Chapter Twenty-Five: A Sensational Debut

“Stop!”
At this moment, the Grand Chief, Yi Ke, spoke up. “The two of you are evenly matched. Both of you advance to the top five!”

Yi Kuang and Yi Feng’s chase had reached a stalemate, with neither able to secure victory. Yi Ke intervened and put an end to their duel.
This outcome surprised everyone.
Who would have thought that the obscure youth Yi Feng would be almost equal in strength to Yi Kuang, the grandson of the chieftain? It was astonishing, for Yi Kuang was considered a leading figure of his generation, already at the mid-fifth rank. In a few years, he might become one of the tribe’s warriors and even a squad captain.

Next, Yi Shan challenged Yi Hong.
This battle also sent shockwaves through the tribe. Yi Shan fought fiercely with Yi Hong on the arena for a long time, only to be knocked off the platform at the last moment.
Even so, Yi Shan’s strength left the tribal elders and many warriors amazed.
There was little difference between him and Yi Hong.
Of course, had Yi Shan used the Feather Flight Technique, Yi Hong would not have been able to defeat him; he would have had the power to defend himself. However, Yi Shan chose not to use that technique, giving his all in battle.

Nearby, as their families watched Yi Feng and Yi Shan display their might, Su Yue'e, Yi Xiaoting, and others were overjoyed.
Then, Yi Li entered the arena and challenged Yi Kuang.
Once again, the entire tribe was shaken—especially the chieftain, the elders, the Grand Chief, and the deputy chiefs. The repeated emergence of youths like Yi Feng, who could battle evenly with Yi Kuang and Yi Hong, was completely unexpected. How had their cultivation advanced so rapidly?
Among this batch of youths, apart from Yi Kuang and Yi Hong who had reached the fifth rank, most were only at the third or even second rank, with only one or two barely breaking through to the fourth.
Even those few fourth-rank youths had relied on considerable resources to reach that level.

In the end, relying on abundant battle experience, Yi Li managed to fight Yi Kuang, who was a rank higher, to a draw.
Yi Kuang was left seething with frustration.
The tournament had reached its final stage. Yi Kuang, Yi Hong, Yi Feng, and Yi Li all possessed strength akin to the fifth rank, able to dominate their generation without suspense.
Yi Shan, though narrowly defeated by Yi Hong, was little weaker. The five of them were sure to claim the top five spots.

Just as everyone believed the top five were decided, Yi Tian stepped forward and addressed the Grand Chief Yi Ke: “May I challenge all five of them at once?”
Yi Ke was momentarily taken aback.
The tribal leaders and all those gathered at the plaza erupted in uproar.
This young man was beyond arrogant, daring to challenge the five strongest of his generation at once! Even the tribe’s seasoned warriors could hardly believe it.
After all, even they would find it difficult to defeat any one of Yi Kuang and the others, and many did not possess that strength themselves. These five were among the tribe’s top one hundred fighters.
Now, Yi Tian wished to face them all alone—an unthinkable feat achievable only by a sixth-rank powerhouse.

Yi Ke quickly regained his composure, regarding Yi Tian with curiosity. He nodded. “Very well.”
“How arrogant! Who do you think you are? I could defeat you with one hand!”
At this, Yi Kuang, finally reacting, could no longer contain his fury.
He had already suffered repeated setbacks against opponents he could not overcome. Now, with Yi Tian stepping forward, his patience snapped.

Yi Tian stepped onto the platform, and a wondrous scene unfolded.
He seemed to drift onto the stage like a stray feather, moving both slowly and swiftly; the several-yard distance covered in a single, ghostly stride.
The entire audience was stunned, and a hush fell over the ancestral hall.
The old chieftain, the elders, and the Grand Chief’s eyes narrowed—this lightness technique was extraordinary, far surpassing even their own abilities.
Yi Kuang, Yi Hong, and the others were also shocked by Yi Tian’s display.
Yi Kuang, arrogant and brazen as he was, was not a fool; he immediately perceived Yi Tian’s exceptional nature.

“Tian, go easy on us!”
At this, Yi Feng had the nerve to call out to Yi Tian.
Yi Li, Yi Shan, and the rest quickly distanced themselves from Yi Feng, who seemed intent on conceding even before the match began.
Yi Shan and Yi Li were eager for this fight; they had rarely, if ever, sparred with Yi Tian and had little idea of his true strength. They hoped to test him in this battle and would hold nothing back.

As Yi Ke announced the start of the match, Yi Kuang was the first to launch his attack at Yi Tian.
Yi Hong, Yi Li, and Yi Shan charged in as well, united in a show of overwhelming force; even a sixth-rank fighter would be forced to retreat in the face of such an onslaught.

At that moment, Yi Tian moved.
With a thunderous boom, Yi Tian struck at Yi Kuang. Their first clash was decisive—Yi Tian’s fist, blazing with pure yang energy like a miniature sun, shattered the energy protecting Yi Kuang’s fist.
In an instant, Yi Kuang was sent flying, crashing to the stage, his body charred black.

Meanwhile, the attacks of Yi Hong, Yi Li, and Yi Shan reached him.
But Yi Tian instantly sidestepped, appearing elsewhere in a flash.
With another resounding blow, Yi Tian appeared behind Yi Shan and struck.
Yi Shan tried to protect his back with energy, but it was as if he was struck by a mountain and sent flying.
Then, Yi Li, Yi Hong, and Yi Feng were all defeated in turn, each felled by a single punch from Yi Tian. The entire ordeal lasted less than twenty heartbeats, his overwhelming strength crushing all five.
The plaza was dead silent.
All were shaken by Yi Tian’s might.

In the ancestral hall, the tribal leaders were dumbfounded by Yi Tian’s display.
They could tell that his true strength went beyond what was shown.
He must have reached the level of a high-rank warrior, or else he could not have so easily dispatched five fighters of fifth-rank power.

The competition ended swiftly.
After deliberation, the top five were named as Yi Hong, Yi Kuang, Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and Yi Li. As for Yi Tian, his strength was without peer, the gap insurmountable; he was named the champion of his generation.

In the archery portion, Yi Tian, having reached the ninth level of the Surging Wave Technique, claimed the uncontested first place, utterly eclipsing the others.
Yi Hong, Yi Kuang, and Yi Feng had only reached the fifth or sixth level.
Thus, the coming-of-age ceremony finally concluded.

When the crowds dispersed, Yi Tian, Yi Kuang, Yi Hong, Yi Shan, Yi Feng, and Yi Li remained, entering the ancestral hall.
Inside, the old chieftain, the elders, the Grand Chief, and the deputy chiefs awaited them.

“Yi Tian, how have you advanced so quickly in your cultivation?”
No sooner had they seen him than the old chieftain could not help but ask.
“Honored Chieftain, I possess a natural intuition. While cultivating the Fiery Sun Art, I always sensed a certain discomfort, as if something was lacking. So I kept adjusting the movements of the technique, and my cultivation speed increased severalfold. In just a few years, I advanced to the sixth rank.”
Yi Tian presented his cultivation as having advanced only one rank, to avoid arousing too much suspicion.
His true energy reserves were indeed those of the sixth rank, with no obvious difference.

“What?”
Everyone present was astounded.
Even the old chieftain and the most imperturbable elders were shaken by Yi Tian’s words.
He had dared to modify a cultivation technique—a reckless act of audacity.
Only true martial masters, deeply versed in the way, could create or improve techniques. For others, altering them was a sure path to ruin and madness, often ending in a tragic death.
To them, only those who could walk on air—those of the Human Grade—were regarded as true experts.
Below the Human Grade, one was but an initiate on the martial path.