"The prerequisite is casting aside his Star-Rank strength." Di Shitian’s bitter tongue finally tasted a hint of sweetness: "In a true battle, Star-Rank strength remains paramount. This young man truly surpasses geniuses in the conventional sense, but he still has a flaw: his Star-Rank strength. Even though he is in an explosive period of strength growth, it still requires a certain amount of time. During this traditional period of glory, he certainly won't survive it!"

Ferro silently watched Qin Fen on the screen. Over the last two days, the performance of this young man could only be described as a breathtaking genius who had emerged from nowhere to illustrate just how outstanding he was.

Yet, no matter how exceptionally talented a young martial artist he was, it still couldn't conceal his biggest current flaw: the issue of Star-Rank strength.

After the first execution of the glorious tradition failed, would martial artists of other years surge forward like a breaking tide? Perhaps in just a few days, or ten days, or even dozens of days, martial artists with Star-Rank strength far exceeding Qin Fen’s would appear.

Ferro’s joyful eyes held a hidden layer of worry, while Di Shitian’s bitter gaze carried a subtle hint of delight. Time, for almost every martial artist, was an indispensable and crucial factor.

Qin Fen? Di Shitian smiled, his gaze never leaving Qin Fen on the monitor, curious to see how he would handle this sudden apprenticeship request.

The Hall of Martial Arts was utterly silent. The minds of many young martial artists were still in a fog; this apprenticeship request had arrived too suddenly, too bizarrely. The news was explosively shocking, leaving those who heard it completely stunned. Qin Fen looked at Ren Tiansheng’s intensely serious expression, and the memory of when Ji Zhen Xuan Yi requested to be his disciple flashed through his mind, bringing an inexpressible wry smile to his face.

Accepting Ji Zhen Xuan Yi as a disciple back then now seemed rather rash and impulsive, even bordering on presumptuous ignorance of the world's magnitude.

To accept another lecturer from the Saint Martial Hall, one whose Star Rank was higher than his own, as a disciple? Qin Fen’s thick eyebrows knitted into a perfect cross shape. A fourteen-star martial artist usually wouldn't be without any foundation; such a move was truly reckless.

“Brother Ren, perhaps we should stick to mutual sparring and exchange…”

“Sparring?” Ren Tiansheng shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly, sighing: “To be honest, if I were qualified to spar with Master, I truly wouldn't want to become your disciple. After all, for a forty-year-old martial artist with 14-star strength to apprentice under a nineteen-year-old ten-star martial artist—it's preposterous! It can honestly be said that since the rise of the Martial Dao, nothing like this has ever happened.”

Everyone present nodded repeatedly. What Ren Tiansheng said was true; it sounded like an April Fool’s joke, but today was definitely not April Fool’s Day.

“Alas!” Ren Tiansheng let out another heavy sigh: “But the problem is, when it comes to martial foundation, Master is far ahead of me, and not by a small margin. Under these circumstances, if I still claimed our relationship was merely sparring and exchange—rather than discipleship—I would truly be shameless. So no matter what you say, I recognize you as my Master! Without your guidance, I might have remained perpetually stuck at the Fourth Level of Qi Oscillation, instead of being like this now…”

Ren Tiansheng gently spread his five fingers, savoring the sensation of Fifth Level Qi Oscillation coursing through his body. He tilted his head back, closed his eyes, an expression of indescribable comfort washing over his face.

How many years! How many days and nights had he spent striving solely for this feeling! Ren Tiansheng was so moved he felt on the verge of tears.

Qin Fen smiled helplessly. If he had known this would be the outcome of attending today, he shouldn't have come to listen to this lecture. He hadn't learned much material, but instead ended up guiding the lecturer.

With Ren Tiansheng having completely derailed the instruction, continuing the lesson was impossible. As the instructing lecturer, Ren Tiansheng had the right to end the course at any moment, and the seven-day course everyone had waited for ended without fruition.

The crowd formed small groups, engaging in some level of mutual discussion. Qin Fen listened to a couple of sentences and quickly lost interest.

This wasn't because the level of martial discourse among the young martial artists was too shallow; it was because everyone spoke with reservations. Discussions laced with hidden meanings were the most tedious.

Qin Fen noticed the young man who had been sitting in the very last row since the lecture began. He was still sitting there alone. He looked so solitary, with no other young martial artists near him, yet he gave off an aura of standing head and shoulders above the rest, like a crane among chickens.

Qin Fen rubbed his eyes a few times. That feeling wasn't an illusion; it was the subtle, looming presence of this strange young man, faintly superior to the other youths scattered around. Or perhaps, he didn't even deign to look down on the other young martial artists with an attitude of condescension.

The solitary young martial artist’s eyes met Qin Fen’s. A smile instantly appeared on his cheek. He mimicked Qin Fen’s posture from earlier and beckoned him over.

Qin Fen didn't need to look at anyone else beside him; he felt the beckoning clearly—it was directed at him, not anyone else.

Qin Fen walked over to the young martial artist and sat down naturally.

“Has the control of the Qi and Blood Oscillation also reached its limit?”

The young martial artist’s sudden words were abrupt, yet when Qin Fen heard them, they felt strangely natural, as if this young man was supposed to possess such insight.

“Yes, the oscillation of the bone marrow has not yet reached its control limit.”

Qin Fen admitted without concealment. In front of this young martial artist, he felt that even if he wanted to hide something, it would be impossible.

There was a feeling that even if he tried to conceal it, he couldn't.

This was a judgment entirely without logical basis. Qin Fen felt that if he had to explain it, it must be the male seventh sense. Since women could have a sixth sense, why couldn’t men have a seventh?

“Oh, is that so? Keep at it.” The young martial artist showed no surprise; everything sounded like casual conversation rather than a discussion of profound martial arts. “True Qi, Qi and Blood, Bone Marrow—the simultaneous oscillation of the triple layers, each with its own frequency, yet resonating with the others, creating an unending cycle—that's ideal.”

“Exactly,” Qin Fen nodded repeatedly. “It sounds easy to say, but it’s truly difficult to do.”

The young martial artist nodded in agreement: “It is indeed a bit challenging.”

Qin Fen turned to look at the young martial artist, revealing teeth as white as silver pieces in a smile: “Want to try it out?”

“No need. You can’t beat me right now; it’s pointless.”

“Is that so?” Since sitting beside the young martial artist, Qin Fen’s internal battle spirit had been growing unconsciously: “But I still want to try.”

“Must we fight?”

“Just try.” Qin Fen looked at the young martial artist: “No need to suppress the battle intent in your heart. If you want to fight, let’s fight.”

The young martial artist smiled faintly, his eyes flashing with greatly increased interest. It had been quite a while since someone could perceive the urge to fight hidden within him.

“Who is Qin Fen!”

A domineering, provocative roar exploded out of nowhere, drawing the attention of the young martial artists who had been intensely discussing Qi Oscillation.

The man leading the group, with a head of beautiful brown hair, possessed a figure that wasn't imposing but exuded an irrepressible, fierce arrogance. His green eyes, blazing with anger and hatred, were fixed dead on Qin Fen, clearly knowing exactly who Qin Fen was among the crowd.

The man standing beside this man was recognized by many of the young martial artists: Sama Dfeng from the Inner Saint Martial Hall. He bore a seven or eight-tenths resemblance to the man shouting beside him. Those who knew his background immediately thought of his brother, Sama Lunt, who was also in the Saint Martial Hall.

Sama Dfeng stood beside his brother like a stake driven into the ground. The joints that Qin Fen had dislocated yesterday had been completely reset with the help of others, but the hatred of being defeated in a single move had not faded.

“All the newcomers who arrived yesterday, who successfully evaded the glorious tradition, step forward!” Sama Lunt struck his fists together, the blue arcs of electricity mingling with the sound of flesh impacting, sounding like muffled thunder. The dust on the floor was forced outward and away in all directions.

...

The Hall of Martial Arts fell almost completely silent. Xue Tian held his Iai Sword and yawned lazily, not even bothering to turn his head or glance at the newcomers.

Caesar leaned low, his wrist connected with Brooks’, the two quietly conducting defensive and offensive sparring drills involving Qi Oscillation, neither man looking up.

Sama Lunt’s eyes held a flicker of bewilderment. Before coming here, he had considered every possible reaction from Qin Fen, even calculating how to mock and crush the arrogance if the other party had shamelessly declared he had defeated Hades, the Little Pluto. Simultaneously, under the guise of executing the glorious tradition, he intended to teach Qin Fen and the others who had beaten his brother a good lesson.

However, Sama Lunt had never imagined that he, a martial artist at the peak of the eleventh star, arriving here aggressively to demand an explanation, would not receive a single verbal acknowledgment.

The young man, Rijal, paused mid-squat, his eyes darting back and forth as he looked at Qin Fen and said, “It seems someone is looking for trouble with you.”

“Oh? How about it? Should we fight now?”

The young martial artist glanced sideways at the nearby Sama Lunt, curiously asking Qin Fen, “Do you think that counts as trouble?”

“This…” The young martial artist contemplated seriously for one second, then shook his head very earnestly: “No.”

Clap, clap… Clap, clap… Clap, clap…

Sama Lunt’s fists, in his enraged state, cracked repeatedly from clenching too tightly. The newcomers hadn't even given him a single look while he was clearly there to cause trouble—this humiliation was far more unbearable than being slapped publicly.

Anger—Sama Lunt had never been so furious! Today, no matter who it was, these two young men would be hospitalized for half a year!

Gao Yuan readjusted the detector. Because there had been no unusual activity moments ago, the camera lens had not been focused on Qin Fen but had been sweeping the surrounding area. Soon, the lens focused again on Qin Fen’s figure.

Instantly, the eyes of every section chief in the room brightened simultaneously. The surprise in Di Shitian Aziya’s eyes was even more pronounced than anyone else’s. He stared intently at the young man standing opposite Qin Fen on the screen and involuntarily opened his mouth to say, “Lord Martial Venerable…”