Yuan Shanhu's mind went blank. Looking at the utterly unruffled Qin Haoxuan, he seemed as though he had seen a ghost, his eyes flashing with undisguised terror.
Qin Haoxuan took several steps forward. His body had begun to burn up again, and he said to Yuan Shanhu, "Come on, again. Just like that punch earlier—it felt pretty good!"
Yuan Shanhu's face turned deathly pale. He backed away again and again, shouting, "Don't... don't come over... Come any closer, and I won't be polite..."
Qin Haoxuan's ghostlike performance had utterly shattered his psychological defenses. Yuan Shanhu had entered the Taichu Sect twenty-five years ago, yet he had never seen an ordinary mortal who had cultivated for only two days withstand so many Spiritual Law attacks from an Immortal Seedling Realm Third Leaf cultivator without injury. Forget seeing it—he had never even heard of such a thing!
If someone like this was not exceptionally gifted, then he was a monster! Yes, he had to be a monster! Even those Supreme Purple Seeds with extraordinary talent would probably have long since died without leaving a whole corpse behind.
The aloof, cold-faced, bearded man in the crowd stared at Qin Haoxuan. Even his usually calm and indifferent face carried all manner of disbelief. A new disciple only slightly stronger than an ordinary person had actually asked to be beaten, frightening a Menial Disciple who had been in the sect for over twenty years... This... this simply defied logic!
Yuan Shanhu had chickened out, and Qin Haoxuan was deeply displeased. This old fellow had been pounding on him for so long, and just when he had finally pounded him into comfort, he refused to keep hitting! How could a person be so lacking in decency? So Qin Haoxuan pressed forward step by step, provoking them, seeking only a savage beating in exchange for a clear mind and refreshed spirit. If they would not hit him, then he would hit them. He would let these Menial Disciples of Spirit Field Valley, as well as Zhang Kuang and Li Jing, know that he was not someone they could provoke at will.
"Don't come over. We won't hold today against you, so hurry up and get lost..." Zhang San and Li Si, who stood on the same side as Yuan Shanhu, had begun to lose their nerve as well. They knew they were absolutely no match for Yuan Shanhu. If Yuan Shanhu had already collapsed before this monster, there was even less to be said for the two of them.
If not for the fact that fleeing in front of so many eyes would leave them unable to hold their heads high in the future, they would have turned and run long ago.
Qin Haoxuan took several more steps forward, leaving only a few paces between himself and Yuan Shanhu's group.
"Qin Haoxuan, you've gone too far! I'll fight you!" Li Si finally could not hold himself back. He raised his fist and rushed forward.
The situation had taken a sharp turn. Qin Haoxuan was weak against the strong, one against three, yet he had somehow gained the upper hand. No one had expected this outcome. Some pitied Qin Haoxuan for not knowing when to stop while he was ahead. So what if he could take a beating? If he drove Yuan Shanhu's group into a corner, he would not have a good ending.
Watching Li Si and the other two fight like trapped beasts, the onlookers once again held their breath for Qin Haoxuan.
"Brothers, fight him! Qin Haoxuan, if your Grandpa Yuan doesn't beat you into kneeling and admitting your guilt today, then I'm your grandson!" Yuan Shanhu threw caution to the wind as well, roaring, "Even if you have sinews of steel and bones of iron, your Grandpa Yuan will tear you apart and grind you to dust!"
Yuan Shanhu, Zhang San, and Li Si, their ruthlessness aroused, gathered their strongest attacks. No longer caring about earning the disgraceful reputation of bullying the few with the many, they charged Qin Haoxuan together.
Yuan Shanhu calling himself Grandpa Yuan made Qin Haoxuan find it rather amusing. He looked at the man as though he were a defeated dog from the village, running away with its tail between its legs while yelping miserably. Qin Haoxuan knew no Spiritual Law and Dao Arts at all and could only engage in hand-to-hand combat. Yet at that moment, the calm composure he displayed when facing ferocious birds and savage beasts emerged. He wanted to find flaws in Yuan Shanhu's group, for only then could he possibly defeat them. Otherwise, he would merely become their target. Although he did not know why he was unharmed, he could not hurt them either. After making a fuss for a while, he did not know whether he would remain so resistant to beatings. It was better to end this swiftly.
The three of them completely disregarded whether expending too much spiritual power would injure their Immortal Seedlings. They only wanted to kill Qin Haoxuan, this monster who seemed impossible to beat to death, as quickly as possible. They hurled every Spiritual Law they knew at him like a rainstorm.
Every strike Yuan Shanhu's group landed on him was like helping him absorb something. The medicinal power stored within Qin Haoxuan's body was forcibly hammered into his bone marrow. The earlier Overlord's Fist in particular had triggered an explosion of spiritual energy, like a barrage of wild punches battering his entire body without distinction. Nearly one-tenth of the vast spiritual power hidden throughout every corner of his body had been driven into his marrow.
The more spiritual power Yuan Shanhu's group expended, the more exhausted they became. Yet every punch Qin Haoxuan took was like half a month of diligent, bitter cultivation, leaving him naturally brimming with vigor.
As Qin Haoxuan stared intently at their charging movements, seeking their weak points, his Mud Palace Pill suddenly jolted. Golden light abruptly exploded within his mind, and his entire spirit instantly underwent an indescribable ascension. Everything between heaven and earth had never been so clear. At the same time, an unnoticed glimmer flashed through Qin Haoxuan's eyes. After it flashed, Li Si, who was charging at the front, suddenly halted. A violent pain tore through his mind, and he froze where he stood.
Divine sense!
Though he knew no Spiritual Law, Qin Haoxuan was quick and nimble. How could he let such an opportunity slip away? He lunged forward, pinned Li Si to the ground, and viciously smashed two punches into his nose bridge. Li Si saw stars, blood streaming from his nose.
At that moment, Zhang San charged forward as well. He was forming hand seals, preparing to use the wind blade technique he excelled at most. But after another glimmer flashed through Qin Haoxuan's eyes, Zhang San's hand-seal movements suddenly became incomparably slow. Qin Haoxuan swept him down with a move that swept through a thousand troops, then pinned him to the ground and gave him a sound beating.
In only an instant, Qin Haoxuan's counterattack had knocked down both Zhang San and Li Si. The two were in the late stage of the Immortal Root Planting Realm, infinitely close to the Immortal Seedling Realm. They should not have been comparable to Qin Haoxuan, who was only in the early Immortal Root Planting Realm—yet Qin Haoxuan had effortlessly taken them down. No one knew what method he had used.
This did not conform to logic! They had never heard of someone fighting the strong while weak, and even fighting one against three at the same time. Today, they had finally witnessed it.
The onlookers had already grown accustomed to the surprises Qin Haoxuan brought them. Today, he had shocked them until they were numb.
Only Yuan Shanhu remained. He gathered all his spiritual power and prepared to unleash Overlord's Fist again! The airflow around him swirled violently, kicking up dust from the ground as an aura of kingly dominance spread forth!
The onlookers craned their necks in anticipation. They desperately wanted to witness how this battle of the weak against the strong would end, and how Qin Haoxuan would receive Yuan Shanhu's punch, condensed from all the spiritual power in his body.
Yet Yuan Shanhu ultimately failed to throw that punch. A faint glimmer flashed through Qin Haoxuan's eyes again, and he seemed to see Yuan Shanhu's soul. It was an extremely faint thread of golden light, far inferior to the immense golden radiance in Qin Haoxuan's mind, which flowed like a river. The golden light within Qin Haoxuan's mind appeared in Yuan Shanhu's mind and instantly drowned out the other's golden light. Yuan Shanhu looked as though he had suffered a heavy blow. His face turned pale, and he staggered back several steps, pointing at Qin Haoxuan without managing to say a single word. The aura of kingly dominance that had poured from his body while preparing Overlord's Fist vanished completely.
"Wh-what... what is going on?"
The moment Yuan Shanhu faltered, Qin Haoxuan pounced like a hungry tiger seizing prey and rained wild punches onto his chest. A series of crisp cracks rang out from the body of the man who had just called himself Grandpa Yuan. Several of his ribs had broken. Without spiritual pills and miraculous medicine to aid his recovery, he could forget about leaving his bed for two or three months.
The onlookers were incomparably curious about Qin Haoxuan's final attack. It could control a person's mind and make them lose focus briefly. Once such a method was unleashed, it could conquer all before it.
The scene fell silent. Only Qin Haoxuan's punching and Yuan Shanhu's bones breaking could be heard. After a long while, a wave of astonished exclamations erupted.
"Qin Haoxuan fought one against three. Is this real?"
"If we aren't collectively dreaming, then this should be real..."
The onlookers looked at one another. As the saying went, an official one rank higher could crush a man to death; for cultivators, a realm one level higher could beat a man to death. The gap between the Immortal Root Planting Realm and the Immortal Seedling Realm was a chasm as vast as heaven and earth. How had Qin Haoxuan crossed it? And what was that method that made people lose their senses for a brief moment? Others did not know what it was, and even Qin Haoxuan himself could not explain it.
The fight was over, and the female disciples released Xu Yu. With a warm smile on his face, Xu Yu gave Qin Haoxuan a smile filled with praise and admiration.
At that critical moment just now, Xu Yu had dared to say that Qin Haoxuan's affairs were his own affairs, and had dared to say that if Yuan Shanhu harmed Qin Haoxuan, he would definitely not let him off. But now that Qin Haoxuan had escaped danger, Xu Yu returned to his usual quiet gentleness.
Amid everyone's exclamations, Qin Haoxuan's mind was incomparably calm as he rapidly sorted through his thoughts. Suddenly, he recalled Elder Chu speaking of mysterious divine-sense attacks during a lecture.
Could that have been a divine-sense attack just now? No, that was impossible. Did divine-sense attacks not require at least the Immortal Infant Dao Fruit Realm to cultivate? He had only just entered the Immortal Root Planting Realm and remained far from even the Immortal Seedling Realm. How could he possibly use a divine-sense attack? But if it had not been one, then that marvelous sensation had flowed from his eyes several times. Each time it happened, his enemies' movements slowed in his vision. Zhang San and Li Si, who were also in the Immortal Root Planting Realm, had directly frozen on the spot.
Then how could all of this be explained?
Though intensely curious, Qin Haoxuan did not dare verify it. If people learned he possessed such an ability, it would surely attract attention. Would that not place the secret of his Little Snake in tremendous danger? After weighing the pros and cons, Qin Haoxuan abandoned the thought of getting to the bottom of it.
What he did not know was that ever since he had obtained Little Snake and placed his soul within it, he had been cultivating all along. As the days accumulated, his divine sense had already become extremely powerful, and he could even attack others with it! Like the aftereffects of possessing Little Snake, however, he would become extremely drowsy and fatigued the following day, unable to resist falling asleep.
Qin Haoxuan was still making wild guesses when an elder hurried over from the distance with several disciples dressed uniformly in white. They were members of the Spirit Field Valley squad of the Taichu Sect's Discipline Enforcement Team. The disciplinary elder was Elder Xuyunzi, while the lead disciple, Huang Li, was a beautiful woman with delicate features. Despite her graceful name and lovely appearance, she always wore a cold expression, as though everyone owed her money. In Spirit Field Valley, she had a nickname that struck terror into people's hearts—Ice Rakshasa.
"As a newly admitted disciple, have you not read the sect rules and teachings? If you have, why did you still engage in a private fight? Do you not know that private fights violate sect rules, and serious cases may even result in expulsion from the mountain gate, with no chance of ever being admitted again?"
Huang Li reprimanded him like a string of firecrackers, not even giving Qin Haoxuan a chance to argue. Disciples who engaged in private fights would always produce countless excuses and reasons if given an opportunity to defend themselves. She turned and continued reprimanding Yuan Shanhu, "You have been in the sect for twenty-five years. Do you not know that the sect rules and teachings repeatedly and strictly forbid private fighting? Not only did you fight privately, you even bullied a newly admitted disciple?"
Huang Li hesitated, then ultimately swallowed the latter half of her words—"And you even lost. What a disgrace"—back down.
Though being reprimanded by a woman, Yuan Shanhu was not angry in the least. Instead, he lowered his head, looking thoroughly afraid of Huang Li.
Some friends have asked about the update schedule. Starting today, there should theoretically be one chapter before noon every day, with another around six in the evening, perhaps sometimes a little earlier in the afternoon. Some friends have also asked: the Zhang family produced two geniuses, so why not bring in their family as well? Perhaps there is something in their bloodline. Let me explain: there is no bloodline business here. Michael Jordan was called the god of basketball, but his sons... Look at Magic Johnson's basketball ability, then look at his son... To say more would only bring tears. This novel has no bloodlines...
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