"Boom."
With another solid punch, both retreated. Ye Fan frowned, his vital energy surging into his right arm, mending the meridians severely injured by Long Tian.
Long Tian, on the other hand, stumbled back over ten steps, panting heavily.
Such relentless offense consumed tremendous stamina. Even for him, he could feel his breath catching.
At this moment, those blood-red eyes fixed on Ye Fan, his brows furrowed tightly.
Long Tian was inwardly shocked. Who exactly was this young man before him?
His martial arts were so formidable?
He knew that in his usual encounters, under such a furious assault, no one could withstand it.
Yet, before this young man, it was effortlessly neutralized.
Furthermore, the opponent wasn't even breathing heavily.
This meant his strength was far superior to his own.
The blood within his body suddenly boiled.
Those blood-red eyes became even more captivating, and even his pupils turned crimson.
"Second Transformation of the异瞳?"
Seeing Long Tian's current state, Ye Fan exclaimed in surprise.
异瞳 users, in their initial stage, only had blood-red whites in their eyes. But upon reaching the second transformation, their pupils would also turn blood-red, and their strength would further increase.
Ye Fan hadn't expected Long Tian to have already reached the second transformation.
"Fight again."
A terrifying killing intent erupted from Long Tian, chilling the very air.
Mr. Hei, seated below, couldn't help but sneer as he witnessed this.
"Quite interesting."
He uttered this remark before closing his eyes again.
Clearly, Long Tian was still not taken seriously by her.
Even with his second transformation, in front of Mr. Hei, he was still no match.
The others seemed to have their very breath held, watching Long Tian and Ye Fan nervously.
"Who exactly is this Long Tian? How can he be so terrifying?"
Jiang Zhong frowned, his expression grim.
Mr. Fu also swallowed hard. "Too bizarre, too terrifying."
The shock displayed by these two prominent figures in the antique circle of Jiangnan City was a testament to how great Long Tian's impact was.
Even Old Lei and the Grand Elder were frowning, their gazes fixed on Long Tian.
No one had anticipated that such a dark horse as Long Tian would appear in this selection.
Initially, they thought Ye Fan would win with ease. But first, Mr. Hei appeared, and before even facing her, an unexpected contender, Long Tian, had stepped forward.
What puzzled them most was where this Long Tian had emerged from.
They had never seen this person before.
Ye Fan moved swiftly. Facing Long Tian, who had reached the second transformation, even Ye Fan dared not be careless.
Whoosh~
The wind of a punch grazed Ye Fan's ear, causing a stinging pain.
But now, there was no time to dwell on it. Ye Fan, with a backhand, struck downwards with his palm, aiming for Long Tian's head.
However, Long Tian was prepared. He turned his head aside, twisting his body, and swept his right leg.
*Pa~*
Ye Fan raised his leg to block simultaneously. Their legs collided.
Ye Fan's eyes blazed with anger. Disregarding the sharp pain in his leg, he used Long Tian's right leg as a pivot. His left leg exerted force, and his body suddenly leaped into the air. At the same time, his left leg chopped down towards Long Tian's shoulder.
This move astonished Long Tian. He hadn't expected Ye Fan's skill to be so remarkable, nor had he anticipated such explosive power.
Caught off guard and unable to dodge in time, he was struck fiercely on the shoulder by Ye Fan.
*Plop~*
Long Tian knelt on the ground on one knee, staring coldly at Ye Fan.
Ye Fan retreated a couple of steps, a smile playing on his lips.
"As expected of an 异瞳 user, your physical conditioning is truly terrifying. But if this is your limit, you are no match for me."
Ye Fan spoke calmly. This was not a taunt, nor arrogance, but a statement of fact.
Hearing Ye Fan's words, Long Tian's expression grew even colder. He slowly got up, a sharp pain radiating from his left knee.
Under Ye Fan's formidable attack just now, his body couldn't bear it. If Ye Fan hadn't held back at the last moment, that leg of his would likely have been crippled.
No one had expected Ye Fan's strength to be so terrifying.
Jiang Zhong and Mr. Fu simultaneously gasped.
This was the first time they had witnessed Ye Fan's fearsome combat prowess, and their shock was beyond words.
Mr. Hei also frowned, looking at Ye Fan.
If judged purely by external martial arts, Ye Fan could certainly be considered a master.
It was a pity that he had no vital energy within him. Otherwise, if he were to fight him, he might have to expend considerable effort, Mr. Hei mused inwardly.
Upon hearing Ye Fan's words, Long Tian's body trembled violently. He stomped his legs on the ground, and his body shot forward.
"This move will decide the victor."
Seeing Long Tian charge forward frantically, Ye Fan said coldly.
Immediately, the vital energy in his Dantian surged, rapidly condensing onto his right fist.
"Kill."
With an earth-shattering roar from Ye Fan, his right fist was unleashed.
If Long Tian's fist earlier had seemed to tear through the void, then Ye Fan's punch now emitted a sound of friction with the air.
The ear-piercing sound caused the onlookers below to cover their ears, their faces contorted in pain.
Long Tian, on the other hand, had gathered all his strength, betting everything on this one punch.
Already imbued with his full power, combined with the momentum of his forward charge, this punch was terrifying.
Mr. Hei abruptly stood up. The moment Ye Fan unleashed that punch, Mr. Hei keenly sensed a trace of vital energy.
"This, how is this possible?"
Mr. Hei muttered in astonishment.
Mr. Bai had clearly told him that Ye Fan was merely an external martial arts master, who had absolutely not cultivated vital energy.
So, where did this trace of vital energy come from?
*Rumble~*
While everyone was lost in their thoughts, Ye Fan and Long Tian's fists finally collided in mid-air.
Like Mars hitting Earth, Ye Fan remained unmoved, his expression unchanged.
In contrast, Long Tian let out a muffled groan before his body, like a kite with a broken string, flew backward.
*Boom~*
He flew a good three to four meters before crashing heavily to the ground.
"Gasp."
He spat out a mouthful of blood. Long Tian's blood-red eyes had returned to normal, but his complexion was extremely pale.
Clearly, he had sustained severe injuries from that punch.
Ye Fan slowly retracted his fist and walked to Long Tian, looking down at him coldly.
"I already said, you are no match for me. Surrender now to avoid unnecessary suffering. I know you might have unavoidable reasons for participating in this selection. After this, you can find me at Xiao Ran Pavilion. If there's anything I can help with, Ye Fan will not refuse."
Ye Fan spoke sincerely.
Long Tian, at this point, had lost all ability to fight. Seeing Ye Fan's sincere expression, he nodded with difficulty, then closed his eyes slightly, remaining still.