Ye Bufan looked at the curly-haired man, who trembled, his eyes filled with despair.
"I won't kill you," Ye Bufan said to the curly-haired man. "If the Zhuang family asks, tell them someone named Ye Bufan killed Zhuang Sijie. Of course, I hope you'll tell them exactly what happened today."
The curly-haired man endured the pain and nodded. Ye Bufan could easily kill a high-level martial artist like Zhuang Sijie, clearly possessing the strength of a Martial Venerable. The curly-haired man knew he couldn't possibly oppose Ye Bufan. If he angered a Martial Venerable, his family would likely be implicated.
Having dealt with Zhuang Sijie's men, Ye Bufan, Chu Mengyao, and Wang Xinyan continued towards the martial arts competition venue.
After about five minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the training grounds of the Tianxing Martial Hall.
At the main entrance of the Tianxing Martial Hall, a large banner was hung, proclaiming: Wishing the National Martial Arts Convention Complete Success.
"Ye Bufan!" As the three entered the gate, they heard a familiar voice. Turning around, they saw Wu Cheng, an elder of the Martial Alliance whom they had met at the auction.
"Elder Wu," Ye Bufan said, cupping his fists. Chu Mengyao and Wang Xinyan followed suit.
"No need, no need," Wu Cheng chuckled. "Who in Jinfang doesn't know your name, Ye Bufan? I heard that behind you and the Chu family, there's a Martial Venerable expert."
Hearing this, Ye Bufan smiled faintly and exchanged a look with Chu Mengyao. This was news spread by the Chu and Jin families together, primarily to conceal Ye Bufan's true strength. Ye Bufan looked no older than eighteen or nineteen, and even a Martial Venerable was no match for him. If this were to get out, it would shatter many people's worldview and might even trigger a chain reaction.
With both good and bad reactions possible, Ye Bufan preferred to avoid unnecessary trouble, hence the news Wu Cheng had heard.
As they spoke, Wu Cheng tried to sense Ye Bufan's strength with his perception, but he came up empty.
"You're here to watch the martial arts convention too, right? The competition is underway inside. You can go in and take a look," Wu Cheng said, pointing in a direction. "Just go around these buildings ahead, and you'll see the actual training grounds."
Ye Bufan nodded and led Chu Mengyao and Wang Xinyan inside.
"As an elder of the Martial Alliance, shouldn't he be inside watching the competition? Why is he at the entrance?" Chu Mengyao asked after they had walked a few steps.
"I know what this is about!" Wang Xinyan giggled. "My sixth sense tells me that Wu Cheng is waiting for someone, and that person is likely quite important."
"Oh?" Ye Bufan's interest was piqued by Wang Xinyan's words. Wang Xinyan's intuition was usually accurate, making Ye Bufan curious about who Wu Cheng was waiting for.
The three bypassed the buildings in front and finally saw the combat stages behind them.
Here, there were three large stages and six smaller ones.
The large stages were about two hundred square meters, while the smaller ones were over a hundred. The martial arts convention competitions were being held on the larger stages.
Below the stages, a dense crowd had gathered, forming an impenetrable wall of people. Martial artists could be seen competing from afar.
"Wow!" Wang Xinyan's eyes sparkled as she grabbed Chu Mengyao and pulled her along.
Ye Bufan followed behind. Wang Xinyan didn't forget to look back at Ye Bufan and ask, "Ye Bufan, are all the fighters on stage Martial Venerables? How many could you fight by yourself?"
"Xinyan!" Chu Mengyao shot Wang Xinyan a meaningful glance.
"Okay, okay!" Wang Xinyan covered her mouth and chuckled. "It's just that I don't know Ye Bufan's real strength yet."
Actually, Ye Bufan himself was also eager to know what level he could reach if he used his Broken Sword, his most powerful spells, and all his mental energy.
His battle against the Flame Horn Rhinoceros last time hadn't felt entirely satisfying, nor had it been a truly exhilarating fight.
"Martial Saint? Or Great Martial Saint? Or perhaps the legendary Martial God realm?" Ye Bufan pondered.
Based on the cultivation realms he currently understood, after Initial Martial Artist came Intermediate Martial Artist, Advanced Martial Artist, then the Martial Venerable realm. After Martial Venerable came Great Martial Venerable, Martial Saint, Great Martial Saint, and Martial God.
"What a coincidence," the three were chatting when Liu Ruoyan, holding Li Shun's hand, approached Ye Bufan.
Li Shun's hand was bandaged; the injuries Ye Bufan had inflicted last time had yet to heal.
Wang Xinyan looked at Liu Ruoyan and said, "I didn't expect that the persistent one would eventually win the beauty's heart."
Chu Mengyao chuckled at Wang Xinyan's words. Then Wang Xinyan continued, "It seems being rich is a great thing. If he wasn't rich, who would pay attention to him?"
"Wang Xinyan, what are you saying?" Liu Ruoyan's expression changed upon hearing Wang Xinyan's words, and she immediately began to act spoiled towards Li Shun.
"Darling~~~ Look at them! They're bullying me again," Liu Ruoyan pouted and acted coquettishly towards Li Shun.
Seeing this, Li Shun felt his heart melt. He quickly comforted her, "My dear, don't worry. While I may not be his match, my uncle and second uncle are not to be trifled with. Even if he's a Martial Venerable, he's no match for my uncle and second uncle."
Li Shun's family had sent several representatives to this martial arts convention, including Li Shun's paternal uncle and second uncle, as well as his paternal aunt.
As they were talking, a middle-aged man in a training uniform walked over.
"Second Uncle! It's him. He's the one who crippled my hand last time," Li Shun pointed at Ye Bufan and exclaimed.
The middle-aged man moved his feet, lightly stepping a few paces, and with a somersault in the air, he landed in front of Ye Bufan.
"Kid, you're the one who injured our Little Shun?" the middle-aged man said. "As a martial artist family, I shouldn't interfere in matters between you juniors. But Little Shun told me you have the strength of a Martial Venerable, which I found hard to believe. You're probably only twenty, right? A Martial Venerable this young is rare, with only Nangong Yi from the Martial Venerable Preliminary Ranking having such potential. But you could defeat Little Shun in one move, which piqued my interest. I want to see if you're a Martial..."
"If you want to protect your kin, just say so. No need to find so many excuses," Ye Bufan said with a faint smile.
The middle-aged man was taken aback and looked at Ye Bufan. "I never fight nameless juniors. State your name."
"My name is Ye Bufan. I also never fight nameless juniors. May I ask your name, uncle?" Ye Bufan retorted.
"Hmph! Young man, it's fine to be spirited, but being too arrogant is never a good thing, especially when facing your elders." The man's expression changed, and his impression of Ye Bufan took a downturn.