Three Punches

At dawn on the fourth day, just as the sky began to brighten.

Blazing Peak's mountain gates swung wide open.

Qin Yuan, clad in a gray robe, strode out at an unhurried pace. Zhou De, Zhao Tiezhu, Lin Qing'er, and the others followed behind him.

"Senior Brother Qin!" Zhou Ming cried excitedly.

"Brother Qin Yuan!" Lin Qing'er's eyes reddened again.

Qin Yuan glanced at them, his gaze lingering over the wounds on their bodies. His eyes turned even colder.

"Let's go."

He led the group straight toward Heavenly Wolf Peak, where Duan Tianlang resided.

The news spread like the wind.

"Qin Yuan has come out of seclusion!"

"He's headed for Heavenly Wolf Peak!"

"They're finally going to fight!"

The True Disciple district instantly boiled over, countless figures streaming toward Heavenly Wolf Peak.

Heavenly Wolf Peak, inside the palace atop the mountain.

Duan Tianlang was holding two female cultivators as he drank and made merry when he suddenly heard the commotion outside. His brow furrowed.

"What the hell are you making so much noise for?!"

One of his lackeys scrambled in on hands and knees. "Senior Brother Duan! Qin Yuan... Qin Yuan is here!"

Duan Tianlang froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. "He's finally stopped being a turtle hiding in its shell? Good! I've been waiting for him for three days!"

He shoved the female cultivators aside and strode out of the palace.

Before the mountain gates, Qin Yuan was already standing there.

Their eyes met.

"Qin Yuan, you still dared to come?" Duan Tianlang grinned. "I thought you were going to hide for the rest of your life."

Qin Yuan said nothing. He merely watched him.

That gaze was calm in a terrifying way, like a deep pool, like ice.

For no reason, Duan Tianlang's heart skipped a beat, but it was swiftly replaced by fury—had he actually been frightened by the gaze of a junior?

"Since you're here, don't even think of leaving." He bared his teeth. "Today, I'll cripple you and let you learn what a true high-stage Golden Core is!"

As his words fell, Duan Tianlang's Killing Intent surged explosively!

He cultivated the Blood Wolf Battle Art, an incomparably tyrannical body-tempering technique. As he drove it with all his strength, crimson wolf patterns surfaced across his body, his muscles swelled, and his aura instantly reached the peak of the high-stage Golden Core realm!

"Die!"

He took one step forward, his body becoming a crimson bolt of lightning as he threw a punch at Qin Yuan's face!

That punch carried boundless Killing Intent. Everywhere its fist wind passed, the air let out shrill howls! The watching disciples turned pale and retreated again and again—this punch was several times more terrifying than Lei Ba's Heavenly Thunder Incantation!

Faced with this heaven-destroying, earth-shattering punch, Qin Yuan still did not move his feet.

He merely raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and then—

He met it head-on!

Boom—!!!

The instant their fists collided, all of Heavenly Wolf Peak shook violently!

A terrifying shockwave erupted outward from the two of them, overturning the mountain gates and collapsing the surrounding walls. Several nearby lackeys were sent flying, coughing up blood as they crashed to the ground.

Amid the billowing dust, a figure shot backward!

It was Duan Tianlang!

His entire right arm was twisted out of shape, the bones in his fist shattered to pieces, blood streaming everywhere! More terrifying still, Qin Yuan's fist force had penetrated his body, displacing his internal organs and severing his meridians inch by inch!

"You..." Duan Tianlang only stopped after smashing through half a palace. He struggled to rise, his eyes filled with horror. "How could you possibly..."

Qin Yuan gave him no chance to finish.

He took a second step and threw a second punch.

This punch was faster and heavier than the first!

Duan Tianlang roared madly, desperately circulating the Blood Wolf Battle Art. The wolf patterns on his body ignited, turning into crimson flames—this was a desperate move that burned his essence blood!

But it was useless.

The fist descended, and the crimson flames went out in an instant. Duan Tianlang's breastbone shattered completely, and he flew away like a tattered sack, spraying a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs before he even hit the ground.

The third punch.

Qin Yuan appeared where Duan Tianlang was about to land. At the instant he was about to touch the ground, Qin Yuan threw the third punch.

Bang—!!!

Duan Tianlang crashed into the earth like a cannonball, blasting out a giant pit three zhang deep. At the bottom of the pit, he was covered in blood and barely breathing. His Golden Core had already shattered, and all his cultivation was destroyed.

Three punches.

From beginning to end, Duan Tianlang had thrown only one punch, while Qin Yuan had thrown three.

The first shattered his arm, the second shattered his chest, and the third shattered his core.

Clean and decisive, without the slightest dragging of mud or water.

The entire place fell deathly silent.

Every True Disciple watching stared blankly at Duan Tianlang in the pit, lying there like a dead dog, then looked at Qin Yuan standing at the edge of the pit, his aura as steady as before. Stormy waves rose in their hearts.

The folding fan in Wen Ruofeng's hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

For the first time, Jian Wuhen's hand gripping his sword trembled slightly.

Lin Qing'er and the others stood with their mouths agape, having forgotten to close them.

Qin Yuan turned and looked toward the True Disciple stone monument.

The name "Duan Tianlang," ranked seventh, slowly dimmed and vanished.

A new name emerged:

[Rank 7: Qin Yuan, True Disciple of Fifth Peak, high-stage Golden Core.]

From seventeenth to seventh, from the early-stage Golden Core realm to the high-stage Golden Core realm, he had needed only four days.

Four days, breaking through three barriers in succession.

Qin Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked in the direction of Wen Ruofeng and Jian Wuhen.

Both men's hearts tightened.

That night, two guests came to Blazing Peak.

Wen Ruofeng and Jian Wuhen.

Neither brought attendants. They climbed the mountain alone, keeping their bearing extremely humble.

Inside the main hall, Qin Yuan sat in the seat of honor, watching the two men bow before him.

"Senior Brother Qin," Wen Ruofeng said with a bitter smile, "regarding today's matter, we... have come to apologize."

Jian Wuhen silently took out two storage bags and placed them on the ground.

"Inside are some of the resources the two of us have accumulated over many years," Wen Ruofeng said. "A total of eight thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals, twelve bottles of Core Condensing Pills, three Mysterious Grade Low Rank magical treasures, and some rare materials."

He paused, then added, "Elder Li truly was the one behind the matter with Duan Tianlang. Although neither of us participated, we also failed to stop it, and bear the fault of negligence. Please accept these gifts as a small token of our apology, Senior Brother Qin, and show us mercy."

Qin Yuan looked at the two of them without speaking.

The atmosphere in the hall was oppressive.

Only after a long while did Qin Yuan slowly speak. "Leave the items. You may go."

Wen Ruofeng and Jian Wuhen breathed sighs of relief and hurriedly bowed. "Thank you, Senior Brother Qin."

After the two left, Qin Yuan picked up the storage bags and swept them with his Spiritual Sense, confirming that there was no mistake.

"Feed."

[Feeding successful. Upgrade progress +800]

[Feeding successful. Upgrade progress +600]

[Feeding successful...]

After a string of notifications, the system panel finally changed:

[Energy requirements met! System upgrading...]

[Upgrade successful!]

[One Day Gains Twenty Years of Cultivation System → One Day Gains Forty Years of Cultivation System]

[Current Level: 3 (0/10000)]

[New function unlocked: Cultivation can be accumulated and stored. Maximum storage time: five days]

Forty years of cultivation in a single day!

And it could be stored for five days, which meant he could extract up to two hundred years of cultivation at once!

A sharp glint flashed through Qin Yuan's eyes.

The accumulation needed to advance from the high-stage Golden Core realm to its peak, then condense a Nascent Soul, would be an astronomical figure. But with this new system, none of it was a problem.

He looked outside the hall, at the clusters of True Disciple peaks beneath the night curtain, like enormous beasts lying dormant.

The top five, peak Golden Core cultivators, touching the threshold of the Nascent Soul realm...

"Soon," Qin Yuan murmured.

There were still three months until the Hundred Sects Competition.

Three months would be enough for him to charge into the top five, or even... higher.