First Peak

"Okay," Qin Yuan finally nodded. "Take your people and leave the core area. Don't let me see you again before the secret realm ends."

Liu Han breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Senior Brother Qin."

She turned and said to Lu Yun, "Senior Brother Lu, let's go."

Lu Yun gritted his teeth, but ultimately lowered his head. He led the disciples of Third Peak away from the valley in disgrace.

As she left, Liu Han glanced back at Qin Yuan, her eyes filled with gratitude, complexity, and a hint of unspeakable loneliness.

She knew that from this day forward, Qin Yuan had ascended to a height she could only look up to.

After the people from Third Peak and Seventh Peak departed, only the joint forces of Fifth Peak and Tenth Peak remained in the valley.

A brief silence was followed by earth-shattering cheers!

"Senior Brother Qin is invincible!"

"So strong! He killed Xiong Li in three breaths!"

"The people from Third Peak were so scared, hahahaha, I haven't seen them so pathetic in years!"

Zhao Tiezhu was so excited he was practically dancing. "Senior Brother Qin, that move you just did was so cool! Caught a punch with one hand, crippled his arm with the other, and sent him flying with a palm strike! Satisfying! So satisfying!"

Zhou De was also beaming with excitement, but he quickly calmed down. "Senior Brother Qin, although Third Peak and Seventh Peak have retreated, the real opponents in the core area haven't arrived yet."

"First Peak and Second Peak," Qin Yuan nodded. "I know."

As soon as he spoke, a light laugh echoed from the entrance of the valley.

"Oh? It seems we've arrived just in time."

Everyone turned to see a group of people walking slowly into the valley.

Leading them was a youth who looked no older than seventeen or eighteen, dressed in a simple white robe, barefoot. His face was delicate, with a hint of lazy amusement in his eyes. Behind him followed nine Inner Sect disciples, each with a deep aura, the weakest being at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment.

"First Peak, Ye Qingchen," Zhou Ming whispered, his voice grave.

Qin Yuan's gaze fell upon Ye Qingchen.

He was at the peak of the tenth level of Foundation Establishment, his aura smooth and flawless. What concerned Qin Yuan even more was the boy's detached demeanor, as if he wasn't particularly interested in anything around him.

Ye Qingchen stopped about thirty feet from Qin Yuan and studied him, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "I didn't expect it to be you standing here. I thought it would be Lu Yun from Third Peak, or Xiong Li from Seventh Peak."

"They left," Qin Yuan said calmly.

"Oh?" Ye Qingchen raised an eyebrow. "Were they beaten away by Junior Brother Qin?"

Without waiting for Qin Yuan's reply, he chuckled to himself. "That's fine. Lu Yun is too sinister, and Xiong Li is too reckless. There's no point in fighting with them."

He surveyed the valley, his gaze lingering on the Hundred Herbs Garden and Spirit Beast Valley, before turning back to Qin Yuan. "Junior Brother Qin, what do you plan to do with the resources in this core area?"

"I'll take it all," Qin Yuan replied concisely.

Ye Qingchen was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Junior Brother Qin is indeed straightforward. However, good things should go to those who are capable. How about this: we have a match. Whoever wins, the core area belongs to them. What do you say?"

"What shall we bet on?" Qin Yuan asked.

A cunning glint flashed in Ye Qingchen's eyes. "For Foundation Establishment cultivators, spiritual power, physical strength, and techniques – it's all the same old tricks. It's boring. Let's bet on something special—"

He paused, then said word by word, "Let's bet on Spiritual Sense."

As soon as he said this, the expressions of the Fifth Peak disciples changed.

"Spiritual Sense? Isn't that something only Golden Core cultivators possess?!"

"How can a Foundation Establishment cultivator have Spiritual Sense? At most, their spiritual perception is just sharper!"

"Ye Qingchen is cheating! He must have some special method!"

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Zhou Ming said urgently, "Senior Brother Qin, don't agree! Ye Qingchen is the Sect Master's direct disciple. It's rumored that he condensed a nascent Spiritual Sense during the Foundation Establishment stage, and his Spiritual Sense is far stronger than others at the same level! He's deliberately using his advantage to pressure you!"

Ye Qingchen listened to the surrounding discussion, his smile unwavering. "If Junior Brother Qin is afraid, you don't have to compete. However, if that's the case, we'll have to fight for the resources in the core area with our own abilities."

He seemed to offer a choice, but in reality, he had cornered Qin Yuan.

If he refused, it would be seen as weakness, and their morale would be affected when competing for resources later.

If he accepted, he would have to duel in the other party's strongest domain, with little chance of winning.

Everyone looked at Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan simply nodded. "Okay."

"Senior Brother Qin!" Zhou Ming and the others exclaimed.

Surprise flashed in Ye Qingchen's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a smile. "Junior Brother Qin is straightforward! Then let's set a rule: a Spiritual Sense duel. Whoever can't bear it first loses. The losing side must withdraw from the core area with their people, how about it?"

"Agreed."

The two reached an agreement, stepped back ten paces each, and stood facing each other.

Ye Qingchen's smile faded, and his expression became solemn. He slowly closed his eyes, and a faint light began to circulate between his brows—a sign of his nascent Spiritual Sense manifesting externally.

The surrounding disciples held their breath, watching the scene nervously.

"Begin."

As Ye Qingchen's voice fell, an invisible force spread out from him!

This wasn't spiritual pressure, but a more profound, more direct power—a Spiritual Sense attack!

Disciples from Fifth Peak and Tenth Peak felt a sharp pain in their minds, as if countless fine needles were pricking their souls. Those with weaker cultivation even let out muffled groans, their faces turning pale.

"Such strong Spiritual Sense!"

"This is already close to the Spiritual Sense of a true Golden Core stage cultivator!"

"Senior Brother Qin is in danger!"

A smile tugged at the corner of Ye Qingchen's lips. His nascent Spiritual Sense was personally guided and condensed by the Sect Master, its strength enough to crush all Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. No matter how strong Qin Yuan was, he was definitely no match for him in the realm of Spiritual Sense.

However, the next moment, his smile froze.

Because he felt that from Qin Yuan's side, a power far more solid, more vast, and more terrifying than his own Spiritual Sense was slowly awakening!

Qin Yuan didn't even close his eyes.

He merely looked at Ye Qingchen calmly, and then, a faint golden light lit up between his brows.

The light wasn't dazzling, but it carried an indescribable majesty. Wherever the light passed, Ye Qingchen's Spiritual Sense attack dissolved instantly like ice and snow meeting boiling water!

"This is... true Spiritual Sense?!" Ye Qingchen exclaimed in disbelief.

Impossible!

How could a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator possess true Spiritual Sense?!

But the essence of that power was something he was all too familiar with—it was exactly the same as the Spiritual Sense of the Sect Master and the elders, just slightly weaker in strength!

In the instant Ye Qingchen was shocked, Qin Yuan's Spiritual Sense counterattacked.

It wasn't an attack, but a crushing force.

It was like a mountain slowly pressing down.

Ye Qingchen let out a muffled groan, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. He desperately activated his nascent Spiritual Sense to resist, but in the face of true Spiritual Sense, that resistance seemed so pale and powerless.

Three breaths.

In just three breaths, Ye Qingchen's Spiritual Sense defense completely collapsed!

He staggered back three steps, his face as pale as paper, the light between his brows dimmed, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

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