The Earth Realm Grandmaster whose fist struck Chen Jiuyang was none other than Lie Bahan.
Upon learning that Chen Jiuyang had emerged unscathed and secured the top spot in the Heavenly Gang competition, Lie Bahan immediately realized he had been toyed with by Chen Jiuyang during their spar half a month prior.
Fueled by rage, he unleashed a punch at Chen Jiuyang the moment the match began!
"Hmph!"
Seeing Chen Jiuyang vanish without a trace, Lie Bahan snorted and turned to his bamboo slip to complete his task.
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
Thousands of drones hovered above the Han Clan's forbidden grounds, providing a tracked viewpoint for the Han Clan and everyone present.
This allowed for real-time monitoring of the selection competition's progress and also served as entertainment for some demonic path magnates who were placing bets.
The Patriarch of the Chen Family from Shu Mountain sat alongside other demonic path magnates, beside Elder Han. They were all seated in the grand hall atop the mountain peak, which housed thirty-six massive screens displaying the thirty-six points of the Han Clan's Dao Companion missions.
The Heavenly Charm Physique had a backlash effect, hence the Han Clan permitted Xuan Realm martial artists to participate. Should a Xuan Realm martial artist manage to secure the Dao Companion position, their fortune and strength would be undeniable, and they would have a greater chance of enduring the backlash of the Heavenly Charm Physique.
"Esteemed Holy Friends, who do you believe will secure the Dao Companion position this time?"
These influential figures had been observing the matches of the Earth Realm Grandmasters for days and were well-acquainted with the strength of the seventy-two Earth Realm Grandmasters.
Lie Zhuanzun stated, "Naturally, my son Lie Bahan will take the Dao Companion position. My Lie Clan shall rekindle our ties with the Han Clan, creating a beautiful legend for our Holy Path."
"Patriarch Lie, your words are excessive. Your son Lie Bahan is merely at the first layer of the Earth Realm, having only recently broken through. His ability to secure a spot among the seventy-two Earth Fiends is merely due to the might of your Lie Clan's divine weapons."
"Indeed," the Patriarch of the Chen Family chimed in. "Once the young master of my Shu Mountain Chen Family breaks through to the Earth Realm, your son might very well fall by my Chen Family's young master's hand. Patriarch Lie, do not be so overconfident."
Lie Zhuanzun and the Patriarch of the Chen Family exchanged glances, killing intent flickering in their eyes.
Lie Zhuanzun sneered, "Your Chen Family's young master was struck by my son with a single punch and his fate is unknown. Patriarch Chen, these words are rather presumptuous."
The elder from the Martial Ranking spoke, "Within the Han Clan's forbidden grounds, my Martial Ranking does not interfere with any clashes. However, once Chen Jiuyang exits the Han Clan's forbidden grounds, if anyone were to kill him across realms, it would be considered an act of defiance against the Dragon Country Martial Ranking. I urge everyone to restrain their intentions."
"Hmph!" Lie Zhuanzun snorted coldly.
The Patriarch of the Chen Family ceased speaking, picking up his teacup and quietly sipping his tea.
Since Lie Bahhan had not managed to kill Chen Jiuyang completely and had not found his corpse, Chen Jiuyang was likely unharmed and recuperating somewhere.
Within the Han Clan's forbidden grounds.
There were few poisonous insects, but an abundance of wild animals.
Towering trees stood everywhere, making it easy to get lost.
"Bang!"
Chen Jiuyang coughed up blood. He raised a hand, and a silver needle shot out, killing a python ten meters long that stood before him. He then occupied the python's den and began consuming pills to heal.
"Lie Bahhan, wait until I break through to the Earth Realm, and you will be the first one I kill!" Killing intent flashed in Chen Jiuyang's eyes. He had already planted a hidden mark on Lie Bahhan, ensuring his gruesome death in half a month. However, Chen Jiuyang could not wait that long!
Once he broke through to the Earth Realm, he would kill him within the Han Clan's forbidden grounds.
Sticking the Han Ling Sword at the entrance of the python's cave, Chen Jiuyang began to heal with peace of mind, then started cultivating the Emperor Yu Divine Body Art.
Four hours later, Chen Jiuyang emerged from the cave and opened the bamboo slip and the beast hide given by Elder Han.
"Tomorrow, my Three Revolutions Pure Yang will reach great completion. But for now, I should go and acquire some precious materials to complete the mission. Otherwise, falling behind in progress will lead to elimination, and the significance of advancing to the Earth Realm will be greatly diminished."
With the beast hide in hand, Chen Jiuyang unleashed his divine soul, no longer fearing getting lost in the Han Clan's forbidden grounds. Holding the Han Ling Sword, he headed towards the first mission destination indicated on the bamboo slip.
On the mountain peak outside the forbidden grounds, a drone captured Chen Jiuyang's figure.
This brought a sigh of relief to the Patriarch of the Chen Family; he was indeed unharmed.
Following the instructions on the bamboo slip, Chen Jiuyang arrived at a river with a bridge. The massive stone bridge was lined with numerous wooden puppets, and terrifying unknown creatures lurked in the river.
To pass this stage, one had to defeat a wooden puppet to cross the stone bridge to the next stage. A Earth Realm martial artist attempted to fly across the stone bridge using his qi, but his true qi inexplicably dissipated mid-air, causing him to fall into the river. Immediately, terrifying creatures began to devour the Earth Realm Grandmaster.
"Ah!"
The Earth Realm Grandmaster cried out in agony, ultimately suffering a broken leg. He desperately crawled out of the river, managing to save his life.
"This river is peculiar. I must follow the bamboo slip to complete the task."
Chen Jiuyang looked up and saw a drone hovering above the river.
There were a total of thirty-six stages, and each martial artist needed to complete nine of them to pass the forbidden grounds competition.
At this stone bridge puppet stage, over a dozen people had gathered, all having received this mission and needing to pass this stage.
A peak Xuan Realm martial artist, wielding a large saber, stepped onto the stone bridge. The wooden puppets remained unresponsive. As the Xuan Realm martial artist swung his saber at one of the puppets, that puppet reacted first, moving its arm and appearing before the martial artist, then punching him.
"Bang—"
The Xuan Realm martial artist's chest caved in. He was sent flying off the stone bridge by the puppet's single move, landing on the ground, spitting blood, and his fate unknown…
"This wooden puppet has such immense strength!" a Xuan Realm Grandmaster's face changed drastically, and he said in a deep voice, "This river is peculiar. This stone bridge was not placed here without reason."
"No matter how strong this wooden puppet is, with our peak Xuan Realm strength, we should be able to erect a qi shield to resist it. However, this martial artist did not even have the chance to erect a qi shield."
"There must be some formation within this river that can absorb and suppress the martial artist's true qi, weakening our strength."
"Esteemed Holy Friends, it seems we should band together to overcome this stage."
With that, several people nodded, then banded together and charged collectively at a wooden puppet. It seemed to have some effect, as the puppet was injured, but soon all of them were forced back from the stone bridge.
"As expected, our true qi is being absorbed. If we attack together once more, we should be able to break through this wooden puppet."
Several people rested for a while, preparing to charge again.
However, Chen Jiuyang had observed enough. He drew the Han Ling Sword and moved closer.
The Xuan Realm martial artist roared, "Scram! This wooden puppet is our prey!"
The remaining few also glared at him.
Chen Jiuyang wasted no words. Standing outside the bridge, he unleashed a sword strike.
Cold light flashed!!
The sword energy was terrifying!
Chen Jiuyang directly cleaved the martial artist who had spoken, who died with a look of astonishment. This sword strike was not yet finished.
"Boom!"
The wounded wooden puppet on the bridge was also cleaved apart!