I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 157: First Rank

BREAK!

ARGH!

Yi Chen’s punch broke through his opponent’s wind sphere and landed straight on his chest.

Like a broken kite, the cultivator flew out of the stage. His unconscious figure skidded and rolled over the ground before coming to a standstill.

"Feng Clan has officially risen to the Eighteenth Rank!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"This...."

Feng Haoran, who had been witnessing the events unfolding right before his eyes, had an expression of disbelief apparent on his face, and the final result made him feel at a loss for words.

The same reactions were apparent on the faces of not only the Feng Clan’s members but also the members of all the other clans who were present in the arena.

"This...is this even possible?"

"Why hasn’t he exhausted his Qi yet?"

"Forget Qi, how can he even compete against a higher-level cultivator?"

Before they could even process these thoughts properly, the third round had begun.

"He’s going again? He barely rested for five minutes..."

"I bet he’ll lose this time! There’s no way for a low-level cultivator to win consistently against higher-level cultivators so many times!"

"Yes, I’ll bet ten spirit stones on that as well,"

"Me too! I refuse to believe he can go on any further!"

Yi Chen had made everyone more and more perplexed with his unpredictable actions. It was to the point that many had even started betting unofficially over his chances.

"Feng Clan Wins!"

Several cultivators felt a hole widening in their pockets once the result was declared, and with that, the curiosity about how long Yi Chen could continue this miracle began to gnaw at their minds.

However, Yi Chen didn’t allow their curiosity to be so easily satisfied.

With an outright showcase of brute strength mixed with well-timed techniques, he kept winning again and again and again.

"Feng Clan advances to the 16th rank!"

.

.

.

"Feng Clan advances to the Fifteenth rank!"

"This..."

Feng Ning glanced towards Yi Chen, who was sitting next to her in his seat, with an expression of utter bewilderment.

Until now, she had thought of him as a monstrous genius, but what was happening right in front of her eyes was not just something which could easily be described by just those two words.

’Just how strong is he...just when I think that I’ve seen all that there is to him, he ends up showing me more...’

By now, Yi Chen had defeated nine Sixth Meridian Refinement Stage cultivators, along with one Seventh Meridian Refinement Stage cultivator.

A feat she couldn’t even dare to replicate even in her dreams!

Meanwhile, Yi Chen was currently in his seat with his eyes closed while clutching a high-grade spirit stone in his hands.

After fighting so many matches one after the other, it was natural for his Qi pool to be depleted.

To make up for it and continue fighting in his best condition, he had already decided to use the high-grade spirit stones, which he had been saving since the time he received them.

Unlike the low-grade spirit stones, which he had been using all this time for recovering his Qi, the high-grade spirit stones provided a much greater absorption speed because of their high density.

Normally, he would have thought ten times before using a high-grade spirit stone for such tasks, but since the benefits far outweighs the cost, he had decided to fully utilise these stones.

A few minutes later, Yi Chen was called back to the stage.

"He surely can’t fight another Second Meridian Refinement Stage cultivator, right?...right?"

"...I don’t know anymore."

While this was the state among the other spectators, Feng Haoran’s mind was going haywire with ecstasy.

’Resources...so many resources...all mine!’

An expression of extreme glee was apparent on his face, and he was trying hard to suppress his reflex to start laughing out in hysteria.

The First, Second and Third Elders also had similar expressions on their faces.

To add more fuel to the already ignited flame, Yi Chen still didn’t show any signs of fatigue and kept performing.

Match...

...after match...

...after match...

.

.

.

"Feng Clan advances to the Seventh Rank!"

"How?! Just how can a Fifth Meridian Refinement Stage cultivator win against an Eight Meridian Refinement Stage...This is just insanity!"

"Something like this has never happened before..."

"Even so, there’s no way he’ll be able to win the next match against. If he wants to win, then he’ll have to consecutively challenge two Eight Meridian Refinement Stage cultivators, one after the other, without any break! Even a same-level cultivator would find it difficult to do so."

"....but what if he wins?"

"..."

The crowd had started to doubt what they once believed were facts a few hours ago. This change had prompted quite a few of them to accept what should have been absurd as the norm.

Yi Chen’s nonstop display of mind-shattering actions only continued to firm this skewed perception in their minds, as in the next round, he didn’t just win but dominated.

"Feng Clan advances to the Sixth Rank!"

"...Fifth Rank!"

".... Third Rank!"

".... Second Rank!"

"Is he even a human?! How is he still standing!"

"Brother, he’s not just standing, look at that pose! He’s ready to go another round!"

"t...the next opponent is in the Ninth Meridian Refinement Stage...even though he has amazed us till now...his unbreakable streak of wins will definitely meet its nemesis now..."

"Yeah...it’s a pity. How can a Fifth Meridian Refinement Stage cultivator compete against a Ninth-level one? There’s just no way."

"What the hell are you guys spouting? He’ll compete just the way he did against the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Level cultivators!"

"You’re right! Were these people sleeping during the last few matches, or are they inherently dumb?"

"Brother Chen is invincible! He will win!"

"Yes, he will win! I’ve bet all my savings on his win!"

Meanwhile, at the Fighting Stage.

Yi Chen’s opponent was looking at him with both wariness and amazement apparent in his eyes.

Although he was confident in his abilities to be able to defeat Yi Chen, he still found it admirable what Yi Chen had just done.

"Y-you...just how have you even managed to come this far. I just can’t fathom it. By any chance, are you using some hidden artefacts or pills?" he asked.

This was a question that had appeared in many people’s minds as well, but with the Imperial Envoy’s presence, they all had discarded that idea.

However, there were still a few who thought that he possessed an item which was able to hoodwink even the Imperial Envoy.

"Do you really want an answer?" Yi Chen asked with a slight smirk.

"Yes," the man nodded as the match had still not begun.

"Well, I did it by..." Instead of finishing his sentence, Yi Chen stretched out the ending much to the man’s frustration. He felt that Yi Chen was deliberately playing with him and couldn’t help but grit his teeth in annoyance.

However, he was wrong.

Yi Chen wasn’t playing with him. Instead, he was waiting for the proper timing.

"FIGHT!"

This was the exact moment Yi Chen had been waiting for. Rushing towards his opponent with a thrilled expression, he completed the rest of his sentence.

"...by sheer fucking will!"

Being a Ninth Level Cultivator and being familiar with Yi Chen’s tactics, Yi Chen’s opponent was already prepared for this move. With a resolute expression, he activated his martial technique.

"Thundering Earth Collapse!"

Before Yi Chen could even make it towards his opponent, the whole fighting stage broke into chunks.

However, instead of worry Yi Chen’s eyes beamed with even a greater sense of anticipation.

’Now this is even better!’

Using burst steps on the broken jade platform below him, he propelled himself towards a jade block which was still in the middle of the air.

The moment his feet were just inches away from touching it, he initiated another burst and rushed towards the next nearest block.

Burst!

Burst!

Burst!

One after another, he kept stepping onto several jade blocks which had yet to settle, thus gaining enormous speed while tracing a zigzag path.

In less than a second, his figure launched itself towards his opponent.

"!!!"

The opponent didn’t expect that instead of obstructing Yi Chen’s moves, his attack would end up aiding his speed even further.

A degree of surprise and disbelief thus flashed in his eyes as he soon focused his eyes to get a trace of Yi Chen.

However, by the time his eyes were able to adapt, Yi Chen’s fist was only a few inches away from his face.

"C-crap!"

Regret momentarily flashed in his eyes, but it didn’t last long as...

BOOM!

The Ninth Meridian Refinement Stage cultivator flew out of the stage, and his body crashed onto the arena’s protective wall.

"...Feng Clan attains the First Rank!"

The Imperial Envoy’s words invited a deafening roar of cheers, and the entire arena shook as a result.

Even those who were praying for Yi Chen’s loss were amazed by this last battle, which had completely toppled their already skewed worldview.

"Yi Chen!"

It wasn’t apparent who called his name first, but just a second later, his name started echoing in the entire arena.

"YI Chen!"

"Yi Chen!"

As for Yi Chen? He was just as excited as the crowd and, with his arms raised high up in the sky, took in the well-wishes of the audience while relishing in the satisfaction that came after a series of such thrilling matches.