Gan Jin nodded, bowed, and retreated from the courtyard. He glanced back one last time at the flames raging there. He hadn't had time to practice forging these past few days; he needed to continue his studies once this busy period passed. The Soul Weapon he forged last time was pure luck. If he truly reached the brink of sainthood, a Soul Weapon would be indispensable! And besides...

Gan Jin looked up at the azure sky. He had acquired a Sacred Artifact of the Demon Race. That thing looked terrifyingly powerful, but it could only be used by a Fallen Angel Bloodline Martial Artist; anyone else using it would be courting death. If he became a Forging Grandmaster, or a Divine Craftsman as Uncle Black mentioned!

Perhaps he could correct the flaws in the Dark Demon Armor, turning it into a Sacred Artifact usable by anyone! At the very least, when giving the Dark Demon Armor to Check (Chek Fu Li Te), he could ensure that this half-blood, wearing it, wouldn't be controlled by the armor or have his life force drained.

The door to Enrack's Dou Qi Chamber, controlled by Enrack's Dou Xin consciousness, had long since returned to its original state. Gan Jin scratched his head and shrugged lightly. It seemed the gap in their Dou Xin consciousness levels was more than trivial. He could use his Dou Xin consciousness to draw upon surrounding power, but he couldn't make the wooden blocks that had been scattered fly back and reassemble themselves tightly.

"Dou Xin consciousness, Dou Xin consciousness..." Gan Jin took a deep breath, reached out, and pushed the door open, thinking to himself. Just how strong did a Dou Xin consciousness need to be to piece together wood shavings? During the wars between the Zhence Dynasty and the Demon Race, cities would be utterly shattered by enemy warrior or mage corps. If they could use Dou Xin consciousness for repairs, wouldn't it be much faster?

The door slowly opened on both sides. Gan Jin's brow furrowed even deeper. Why, during wartime, would they still hire masons to repair city walls? Wouldn't finding a strong person to use Dou Xin consciousness be simpler?

Enrack's Dou Qi Chamber door opened completely. A scent of wood slowly drifted out, along with Enrack’s sword-like gaze, and the sight of a large group of warriors, clad in uniform battle gear, seated along both sides of the training hall.

The warriors seated along the hall rose in unison upon seeing Gan Jin enter. Their barefoot soles landed squarely and heavily on the wooden floor, producing a resounding boom like a war drum, accompanied by a synchronized, angry exhalation of breath.

"Hah!"

The unified roar intertwined and drifted outward, swirling like electrical currents sparking in the clouds, causing the air in the room itself to seem to vibrate.

Gan Jin let out a slight breath, sensing the hostile gazes directed at him from all sides, as if he were surrounded deep within enemy lines. His skin subtly prickled with the feeling of being struck by knives and pricked by needles. Among them, a few pairs of eyes carried a particularly lethal intensity, drawing attention more readily than the others.

Two men, identical in appearance—both bald, stout, with muscles like wads of cotton—were the most prominent among them.

"Kid, you've come to challenge the hall again?" Enrack sat at the very center of the hall, a gleam of excitement in his smile. "A bit sooner than I expected."

"Challenge the hall?" Gan Jin sighed. "It was Uncle Black..."

"Kid, don't always think there's a shortcut," Enrack waved his hand dismissively. "Uncle called you here this time to tell you that to obtain anything, you must rely on your own effort. Connections might work once, maybe twice, but not for a lifetime. No one can help you forever; everything ultimately depends on yourself."

Rely on himself? Gan Jin felt a chill, tapping his head. As his strength grew, why did his resolve feel less firm than before? That was right! Others could offer guidance, but everything truly depended on him.

"Since you understand," Enrack smiled and waved his hand. "Then we follow the rules here! Win, and there's a prize! Lose, and there's nothing."

Whoosh! The two identical, robust young warriors rose simultaneously. Only upon closer inspection did Gan Jin notice slight differences in their height—one was slightly taller, the other a bit shorter.

Each tapped their right ankle and leaped directly into the fighting circle. Their movements were so synchronized it looked like one person facing a mirror image, not two distinct individuals.

Dou Xin consciousness! Gan Jin slowly stepped into the circle, his brow taut with cautious gravity, staring intently at the two opponents who had entered so uniformly. He sensed the surging airflow swirling around them—a phenomenon only achievable by controlling Dou Xin consciousness.

In the vast circle, the three faced each other. No one needed to call the start; the moment their auras brushed against each other, the battle ignited instantly!

Dong! A stomp of the foot, and the two young warriors suddenly separated, flinging their arms wide to strike from the left and right—the Demon Slaying Strike!

The moment they moved, they unleashed the power of the Demon Slaying Strike! Potent Dou Qi erupted from beneath their skin, emitting sharp, piercing sonic booms. Gan Jin felt as if the sky had instantly darkened. Their palms expanded audibly with a grating sound, thick, dark-green sinews winding around their hands as if coated in molten black iron.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Two rapid downward swooshes in the air maximized the power of this specialized technique! Before the attacks even landed, the overwhelming pressure swept Gan Jin's hair wildly, causing a faint, sharp pain on his scalp, like being grazed by a blade wind.

The immense pressure surged forward like a tidal wave, instantly inducing a primal urge to retreat in anyone who witnessed it.

Almost simultaneously, Gan Jin’s right leg lifted off the ground, rising rapidly. A shared flicker of triumph crossed the two warriors' eyes—retreat! If he retreated...

Bang! The solid redwood floor beneath him rapidly fractured downwards, splinters and shards of wood spinning wildly in the air. Fierce Dou Qi erupted from Gan Jin’s body like a volcano. His descending right foot did not retreat! Instead, he stepped forward half a pace!

In an instant! Gan Jin leaned forward, his back slightly arched, a low growl—like a tiger or leopard—rumbling in his throat. He simultaneously swung both arms high, sweeping outward along the lines of his eyes. The Splitting Gold Chop landed squarely on both of their palms.

Splitting Gold Chop meets Iron Hand Transformation! The explosive compression of Dou Qi mixed with the sound of colliding muscles and bone erupted simultaneously! Gan Jin faintly felt the Dou Qi in both palms about to scatter upon impact. All Demon Slaying Warriors possessed Dou Xin consciousness, and the clarity provided by the Demon Subduing Five Strikes’ Dou Xin consciousness lost its usual edge in this clash.

In just a split second, Gan Jin suddenly felt the two palms he touched—which had felt as solid as steel—become extremely soft, as if his Splitting Gold Chop force had sunk into cotton.

What was this? The conversion between extreme hardness and extreme softness, completed in an instant? Gan Jin’s eyes narrowed in shock. Even with familiarity, reordering Dou Qi sequencing in this manner should not be this fast!

In a flash of lightning, Gan Jin tried to withdraw his hands, only to feel those two extremely soft Dou Qi palms suddenly erupt with an unprecedented ferocity! The cutting force of the Splitting Gold Chop that had sunk in was now mixed with the even fiercer crushing pressure of the Iron Hand, slamming back!

From hard to soft, and then instantly from soft to hard? So fast? Gan Jin’s wrists felt as if they had been zapped by lightning. His two arms snapped back like venomous snakes retreating into their holes, the rapidly circulating Dou Qi flushing the invading enemy Dou Qi out of his body.

The two large hands continued their sky-covering descent. Gan Jin flowed outward, his shoulder barely grazing the iron palms. His Wind-Cloud Golden Body was pushed to its limit; the friction generated a sound inconsistent with flesh and bone striking flesh. His legs pushed off the ground, leaping up, hands slamming together, executing the Enemy Breaking Slash directly toward the taller warrior—like a fierce eagle pouncing on a rabbit, a ferocious lion hunting a lamb!

The taller warrior’s brow arched high, a cold sneer escaping between his teeth. His feet stamped the ground, his body swaying repeatedly like a tree branch shaking in a gale. He flipped his wrist and unleashed the Horse Roar of the Iron Hand Transformation.

Bang! Palm met palm, Dou Qi spraying out, almost visible to the naked eye, impacting the scattered wooden stakes around them and sending them flying everywhere. Gan Jin felt a dull ache and a creeping numbness spreading in his wrists.

Given the vast gulf in strength, a direct confrontation could never yield an advantage! Gan Jin twisted his hands, winding them around the taller warrior’s arm like a massive python coiling. The powerful shockwave from the collision, which should have thrown Gan Jin backward, was completely neutralized by this binding and coiling action in that instant.

Huh? The taller warrior’s wrist trembled, his eyes flickering with surprise. Despite the huge gap in strength, he couldn't shatter the opponent's Dou Qi with one blow, nor could he break bones? What kind of body was this?

The moment he coiled, Gan Jin followed through without hesitation, kicking out with his leg—a powerful thrust like a fierce tiger, like a divine dragon plunging into the sea, aiming for the opponent's throat!

Huh? Enrack’s sharp eyes widened. Ever since Gan Jin entered the battle state, facing the attacks of two masters, he had not retreated even once. Every move aimed to seize the initiative. Even when disadvantaged, he wasn't contemplating evasion but adapting his techniques mid-fight to forcibly seize the initiative, showing no intent to yield ground.

The moment Gan Jin’s foot connected with the taller warrior’s chest, the chest—which seemed solidified by surging Dou Qi—became incredibly soft, as if his foot had sunk into soft mud.

What is this? The Entangling Belly Technique? The long-forgotten term for the martial art flashed through Gan Jin's mind. Suddenly, he felt a colossal force rebounding from that soft abdomen! It was like a strong bow drawn to its absolute limit, springing back with several times the original power! The Entangling Belly Technique, soft to the extreme, unleashed an immense, violent recoil!

Instantly, Gan Jin felt the circulation in his leg and foot becoming sluggish; his Dou Qi moved with difficulty through his meridians. The shorter warrior's Iron Hand smashed down like a falling mountain.

Gan Jin landed both feet, his body slightly crouched like a drawn bow. He twisted the arm of the taller warrior wrapped by his hands, biting down hard like an alligator securing its prey. Then, his spine, knees, and ankle joints snapped—kaka-kaka—like steel wires breaking! The taller warrior felt as if he had been shot from a bow, his feet instantly lifting off the ground as his balance was lost.