Two Blazing Duelists

  Yuan Jia's family head, Yuan Jingzhi, had five wives and eight sons, but not a single daughter. Among them, the sixth son, Yuan Ye, and the seventh son, Yuan Song, were born to the same mother, who died in childbirth when giving birth to Yuan Song. Perhaps because of this, Yuan Jingzhi paid special attention to Yuan Song. With similar cultivation talent, Yuan Jingzhi ignored Yuan Ye but never gave up on Yuan Song.

  Yuan Yao had eight brothers, the most capable of whom was the third brother Yuan Zhen. At less than twenty-five years old, he had already reached the peak of martial arts. Even among the renowned masters of Xinlin City, there were few who could surpass him, and among his peers, he was a standout. He was also the son that Yuan Jing valued the most. As for Yuan Song, he had just started learning martial arts, while Yuan Yao himself had only just begun to learn the basics.

  The martial power of this world is divided into nine levels, with each level being a threshold. There are small thresholds every three levels and large thresholds every six levels, with the ninth level crossing the heavenly chasm. This means that advancing from the third to the fourth level will be very difficult, and advancing from the sixth to the seventh level will be even more challenging. To break through the ninth level, one must generally overcome great difficulties. However, once past this threshold, one's power will undergo a qualitative leap. Above the ninth level, one can ascend to the nine heavens and descend into the deep ocean at will. With a single move of their magical artifact, they can kill someone thousands of miles away.

  These nine levels are called Beginner, Martial Man, Martial Master, Martial General, Martial Marquis, Martial Duke, Martial King, Martial Lord, and Martial Emperor. If we compare it to the Earth's academic system, the beginner level is equivalent to kindergarten. A 16-year-old man still in kindergarten would be quite depressing, no wonder Yuan Ye was so frustrated after crossing over.

  Reaching the Martial General realm allows one to control elemental powers, which means they have truly embarked on the path of a strong warrior. Reaching the Martial King realm allows one to comprehend law powers, transcending the cycle of life and death, making them a hot commodity for various forces to recruit.

  The highest level, Martial Emperor, is self-explanatory - it's the emperor among warriors. Each Martial Emperor has their own legend on the continent. Anything above Martial Emperor has surpassed ordinary human understanding. With Yuan Ye's limited knowledge, he still doesn't know just how strong they are. However, it can be confirmed that those Flame Fighters far surpass Martial Emperors, and naturally, the Primordial Lord is even stronger than them.

  Just thinking of this, Yuan Ye saw his third brother Yuan Zhen. He didn't like this third brother very much and deliberately avoided his line of sight.

  "Father, it's almost time, you should go to Lord City now." Old Three Yuan Zhen said to Yuan Jingzhi.

  "Has everyone who should be home arrived?" Yuan Jingzhi adjusted her clothes and looked at her third son.

  "My sixth brother has not arrived yet."

  Yuan Jing's face was displeased, and he sternly ordered: "Rebellious son, have someone bring him over to me."

  "Yes!" Yuan Zhen immediately bowed and was about to leave.

  "Never mind," Yuan Jing waved his hand, "seeing him makes me angry, forget it, Old Three. I have placed all my hopes on you, look at this tall statue, and take the fierce warrior as an example to glorify our Yuan family."

  "Don't worry, Father. I will become a Blazing Warrior sooner or later." Yuan Zhen looked at his father with eyes full of fervor. Although Yuan Zhen's talent was mediocre, he was extremely enthusiastic about martial arts and trained desperately every day, making him a man who yearned for strength.

  Yuan Jing smiled and said: "Of course I hope you get stronger, but don't set such a big goal for yourself. If you can't reach it, don't let it knock your confidence."

  Yuan Jingzhi looked up at the giant statue, "Throughout the entire Flame Continent, there are not just a million cities, but every city has a history of tens of thousands of years. In these tens of thousands of years, only a thousand Flame Warriors have appeared in each city. On average, it takes thirty cities tens of thousands of years to produce one. They are all sons of heaven, and their talent is not just one in ten thousand, but even among hundreds of millions, you can't find one. Apart from this, luck, strange encounters, setbacks, hardships, and stepping stones are all indispensable. Only then is it possible to become a top Flame Warrior. Old Three, your talent is barely passable, and the achievements you have today are the result of your hard work day and night. If you can reach the Wu Jun realm, it will be enough to make a name for yourself throughout the Hun Luo State, and I will be satisfied."

  "Is Father just asking me to make a name for myself in Luo State?" Yuan Zhen furrowed his brow.

  Yuan Jingzhi saw that his son had high aspirations, and he was also relieved in his heart. He patted his shoulder. This father-son affection made Yuan Yao's skin crawl all over the place. He couldn't help but walk out:

  "Wow, the weather is great today, clear sky with dark clouds and thunderstorm. It's attracting so many talented people here... to get rained on." Yuan Ye said while walking towards Yuan Jingzhi's direction, completely ignoring the gazes of the people around him.

  "How dare you!" Yuan Jingzhi saw that Yuan Ye's temper was not coming from the same place, "You're late, and yet you still don't know any manners."

  Yuan Ye despised him in her heart. This old man always looked down on herself, but always favored Lao San. No choice.

  However, Yuan Jing did not dare to loudly reprimand Yuan Ye, after all there were many big shots here, even the King of Qiuzi County was present, it wasn't up to Yuan Jing to handle family matters here.

  Soon, the worship began. After a brief opening speech by Liao Chengzong, the king of Guiyi County, everyone threw away their umbrellas and knelt down to worship the giant statue, except for Yuan Ye who remained standing. Yuan Ye looked at the statue with a calm expression on his face, but in fact, his heart was turbulent.

  Why does the world worship the strong, but not become a strong one themselves? Is it because they fear the hardships of self-cultivation or lack faith in their hearts and need a strong figure to rely on spiritually?

  For a moment, Yuan Ye was dazed. Perhaps the previous Yuan Ye had no great ambitions and was content with his downfall, but the current Yuan Ye is not a man without aspirations. He will not worship anyone, only surpass others.

  When everyone finished worshiping and left, the only one who didn't kneel naturally caught his attention.

  "Who is that person's family, to be so disrespectful to the Flame Warrior?" The voice of Liao Chengzhong, the King of Qǐzi County, rose in dissatisfaction as he pointed at Yuan Ye.

  "Your Ladyship, I am at fault for not teaching my son properly. Please punish this unfilial son." Yuan Jingzhi hastily stepped forward and bowed.

  "Unbelievable! Not only didn't you plead on my behalf, but you also pushed all the blame onto me. Are you kidding me? Luckily I'm not your real son." Yuan Ye felt extremely depressed in his heart.

  "Why don't you kneel down?" Duke Liao Chengzhong looked at Yuan Yan with great dissatisfaction.

  "Kou Yi has yet to kneel before me, why should I kneel before him?" Yuan Ye's eyebrows rose, "He's just a fierce warrior, I will surpass him sooner or later."

  As soon as he heard it, he immediately got up.

  "Whoosh!"

  Suddenly a shadow flashed by, and Yuan Ye only felt a blackness in front of his eyes.

  Pong!

  Yuan Ye's chest was kicked hard by the person, and he flew out directly. At the same time, the figure cheated again, and at the moment Yuan Ye fell to the ground, one foot stepped on Yuan Ye's chest and trampled hard.

  "Hmph, I thought you were some kind of genius or prodigy, daring to be so arrogant. It turns out you're just an ignorant good-for-nothing, spouting nonsense." The newcomer looked at Yuan Jingzhi with disdain, and Yuan Jingzhi's face immediately turned black, unable to say a word.

  "Your Excellency, this kind of person is not worth your time to bother with."

  "En, Yuan Jingzhi, go back and teach your son well, let him know what is the height of heaven and earth. Also, our Qiuzi County's Hundred Heroes Youth War is about to begin, as far as I know, your third son Yuan Zhen has reached the peak of Wu Shuai, he is qualified to participate, tell him to prepare well."

  "Yes, yes, yes! Yuan Zhen will definitely not disappoint the Duke." Yuan Jingzhi's face was filled with joy, and he hastily nodded.