From Death To Dominion

The stinging pain from his right cheek, coupled with the overwhelming humiliation of being struck in front of so many students, clouded Lu Wen's thoughts. For a moment, allowing his opponent to slip away from his range.

The moment Ye Xian's palm connected with Lu Wen's face, his shrouded aura technique dissipated due to the disturbance caused by his movement.

However, he wasted no time. As soon as he retreated beyond Lu Wen's spiritual perception field, he reactivated the technique, vanishing from detection once more.

Lu Wen, seething with rage, stretched his spiritual perception to its maximum range, his senses sweeping across the arena as he pivoted sharply from one direction to another.

Yet, no matter how much he searched, he found nothing. His frustration mounted with each passing breath, his anger boiling over.

"You've angered me now, Ye Xian!" he roared. "Just let me catch you! Once I do, I'll—"

2nd SLAP!

A second crisp slap resounded across the battle arena, echoing so loudly that even students from outside the barrier could hear clearly.

Saliva and blood flew from Lu Wen's mouth as his head jerked violently to the side. He stumbled, barely managing to keep his balance. His mind reeled.

How?

How was Ye Xian striking him so effortlessly?

Lu Wen had refrained from activating his Ki Armor, believing that his superior spiritual perception would make such a precaution unnecessary.

To him, using Ki Armor against a mere Ki Refining cultivator—someone supposedly far beneath him—would have been disgraceful. He had assumed that before Ye Xian could do anything, he would already have beaten him into the ground, his bones shattered.

But reality was far crueler than he had anticipated.

Ye Xian had also thought about this how arrogant and ignorant he was and assume that Lu Wen wouldn't use ki armor against him Infront of all the students.

He would wanted to humiliate and beat ye xian Infront of others if use ki armor wouldn't that would be embarrassing considering his opponent is only intitae ki refining realm cultivator.

Twice now, Ye Xian had landed clean strikes on him.

Twice now, he had been completely unable to react.

He gritted his teeth and felt a pang of pain from his mouth. He extended his perception again, his focus sharpened like never before. He would not be humiliated a third time.

Ye Xian, meanwhile, moved swiftly. The instant his second strike connected, he darted to the far edge of the arena, once again erasing his presence.

His movements were fluid, his control over his shrouded aura technique masterful. From his new vantage point, he watched as Lu Wen stood seething, his face burning with both anger and embarrassment.

"Ye Xian!" Lu Wen bellowed, his voice laced with fury. "I'm going to kill you!"

Without hesitation, he rushed toward the spot where Ye Xian had last been, but his perception failed him once more. He struck nothing but empty air.

The gathered students were stunned, their eyes darting between Lu Wen's enraged expression and the seemingly empty battlefield and Ye Xian who was escaping to another location.

"How… How is this possible?" one of them murmured.

"Lu Wen's spiritual perception is supposed to be one of the best among the Element Disciples!"

"No way Ye Xian is just moving without any worriy. Could he be using some kind of artifact to conceal his presence?"

"That's got to be it! Otherwise, how is he avoiding detection completely?!"

Among the students, jealousy and disbelief mixed in their expressions. Some were awed, others skeptical. A few simply could not accept that someone at Ye Xian's level could be humiliating Lu Wen like this.

His face was now visibly swollen from the two slaps, his anger mounting with every passing second. He clenched his fists, pushing his spiritual perception to its absolute limit, straining every ounce of his senses to detect even the faintest disturbance.

Then—

3rd SLAP!

4th SLAP!

A sudden impact rattled Lu Wen's skull. A sharp, stinging pain spread across his cheek as his head whipped to the side. His ears rang, his vision blurred for a brief moment. He staggered, nearly losing his footing.

His spiritual perception had finally detected Ye Xian—but it was already too late. The moment he locked onto his opponent's presence, Ye Xian had already delivered the fourth strike after the third strike and vanished once more.

Lu Wen let out a furious roar, his rage reaching its peak. He stomped the ground with such force that cracks spread . His body tensed as he prepared to unleash his full power.

"YOU BASTARD! Do you think these petty tricks will help you win? Keep dreaming—"

5th SLAP!

The fourth slap was the hardest yet. But sheer force behind the fifth strike twisted Lu Wen's face to the side, sending several teeth flying from his mouth. A sharp metallic taste filled his mouth as he staggered once more, his vision momentarily darkening from the impact.

If not for his status as an Element Disciple realm cultivator, his head might have been sent spinning clean off his shoulders. It was only due to the inherent toughness of his body—far superior to ordinary cultivators—that he had managed to remain standing.

The students watching were completely speechless. Some looked at each other, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

"This… This doesn't make sense."

"Lu Wen is a whole two realms above Ye Xian. How is he getting slapped around like this?"

"Is Ye Xian cheating? There's no way he can move this fast without some kind of artifact, right?"

Lu Wen himself could hardly believe what was happening. Yet, despite his cultivation advantage, he had been struck five times. And all five times, he had failed to react.

Ye Xian, despite only being at the bottleneck of the second stage of the Ki Refining realm, had managed to overpower him. If it had been someone of equal cultivation level as Ye Xian, they wouldn't have even been able to make Lu Wen flinch—let alone knock out his teeth.

But Ye Xian was different.

His strength of the strikes had been temporarily enhanced by his Limit Release Technique, a powerful ability that pushed his physical capabilities beyond normal limits.

Furthermore, his unique cultivation method had refined his body to be far stronger than ordinary cultivators of the same rank. He was nothing like the weakling Lu Wen had assumed him to be.

He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his mind racing with desperation. This can't go on! He couldn't afford to lose like this—not in such a humiliating way.

Grinding his broken teeth, he cursed under his breath. "Damn you! You dare use such despicable tricks just to slap me?! Fight me properly, you coward!"

Wind whistled between the gaps of his broken teeth, the pain fueling his rage, causing his every word to grow louder.

.

Yet, deep down, he knew. This wasn't a trick. This wasn't an illusion.

From a distance, Ye Xian observed his opponent's growing fury, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Are you done throwing a tantrum, Lu Wen?" his voice echoed across the arena. "Or do you still have the energy to entertain me?"

Lu Wen's face contorted with fury, his breathing heavy, his pride in tatters.

But he wasn't going to let it end like this.

No—he would not lose like this!

Lu Wen let out a frustrated sigh and began forming a plan. If he couldn't track Ye Xian normally… then he would have to change the battlefield itself.

"Just you wait, Ye Xian…" he thought darkly. "I'll turn this around."

Lu Wen stopped speaking. He stood at a specific location, unmoving, his focus entirely on his spiritual perception.

Sixth slap!

Once again, his head snapped to the side, pain rattling his brain, but he forced himself to ignore it. He concentrated, honing his spiritual senses—and then he detected Ye Xian. The boy had already turned around, about to flee.

A malevolent grin stretched across Lu Wen's battered face, revealing broken, bloodied teeth. His eyes gleamed with cruelty. You think you can escape?

With a burst of speed, he lunged forward, his arm outstretched, fingers grasping for Ye Xian's collar. Just as his hand was about to close in—

Vanished.

The aura, the ki fluctuations, the entire presence of Ye Xian disappeared from Lu Wen's spiritual perception as if he had become a ghost.

Lu Wen's fingers closed around nothing but air. He swung his fist in frustration, attempting to hit something—anything—but there was no target.

Meanwhile, Ye Xian walked leisurely, now standing off to his right, calmly putting distance between them.

How?

How?! How did he erase his presence so easily from my spiritual perception?

Lu Wen's mind reeled. Is he using a technique to hide himself? But that's impossible! I'm two whole realms above him—he shouldn't be able to fool my senses!

Unless… he's using a high-level technique? No… that can't be! A mere trash like him could never obtain such a technique!

His mind raced for explanations. Then another terrifying realization struck him.