The Earth-Element Cultivation Technique

That day, the cultivators coming and going from the various Aristocratic Clan estates in Tianning City never let up. Everyone was curious to see how things would ultimately unfold.

Were they waiting to watch a joke?

No. What the various Aristocratic Clans wanted more was to see the Qin Family take a hit. It might not have been very realistic, but one of their elders had already died, hadn't he?

When one group of cultivators flew into the city on their swords without a care, then another group flew out, the unlucky city garrison commander had gone completely numb. He'd better not leave his room today. As long as the city didn't descend into chaos, they could fly however they pleased!

After grumbling, the helpless, unlucky commander went back to his room and promptly fell asleep.

What! Another Half-step Divine Peeking elder had died!

Good!

Many clan heads slapped their thighs and burst out laughing.

"Several more ought to die."

It seemed the mountain pressing down on them—the Qin Family—had made life far too miserable...

Inside Qin Family Fortress, Qin Hao finally stopped crying. Qin Tiannan had watched him sobbing and, in the end, couldn't resist smacking him across the face.

Unexpectedly, after taking the slap, Qin Hao was so overcome with grief that he couldn't cry anymore.

What on earth was going on?

First, Qin Hao had been humiliated, so Third Elder had taken a group of cultivators to get even. The cultivators returned in a sorry state, while Third Elder was left behind.

Now all Twelve Elders had gone out together, and nearly two hours had passed, yet not a single one had returned.

Qin Tiannan's first thought was that something had happened in Tianning City. He couldn't help but suspect as much. Those down-at-heel Aristocratic Clans smiled warmly to his face, but behind his back, which of them didn't want to stab the Qin Family a few times?

If Tianning City had set a trap, those clans had probably already joined forces. They couldn't afford to let their guard down.

Before long, the cultivator he'd sent out came rushing in, panic-stricken. Seeing Qin Tiannan, he didn't even have time to bow before blurting out, "Family Head, Third Elder is dead!"

Qin Tiannan's expression changed drastically. He barked, "Say that again!"

The cultivator's lips trembled as he described finding Third Elder's corpse among the rubble.

"What about the other elders?"

Qin Tiannan's face was already as cold as frost. The cultivator lowered his head and recounted the rumors spreading through the city.

Not only was Third Elder dead, but he'd heard another elder had died while pursuing the thief.

"Right now, countless cultivators are coming and going through the city gates. All of Tianning City is watching us make fools of ourselves."

Crack!

Qin Tiannan, murder in his eyes, crushed the armrest of his chair. Then he abruptly rose to his feet and said furiously, "Those damned down-at-heel clans! I'll go there myself!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he drifted away like a ghost...

Hanyu was in a world of pain. His whole back burned, and from behind, there was hardly a patch of uninjured skin. And this was only from being grazed by the shockwave.

If he hadn't turned and run the moment he saw those old bastards preparing another combined attack, there wouldn't even have been ashes left of him.

He still had to endure the little Artifact Spirit's ceaseless taunts in his mind. "That'll teach you to get cocky. Didn't you say you saw eight cultivators alone? Now you know to run. What took you so long?"

Hanyu bared his teeth in pain. This thing wasn't human; it didn't even know how to talk like one. He wouldn't bother arguing with it.

Besides, it had warned him just in time, saving his life.

He'd still been oblivious when the little Artifact Spirit immediately sounded the alarm. "Run! With this energy fluctuation, one hit and you're dead!"

The enormous crater behind him sent a chill through his heart. Just how terrifyingly powerful did you have to be to make a crater like that?

When he'd used the burning forest as cover and fled at the first opportunity, a tremendous crash had struck the earth. The whole ground shook, and a shockwave slammed into his back.

His mighty body had been utterly powerless against that force.

"What level of power was that?"

"The power's nature was still at the Peeping God Realm, but it had been amplified tenfold."

The little Artifact Spirit answered succinctly.

Meanwhile, the seven Half-step Divine Peeking elders were deathly pale, their figures in the air swaying as if they might fall at any moment.

Second Elder Qin and the others were in no better shape. If the thief hadn't been so detestable, repeatedly using the forest fire to ambush them, they wouldn't have been willing to pay such a heavy price to use a combined technique.

Looking down at the enormous crater, they'd just thought that the thief had probably been blasted to ashes.

But then their expressions instantly turned grim. Several hundred meters from the crater, a figure was sprinting away.

"That thief wasn't even in the burning forest! He ran!"

Second Elder Qin's lungs nearly burst with rage. They'd paid such a heavy price to unleash a spectacular combined attack, and the kid had escaped long ago. That strike had hit nothing at all.

No—he'd even lost the corpses of two of his clansmen in the process.

"After him!"

Second Elder Qin gritted his teeth and mounted his sword. Their strength was badly depleted, and he could no longer squander what little True Essence he had left.

The other two Peeping God Realm cultivators were in the same position.

But the Half-step Divine Peeking elders couldn't keep up. They had no strength left to pursue him.

"You... go back."

Second Elder Qin said with a frown, then shot through the air.

On the banks of Bailu River, Hanyu suddenly came to a halt.

Someone was standing in his way. He wasn't soaring through the air like those high-level cultivators, yet somehow he seemed even more uncanny. His figure was elusive; just a moment ago, Hanyu had clearly seen him cover a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.

The newcomer wore a black robe patterned with gold on a black ground. His head of white hair was flecked with gray, and his face looked to be past middle age. His eyes seemed to seize the soul, their gaze chilling Hanyu to the bone.

"Are you the little thief who killed my Qin Family elders?"

Qin Tiannan had come all the way from Qin Family Fortress. By the river, he'd spotted Hanyu's battered figure, and several elders riding swords were already visible behind him.

"Another Qin Family member?"

Hanyu warily took several steps back, a nameless unease rising in his heart.

"I am Qin Tiannan, Family Head of the Qin Family!"

Qin Tiannan spoke coldly, then studied Hanyu, seemingly trying to figure out what he was capable of.

"This man is a little strange. He's not a divine ability user, but there's a trace of Earth-Element Supernatural Power Origin on him."

The little Artifact Spirit suddenly spoke, sounding rather puzzled. "It's possible the cultivation technique he practices comes close to a divine ability."

Qin Tiannan wasn't one for idle talk. Once he withdrew his gaze, he lost interest. With his hands behind his back, he strode forward. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Hanyu, and he casually pressed down with one palm. Yet Hanyu was sent flying.

How could this be?

Hanyu stared wide-eyed as he flew backward, blood spraying from his mouth.

"What realm is this guy at?" Hanyu asked the little Artifact Spirit in disbelief.

"It has nothing to do with his realm. He's still at the Peeping God Realm, but his cultivation technique lets him draw on the power of earth. As long as both feet are on the ground, it continuously supplies strength to his body. His punches probably won't lose to yours."

Not lose to his? That one strike had made Hanyu spit blood.

Qin Tiannan also seemed surprised by Hanyu's physical strength. He'd taken a palm strike and only spat up a little blood?

His physical strength was terrifying. No wonder he'd been able to kill the Qin Family's elders one after another.

Hanyu had just gotten back to his feet when three sword lights arrived in an instant. Second Elder Qin looked grim as he landed and launched an attack at Hanyu.

"Divine Light Burning Thunder!" With no burning forest to hinder him, he sent a huge, dazzling ball of lightning hurtling straight at Hanyu.

"Heavenly Wind Dance!"

"Boundless Fire!"

The other two streams of True Essence turned into wind and fire high in the air, sweeping toward Hanyu as well. He had just thought of dodging when a sudden pain shot through his feet. He looked down in horror to see the soil surging, transforming into two enormous hands that pinned him firmly in place...