A Show of Force

"These new recruits sure are a lot!" a boy suddenly said with a laugh.

"You forgot? The Mountain-Opening Selection only happens once every five years!" another boy said.

"No wonder so many good-for-nothings showed up all at once!" The first boy stepped forward. He looked no older than eighteen, yet his aura had already reached the Ninth Layer of Body Refining, and was exceptionally condensed.

He clasped his hands behind his back and circled Zhou Heng and the other eight like a general inspecting his troops. Then he stepped back, planted one foot on the edge of a nearby flower bed, and said, "Good-for-nothings, crawl through my legs!"

What? This was going too far!

The newcomers were furious. Every one of them had been a local prodigy. None had ever suffered such humiliation, and their faces blazed with anger.

This was a show of force!

"Not crawling? Then we'll beat you until you do!" The second boy stepped forward as well, his aura at the Ninth Layer of Body Refining surging around him.

"What kind of decent material could the Mountain-Opening Selection possibly bring in?" the third boy muttered. He cracked his knuckles, the sharp pops ringing out as he released his Ninth Layer of Body Refining aura.

The last boy didn't move, but since he stood alongside the other three, how could he be any weaker?

The Nine Spirits Sect really lived up to its name. Four people had casually stepped forward, and every one of them had reached the Ninth Layer of Body Refining. In any small town, that would make them peerless prodigies!

"Then let's fight!" Shi Qingfeng was the first to step forward. "I'd like to see what kind of people you are!"

"Stick your neck out, and you're bound to get hurt!" The first boy flashed forward at incredible speed, appearing before Shi Qingfeng in an instant. He clenched his right fist and drove it into him. Bang! Shi Qingfeng's body folded over and shot into the air.

Smack! Shi Qingfeng crashed hard to the ground. His face turned pale, and he spat out a mouthful of blood with a "Wah!" He struggled to his feet, only to collapse again.

How powerful!

They were both at the Ninth Layer of Body Refining. How could the gap between them be so enormous?

"Remember my name: Kong Xiang!" the first boy said haughtily. He walked over and planted his foot on Shi Qingfeng's face, grinding it into the ground. "Tenth in the Outer Sect rankings!"

No wonder he was so strong. He was tenth among the Outer Sect disciples! But if even the tenth-ranked disciple was this powerful, then what about the ninth, eighth, seventh... the first and second?

Shi Qingfeng had always been incredibly proud. Having his face trampled in front of everyone sent him into such a rage that he fainted on the spot.

"Which of you good-for-nothings still refuses to obey?" The second boy picked his ear and said, "Forgot to introduce myself. I'm Wei Quanhe, ninth among the Outer Sect disciples. And this is Ren Anyi—his name doesn't suit him at all, because he's anything but at ease. He's eighth. And this one is Wei Jinping, seventh!"

Hiss! Kong Xiang was already this powerful, yet he was the weakest of the four!

"Get down and crawl!" Kong Xiang pointed to the gap between his legs and looked at Zhou Heng and the others. When his gaze passed over Shen Xinqi, though, his eyes lit up. "What's your name, Junior Sister? You're quite the beauty!"

Shen Xinqi smiled sweetly. She walked over and whispered a few words to Kong Xiang. He immediately dropped his arrogant expression, replacing it with a fawning one, like a lovesick dog.

Wei Quanhe and the other two gathered around her as well, circling her like stars around the moon.

Zhou Heng knew she had ties to Elder Tianzhu, and that she was a mighty figure at the Third Heaven of Spirit Gathering. How could mere Outer Sect disciples at the very bottom dare offend her? Naturally, all they could do was curry favor with her.

Zhang Zijun stepped forward too. After whispering something to them, he was allowed through without a fight.

Clearly, he also had an elder-level backer.

But everyone left was truly an "ordinary person."

"Hey, quit standing there like a fool. Hurry up! I still have to go practice the Crimson Bright Fist!" Kong Xiang said impatiently.

"Kong, the Tenth, you can practice all you want. You'll never become Kong, the Ninth!" Wei Quanhe laughed loudly and blew on his finger as if brushing away earwax. His contemptuous expression made Kong Xiang seethe.

The crowd turned their eyes to Shen Xinqi and Zhang Zijun, hoping they would speak up for them. But the two showed no reaction at all, ignoring their pleading looks.

With Shi Qingfeng's fate still fresh in their minds, the boys exchanged glances, gritted their teeth in anguish, lowered their heads, and crawled between Kong Xiang's legs.

A gentleman's revenge could wait ten years!

Endure!

Not everyone was spineless. Chang Kang leaped out and tried to force his way through, only for Wei Quanhe to kick him in the chest. He, too, couldn't get back up.

At last, only Zhou Heng remained.

Shen Xinqi smiled brightly. She was quite curious about Zhou Heng, and this was the perfect chance to see just how much potential he had. If he was worth cultivating, perhaps she could ask her grandfather to take him on as a nominal disciple.

"You—" Kong Xiang saw Shen Xinqi suddenly smile at Zhou Heng, and a pang of discomfort rose in his heart. He looked at Zhou Heng with a sinister expression and strode over, reaching out to grab him by the chest.

Zhou Heng used Flying Cloud Steps to evade the grab. He furrowed his brow. "If no one offends me, I won't offend them!"

"Hahaha! You think you can fight me, kid?" Kong Xiang burst out laughing, his gaze turning even more sinister. "So what if I do offend you?"

"You're asking for a beating!"

Zhou Heng gave a cold snort, suddenly surged forward, and threw a punch!

"A mere Seventh Layer of Body Refining—"

Bang!

Kong Xiang had never taken Zhou Heng seriously. But just as he reached out to grab him, Zhou Heng's figure suddenly vanished! Then pain exploded in his back as the punch landed squarely.

Kong Xiang staggered forward three or four steps. When he turned around, Zhou Heng was standing behind him, looking perfectly composed.

Everyone stared, eyes wide.

Zhou Heng had knocked Shi Qingfeng down with one punch earlier, but that was mainly because Shi Qingfeng had been too careless to expect him to attack. But this time, Kong Xiang was a man who had knocked Shi Qingfeng down head-on with a single move. How had he also failed to dodge Zhou Heng's attack?

"Hahaha! Kong, the Tenth, you're getting worse by the day. Why not go buy a block of tofu and smash your head against it?" Wei Quanhe seized the chance to mock him.

The top ten Outer Sect disciples enjoyed enormous prestige and received abundant cultivation resources. The higher their rank, the greater the prestige and rewards, and competition among them was fierce!

Kong Xiang was ranked tenth, and naturally had his eyes on Wei Quanhe's ninth-place position. Though the two seemed to be on the same side, they were bitter rivals beneath the surface. If they hadn't needed to put the newcomers in their place, they never would have joined forces.

"Hmph!" Kong Xiang's face darkened. Whether he had been careless or not, Zhou Heng had undeniably landed a punch on him. It was a crushing humiliation! He sprang forward and reached for Zhou Heng again.

"Stubborn fool!" Zhou Heng snorted, using Flying Cloud Steps once more.

Bang!

Kong Xiang took another punch, this one even more powerful. He nearly went sprawling face-first onto the ground.

Everyone looked stunned, even Wei Quanhe and the other two.

The first time, Kong Xiang could claim he'd been careless. But what about this time?

What an incredible movement technique!

Right—Zhou Heng had once made it through the Bronze Man Formation at the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining with this very technique. So what if Kong Xiang was invincible among his peers? Could he compare to someone at the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining?

If Kong Xiang and the others knew Zhou Heng had made it through the entire formation, they probably wouldn't have provoked him now.

The newcomers sneered, hoping Kong Xiang would get beaten bloody and give them the revenge they craved.

"Kid, you think you can throw your weight around just because you have a fancy movement technique?" Kong Xiang said coldly. He soon calmed his fury, clenched both fists, and assumed a ready stance.

He was renowned for his boxing. He had used claw attacks earlier only because he'd thought Zhou Heng's cultivation was too weak to matter. After taking two punches, he finally stopped underestimating him and brought out his strongest fist technique.

He was going to break at least ten of Zhou Heng's bones!

Zhou Heng shook his head and smiled. "What a joke. You're the ones who keep pushing me. I'm just defending myself. How does that make me the one at fault?"

"Enough with the excuses!" Kong Xiang barked. He surged into motion, flinging his fists wildly, like a mad demon.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! A fierce wind howled through the air, revealing his terrifying strength and speed.

"Can... can someone at the Ninth Layer of Body Refining really have this much power?"

"Judging by his cultivation aura, he really is at the Ninth Layer of Body Refining. But his True Essence Power is incredibly pure, so he can circulate it faster and unleash even greater strength and speed!"

"So this is what disciples trained by the Nine Spirits Sect are like?"

The newcomers' hearts pounded. Kong Xiang and the others had subjected them to immense humiliation and pressure, but they had also shown them what they could aspire to. One day, they too could become powerhouses like these—or even stronger!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Yet Zhou Heng's performance left everyone utterly dumbfounded!

He was actually beating Kong Xiang down!

No—"beating him down" wasn't quite right. Zhou Heng was simply using his strange movement technique to dart in and land a punch whenever he got the chance. One punch, then another, then another!

Even under the bright blue sky, Zhou Heng's movements—here one moment, gone the next—sent a chill through everyone, like they were seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

How could such a terrifying movement technique exist?

For Kong Xiang, caught in the middle of it, the feeling was even worse. Zhou Heng would be right in front of him, but the moment Kong Xiang threw a punch, Zhou Heng would shift around him, leaving him to waste his strength on empty air!

The helpless feeling of having all his strength come to nothing nearly drove him mad!

He had never fought like this before. They'd been at it for five or six minutes, and he hadn't once managed to face his opponent head-on!

"If you've got the guts, fight me head-on! What kind of skill is it to keep dodging around?" he shouted.

Everyone looked at him with scorn. He was at the Ninth Layer of Body Refining, and he wanted someone at the Seventh Layer to fight him head-on? Did he have no shame? Why not go challenge a Blood Refining Realm expert instead?

"Then take this punch!" Zhou Heng stopped using Flying Cloud Steps and stood before Kong Xiang, driving a straight punch toward him.

"Hahaha, you're asking for it!" Kong Xiang hadn't expected Zhou Heng to fall for such a childish taunt. Overjoyed, he threw a punch of his own!

He was going to cripple one of Zhou Heng's arms!