Before the great hall atop Qilin Mountain, Steward Hou watched the Old Master Qilin descend the peak, making no immediate move to rise in welcome. As the steward who had served Qilin from the very beginning, the need for such superficial formalities between them had long since vanished. To Qilin, Steward Hou was more like an old comrade, an elder brother, than a mere steward.
Steward Hou’s attention was fixed entirely on Qin Fen, who lay not far from his feet. The young man, struck by Qilin’s Fifteen-Star Formless Tribulation Finger, surviving at all was astonishing enough. Now, he showed signs of waking almost immediately from his stupor.
Qilin halted his advance. Beneath his sword-like brows, his eyes, hard as obsidian, flickered with distinct surprise.
The Formless Tribulation Finger unleashed by Qilin at the Fifteen-Star level was hardly comparable to that used by an ordinary Martial Arts Master. Even many Sixteen-Star martial artists could not manage the high-density compression and release of Zhenqi that Qilin achieved.
To be struck by that finger and live? It was beyond miraculous. But to fall unconscious only to immediately begin rapidly regaining consciousness—watching Qin Fen’s index finger twitch slightly, Song Wendong felt this situation could no longer be called a miracle; it was utter nonsense.
He’s awake! Song Wendong’s pupils contracted violently. Waking up was no longer the shocking part. What he couldn't believe was the aura emanating from Qin Fen, who was slowly struggling to his feet from the ground—it was an entirely different essence.
Powerful? No! Song Wendong shook his head lightly. His star-level strength hadn't changed, but the quality of his aura felt completely different—ancient and profound!
He was clearly still at the Fifteen-Star level, yet he gave off a feeling of unfathomable depth! Song Wendong even had the illusion that the person before him was not Qin Fen, but a Divine Beast-level martial artist like himself, deliberately suppressing their true strength!
An absurd thought flashed through Song Wendong’s mind. He scrutinized the newly upright Qin Fen with his eyes glowing faintly black. His previously vacant gaze now held only fervor, as if some deep instinct had awakened after consciousness was lost, now guiding the body with a simple directive. The more he observed, the stronger the feeling that this was not Qin Fen at all.
“This is…”
Steward Hou and Song Zhenting both flinched simultaneously, staring at Qin Fen with expressions of profound astonishment. The strength was the same, the body was the same, yet the essence radiating from him was utterly transformed!
Song Jia couldn't comprehend the drastic change in expression on the faces of the three elders. In her eyes, Qin Fen was still the same Qin Fen, only the light in his eyes was a little empty, mixed with a touch of fervor—aside from that, there was no other difference.
Due to the vast gap in cultivation realms, Song Jia couldn't sense the shift in Qin Fen’s aura. However, the Divine Beast Qilin, Song Wendong, could not possibly miss such a fundamental alteration.
“Is this the stubborn refusal born from defeat? The instinctive will of the body awakening?” Song Wendong recalled the Black Tortoise on Mercury, a Divine Beast usually possessing transcendent strength. During fierce combat, if it was knocked unconscious, its subsequent instinctive revival in combat was several times stronger than normal. “Could Qin Fen possess such an instinct?”
“Fourteen minutes and forty-five seconds remaining.”
The Master controlled Qin Fen’s body, bending it slightly. The voice that emerged was stiff and dry. Qin Fen’s outstretched fingers snapped audibly as he stared straight at Song Wendong. “Come on, don’t waste time lingering.”
As the words fell, smoke puffed up from the ground beneath the Master’s feet, and his form vanished completely from Song Jia’s sight. Instead of the usual violent rupture caused by powerful thunder and lightning, the ground looked as if it had been subjected to millions of volts of electricity, instantly scorching the earth.
“Electric Step?” Qin Fen exclaimed in surprise within his Sea of Consciousness, watching the Master use the martial art. The Electric Step, which he himself had been agonizingly close to perfecting, was executed by the Master with effortless ease!
Steward Hou’s pupils narrowed to pinpoints as he squinted at Qin Fen’s figure. Without any seismic tremor in the ground, the man had instantly appeared before Qilin.
At that exact moment, Qin Fen’s body became a self-luminous entity. His Zhenqi, mixed with flesh and meridians, caused his entire body to glow like jade. His skin was smooth and bright, resembling a piece of the finest, purest ice-seed jade—a texture possessing an indescribable beauty.
Qin Fen’s palm remained its normal human size, yet the strike delivered enveloped Song Wendong completely. Qilin’s magnificent frame, in contrast to this not-so-large palm, created a visual illusion, as if Qin Fen were striking not a Divine Beast, but a newly hatched chick.
This first move by the Master was Qilin’s own technique: Palm Earth Heaven.
The advanced evolution of Thunder Step, the Electric Step, was easily executed by the Master based on Qin Fen’s martial theory. Veins connected to his toes channeled Zhen’gang flooding into his body. The power beneath his feet far surpassed previous levels, resembling the charge of a colossal elephant.
The giant elephant force sprang from his toes; Qin Fen’s calves swelled and contracted as Zhenqi poured in, transforming into Zhen’gang. Qi burst forth from his lower limb joints; the muscles along his back rippled repeatedly, his spine surging like a great dragon, transforming into a dragon emerging from water.
As the Master unleashed his Palm Earth Heaven, Qin Fen’s previous state of merely condensing Zhenqi into Zhen’gang instantly leaped to the second layer: Zhen’gang Entering the Body!
Qilin had only managed to repel Qin Fen with the final strike of the Formless Tribulation Finger by relying on the superior quality of his Zhenqi. Although Zhen’gang Entering the Body was only one level above Condensing Qi into Gang, the disparity between the two stages was something only those fighting them could truly know.
Back in Shengjing, Qin Fen had killed a fellow Martial Arts Master with a single punch because his Condensing Qi into Gang had reached near its absolute peak, far surpassing those masters who couldn't even achieve that level.
The higher one ascended in martial arts, the more significant the difference even a single tier could make in the outcome of a battle.
When the Master executed Palm Earth Heaven, Qin Fen, floating in his Sea of Consciousness, was repeatedly astonished. A theoretical master was indeed a supreme theoretical master. This Palm Earth Heaven, seen only once, possessed several new variations when displayed by the Master.
This palm strike not only encompassed Qilin within its range; its palm force had absorbed and synthesized the essence of both Thunder Step and Electric Step. In a single strike, there was not just Heaven and Earth, but Thunder and Lightning within that Heaven and Earth! This was not actual current, but its spirit was like lightning. As the palm moved, the Zhen’gang Entering the Body generated thunderous roars, mimicking the activation of Thunder Step. This surge, slamming into Qilin, brought forth a torrential downpour of Heaven and Earth lightning power!
Rumble!
The moment the Master’s sudden assault struck, the perpetually lofty, unrivaled dominance of Qilin’s aura was swept away by the Heaven and Earth lightning. His previously calm, unshakable stance, like a towering peak, vanished.
Song Zhenting grinned widely, looking at Qin Fen. He inwardly mused that this suddenly awakened young man’s Palm Earth Heaven—the Zhen’gang condensed from Zhenqi—and its sheer power seemed poised to break the limit of Fifteen Stars. This strike could no longer be called Unity of Heaven, Earth, and Man; it was Heaven and Earth used at his command!
If the previous Qilin had maintained the dominant posture of Imperial Heaven and Earth throughout, the Master’s strike was using his own power to Swallow the Heavens—literally extracting Heaven and Earth from within Qilin’s body!
I don't care if you have your own separate Heaven and Earth; I am the true controller of that Heaven and Earth!
Song Wendong watched Qin Fen’s attack, his expression finally showing deep gravity. His body, which had maintained relaxation until now, tensed for the first time! This was clearly visible in the solemnity etched upon his brow.
Qilin, Song Wendong, seasoned by a hundred battles, had not anticipated that after being stunned by a single finger—an initial test deemed successful—Qin Fen would be so ferociously potent upon waking. The Palm Earth Heaven, seen only once, had reached such terrifying power!
Heart, technique, body! The unity of Heaven, Earth, and Man! Even Sixteen or Seventeen-Star martial artists could not achieve this level of mastery, yet a newly ascended Fifteen-Star Martial Arts Master had done it!
In Qilin’s heart, there was more than just admiration; there was comprehension. This was the true confluence of the Three Elements: Heaven, Earth, and Man!
Facing this Three-Element unity attack, Qilin chose not to raise his star level. Had those years spent in isolation on Qilin Peak been in vain for a Divine Beast martial artist? To counter such a perfect strike with a simple boost in Zhenqi would be the greatest insult to nature!
More importantly, Qilin felt a faint, absurd intuition: if he fought Qin Fen while maintaining his current star level, he might very well be the one to gain new insights, leading to another breakthrough in his martial path!
To gain profound combat experience by fighting a newly ascended Fifteen-Star Martial Arts Master, allowing a Divine Beast martial artist to advance further? Qilin found the notion ridiculous, yet he could not shake the thought as it flashed through his mind.
No retreat, no evasion! Song Wendong stiffened his neck slightly. The extreme limit attainable by a Fifteen-Star practitioner—Zhen’gang Entering the Body—flooded every minute detail of his being. Every strand of his black hair stood on end! His clothes billowed and snapped loudly in the wind.
In the next instant, a roar of a Qilin auspicious beast erupted from Song Wendong’s Zhenqi. His legs sank, rooting him like an iron bridge. He sucked in a massive breath, as if attempting to draw all the air in the world into his lungs. Qin Fen watched this display of Gasping for the World, which he himself had used earlier, and instantly understood the flaws in his own technique, marveling at how a Divine Beast was worthy of standing at the pinnacle of martial arts.
He bent his knees, lowered his hips! His left palm pressed down from his chest toward his waist, turning the force and channeling it into his right shoulder. Simultaneously, his right hand shot upwards, carving a semi-circle in the air as he brought it down to meet the palm heading toward him from the Master’s Palm Earth Heaven.
Boom!
The impact sounded louder than the lightning snakes during a torrential storm. The palms collided. Song Jia felt the mountain peak and the earth beneath them shake violently. Around the summit, stones began to collapse, and the cracking sounds were like Qilin Peak itself groaning in agony.
The Palm Earth Heaven, the Master’s first move using Qin Fen’s body—a strike capable of effortlessly crushing mobile armor into scrap metal—was caught by Song Wendong’s Cloud Hand technique of fluid flexibility!
Their palms did not separate upon impact as before. They stuck together like opposing magnetic poles, a rapid, successive drumming sound echoing continuously between them.
Zhenqi Vibration! Song Jia could barely grasp the nature of this exchange. Both masters were rapidly executing the highest frequency Zhenqi vibration, aiming to blast the opponent backward.
Song Zhenting’s expression was far more grim than Song Jia’s. High-level Zhenqi vibration duels were known among martial arts masters as battles of life and death without gunpowder. A slight misstep could result in immediate death!
Of course, possessing strength beyond Fifteen Stars, the Divine Beast would not be fatally shaken by a misstep. But Qin Fen launching such a move clearly put him at a significant disadvantage.
Because Qilin, relying on his deep fundamental strength, could afford to lose this exchange! Qin Fen could not! One loss, and his life would be instantly forfeit.
The sound of the war drums hammered a hundred times a second, causing the very ground to jump repeatedly. Steward Hou was no longer reclining in his chair. He sat up straight, his eyes fixed on the scene with profound shock. Even he, suppressing his own power to the Fifteen-Star level, could not sustain such a Zhenqi vibration contest against Qilin for this long without defeat.
In this high-intensity ultimate clash, Qilin could no longer afford the leisurely demeanor he held earlier, nor could he spare any attention to protect his clothing. In the blink of an eye, the Qilin's Jade woven into his right arm was torn to shreds by the colliding Zhenqi currents, exposing the entire limb. It was not the ice-seed jade color of Qin Fen’s skin; instead, the muscles and skin formed small, plate-like granules. This was not a shape achievable through human training. They overlapped tightly, arranged in a compact pattern, also gleaming with a radiant light.
This was the difference in martial arts, resulting in distinct physical manifestations when utilizing Zhenqi!
The three onlookers were even more shocked than Qin Fen witnessing this. This was the Divine Beast Qilin’s ultimate protective art: the Qilin True Body! Those tightly packed muscle plates were Qilin’s scales! Hailed by countless martial artists as one of the ultimate protective divine arts in the martial world!
“Forcing Grandpa to use his protective divine art?” Song Jia’s bright eyes blinked rapidly. This meant that Qilin, at this moment, absolutely could not hold back any power against Qin Fen, unless he boosted his star level.
But if he raised his star level from the start, it would signal Qilin’s contempt, his desire to crush his opponent with sheer numerical superiority.
Now, Song Zhenting understood clearly: his father, Song Wendong, absolutely could not raise his star level to fight Qin Fen. If he boosted his strength, it would be an admission that he could not defeat Qin Fen at the Fifteen-Star level.
A genuine Divine Beast martial artist! Unable to defeat a newly ascended Fifteen-Star Martial Arts Master while in the Fifteen-Star state! If Song Wendong relied on superior power now, his martial confidence would be shaken. In the future, forget about progress; merely maintaining his unbalanced heart and preventing a regression in strength would be considered lucky.
Qin Fen floated in his Sea of Consciousness, not only able to clearly observe the duel between the two experts outside but also to see exactly how the Zhenqi vibrated within his own meridians. Closing his eyes, he could even feel the expansive nature of the vibrational Zhenqi technique.
Several loud rumbles echoed from the mountain. The martial artists hidden within the nearby forests could no longer contain their curiosity.
Martial Arts Masters could judge the intensity of a battle purely by the sounds of combat.
Hashimoto, hearing the intoxicating sounds of the fierce exchange, could endure no longer. With a heave of his obese body that made the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden feel the earth shake again, he charged into the Qilin grounds.
The Qilin rules? He didn't care anymore! Hashimoto Yojiro only desired to witness this rarely seen battle and had completely discarded the rules against trespassing on Qilin Mountain.
Which hidden Martial Arts Masters, or even Grandmasters, lurking in the mountains would hear the sound of this fierce battle and remain still? Several figures streaked through the mountains, their targets astonishingly unified!
The epicenter of the fierce battle!
When the Master’s Palm Earth Heaven collided with the Master, he instantly sensed that this man called Qilin was even stronger than he had estimated through the Rebirth Art before the fight. He was definitely the strongest opponent Qin Fen had faced since his debut! Even the White Tiger, who had nearly crippled Qin Fen with a single palm strike on the beach, still fell short against Qilin.
Setting everything else aside, Qilin’s Zhenqi vibration technique and his peculiar protective divine art were famous even in the golden age of Atlantis when martial arts reigned supreme.
There are two types of prideful people: one is senseless, self-important arrogance. The other possesses genuine capital! Qilin clearly belonged to the latter.
“This is a true Grandmaster who established his own school and created a martial lineage.”
The Master sighed internally. It was a pity the time was too short, a pity they were fighting at the Fifteen-Star level.
After several seconds of vibration, Qilin kept one hand locked onto the Master’s Palm Earth Heaven. His left hand, which had remained at his waist, twisted with his core strength and shot out like an electric current, aiming directly for Qin Fen’s throat!
The Snake Fist erupted, and the air sliced with a crisp crack. The hissing sound of a white snake flicking its tongue cut through the sound of the vibration clash. If one closed their eyes, they would have thought a monstrous, unseen python was darting out its long tongue.
Steward Hou straightened his back, watching Qin Fen with focused intensity. During such Zhenqi confrontation, even true Martial Arts Masters required absolute concentration. Qilin, relying on his deep foundational strength, was unafraid of being shaken and defeated, yet he split his attention to strike.
The Master’s lips curled into a smile. His front leg bent as he shifted his stance, launching forward! A sharp whistle pierced the air as his leg whipped out. Song Wendong, Steward Hou, and Song Zhenting’s faces all darkened: the Groin Kick!
Song Wendong had adopted a wide, stable stance to receive the Palm Earth Heaven. Against Qin Fen’s arrow-like stance, it seemed to invite the use of the Groin Kick. But no one expected the Master, amidst the intense Zhenqi collision, to also split his attention. His free left hand could execute various counter-attacks, yet he chose to do none of them, instead delivering a rather foul Groin Kick aimed directly at Song Wendong’s lower body.
This kick by the Master was too sudden. Against an opponent of the same level, even Song Wendong’s Qilin Body might block it, or he might have his vital area exploded, becoming a eunuch Qilin.
In the past, Song Wendong would have dared to meet Qin Fen’s kick head-on. But the opponent who had awoken was completely different; even he couldn't guarantee he could withstand this kick.
Seeing this, Qin Fen actually snorted aloud in surprise. A theoretical martial arts master was indeed a theoretical martial arts master. The usually refined Master, during combat, chose only the most effective tactics. This despicable kick, while perhaps not as utterly vile as the style of Zeng Yicheng, the King of Filth, was certainly fully committed to being despicable.