I'll make you the furnace and the cauldron, so you can refine Yin and Yang and prove the Great

The Ninth Elder's expression changed drastically: "You're making baseless accusations! You have no evidence whatsoever—"

"No evidence whatsoever?" Li Hanshan laughed. "What did I ask you before the mountain gate that day? Ninth Elder, have you forgotten?"

"The Grand Elder was present that day; should we ask him to expedite the process for you?"

The Ninth Elder's face turned from red to white, and then from white to green.

"You…" he said, his voice trembling with fear, "Even so, the Elders' Council should investigate and handle this! Your act of violence in public is tantamount to declaring war on the Elders' Council!"

"Declare war?"

Li Hanshan picked at his ear.

"You're overthinking it. I just don't like the look of you."

The Ninth Elder was trembling with rage and was about to launch into another tirade—

Li Hanshan, however, did not give him the chance.

"If any of you elders feel that this punch was unjust," he said, looking around, "you are welcome to stand up and seek justice for the Ninth Elder."

The entire room fell silent.

After a while.

"presumptuous!"

The Eighth Elder stepped forward from the crowd, shouting, "Li Hanshan! You, a mere disciple, dare to commit violence in public and attack an elder—do you have any respect for the sect?! Do you have any sense of discipline?!"

"That's incredibly arrogant!"

"Arrogant?"

Li Hanshan raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a smile.

"I'll just get cocky then."

"What—Is the Eighth Elder going to attack me?"

The Eighth Elder choked.

He opened his mouth, the words swirling in his throat, but ultimately he didn't dare utter the words "I'll teach you a lesson."

He is at the third level of the Void Refinement stage.

The Ninth Elder, a second-level Void Refinement cultivator, couldn't even withstand a single punch.

What's even more deadly is that when she threw that punch, she clearly "saw" it—the young man's spiritual power was like a sea, with lightning and fire slowly moving in the depths of the ocean, unfathomable.

That's not something a Nascent Soul cultivator should have.

Should he go?

"I wouldn't dare," Li Hanshan sighed. "Then what do you have to say?"

"You two are equally cowardly."

"you--!"

The Eighth Elder was trembling with anger, but he really didn't dare to make a move.

"Okay, okay, okay."

A deep voice rang out.

The Sixth Elder walked out slowly, his face ashen.

He is in the mid-stage of the Void Refinement Realm, at the fourth level of the Void Refinement Realm.

"Sharp-tongued and cowardly, a bully who preys on the weak," the Sixth Elder said coldly. "Youngster, let me teach you what manners are."

"I have cultivated for two thousand years and served in the Elder Hall for five hundred years, and I have never seen such an arrogant junior as you."

"If I don't teach you how to be a decent human being today, then I've been an elder for nothing."

"Don't think you're invincible just because you killed the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect—he was critically injured and on the verge of death, and you just got lucky! Do you really think you're so great?"

Li Hanshan looked at him and smiled.

"Then let's go."

-

Sidelines.

Ye Shuanghua's fingertips silently gripped the hilt of the sword.

She didn't care about elders or rules. She was only worried about him.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the sect leader's voice softly transmitted: "Are you confident?"

"No problem," Li Hanshan replied telepathically, his tone relaxed. "Master, just watch and let your disciple establish your authority."

He paused, then added, "But if I win later, Master, please don't forget your promise."

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

Then, the transmission stopped.

Li Hanshan smiled and regained his composure—he could imagine that his master's ears were probably a little red at that moment.

Above the plaza, Elder Nie Hongyuan slowly spoke:

"Since we're going to have a competition, let's state the rules upfront."

"When fellow disciples compete, they only determine who is superior, not who is killed."

"Li Hanshan—" His gaze swept over them indifferently, "You are not allowed to use any magic weapons of the highest grade or above, nor are you allowed to use any high-level spirit talismans."

He paused, his voice deepening.

"And you are absolutely forbidden to use the Soul-Slaying Sword."

That sword strike on the desolate mountain that day slew the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect as easily as killing a chicken or a dog. Others might not have seen it clearly, but Nie Hongyuan saw right through it at a glance.

That sword strike was something even a cultivator at the Void Refinement stage couldn't withstand.

"If you use it, this battle will be pointless."

"Winning doesn't really mean winning."

"Elder!" Ye Shuanghua couldn't hold back any longer; her cold voice rang out, "Magic treasures and talismans are an integral part of a cultivator's strength. Why are they forbidden from using them?!"

"He's at the fourth level of the Void Refinement Realm, and so is his opponent." The Grand Elder didn't even lift his eyelids. "In a contest between people of the same realm, there's no need for such external aids."

Fourth level of Void Refinement.

Li Hanshan wasn't surprised. He had just made his move. Although he had kept it well hidden, once he made his move, it was difficult to keep it from the Grand Elder, who was a Dao Integration Realm cultivator.

But as soon as those four words were uttered, the entire venue fell into a deathly silence, which was then followed by a deafening explosion.

"Fourth level of Void Refinement?!"

"What did he say? Li Hanshan is at the fourth level of the Void Refinement stage?!"

"Impossible! When he returned to his sect several months ago, he was clearly only at the first level of the Void Refinement stage!"

"In just a few months... from the first level of Void Refinement to the fourth level?! Are you kidding me!"

Tens of thousands of eyes were fixed on Li Hanshan, as if they were looking at a monster in human skin. On the elders' platform, the Sixth Elder's face was more ashen than if his parents had died—he suddenly remembered what he had shouted in the elders' hall earlier, "If I don't want to go, I don't want to go. What can she do to us?" and cold sweat poured down his back.

Yan Qingsong stood in the crowd, his lips trembling for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out, "I told you long ago... Li Hanshan, he... he's no longer human..."

On the sidelines, Ye Shuanghua gently loosened her grip on the sword hilt. She looked at the smiling figure in the arena, a barely perceptible smile playing on her lips. Her man was truly exceptional; in such a short time, he had already reached the fourth level of the Void Refinement Realm.

"If you don't need it, then you don't need it."

Li Hanshan smiled.

He tossed the broken sword, which he never parted with, to Ye Shuanghua.

"I don't use a sword either."

"I won't take advantage of him."

Gasps of astonishment filled the air.

The Sixth Elder, enraged, laughed coldly: "Arrogant!"

-

Two figures stood facing each other in the square.

Tens of thousands of disciples retreated like a tide, and in an instant, a hundred-zhang-wide space in the center of the huge mountain gate square was cleared.

Some people have already started whispering and placing bets.

"I'm betting on the Sixth Elder! Ten spirit stones!"

"Are you stupid? Elder Li even sent Ninth Elder flying with a single punch! I'm betting on Elder Li!"

"You're all wrong—the point is, no matter who wins this battle, it's fucking worth it for us today!"

The Sixth Elder took a deep breath, and his spiritual power surged forth. The pressure of the fourth level of the Void Refinement Realm was unleashed without reservation, causing the disciples with slightly lower cultivation levels on the square to change color.

"Young man, I'll let you make the first move—"

"Let me?"

Li Hanshan smiled.

He didn't answer, but simply took a step forward.

With each step he took, the disguise he had maintained since returning to the sect—the disguise of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator—silently peeled away like a cicada shedding its skin. A vast, refined, and mountain-like pressure slowly rose from within him. It was neither violent nor ostentatious, yet it rolled across the plaza inch by inch, so much so that even the sound of the wind subsided.

Fourth level of Void Refinement.

It is truly the fourth level of the Void Refinement Realm.

Moreover, the solidity of that pressure was even greater than that of the Sixth Elder, who had been immersed in this realm for hundreds of years.

"Now," Li Hanshan said with a smile, cracking his knuckles, "who's giving way to whom?"

Naruto Step.

His figure transformed into a circle of flames on the spot and then dissipated.

In the next instant, he was already beside the Sixth Elder.

The Sixth Elder's pupils constricted sharply, and he struck out with a backhand palm—

boom!!!

Palm and fist collided, and a visible ripple of spiritual energy emanated from the two, exploding outwards with a deafening roar. The stone steps around the plaza rippled like waves, and dozens of disciples closest to the center were thrown back by the shockwave. The protective array patterns carved into the plaza's surface for hundreds of years lit up in patches, then crumbled in pieces. The bluestone slabs cracked inch by inch like biscuits, and the cracks extended all the way to the bronze pillars at the edge of the plaza.

The Sixth Elder retreated seven steps, each step leaving a half-foot-deep footprint on the ground.

Li Hanshan did not retreat an inch.

"What?!" The Sixth Elder's expression changed slightly.

He used 80% of his strength in that palm strike!

"Young man, learn my signature technique!"

The Sixth Elder's beard and hair stood on end, his palms facing the sky, and his spiritual power surged upwards like a river bursting its banks—

The sky darkened for a moment.

A veritable mountain, hundreds of feet tall, rose from the ground between his palms. Peaks rose from the mountains, waterfalls cascaded from the peaks, the waterfalls were swirling spiritual energy, and the mountain rocks were supernatural power compressed over seven hundred years. The mountain's illusory shadow covered half the plaza, its shadow enveloping thousands of disciples. Those with lower cultivation levels were directly forced to prostrate on the ground by the oppressive force emanating from the mountain's shadow, unable even to lift their heads.

The Mountain-Covering Palm. His signature divine skill that dominated the Central Continent for seven hundred years.

"fall!"

The Sixth Elder pressed down with both palms, and the hundred-foot-tall mountain crashed down, the air was compressed and produced continuous explosions, and large slabs of bluestone in the square turned into dust.

Li Hanshan looked up at the mountain pressing down on him.

He smiled.

He didn't hide.

He stood with his feet apart, lowered his waist, and threw a punch towards the sky.

boom--!!!

The pure Yang fire and innate lightning power exploded on the fist, and the purple-gold lightning surged upwards like a giant pillar supporting the sky, or a thunder dragon awakening, directly piercing the hundred-zhang mountain—

Boom!

A deafening roar, like the sky collapsing and the earth splitting apart.

The hundred-foot-high mountain exploded into a sky full of spiritual light from the middle.

Fragments of spiritual light poured down like rain, covering the entire square and taking a good dozen breaths to dissipate. The aftershocks of the explosion shot high into the sky, tearing a huge hole in the clouds for thousands of feet in diameter. Sunlight streamed down from the hole, landing directly on the slender figure in the center of the square.

Amidst the dust and smoke, Li Hanshan dusted the smoke off his fist.

"What else?" he said. "Bring it all on."

The Sixth Elder's face turned ashen.

His supernatural powers, which had made him famous for seven hundred years, were destroyed by a single punch—this was a blatant humiliation.

"Young man!"

He roared and charged forward, his palms flashing like mountains as he unleashed his full power.

But Li Hanshan was faster than him.

The Fire Shadow Step unfolded, and streaks of fire crisscrossed the plaza, no longer just afterimages—the trails of flame intertwined, as if someone were wielding a brush and splashing ink across the heavens and earth. In a moment, a gigantic net of thunder and fire, hundreds of feet in length and width, was woven above the plaza. Purple-gold was the warp, silver-purple the weft, and arcs of electricity surged and exploded within the fire net, illuminating an area of ​​a thousand feet as bright as day. Tens of thousands of disciples looked up at the slowly rotating fire net, as if gazing upon an inverted, burning sky.

The Sixth Elder was trapped in the center of the net.

He can only guard it.

We will defend with all our might.

Figures appeared from all directions, their palms and fists raining down like a storm. His eight hundred years of combat experience was completely at a disadvantage against this young man—he could be on the left, but the fire would be on the right in the next instant; he could lock onto the target's energy, but when he threw a punch, he only shattered the afterimage.

What's even more terrifying is the fire and the thunder.

The purple-gold flames, when touched by the protective aura, hissed and crackled like boiling water splashed on snow; the silver-purple lightning bolts surged wildly along with the spiritual power, numbing half of the body wherever they passed.

"What kind of monster are you...?" the Sixth Elder gritted his teeth.

"You flatter me," Li Hanshan laughed amidst the blazing fire, his voice coming from all directions. "It's neither a monster nor an object."

The Sixth Elder gritted his teeth, and a gleaming throwing knife flew out from his sleeve.

The offensive magic weapon, a top-grade spiritual artifact, flashed like lightning, unleashing a sonic boom that tore through the air, aimed straight for Li Hanshan's throat—

clang!

Li Hanshan pinched the flying knife between his two fingers, managing to trap it between them.

"A high-grade spiritual weapon." He weighed it in his hand. "It'll do. Confiscated."

After saying that, he casually tucked it into his pocket.

The Sixth Elder nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood on the spot.

"So fast..." Yan Qingsong stared wide-eyed in the crowd.

"What kind of footwork is that?!"

"Pure Yang Fire! He's using pure Yang Fire!"

"Thunder...and more thunder!"

"Purple-gold fire, silver-purple lightning... My God, just how much more is Elder Li hiding?"

"The Sixth Elder is at the mid-stage of the Void Refinement realm! And he's getting completely overwhelmed!"

Yan Qingsong was so excited he was incoherent: "I told you so! Senior Brother Li... no, Li Hanshan, he's no longer human!"

On the elders' platform, the faces of the other elders turned pale and then flushed.

They felt a chill run down their spines as they coughed – these two, master and apprentice, were both terrifying.

Above the square, the giant net of lightning and fire slowly closed in.

The Sixth Elder was trapped in the center of the net, his beard and hair disheveled, his protective aura as thin as a sheet of paper. He roared to the sky, bit his tongue, and spat a mouthful of blood into his palm, summoning an ancient bronze shield—

Under the refinement of his essence and blood, the ancient shield swelled in the wind, transforming into a giant of ten zhang (approximately 33 meters). The Taotie patterns on the shield surface came to life, baring their fangs and claws as they blocked his way.

A superior-grade defensive magical artifact, after being sacrificed with blood, is almost on par with a top-grade magical artifact.

"I said I wouldn't use high-level magic weapons," Li Hanshan's voice rang out above the fire net, "and you old codger, you've used one yourself first?"

"you--"

The Sixth Elder blushed.

In the short time it took for his face to turn red, Li Hanshan pointed out with a finger in mid-air.

A wisp of silver-purple lightning traveled down the edge of the bronze shield, like mercury spilling onto the ground, penetrating every crevice—

boom!!!

The lightning and fire rebounded from the blood sacrifice power of the ancient shield, pouring into the Sixth Elder's arms.

The Sixth Elder grunted, his arms charred black, and the ten-zhang-long shield flew out of his hand, spinning and smashing through three bronze pillars at the edge of the square.

He wanted to use the magic weapon again, but Li Hanshan wouldn't give him the chance.

Hokage Step, the final flash.

The fiery net of fire in the sky instantly converged, and all the lightning and fire converged into one person's fist—a simple fist, wrapped with pure yang fire compressed to the extreme and innate lightning power, like a purple-gold meteorite falling to earth, slammed into his chest.

Boom! ...

The Sixth Elder was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, spitting out a jet of blood in mid-air before crashing heavily into the bluestone ground of the plaza. The shockwave swept outward from the point of impact, causing the ground within a hundred feet to sink three feet, creating a two-zhang-deep, human-shaped crater in the center. The rocks along the edge of the crater were melted into dark red glass by the high temperature.

Smoke and dust rose high into the sky.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

Only the giant net of lightning and fire, slowly extinguished, flickered three more times in mid-air before silently dissipating in the wind like a meteor shower that had burned out.