The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

He couldn't understand the formations. He didn't recognize the runes. He was completely ignorant of ancient scripts.

But fighting?

Xiao Yuanfeng slowly raised his right hand, and energy gathered in his palm.

He had waited far too long for this opportunity. Ever since they arrived on the island, Chen Hao's disciples had been the ones stealing the show, while he, Xu Yunda, Zhang Jingzhou, and Ding Shaokang had stood in the back as spectators, feeling utterly pathetic.

Now it's finally time to test our strength.

He didn't believe he would lose.

The legacy of Taiyi Zhenren was not limited to teaching him a few formations.

"Prepare for battle," came Qin Xiaoyu's voice.

As soon as he finished speaking, all twelve wooden figures moved at the same time.

Without any warning. One second he was standing still like a statue, the next he was taking a step.

The ten-meter-tall figure stepped onto the bluestone ground, each step causing a tremor. The dark golden fist swung down, accompanied by a whistling sound as it cut through the air.

Xiao Yuanfeng was the first to go forward.

His figure shot out, his spiritual power condensing into a blade of light, which slashed hard at the calf of the nearest wooden figure.

clang!

A metallic clanging sound.

Xiao Yuanfeng's hand went numb. The knife had only left a shallow white mark on the wooden figure's leg, without even cutting through the surface wood fibers.

"So hard?"

He didn't have time to think. The wooden figure's other hand had already swept across, and the ten-meter-tall giant's arm was so long—there was simply no time to dodge.

Xu Yunda rushed up from the side and punched the wooden figure in the wrist joint, changing its swing trajectory.

The force of the punch traveled up the arm, and the wooden figure's shoulder cracked, its entire arm shifting half a meter to the side.

"Work together!" Xu Yunda shouted.

Without saying a word, Xiao Yuanfeng and Xu Yunda flanked the same wooden figure from the left and right.

The two attacked from the lower body and the upper body respectively, coordinating for more than thirty rounds before barely managing to suppress their opponent... suppress, not defeat.

On the other side, Zhang Jingzhou and Ding Shaokang were also teaming up to deal with a wooden dummy. Zhang Jingzhou was responsible for holding it back, while Ding Shaokang looked for opportunities to attack. The two were sweating profusely, but progress was slow.

During a brief moment of dodging, Xiao Yuanfeng glanced at the battle situation on Chen Hao's disciples' side out of the corner of his eye.

His movements paused for a moment at that glance.

Ying Wenjie was carrying a wooden figure head-on.

It wasn't a desperate struggle, but a steady, relentless assault. Each of his punches landed precisely on the wooden dummy's joints, three punches in a single rhythm: left knee, right elbow, neck, in a repetitive cycle.

The wooden figure's movements became increasingly sluggish, and visible cracks had appeared at its joints.

Ye Chendong was also fighting alone. His short sword was imbued with energy, and every strike landed on the same spot...the edge of the crystal on the wooden dummy's chest. The angles were tricky, the force precise, and every strike was within a certain radius.

Wu Tian was even more ruthless. He jumped directly onto the wooden figure's back, grabbed its neck with both hands, and frantically poured spiritual energy into it. The wooden figure struggled to shake him off, but Wu Tian's legs locked onto its shoulder blades, refusing to let go.

Qin Xiaoyu used a clever approach. Instead of confronting the wooden figure head-on, she set up a small array under its feet to restrict its movement.

The trapped wooden figure could only move within a three-meter radius, and she stood at the edge of the formation, launching surprise attacks on its weak points.

One person, one-on-one.

Everyone has the upper hand.

Xiao Yuanfeng felt a chill run down his spine. This group's combat experience, spiritual power precision, and ability to identify weaknesses completely overwhelmed the four of them.

But what truly shattered his composure was Chen Siyao.

Two wooden figures stood in front of her.

two.

A giant puppet, ten meters tall, attacked her simultaneously. She weaved between the two giants, each dodge perfectly timed, each counterattack striking both targets at once... She struck out with her left hand.

The spiritual energy pierced through the knee joint of the wooden figure on the left; almost simultaneously, the right hand struck out a second palm, hitting the crystal in the abdomen of the figure on the right.

Both wooden figures staggered back a step at the same time.

Her expression remained unchanged. Calm, composed, even a little bored.

Xiao Yuanfeng stared at the scene, his mind blank.

He kept telling himself that Chen Hao had simply taken the first step. All those ancient figures who had lived to the present day were just hype, packaging, stories fabricated to inflate their value.

Chen Hao's strength is simply because he found an ancient inheritance and began cultivating a few years earlier than others.

Talent is something that cannot be compensated for by inheritance.

Xiao Yuanfeng received the inheritance of Taiyi Zhenren. Taiyi Zhenren was a powerful figure who ranked highly even in ancient times. His talent and potential were definitely no less than those of Chen Hao's disciples.

Winning first doesn't mean you've won. The one who laughs last is the true winner.

He kept comforting himself with this thought.

But now—

It took two of them working together to barely subdue a wooden figure. Chen Hao's disciple could easily handle one by himself. Chen Hao's sister could easily take on two by herself.

This isn't about taking the first step.

This is due to the difference in skill level.

A wooden figure's fist swung from the right.

Xiao Yuanfeng was distracted for a full half second.

"Be careful!"

Zhang Jingzhou's voice boomed from the side. A surge of spiritual energy pushed forward, sending Xiao Yuanfeng flying.

The force of the punch grazed his back, creating a gust of wind that tore a hole in his clothes.

If Zhang Jingzhou had been 0.3 seconds later, the punch would have hit him squarely in the spine.

Xiao Yuanfeng rolled over and stood up, a chill running down his spine from his tailbone to the top of his head.

"What are you staring at?" Zhang Jingzhou shouted at him.

Xiao Yuanfeng didn't answer. He gritted his teeth, suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and charged forward again.

The battle lasted for nearly twenty minutes.

Chen Hao's disciples were the first to defeat their respective opponents. After the crystal on the wooden puppet's chest was shattered, the entire puppet collapsed to the ground as if its strings had been cut, turning into scattered pieces of wood.

Chen Siyao was the first to finish. Her two opponents fell almost simultaneously, the sounds of their chest crystals shattering overlapping.

Qin Xiaoyu is the second one.

Ying Wenjie is the third.

Ye Chendong and Wu Tian followed closely behind.

The wooden figure that Xiao Yuanfeng and Xu Yunda had was only defeated after Xie Jie came to help.

Ying Wenjie used only three punches to begin. The first punch shattered the knee joint, forcing the wooden dummy to kneel. The second punch blasted through the protective layer of the crystal on its chest. The third punch—

The crystal shattered.

The wooden figure fell down.

Ying Wenjie withdrew his fist, dusted off the crumbs on his hands, and grinned at Xiao Yuanfeng: "Brother Xiao, are you alright?"

Looking at the face of someone in their early twenties, Xiao Yuanfeng forced out a single word.

"without."

With Wu Tian's assistance, Zhang Jingzhou and Ding Shaokang also finished up the work.

All twelve wooden figures fell down.

The runes on the ground began to dissipate, and the light on the bluestone slabs faded layer by layer. On the wall in the distance, a new passage slowly opened.

The second formation has been broken.