As the supreme martial art, the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill had only its first three stages made available by the Federation. This meant that cultivators who reached the peak of these stages and attempted to break through could only achieve the initial stage of a Four-Star martial artist, with absolutely no possibility of reaching the Five-Star realm.

To advance further, one absolutely had to obtain the subsequent cultivation methods; there was no other path available.

Even for a genius, it would be impossible to spontaneously comprehend the fourth stage of the mental cultivation technique, having only practiced the first three stages and possessing a minimal martial foundation.

Song Zhenting once again scrutinized Qin Fen. Although he hadn't used extraordinary measures to investigate the young man's background, he had certainly looked into it through influential channels. Apart from a missing elder brother, Qin Fen had no other relatives and knew no one from the Sacred Martial Hall.

How had he learned this advanced cultivation method, which was supposed to be accessible only to those who had entered the Sacred Martial Hall? Could someone who had entered the Hall be so audacious? Dare to violate the Sacred Martial Hall's rules and teach it privately?

Impossible! Song Zhenting immediately dismissed this notion. Ever since his father had dealt with several martial artists who, relying on their strength, had secretly violated the Sacred Martial Hall’s regulations, no one within the Federation had dared to disregard their rules again.

Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, an anomalous protective divine art that hadn't been properly fused? The fog in Song Zhenting's eyes thickened. How could a young man struggling on the brink of poverty find the time and dedication to thoroughly grasp a mere calisthenic boxing form? And how could such a young man, beset by poverty, possess such a bizarre protective divine art?

Song Zhenting's eyes, which had initially held a trace of admiration, gradually turned icy. Anyone harboring ill intentions toward the Song family would not be allowed to continue living in this world, nor would they be worthy of his precious daughter.

Qin Fen distinctly felt the shift in Song Zhenting, moving from the initial intimidation through the release of imposing aura to a genuine intent to kill. He truly intended to take a life.

The killing intent emanating from Song Zhenting vanished in an instant. His eyes regained the placid calm they had possessed moments before, and he reseated himself in the rattan chair.

He watched Qin Fen silently for several seconds. This young man was the fastest among all the visitors to emerge from the trance induced by the character 'Wu'.

That single character 'Wu' had been inscribed by the Martial God of Earth himself. Just this simple character contained the infinite essence of the Martial Way.

Almost every martial artist who beheld this character would become utterly absorbed in it.

However, for many, this character 'Wu' was not the guiding beacon leading them toward the true essence of the Martial Way.

On the contrary, those whose strength was insufficient would be led astray by seeing it. In severe cases, they could even suffer qi deviation, resulting in the rupture of all their meridians and death.

The trial for previous young men entering the room had been singular: to observe this character 'Wu'. If they could derive some enlightenment from it, that would be the best possible outcome.

But the young men who came to propose marriage were all very young. They possessed limitless potential but lacked a correspondingly powerful foundation.

For them, the test was not about achieving enlightenment—for they were fundamentally incapable of grasping anything at that stage.

This trial was meant to test who could first shake off the entanglement of the 'Wu' character's magic without suffering any harm. That constituted passing.

It was a specialized method for testing a martial artist's focus, as well as the strength of their own Martial Way foundation and potential.

The absence of any one of these three factors would be revealed by this character 'Wu'.

Ge Bing had once held the record as the fastest among these test-takers: seventy-six seconds! The fastest record!

Yet, this record was not maintained for long before Qin Fen, behind him, shattered it with an absolute advantage.

Regarding Qin Fen's initial performance before the character 'Wu', Song Zhenting realized his daughter truly had excellent judgment in selecting such a focused young man who also possessed immense potential.

As for wealth, that was a test of a person's character.

When faced with one hundred yuan versus ten thousand yuan, people might be able to suppress their desires.

But when confronted with one million, ten million, one hundred million, or even a mountain of gold, it was incredibly difficult for a person to restrain their avarice.

Even those who might virtuously proclaim that love is supreme and life’s entirety could easily reveal the truest answer in their eyes.

To Song Zhenting's utter surprise, Qin Fen, who records showed to be extremely greedy and fearful of poverty, managed to treat vast riches as dust despite being tempted repeatedly with mountain-like wealth. This was completely contrary to his usual demeanor.

A gentleman loves wealth, but he obtains it through proper means. Watching Qin Fen, Song Zhenting suddenly recalled this saying.

Faced with the threat of overwhelming force, that unyielding willpower once again earned Song Zhenting's admiration. Even in his youth, he might not have possessed such steadfast resolve as this young man.

A nobody without a background, relying on more trials than others, had fought his way to the final stage of the preliminary selection. Song Zhenting was somewhat astonished.

But precisely this final stage...

Song Zhenting swept away all the favorable impressions he had just formed of Qin Fen.

Kill? Or not kill?

Instantly, Song Zhenting made his decision. Not kill.

Leaving a man who had exposed his weakness was better than killing him only to allow him to hide again.

"Young man," Song Zhenting raised his arm and pointed toward the door. "For Jiajia's sake, you have passed my assessment. But I must tell you, my father, the Martial God of Earth, his decision has never changed. Your social standing and assets will cause you to be completely disqualified the moment you meet my father's representative."

Qin Fen bowed deeply and respectfully, then slowly retreated from the room. Anything more said now would be superfluous. Rather than wasting time making declarations, it was better to figure out how to display some genuine capability for them to see.

Exiting the red brick house, Qin Fen froze as he looked at the people in the courtyard.

Ge Bing, Qian Xueling, Caesar, Oliverison...

The thirteen young men who had passed the preliminary selection and departed earlier were now all standing silently in the courtyard. Furthermore, a dense fighting intent radiated from them!

Yes, it was overt, nearly naked, fighting intent.

Among the ten, an extremely strong sense of hostility permeated them all.

Yet now, these ten faces simultaneously showed smiles. They looked down upon Qin Fen with gazes akin to humans observing lowly ants on the ground.

Qin Fen tilted his head up slightly, looking toward an old man standing behind the ten—Steward Hou, Steward Song Wen Dong’s personal attendant.

The benevolence was completely gone from the old man's face. His expression was as stern as that of a chief examiner during the highest-level examinations.

Qin Fen shifted his feet and walked up to Lin Liqiang, asking quietly, "What is this?"

Lin Liqiang also sighed helplessly, patting Qin Fen’s shoulder. "The old master of the Song family learned about your situation. He said you are not qualified to marry his granddaughter. Therefore, regardless of whether you passed Uncle Song's test, your results are voided. He also said there are too many who passed the initial selection, so another batch must be eliminated. He ordered these ten to fight in groups; those who lose will be eliminated again..."

"A martial arts contest for marriage? What era is this?" Qin Fen frowned. Even if the man was the Martial God of Earth, such methods were certainly antiquated.

Lin Liqiang shrugged and grinned. "What can we do? Who told him he's the Martial God of Earth? The foremost martial arts family on Earth? If it’s not a martial arts contest for marriage, should he hold a beauty pageant?"

Qin Fen could only remain silent at Lin Liqiang's rhetorical question. As the saying goes, caring leads to confusion. Being too preoccupied with Song Jia's feelings made him forget Song Wen Dong's true status.

If the granddaughter of the Martial God of Earth were chosen based on family background, wealth, or handsome suitors rather than a martial contest, that would truly be abnormal.

"Sigh..." Lin Liqiang sighed again. "Brother, I don't want to advise you to give up, but..."

Qin Fen also raised his hand to pat Lin Liqiang’s shoulder, signaling that he understood what the other meant.

"It’s alright. Since he is the Martial God of Earth, then everything is easier to handle," Qin Fen said with a smile as he stepped forward. "I was truly afraid he would be the richest man in the Federation, challenging me based on assets. Then I really wouldn't have a chance at all."

This seemingly simple step carried him directly to the edge of the aura circle of the other ten men. These ten young martial artists reacted immediately. They looked at Qin Fen in confusion—this man who had been disqualified, what did he intend to do?

"Gentlemen, my apologies," Qin Fen suddenly cupped his fists and rotated his body left and right. "Someone has cancelled my qualification, so I have no choice but to beat all of you into the hospital, causing every single one of you to lose your qualifications."

The ten young martial artists stared at Qin Fen as if he were a monster. They were all the children of prominent families from various continents. They had been instilled with excellent martial foundations since childhood. Whether it was tonic medicines or the guidance for opening xue, their training far outpaced their peers.

While such advantages couldn't make them instantly powerful from a young age, they genuinely provided them with a superior foundation upon reaching adulthood, allowing their cultivation progress to be much faster than others.

No matter where they were stationed in the Federation, they were young martial arts experts who could not be looked down upon. Among their peers, few would dare claim guaranteed victory in a one-on-one fight.

One versus ten? Even a fool wouldn't utter such words. Only someone driven mad would say that.

Indeed! This man must be insane.

None of the ten young warriors took Qin Fen’s words seriously. They quickly refocused their attention on the others beside them. No one knew what the results of the upcoming drawing would be; it was better to first consider the strengths and weaknesses of the others...

Qin Fen had already assumed the basic stance of the Hong Quan style. This stance, resembling calisthenics, was immediately disregarded by all the young martial artists.

Facing the scions of influential families from every continent on Earth, would anyone—unless they were mad—use a mere calisthenic form like Hong Quan?

Steward Hou’s eyes and brows suddenly bloomed with an unprecedented smile. He sensed the scent of a lion about to hunt.

Ge Bing’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably. He swept his gaze toward Qin Fen, who had just been ignored.

Their eyes met. Just that one glance! Ge Bing felt as if he had plunged into an icy abyss!