Chapter 697: Undercurrents Surge (2/2, Autumn Subscription)

Tian Wangchuan withdrew his gaze, but the others did not.

Because the battle on Fang Yue's side was truly astonishing.

The moment Fang Yue leapt onto the arena, sheets of frost immediately condensed around it.

As the frost spread, it dyed the entire arena a snowy white, like a winter ice sculpture.

The chill rushed toward him, making the white-haired old man's pupils contract slightly.

"Great Sun Merchant Caravan Supreme Guest, Yese Liming, here to receive instruction."

As the words fell, the white-haired old man only felt his vision blur...

Boom!

A burst of cold erupted in his chest, and his whole body flew backward. Frozen stiff all over, he crashed heavily to the ground and spat out fresh blood with a 'wah'.

Yet before he could even gauge the severity of his injuries, he was already staring wide-eyed, looking at Fang Yue on the arena in shock and disbelief.

"Human... Grade!"

Only a Human Grade expert could possess such power!

That surging internal force, and the terrifying strength that left him unable to even react—yes! This person must be a Human Grade expert!

Who would have thought the Guest invited by the Great Sun Merchant Caravan was actually a Human Grade master!

Fortunately, he had held back earlier and hadn't killed the man; otherwise, now it wouldn't just be a case of Heavy Injury!

Casting a resentful glare at the stunned and dazed Tian Luo Merchant Caravan Regimental Commander beside him, the white-haired old man gritted his teeth, rose, bowed his farewell, and went back to tend his wounds.

As for the Tian Luo Merchant Caravan, if a Human Grade expert came to kill them out of displeasure, there was no way he could shelter them.

Human Grade, in Chunuan City, already stood at the pinnacle—an existence of terror that ordinary people could never even come into contact with!

A mysterious and powerful Human Grade master—if it weren't for the day of the 【Martial Decision】, one might not see even one in several years.

"Human Grade!?"

Pupils contracted, a momentary pause, and the scene instantly erupted into an uproar.

"A Human Grade expert!?"

"One move to defeat the enemy! A Xiantian Realm warrior was actually so helpless before a Human Grade expert!?"

The crowd cried out in shock, all sorts of gazes falling on Fang Yue, uncertain and suspicious.

"Let me test his skills!"

Suddenly, someone roared and landed on the arena. The instant his feet touched the ground, he felt a clever force push against his chest, and his whole body flew backward, landing directly on the ground.

He himself had fallen to the ground, still completely dazed, as if he hadn't processed what had happened.

I... lost?

Before anything had even begun, it was already over?

Feeling the chill in his chest, then looking at the calm Human Grade expert on the stage, this man truly realized that he had already been defeated.

"The gap... is actually this huge!"

A heavy sense of defeat coiled around his heart, leaving him deeply unwilling.

Yet soon, more people challenged the Human Grade expert, and just like him, they were pushed off the arena one by one by that clever force.

In just a few minutes, over a dozen people had been defeated in succession—an efficiency so high it was jaw-dropping.

At this point, no one dared to challenge the arena Fang Yue occupied.

Those with sense all went to the other arenas to try their luck, rather than seeking a beating here.

As for those who had already lost, they forfeited their right to challenge and moped—If only they had known, they wouldn't have wasted their precious challenge opportunity on a Human Grade expert.

In fact, once a Human Grade expert appeared, the arena slot was basically locked in.

It was just that some people didn't believe this young man who had suddenly appeared, Fang Yue, actually had such power.

Others, like the one on the ground, wanted to confirm just how vast the gap between themselves and a Human Grade expert truly was.

Yet they had truly picked the wrong person—in a sense, Fang Yue's strength could be classified as a Human Grade High-Level Warrior!

Before entering the Human Grade realm, Fang Yue already had the strength of a mid Human Grade expert; now that he had entered the Human Grade realm, he had naturally risen another level!

After monopolizing the arena, Fang Yue instead found peace and quiet.

Glancing at the excited and thrilled Yang Hongxia, Fang Yue closed his eyes to rest.

And Mang Liuzi beside him wore a complicated expression—both envious and forlorn.

He did have a bit of small strength, but compared to Fang Yue's exaggerated combat power, it really was just small strength.

He could show off among ordinary warriors, and even rank among the top in terms of strength.

But when facing high-end combatants, he truly felt powerless.

If not for meeting Fang Yue, he would have been sought after in the small merchant caravan, able to get anything he wanted; but now... he was only fit to be a background character.

"If only I could learn that sword strike of Master's..."

Mang Liuzi was unwilling in his heart, clenched his fist, but soon let go again.

Now was not the time to think about such things.

He took medicine to heal his wounds and sat cross-legged on the spot to rest.

After her excitement, Yang Hongxia was preparing to have someone send some pills to the white-haired old man from earlier, as a thank-you gift for his earlier mercy toward Mang Liuzi, which had preserved the Great Sun Merchant Caravan's face.

The result was seeing the Tian Luo Merchant Caravan Regimental Commander, leading his people over with a face full of smiles, bowing and scraping.

"Regimental Commander Yang..."

Without the Tian Luo Merchant Caravan Regimental Commander needing to say anything more, Yang Hongxia already knew what he was thinking.

If it were her from before, she would have cursed him out long ago, not listening to a single useless word from him.

But the her of now would not do that; instead, she patiently played along, demanding benefits.

Without showing any change in expression, she let the other party 'willingly' hand over a large pile of compensation.

Without Steward Hai, Yang Hongxia, who single-handedly supported the entire merchant caravan, had truly grown a great deal all at once.

Watching the lively scene on Fang Yue's side, Dou Hongyi, who was in charge of vigilance, gave a cold snort in secret, a look of contempt in his eyes.

Human-rank?

Hmph!

Who do you think you're looking down on!

That lord is a Rain-rank powerhouse!

Although his strength may have fallen, he is now recovering rapidly; his power is unfathomable, and he could return to the Rain-rank at any moment!

Dou Hongyi felt a little smug, unable to help humming twice, his mood extremely darkly pleased.

As if Fang Yue being so formidable had anything to do with him.

In complete contrast to this mood was Tai Yuema, the Old Eagle Merchant Caravan's Guest, who sat on the stage, exempt from the preliminaries, and could be called a gatekeeper.

Or rather… Lord Rabbit Seat!

The stronger Fang Yue became, the worse Tai Yuema's mood grew.

"What exactly is Lord Ox Seat hiding from me? Why would he let loose such a dangerous character to run wild like this in Chunuan City?"

Speculating on Lord Ox Seat's thoughts, Tai Yuema only felt increasingly irritated, wishing he could leap down right now and slap Fang Yue to death with one palm.

But on the surface, he had absolutely no reason to do so.

Moreover… he only needed to wait patiently; with the opponent's strength, they would eventually clash with him!

When the time came, killing this man would be as easy as flipping his hand!

Tai Yuema was very confident; with his mid Human-rank strength, he rarely had rivals within the same realm, let alone those little brats who had just stepped into the early Human-rank realm!

The arena matches were proceeding in full swing; the citizens who had arrived early cheered for their favorite merchant caravans, and nearly all the foot traffic in Chunuan City had gathered here.

The massive popularity was like a deadly poison, attracting the lurking anomalies.

And the anomalies that had originally fallen into slumber after possessing their hosts were, unbeknownst to anyone, slowly showing signs of awakening.

The entire Chunuan City seethed with undercurrents!

(End of this chapter)