A brilliant light burst forth in the sky, vanishing in an instant.

Li Shengyi stared ahead, certain that his attack had truly landed on Ye Qiu, yet he felt that Ye Qiu had not been blasted down.

The next second, he saw that Ye Qiu was standing dozens of meters below; more precisely, his attack had only pushed Ye Qiu down a little bit.

"Again!"

Li Shengyi’s eyes flashed, and he lifted his hand for another strike.

Soon, hands filled the sky, appearing everywhere, and those watching on the ground saw Ye Qiu’s silhouette sink lower and lower under Li Shengyi’s assaults, forcibly suppressed from the ninth heaven to the first heaven.

"With such strength, he dares to claim he can challenge the Supreme Saint? Ye Fentian is nothing but all talk." Seeing Ye Qiu at a disadvantage, someone immediately sneered.

"Didn’t Li Shengyi say it before? This Ye Fentian just wants to be famous but chose the wrong target. Of all people, why the elder of the Taiyi Divine Sect? Now, even the main figure hasn’t appeared, and a young disciple is enough to easily defeat him."

On the ground, there were many who doubted Ye Qiu. Li Shengyi was a renowned genius of the Taiyi Divine Sect. Although not a Saint Heir, he had once competed for that position, a strength not to be underestimated, let alone now displaying Semi-Saint power. Ye Qiu, a mere Martial Artist of the Void Refinement Realm, was destined to lose.

In the sky, Ye Qiu continually withstood Li Shengyi’s attacks. Every bit of force was like a heavy hammer, pummeling down, while Ye Qiu seemed like a duckweed, going with the flow.

Li Shengyi’s strength delighted Ye Qiu. His past opponents were either Martial Artists of the same realm, who were not enough to threaten him, or Saint Realm fighters, directly a tier above him, forcing Ye Qiu to use a Saintly avatar or his dark power.

This was the first time he faced a Semi-Saint level opponent, slightly stronger but within bearable limits, requiring no secret cards.

This opportunity was extremely rare; how could Ye Qiu let the Heavenly Mechanism Sage intervene against Li Shengyi for him?

To the Heavenly Mechanism Sage, Ye Qiu couldn’t withstand Li Shengyi. But in Ye Qiu’s mind, he knew his limits, and now being in the later stage of the Void Refinement Realm, with a strong enough opponent who could apply enough pressure without his needing to use dark power, it might help him reach the peak of the later stage.

Feeling Li Shengyi’s bombardment, Ye Qiu felt not anger but joy, as the attacks were just right within his tolerance.

"What’s going on in this kid’s head?" The Heavenly Mechanism Sage couldn’t understand Ye Qiu. Could it be Ye Qiu intended to face a Semi-Saint with Void Refinement Realm power?

The opponent wasn’t a regular Semi-Saint but from the Taiyi Divine Sect. Even the Heavenly Mechanism Sage couldn’t do that in the Void Refinement Realm.

"Crazy, crazy! Very well, let’s see what cards you’re holding." Because of Ye Qiu’s words, the Heavenly Mechanism Sage didn’t intervene, instead hovering in mid-air, watching. He wanted to see what Ye Qiu was up to.

At that moment, Ye Qiu stopped descending and began to ascend.

Li Shengyi noticed this too, his brows flashing, "Still want to rush up and fight me? Since you’re down, just stay down there."

His Dantian spun, his strength increased again, this time using nine layers of power, doubting Ye Qiu could continue to withstand.

Below, Ye Qiu continuously executed various fist techniques, each advancing him slightly upwards.

Their attacks clashed repeatedly, and Li Shengyi often frowned, as even with nine layers of power, he couldn’t halt Ye Qiu’s ascent, surprising Li Shengyi greatly.

How could he have known, Ye Qiu was using him to refine his martial dao? If it were a real Saint’s attack, with Ye Qiu’s strength, blocking one or two breaths would be good already. But Li Shengyi wasn’t a real Saint, and Ye Qiu could resist with his true strength for a while.

He wasn’t an ordinary late-stage Void Refinement Martial Artist; others might not withstand Li Shengyi, but Ye Qiu could.

After all, he had endured nine Heavenly Tribulations, which couldn’t be judged by common sense.

"Again! Is that all your strength?" Ye Qiu suddenly said, his words full of boldness, deliberately claiming Li Shengyi wasn’t strong, while he was actually struggling to hold off, but he felt the pressure was insufficient, just slightly lacking, so he naturally wanted to provoke Li Shengyi a bit more.

Li Shengyi already intended to use all his strength; now with Ye Qiu being so arrogant, he no longer held back.

"If that’s the case, then dying by my hand, don’t blame me, blame yourself." Whether Ye Qiu could bear his full strength, Li Shengyi didn’t know, but Ye Qiu was too insolent, claiming he was weak. He’d show Ye Qiu just how terrifying his strength was.

Boom!

As Li Shengyi used all his Semi-Saint power, the clouds in the sky rumbled, like thunder.

Swish.

Ye Qiu clutched his fists tightly, watching Li Shengyi amidst swirling clouds and winds, "Only a little bit to the peak of the late stage, come on, give me more pressure!"

If it were a true Saint, the pressure on Ye Qiu’s actual realm would be too much, and without using dark power, resisting would be hard, but against a Semi-Saint, Ye Qiu could just about hold his own.

He came!

Even though he was confident, Ye Qiu was still a bit anxious yet expectant, and then, like an ocean falling, the pressure enveloped him instantly.

"Perish!"

Li Shengyi gathered all his strength into one strike, feeling Ye Qiu was completely covered by his attack, and felt neither joy nor sorrow in his heart. With his Semi-Saint power, what was there to be proud of defeating a Void Refinement Martial Artist?

"You brought this upon yourself. It’s a pity about the bet; with you dead, I’ll have to find someone else for the divine pill." Li Shengyi chuckled.

The engagement was over!

Li Shengyi didn’t think Ye Qiu could survive, so he slowly descended, wanting those watching to know that he, Li Shengyi, had returned splendidly.

As Li Shengyi descended about a hundred meters, suddenly a voice stopped him.

"The victory isn’t decided yet, why rush?"

What!

Li Shengyi spun around, seeing Ye Qiu standing opposite, in quite a disheveled state, gasping heavily.

"You didn’t die?"

Ye Qiu coughed, "Isn’t this too arrogant of you? How could I die? I intend to defeat Jiu Jue, losing to you would be ridiculous."

A smile spread over Ye Qiu’s face.

The smile was dazzling to Li Shengyi, his gaze turning cold, and without a word, he attacked once more.

"Good timing!"

Ye Qiu shifted his body, immediately meeting the attack.

Standing in the void, watching the explosively renewed battle, the Heavenly Mechanism Sage was slightly stunned: "This kid blocked a full-force attack from a Semi-Saint with Void Refinement Realm power?"

"Such a prodigy!"

"Brother Zhuang, the disciple you took is indeed extraordinary beyond measure..."