Ge Bing could certainly be considered a rising star among the younger generation; few peers could even warrant a second glance from him without feeling the crushing weight of a mountain bearing down upon them.
At that precise moment, the scalps of the other nine youths, still radiating hostility, prickled fiercely. A chill, like a supercar accelerating wildly down a highway, rocketed straight up their spines to the base of their skulls.
As if their tails had been stepped on, the hackles rose on the nine young masters. Their bodies pivoted slightly, instantly shifting their stances to counter Qin Fen’s aggressive posture.
They refused to believe Qin Fen would genuinely dare to confront all ten of them alone.
After all, anyone capable of standing in this spot today undoubtedly had a substantial power backing them.
Any intelligent person could surmise that the descendants of such powerful factions possessed not only high-level martial arts—impossible to acquire with mere money—but also advanced bio-mechanical beasts that even a middle-class family would bankrupt itself trying to afford.
In a fight between martial artists of the same rank, a bio-beast acted as an enormous cheat code; it was far more than just a simple advantage.
Yet, they were compelled to react to Qin Fen; the potent fighting intent was like a row of knives, constantly stimulating their skin, testifying that this young man, who had spoken such audacious words, was not merely boasting.
“I presume none of you will choose to withdraw. Then, allow me to use you all to make my name known among the martial artists of the younger generation!”
Qin Fen’s voice rang out with heroic spirit, his aura surging once more. His bones and sinews chimed under the surge of True Qi, the blood coursing through his veins sounding like turbulent river water rushing ceaselessly. His strong heart hammered out a rhythm like a small drum: thump-thump-thump...
Butler Hou, who had maintained a gentle smile until this moment, now shot out eyes as sharp as needles. A subtle, almost imperceptible smile touched the corner of his mouth. Coupled with this overbearing aura, the fierce Dragon-Elephant Prajna Power indeed gave him the qualification to utter such a boast: one against ten.
From a second-story window, Song Jia clutched the lace curtains tightly with tense hands, anxiously watching the developments in the courtyard.
She knew Qin Fen was strong, but she hadn't anticipated him daring to make the decision to take on ten opponents. While these young men might be looked down upon by common folk as mere scions of noble families, that didn't mean they were incompetent.
On the contrary, having received excellent training from childhood, they truly were qualified elites among their generation, whether in finance, politics, or martial arts. Possessing a strong material foundation, coupled with the ruthless competition mechanisms within their families, those who truly managed to distinguish themselves were certainly no incompetents.
One-on-one, Song Jia had limitless confidence in Qin Fen.
But one against ten—Song Jia genuinely wanted to grab the pen holder and throw it at Lin Liqiang’s head. How could this friend of Qin Fen stand idly by at such a crucial moment? Two against ten would have been far better than one against ten.
“One against ten? Setting aside the sheer strength, the sheer mettle alone is worthy of admiration.”
Song Zhenting’s voice, unhurried, calm, and richly magnetic, drifted from behind Song Jia.
Song Jia turned back, surprised to find her father watching the courtyard below with an expression of eager expectation.
Song Jia distinctly remembered that her father never watched fights involving the generation aged eighteen to twenty.
Even when Lin Liqiang, whom her father called a prodigy, fought others, he never bothered to watch.
Yet, today.
The Martial God’s son, who never observed the battles of young men between eighteen and twenty, was standing here, intending to watch this fight, and showing distinct interest on his face.
“Is he mad?”
Just as this thought flashed through the minds of the ten young martial artists, the fighting spirit in Qin Fen’s eyes flared violently again. A hint of fiery tension instantly crossed his resolute face. He moved, and everyone felt a tremor in the courtyard floor, as if from the massive recoil of a large-caliber field cannon firing. In a flash, a projectile-like shadow whistled forward. Before the others could even blink, he had plunged into the midst of the nine men.
Even martial artists stronger than Qin Fen, whom the young masters had encountered, were startled by this single move.
No one expected a young martial artist with no apparent background—and thus supposedly lacking a strong foundation—to have reached this level of mastery.
The ten young men felt a fierce wind rushing at their faces. Reacting almost instantaneously, they chose to step backward. In that single moment, several rare movement techniques were unleashed across the courtyard, resembling a vibrant display of a hundred flowers vying for beauty.
Seeing the ten men retreat simultaneously, Lin Liqiang’s mouth curled into an even more disdainful sneer.
Influenced deeply by his family’s indoctrination, Lin Liqiang could guess their mindset: they felt they shouldn't be used as pawns by others, charging into a decisive battle like reckless youths only to let someone else reap the benefits.
Simultaneously, the deep-seated arrogance inherent in these noble descendants made them believe that even if Qin Fen possessed great strength, his background was too low; he wasn't worthy of their direct involvement. Such matters should be handled by subordinates or the bodyguards accompanying them.
“Fools,” Song Zhenting murmured from the second floor at that exact moment, passing a very unflattering judgment on the youths who chose to retreat.
The young men couldn't hear Song Zhenting’s critique, and as they congratulated themselves on this method of preserving strength, Qin Fen’s feet kissed the ground, and he instantly chose to continue his assault.
This time, the ten young men had already separated, making it impossible for Qin Fen to fight all ten simultaneously. He fixed his target on the martial artist to his right, where three of them were grouped closer together, making them easier to isolate than the others who were more scattered.
Qin Fen stamped his foot! He closed the ten-meter gap in a single bound, appearing almost instantaneously before the trio. He followed through with a "Heaven-Piercing Cannon" strike, causing the air to crackle like continuous firecrackers, the momentum seemingly intent on engulfing all three opponents.
The three young elites felt a wave of unprecedented regret wash over them in that instant.
They regretted why they had chosen to retreat just then; why did they opt to save their strength? This withdrawal certainly pulled them out of the initial fray, but it had inadvertently helped Qin Fen build his momentum even higher.
At the same time, this retreat caused their collective aura to drop.
The two youths on the left showed flickering, complex light in their eyes, but their legs once again executed evasive footwork, shamelessly abandoning Oliviesen in place.
Oliviesen was a man from the Omsk region of Russia. He was powerfully built and towering; at only eighteen, he already surpassed two meters in height, his arms as thick as an average person’s thighs. He looked like a shaved bear wearing clothes.
Oliviesen understood that if he chose to retreat and dodge again, Qin Fen would surely press the attack relentlessly. At that point, the disparity in momentum between them would become even more extreme, while Qin Fen’s accumulated power would grow fiercer, and his own evasion would make preparation even harder.
In a flash of lightning, Oliviesen realized he absolutely could not retreat! To retreat further meant certain defeat!
Living in a harsh, cold world, Oliviesen’s buried, bear-like ferocity was completely provoked by Qin Fen’s overwhelming aura.
His eyes instantly turned crimson. His dormant bio-beast activated abruptly; his muscles writhed at a speed invisible to the naked eye. His massive maw, capable of crushing an infant's skull, snapped open wide.
Ha!
An explosion like a grenade erupted from Oliviesen’s core. Suddenly, his unnaturally thick arms swelled even larger. He bent his right leg, pivoted his body slightly to the right, and simultaneously swung his right shoulder down and forward. His raised right arm plunged down in a move mimicking the Five Animal Frolics’ [Divine Bear Slaps Tiger], smashing head-on into Qin Fen’s Heaven-Piercing Cannon.
Bang!
Their two swollen arms collided fiercely, sending shockwaves of visible, powerful air currents outward. Even the sparse dust on the ground was agitated into the air.
Blood sprayed violently! A crisp sound of shattering bone erupted in succession, like the rapid-fire of a submachine gun. Oliviesen’s right arm began to spray fine red mist from every sweat pore like a fountain.
Qin Fen’s Heaven-Piercing Cannon blasted through Oliviesen’s Divine Bear Palm. He spun with a pivot, relying on his back, his back muscles bulging like a tortoise shell, and crashed directly into Oliviesen’s chest.
The bear-strong Oliviesen arched his back, and the sound of cracking bones echoed again from his chest. Blood jetted from his mouth and nose. His body flew several meters, as if struck by a car in an accident, before Butler Hou caught him with a gentle push of True Qi.
Oliviesen was a prominent member of a family in the Russian region. If left unchecked to fly into the sturdy courtyard wall, the outcome would have been fatal.
A fully powered Oliviesen might have survived hitting the wall, but his True Qi had completely dispersed, and a fifth of his bones were shattered. Unconscious and defenseless, hitting the wall meant death.
Though the Song family did not fear families like Oliviesen’s, adhering to the principle of preventing trouble whenever possible, Old Master Hou caught the fallen Oliviesen, who had been defeated utterly before even fully unleashing his strength.
In an instant, Oliviesen, famed for being stronger than a bear, was severely injured, unconscious, and completely neutralized.
Even Song Zhenting could see the concept behind Qin Fen’s Heaven-Piercing Cannon—its intent was incredibly profound! After the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Power reached the Fifth Star, it granted him the strength of one elephant when fully deployed!
How much strength does an elephant possess? Enough to kick a brown bear to death with a single stomp.
Utilizing this power through the Heaven-Piercing Cannon elevated its force to another level entirely; not just a bear, but even the largest grizzly bear could be beaten to death!
In that recent instant, despite being at a disadvantage in every aspect, Oliviesen managed to claw back several points of momentum and swiftly activated his bio-beast for support. His reaction speed was astonishing, resembling a monkey more than a bear.
But it was far too late, and the difference in skill levels was too vast.
Oliviesen was only at the peak of the Fourth Star, not yet having broken through to the initial stage of the Meteor Level, the Fifth Star. Qin Fen, however, had entered the Fifth Star and was at its peak!
The gap between them could not be bridged by merely activating the bio-beast momentarily, especially before its full power could manifest.
Aura, strength—Oliviesen held no advantage. Defeat was logical, but losing so decisively, so thoroughly, without even having time to deploy his ultimate techniques, was beyond the expectations of all the young martial artists.
A Fifth Star Meteor Level expert?
At that moment, all the young men were forced to re-evaluate Qin Fen entirely.
For the past few days, everyone had assumed Qin Fen was a Fourth Star martial artist. Qin Fen’s complex Dragon-Elephant Prajna Power, so intricate it could confuse memory, didn't function exactly as officially advertised. For example, its ability to conceal his true aura was beyond the comprehension of ordinary martial artists.
The eyelids of the nine young martial artists twitched simultaneously. They had little time for shock or praise, because the man who used what looked like calisthenics to defeat Oliviesen was already...
Boom! The ground shook! Qin Fen’s victorious momentum surged further as he preemptively struck. This time, he chose the furthest opponent, a young black man.
Cannon Fist strength! Wide stride! Tighten the abdomen! True Qi surged through every meridian! Qin Fen, like an ancient giant demon breaking its seal, launched himself forward. This single step covered fifteen meters, placing him directly in front of the young black man!
This long-distance charge tore through the air, creating an audible whistle like a sharp pipe being blown.
The spot where Qin Fen had stood moments before suddenly collapsed inward, as if tofu pierced by two fingers. Following the collapse, the hard flagstones cracked and splintered, sending countless small stones flying.
The strength of one elephant! Unleashed through the Cannon Fist, the power was so immense it was as if explosives were fitted to his feet! The stone slabs first subsided, and only then did they shatter.
The black man’s pupils constricted to pinpricks in that instant.
During Qin Fen’s long-distance dash, the man’s eyes registered a slight afterimage. He heard a whistling sound in his ears and felt the charge of a crazed rhinoceros bearing down on him.
Pressure, both tangible and intangible, sent his heart racing at rocket speed.
In that fraction of a second, he had no time to think, not even enough time to formulate the thought of how a man without background could possess such profound foundational strength.
Even though he had seen far stronger masters, he had never witnessed anyone execute the Hong Quan style with such mastery—a set of fundamental techniques—while operating at the Fifth Star!
Years of martial instinct, coupled with the vigilance drawn from witnessing Oliviesen’s defeat, meant his bio-beast was already engaged. He drew a short rod from his waist, the friction against his belt emitting a low hum. The jet-black rod was forged from pure steel!
Aww!
A near-bestial sound tore from the black man’s vocal cords as he swung the two rods down toward Qin Fen’s head.
“Both short rods, yet you are far inferior to Cheng Wuxian.”
Facing the twin strikes, Qin Fen neither dodged nor weaved. He flipped both palms upward, passing over the rods, and then pressed down in pursuit. Before the rods could connect with his head, he forcefully gripped them, twisting his wrists with the power of an ox turning its neck.
Pfft!
The two rods ripped from the man’s grasp, and Qin Fen threw them in opposite directions like shurikens. Two young martial artists rushing in to help hurriedly twisted their waists and leaned aside; the steel rods scraped past their noses, burying themselves in the wall like axes sinking into logs. The ends of the rods vibrated with a buzzing sound.
With both rods seized, the black martial artist’s wrist joints snapped, his hands hanging limp. The moment the pain registered in his brain, one of Qin Fen’s feet stomped hard into his chest. Qin Fen vaulted into the air like a hawk, spun, and lunged toward another opponent.
Using the "Mountain Ascending Step," he kicked the black man flying, simultaneously using the momentum to transition into an attack against others. This move once again elicited a soft tut-tut of admiration from Butler Hou.
Many young martial artists could execute a single, masterful move.
But the seamless connection between moves, making them appear completely natural, was difficult to achieve.
This was especially true for the 'calisthenics' of the Arhat Fist style!
Two men eliminated in a flash of lightning, and the other young martial artists used this instant to activate their bio-beasts simultaneously, quickly converging together. Qin Fen's raw ferocity had exceeded their expectations.
Qin Fen landed with a deliberate, heavy thud. He watched his opponents, now fully unleashed with their bio-beasts, his previous arrogance gone, replaced by extreme caution. A superior, condescending smile, looking down upon all creation, touched the corners of his eyes and mouth.
At this moment, these young martial artists, born into privilege and considered darlings of fortune by many, were no longer the superiors looking down on the masses.
And Qin Fen was no longer the dust they once looked down upon.
The status between them shifted dramatically after two young fighters were instantly dispatched.
Qin Fen had become the observer looking down, and they had become the ones looking up.
On the second floor, Song Zhenting’s brow furrowed slightly. Qin Fen’s disarming of the steel rods was not just a feature of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Power; it involved something else!
Golden Bell Shield? Iron Shirt technique? Indestructible Vajra Body? Or some other protective marvel?
Song Zhenting was genuinely startled by Qin Fen’s display this time. Never before had a young man repeated the use of the same technique twice in front of him without him discerning its nature.
Or, one could say, never before had a young man used any technique in front of him without him seeing through it.
Qin Fen, a young man whose background appeared nonexistent based on preliminary data, had managed to conceal the essence of his protective marvel twice in a row, leaving Song Zhenting unable to discern it.
Song Jia let out a long breath. Qin Fen’s performance was truly awe-inspiring! He had fought in such a way that these self-important scions of influential families had automatically clustered together.
“Next…” Song Zhenting’s eyes flickered with a faint light, “This should become much more interesting.”
Looking at his opponents, all of whom had released their bio-beasts, Qin Fen gasped internally. The lineup was overwhelming!
Eight men! Seven of them had activated their bio-beasts! And among those, some had not merely achieved First Level Fusion, but Second Level Fusion!
Fourth Star martial artists were not the most frightening; what was truly terrifying was a Fourth Star martial artist whose bio-beast was Second Level Fused, offering power comparable to a Fifth Star martial artist with a First Level Fusion.
The only person who had not used his bio-beast was Ge Bing, who stood quietly within the crowd, arms crossed over his chest, giving the impression of a crane amidst chickens.
Facing seven opponents utilizing bio-beasts, Qin Fen dared not be careless. He activated the [Divine Demon Body] within him!
Innumerable simulated meridians spread throughout his body. The True Qi within surged like a great river, and guided by this surging energy, he pointed a single finger at the remaining eight men: “Now, you can all come at once.”