"Not good!"
Master Yixiu thought to himself.
This kid was at the Houtian Fourth Level.
He wasn't someone any Tom, Dick, or Harry could challenge.
Let alone the Houtian Fourth Level.
Even the Houtian First Level was worlds apart.
The Houtian and Xiantian realms were incomparable.
Master Yixiu hurriedly moved to intervene.
But in the blink of an eye,
a pure and domineering aura
surged toward Qingqing before Master Yixiu could act.
Qingqing was instantly crushed beneath the massive aura.
With a muffled groan, she dropped to one knee.
Qingqing hurriedly circulated her entire body's true qi to resist.
She suddenly discovered that her true qi couldn't break through her opponent's encirclement.
The heavy aura pressed Qingqing down so hard that she couldn't pull herself free.
It was as if her true qi in this area
had already been wrapped up by her opponent without a sound.
Not a trace of it could seep out.
She strained until her face flushed bright red, but it was all useless.
"All right, all right. Little junior nephew, spare people when you can. Don't hurt the young lady."
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes waved his hand smugly as he spoke.
He glanced over.
Looking at Qingqing, who had been suppressed so thoroughly that she couldn't move,
his heart was practically blooming with joy.
As soon as his voice fell, Lin Fan withdrew his aura.
The heavy aura pressing on Qingqing dispersed with it.
Jia Le, standing to the side, was already staring in stunned disbelief.
Senior Disciple Brother Lin Fan had previously possessed only average aptitude.
Even after more than a decade, he had accomplished nothing noteworthy.
He had remained stuck in the Houtian realm the entire time.
He hadn't even crossed the threshold of the fifth level.
His talent had been utterly ordinary.
He had no connection to the word "genius."
If one were talking about diligence and hard work, though, that would fit him.
Compared with Wen Cai, he could be said to be a little better.
But against Qiu Sheng, he could only be called slightly stronger.
Even calling him outstanding would have been a stretch.
How could he suppress Qingqing now?
Qingqing was at the Houtian Ninth Level!
She was only one step away from crossing that barrier.
How long had it been since they last met?
Had he eaten some heavenly treasure?
Or encountered some earth-shattering stroke of luck?
Jia Le's mind filled with countless questions.
In such a short time, he had already reached such a peak.
What kind of freak was this senior brother?
And he was only eighteen years old. If he continued like this...
That would be terrifying. The entire Maoshan might tremble because of him.
An eighteen-year-old in the Xiantian realm!
Such people were practically nonexistent.
One could even say they existed only in legends.
Jia Le found the thought terrifying and didn't dare continue.
"Senior... Senior Brother. What... what realm are you at now?"
Jia Le asked with his tongue tied.
Qingqing spoke first.
In an unconvinced tone, she said, "It's nothing more than the peak of the Houtian Ninth Level."
"What's there to be proud of? If I hadn't slacked off in my cultivation recently,"
"it would still be hard to say who would win. Given enough time, as long as I work twice as hard,"
"it's still unknown who will break through to the Xiantian realm first."
"Hahahaha~"
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes burst into wild laughter.
He looked at Qingqing as if he were gazing at a frog at the bottom of a well.
She really was a newborn calf that feared no tiger.
Qingqing stomped her foot unhappily. "What are you laughing at? Have some respect for your elders."
"Qingqing!"
A sharp shout suddenly came from beside her.
Qingqing immediately retreated behind Master Yixiu, looking aggrieved.
"Little Benefactor Lin Fan, if this humble monk has guessed correctly..."
"you should have reached the fourth level of the Xiantian realm, correct?"
Recalling Qingqing's ignorant remark just now,
Master Yixiu spoke with a slightly awkward expression.
What unknown outcome was she talking about? She probably couldn't catch up even if she rode a horse.
That was the Xiantian realm.
It wasn't something one could obtain merely through hard work and diligence.
As soon as his voice fell,
Qingqing and Jia Le instantly stood there dumbfounded.
Both of them even wondered whether there was something wrong with their ears.
The... Xiantian realm?
And the fourth level?
"What exactly is your strength, Lin Fan?"
"Senior Brother, is what the master said true?"
The two of them rushed toward Lin Fan, jostling to ask.
They seemed unable to believe what they had just heard.
"Well, didn't Master Yixiu explain it clearly?"
Lin Fan pointed at Master Yixiu and replied calmly.
Then he waved his hand, as if it were nothing worth making a fuss over.
Seeing this, Master Yixiu immediately continued, "Little Benefactor Lin Fan possesses extraordinary spiritual roots and remarkable talent."
"Although he is only seventeen or eighteen years old, he is the finest among the finest of this generation."
"The aura he released just now was undoubtedly that of the Xiantian Fourth Level."
"This old monk absolutely could not have been mistaken!"
There was naturally no way he could have been mistaken.
The aura Lin Fan had unleashed
was not merely at the Xiantian Fourth Level. It faintly approached the fifth.
To put it nicely, this aura was at the fourth level.
To put it more grandly, it was a fourth-level aura even more vigorous than an ordinary fourth-level aura.
He had seen countless geniuses throughout his life.
But this young man was truly monstrous.
Having such cultivation at his age would already have been enough.
Yet his aura was even superior to others of the same level.
After Master Yixiu finished speaking, he couldn't help sighing inwardly once more.
Qingqing was instantly rendered speechless.
Her little face flushed bright red.
This was so embarrassing. How had I dared to do that?
I'm only a tiny Houtian cultivator.
Yet I actually tried to compete in aura with someone in the Xiantian realm.
I even laughed at Jia Le's eighth level.
I thought the ninth level was already a realm others could only look up to.
I never expected there to always be a higher mountain beyond the next.
Fortunately, he hadn't taken it seriously.
If he had gotten serious,
it wouldn't have ended with her merely kneeling down so easily.
Qingqing was embarrassed from the bottom of her heart.
Facing the situation before her, she had no dignity left at all.
At that moment, she wished she could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
"Oh my, I didn't realize it had gotten so late."
"This poor Daoist shouldn't trouble everyone any longer!"
Master Yixiu saw Qingqing's embarrassment and spoke awkwardly.
He cupped his hands to bid everyone farewell.
Then he led Qingqing straight outside.
They returned to their residence.
As dusk descended, the night gradually revealed itself.
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes and Master Yixiu's contest of comparison
finally came to an end with the departure of master and disciple.
Before you continue