"Whoosh..." With a burst, Ye Jingyu instantly lunged to Qin Yuting's side, without a second thought, sweeping her up into his arms and tumbling downwards...

"Swish..." The white ape's swipe missed its mark entirely...

Ye Jingyu and Qin Yuting crashed heavily onto the ground. Ye Jingyu held Qin Yuting from behind, his hands resting precariously close to her soft chest, his entire weight pressing down on her—the posture couldn't have been more intimate...

Before he could savor this boundless bliss, Qin Yuting, who had been frozen in shock, instantly shrieked, her body instinctively struggling to break free...

Although Ye Jingyu was enjoying the sensation, he quickly released his grip. As soon as he stood up, he saw the colossal Heavenly Luan White Ape already before him again, its eyes bloodshot and its face contorted in a savage snarl. Seemingly far angrier than before, it raised both massive claws and lunged straight for Ye Jingyu...

At this moment, Qin Yuting fully snapped out of her stupor. The angry reprimand she was about to unleash died on her lips when she saw the giant ape; she realized Ye Jingyu had just saved her. The fury in her heart subsided significantly, though her cheeks remained flushed...

Seeing the giant white ape attack Ye Jingyu once more, she was instantly struck pale with terror, momentarily unsure of what she should even do?

"Damn it..." Ye Jingyu cursed inwardly as the white ape lunged. Though he possessed not a shred of True Qi, his reaction speed, honed by practicing the Bàyuán Jué, was several times faster than an ordinary person's—even a Martial Master might not match him. Dodging the ape's massive claw would be effortless, but if he moved, the Qin Yuting behind him would undoubtedly perish...

Even though the woman was annoying, she was, after all, a beauty. They shared no deep-seated hatred, and he simply couldn't bear to watch her die. Furthermore, with Qin Yan not far off, if he abandoned his daughter, who knew if the man would seek retribution later...

Matters having reached this critical juncture, Ye Jingyu had no choice. Staring at the rapidly descending giant claw, his heart hardened suddenly...

"To hell with it, I'm going all in..." Ye Jingyu roared out loud, stamping his feet forcefully, causing his body to spring upward. In an instant, he was directly in front of the Heavenly Luan White Ape's face. Without hesitation, he gathered every ounce of strength he possessed and slammed it toward the ape's head...

Ye Jingyu’s speed was extreme; the ape’s arms had not yet descended before his fist connected solidly with its skull. A deafening boom echoed as the ape’s massive head snapped back, its body staggered violently backward from the impact...

Ye Jingyu felt as if his fist had struck solid iron; waves of searing pain shot up his arm. His own body crashed back to the ground. Seeing the teetering Heavenly Luan White Ape, Ye Jingyu ignored the throbbing agony in his fist and launched forward again. He was a blur, barely visible as an afterimage, when he was once more before the ape. This time, he didn't jump; taking advantage of the ape's dazed head, he threw a vicious right hook...

"Smack..." A sound like an egg being crushed...

It was Ye Jingyu’s fist slamming brutally against the ape's vulnerable core...

"Awoooo-ooooooh..." A tremendous, agonizing scream tore from the ape’s maw. Its body shot upward, whether from the sheer force of Ye Jingyu's punch or from its own recoil was unclear...

It ultimately slammed into a tree branch as thick as a waist, snapping the limb in two before its massive body plummeted back to the earth. Covering its injured area with its claws, it howled in pain, its entire form convulsing...

A sheen of tears welled up in its blood-red eyes...

It was clearly in excruciating agony...

At this very moment, Qin Yukang was unleashing his might, fighting alongside Qin Yan to dispatch the remaining white apes. When they witnessed this scene, all of them gaped, their eyes fixed on Ye Jingyu...

There was astonishment...

Astonishment at the power in Ye Jingyu's single punch—enough to grievously wound this Heavenly Luan White Ape, the largest present apart from the Ape King...

There was also strangeness...

Strangeness at the precise spot Ye Jingyu had struck; it was simply too brutal...

Seeing the twitching ape on the ground, hearing its heart-wrenching cries, for some unknown reason, everyone present—except Qin Yuting—involuntarily clenched their legs tighter...

"Hoo... hoo..." Ye Jingyu, however, was gasping heavily. Although he had dealt with the Heavenly Luan White Ape in two moves, in reality, if he had been a half-beat slower, he would have been ripped in half. Even with the knockout blow, his fist throbbed with intense pain, as if the bones were shattered. This was only because he had avoided striking the ape's tough scales; striking the hardened plating would have resulted in unimaginable consequences...

All the lesser Heavenly Luan Apes were slain, including the one whose 'eggs' Ye Jingyu had exploded, which Qin Yukang finished off with a final sword strike. The ape spiders had vanished into thin air, and even the formidable Ape Spider Empress was nowhere to be found. Qin Fengbao was still pursuing the Ape King and had not returned. Qin Yan instructed everyone to rest and reorganize before deciding on the next steps upon his return...

Everyone remained where they were: tending to wounds, collecting the fallen. Qin Yukang climbed atop a large tree, his previously cloudy eyes now gleaming with sharp focus. Having survived that brutal battle, the Grandmaster-level expert would never again dare to be careless...

As for Qin Yan, after offering a few comforting words to his daughter, he began helping the injured disciples bandage their wounds and instructing them on how to survive within the Heavenly Dipper Mountain Range...

This action, in a small way, revealed his kindly nature as a Martial Uncle...

No one inquired about the source of Ye Jingyu’s incredible strength. When he killed Qin Minglong, the Great Elder Qin Xiao of Baiyun Villa had already attributed it to his innate divine power—a miracle of cultivation, capable of lifting immense weights despite having no True Qi...

Qin Yuting, however, was curled up to one side, occasionally glancing up at Ye Jingyu, her expression torn between wanting to speak and holding back...

"Hey, are you planning to apologize? If it's just to say thank you, then forget it..." Seeing her demeanor, Ye Jingyu chuckled internally. It seemed this girl wasn't entirely heartless; she actually knew how to show gratitude...

"Then what do you want?" Qin Yuting did indeed want to apologize. If Ye Jingyu hadn't intervened, she would have been utterly pulverized. However, given their consistently poor relationship, she struggled to find the right words. Hearing Ye Jingyu’s challenging tone, she countered with her own question...