The endless starscape held secrets unknown to humanity. Venus, once a distant world, had long since fostered a bustling metropolis upon its surface. Outer space remained eternally cold and profound. For interstellar travel, humanity relied almost entirely on starships or space fighters.

Flesh perished quickly in that icy void. Crossing the vacuum of space with only one's body was thought possible only with the legendary Nano-Combat Suits.

However, some always managed to defy convention.

Divine Beasts—the world's most elite martial artists—possessed power sufficient to shatter such norms, enabling them to survive and even fly in that airless, frigid vacuum.

"You crippled my son's martial path, so I have crippled yours. I will not kill you; I want you to forever be unable to accept a challenge, to lose your martial prowess, and to lose the one you love. If Qilin is not satisfied with my actions, let him come. I, White Tiger, am also a Divine Beast expert."

White Tiger placed his hands behind his back and arrogantly soared toward Venus. Crippling Qin Fen with a single palm strike did not fully satiate his hatred. How could he allow his son, nurtured for so many years, to remain in such a state? He absolutely had to find a way to heal his body.

Outside the massive Venusian cityscape, beyond White Tiger, stood another figure.

A dark green cloak enveloped a towering silhouette. A long strand of black hair slipped free from beneath the fabric. Compared to Venus behind him, his form seemed minuscule. Yet, the moment a majestic aura erupted from within, his stature seemed to swell exponentially; even the colossal planet could not dwarf him.

A chilling, fierce will drifted leisurely from the dark green cloak, seeming to radiate a coldness far surpassing that of space itself.

White Tiger, moving at great speed, halted abruptly in the void. He faced the man a thousand meters away. The sharp, crimson slash-brows twitched several times, and his deep, cerulean eyes registered intense displeasure at the unexpected sight: "Boy, is that you?"

"Hares, that younger brother of yours certainly lacks supreme innate talent. If I had met him, I too would have called him a useless scrub and perhaps even struck him." White Tiger's twin slash-brows jumped repeatedly, and a flicker of surprise crossed his square jaw. "You..."

"That's right. The Qin Fen you crippled today is my brother, Qin Zhan."

The dark green cloak fluttered gently in the air, and a pair of eyes, bright as lightning, shot out from within. "But that doesn't mean my brother is a child without love or support, someone anyone can beat up and cripple."

Hares' narrow eyes gradually narrowed into thin slits, vigilant, cerulean light flickering within them. This youth definitely hadn't appeared here just to say these words.

"You, as a father, acting for your son, I can understand. Then me, as an older brother, acting on his behalf—I trust you can understand that as well?"

Beneath the dark green cloak, a pair of powerful, firm hands clenched suddenly. It was as if the sound of cannon fire from a cosmic battleship roared across space. The formidable aura billowed the hanging cloak outward.

"Also, let this be a warning to whoever issued that challenge decree: issuing challenges is fine, but do not cross my bottom line. If Qin Fen was beaten in a fair match, he deserved it for not focusing enough on the Martial Path. But bullying the weak? That has crossed my line."

"By the way, your surname is also Qin," Hares nodded slowly, the corners of his brows lifting faintly. "Boy, don't think that just because you've been acknowledged, you can truly stand as my equal."

Qin Zhan's shoulders beneath the cloak rotated slightly, and a confident voice drifted out. "Do you know what predecessors are for, old man? Let me tell you: they are for being surpassed. Equals? You think too highly of yourself."

Hares' body shimmered with golden light. At this moment, he resembled a miniature sun. His Divine Golden Art flared in his hands, radiating power thousands of times greater than that of the lesser Pluto, Hars. Confident killing intent gathered in both palms. He tilted his chin slightly. "Boy, do you really think you can defeat me?"

Qin Zhan's laughter was full of spirit, and even his aura exuded a heroic resolve of 'Though thousands stand against me, I shall advance alone.'

"Let's fight and see."

Hares' narrow eyes flickered rapidly, his shock palpable as he spoke. The thick corners of his lips curled repeatedly. "You... you are disregarding the bigger picture? Aren't you the one who always prioritizes the overall situation?"

"Ha. Compared to the bigger picture, I value my brother more."

The dark green cloak rose again. A tender expression flashed across Qin Zhan's battle-hungry eyes. He took a step forward out of thin air, and the two formidable auras collided violently. "Hares, the world will keep turning whether you are here or not."

"I have already crippled him," Hares stated arrogantly, his slash-brows raised. "He will never stand before me in this lifetime. Today, I'll cripple you too, to avoid future trouble."

"Crippled?" A confident smile flashed in Qin Zhan's eyes hidden beneath the cloak. "My brother, Qin Zhan's brother, isn't someone a mere white cat can cripple on a whim. Hares, watch me shatter your Six Ultimate Manifestations of Glory today!"

As the words fell, Qin Zhan remained unshaken. His cloak fluttered upward as he shot into the sky like a meteor beneath the stars. The distance of several thousand meters seemed to vanish between them; by the time his lips closed, Qin Zhan was already before White Tiger.

Against a Divine Beast like White Tiger, mere palm techniques would be useless. Only true close combat could injure, or even kill, such a being.

Qin Zhan's movement was like a soaring dragon breaking the heavens. No artificial satellite in his path could withstand the resulting air current, instantly being churned into fragments.

In space, before the impact, the clash generated continuous, explosive thunder reminiscent of a tempest—this was the might of a Divine Beast, one capable of swaying world affairs, a Divine Beast that could render even space battleships invincible.

"Arrogant boy! You think you can break the Six Ultimate Manifestations of Glory?" Hares roared domineeringly, yet his slash-brows betrayed intense tension. This young man had reached such a terrifying level of strength! The bold punch, the majestic momentum—this was Qin Zhan's heroic Martial Path.

Qin Zhan raised one arm; there were no complex follow-ups. One fist aimed for the waist, while the other hand was raised high, fingers tightly pressed together but not forming a fist, creating a semi-palm shape. Visually, it resembled an axe.

[Pangu Axe]

This seemingly simple strike condensed the crystallization of countless years of Qin Zhan's martial insight. As the axe swung down, even the vacuum of space over a thousand meters vibrated with ripples. A small asteroid that had drifted too close struck these ripples and instantly turned to dust, vanishing forever into the cosmos.

White Tiger stiffened his thick neck. Immeasurable power surged into every cell of his body—his entire aura instantly inflated and exploded. His body completely transformed into a "Golden Arhat" radiating blinding golden light, which rose up to meet Qin Zhan's [Pangu Axe]. His arms were enveloped by an even denser stream of golden Qi. This Qi seemed alive, writhing furiously. A piece of metal debris grazed the golden stream and instantly vanished without a trace.

It wasn't shattered by the golden True Qi; it had been dissolved. White Tiger was instantly employing the third of his Six Ultimate Manifestations of Glory.

Rumble!

A world-shaking roar echoed through space. The potent shockwave traveled for ten thousand meters, disintegrating countless space objects caught in the sonic vibration.

Qin Zhan's [Pangu Axe], capable of splitting the heavens, collided head-on with White Tiger's three Ultimate Manifestations.

In an instant...

His expensive outer garments were shredded into powder, and the surging yellow True Qi gave way to a shocking crimson redness.

"What? How is this possible?" Hares' mind raced through countless possibilities. How could Qin Zhan's [Pangu Axe] be this terrifying? One strike shattered three manifestations! The Dissolving Manifestation couldn't neutralize all of Qin Zhan's power. The Golden Manifestation, following the initial assault, couldn't completely block the partially neutralized [Pangu Axe]!

Hares felt ten thousand steel needles stabbing into his arm, accompanied by a heavy blow to his chest, as if struck by a massive hammer. This agonizing sensation was the first he had felt since becoming a Divine Beast.

Someone could injure a Divine Beast in a single exchange? Hares' blue eyes widened. "Does this kid feel no pain?"

The thought flashed through his mind in an instant. Hares couldn't afford further contemplation. The fist Qin Zhan had placed at his waist now transformed into a massive spear, capable of piercing a hole through the heavens, aimed straight at him.

In the observation satellites orbiting Venus, over a dozen large screens flashed several times before dissolving into static snow, ceasing to display any image.

"What happened? How could this be?"

"Hurry and investigate! What's going on? Before the screens failed, why did we hear thunder? There shouldn't be thunder or lightning in space."

The Venusian Satellite Observation Station descended into chaos. After a full day of frantic work, not a single piece of data was released externally.

The next day, every major and minor website across the Federation—regardless of its nature, even purely scientific exchange forums—featured the same message on their front pages:

Every piece of paper in the Federation, even newspapers dedicated solely to biochemistry, abandoned their usual headlines about major research breakthroughs. Like all others, they carried the same news across their front pages:

The Divine Beast White Tiger of Venus is dead.

The pinnacle of martial existence, the guardian deity of Venus, the fiercely aggressive Divine Beast White Tiger, was dead.

His corpse lay before the gates of the White Tiger Palace in White Tiger City on Venus, discovered in shock by the morning cleaning crew.

White Tiger is dead? The Divine Beast that even military cosmic battleships couldn't contend with—suddenly dead?

Almost no one could accept the truth of this news. Was it April Fool's Day? Yet, people had to accept the reality: White Tiger was indeed dead; no newspaper would dare joke with news of this magnitude.

Soon, people turned to the next question: Who killed White Tiger? Very few in the world could even stand against White Tiger, let alone kill him.

Before long, the realization dawned: only a Divine Beast could kill a Divine Beast. Which Divine Beast had White Tiger, Hares, offended?

The people sank into confusion. Only a small fraction secretly speculated that the perpetrator might be Qilin, Song Dong, reputed to be the strongest among the Divine Beasts.

Hares severely injured Qin Fen, disregarding Song Wen Dong's authority. Therefore, this most established Divine Beast likely took personal action to confront Hares.

However, for a fellow Divine Beast to actually kill White Tiger? Did this imply there was a gap in strength even among Divine Beasts?

"Divine Beasts are the apex martial artists of this era."

Song Zhenting stood before the stone chamber door, listening to his father Song Wen Dong's voice, which sounded far from aged. His ears twitched slightly as he replied with utmost respect, "Father, news just arrived from Jupiter. Azure Dragon has chosen seclusion. Rumors suggest he has comprehended something profoundly deeper in the Martial Path and wishes to enter isolation to fully grasp it and break through again."

"Comprehend? Comprehend what? Secluded meditation is merely a tactic to cover up injuries," Song Wen Dong's very confident voice echoed from the chamber. "He killed White Tiger Hares and expects not to be injured? How is that possible? The kind of injury that forces a Divine Beast into seclusion cannot be minor. However..."

Song Wen Dong's confident tone suddenly shifted, tinged with surprise and admiration. "It is truly hard to imagine. He actually managed to slay White Tiger Hares. Among Divine Beasts, killing the other is incredibly difficult. If one enters the fight intending mutual destruction, even if killed, the other party would likely suffer severe injuries, perhaps even dropping their cultivation level, never to return to their peak."

"Alas."

Song Zhenting heard his father sigh, a sound unheard for years, laced with infinite regret.

"Is he sending a message to others about their bottom line? That everything is acceptable except extreme bullying of the weak? Why do I have this strange feeling? The one who confronted Hares this time wasn't Azure Dragon?" Song Wen Dong mused to himself. "Is it worth risking critical injury and the permanent loss of peak cultivation to fight White Tiger? Even someone with peerless talent would struggle to return to the peak."

Song Zhenting's eyes flashed with sudden understanding. This mysterious Azure Dragon, known for his rigid temperament, acted without reservation. He was willing to risk the chance of permanent decline just to kill White Tiger, rather than recuperate from injuries.

Song Zhenting quietly withdrew from the chamber. White Tiger Hares suddenly came to Earth, injured someone, and then on his way back, he was killed—most likely by Azure Dragon. Qin Fen's crippling blow effectively removed him from the younger generation's competition. Who would seize this opportunity?

"Qin Fen severely injured? This is excellent news!" Li Mingzheng threw the documents in his hand excitedly into the air, quickly grabbing his phone and rapidly tapping the keys. "Immediately spread the news of Qin Fen's injury. Yes, critical injury and unconsciousness. Broadcast this news to all those young people who already know that defeating Qin Fen in a challenge grants the qualification to propose marriage to Song Wen Dong."

Li Mingzheng hung up, sank into the sofa, and continuously drummed his fingers on the armrest. Qin Fen's severe injury this time was an unmissable opportunity. He couldn't just let this pass. It wasn't enough to let young martial artists challenge and humiliate him; he had to die. That's right, even if he had contacted the forces in the Golden Triangle before, Qin Fen's skill level meant he could probably escape. After all, a top-tier martial artist from the Golden Triangle suddenly infiltrating Zhongzhou would certainly draw strict surveillance, perhaps even expulsion by the local authorities.

But now? Li Mingzheng grinned and picked up the phone again. Qin Fen was severely injured and unconscious. There was no need to sneak in top-tier experts; just getting a large group of people to infiltrate stealthily would guarantee success in killing Qin Fen.

"Unconscious. Unconscious." Li Mingzheng's fingers tapped the armrest like a pianist playing a frantic melody. "Unconscious. Unconscious."