"Good! Very good! You are very brave!"

The face of the man from the Ghost Faction completely darkened at this moment. His chilly gaze fixed on Du Fei, the murderous intent in his eyes undisguised. "Boy, don't think just because you have the Wanjian Faction as your backing, you can act arrogantly in front of me. Even if it's someone from the Wanjian Faction, or even if you're backed by Yunshui's Five Families, I can still crush you with one slap!"

From the words of this man from the Ghost Faction, it was clear that even if Du Fei hailed from the Yunshui's Five Families, if he didn't willingly submit, the former wouldn't let him go easily.

Hearing this, Du Fei simply chuckled, a hint of mockery playing on his lips. After a moment, he spoke calmly, "Rest assured, I'm neither backed by the Wanjian Faction nor the Yunshui's Five Families. If you really have the guts to make a move, then go ahead. However, it's hard to say how you'll end up."

Seeing Du Fei respond in this manner, Wan Ling didn't add anything more. Although he hadn't known Du Fei for long, he was well aware that once this man made a move, he showed no mercy. Now that this man from the Ghost Faction had provoked him, there was a good chance he wouldn't even leave a whole corpse behind.

So, without any hesitation, Wan Ling slightly shifted his position, blocking the only exit available to the man from the Ghost Faction. A cold aura began to emanate from the broken sword in his hand.

In this relatively spacious room, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. A bone-chilling cold began to pervade the room, and the taut tension between the three seemed like it could snap at any moment.

"Boy... you've lost your last chance to beg for mercy..."

The air seemed to solidify, and the man from the Ghost Faction sneered again. Clearly, Du Fei wasn't going to hand over the treasure easily. And since that was the case, he might as well seize it by force!

"Bang—"

The man from the Ghost Faction's face was shadowed with a chilling expression. As he stepped forward, a surge of cold and potent Qi rolled out from within him. On his Qi, there were faint traces of light blue glow pulsating, suggesting that he had absorbed a considerable amount of Yan Sect's Qi to strengthen his body. As his Qi spread out, instead of showing any signs of utilizing a martial technique, his figure flickered and appeared right before Du Fei. His fist, akin to the Heavenly Lightning, ruthlessly targeted Du Fei's chest.

The air seemed to explode right beneath his fist, and the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi around them became utterly chaotic at this moment. Clearly, this man from the Ghost Faction's strength had reached an incredibly formidable level. If his punch landed, even another powerhouse at the peak-level of the Half-step Martial Master Realm might not be able to withstand it!

"Hmph!"

However, facing this fierce move, Du Fei's expression remained unchanged, with only a surge of killing intent flashing in his eyes. His foot stomped forward, and instantly, an intensely cold Qi erupted from him, and his Qi was also filled with traces of light blue!

At the moment his Qi erupted, Du Fei moved his hand in a punching motion, delivering a straightforward, no-nonsense punch towards the front.

"Boom—"

A deep and piercing sound echoed instantly throughout the room. A ferocious gust of wind swept across, turning the jade shelves that were on the ground into dust.

"Thud thud thud—"

Du Fei's figure shook and quickly retreated backward, with explosive sounds resonating from his body, indicating the impact of an immensely powerful force on his body.

"Stamp—"

With the final step, Du Fei's foot firmly landed on the ground, and with a sway of his Qi, he returned to his normal stance.

"Swoosh—"

On the other side, the man from the Ghost Faction also slid back dozens of steps, brushing against the ground before finally coming to a halt. Surprisingly, his Qi remained unchanged, suggesting that the clash of their fists hadn't left any injury on him.

"Peak-level of the Half-step Martial Master Realm?"

Once he steadied himself, the man from the Ghost Faction looked more solemn than before. Clearly, he hadn't expected Du Fei, with such a young appearance, to be at the peak-level of the Half-step Martial Master Realm. He silently observed Du Fei for a moment, then suddenly sneered, "I see, a peak-level of the Half-step Martial Master Realm and an initial stage Half-step Alchemy Master... No wonder you're so arrogant. You must be the Alchemist Ye Fei! However, this is the Palace Contest, not the imperial capital. Your reputation might matter elsewhere, but it's of no use here. If you think you can take advantage of the Ghost Faction with such skills, you're too naive!"

As his words ended, the man from the Ghost Faction erupted in a dazzling blue glow, followed by an increasingly dense surge of Qi enveloping him.

"I'd like to see just how strong a Double Cultivation of Pill and Martial Arts powerhouse like you can be!"

"Ghostly Howl Sky Punch!"

"Whoosh—"

As the man's voice fell, the Qi around him quickly converged in front of him, forming a massive fist made up of skulls. As the fist materialized, seemingly endless ghostly howls echoed, causing those who hear it to feel disturbed and uneasy.

The moment this massive skeletal fist materialized, the man from the Ghost Faction sneered and then slapped the back of the fist.

"Boom—"

Instantly, the massive fist hurtled towards Du Fei with an unstoppable momentum. The powerful wind caused by this force created spider-web-like cracks on the ground where Du Fei stood.

"Brother Ye! Retreat! This is the Ghost Faction's signature martial technique! It's said to be close to a fifth-grade supreme martial technique!" Seeing this, Wan Ling expression's changed as he blurted out.

"Thinking of retreating now? Too late!"

Behind the massive fist, the powerhouse from the Ghost Faction let out a crazed laugh, pushing his Qi even faster. At this moment, in his eyes, Du Fei was already pulverized by his martial technique.

"Do you think you're the only one who knows a supreme martial technique?"

Du Fei suddenly showed a faint smile, and immediately, his hand seals rapidly condensed!

"Boom—"

The moment Du Fei's hand seals took form, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi immediately began to boil. Even the nearby buildings turned scorched black in an instant. Soon after, tiny flames formed in the air. These tiny flames enveloped Du Fei at an inconceivably rapid speed, making it seem as if he had become a figure made entirely of fire at that moment.

"Boom—"

In the next instant, Du Fei slightly moved, and a pillar of fire erupted from his body, shooting skyward. It even broke a hole through the room's ceiling, leading straight up. The murderous intent in Du Fei's eyes was no longer hidden as the pillar emerged!

"If you like being arrogant so much, don't blame me in the afterlife! Die!"

"Sea of Flames Pillar!"

With a light shout, Du Fei's hand motioned, and the sky-piercing fire pillar instantly roared out, piercing the void. With an almost irresistible force, it surged overwhelmingly towards the man from the Ghost Faction!

At this moment, the walls of the room suddenly shook. The walls, originally made of rock, started to burn, and the bluestone-tiled floor instantly exploded into powder!

Seeing Du Fei disregarding the martial technique already in front of him and directly attacking, the suicidal tactic made the face of the man from the Ghost Faction turn extremely grim. The murderous intent in Du Fei's eyes made him realize that this guy in front of him would not hold back!

Almost instinctively, the hands of the man from the Ghost Faction trembled, causing the roaring giant skull fist to instantly retract and shield him. In this split second, the two martial techniques collided fiercely like two meteors!

"Boom—"

In an instant, the two immensely powerful martial techniques clashed violently. Blood-red flames and the dark black light intertwined, constantly clashing. At this moment, the entire hall began to tremble slightly. A brilliant, dazzling light spread out, and the powerful gusts that followed turned nearby structures into dust!

A terrifying surge of power spread out, causing cracks to splinter and expand on the ground. At this moment, Wan Ling's face turned extremely pale. Even with his strength, he couldn't help but activate his Qi instantly, and he could only barely withstand the shockwave. Nevertheless, he was still forced to retreat almost a hundred steps, skidding across the ground before he managed to stop.

He was just a bystander, and he was already under such immense pressure, let alone the two directly clashing with each other!

"Thud thud thud—"

Just as Wan Ling looked on in shock, the sky full of flames and black aura suddenly vanished simultaneously. Immediately afterward, a figure shot backward, feet digging into the ground, creating two deep trails. Only after violently retreating nearly a hundred meters did the figure come to a stop. Almost simultaneously, waves of terrifying power seeped out from the figure, obliterating the remaining structures nearby.

"Thump—"

The final burst of energy caused the figure to tremble. Unable to hold back any longer, a mouthful of fresh blood was violently spewed out.

"Is that..." Wan Ling's gaze immediately fixed on the figure, his expression turning somewhat strange.

The figure now spewing blood and sprawled on the ground was none other than the previously arrogant man from the Ghost Faction! His current expression was of extreme disbelief, his eyes bulging with an incredulous look on his face. He clearly didn't understand why his faction's signature martial technique was unable to handle a seemingly unknown young man.

"This guy is finished!" Seeing this, Wan Ling finally realized how thoroughly defeated and disheveled the man was. He felt even more fortunate to have allied with such a formidable individual.

"Is that all you've got? Trash!"

With the flames subsiding, Du Fei slowly emerged, looking at the now pitiful man from the Ghost Faction and spoke indifferently.

"Splurt—"

The Ghost Faction member spat out another mouthful of blood. With a twisted expression, he gritted his teeth and hissed, "Impressive! Well done, Ye Fei! By offending a member of the Ghost Faction, you've signed your own death warrant!"

"Is that so..." Du Fei said with a faint smile, an amused expression on his face. "If I kill you, then who will know that I've offended someone from the Ghost Faction?"