her chest and snorting.
"Once I've recovered my strength, I'll… teach you a lesson," she added, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
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Meanwhile, Ye Fan's heart seethed with hatred, but he managed to calm himself, resorting to a technique renowned among chosen ones.
Clenching his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, Ye Fan realized that if he continued fighting like this, he wouldn't make a dent in Xiao Chen. So, he activated his Great Yang Divine Body.
Though he couldn't draw out its full power just yet, it still provided a significant boost.
He spat out a mouthful of blood essence, channeling his spiritual power to draw even more strength from his physique.
"Hahaha! You've forced my hand, so don't blame me for being ruthless," he declared confidently, as if victory were already within reach.
Seeing this, Xiao Chen's expression turned serious as he finally drew his sword.
"Junior Brother Ye, since you tried to steal my opportunity, be prepared to face the consequences," Xiao Chen said with a shameless smile, despite having already taken one of Ye Fan's opportunities—and even one of his Dao companions.
"I won't go easy on you this time. If you can withstand this strike, I'll spare your life."
Hearing Xiao Chen's arrogant words, Ye Fan's face twisted with frustration and hatred as he sensed an overwhelming amount of sword energy gathering in Xiao Chen's blade.
Even as his anger rose, Ye Fan realized he'd succeeded in distracting Xiao Chen. He could sense that all of Xiao Chen's focus was on him at that moment.
All he needed was to enter the portal and, with his senior's help, he will subdue the Heavenly and Earthly Flame, which would lead to immense growth.
As the battle reached its climax, Xiao Chen unleashed the Infernal Sword Technique, known for its sheer destructive power.
At the same time, Ye Fan tapped into the latent strength of his Great Yang Divine Body.
However, Ye Fan's expression darkened as he felt the power from his earlier use of Astral Fusion Mastery beginning to fade.
To make matters worse, Xiao Chen appeared unfazed, not even breaking a sweat throughout the battle.
Realizing his time was running out, Ye Fan gathered his remaining energy for one final, desperate attack.
With a resounding shout, he unleashed his ultimate technique, "Everlasting Wall of Flame!"
A massive wall of flames surged forward, shaking the ground and obscuring Xiao Chen's vision.
Suddenly, a chuckle escaped Xiao Chen's lips. His plan was almost complete!
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