Martial Air Technique, almost the default method of flight for Ancient Martial Arts practitioners once they break through to the Master realm, carried the dreams humanity had harbored for millennia. The very power of flight was something even those at the Ancient Martial Arts Master realm found difficult to resist.

Being able to soar in the sky often served as a definitive indicator of whether a martial artist had truly entered the realm of the Martial Arts Master. The longer Hashimoto Kōjirō spent with Qin Fen, the more fortunate he felt that he did not belong to the same era as this peerless genius.

Qin Fen, capable of achieving the *dream of human flight through the Martial Air Technique, managed to fly away from the Shiman surface in just one day. Hashimoto Yōjirō had heard of people who could use the Martial Air Technique to leave the ground in a single day, but never of anyone who had mastered it to such a proficiency in under twenty-four hours.

Hashimoto Kōjirō distinctly remembered spending an entire week just to truly grasp the Martial Air Technique and achieve fluid, skillful flight; Qin Fen took less than two days. In the path of martial arts, even a difference of a single second in cultivation time represents a substantial gap; when that gap stretches into days, the disparity is a profound truth understood only by the practitioners themselves.

“Kid, you are truly a monster,” Hashimoto said, sitting cross-legged on the ground, watching Qin Fen land. “To achieve such freedom in flight in so short a time…” Qin Fen’s feet touched the ground, and he shook his head slightly.

Such free flight might seem excellent to ordinary people, but in the context of genuine martial combat, its actual effect offered minimal difference compared to not having it. A fifteen-star Stellar Martial Artist, while certainly a Martial Arts Master, could not achieve great speeds using the Martial Air Technique due to their internal True Qi reserves.

At least against Thunder Stride, the Martial Air Technique of a fifteen-star Master looked as slow as a tortoise crawling. That level of speed might block the second sword thrust from Qilin, but what about the third, fourth, or even the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth strikes?

The techniques of the Divine Fist Dao were never just about defense. Qin Fen’s Divine Fist Dao was fundamentally built on offense; in this world, there is no defense better than attack.

After engaging twice with Qilin, the strongest being on Earth, Qin Fen realized his hard-won gains from the fierce battles were still less than what he acquired from his previous confrontations with Pei Chengjūn and Jizen Hōten. “I must fly faster, even just a little quicker…” Qin Fen sat cross-legged, concentrating deeply.

Simulating the Golden State Pressure Origin Technique was a viable method, but simultaneously employing two different cultivation methods, while maintaining focus during combat, inevitably required dedicated, focused practice time. On the mountainside of Qilin Mountain, Song Zhēntíng stared down at Qin Fen at the foot of the peak for several seconds.

He then turned and vanished into the forest, leaving behind a soft murmur echoing in the air, “It seems he’ll be coming up the mountain again soon.” “Qin Fen is here?” Song Jiā opened her eyes and jumped down from her meditation cushion, the pale violet qipao accentuating her curvaceous figure perfectly. Over this past year, since Song Jiā entered her power explosion phase, not only had her Star Level rapidly increased, but as she aged, her figure had grown even more mature and alluring.

The slit in her qipao fluttered in the breeze, occasionally revealing glimpses of her long legs, which were magnets for male attention. “He is,” Song Zhēntíng replied, his eyes holding not only the affection of a doting father but also a faint, amused smile.

“Though he has already been knocked unconscious and thrown down the mountain twice by your grandfather.” A recording of Qin Fen’s previous fights began to hover in Song Jiā’s room. The combined duration of the two battles was merely seconds, yet the intensity of the clash made Song Jiā gasp repeatedly.

Song Jiā had worked relentlessly this year to increase her Star Level, partly to build strength to resist her grandfather, and partly to avoid being left behind by Qin Fen’s rapid progress. Seeing Qin Fen now knocked unconscious, tracing an arc through the air before tumbling down the slope in a heap, she couldn't help but let out a worried cry.

Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed towards her nose, and her cherry-red lips pouted. “Why is Grandpa so harsh?

Bullying! I’m very displeased…” Song Zhēntíng looked at his daughter’s adorable expression, then back at the projection of Qin Fen.

His large hands unconsciously clenched into fists, a hint of annoyance clouding his brow. Had this Qin Fen learned some dark sorcery?

His daughter usually paid no mind to any man, yet she was utterly captured by this boy. Once I’m done teaching him a lesson, if he survives, I’ll still beat him a few more times!

For stealing away my precious, delicately raised daughter… he definitely deserves a beating! “Father, what’s wrong with Qin Fen now?” Seeing Song Jiā’s anxious look, Song Zhēntíng sighed inwardly again.

His daughter had truly grown up and was siding with an outsider! No!

Next time, I’ll strike before him and teach him a lesson first! “He’s alive and kicking,” Song Zhēntíng said.

Seeing the relief wash over Song Jiā’s face, (Computer Read &m; ^ .^) only deepened his irritation towards Qin Fen. His daughter used to belong to him, yet now, in front of the father who painstakingly raised her, she showed such deep concern for another man.

How could he tolerate this? “He’ll probably be back up the mountain before long.” Song Zhēntíng’s fingers twitched repeatedly, giving the clear impression he was ready to charge down the mountain and simply lay into Qin Fen himself.

Down the mountain, Qin Fen’s hair suddenly stood on end for no discernible reason. He snapped his eyes open, his slightly teary gaze rapidly scanning his surroundings for the source of the astonishing hostility.

“Nothing? Strange.” Qin Fen scratched his head.

There was definitely a wave of intense hostility just now, but he couldn't locate any enemy. Had his martial intuition gone awry?

Finding no threat, Qin Fen closed his eyes once more. “He’ll come up the mountain?” Song Jiā hopped forward like a little girl, grabbing Song Zhēntíng’s clenched fist and shaking it back and forth.

“Next time, I want to watch too!” “Well… this…” “Dad~” Song Jiā whined coquettishly, and Song Zhēntíng felt his bones turn to jelly. Looking at his lovely daughter, then at the endlessly replaying projection of Qin Fen, the urge to teach Qin Fen a lesson surged in his heart once more.

Song Zhēntíng held up three fingers. “Three rules: No speaking, no interference, and absolutely no acting out of caprice.” “Deal, deal!” Song Jiā nodded vigorously.

“No problem! Let’s go, let’s go!

We need to find a good spot!” Song Zhēntíng let his daughter drag him toward the summit, but not before turning back to glare fiercely at the projected Qin Fen. One day, two days, three days… Qilin Mountain remained as quiet as ever.

Qin Fen did not ascend again for the entire three days, staying at the base of the mountain, spending his time meditating save for eating and sleeping. Steward Hou, lounging in his rocking chair in the main hall atop Qilin Mountain, suddenly opened his narrowed eyes simultaneously with hearing a thunderous roar from the base of the mountain.

A slight smile touched his lips as he murmured to himself, “…Kid, you have this final chance. If there is no further progress, the Master won't care about your background connections.

Striking lethally is not uncommon… Thunder Stride!” Jiu Tian Xuannü stared in shock at the spot where Qin Fen had been meditating. After a flurry of powerful air currents scattered broken stones, a pit appeared, half a meter deep and over two meters wide, as if struck by a bomb.

Hashimoto stared blankly at the trail sliced through the air by the high-speed movement of a body, which remained suspended in the atmosphere. This was not a trace left by the acceleration of Thunder Stride, but rather the residual mark left by the sudden, high-speed activation of the Martial Air Technique immediately following Thunder Stride.

Thunder Stride possessed a unique quality: even though it was faster than the Martial Air Technique, it left no trace in the air—this was the true strength of Qin Fen’s Thunder Stride. “The Martial Air Technique of a fifteen-star Master, achieving this speed… incredible.” Hashimoto clicked his tongue as he watched Qin Fen land nearby.

Qin Fen, who hadn't broken a sweat fighting the two Martial Arts Masters on Mount Hāna a year ago, was already sweating profusely after just one use of this rapid Martial Air Technique, hands braced on his knees, gasping for breath. The technique involved pressurizing True Qi, stimulating the body’s blood cells at the moment of explosion, concentrating all physical power to push the speed of the Martial Air Technique beyond the fifteen-star limit.

Qin Fen adjusted himself slightly, returning his body to peak condition. He tilted his head up slightly to look at the summit of Qilin Mountain.

“This time, I will clearly see your face, and I will state the purpose of my proposal.” Thunder Stride exploded again! Qin Fen flickered, appearing instantly before the Qilin Mountain gate.

Hashimoto Kōjirō shook his head gently and sighed to himself, “A tiger might not get angry after being harassed once, or twice, but what about the third time? Moreover, he isn't a tiger; he is Qilin.” Jiu Tian Xuannü watched Qin Fen’s retreating figure as he ascended the mountain, her heart twitching slightly.

Her hands clenched nervously into fists as she murmured, “Will he be alright this time?” “Hard to say,” Hashimoto Yōjirō replied, shaking his large head. “It’s really hard to say this time.

Qilin is a Divine Beast-level martial artist—a top-tier Grandmaster. How can a young martial artist be permitted to continuously harass the prestige of a Divine Beast?

Never mind if Qin Fen has a general from the military behind him; even if he had the backing of a Divine Beast martial artist, Qilin might not show him face…” Ascending Qilin Mountain for the third time, Qin Fen felt distinctly different from the previous two attempts. The malicious gazes piercing his skin from all directions felt transformed into soft balls of cotton, completely failing to interfere with him.

The grandeur of the mountains inspired awe, but only as a sight to be admired. The altitude of several thousand meters was insignificant in the eyes of a Martial Arts Master.

After climbing several hundred steps, Qin Fen looked up at the countless remaining stairs and frowned slightly. His feet lifted off the ground, defying Earth’s gravity.

Martial Air Technique! Fly up!

Enjoying the mountain breeze, Qin Fen ascended vertically into the sky. His martial uniform snapped loudly in the wind.

Looking down at the surrounding peaks, a feeling of magnificent dominance, of having the earth beneath him, arose in his heart for the first time. He subtly shifted his shoulders, and Qin Fen moved laterally, gliding to a stop before the hall at the summit.

Steward Hou was lying in his wicker chair as usual. He nodded slightly at Qin Fen’s respectful bow, then pointed a finger toward the very peak of the distant mountain.

Qin Fen straightened his back, lifted his legs, and began ascending the steps toward the peak. One level, two levels, three levels… eighty levels of stairs.

Qin Fen paused at the final step, gazing levelly at the stone house not far away. A faint smile touched his lips, followed by a thunderous explosion beneath his feet!

The final, eightieth step shuddered violently, shattering into millions of fragments that flew outward! Thunder Stride!

Offensive Rush! In the two previous ascents, the initiative in the fight belonged entirely to Qilin.

For his third ascent onto Qilin Peak, Qin Fen had prepared not only his martial skills but also fully prepared the battle sequence!