Chapter 15: Catch
"Umm…" Instinctively taking a step back, Xia Ye didn't know what to think after receiving that initial comment. [Well, there was that one time I turned into-] Xia Ye completely shut Sun Wukong down before he could finish. 'No, absolutely not! We're not even going to start that discussion. It ends here.'
Blocking out whatever Sun Wukong was trying to tell him, he focused back on Quan Ning. "So, what is it you want?" Just from his name Xia Ye knew he was related to Quan Hanying in some way. That meant he was here for something related to Crescent City. Quan Ning waved off Xia Ye's worries as he replied in earnest.
"Relax; honestly, I just wanted to see what you looked like. It's important to remember soon-to-be-famous faces… And you know to keep you from dying but mostly the first part." His words trailed off at the end there as Xia Ye frowned. 'They're trying to protect me? Well, that's strange. I had guessed they would be just as interested in the 72 Earthly Transformations as everyone else.'
Of course, he didn't trust it either way, but at the same time, that was fine. He was still able to hear without a kidnap attempt meaning they weren't going to do anything to him yet. It was when he entered the Mist that he would actually need to be careful. 'For now, I guess I'll just play along, no harm in it.'
One he found the Gourd and other Treasure he would grab them and bolt. Not even a Sky Profound Realm Cultivator would be able to catch him if he used the Nimbus Cloud. "Alright, fine, I'll believe that for now." Hearing that, Quan Ning clapped his hands together. "Well, it's the truth so good on you. By the way, what's your name?"
Xia Ye almost answered, instructively opening his mouth halfway. "Xi- Xae Ye." Quan Ning put the name to memory. "My name is Quan Ning though you probably knew that from everyone whispering out loud. Getting back to the topic on hand, though…." Xia Ye saw Quan Ning smirk as he gave him the same mischievous as last time.
"I would rather not." Hearing such a flat answer, Quan Ning crossed his arms. "Oh, come on, don't be so quick to say no. You consider it for a second, right? That pause from before means you can. Have you ever wanted to see what it would be like to be a girl?" Putting his hands in front of his chest Quan Ning acted like he was squeezing the air.
"You would be able to look at your ideal girl every day. And besides that, you could even play aro-" The conversation was cut off by someone behind Xia Ye. "Oh, thank god." Whispering that to himself, he turned around and spotted someone. To his surprise, he was a disciple of the Xiao Sect.
He had an unnatural-looking smile on his face as Xia Ye glanced at the rest of the Xiao Sect Disciples standing in the crowd watching from afar. "I see your name is Xae Ye. I saw your battle from yesterday, and I have to admit I was impressed. I would like to fight you, but I was wondering if you wanted to make things… Interesting."
Xia Ye smirked slightly as he played along. "Interesting how?" Seeing Xia Ye was actually considering it, the Xiao Sect Disciple had his eyes glint with greed. "Clearly, with that Shapeshifting Profound Art, you are too strong for me. So how about we fight without it? Of course, the reward will be that the winner can ask anything of the loser."
Xia Ye was actually at a loss. This guy must think he was an idiot. Seeing Xia Ye wasn't answering, the Xiao Sect Disciple pushed on. "Of course, our Xiao Sect will always uphold our promises. We are honorable in that regard." He was trying to lock Xia Ye in a confrontation that he couldn't break out of later.
Although the promise itself meant nothing, it gave the Xiao Sect an excuse to force 72 Earthly Transformations out of him. They could easily lie about it and call it a matter of 'Honor and Pride' for their Xiao Sect if he tried to back out. And of course, no one in Crescent City would stop them, right?
It was such a simple plan that purely relied on him agreeing. 'I'm only one small realm below the opponent that Xae Ye fought last time. If he relies on shapeshifting at that level, then he must be pretty weak without it.' That was going through the Xiao Disciples mind and similarly everyone else. "Hey Xae Ye, how about-"
Quan Ning was going to try to say something to block the potential confrontation, but suddenly Xia Ye said something surprising to everyone watching. "Sure, why not." A stupid plan would only work on an even stupider victim. That was everyone's thought process when they heard Xia Ye accept.
"What the hell is he doing? No way he doesn't realize what kind of trap this is."
"Has he gone crazy, or is he just overconfident after his first win?"
"Dammit, the Xiao Sect is going to get their hands on that Profound Art first!"
"What a shame…"
Sighs came from some people in the crowd as the Xiao Sect Disciple smiled. "Great, then let's not wait." Ushering Xia Ye, the two of them made their way to an empty arena. "Elder's idea actually worked. That Profound Art is as good as ours now!" A Disciple of the Xiao Sect exclaimed with an excited tone.
From now on, the Xiao Sect would be the sole progenitor of a legendary Profound Art. It might even boost their ranking in the Four Major Sects. The rewards they would get from this as disciples responsible would be hefty as well. Looking on to the arena stage Quan Ning grit his teeth.
"Well, this isn't good. I didn't think he would actually accept." In the end, his job was to keep Xia Ye alive, but the Xiao Sect getting their hands on the Shapeshifting Profound Art would just be trouble. 'I should contact Old Man Mu Jin just in case.' Pulling out a Sound Transmission Talisman, he prepared to send a message but stopped as he heard something from the crowd.
At the same time, the match between Xia Ye and the Xiao Sect Disciple was going to start. "My name is Xiao Yulei. I hope to learn from you." Xia Ye's smile grew as he cracked his neck. "Xae Ye and likewise." Reaching for Ruyi Jingu Bang, it grew to its full size in an instant. "Then let's begin." Xiao Yulei didn't want to wait for a second longer.
He prepared to reach for his sword; however, in the midst of doing so, he heard Xia Ye say something strange. "Hold this for me." Flipping Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hand, he tossed it over to Xiao Yulei. "Eh?" People in the crowd went silent once more like those of the Xiao Sect who laughed. "He's practically giving us the win at this point."
Confused, Xiao Yulei just chuckled to himself as he held out both of his hands to catch Ruyi Jingu Bang. However, the moment it landed in his hands, he couldn't stop its momentum. As if a mountain was pressing onto his palms, his hands were pulled down and slammed into the ground. Following suit, Xiao Yulei's body nearly lost its balance as he fell on one knee.
"What the hell is he doing?" One of the Xiao Sect disciples looked confused as they saw Xiao Yulei on the ground. "Gah! What…" Xiao Yulei was twisting his body every which way and trying his best to summon his Profound Strength. However, Ruyi Jingu Bang wouldn't budge as it remained embedded in the ground with his hands trapped underneath.
Putting his hands behind his back, Xia Ye walked up to the struggling Xiao Yulei. His voice was heard by everyone there as he bent down a bit to look at his face to face. "Yes, truly an idiotic fool would fall for such a simple plan. And only an even dumber fool one would fall for such an obvious trap."
Raising his head, he patted Xiao Yulei on the head like a dog. Everyone there had ashen looks of pure confusion and shock from the sight. A Xiao Sect disciple and existence even medium-size sects and cities had to fear and treat with the utmost respect was being pet like a dog. Well, to say everyone was speechless would be a lie.
"Ahaha! Oh god! I cant- Oh lord!" The Xiao Sect disciples heard a torrent of laughter coming from someone as their fiery gazes turned. However, soon they were forced to bite down on anything they planned on saying because the one laughing was none other than Quan Ning. "This is priceless. I never thought he would be so funny..."
Quan Ning's words made Xiao Yulei's embarrassment at this moment rise as he continued to struggle. His veins popped out of his face, and it began turning red like a tomato. However, still, Ruyi Jingu Bang didn't budge as his Profound Strength was equal to that of a feather. "So, are you going to surrender? Or do you need some incentive?"
Hearing him even mention the words surrender made XIao Yulei blow a fuse on his remaining rationality as he barked. "I'll ki-" Raising his hand Xia Ye slapped Xiao Yulei across his face with enough Qi to turn his head a full ninety degrees. "Tch, tch, tch, you gotta say the magic words if you want to talk. I'll give you another chance, though, since your Xiao Sect seems a bit underdeveloped in the brain department."
Recovering from the shock, Xiao Yulei had rage burning in his eyes as he glared at Xia Ye. "Don't push it! If you-" Once again, a swift slap landed on his face shutting him up instantly. "Well, I have all day, so it's fine if you need a bit of tutoring." Every slap was infused with a large amount of Qi, not breaking the Profound Energy protecting Xiao Yulei's body but still making him feel the pain.
"I-" Xiap Yulei tried to speak again, but once more, he was met with a slap. This scene is repeated over and over again. And each time, the slaps got harder and louder. No one could do anything to stop it, and at this point, it was like watching a circus. It even got to a point where Xia Ye would slap Xiao Yulei without him even speaking just for fun.
A few minutes later, his face was puffed like a blowfish boiling red from both frustration and pain. "Speak." Talking to him like a dog, Xiao Yulei saw Xia Ye staring into his eyes. His pride was shattered, and his face stung so much it felt numb. He felt like he had died twenty times over from embarrassment as he muttered in a low voice.
"I surrender…" Xia Ye raised a brow as his hand moved. The instant it did, Xiao Yulei spoke louder in absolute terror. "I surrender! Please don't hit me again!" His words were hard to understand but were clear enough. Shrugging his shoulders, Xia Ye accepted his words. "Fine." Standing up straight, Xia Ye looked as if he was done. Xiao Yulei felt a moment of reprieve as he sighed in relief.
But the next second, everyone watched as Xia Ye kicked him in the head at a blinding speed. Not having his defenses up, Xiao Yulei was knocked out on the spot as Ruyi Jingu Bang flew back to Xia Ye's hand. The Profound Formation fell down as Xia Ye made his way off of the arena stage where Quan Ning was waiting for him.
"That was awesome! Look what you did, the crowd, man! They acted like they just saw a ghost. I haven't seen something like that in years." Indeed everyone looked aghast and slightly afraid when their eyes landed on Xia Ye. And in the back of the crowd, one of the three disciples from the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace nodded her head while speaking to the others.
"Lady Yuechan was right. Avoiding him at all cost is the best course of action." The other two girls nodded as they quickly withdrew from the scene. It was safe to say the Xiao Sect disciples were mad, but with Quan Ning there and Xia Ye's capabilities, they couldn't really do anything. Eventually, they just took Xiao Yulei and left the area.
'At this rate, the next few days are going to pass me by in a flash.' And surprisingly enough, Xia Ye's words were right. The number of people willing to fight him was already low. But now, after seeing that scene with Xia Yulei, everyone avoided him like the plague. As for the few people still arrogant enough to fight him and lust after the 72 Earth Transformations.
They were the constant supply of dumbasses managed to get him through each day until finally, the last day of the Selection was on the horizon.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone