Physical enlightenment begins with Xingyi Quan

Li Chengyue slowly turned around.

Their gazes fell once again on Zhao Mingyuan and Li Tian.

Without uttering any extra words or even gathering any momentum, he simply raised the "Hidden Dragon Spear" in his hand casually.

With a light tap of the spear tip, two dark glints flashed and disappeared like owls swooping through the night.

"Pfft, pfft."

Two barely audible sounds were clearly audible in the deathly silent courtyard.

Zhao Mingyuan and Li Tian trembled violently and looked down at their dantian.

The vital energy and blood that had been painstakingly cultivated for many years and condensed like a pearl in the dantian were rapidly flowing away and dissipating, like a water bag punctured by a fine needle!

Decades of hard work, all gone in a single day.

"No...impossible..." Zhao Mingyuan's voice was hoarse, his eyes wide open as if about to burst, "My cultivation...my internal energy..."

He staggered and collapsed to his knees, pressing his hands tightly against his lower abdomen as if trying to hold back the dissipating strength.

That usually stern face was now twisted with despair and madness.

Li Tian was even more distraught. He collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face, and desperately kowtowed in the direction of Li Chengyue, his forehead striking the blue bricks with a dull thud.

"Master! Master, spare my life! I know I was wrong! I was blinded by greed back then... Please... Please spare my life... I'm willing to go back to the martial arts school to sweep floors and fetch water, to be your slave..."

Li Chengyue sheathed his gun, his gaze indifferent: "Having betrayed your sect, today I will cripple your cultivation and expel you from the Xingyi Sect. From now on, your life or death, your honor or disgrace, will have nothing to do with me."

He paused, then added, "If you dare to bully my disciples again—next time, it won't be your cultivation that gets crippled."

These words, spoken calmly, sent chills down the spines of everyone present.

"Li Chengyue—!"

A furious roar erupted from outside the courtyard wall.

The gray-robed old man, Zhao Kun, struggled to his feet from the rubble, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes bloodshot.

"You've crippled the person recruited by my Zhao family today, which is a blatant slap in the face to the Zhao family! So what if he possesses the Gang Jin skill? Yilin County isn't a place where you can control everything! My Zhao family..."

"The Zhao family?" Li Chengyue suddenly laughed.

He raised his head and looked towards the inner city, his gaze seemingly piercing through the layers of houses and landing on those deep mansions and courtyards.

"Zhao Kun, do you think that just because the Zhao family has two Grandmasters of Transformation Realm, one of whom has one foot in the Gang Realm, you can suppress me, Li?"

Zhao Kun's face turned ashen, his teeth clenched, but he dared not utter a word.

Li Chengyue shook his head and said slowly, "It seems that after all these years, the people of Yilin County have forgotten the prestige I once enjoyed."

After saying that, he took a deep breath.

His chest swelled like a bellows, and his clothes moved without any wind.

"Listen up, you five powerful families in the inner city: Zhang, Wang, Li, Zhao, and Qian!"

"Today, my disciple Chen Jianghe settled a private debt with the Su Family Escort Agency. Your Zhao family members Zhao Mingyuan and Li Tian, ​​along with their followers, coerced and condoned their subordinates' sneak attack, intending to commit treason."

"As a teacher, Li took action to punish them, crippling their cultivation."

"If anyone disagrees—"

With a flick of his wrist, he raised his spear, its tip pointing towards the majestic city gate tower in the direction of the inner city!

"I, Li, am here, awaiting the arrival of all five of your Master-Level experts!"

"If you don't arrive within half an incense stick's time, I'll pierce your inner city gate with a single spear thrust!"

The sound was deafening, like a thunderclap, making the roof tiles of the houses along the street rattle.

Countless civilians and martial artists in the outer city looked up in shock at the source of the sound.

The vendors forgot to shout, the children stopped crying, and even the stray dogs tucked their tails between their legs and shrank into the alley corner.

"That's... Master Li from the Xingyi Martial Arts School?"

"What did he just say... that he wanted to breach the inner city gate?"

"This is insane...it's absolutely insane..."

The inner city was initially quiet.

Immediately, five incomparably powerful auras soared into the sky!

"Li Chengyue! You're too arrogant!"

"Just because you possess the strength of Gangjin (罡劲) doesn't mean you can look down on everyone! Do you really think my five families are nobody?!"

"Today I'll show you that Yilin County—it's not your place to run wild!"

Amidst the angry shouts, five figures emerged from various parts of the inner city and instantly arrived above the Su Family Escort Agency!

The leader, with white hair and beard, wearing a purple-gold python robe, was none other than Zhao Wuji, the ancestor of the Zhao family who had one foot in the Gang Jin realm!

The next four were all peak-level experts from the five major families, each with a powerful aura and piercing eyes.

The five people's auras intertwined, and they even faintly formed a formation, enveloping the entire escort agency!

"Li Chengyue," Zhao Wuji's voice was icy, "I'll give you one last chance—cripple your own arm, kneel down and beg for forgiveness, and I can decide to let this matter drop."

Li Chengyue raised his head, looked at the five people in the air, and suddenly smiled.

His smile was tinged with helplessness, a touch of melancholy, but above all, an air of arrogant disdain for the world.

"For so many years... you five families have been using the same excuse."

He slowly raised his spear, the tip pointing diagonally at the five men.

"Since you believe that five cultivators at the Transformation Realm can suppress the罡劲 (Gang Jin) –"

"Then today, I, Li, will show you—"

"What is Gang Jin?"

The words were spoken, and the gun was fired.

There were no fancy moves, no earth-shattering displays.

It was just an ordinary shot, thrusting upwards.

But the moment that spear was thrust out, the world changed color!

Centered on Li Chengyue, the air within a radius of a hundred feet suddenly stagnated, as if it had turned into a tangible quagmire.

The five people in the air changed their expressions drastically, feeling as if their aura was being firmly locked by an invisible force, making it difficult for them to even move a finger!

A faint blue light flashed at the tip of the spear.

At first, it was only the size of a grain of rice, but then it suddenly expanded and transformed into a blue beam of energy about ten feet in diameter, soaring into the sky!

Wherever the beam of light passed, the air twisted and cracked, emitting a piercing shriek.

The five patriarchs' expressions changed drastically.

They never expected that Li Chengyue would dare to fight five against one, and they never expected that his internal energy cultivation had reached such a level!

"Join forces—!"

The Zhao family patriarch shouted, and the five of them attacked simultaneously.

The Zhao family patriarch struck out with both palms, the palm wind transforming into crimson fiery energy;

The Qian family patriarch drew his longsword, its light cascading like a silver river.

The Sun family patriarch's punches were like thunder, the force of which condensed into a giant golden fist.

The Li family patriarch's blade flashed like snow, cleaving through the void with a single strike;

The Zhou family patriarch's finger was like a sharp sword, piercing through the air with a single stroke.

The combined power of the five ultimate techniques of internal energy transformation is enough to destroy mountains and shatter peaks!

But Li Chengyue just laughed.

"A mere grain of rice dares to rival the brilliance of the moon?!"

He flicked his wrist, and the black gun rang again.

The five spear beams suddenly merged into one, transforming into a thick, cyan pillar of light that swept out with overwhelming force!

"boom--!!!"

A deafening roar shook the entire city.

The five ultimate techniques of neutralizing internal energy crumbled upon contact with the cyan pillar of light.

The palm wind shattered, the sword light collapsed, the fist shadow dissipated, the blade energy vanished, and the finger force extinguished.

The five patriarchs groaned simultaneously, their bodies flying backward like broken kites, crashing into various parts of the outer city and stirring up clouds of dust.

One shot, suppressing the Five Transformations Force!

The city was deathly silent.

Everyone who witnessed this scene gaped open, speechless with astonishment.

Li Chengyue stood in mid-air, his black spear pointing diagonally at the ground, his azure aura slowly receding.

Li Chengyue holstered his gun, leaned on the ground, and glanced at the five people on the street before looking towards the inner city.

"Today, the cultivation of Zhao Mingyuan and Li Tian is abolished as punishment."

"Injuring five of your people is a warning."

"From today onwards, within Yilin County—"

He paused, his voice turning cold:

"Whoever dares to touch my disciple, Li Chengyue—"

"First, assess your own capabilities and whether you can withstand this shot from Li."

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone who witnessed this scene, whether they were ordinary people from the outer city or martial artists secretly observing, held their breath, their minds reeling.

Gangjin (罡劲).

Li Chengyue.

From this day forward, this name will be etched into the hearts of every martial artist in Yilin County, like a brand.

Inside the courtyard of the Su Family Escort Agency, Chen Jianghe slowly exhaled and looked at his master's back.

The old man who was always drunk and slumped in the bamboo chair now stood upright, holding a gun, as majestic as a mountain.

So this is what Master truly looks like.

Li Chengyue turned around, swayed as he walked up to Chen Jianghe, and patted him on the shoulder.

He grinned, revealing two rows of yellow teeth:

"Kid, you saw that? Now that's what you call—strength."

Chen Jianghe nodded emphatically.

Su Derong stood to the side, his shoulders shaking from trying to suppress his laughter, his eyes reddening.

The courtyard was filled with bodyguards and guards, each standing tall and proud.

Li Chengyue let out a long yawn, picked up his wine gourd, took a swig, and muttered, "Let's go, let's go back to sleep. That shot... tsk, I'll have to skip three more jugs of good wine..."

He staggered towards the courtyard gate, but when he reached the entrance, he suddenly turned back.

He glanced at Chen Jianghe and Su Derong, and smirked:

"You two brats, what are you looking at?"

"Pack up and get back to the martial arts gym."

"We'll have extra practice tonight, six hours of standing meditation."

"Even these pieces of trash require my intervention; it's a disgrace to Xingyi Quan."

Chen Jianghe: "..."

Su Derong: "..."

Everyone: "..."

Li Chengyue ignored them, picked up his gun, slipped on his shoes, hummed a nonsensical tune, and sauntered away into the alleyway.

His back view was sloppy, and his steps were unsteady.

It was as if the powerful master who had just suppressed the Five Elements Force with a single shot and whose voice shook the entire city was just an illusion.

The dust has settled.

The Zhao family members helped the five heavily injured cultivators, who were at the Transformation Realm, and left looking disheveled.

Zhao Mingyuan and Li Tianxiu were completely crippled, like stray dogs, and were dragged away by the Zhao family members.

Chen Wanglong had already fainted and was carried away by the people from Zhenlei Martial Arts School.

In the courtyard, Su Derong looked at the mess on the ground, then turned to Chen Jianghe, and suddenly grinned:

"Junior Brother."

"From now on, your senior brother will accompany you in standing meditation."

Chen Jianghe looked up and saw the rare seriousness in his third senior brother's eyes, and slowly nodded.