On the battlefield beside the East Camp, Duan Xiuchen looked up at the sky, his expression helpless.

The tide has turned!

How did things slowly develop to this point?

Before the Martial Arts Meet, both the South and West troops only regarded each other as opponents, and neither paid any attention to the East, especially after confirming the East's frail lineup, both sides of cultivators thought that this time the East was just here for a bit of fun again.

But it was this seemingly frail East that couldn't withstand a blow that, surprisingly, left the combined forces of the South and West unable to contend, leaving them completely frustrated.

Ultimately, it was simply underestimating the enemy too much.

If the two troops had allied from the beginning and fully suppressed the East, then the East would have had no chance of achieving such results.

Of course, the enemy was also too cunning, initially showing no sign of their strength, only to unleash various methods mid-battle, leaving others overwhelmed.

Now, he was left alone here, while eight of the nine from the East, although appearing to be spent forces, still held a tremendous advantage in geography, plus there was Lu Ye, who seemed even stronger than himself...

Duan Xiuchen knew he was powerless to turn the tide.

Yet, he was somewhat unwilling!

Lu Ye stepped forward, signaling with his saber: "Come!"

Duan Xiuchen's gaze lowered, meeting Lu Ye's eyes, understanding his intent; this was to have one final battle with him!

Refocusing his mind, his expression turned solemn, and his entire spirit force surged rapidly, his battle intent soaring to the heavens in an instant!

"Kill!"

A chilly word slipped from his lips, and although he was alone, he was as fierce as a thousand troops, his figure turned into a streak of light, charging toward Lu Ye.

At the same time, Lu Ye also advanced with his saber, while the eight behind him remained motionless, just watching quietly.

The two figures rapidly approached each other, their spirit light dazzlingly bright in an instant, colliding in a flash.

In a momentary stasis, their spirit forces entangled, and a meteorite passing nearby was directly reduced to dust.

Hai Tang and the others strained their ocular power, focusing intently. Through the veiling spirit light, they clearly saw Duan Xiuchen's fist blocking Lu Ye's saber strike.

The full-force explosion of a Constellation Late Stage cultivator not only imbued his fist with violent destruction but also solid spirit force protection.

The Boulder Mountain Saber couldn't cut through immediately!

The two were at a standstill, both fiercely channeling spirit force, bodies leaning forward, eyes locked, almost forming a face-to-face clash, just for that final struggle!

Three breaths later, the standoff broke.

Hai Tang and the others clearly saw Lu Ye's saber pressure forward slightly; although Duan Xiuchen's body did not retreat, the spirit force protection on his fist was shattered.

This undoubtedly meant that in such a direct confrontation, Duan Xiuchen had fallen behind.

It wasn't because Lu Ye had a weapon while Duan Xiuchen did not. Even if Duan Xiuchen were only at the True Lake or Divine Sea stage, his choice of combat style was his forte; he lacked a weapon, but his fists were the perfect weapon for him. Forcing him to use some other weapon would likely hinder his ability.

Duan Xiuchen's expression remained calm, even though he indeed fell behind, without a hint of change in his demeanor.

The saber continued to press down, thoroughly breaking the spirit force protection, cutting into Duan Xiuchen's flesh, blood splattering. With the opponent's spirit force no longer a barrier, the downward speed suddenly increased, and as the astonishing saber light flashed, it already sliced through half of Duan Xiuchen's arm along with half his body!

At that moment, Duan Xiuchen's other fist surged forward, hitting Lu Ye's face.

Lightly and without strength, like a breeze brushing past, Lu Ye's form didn't even sway.

After channeling all his power into that fierce punch, he had no energy left...

Before fading away, Duan Xiuchen, always calm, grinned at Lu Ye, as if taking satisfaction from landing that last punch.

Behind Lu Ye, Hai Tang and others watched quietly, neither cheering nor leaping in joy, each with complex expressions.

Lu Ye leading the East to win this Martial Arts Meet and seize first place was a cause for celebration, but as a member of the human race, facing a Dwarf Race Constellation Late Stage directly with only a Constellation Early Stage level, it couldn't truly bring joy.

Of course, such a confrontation couldn't truly reflect a cultivator's essence.

Because everyone saw that in this final collision, both Lu Ye and Duan Xiuchen had abandoned self-protection, channeling all their strength into that fierce strike, meaning inevitably one would fall in battle.

Real combat wouldn't be so straightforward, both sides would exhaust all manner of techniques, slowly seizing advantage and converting it into a winning or killing blow!

But this fact still couldn't erase that a Constellation Late Stage Dwarf Race was defeated in such a direct clash by a Constellation Early Stage human race.

This left the people from the East with mixed feelings.

Is it that the Dwarf Race is too weak, or is Lu Ye too strong?

If it's the latter, it doesn't matter. Since ancient times, the human race has been full of remarkable talents, always having some new stars of the era, radiating brilliance so dazzling that other races cannot directly look upon them.

But if it's the former... then all of them need to reflect a bit.

In the Bizarre Fog space, when the red dot representing Duan Xiuchen extinguished, the three Sun Blaze troops, including even the East, sighed slightly.

This was not what they hoped to see. Hai Tang and others could think of some things, so how could these Sun Blaze not think of it?

After a moment of silence, the eldest Sun Blaze from the West spoke: "It seems necessary to let the youngsters go out more and hone themselves. Let's find an opportunity for everyone to sit down and discuss this together and come up with a plan."

In fact, this wasn't the first time the Sun Blaze realized the issues with the Dwarf Race. However, the situation was a bit special; because they moved with the floating Mount Fangcun, they couldn't stray too far from their main base, leading to insufficient experience, unlike cultivators from other domains, who could roam around, and return home if they missed it.

But even after realizing it, it was hard to make improvements, and the Sun Blaze couldn't decide to take action on this issue.

This Martial Arts Meet exposed many problems, especially the last duel between Lu Ye and Duan Xiuchen, making the Sun Blaze realize that if things went on like this, the vast stellar space would probably no longer have a place for the Dwarf Race.

A Constellation Late Stage was killed by a Constellation Early Stage... truly humiliating.

"Agreed!" Second Zhu from the South nodded in agreement.

The East naturally had no objections either.

"Then it's settled." The Sun Blaze from the West flickered and disappeared, and the other Sun Blazes from the South and West had no intention of staying and left one after another.

Chen Xuanhai and others were the last to leave, reappearing by the Black Abyss. Chen Xuanhai and Woo Qimo exchanged a glance and suddenly saluted Su Yuqing.

Su Yuqing was bewildered: "What are the two of you doing?"

Chen Xuanhai said, "In any case, we must thank Fellow Daoist Su for bringing strong reinforcements for our troop, which allowed us to win first place in the Martial Arts Meet. Ahem... The contributions of Fellow Daoist will not be forgotten by our troop!"

Woo Qimo also nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, our troop's victory this time is all thanks to Fellow Daoist Su. Brother Chen and I will remember this in our hearts!"

It would be best if you just forgot!

Su Yuqing glared at them angrily, turned her head, and didn't bother speaking to them further.

As the fog in the Black Abyss churned, figures emerged, precisely the nine participants from the East, with Hai Tang at the forefront and Lu Ye and others following closely behind.

Seeing Chen Xuanhai and the three still waiting there, Hai Tang quickly stepped forward with a respectful salute: "The disciples have not shamed the mission!"

Chen Xuanhai showed a slight smile: "You've all done very well, better than we expected." As he spoke, he glanced at Lu Ye, his eyes full of appreciation.

Having watched the entire Martial Arts Meet, he naturally knew who the major contributor was this time, but there was no need for further comment at this moment.

Initially, from his standpoint, Lu Ye was just a junior, but because of Su Yuqing, he couldn't consider him merely as a junior now. However, he had to admit that Su Yuqing's eye for people was indeed sharp, something he acknowledged he fell short in.

"You all have worked hard this time at the Martial Arts Meet; go and rest up. Although we won first place, do not let this make you arrogant or complacent!"

Everyone acknowledged, there was no room for arrogance or complacency. If it weren't for Lu Ye's various strategies, they would not have even secured second place, let alone first.

It could be said that ninety percent of the credit for winning first in the Martial Arts Meet belonged to Lu Ye, with the remaining ten percent being their hard work.

As the group dispersed, Su Yuqing led Lu Ye and Hai Tang toward Immortal Spirit Peak, flying in silence.

Upon reaching the skies above the valley, Su Yuqing released her spirit force's embrace, allowing Lu Ye to descend directly.

Upon detecting movement, Nian Yuexian, who had been waiting here, came out to investigate. Seeing it was Lu Ye, she couldn't help but look him over, confirming that he wasn't missing any limbs before asking, "How did it go?"

"Not too bad," Lu Ye responded casually.

"So when can we leave here?"

Lu Ye was momentarily stunned, "I forgot to ask."

The main reason being that during the flight back, Su Yuqing's expression seemed off, icy even; it didn't seem appropriate for him to speak up rashly.

Nian Yuexian glared at him: "Could it be you've found a Dao companion here, lingering and not wanting to leave? If so, stay here yourself; I'll leave alone."

"What nonsense, Senior Sister? The matter with Hai Tang being my Dao companion was just a pretense to fool others; otherwise, there was no way to explain how I could enter the Black Abyss."

Nian Yuexian snorted lightly: "Who knows? Besides, Hai Tang mentioned before that only those carrying the aura of the Dwarf Race can enter the Black Abyss. If your Dao companion status with Hai Tang is just a ruse, how did you enter the Black Abyss then?"

Her words struck Lu Ye in a sensitive spot. He replied without changing expression, "That Senior Su has a secret technique, allowing me to enter in a somewhat opportunistic manner. The specifics of the mystery I do not know, I merely followed instructions."

Nian Yuexian was skeptical.

Afraid she would ask something he couldn't answer, Lu Ye quickly said, "I'll rest now. If nothing is said in a couple of days, I'll ask Senior Sister Hai Tang to inquire."