Chapter 728: Eradicating Heaven Net to Establish Dominance, Ye Xiu’s Attitude

As expected! Bruce was going to kill Yan Long to establish his authority.

Ye Xiu squinted, hesitating. Should he help Yan Long? The man really needed to be put in his place.

"Bruce, aren’t you being too overbearing?" Yan Long said angrily, showing no fear. "All I did was disagree with your proposal to divide Biluo Island, and now you want to kill me?"

Bruce grabbed Yan Long by the neck. "And what if I am?"

"You..." Yan Long’s pupils shrank. He no longer dared to be defiant and conceded, "Alright, I agree with your proposal to divide Biluo Island. Is that okay now?"

So he can bend and bow when he needs to... Ye Xiu inwardly scorned Yan Long.

"It’s too late to agree now!" Bruce rejected his compromise, his voice cold. "There are far too many martial artists in the world. Without a unified command, we could easily be defeated by the three Judicator Families one by one. I am the strongest martial artist in the world, the Necromancers Association is the most powerful global organization, and Black Water Nation is the strongest of all nations. Therefore, it is only natural for me to lead all global martial artists.

"But with more than five million people, they might accept me as the Alliance Hierarch of the Global Martial Artists Alliance on the surface, but behind my back, many will surely defy me and refuse to strictly follow my commands.

"Thus, I must kill you and eliminate the Heaven Net. Only then can I strike fear into everyone."

Ye Xiu frowned. He hadn’t expected Bruce to lay his cards on the table so directly, openly crowning himself Alliance Hierarch of the Global Martial Artists Alliance and using the destruction of Xuanse’s official martial artist organization to display his power.

"Hey, aren’t any of you going to say something?" Yan Long was in a full-blown panic. He hadn’t foreseen Bruce wanting to destroy the Heaven Net and anxiously scanned the crowd. "Bruce has openly declared himself the leader of all the world’s martial artists! Are you all really willing to submit to him?"

No one spoke.

It wasn’t that they were afraid of Bruce and the Necromancers Association. Meng Yinwan, representing the Avengers Alliance, certainly wasn’t afraid of Bruce. If they were to truly fight, the victor was far from certain. Even though Bruce was the only Eighth Realm War God, the Restorer Alliance had many Seventh Realm War Gods. But the Restorer Alliance’s true target was the three Judicator Families. They couldn’t afford to waste their strength in an all-out war with the Necromancers Association.

"Ye Xiu, Ye Xiu..." Seeing no one respond, Yan Long grew even more frantic and turned to Ye Xiu for help. "You’re the Medicine King of Xuanse, and we’re both from Xuanse! Can you really bear to watch Xuanse’s official martial artist organization be destroyed by Bruce?"

Before Ye Xiu could respond, Bruce shot him a cold look. "Divine Doctor Ye, earlier I told Hachi to smack you, and Yan Long was gloating and even egging Hachi on. He treated you like that, and you still want to help him?"

These words made Yan Long incredibly embarrassed and regretful. If he had known that his life and the fate of the Heaven Net would one day rest in Ye Xiu’s hands, he would have never dared to oppose him. But it was too late for regrets. Yan Long looked at Ye Xiu, his heart pounding with a mixture of hope and dread.

Everyone present turned their gazes to Ye Xiu, awaiting his decision.

Ye Xiu slowly stood up. "It’s true that Yan Long and I don’t get along. But I am from Xuanse, after all. If you intend to destroy the Heaven Net, I cannot stand idly by."

Yan Long breathed a sigh of relief, so moved by Ye Xiu’s stance that he was on the verge of tears. Despite how he had treated Ye Xiu, at this critical moment, Ye Xiu stood with him.

"Ye Xiu, do you truly wish to be my enemy?" Bruce was furious, thinking that inviting Ye Xiu to this meeting was the worst decision of his life. This man was just here to sabotage the meeting. "Let me remind you, Ye Xiu," he said coldly, "I am an Eighth Realm War God. In a real life-or-death battle, you might not win. And the members of the Necromancers Association can easily annihilate the Heaven Net."

The meaning was clear: if Ye Xiu insisted on helping the Heaven Net, Bruce would declare war on him. This filled Meng Yinwan and the others with anticipation. They hoped to see Ye Xiu and Bruce fight, which would finally determine just how strong Ye Xiu truly was.

Bruce also watched Ye Xiu, his heart uneasy. Despite his harsh words, he didn’t actually want to fight. He couldn’t see through Ye Xiu’s strength at all. What if he couldn’t win?

"Bruce, there’s something you need to understand," Ye Xiu said calmly. "Although Huang Quan isn’t Xuanse’s official backer, he has always helped Xuanse. If you make a move on the Heaven Net, what will you do if you anger Huang Quan and bring a death sentence upon yourself?"

Ye Xiu had no intention of fighting Bruce; he didn’t want to reveal his true strength so soon. Playing the fool to prey on the wise was the way to go!

However, as soon as he spoke, Bruce began to laugh.

Meng Yinwan and the others were greatly disappointed. To them, Ye Xiu bringing up Huang Quan was a sign of fear. He believed he couldn’t defeat Bruce and didn’t dare to fight him. That made Ye Xiu’s strength easy to judge.

A Seventh Realm War God!

"Huang Quan?" Bruce grew arrogant, scoffing disdainfully. "You all may fear Huang Quan, but I do not. I am an Eighth Realm War God. Is Huang Quan a Ninth Realm? Impossible. At best, he’s just like me, an Eighth Realm. If we really fought, it’s not certain who would win or lose."

His words found agreement among everyone present. A Ninth Realm War God was the stuff of legends for the Restorer Alliance and all the hermits who opposed the three Judicator Families. For generations, ever since the Temple and its sword-wielders had vanished, not a single Ninth Realm War God had emerged. In other words, it had been over two thousand years. They didn’t know if the three Judicator Families had one, but they were almost certain that Huang Quan was not a Ninth Realm War God.

"I think so too!" Ye Xiu said with a smile. He thought, This is exactly what I was waiting for you to say. "Bruce, you want to establish your authority by killing Yan Long and destroying the Heaven Net, but that won’t have a significant enough effect. However, if you could kill Huang Quan, fight him to a draw, or even defeat him, your prestige across the globe would be unparalleled."

Meng Yinwan quickly chimed in, "Ye Xiu is right. Nothing could establish your authority more effectively than a battle with Huang Quan."

"Bruce, I support you in challenging Huang Quan."

"Huang Quan represents the pinnacle of martial power. Bruce, if you can defeat him, you’ll be the new god on Earth."

Everyone began to urge Bruce to challenge Huang Quan. The main reason was that the entire world wanted to know just how strong Huang Quan really was—it was the planet’s greatest unsolved mystery. This collective encouragement made Bruce feel trapped, unable to back down. If he didn’t challenge Huang Quan, everyone here, and indeed the entire world, would mock his cowardice. His refusal would be an admission that Huang Quan was stronger.

"Bruce, do you dare challenge Huang Quan?" Yan Long used reverse psychology. "If you don’t even have the courage to challenge him, then even if you take the seat of Alliance Hierarch of the global martial artists, Huang Quan could render you a powerless figurehead with a single word."

This taunt struck Bruce’s heart like a dagger and blocked off any path of retreat.

"I have wanted to challenge Huang Quan for a long time!" Bruce made his decision, speaking with arrogance. "Which of you can contact him? Tell him to come here. I will battle him and let the whole world know that Huang Quan is not the strongest—I am!"

The crowd fell silent. None of them had a way to contact Huang Quan.

"I know where Huang Quan is. Should I go get him?" Ye Xiu asked cheerfully. In fact, Mo Luo was already waiting nearby, wearing the Huang Quan Suit.

Everyone was stunned. Ye Xiu actually had a connection to Huang Quan?

"Go ahead!" Bruce said. "Tell him to be quick. I don’t have the patience to wait."

"Alright!" Ye Xiu nodded and departed.