Warning! A hidden dragon has emerged!

Five kilometers away.

Jiang Yao stared intently at the monitor screen, watching the raging fire engulfing the farm. Her fingertips clenched involuntarily, her palms were covered in cold sweat, and her heart was pounding in her chest.

The center of the battlefield.

The Pure Yang Sword was sent flying backward by the shock, and Yuanlong Zhenren was also forced to retreat repeatedly, landing with three thuds on the ground, cracking all the stone slabs beneath his feet.

He steadied himself, staring incredulously at Qin Quan, who remained seated motionless, and let out a low growl.

"You're clearly only at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, so how do you possess the combat power of a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator?"

"Want to know?"

Qin Quan raised his hand and steadily caught the flying Chunyang sword. The sword vibrated and hummed. He grinned, his face full of mockery.

I'm not going to tell you.

That simple sentence almost made Master Yuanlong so angry that he vomited blood on the spot.

He had lived for almost a hundred years, and this was the first time he had been tricked by a mere young boy.

In his view, Qin Quan's strength at this age could only be attributed to the Qi Refining Technique; there was no other possibility.

At this moment, greed and anger intertwined, completely overwhelming his reason.

"what……"

Master Yuanlong roared and raised his hand to grab at the air. A long, jet-black sword materialized out of thin air, heavy in his hand and exuding a menacing aura.

"Today I will show you what the Golden Core realm truly means."

One realm, one chasm!

The gap in cultivation level cannot be bridged by unorthodox methods!

"Then let me see what you're really made of, you old bastard."

Qin Quan slowly stood up, finally abandoning his lazy posture.

The blood feud of ten years ago is still fresh in our minds.

However, he finally encountered a Golden Core cultivator of comparable strength, and he could use the other party as a whetstone to stabilize his cultivation.

Master Yuanlong dared not be careless, and was eager to kill Qin Quan and save Shen Shichang from the fire, so he directly used his strongest attack.

He raised his longsword high, and spiritual energy poured out from his dantian, frantically gathering on the blade.

In an instant, the surrounding gale stopped, the chirping of insects ceased, and the air currents of the entire world were locked by the force of the blade, making the space stagnant and oppressive to the extreme.

"This strike, named 'Gazing at the Sea,' is what I realized while observing the Qiantang River tidal bore!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the long sword came crashing down!

Splash!

The stagnant space shattered instantly, and the boundless spiritual energy transformed into a monstrous wave, rolling and roaring as it surged forth, layer upon layer of energy waves blotting out the sky and instantly engulfing Qin Quan.

The most terrifying aspect of this move is not its direct pressure, but the countless tiny blade-like energy hidden within the waves, densely packed and impossible to defend against.

In the blink of an eye, several sharp blade energies pierced through the air and struck, directly slicing open Qin Quan's clothes at the waist, leaving several shallow bloodstains.

"Interesting! It actually managed to break through my defenses?"

Qin Quan was truly amazed by this move.

But it only lasted a moment before returning to normal.

When Yuanlong Zhenren saw that Qin Quan had been injured by his move, he was overjoyed. He flicked his wrist and swung his long sword continuously. The hidden sword energy layered on top of each other and continued to attack, suppressing Qin Quan and making it impossible for him to escape for a time.

This stalemate did not last long.

In just a few breaths, Qin Quan completely figured out the flaw in this move, and coldly sneered:

"The spiritual root is superficial, merely an empty shell."

If he were to use this move, even if he couldn't kill Yuanlong, he could severely injure him.

Qin Quan stopped passively defending and his nine golden cores spun rapidly at the same time. The vast spiritual energy in his dantian surged out and flowed into the Pure Yang Sword through the eight extraordinary meridians.

The same starting stance, the exact same sword techniques!

Qin Quan gripped his sword and slashed horizontally, the sword energy surging like a turbulent sea!

Splash!

Two waves of spiritual energy collided violently. Yuanlong Zhenren's sword strike, which had exhausted all his cultivation, was instantly crushed, torn apart, and swept away by Qin Quan's sword energy, leaving not even a trace of aftershock.

Yuanlong Zhenren sensed the impending danger and was immediately terrified, his face turning deathly pale, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints, and he roared in horror.

"The Sea-Gazing Sword Technique! How do you know my unique skill? I've never taught this move to anyone!"

Before he could investigate the reason, countless sharp pure yang sword energies suddenly erupted from the shattered spiritual energy wave, like thousands of sharp blades surrounding and instantly entangling his body.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!

The ear-piercing tearing sounds continued incessantly.

Yuan Long's black robe and cloak were instantly torn to shreds by the sword energy, scattering everywhere.

His skin and flesh were frantically slashed by the sword energy. In an instant, his body was covered with dense, bloody marks, and blood soaked through his entire body. He stood there naked and disheveled.

"You brat! How dare you insult me!"

Yuanlong Zhenren was both ashamed and furious, and his mind went completely insane.

It doesn't cause much harm, but it's extremely insulting.

"Old man, is that all..."

Qin Quan squinted his eyes exaggeratedly as he sized him up.

"Tsk tsk, you really can't see this size without a magnifying glass."

This is an insult, a blatant insult.

Yuan Long trembled with rage, forcibly suppressing his impending rage. He quickly conjured a long robe to cover his body, his eyes brimming with undisguised killing intent.

"Your ranged spells are countered by mine, so I'll engage you in close combat! With my mid-stage Golden Core physique, I can't possibly crush a newly promoted Golden Core cultivator like you!"

He gripped his long sword tightly and charged forward recklessly, intending to break the deadlock with his bare hands.

"Well done!"

A glint flashed in Qin Quan's eyes; he was waiting for a close-quarters fight.

Remote duels are for practicing technique control, while close-quarters combat is the best way to hone one's physical body and solidify one's Golden Core cultivation.

He sheathed his Pure Yang Sword, clenched his fists, and instead of retreating, charged forward fiercely towards Yuan Long.

Bang bang bang!

The two instantly became entangled in a fierce battle, their punches landing with full force and their palms piercing to the bone. The close-quarters combat was so intense that sparks flew and the world seemed to turn upside down.

A strong wind howled, and blood and qi surged.

Each collision was like a muffled thunderclap.

Yuan Long grew increasingly alarmed and desperate as the fight progressed.

He was a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, whose cultivation level was far superior to his opponent's. However, no matter how hard he exerted himself or how fiercely he attacked, he could not seriously injure Qin Quan.

Instead, he was repeatedly struck by Qin Quan's iron fists, causing his chest to ache terribly. His blood and qi flowed backward, and he kept spitting out mouthfuls of blood. His breathing was so heavy that it sounded like a broken bellows.

He initially thought it was due to his underestimation of his opponent, but after dozens of rounds, he finally realized the truth.

Even though his opponent clearly had the strength to kill him, he always held back and suppressed his power, slowly engaging him in a prolonged battle, using his attacks to hone his physical body!

He was not an opponent, but rather a whetstone for Qin Quan to solidify his cultivation.

Once Yuanlong understood this, a chill ran through him, and his whole body felt icy cold.

"Finally realized it?"

A cold smile flashed in Qin Quan's eyes. He suddenly gathered power in his fists, and his aura surged several times over in an instant.

"You've had your fun. Now it's time to send you on your way."

He no longer held back, and the nine golden cores circulated at full speed, with all the vast and pure spiritual energy gathering on his arms. His bones and muscles throbbed, and his power instantly surged to its peak.

Seizing on Yuan Long's weakness, Qin Quan stepped forward and unleashed a punch!

boom!

The heavy iron fist struck Yuan Long's chest with precision, the terrifying force causing his sternum to collapse instantly.

Yuan Long was caught off guard and spat out a mouthful of blood. His body shot backward more than ten meters through the air like a cannonball, crashing heavily onto the hard ground.

Dust flew everywhere, and yellow sand filled the sky.

Before the dust had settled, Qin Quan casually made a grab from a distance.

Whoosh!

Shen Shichang, who was on the verge of death on the cross in the fire, was grabbed by a powerful spiritual hand and landed steadily in Qin Quan's hands.

Qin Quan, holding the crippled Shen Shichang, looked down at him with a detached air.

"Do you see that clearly? Your proud master, your backer, can't even withstand a single punch from me. The so-called Hidden Immortal Sect is nothing more than this."

Shen Shichang was covered in burns, his dantian was completely shattered, and his breath was extremely weak. He stared intently at his severely injured master lying on the ground not far away, his pupils trembling. He wanted to refute, but his throat was blocked with choking, and he uttered a long, muffled sound, but not a single word was audible.