At this moment, Ye Yu felt that it was about time in the Mystic Realm.
"I didn't finish you off quickly because I wanted to hone my reflexes, speed, and Observation Haki. Now that I've gotten used to your speed, continuing this won't provide much more training."
This infuriated the humanoid mantis. How dare he use it as a training partner? It felt utterly underestimated.
Suddenly, the humanoid mantis's entire body turned pitch black, covered in Armament Haki. Its aura intensified, clearly entering its full-power state. It had been holding back earlier.
Ye Yu sighed lightly, "No wonder no one has passed this. But for me, level 28 is nothing."
The humanoid mantis was enraged. Its green eyes glared fiercely at Ye Yu, its sickle-like forelimbs rubbing against each other, producing a spine-chilling screech. Sparks flew as if it were sharpening its blades to an even finer edge.
In the next instant, the decisive battle erupted. The humanoid mantis took the initiative, its hind legs propelling it forward like an arrow shot from a bow. It closed the distance of several meters in an instant, its right sickle whistling through the air as it slashed horizontally toward Ye Yu's throat.
Ye Yu's expression remained calm. He tilted his body slightly, effortlessly dodging the fatal strike—though it wasn't truly fatal. As long as he covered himself with Armament Haki, even if it hit, it would only leave a minor scratch.
For other top-tier geniuses, this would be a crisis. But Ye Yu's inherited Armament Haki and defense were stacked.
While dodging, Ye Yu clenched his right fist, which turned pitch black as Armament Haki enveloped it. The muscles in his arm bulged as he delivered a thunderous punch toward the mantis's abdomen.
With a dull thud, the fist slammed into the mantis's hard abdominal armor, leaving a dent. Dark green fluid oozed from the cracks in the armor.
Other top-tier geniuses, even Lin Muxue, would have been shocked. Her lightning attacks could barely scratch the mantis's armor—it was that tough. Yet Ye Yu's single punch had cracked and dented it.
Lin Muxue would have been even more regretful if she had seen this. His strength far surpassed Li Cang's.
But now, no one knew that Ye Yu's physical combat skills were actually stronger than his swordsmanship.
The injured mantis grew even more ferocious. Its twin sickles danced, weaving a silver web of attacks that left no gaps.
Ye Yu's footwork was nimble, his Observation Haki exquisite, and his speed astonishingly fast. After all, even among pirates, Red Hair's speed was notoriously quick.
Ye Yu weaved through the blade light, his movements graceful and fluid. Spotting an opening, he crouched low and swept his leg toward the mantis's lower body. The mantis reacted swiftly, leaping high into the air and bringing its sickles down in a slash. Ye Yu rolled to the side, dodging the attack as the ground was split by deep cracks.
Ye Yu sighed lightly, "At full power, you're not bad. I'm pleased."
The humanoid mantis was confused.
Ye Yu explained, "Because you're so strong, it means that even though this is a Purple Realm, it's more challenging than previous Purple Realms. Naturally, the rewards will be better. That's why I'm happy."
This enraged the mantis. How dare he conclude that it would lose? Its attacks grew even more vicious.
After a quarter of an hour, Ye Yu was slightly fatigued, but the mantis was even more exhausted. Ye Yu quickly moved to the mantis's side, leaped up, and swung his left leg like a battle axe, delivering a powerful kick to the joint on the mantis's back. This kick concentrated all his strength, causing the mantis to stagger forward unsteadily.
Ye Yu pressed his advantage, his fists raining down like a storm. Despite having only two fists, it seemed as though countless fist shadows were striking the mantis's back and the back of its head.
The mantis was in excruciating pain, dizzy and disoriented. It turned around and wildly swung its twin scythes.
Blade after blade of sharp energy densely slashed out, continuously cutting through the air and the ground.
Ye Yu swiftly dodged and closed in, delivering a powerful punch that sent the mantis flying backward.
With a whoosh, Ye Yu appeared above the humanoid mantis, his fist coated with Conqueror's Haki, and slammed it down toward the mantis's head. Without even making contact, there was a loud crack as the mantis's head shell shattered, its insides exploded, and green blood splattered everywhere. The massive body collapsed to the ground, lifeless, having been killed by Ye Yu's single punch.
A notification sound rang out.
"Passed the Mystic Realm, experience reward obtained, initiating teleportation."
Ye Yu was elated because he had directly leveled up, reaching level 21.
It was well known that the higher the level, the harder it was to progress. At level 20, the difficulty became noticeably steeper, and he had only just reached level 20 not long ago. Now, after clearing this Mystic Realm, he had leveled up again.
Ye Yu was satisfied: "Not bad, this humanoid mantis didn't disappoint me. Killing it was equivalent to defeating an enemy stronger than a top-tier prodigy, so it makes sense that I leveled up."
Ye Yu was teleported out, and the swirling vortex of the Purple Realm disappeared.
This left everyone in shock.
"The Purple Realm has disappeared!"
"This means Ye Yu passed it!"
"Wow, that's incredible."
...
Everyone was astonished, and the most unbelievable part was that Ye Yu hadn't sustained any injuries. This left those who had previously participated in the Mystic Realm in awe.
Lin Muxue couldn't believe it: "How is this possible? If he had passed but was severely injured and weakened, I wouldn't be too surprised. But how did he defeat the humanoid mantis without a scratch? That's impossible. It was eight levels stronger than the participants!"
Having fought the humanoid mantis herself, Lin Muxue was even more shocked. Could Ye Yu's current strength surpass hers?
No, absolutely not.
This also left the top-tier prodigies who had participated in the Mystic Realm in disbelief.
Li Cang had already asked Lin Muxue about the contents of the Mystic Realm. Seeing her stunned expression, he wasn't surprised and explained.
"Xue Er, the humanoid mantis he faced must not have been as strong as the one you faced. After all, the higher the level of a Non-Ability User, the weaker they become. So, the mantis he faced might not have been stronger than the one you fought. That's why he passed without much difficulty. It couldn't be because he's stronger than you."
Lin Muxue thought this made sense and nodded in agreement: "That's a valid point."
At this, Ye Yu chuckled, glanced at Li Cang and Lin Muxue, and spat out two words:
"Idiots."
This infuriated Li Cang.
"What do you mean by that? How dare you insult me like this!"
Ye Yu mocked: "Isn't it true?"
Lin Muxue frowned, realizing she had been insulted as well.
Li Cang snorted: "My reasoning isn't without merit."
Lin Muxue confidently said: "Ye Yu, you can't be stronger than me. There's still over a month until the arena competition. By then, I'll definitely be much stronger than you. Just wait for your defeat. Don't think that just because you passed this Mystic Realm, you're better than me. Many people know that the difficulty of this realm varies depending on the person. The mantis you faced couldn't have been as strong as the one I fought."
Ye Yu couldn't be bothered to respond and walked toward the pirate ship.
"I can't be bothered to waste any more time on you. Xia Ling, let's board the ship. We can leave now."
"Yes, Captain."
All members of the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew boarded the ship and set sail.
Lin Muxue's expression was grim. Not only had she failed to pass the Mystic Realm, but she had also been thoroughly humiliated. She had hoped to see Ye Yu fail and be embarrassed upon his exit, but to her dismay, he had succeeded, leaving her with nothing to gain. Watching Ye Yu leave triumphantly, she was so enraged that she nearly spat blood again.
Li Cang said, "Xue Er, save your accumulated anger for the arena competition."
Slap!
Lin Muxue slapped Li Cang across the face to vent some of her fury, cursing him.
"Useless! You've embarrassed me. From now on, work harder to improve yourself. When you can defeat Ye Yu in a one-on-one fight, I'll let
you be the deputy captain again."
This made Li Cang happy.
"Thank you, Xue Er. This is a great opportunity for me. By the mid or late stages, I will definitely be able to defeat Ye Yu."