Chapter 105: Advancing to Level Ten

As the crowd buzzed with discussion, two young masters who had been in seclusion within the ancient city arrived together. If the Di and Zhou clans could be considered top-tier families, then the Zhou and Qin clans stood at the pinnacle. Of course, the human race had other peak families, but their younger generations were either not yet eligible for the trial or had long since surpassed the strength requirements, making it impossible for them to participate—much like Di Xi’s older brother, Di Dong, who was already at the middle stage of the Extraordinary Realm.

"Young Master Zhou, Young Master Qin." People from every faction stepped forward to greet them. This was the power of status; even if you were rivals, you had to show outward respect to their standing.

"He is the one who made a spectacle of himself the other day, isn't he?" Zhou Wen asked, looking at Ma Yi, who was battling below the city walls.

"Yes. Brother Ma may seem clumsy, but his strength is truly formidable. Although he is only at the peak of the ninth level, it appears he has already surpassed most of us," Huang Du replied with a smile.

"As it happens, I have recently made a breakthrough. Would you like to go down and test him, Brother Qin?" Zhou Wen asked, glancing at Qin Tian not far away.

"Coincidentally, I have also made progress. Why not go down and test him?" Qin Tian looked at Zhou Wen, a smirk playing on his lips, before stepping onto the parapet and leaping down toward the battlefield.

Seeing Qin Tian make his move, Zhou Wen didn't hesitate and jumped down after him.

"What a pity. I have the strength of the peak tenth level, yet I dare not even descend this wall. So be it—how can one achieve greater results without risking one's life? Little brother, stay on the wall; I am going down too." Huang Du mocked himself under his breath, then gritted his teeth and followed the others, jumping down.

"They are all at the peak of the tenth level. If even Young Master Huang doesn't care about the danger, what are we? How can one see the rainbow without enduring the wind and rain? Brothers, let's go!" Someone shouted, and suddenly, more than twenty men and women leaped from the walls.

"A bunch of fools," Di Xi muttered to himself on the ancient city wall, watching them jump down with a twitch of his lip.

Gradually, over a hundred more people descended. Aside from Di Xi and his subordinates, those remaining on the wall were at most at the peak of the ninth level—and while they shared that rank, they were far inferior to Ma Yi.

Those who had expected the battle to be difficult realized after jumping down that these monsters were not so terrifying if one summoned the courage. Furthermore, to look out for one another, all defenses between them vanished; they were comrades, and their reliance on each other made their cooperation seamless.

Most importantly, at the vanguard of this elite group, Ma Yi fought relentlessly amidst the swarm of monsters. He was just a hair's breadth away from truly reaching the tenth level, so he pushed his potential to the absolute limit.

A deafening "boom" echoed across the battlefield. A significantly larger monster appeared, its twin scythe-like arms clashing against Ma Yi’s fists, creating visible ripples of protective aura at the point of impact.

"Clang!" Ma Yi was knocked back over ten meters. Though uninjured, he looked quite disheveled.

"Interesting." Ignoring the monster he had knocked over, Ma Yi scrambled up, kicked off the ground, and lunged forward, slamming into the giant monster’s midsection and sending it flying back ten meters as well.

***

"A peak tenth-level existence." The fighters behind heard the commotion and looked up. To their shock, they saw one of the few peak tenth-level monsters—the leaders of the horde. Only three such monsters had been discovered so far, and judging by the patterns on its body, this one was clearly the strongest.

Ma Yi felt that while he was constantly improving, this giant monster seemed to be getting stronger as well. Its aura remained the same, but its combat techniques were evolving.

"Treating me as a whetstone? We'll see who is training whom." A cold smile touched Ma Yi’s lips. His body began to shift; suddenly, a ten-meter-tall behemoth, jet-black and sporting massive horns, appeared before everyone. White electric arcs crackled over its dark skin, and a faint black mist emanated from its form.

"A Demon Corpse!" Zhou Wen and Qin Tian exclaimed in unison. As members of powerful clans, they were privy to certain secrets.

"Young Master Huang, what is a Demon Corpse?" someone asked, having just slain a monster nearby.

Huang Du’s eyes were filled with shock, and he finally understood why this Brother Ma was so ferocious.

"Demon Corpses are those things from the Forbidden Lands," Huang Du replied, watching Ma Yi. Within their clans, legends of their ferocity, cruelty, and tireless nature had been passed down for generations, though few in their generation had actually seen one.

While the appearance of the Demon Corpse shocked the crowd, the monster’s reaction was even more astonishing. It, too, began to grow in size. Despite being at the peak of the tenth level, its aura continued to climb without an actual breakthrough.

"How is this possible? The monster knows secret arts!" Zhou Wen watched in disbelief. Even at the peak of the tenth level, he suspected this monster could now challenge even those at the early stages of the Extraordinary Realm.

"Fight!" Ma Yi roared, charging ahead to engage the giant monster in hand-to-hand combat.

Sensing that these two were not to be trifled with, the surrounding monsters cleared a hundred-meter space, leaving the two powerhouses to battle in the center.

Without Ma Yi to contain the bulk of the horde, those who had left the city felt the pressure mount. Fortunately, after some time working together, they had grown more tacit, forming circles back-to-back to hold off their opponents.

For the first time, the fully transformed Ma Yi found himself at a disadvantage. The monster’s sharp scythes could easily cut him even after his transformation. Although his regenerative abilities were strong, the speed of their exchange left him with new wounds before the old ones could heal.

In the end, only the two combatants could be seen within that hundred-meter radius, constantly colliding, attacking, and spraying blood—it was a fight to the death.

"I can't just watch anymore. Men of the Huang clan, follow me!" Seeing his brother injured and narrowly escaping death multiple times, Huang Fei could no longer sit idly by. He gave the order and charged down, followed by dozens more from the walls.

***

"Let’s go. We cannot let the Young Master fight alone." Encouraged by Huang Fei, many servants from the walls followed suit, joining the fray. Soon, only Di Xi and his party remained on the walls.

"Young Master, we..." A Di clan servant looked down at the battlefield, then back at Di Xi, hesitant to speak.

"They are all idiots, every single one of them! If they want to throw their lives away, I won't stop them. Do you want to go die too?" Di Xi snapped, his face dark with malice.

"Understood, young master," the servant lowered his head. These servants had served the Di family for generations; compared to ordinary people, they were treated well, and their loyalty was absolute. Even if they knew their young master was likely wrong, they understood from the day they became servants that they must follow his orders regardless.

Ma Yi was knocked back again. He crouched on the ground, motionless as a statue. The giant monster, sensing something strange about Ma Yi, did not dare to advance recklessly.

Rings of black mist radiated from Ma Yi’s body. His skin tone began to lighten, and the horns on his head grew longer and thicker. Hot air hissed from his nostrils with every breath, and his mouth hung slightly open, black mist swirling upward from it. His muscles twitched, seemingly full of vitality.

Ma Yi was breaking through. He had temporarily abandoned all resistance, leaving his body to take its own course. He had struggled to suppress his power, but he could hold it back no longer. His body grew stronger, and the wounds he had sustained earlier healed in the blink of an eye.

The monster, sensing a change in Ma Yi’s aura, realized his opponent was breaking through. It wouldn't let him succeed; it rushed forward, its scythes turning into blurs as it aimed for Ma Yi’s neck. However, a grey-black hand caught the blades, preventing the monster’s arms from moving an inch.

Early tenth level. Ma Yi exhaled a heavy cloud of black mist and slowly stood up. He gripped the scythes with his left hand, and his right hand transformed into a blade. With a crisp sound, he severed the monster’s arms.

Although Ma Yi’s transformation hadn't taken long, most had noticed it—after all, a ten-meter-tall figure was hard to miss. Huang Du, who had been worried, saw this and realized Ma Yi was breaking through. He had been organizing his men to support him, but when the giant monster moved, their hearts had nearly stopped; if Ma Yi lost, they stood no chance against such a monster.

When they saw Ma Yi sever the monster’s arms, human morale soared, and cheers erupted across the battlefield.

Now at the early tenth level, Ma Yi completely overwhelmed the giant monster. Every punch left a dent in its armored hide. The already battered monster became even more wretched, while Ma Yi, having broken through and fully recovered, fought with the vigor of a man at his absolute peak, showing no signs of the instability typical of a fresh breakthrough.