Hashimoto Yōjirō doubted his auditory system had malfunctioned. His eyes were fixed on Qin Fen’s receding figure as he ascended Qilin Mountain, shaking his head repeatedly, filled only with admiration and awe.

Not every martial arts master would dare to climb the mountain after Qilin had made his intentions clear with a punch.

Qin Fen walked again along the path scaling the thousands of meters high Qilin Mountain, sensing the hostility and killing intent that flickered in and out of the forest. His skin no longer felt the cutting or stabbing sensation of his previous encounter. Casually observing the subtle colors of the mountainside with his eyes, he suddenly realized how much magnificent and beautiful scenery he had missed.

Along the mountain path, on the distant peaks flanking the trail, were carved steles inscribed with lyrical poems and rhapsodies. Looking afar, one could sense the sentiment of those who had carved poetry on the thousand-zhang cliffs. Many of the characters subtly carried a hint of martial vigor.

This was not like the character checkpoints in the Sacred Martial Hall, which could offer guidance in martial arts. These inscriptions held little in the way of martial 'insight'; rather, they were imbued with the spirit and force of heart held by the calligrapher at that moment.

Vigorous and powerful, unrestrained and wild, overflowing with heroic spirit—all these emotions leaped within the writing. Having resided in these mountains for years, they had faintly merged with the spirit of the mountains themselves. Qin Fen walked all the way back to the main hall at the summit of Qilin Mountain. Steward Hou sat in a rattan chair just outside the door, gently rocking it, his eyes narrowed to slits as he soaked up the sunlight.

Qin Fen stepped forward, bowed slightly with clasped hands. Steward Hou remained with narrowed eyes, and a thin, satisfied smile stretched his withered lips. His fingers, thin as firewood, gestured toward the stone house on the highest peak within the hall.

Facing him, with just a simple gesture, Qin Fen understood that he was being told to go up again.

Entering the hall, Qin Fen deliberately slowed his pace. The Grand Canon of World Martial Arts Zhenqi within his body circulated rapidly, instantly surging to its peak. Then, bit by bit, using a simulated Vajra Pressure Source Art, he began to incrementally double the pressure on his Zhenqi.

This time, he was facing the rumored strongest martial artist on Earth. Qin Fen had no intention of using bio-beasts or medicinal enhancers to boost his strength; doing so would only earn him the opponent's contempt.

Three and a half times Vajra Pressure Source. Qin Fen took a deep breath, adjusting the flow of blood in his body. The surging blood was suppressed, slowing to a trickle, resembling the brief tranquility before a storm.

In an instant, Qin Fen’s spirit, Zhenqi, and body reached an unprecedented state of harmony. He lifted his leg and stepped onto the final tier of the peak, opening his mouth to say, "I have come to propose..."

Before the words were out, from the stone house ahead, which had already been perfectly repaired, a forceful energy roar—like a dragon but not a dragon—erupted across the entire summit of Qilin Mountain. The peaceful air of Qilin Mountain instantly shifted to a turbulent storm. A massive surge of energy exploded from the small stone house like a detonated nuclear bomb.

The colossal Zhenqi instantly pierced the stone wall separating the two, and in the blink of an eye, the solid rock dissolved into dust, rushing forward with the overwhelming momentum of a vast, ceaseless river.

Qin Fen felt the ground beneath his feet tremble violently, as if his rooted stance might once again become loose and untethered. He knew this was not a genuine instability in his horse stance, but rather the sheer power of Qilin’s punch that induced a psychological illusion, making it seem as though his rooted stance was faltering.

The mighty stream of energy instantly coalesced into the legendary phantom form of the Qilin, emanating an overwhelming kingly aura as it arrived before Qin Fen.

This strike, just like the previous attack, gave Qin Fen no warning before impact. Yet this time, Qin Fen was mentally prepared for everything. If he wanted to avoid being knocked unconscious, he couldn't afford to spare a single blade of grass or tree on Qilin Mountain. His fifteen-star strength, under three and a half times amplification, was unleashed without reservation.

Simultaneously! Qin Fen blasted out his Zhenqi at full speed. Under the sunlight, it formed layers of brilliant radiance, like a miniature sun. Two visible, dragon-shaped streams of Zhenqi jetted from his nostrils, rapidly circling his body, drawing in the surrounding weeds and gravel, causing them to lift off the ground.

The high-speed flow of Zhenqi super-activated the cells within his body. Qin Fen’s skin momentarily became smooth as jade, appearing even more translucent and radiant under the Zhenqi's reflected glow. The skin of a newborn infant would seem inferior in comparison. His entire person once again resembled the jade-carved figure from the Hanla Mountain battle. Go all out, explode, explode, explode! The two dragon-shaped Zhenqi coiled around Qin Fen's body instantly retracted into his arms, forming eighteen small, roaring dragon-shaped Zhenqi. With a sudden tremor of his legs—without bending his knees—the stones beneath him exploded outwards in shrapnel. He had already transformed into a phantom-like shadow: Thunder Step!

“Interesting,” Steward Hou watched the rare battle from his reclining position, a faint curve on his lips. “But trying to dodge the Qilin Punch just like that is wishful thinking.”

Qin Fen’s Thunder Step was fast, but the Qilin Punch was faster. The overwhelming force of the punch still enveloped Qin Fen’s body. The roaring Qilin Punch left an indentation several inches deep on the ground, arriving before Qin Fen in an instant.

“So fast?” His Thunder Step, improved since the Hanla Mountain battle, was still no match. Qin Fen’s shoulder muscles twitched as he executed the Thunder Step, his eyebrows rising as he stared at the Qilin Punch he hadn't managed to evade. The eighteen streams of Zhenqi around his arms suddenly twisted inward, coiling around his arm like true dragons circling a pillar. The air around his arm hissed, as if tearing cloth.

He had intended to use Thunder Step to evade, see Song Wendong’s face clearly, and present the great martial deity with a massive welcome gift. Since evasion was no longer possible, he would shatter this Qilin Punch energy!

All his Zhenqi, tripled in pressure, tore through the air as his right arm swept out. The eighteen streams of radiant Zhenqi merged to form a single colossal dragon-shaped Zhenqi, which plunged violently into Qin Fen’s arm. For a moment, it was hard to distinguish whether it was a human arm or a flying dragon!

“A punch surpassing the one at Hanla Mountain.”

Song Zhenting appeared beside Steward Hou at some unknown time. The brilliant light flashing from his eyes held an indescribable astonishment and praise. While fighting two martial arts masters alone at Hanla Mountain was bound to lead to progress in his martial path, the speed of this improvement was simply too fast!

So fast that Song Zhenting wondered if Qin Fen didn't need to digest and absorb? Could he just swallow it down and absorb it rapidly automatically?

As Song Zhenting marveled, Qin Fen’s feet suddenly stomped together. His spine arched like the surging Yellow River, the blood in his body roaring nonstop, while the bones within cracked and popped like firecrackers. The power of the Eighteen Divine Dragons Gathering Wind and Clouds punch stance shifted again!

Qin Fen was acutely aware of the gap between himself and the Qilin’s fist. Against such a master, playing clever or hiding strength was absolute folly. The martial arts absorbed from the Soul of the Sahara Desert erupted completely from within him at this moment.

The Qilin Mountain summit, high above and radiating a cool aura, suddenly descended into chaos. A hot, dry, ancient aura suddenly shot toward the heavens! At this moment, it felt as if the entire Qilin Mountain was forcibly blanketed by this ancient wave of energy. The rapidly changing air was filled with the dryness characteristic of the desert.

The Soul of the Sahara Desert, millions of years in the making, Qin Fen had fused it into the ultimate technique of the Divine Fist Dao: the Feng Shen Bang (Investiture of the Gods)! The goal: to seal the Qilin Punch into godhood!

Steward Hou, who had been sitting upright in the rattan chair the entire time, suddenly shot two beams of sharp light from his dim, aged eyes. His withered hands clenched the armrests of the chair, and his body snapped upright as if resurrected, exclaiming, "Outstanding!"

At the same instant, two clusters of sharp light burst from the dark stone house.

Boom! Boom!

A series of tremendous explosions rocked Qilin Mountain. The teacups on the table in the main hall were shaken clean off the surface. The colossal surge of energy dispersed all the clouds in the sky. Steward Hou raised his hand and waved it in front of him, sweeping away the flying debris, dust, and Zhenqi, unwilling to miss a single moment.

“Explode!”

Qin Fen’s feet truly felt light, and his body floated backward into the air as the peaks of Qilin Mountain shook violently. Watching the Qilin Zhenqi shattered by the punch, he felt an immense satisfaction, yet the blood in his body boiled as if heated water. The Earth Martial God's punch was too powerful. If it weren't for fusing the Soul of the Sahara, Qin Fen believed that even the Feng Shen Bang could not have sealed the Qilin Punch's energy into godhood.

From the dark stone house, a sharp Sword Finger energy pierced through the boiling, splashing Zhenqi and shot out again with fierce speed.

Wuxiang Jie Zhi (Formless Calamity Finger)! Qin Fen discerned the location by sound. This finger technique was recorded in the Hall of Ultimate Techniques at the Sacred Martial Hall. At its highest level, it could be colorless and formless, even without a sound, yet possess a power comparable to the sharpest sword in the world!

Qilin clearly hadn't used his full strength with this finger strike. Otherwise, even if he couldn't produce a colorless, formless, and silent strike, Qin Fen believed that under the suppression of the explosive Zhenqi, it would still have evaded his hearing.

Suspended in mid-air, Qin Fen drew circles before him with his hands. The muscular strength in his arms instantly transformed into rigid power, smashing into the incoming Finger Qi true energy.

Not good! Upon contact with the Wuxiang Jie Zhi, Qin Fen's heart suddenly jolted in alarm. The severed Finger Qi actually protected three strands of Sword Finger energy, which attacked from three different directions.

Wuxiang Jie Zhi, Formless and Formless! Only at this moment did Qin Fen realize why Qilin had made a sound when using the technique. He wasn't aiming for a fair contest; he was deliberately making noise to lure Qin Fen into blocking, creating an opportunity for further variation, thereby forcefully defeating him to demonstrate that even when announcing his martial technique, he could achieve a dominant victory.

The extreme distance and sudden shift caught Qin Fen off guard. He dodged one stream of energy by rapidly twisting his waist. Qin Fen's hand muscles moved swiftly, enveloped by Zhenqi forming visible energy masses, which he flung outwards to grasp the Wuxiang Jie Zhi and squeeze violently. Zhai Xin Shou (Heart-Snatching Hand) against Wuxiang Jie Zhi!

A dozen firecracker-like explosions rang out in the air. The moment two strands of Wuxiang Jie Zhi were crushed, the second strand from the stone house was already approaching Qin Fen’s chest.

No way? Defeated again? The thought flashed through Qin Fen’s mind. Even with his speed, he couldn't keep up or block Qilin’s overwhelming attack. Two strands of Finger Qi energy exploded against his chest and forehead, and Qin Fen’s vision went dark again. He passed out once more.

Hmph... In the last instant before losing consciousness, Qin Fen heard that severe and disdainful cold snort emanating from the small stone house.

Pain. His head felt like it was about to explode.

Qin Fen pushed himself up, propping himself on his hands against the ground and shaking his head vigorously. To his dismay, he found himself seeing Hashimoto and the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman again. The surrounding environment was clearly the foot of Qilin Mountain.

Gently moving his shoulders, Qin Fen felt pain in every muscle of his body.

How could this be? Qin Fen was somewhat confused. He had only been hit by two finger strikes, so why did his whole body ache? He looked down, untying his clothes, and saw bruises and purplish marks all over his skin, with several places scraped raw.

Hashimoto explained Qin Fen’s bewildered expression: “You rolled down the mountain; you weren't carried down.”

A martial arts master was indeed a martial arts master. As long as one wasn't fatally wounded, the protective Zhenqi would provide a certain degree of protection even while unconscious.

To roll down from the summit thousands of meters high without breaking an arm, Qin Fen felt his luck was quite good.

Looking up at the still majestic and unmoving Qilin Mountain, Qin Fen let out a helpless sigh. His second ascent had smashed the Qilin Punch energy, showing significant progress from the first attempt, but he was still hit by two fingers and knocked unconscious again.

Most crucially, Qin Fen realized he still hadn't managed to utter the eight characters about proposing marriage to Song Jia.

Qin Fen sat down cross-legged and reviewed the battle just before he passed out. He then discovered something even more frustrating.

Twice climbing the mountain, twice facing the stone house, twice confronting the Qilin Punch—yet he had never managed to see Qilin’s true appearance.

“This...” Qin Fen placed his hands on his knees as he sat cross-legged, straightened his back, and looked up at Qilin Mountain. Having seen Qilin twice after climbing the mountain, yet failing to see his appearance, while not exactly shameful, was certainly quite embarrassing.

“That last finger strike...” If only I knew the Wu Kong Shu (Martial Void Technique)...

Qin Fen rested his chin in his hand, lost in thought, when he noticed Hashimoto seemed to have something to say.

“Brother Hashimoto, is there something you wish to say?”

“He wants to tell you that it wasn't just ‘just now,’” the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman said, a hint of amusement in her tone. “You’ve been rolling down for a full day and night.”

Hashimoto nodded his large head gently. “Brother Qin, you have indeed been unconscious for a whole day. Perhaps we should leave this place first...”

“No need. I don't sense any killing intent from Qilin,” Qin Fen shook his head. “I suppose he doesn't intend to kill me yet. But his aura carries a strong feeling of dissatisfaction with me.” Wu Kong Shu! Qin Fen pulled out the Wu Kong Shu he had brought from the Sacred Martial Hall and began to flip through it. If he had known the Wu Kong Shu during the battle at the summit, even if his lack of mastery prevented him from using it with full flexibility due to his star level, he could have at least performed mid-air evasions or counter-attacks.

Hashimoto watched Qin Fen reading intently and asked in a low voice, “You’re not planning to climb Qilin Mountain again, are you?”

“Yes.” Qin Fen closed the book and nodded gently. “I will climb Qilin Mountain for the third time! This time, I will see Qilin’s true face, and I will state the matter of the marriage proposal.” Regarding the unstable updates over the past few days, I apologize, but maintaining stability has been impossible. There is a saying in the writing circle: reality is sometimes more bizarre than fiction.

Only when one truly faces it can one believe this saying is true.

Within a few days, my maternal uncle suffered a cerebral thrombosis and was hospitalized; my maternal aunt had high blood pressure and was hospitalized; my younger aunt had high blood pressure and was hospitalized; and my third maternal uncle was diagnosed with cancer. Of my mother’s eight siblings, half were hospitalized in a few days. For my mother, this blow was unimaginably great, especially as she is going through menopause.

As a son, I spend most of my time accompanying her now. To put it somewhat callously, the issues of my elders don't affect me deeply, but I must ensure my mother’s emotional stability.

I will try my best to keep the novel updates stable. Tomorrow, my third maternal uncle will undergo a biopsy, a procedure where a tube is inserted into his liver to inject medication intended to kill cancerous cells. I expect my mother’s mood might improve slightly after the surgery.