The fact that he could still fight proved that the old man had no intention of killing the Elder of the Huyan family—at least, the Elder’s life was temporarily spared.

The others nearby were also somewhat astonished.

If this situation were reversed, and one of their own juniors was being bullied, especially by someone of a higher seniority, they would certainly step in to teach a lesson. How could they possibly stand by and allow it, especially when this Elder of the Huyan family was currently benefiting from a surge in power?

Never mind them; even Zhang Yang himself didn't quite understand.

This mysterious old man was clearly a senior from the Zhang family. Zhang Yang knew he was no match for him, yet the old man still demanded that he fight. What was his purpose? Could his identity be fake?

"What nonsense are you thinking, kid? Opportunities to go all out against such a master are rare—why wouldn't you seize it? With your strength and that of the Three Great Spirit Beasts, you can handle him even with his internal energy boost. But you must coordinate well. This brat has less than twenty minutes left. Solve him within this time, or prepare to taste the Seventy-Two Needles!"

The mysterious old man's voice suddenly echoed in Zhang Yang's ear—a secret transmission, audible only to him.

What shocked him was that he had been constantly watching the old man, who hadn't moved his lips at all.

However, the final four words uttered by the mysterious old man—'Seventy-Two Needles'—sent a chill down his spine.

The Seventy-Two Needles was, in fact, a form of punishment within the Zhang family. This punishment involved piercing acupuncture points with silver needles, selecting only the most agonizing points on the human body.

These punishments started with a minimum of three needles, followed by nine, eighteen, thirty-six, and finally seventy-two.

There were thirty-six known points on the human body that caused the most intense pain, but there were another thirty-six corresponding, unknown points. Seventy-Two Needles meant that every single one of these most painful points would be struck once.

A single prick at one of these excruciating points was enough to cause near-death agony; the result of being struck by seventy-two needles could only be imagined.

This was already considered a severe punishment in the Zhang family. When Zhang Yang was young, he had once received the Three-Needle punishment, an experience that left an indelible mark on him. Just thinking about the Seventy-Two Needles made his skin crawl.

There was no doubt that this old man was a senior from his Zhang family. It was just that this senior’s temperament seemed rather peculiar, forcing him, who was only at the late Third Layer, to fight against Elder Huyan, who was at the mid-Fourth Layer.

"Zhang Yang!"

Elder Huyan glared at Zhang Yang through gritted teeth once more. His hatred for Zhang Yang hadn't lessened, but with the mysterious old man present, he dared not call him a "shameless brat" again.

Zhang Yang turned his head back and saw the deep resentment in Elder Huyan's eyes.

This resentment seemed powerful enough to swallow him whole.

Zhang Yang paused slightly, but his eyes slowly hardened with determination. The person before him was undoubtedly one of the strongest adversaries he would face in this life. Elder Huyan was not a broad-minded person; keeping such an individual around would always be a hidden danger.

"Zhuifeng!"

He lightly patted Zhuifeng’s head. Zhuifeng immediately understood, letting out a soft neigh. As Zhang Yang leaped toward the sky, his body trailed a phantom shadow as he charged toward Elder Huyan.

Zhuifeng led the charge, with Lightning and Wuying flanking on either side, while Zhang Yang remained in the center, holding the Cold Spring Sword.

One man and three beasts initiated the attack.

The mysterious Zhang family senior merely sat there, smiling peacefully, yet his presence ensured that no one dared to make any rash movements.

At this moment, Zhang Yang and Elder Huyan were finally engaged in a truly fair fight.

Elder Huyan, his entire body flushed crimson, possessed greater strength than before. Zhang Yang, meeting him head-on, felt considerable pressure. Fortunately, his movements were agile, and he wielded a formidable weapon from the Divine Arms Ranking. Even the Huyan Elder, using the Blood Man Technique, dared not clash directly with this divine sword.

However, the overall situation still leaned toward Elder Huyan. Neither Zhang Yang nor the Spirit Beasts dared to approach him too closely. His current strength was mid-Fourth Layer, forcing everyone, including Zhang Yang, to rely on movement techniques just to evade and maintain distance as best they could.

Moreover, every one of them had to be exceedingly cautious.

A few minutes later, a look of shock suddenly flashed across Elder Huyan’s face again.

The poisonous mist he had been afflicted with earlier was threatening to erupt when he used his internal energy to its fullest extent. This forced him to divert a significant portion of his internal energy to suppress the toxins. He had been poisoned twice before, but the surge from his heightened power had previously masked the issue, causing him to disregard it.

Now that the poison was resurfacing, he needed internal energy to rein it back in, and a considerable amount at that.

Even when operating at full capacity, he hadn't managed to defeat this one man and three beasts. If he now had to divert energy to suppress the poison, the outcome was predictable.

Those cultivators at the Third Layer stood aside, watching the central battle from a distance.

The members of the Huyan family watched their Elder with worry. With such a formidable senior appearing on the other side, every one of them felt as if their fate was suddenly out of their hands.

This left them feeling helpless. If they had known this earlier, why would they have acted as they did? Many were thinking that coming to the Long family this time might have been a mistake from the start.

Long Feng was also present, but his primary concern was Zhang Yang, and he carried a deep sense of guilt.

He was the one who had brought Zhang Yang here, the one who had persuaded him to ally with the Long family against the three major clans, achieving a successful alliance. Yet, his own family members, seeing the Zhang family’s apparent lack of numbers, harbored wicked intentions. Not only did they fail to act as allies should, but they also kicked him while he was down, taking advantage of the crisis.

Considering what his family had done, Long Feng didn't know how he would face Zhang Yang in the future.

This realization filled him with a sense of resignation.

In the distance, another figure was rapidly approaching. In moments, he arrived beside Long Gao and Long Jiang, the two Long family Elders.

"Boss, why have you emerged from seclusion?"

Both Long Gao and Long Jiang expressed mild surprise. The person who had rushed over was the eldest of the three Long family Elders, Long Yi, who had been in strict solitary confinement.

Long Yi appeared younger than the other two, but he was actually much older. He was currently glaring at them with undisguised anger.

"How many times did I instruct you? Have you forgotten all my words? You forced the Old Ancestor to intervene personally! The Old Ancestor has ordered me to emerge from seclusion and supervise your Spike Punishment—not a moment less each day!" Long Yi spoke coldly, anger flickering in his eyes.

Long Gao and Long Jiang shuddered slightly, horror etched onto their faces.

The Long family’s Spike Punishment was comparable to the Zhang family's Seventy-Two Needles—both were severe and painful penalties. The Spike Punishment involved walking continuously within a cave lined with sharp spikes.

Although these spikes were ordinary, being pierced by them was excruciating. If no one supervised them, they could find a spot to rest and avoid continuous walking. But with supervision, they were forced to keep moving, and they couldn't use their internal energy. It was clear the two of them were in for significant suffering this time.

The two lowered their heads, regret evident on their faces.

Long Yi said no more, turning his gaze toward the battle ahead.

He was the First Elder of the Long family, usually in seclusion, striving to break through to the late Fourth Layer. If the current affair hadn't escalated to such an extent and alarmed the Old Ancestor, he wouldn't have broken his strict confinement.

After just a few glances, his brow twitched slightly, and a hint of astonishment crossed his face.

He recognized the power of Elder Huyan; driven by the secret technique, the Elder had reached the mid-Fourth Layer.

Zhang Yang and the three Spirit Beasts had not broken through to the Fourth Layer—at best, they were all at the late Third Layer. Yet, this late Third Layer group, one man and three beasts, was managing to hold off a mid-Fourth Layer Elder. This struck him as almost unbelievable.

No wonder the old monster from the Zhang family had secretly followed them. A genius like this, no matter which household he belonged to, needed to be protected diligently; relaxation was impossible before he reached a certain level of power.

After a moment, Long Yi’s brow furrowed even deeper.

Elder Huyan currently held the advantage, but it was no longer significant, and it wouldn't last much longer.

He could also tell that Elder Huyan was poisoned. Because he had to suppress the toxins, he couldn't exert his full strength. With one side’s strength diminishing while the other’s remained relatively stable, he saw that the Blood Man Technique wouldn't last much longer. The ultimate outcome of this confrontation was already foreseeable.

Elder Huyan suddenly roared. He understood his own condition best. Having failed to secure a swift victory, and seeing that the duration of his technique boost was about to expire, he was forced into a final, desperate gamble.

He stopped suppressing the poison with his internal energy and channeled everything into his power. He stopped paying attention to Lightning and Zhuifeng on the sides, and even ignored Wuying, who was releasing external internal energy. He charged straight toward Zhang Yang.

Among the one man and three beasts, Zhang Yang was the key target.

As he charged, he secretly glanced toward the Zhang family senior nearby.

Seeing the Zhang family senior hadn't noticed him, a flash of viciousness crossed his eyes.

Zhang Yang's potential was too great. Now that Zhang Yang and the Huyan family were irreconcilably enemies, keeping such a person alive would only bring future disaster to the clan.

Huyan Peng was already dead; his death could not be in vain. Today, he had used the Blood Man Technique, and once its effects faded and his internal energy waned, he didn't know what his own fate would be.

Rather than having his destiny dictated by others, he preferred to stake everything on this final confrontation. Even if he died, dragging Zhang Yang down with him would be worth it.

As for the other disciples of the Huyan family present, he could no longer manage them, nor did he worry about them excessively. He was not overly concerned about the safety of the Huyan family headquarters. The ordinary disciples, including second-generation disciples like Huyan Peng, did not know that the Huyan family also possessed an Old Ancestor who never showed their face.

This mysterious Zhang family senior should be on par with their own Old Ancestor. If the senior went to the Huyan headquarters, there would be someone capable of resisting him; the safety there was not a concern.

With these thoughts, a touch of sorrow arose in his heart.

The Old Ancestor in his family had existed for a long time, but unfortunately, he never made public appearances unless the clan faced existential peril. If their Elder had appeared here today, why would he fear a mere Zhang family, and how could he have fallen to such a desperate state, even risking annihilation?

These thoughts flashed by in the brief span of a lightning strike.

With his full commitment, his speed reached its absolute peak, even surpassing Zhang Yang's momentarily. He was almost instantly in front of Zhang Yang.