The arena of the Grand Martial Gathering fell silent once more. Both the spectators watching online and the Martial Arts Masters who had just rushed back to the scene stared dumbfounded at the empty stage, momentarily unsure of what to do next.

With the uproar caused by Xue Tian and Shangguan Chuanqi, the usual order of the Gathering had completely dissolved, leaving the audience in a state of confusion.

Qin Fen looked around at the people beside him, then slowly walked into the center of the arena. All attention focused on him, wondering what this young man who had recently dared to critique a Divine Beast Martial Artist would do next. Would he choose an opponent like Xue Tian? Who could possibly be his match? Even a near-top-tier Constellation Warrior like Niu Jinniu seemed utterly incapable of fighting him, so who remained? The Heavenly Emperor Shao? Or Xue Tian? Perhaps Hades, the Little Pluto?

Qin Fen slowly surveyed the assembled crowd. He then slowly raised his arm, sweeping it across horizontally as if tracing a circle in the air: "Esteemed guests, only the Grand Martial Gathering can bring together the apex figures of martial artists from across the world. Do you truly believe watching battle after battle is enough? Don't you wish to step up and engage in a real fight? For true martial artists, would such a grand occasion be satisfied merely by watching?"

Whether they were the newly arrived Martial Arts Masters or other powerful martial artists, they stared blankly at Qin Fen, yet their fingers involuntarily flexed.

Indeed! The Grand Martial Gathering! Only such an event could assemble the world's martial powerhouses! Was simply observing and sighing sufficient? No! Absolutely not!

These few sentences instantly ignited the atmosphere in the entire arena. The Martial Arts Masters exchanged glances, seeking out their opponents; surging battle intent rose relentlessly in an instant.

Three hundred experts simultaneously unleashing their strongest battle intent, their fiercest power—a scenario that had never occurred before!

Qin Fen calmly observed the three hundred experts whose battle intent had been ignited and whose blood began to surge. He spoke plainly, "Since you all wish to fight, how about this then,"—counting everyone present—"all of you, come at me together."

"All at once?"

"Qin Fen wants everyone, including Xue Tian, to attack him simultaneously?"

"Has he gone mad? Who does he think he is? A Divine Beast Martial Artist?"

"Divine Beast Martial Artist? Do you think Xue Tian, Shangguan Chuanqi, and Hades are weaker than Divine Beast Martial Artists? If those three attacked together, go ask the Vermilion Bird if she dares to fight!"

The entire network erupted into madness, and almost every martial artist present froze in astonishment.

Yang Lie laughed and was the first to leap like an ice dragon onto the sandy arena, lightly moving his body as if performing warm-up exercises. He remarked, "Old Qin, hearing you say 'all of you come at me' again, I certainly won't be polite."

One-on-one? Yang Lie was confident in challenging Qin Fen, but he was also acutely aware that victory was almost impossible. This wasn't self-deprecation; it was a clear understanding of his own strength. If a person can see themselves clearly to a large extent, that, too, is progress.

"I still haven't forgotten what you said during the New Recruit Tournament: 'I'll be waiting for you on the Summit Peaks,'" Caesar and Brooks walked into the arena together, smiling. "Are you standing on the Horizontal Peak now?"

"I never thought the situation from back then would be re-enacted at the Grand Martial Gathering," Du Peng entered the arena. "I didn't have the luck to participate that time; I absolutely can't miss this one. Let me see where the peak of the younger generation stands."

One group against one person? The initial thought among the Martial Arts Masters that this fight was too lopsided began to change as young martial artists one by one stepped onto the stage—seeing even formidable experts like Lü Dongbin enter, and witnessing the moment when the Canine Emperor and Kṣitigarbha also made their way into the arena. They began to move towards the golden sand court.

If even these strongest youths and those veteran powerhouses were stepping onto the stage, what was there left to worry about? Since Qin Fen dared to issue such a challenge, beyond mere arrogance, he must possess genuine substance, enough to control the situation without killing anyone, right?

No killing? The Martial Arts Masters considered this, and their bodies stiffened simultaneously. How difficult was it for one person to fight a crowd of such experts? Very few could calculate that! And yet, no killing? That difficulty would increase not just twofold, but perhaps more than tenfold!

In an instant, the Martial Arts Masters were contemplating: just how far had Qin Fen advanced?

In a short time, a large contingent of martial artists stood on the stage. With the exception of Hades, the Little Pluto, who remained seated, the only others not participating were Xue Tian, who stood outside holding the sheath of his iaijutsu sword, and Shangguan Chuanqi, who had just been defeated by Xue Tian and, after stabilizing his injuries, also showed no intention of joining the brawl against Qin Fen.

"This true confrontation..." Qin Fen gently shook his head and looked toward the three outside the arena. "Join in."

"Our agreed time hasn't arrived yet," Xue Tian shook his head. "I won't fight you."

Hades pointed at the crowd on the stage. "If you defeat them, you will earn the right to challenge me—the one who killed them."

Shangguan Chuanqi raised his head slightly and smiled faintly. "Though I was defeated by Xue Tian, it doesn't mean you qualify to have me join this fighting circle."

Qin Fen smiled as he faced the three who refused him. He lightly raised his arm, examining his strong, powerful palm, and sent an open palm strike toward Shangguan Chuanqi in the distance. Simultaneously, he countered with another palm strike, transforming the Vertical Crane Seizing Dragon Hand technique into a massive golden palm reaching for Hades, the Little Pluto, who sat enthroned in the distance.

This move was utterly sudden. The two young masters didn't even sense Qin Fen's battle intent before seeing two beams of light strike them.

"Break!"

The Great Sun Setting Galaxy smashed against Qin Fen's Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage, kicking up clouds of dust. Shangguan Chuanqi's face flushed slightly as his legs uncontrollably flew backward.

Hades twisted his body three times in quick succession. Suddenly, he felt a tight grip on his lower leg. Looking down, he found his calf ensnared by the Vertical Crane Seizing Dragon Hand. The strength of the Insect Martial Artist immediately erupted, shattering the golden technique. A golden ray of the Great Wisdom Indefinite Finger shot toward his chest. Hades raised his hand to grab the golden light, and his entire arm immediately numbed slightly. After exerting force to shatter the Great Wisdom Indefinite Finger, his chest felt as if struck by a heavy hammer. He was forced to retreat dozens of steps before halting his momentum.

"This..."

The two young powerhouses looked at Qin Fen as if struck by lightning, their disbelief palpable.

Although Shangguan Chuanqi had lost to Xue Tian, during the time following his defeat, he had gained new insights. He was confident that once fully recovered, he could defeat Xue Tian at the level he fought just then, forcing Xue Tian to reveal his hidden strengths. Even without full recovery, Shangguan Chuanqi was certain that with his new understanding, he would not lose as quickly to Xue Tian as before. Yet, he was utterly driven back by a single palm strike from Qin Fen.

This wasn't the subtlety of martial technique; this was naked brute force! Qin Fen's palm strike contained no exquisite maneuvers; it relied purely on violence, as if the heavens themselves had collapsed and were crashing down to crush him.

Hades was shaken a hundred times more severely than Shangguan Chuanqi. Not long ago, the cheers of the entire Federation had coalesced into a unique, powerful momentum, vastly superior to the millions of spiritual imprints in the Sahara Desert.

In that moment, Hades's blood surged, connecting with the surging spiritual imprints of everyone in the Federation, entering a state of Celestial Union. Not only did his vital energy expand limitlessly, but more importantly, he was confident that his fist now carried the strength of the hearts of the entire Federation.

Given time, once he fully integrated this imprint into his martial arts, Hades was even confident he could bring down Mu Lin! Even in his current state, Hades felt certain he could fight a Divine Beast Martial Artist like the Vermilion Bird, and perhaps even confront the former Azure Dragon and kill him.

But... Qin Fen! This monster! He was repelled by two moves...

Hades could not believe that Qin Fen's martial strength had reached such a terrifying level in such a short time! This wasn't astonishing; it was horrifying! This wasn't astonishing; it was horrifying!

"I must thank everyone present here, and everyone in the entire Federation," Qin Fen said to the two stunned young experts. "This Grand Martial Gathering allowed me to truly see through the general tide of the world. The Grand Martial Gathering? Divine Beasts? They are no longer my goal; I stopped caring about those things long ago. The only reason I participated was to witness the world's martial arts, to let me understand things I couldn't comprehend before."

These simple words reached everyone's ears, bringing different degrees of shock to each heart. Qin Fen's words were filled with an indescribable arrogance, yet why did they cause no revulsion? Why didn't they feel like lies?

"Yang Lie, you don't need to look at me like that," Qin Fen smiled faintly. "You all have had over a minute of Celestial Union time, the same as me. Theoretically, you've stored no less vital energy than I have. The only difference is that I now possess the 'Self-Exclusive Qi' and have a renewed understanding of martial arts. If you one day reach the same realization, your achievements will likely be no less than mine."

A wave of commotion swept through the hundreds gathered in the arena. Over a minute of Celestial Union time? Were these guys monsters? Even one second in Celestial Union brought immense benefits to a Martial Arts Master; being able to maintain it for two continuous seconds was far more beneficial than two separate one-second bursts.

Two one-seconds could not compare to one two-second period; Celestial Union was not simply one plus one equals two. Because of this, the three seconds achieved by Yang Lie and the others previously made countless people's eyes bulge with envy, and Hades's six seconds led to astonished exclamations that they would have nightmares over one such session in a month.

To maintain continuous Celestial Union for over a minute? Were these young men boasting, or had they gone mad? If it were true, were they leaving anyone else a way to live? While it couldn't be guaranteed that they would gain the clearer martial insight Qin Fen possessed, they all held infinite potential! This current batch of people was already stronger than the Constellation Warriors, only slightly below the Divine Beast Martial Artists. Such monstrous martial cultivators had never appeared in history.

Could they become Divine Beast Martial Artists? The Martial Arts Masters had absolute faith in Yang Lie and the others. These individuals were heaven-blessed prodigies, rare geniuses to begin with. After another minute-plus of Celestial Union, even a pig would become ferociously powerful. How much more so for a group of martial arts geniuses?

"This..." After someone sighed in amazement, they suddenly noticed that Yang Lie and the others all originated from Qin Fen's squad—or rather, they were all from the Dragon Hall! These people were a unified whole...

If they became Divine Beast Martial Artists, the Martial Arts Masters suddenly realized that if such a scenario materialized, even the current Divine Beast Martial Artists might not be able to stop Yang Lie and his group if they decided to unify the Federation and sweep the world.

If they were all Divine Beast Martial Artists, in a sense, the contest would come down to numbers... And Qin Fen's side clearly outnumbered the current Divine Beast Martial Artists by a large margin!

If, previously, Qin Fen and his group sweeping the world required ignoring the Divine Beast Martial Artists, then in the near future, perhaps even including the Divine Beast Martial Artists wouldn't be enough to defeat them!

Beep... beep... beep...

A series of rapid electronic alarm sounds constantly blared from Qin Fen's waist.

A phone call! Qin Fen hadn't expected that at this moment, someone would call him instead of watching the Grand Martial Gathering.

When he answered the call, the projected image that appeared was that of the First Brain of the Founding Council. Simultaneously, the live broadcasts from all major satellites ceased. The projection became visible and audible only to those present in the arena.

"What's going on? The network's cut?"

"Damn it! Does the Federation have any humanity? Qin Fen is taking on a crowd, and you cut our internet? I'll launch a full public impeachment against the Minister of Networks tomorrow!"

"Hurry up and reconnect! Qin Fen is about to fight the strongest people in the world, excluding the Divine Beast Martial Artists!"

Complaints erupted across different parts of the Federation, one after another. Some people even shouted threats to launch a nationwide impeachment of the President if the network connection wasn't restored immediately.

In the quiet arena, many people looked puzzledly at the strange-looking brain projection.

"Qin Fen, and all the esteemed experts and Divine Beasts present, I bring you some bad news," the voice of the First Brain was filled with apology. "For some unknown reason, the Queen Bee's due date has been advanced... the so-called 'Emperor' has already been born."

The Emperor? What was an Emperor? A large number of Martial Arts Masters looked at the projection with confusion. Smarter individuals directed their gazes toward Qilin, the Vermilion Bird, and the others, noticing that these top-tier experts, who usually wouldn't bat an eye even if a planet exploded, all wore extremely grave expressions.

"Advanced?" Qilin rose and looked at the projection of a monstrous egg, nearly two meters in diameter, glowing with a metallic sheen against the backdrop of surrounding green foliage.

Around the giant egg, powerful Demon Kings accompanied the Queen Bee. Further out were Demon Marshals and Demon Generals, followed by an endless, sprawling army of monstrous beasts that stretched beyond sight!