Just This?

The air in the valley seemed to freeze solid.

The people from Third Peak and Seventh Peak looked at Qin Yuan, their expressions shifting from initial contempt to astonishment, then finally to utter disbelief.

Just moments ago, Qin Yuan's words had seemed arrogant and laughable to them—a kid who had still been at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment a few days ago actually dared tell two experts at the ninth and tenth levels of Foundation Establishment, "I'll send you on your way"?

But now, as that terrifying aura around Qin Yuan erupted without reservation, every expression froze on their faces.

Foundation Establishment Peak!

And not the kind with an empty, floating foundation—it was a true peak, dense and solid!

The flesh on Xiong Li's face twitched. He stared fixedly at Qin Yuan, as though trying to find a flaw in that calm face. "You... when did you break through?!"

Three days ago, Qin Yuan had still been at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment during the competition. Three days, from the sixth level to the peak? This had already surpassed the most basic common sense of the cultivation world and overturned every theory of cultivation!

Lu Yun's face turned deathly pale, and the hand gripping his sword trembled slightly. He could clearly feel that the oppressive force of Qin Yuan's aura was even several degrees stronger than that of Chu Feng, Third Peak's Foundation Establishment Peak senior disciple!

"This is impossible..." he muttered. "A forbidden art that burns one's lifespan could never produce such a solid aura... What kind of monster is this?!"

The other disciples of the two peaks were even more dumbstruck.

Many of them had cultivated bitterly for ten or twenty years just to barely climb into the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. Yet this youth before them had covered in three days a road they could not finish in half their lives?

In an instant, a crushing sense of inferiority surged into their hearts. What geniuses? What elites? Before Qin Yuan, they were nothing but a joke!

Qin Yuan slowly stepped forward.

The bluestone beneath his feet cracked soundlessly, spiderweb-like fissures spreading outward from him.

"Now," his gaze swept over Xiong Li and Lu Yun, "do you still want me to hand over my resources?"

Xiong Li gritted his teeth and forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart.

He was a Direct Disciple of Seventh Peak, at the tenth level and peak of Foundation Establishment. In this secret realm, he represented Seventh Peak's honor.

If Qin Yuan scared him off with a single sentence, how could he ever hold his head up in the sect again?

"Qin Yuan!" He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "So what if you've broken through to Foundation Establishment Peak? I'm at the peak too! And I entered this realm three years ago—my foundation is far more solid than yours! You offended Seventh Peak first. Today, I will teach you a lesson on behalf of the peak master and let you know that there is always someone greater beyond!"

He spoke with righteous indignation, as though he were truly acting for the sect's greater good.

Qin Yuan listened, then suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, yet it carried undisguised mockery.

"You're quite the nice guy." He said, "You even went out of your way to explain why you wanted to attack. Fine. Just attack. No need to make up so many excuses."

The sarcasm in those words made Xiong Li's face flush red.

"Courting death!"

With a furious roar, he stopped wasting words. Spiritual energy exploded from his entire body!

His cultivation at the tenth level and peak of Foundation Establishment poured forth without restraint, condensing behind him into the phantom of a massive bear three zhang tall! The giant bear roared at the sky, its cry shaking the surrounding lands, while its terrifying pressure forced the nearby disciples to retreat one after another.

"It's Seventh Peak's pinnacle art, the Savage Bear Physique!" Zhou Ming cried out. "They say that when cultivated to the extreme, it allows one to transform into a giant bear, with boundless strength and astonishing defense!"

Xiong Li truly had gone all out. He stomped the ground fiercely, shooting forward like a cannonball. His right fist clenched tight, dazzling earthy-yellow light gathering around it as it smashed toward Qin Yuan's face with the force of ten thousand jun!

There was no flourish in this punch, only pure, overwhelming force!

He would make Qin Yuan understand that even among those at Foundation Establishment Peak, the difference could be as vast as heaven and earth!

Facing a punch capable of blasting down a mountain wall, Qin Yuan did not even move his feet.

He merely raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and lightly closed them around the incoming fist.

The movement was as gentle as catching a falling leaf.

"Boom—!!!"

The instant fist and palm collided, a terrifying shockwave erupted from the two of them! The valley floor cracked inch by inch, sand and stones flew everywhere, and several disciples standing too close staggered back again and again, their blood and qi churning.

Yet everyone stared fixedly at the center of the field.

Qin Yuan stood firmly where he was, his right hand tightly gripping Xiong Li's fist. That full-force strike, capable of smashing apart the skull of a third-rank demonic beast, had actually been caught one-handed. Qin Yuan's body had not moved in the slightest!

The savage grin on Xiong Li's face froze.

His fist felt as though it had struck a mountain forged from ten-thousand-year mystical iron. Not only had he failed to shake his opponent in the slightest, but the impact had numbed his entire arm!

"Just this?" Qin Yuan said flatly.

Before his words had faded, he suddenly twisted his right hand!

"Crack—!!!"

A crisp sound of shattering bone rang out!

Xiong Li let out a miserable scream. His entire right arm was twisted like a fried dough twist, its bones breaking inch by inch! The intense pain blackened his vision, and he nearly fainted on the spot.

But Qin Yuan gave him no chance to catch his breath.

His left hand shot out, pressing a palm against Xiong Li's chest.

The palm looked light and weightless, but its force penetrated his body, instantly shattering Xiong Li's breastbone and destroying most of his meridians!

"Puh—!!"

Xiong Li spewed blood wildly as he flew backward. Before even landing, he turned into a streak of white light and vanished—eliminated.

From the moment he attacked to the moment it ended, three breaths.

Xiong Li, Seventh Peak's Direct Disciple and a tenth-level Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator, had been crushed one-handed by Qin Yuan and eliminated in three breaths!

The entire area fell deathly silent.

The remaining nine disciples of Seventh Peak stared blankly at the spot where Xiong Li had vanished, their faces filled with terror and disbelief. Their strongest senior brother had just... disappeared?

Lu Yun felt ice spread through his entire body.

His strength was evenly matched with Xiong Li's. If Xiong Li had been instantly defeated, that meant Lu Yun absolutely would not last three breaths either!

That thought instantly filled his mind.

But just as he turned to flee, Qin Yuan's gaze had already fallen upon him.

"Your turn."

Lu Yun stiffened all over and slowly turned back, his face as pale as paper.

He knew he could not escape. He had just seen Qin Yuan's speed—Xiong Li had erupted with all his strength and still been caught with ease. Even if Lu Yun tried to run, he could never outrun Qin Yuan's pursuit.

"Qin... Senior Brother Qin..." Lu Yun's voice was dry. "This was all a misunderstanding... Third Peak has no intention of becoming enemies with Fifth Peak..."

"Oh?" Qin Yuan raised a brow. "Didn't you say you wanted to settle the score with me just now?"

"That was... that was Xiong Li stirring things up!" Lu Yun hurriedly said. "Third Peak and Fifth Peak have always been on good terms. How could we truly come to blows? It was all that bastard Xiong Li..."

Before he could finish, a figure stepped out from Third Peak's group.

It was Liu Han.

She walked up to Qin Yuan and gave him a deep bow. "Senior Brother Qin."

Qin Yuan looked at her without speaking.

Liu Han raised her head, her expression complicated. "Senior Brother Qin, Third Peak was indeed at fault first in today's matter. Senior Brother Lu Yun was foolish for a moment. I hope Senior Brother Qin can show mercy and spare him this once."

She paused, then continued, "I am willing to guarantee in my own name that Third Peak will never again become enemies with Fifth Peak. Within the secret realm, we will keep our distance, and we are willing to give half of all our gains to Fifth Peak."

As soon as she said this, everyone from Third Peak was stunned.

Lu Yun's expression shifted repeatedly. He wanted to object, but after seeing the cold look in Qin Yuan's eyes, he swallowed his words.

Qin Yuan looked at Liu Han, then at the Third Peak disciples behind her—most of them wore fearful expressions, and some did not even dare meet his eyes.

He knew that after this battle, Third Peak's courage had been utterly beaten out of them.