"Hmph, you darn brat, what kind of nonsense are you on about?" The bulky man snickered and said, "You trying to start a fight?"

Ou Yangming coldly responded, "Care to participate in a Martial Arts Battle?"

Both of them had claimed that the raw gemstone had belonged to them, and aside from themselves, no one else could verify their claims. Moreover, as neither side was willing to back down, even if the imperial guards were to come over, the conclusion would still be the same.

The bulky man froze for a moment before answering, "Alright, go and recruit someone from the Yi Pavilion then. I'll meet you at the arena in 2 hours!"

Ou Yangming raised an eyebrow and questioned warily, "How did you know that I'm from the Yi Pavilion?"

Panic flashed past the man's eyes, and after a moment of hesitation, he answered, "You guys announced your faction when you were cracking the stones earlier. Also, so what if I know which faction you belong to?"

Ou Yangming made no attempt to mask his contempt, and as a result of Ou Yangming's unfiltered display of his disdain, the bulky man had gotten mad as well. Had it not been for the establishment's rules on no-violence, the bulky man would have already bashed Ou Yangming's face in.

"Since you're aware that I'm from the Yi Pavilion, would you kindly reveal where you're from as well?" Ou Yangming cheerfully asked.

The man widened his eyes before angrily spitting, "Why should I tell you?"

Ou Yangming shrugged his shoulders and answered, "Since you're too afraid to tell me, just forget it. However…" The disdain of Ou Yangming's sneer intensified as he teased, "Do you think you'll be able to cover it up when our match begins?"

The man flinched and barked, "The name's Ma Feizhang! I'm from the Secret Realm! Hurry up and inform the Yi Pavilion, don't waste any more time!"

The moment Ou Yangming heard that name, the dots instantly connected inside his mind. Just like the Yi Pavilion, the Secret Realm was an organization that owned multiple shops within the nation. Although they were not exactly nemeses, whenever the Myriad Treasure Meet took place, these two factions would always go head-to-head against one another.

This was something that no other major faction, such as the powerful families from the eight counties would do.

"Hmm? So you're from the Secret Realm, eh?" Ou Yangming's sneer widened as he continued, "Actually, I don't think I need to recruit anyone back from my camp to help me. Let's just head to the arena and brawl now."

"Wait! What did you just say?" Ma Feizhang was puzzled, and he could not believe what he had just heard.

'This guy is undeniably an appraiser! The fact that he located two gems out of the three raw gemstones he chose proves it!'

'Even if his luck is on a roll, obtaining a gem out of three raw gemstones is an impressive feat. However, obtaining two? … That definitely has nothing to do with luck.'

Conversely, one could immediately tell that Ma Feizhang was a combat martial artist just from his appearance.

The so-called combat martial artists were in essence, cultivators whose sole purpose was to do battle. All the techniques and skills they mastered, was used solely for the purpose of gaining fame and fortune on the battlefield.

As for the other cultivators such as the blacksmiths, appraisers, and alchemists who might possess an immense cultivation base, when it came to battle, their actual combat prowess was nothing impressive.

After all, if a Yin Grade martial artist who had experienced many brushes with death were to encounter a Yang Grade appraiser, the former would no doubt remain unfazed. Naturally, if both parties were to engage in a battle to the death, no side was certain to win.

Ma Feizhang scrutinized Ou Yangming. Although the aura Ou Yangming emanated was by no means weak, no matter how he looked at it, Ou Yangming was no more than a cultivator of the Yin Grade.

As Ma Feizhang was also a Yin Grade powerhouse himself, he could not, for the life of him figure out just what the young appraiser was thinking about when he had challenged him to a duel.

'Could it be, that he got so mad that he issued a challenge without considering the consequences?'

"Hehe, are you hard of hearing? I said I'll be the one to fight you in the arena! Or are you chickening out?"

"Ptui! Since you're so adamant about it, I'll fulfill your death wish for you then!" Ma Feizhang let go of the raw gemstone and declared enthusiastically with clenched fists.

After all, not only would Ma Feizhang stop an appraiser from the Yi Pavilion in his tracks by doing so, but he would also get a chance to inflict grievous wounds on him. Should Ou Yangming end up wounded from the fight, the Yi Pavilion would lose a valuable asset, and as a result, the big shots from the Secret Realm might even award him for his efforts.

Once the thought crossed his mind, a savage expression of glee appeared on Ma Feizhang's face. He was looking forward to the fight.

The public had already noticed the two's quarrel for quite some time by that point. However, since the matter was unrelated to them, none of them had wanted to bring trouble to themselves, especially after hearing that they were from the Yi Pavilion and the Secret Realm.

Nevertheless, once the two had come to an agreement, a servant walked up to them and respectfully stated, "Since the two of you have already agreed to it, please hand over the raw gemstone to me for safekeeping. Once the victor of the match has been decided, I'll hand the raw gemstone to the victor." A short pause later, he then continued, "If anyone of you gentlemen wishes to pull out, now's the time."

Ou Yangming chuckled and responded, "Don't worry, when it comes to squabbles, I won't back down, even if it's over something petty!"

Ma Feizhang snickered at Ou Yangming's statement and said, "You youngsters are always so arrogant. Hah, you're going to regret not backing down when you had the chance!"

Ou Yangming calmly smiled. At this point, he was no longer interested in verbal squabbles.

After retrieving the raw gemstone, the servant then led the two out of the Hall of Gems and into the center of the building complex.

Alas, by the time they arrived, all the fighting rings had already been occupied. Under each of those fighting rings, royal servants and soldiers could be seen, as they had been posted to deal with registration.

As they were already used to all the fights that occurred during the Myriad Treasure Meet, none of them had even batted an eye at Ou Yangming and Ma Feizhang when they walked in. Once the two of them had completed their registration, the receptionist then assigned Ou Yangming and Ma Feizhang their fighting ring.

In the meantime, Shao Hongyi and the other Yi Pavilion masters in the Hall of Gems were exchanging quizzical glances at one another. Although all of them had felt some animosity towards Ou Yangming, they innately understood that at that moment, all of them were part of the same boat. As such, they would not just sit idly by as Ou Yangming got brutally beat up.

Naturally, they did not confront Ma Feizhang directly, and instead, had opted to look for Bai Shixue.

Once the news had reached Bai Shixue's ears, her expression drastically changed, and she immediately set off towards the center of the building complex along with her escorts.

When Bai Shixue and the others arrived on the scene, Ou Yangming's fight had yet to begin. However, just as her escorts were expecting her to call off the fight, she subverted their expressions and had smiled at the sight instead. There was not a single trace of worry to be found on her face.

While the duo made their way into the ring, Shao Hongyi noticed the extreme difference between the duo's age and stature, and could not help but sputter, "A-Are you not going to stop them, young pavilion master?'

The corner of Bai Shixue's lips curled upwards into a soul-snaring smile as she responded, "Master Shao, aren't you aware that Master Ou is one of our chosen martial artists for the Myriad Treasure Meet?"

"What did you just say?" Shao Hongyi and the other escorts were at a loss for words. They could not believe what they had just heard.

They exchanged confused glances at one another. They could not make heads or tails out of the situation. After all, how could someone, who was obviously an appraiser, end up being a combat martial artist?

Shao Hongyi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Young pavilion master, no matter how skilled he is, Brother Ou is still nothing more than an appraiser. Unless I'm mistaken, this would be the Yi Pavilion's first battle in the Myriad Treasure Meet, so shouldn't we find a more suitable replacement instead?"

Bai Shixue casually asked, "More suitable, huh? Who do you suggest then?"

"That's easy! Since his opponent is a Yin Grade martial artist, all we need to do is to send out our highest-ranked Yin Grade martial artist!" Shao Hongyi answered without delay.

Although he was originally from Huangsha County, as someone who had been paying attention to the Myriad Treasure Meet for quite some time, Shao Hongyi had immediately given his suggestion.

Unexpectedly, Bai Shixue answered, "But… Master Ou is ranked first among our martial artists!"

The moment she stated those words, the expressions of her escorts had become even more bewildered. Within the gazes that they had exchanged at one another, a sense of awe could be palpably felt.

Nevertheless, everyone had failed to notice that when Bai Shixue mentioned Ou Yangming's ranking, she did not specify that it was among the Yin Grade martial artists.

Back in the ring, Ou Yangming and Ma Feizhang were already stationed in their respective spots. The Yang Grade powerhouse who stood between them stated indifferently, "Since things have already come this far, both of you should give it your all in this fight. We leave the matter of life and death to the Heavens, so please, do take care of yourselves."

With that, the Yang Grade martial artist then retreated to the edge of the ring.

Ma Feizhang laughed out loud and slammed his fists together, emitting a steel-like clang in the process.

With agile footsteps, he then charged directly towards Ou Yangming.

Although his opponent was only an appraiser, when lions hunt their prey, would they not give it their all? The thought of showing mercy had not once crossed the battle veteran, Ma Feizhang's mind. Instead, the only thought he had was to crush Ou Yangming with overwhelming force, so that the battle would end quickly. Naturally, if he had somehow miscalculated and ended up killing Ou Yangming before the Yang Grade judge could intervene, he would remain unfazed.

After all, his goal was to bring glory to the Secret Realm and to drag the Yi Pavilion's reputation down to the dirt.

Ma Feizhang glared at Ou Yangming with bloodthirsty eyes, and the intense bloodlust he emanated had even unnerved the Yang Grade judge on the edge of the ring.

'One punch! All I need is one punch to bring down this little rabbit!'

That was the extent of Ma Feizhang's immense confidence at that point in time.

Meanwhile, Ou Yangming had only watched his opponent silently. He stood there and took in his opponent's fierce, overbearing aura that covered every inch of the platform.

Had Ou Yangming faced the same opponent in the past, he would have chosen to use the integration of Heaven and man or thoroughly meticulous to launch a counterattack after avoiding his opponent's lethal strike.

Now, however…

Forget a lowly opponent of the Yin Grade, even if Ou Yangming were to come face-to-face with a great ancestor, he would still run circles around his opponent.

Ou Yangming slowly raised his hand and launched a seemingly casual fist forward.

The spectators' hearts pounded with worry upon noticing Ou Yangming's carefree attitude, whereas the Yang Grade judge had readied himself to intervene.

Although he had previously mentioned that he would leave their lives to the hands of Heaven, if possible, the imperial family would rather not experience any uncontrollable situations.

As such, the moment the victor had been made clear, these judges would instantly leap into action.

Ma Feizhang, who had been grinning savagely a moment ago, suddenly shuddered. The powerful aura that he had emanated earlier had vanished without a trace within a mere instant, and all of a sudden, his eyes were filled with terror, and his iron fists had become as flimsy as a lame chicken.

It was as if he had turned into a completely different person within a mere instant.

Following that, Ou Yangming's fist brushed past Ma Feizhang's, and landed directly into his chest, devastating him.

"GET DOWN, AND STAY DOWN!"

The dull thud of physical impact could be heard as Ma Feizhang's body soared into the air and across the fighting ring. The crowd gasped in shock as he slammed viciously into the ground and blew up a cloud of dust.