Su Yuan returned to the spectator stands.

He pulled up his system panel for a glance.

His fame points had risen to 6,300!

An increase of nearly two thousand more!

It could be said he had become famous throughout the entire Seven Extremes Sect!

Su Yuan was quite satisfied. With even better results later, his fame points could rise further. Initially, he thought accumulating 10,000 fame points would take a long time, but now he realized it wasn't as difficult as imagined.

However, the next level would likely be harder. After this wave, the entire Seven Extremes Sect would probably be thoroughly "plucked clean."

Su Yuan had just steadied himself when he saw a familiar Mysterious Extremes Peak disciple approaching—Wei Wen!

Su Yuan took the initiative to salute: "Senior Brother Wei!"

"Junior Brother Su, you've truly made a stunning debut!" Wei Wen exclaimed with admiration.

Su Yuan smiled modestly: "I'm far from matching senior brother!"

Wei Wen said solemnly: "This inner sect competition is crucial, involving the interests of our entire peak. I hope both you and I can secure spots in the top ten!"

"Naturally!" Su Yuan replied.

"Let me brief you on the situation," Wei Wen continued. "You might not be aware, but these past few days, Golden Core elders from each peak have provided special training for their disciples."

"Thanks to this, I've benefited greatly. My cultivation has reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, and I now possess top-grade magical instruments, top-grade robes, and special secret techniques. My combat power has improved significantly. I believe the top disciples from other peaks have received similar treatment. The gap between the top ten and top twenty has widened considerably!"

Wei Wen suddenly laughed, "Speaking of which, I should thank you for that betting pool. I unexpectedly gained quite a lot."

Su Yuan quickly shook his head: "The betting pool wasn't my idea—I was just managing it!"

"Haha, I understand, but I still want to thank you. At the same time, I'm reminding you to be careful later. For example, Sun Hong from Pill Extremes Peak, Yang Mengting from Divine Extremes Peak, Sima Jikong from Technique Extremes Peak, Lan Sishan from Artifact Extremes Peak, Lei Youqin from Thunder Extremes Peak, Huang Ye, Helian Yu, and Dongmen Wan from Spiritual Extremes Peak—none of them are easy opponents!"

As soon as he finished speaking—

"Oh? Senior Brother Wei thinks so highly of us?"

Wei Wen frowned and turned to see three experts from Spiritual Extremes Peak approaching.

Huang Ye looked Su Yuan up and down and said, "You've got some skill, kid, but that's all. The cultivation gap between us is like a chasm!"

As he spoke, he deliberately released an aura of ninth-level Qi Refining, pressing toward Su Yuan.

Wei Wen stepped forward to block it, but Helian Yu and Dongmen Wan intercepted him.

Wei Wen's expression darkened: "What are you doing? Dirty tricks before the match?"

He quickly glanced at Su Yuan, worried his junior brother's mentality might be affected before the competition even began.

However, contrary to his expectations, Su Yuan showed no reaction whatsoever under the pressure of ninth-level Qi Refining.

One must understand—the difference between cultivation levels typically meant two to three times the strength gap. The disparity between sixth and ninth level Qi Refining was enormous, especially since Spiritual Extremes Peak specialized in spiritual energy enhancement, making the difference even more pronounced.

At such close range, the aura pressure should have been most direct and obvious, yet Su Yuan remained completely unaffected.

Huang Ye also frowned, feeling as if Su Yuan was like a bottomless pit that simply absorbed his aura!

Refusing to believe it, Huang Ye focused his gaze, channeling more spiritual energy to intensify the pressure.

Su Yuan found this amusing internally. Watching Huang Ye's glare that seemed intent on staring him to death, he truly felt nothing. Instead, he secretly observed and learned the other's aura manipulation technique.

It was simple—releasing one's spiritual energy and spiritual sense outward to exert pressure on the surroundings. If the spiritual energy and sense disparity was significant, this pressure could even disrupt an opponent's energy flow.

Su Yuan similarly mobilized his own aura!

Suddenly, the fire-attribute spiritual energy in the surroundings was stirred by Su Yuan's spiritual sense. Within a radius of over ten meters, all spiritual energy seemed to respond to his call, shifting toward Su Yuan and following his spiritual sense's guidance. When Su Yuan directed the pressure toward Huang Ye, the spiritual energy in this small area simultaneously pressed down on him.

How could this massive influx of natural spiritual energy's pressure be simple?

Huang Ye stood frozen, suddenly feeling as if an entire volcano was bearing down on him!

In his eyes, Su Yuan had transformed into a raging sea of fire, with flames licking toward him as if his skin would char instantly. His proud spiritual energy and physique seemed as fragile as paper against this overwhelming inferno.

"Ah!"

Huang Ye couldn't help but cry out in alarm, stumbling backward.

Then, the sea of flames vanished, the volcano disappeared—everything returned to normal. His skin wasn't burned, and he hadn't suffered any injuries, yet his forehead, face, and back were drenched in cold sweat!

The surrounding disciples stared in astonishment.

Helian Yu asked Huang Ye: "What happened?"

Huang Ye's lips trembled as he tried to explain his experience, but words failed him. He looked at Su Yuan's calm expression, his eyes now filled with obvious wariness.

Su Yuan gave him a gentle smile, which Huang Ye interpreted as mockery!

"Let's go!" Huang Ye couldn't bear to stay, turning to leave immediately.

Helian Yu and Dongmen Wan exchanged puzzled glances, both looking curiously at Su Yuan. The aura clash had only targeted Huang Ye, so they hadn't felt the pressure, but they vaguely sensed the air itself had seemed to congeal momentarily.

Both marked Su Yuan as noteworthy before also withdrawing to await their upcoming matches.

Wei Wen, standing beside Su Yuan, had sensed it more clearly—that fluctuation of natural spiritual energy felt familiar somehow.

He tried to recall where he'd experienced it before.

"Senior Brother Wei, they're calling you!" Su Yuan suddenly shouted.

The elder had called Wei Wen to the stage, but he'd been too distracted to notice.

Wei Wen snapped back to reality: "Right, I'm up!"

He leapt toward the arena, and as he soared through the air, his gaze inadvertently fell upon the Golden Core elders on the high platform. Suddenly, he remembered.

"That was the Power of Heaven and Earth!" Wei Wen's expression changed dramatically!

"Exactly—that sensation was identical to what Golden Core elders emanate." The more Wei Wen thought about it, the more certain he became. Initially, he couldn't connect Su Yuan with Golden Core elders, hence his temporary confusion. But now, he was utterly shocked!

Su Yuan had actually comprehended the Power of Heaven and Earth—something only Foundation Establishment experts or above could achieve!!!

The match had already begun, but Wei Wen was distracted. When his opponent attacked, he nearly failed to dodge in time.

Regaining focus, Wei Wen immediately went all out, determined to finish the match quickly so he could question Su Yuan about this unbelievable situation.

Meanwhile.

On the high platform, the observing Golden Core elders had all noticed the earlier anomaly.

A Pill Extremes Peak elder exclaimed wide-eyed: "Was that the Power of Heaven and Earth? Fire Aspect! Containing explosive, warm, and burning intent—how could someone at his level comprehend this?"

He immediately turned to his peak master: "Peak Master, we must recruit this disciple! He's a once-in-a-generation alchemy prodigy!"

The Pill Extremes Peak master was similarly moved: "I believe this disciple is named Su Yuan. Strangely, I don't recall seeing his name among our core candidate list."

Hearing this, Mysterious Extremes Peak master Wang Siming immediately interjected: "Hey, hey—what nonsense are you spouting, old man? Su Yuan is my Mysterious Extremes Peak disciple!"

"Hmph! You? You couldn't even confirm whether your disciple was alive or dead! How could you possibly teach him properly?" retorted the Pill Extremes Peak master.

Wang Siming's expression stiffened—he had indeed been negligent there, but hadn't the other been present too?

The Artifact Extremes Peak master coughed and said: "Actually, I think he'd suit our Artifact Extremes Peak well!"

"Get lost!" both Wang Siming and the Pill Extremes master snapped simultaneously.

The Artifact Extremes master's face darkened—were these two asking to be cursed at?

Soon, all other peaks except Thunder Extremes joined the fray, clearly astonished by Su Yuan's display. Though Su Yuan's Power of Heaven and Earth seemed somewhat immature, having it versus not having it were completely different concepts!

Sect Leader Gu glanced at the bickering peak masters, his expression serene. Let them fight—none would succeed in stealing Su Yuan away, since the young man had already secretly conspired with him beforehand. Hmph, only he had the sharpest eye!

Sect Leader Gu conveniently forgot his initial interest in Su Yuan had merely been because the youth seemed amusing.

The second round concluded quickly.

All top ten contenders advanced smoothly to the next round without losses.

Next would be the third round—70 advancing to 35—where battles would grow even fiercer!

Soon, the third round began!

Su Yuan was among the first batch again, which was normal.

When his name was called, Su Yuan stepped onto the arena.

Opposite him stood none other than Huang Ye, his expression grave.

Huang Ye!

One of Spiritual Extremes Peak's elite inner disciples!

The crowd erupted in commotion.

"Hahaha! Su Yuan versus Huang Ye! Enemies on a narrow path indeed! First Huang Ye's clansman Huang Bo was defeated by Su Yuan, and now he faces Huang Ye himself!"

"That's Huang Ye we're talking about—someone who could compete for first place against Sun Hong and others. Su Yuan is done for!"

"I originally thought he might secure a top ten position, but that seems impossible now!"

Most disciples expressed pity for Su Yuan.

Clearly, they believed Su Yuan was destined to lose.

However, at Spiritual Extremes Peak's spectator area, Helian Yu and Dongmen Wan didn't underestimate Su Yuan. Though they didn't understand what had happened earlier and Huang Ye hadn't explained, they were certain Su Yuan was no ordinary opponent!

Why had they approached Su Yuan earlier? Precisely because, based on match predictions, they'd anticipated Huang Ye would face Su Yuan and wanted to gain some psychological advantage beforehand. Instead, they might have achieved the opposite effect!

Huang Ye was the first to cup his hands: "Spiritual Extremes Peak's Huang Ye seeks Senior Brother Su's guidance!"

Su Yuan was momentarily surprised before returning the gesture: "Mysterious Extremes Peak's Su Yuan seeks your guidance as well!"

The Foundation Establishment referee gave Huang Ye a strange look before announcing: "Begin the match!"