Yan Fang flicked her fingers with lightning speed, snapping out two talismans. The talismans burst into flame in mid-air, and from the growing fire, two figures shimmering with golden light swiftly emerged.

Zhou Qin watched as these two figures, clad entirely in golden armor—one wielding a steel whip, the other holding aloft an iron pagoda—stood with majestic and stern visages, as if divine emissaries had descended. This was her first true battle, and a knot of tension tightened in Zhou Qin’s heart.

As a cultivator of Yan Fang's stature, she instantly perceived the fleeting flicker of unease in Zhou Qin. She roared with laughter, "Scared now, are we? Hmph! You think possessing the **Sword is enough to stop me? A powerful magic tool still depends on the wielder! In your hands, the **Sword can barely manifest thirty percent of its true power! Better surrender meekly, and I might spare your life! I will take this **Sword!"

Zhou Qin pinched her own arm hard, took a deep breath, and gradually calmed the frantic drumming of her heart. She gave a sharp shake of her arm, unfurling the bundle on her back. One hand gripped the Chiyue, the other held the Fire God Whip, her gaze piercing and fixed on Yan Fang, staring through the two glittering golden armored warriors.

Seeing Zhou Qin’s resolve, Yan Fang couldn't help but sneer, "Tears until you see the coffin, it seems! You haven't even reached Foundation Establishment, you possess no magical essence whatsoever! If Ye Yu wielded this Cold Splendor Serrated Vajra Wheel, it would indeed be a formidable artifact, but in your hands now? Be careful it doesn’t harm you instead!"

Zhou Qin spared her further words. With a shout that resonated like thunder from her tongue, her fingers, gripping the Fire God Whip, stiffened like spearheads. She pointed directly at Yan Fang and commanded, "**Sword, Vanquish Evil!"

The sentient sword, bound by Li Yundong’s command to protect Zhou Qin closely, responded instantly to her order. The **Sword buzzed with a long, dragon-like roar, splitting instantaneously into two long blades that transformed into twin streaks of white light, dashing toward the two golden armored warriors with lightning speed.

The two golden warriors roared simultaneously. One swung the steel whip in its hand, engaging one of the **Swords in a fierce melee, while the other wrenched its arm, hoisting the iron pagoda high before instantly enveloping the opposing **Sword within it.

The pagoda-bearing golden warrior rapidly formed hand seals and chanted incantations, seemingly reciting scriptures. Soon, wisps of red light began to emanate from within the iron pagoda, as if a refining fire were consuming the **Sword trapped inside.

Once enveloped by the pagoda, this **Sword thrashed like a netted dragon, struggling violently and crashing with booming sounds. The very earth trembled in waves, and even from a distance, one could see pulses of red light continuously rising from the base of the mountain.

Seeing one **Sword entangled and the other confined, Yan Fang erupted into triumphant laughter. "Zhou Qin, will you surrender now?"

But just as the words left her lips, a sharp, whistling sound pierced the air in front of her. Yan Fang fixed her gaze and saw the Cold Splendor Serrated Vajra Wheel screaming past, slicing wickedly toward her.

Zhou Qin followed immediately behind, shaking her arm, and the Fire God Whip snapped forward straight toward Yan Fang's face.

Yan Fang was instantly furious. She had never imagined that a woman like Zhou Qin, who hadn't even reached Foundation Establishment, would dare to attack her directly!

This was sheer, reckless audacity!

Without hesitation, Yan Fang struck out with one hand, her five fingers grasping, seizing the rapidly spinning Chiyue with perfect accuracy. With her other hand, she pinched the tip of the Fire God Whip between two fingers.

Yan Fang knew Zhou Qin lacked Foundation Establishment cultivation; thus, even these formidable artifacts were currently no different from ordinary weapons. This gave her the boldness to intercept them with her bare hands.

As soon as she made contact, a surge of triumph filled her heart: Let’s see what else you can do now!

The moment this thought crossed Yan Fang's mind, she saw Zhou Qin suddenly release the Fire God Whip. With a powerful push off her feet, Zhou Qin shot forward like a cannonball, thrusting her two fingers viciously toward Yan Fang’s eyes!

Yan Fang was shocked and enraged. She hadn't anticipated Zhou Qin would resort to such savage, close-quarters combat!

Little did she know that Zhou Qin had been so thoroughly awed by Li Yundong’s astonishing skill in several instances of close combat that she had developed an intense curiosity, which slowly blossomed into fascination for the young man.

As the saying goes, the disciple reflects the master.

Li Yundong was a cultivator exceptionally skilled in brutal close-quarters fighting, often turning defeat into victory against stronger opponents solely through his relentless, head-on melee techniques!

As Li Yundong’s foremost disciple, Zhou Qin had naturally inherited this fierce fighting style, compounded by her resolute and decisive nature. When she struck, her moves were immediately cruel and lethal.

Knowing Zhou Qin was embarking on a long journey, Li Yundong had taught her specific self-defense techniques, fearing she might encounter ill-intentioned individuals. He had stressed that the most vulnerable parts of the human body were not the groin or the temples, but the eyes!

Cultivators could temper their physical bodies to be incredibly resilient; while perhaps not impervious to bullets or fire, their resistance to impact far surpassed that of ordinary people. Yet, no matter how powerful a cultivator became, they could not apply their magic arts to their very eyes.

Trained individuals could withstand hammer blows or even the slash of a steel blade, but their eyes remained incomparably fragile. A child could still cause blindness by poking them with moderate force!

Zhou Qin’s move was a strike at the enemy’s fatal weakness—it was utterly venomous!

Although Yan Fang was an experienced cultivator, she was momentarily stunned by Zhou Qin's viciousness. She immediately released the tip of the Fire God Whip she was holding, raised her palm vertically, and blocked her face. Her palm slotted perfectly between Zhou Qin’s two fingers, intercepting the strike aimed at her eyes.

Furious at Zhou Qin’s malicious attack, Yan Fang instantly swept the hand holding the Cold Splendor Serrated Vajra Wheel toward Zhou Qin's waist and abdomen. A mere graze from the razor-sharp serrations would eviscerate Zhou Qin instantly!

But Zhou Qin, seeing the blow aimed at her midsection, gritted her teeth and didn't dodge. Instead, she threw a punch directly at Yan Fang’s sternum.

This punch contained nearly all of Zhou Qin’s accumulated strength. It shot out with a muffled whoosh, faintly breaking the air. In that instant, Yan Fang had the illusion that this punch carried the force of a cannonball fired from a breach—if it struck her chest, even as a Yang Spirit body, she would be scattered into pieces!

Yan Fang was terrified now. She recognized this as the reckless strategy of a desperate man, an exchange of life for life! Though her Yang Spirit body might be shattered, her spirit consciousness could eventually reform, reducing her cultivation significantly, but at least she wouldn't die. But Zhou Qin was still in her physical form, unestablished at Foundation Establishment; destroying her body meant final death!

Inflicting ten thousand damage while sustaining three thousand loss was a strategy that yielded no profit, but Zhou Qin was enacting an exchange of three thousand for ten thousand loss!

Yan Fang thought in horror: Is this girl insane?

This flicker of horror made Yan Fang hesitate. The Cold Splendor Serrated Vajra Wheel slowed infinitesimally as it swept toward Zhou Qin’s abdomen. This momentary pause allowed Zhou Qin’s punch to land squarely on Yan Fang’s sternum.

Yan Fang’s body jolted violently, and she rapidly retreated a step, dissipating more than half the force of Zhou Qin's blow. However, the Cold Splendor Serrated Vajra Wheel also pulled back, and the sharp edge grazed the smooth skin above her waist. The ice-cold edge sent the fine hairs on Zhou Qin’s skin standing straight up.

Zhou Qin had just pirouetted away from the gates of hell but felt no fear. Instead, she immediately spun her body, caught the tip of the Fire God Whip that Yan Fang had dropped with one hand, and with the other hand, flipped her palm, her five fingers hardened like knives, viciously thrusting toward Yan Fang’s groin.

The groin is the most vital and vulnerable point of the human body. For a cultivator practicing the refinement of Jing into Qi, all energy originates from the **Acupoint. A severe blow here from Zhou Qin’s body, newly forged by Golden Core reconstruction, would be akin to being stabbed with a steel blade—her body, previously without leakage, would become utterly compromised; even if she survived, she would be crippled.

Yan Fang roared in anger and instantly lashed out with a kick toward Zhou Qin’s spine. If this kick landed, Zhou Qin’s vertebrae would shatter, leaving her paralyzed forever.

Hearing the wind of the attack from behind, Zhou Qin did not dodge or evade in the slightest. The hand aimed at Yan Fang's groin accelerated even further.

Seeing Zhou Qin employ yet another mutually destructive tactic, Yan Fang was so enraged she felt like spitting blood. She was forced to retract her kick halfway through. Her hand, grasping the Cold Splendor Serrated Vajra Wheel, swung down like an axe toward Zhou Qin’s attacking arm.

At this critical moment, Zhou Qin suddenly flipped, whipping the Fire God Whip out with a snap. The whip instantly entangled her Chiyue. With a forceful tug, she roared, "Let go!"

Simultaneously, she swiftly spun around, her fingers once again like spearheads, lunging toward Yan Fang’s eyes!

Yan Fang felt an immense pulling force on the Cold Splendor Serrated Vajra Wheel, immediately followed by Zhou Qin’s loud shout. She smirked inwardly: You want to test strength against me? You want me to release my weapon?

But just as she exerted force to yank the Cold Splendor Serrated Vajra Wheel back, she saw Zhou Qin spinning around, fingers aimed again at her eyes!

Yan Fang’s shock turned to fury; she realized she had been caught in a feint! Zhou Qin’s demand to "let go" seemed to be about reclaiming her weapon, but in reality, it was a cover to continue her assault on Yan Fang’s eyes!

Seeing Zhou Qin aim for the eyes, the heart, and the groin—every strike targeting the body’s essential weak points—Yan Fang was aghast. The viciousness and ruthlessness of the attacks were far beyond what a newly practicing female cultivator should be capable of!

Yan Fang’s heart shook profoundly. She was stunned by the ferocity and sharp aggression of Zhou Qin’s assault, yet simultaneously intimidated by her desperate, all-or-nothing approach. Despite possessing dozens of spells that could easily dispatch Zhou Qin, being drawn into close combat due to underestimation had actually put her at a disadvantage!

Yan Fang felt immense resentment, glancing fiercely at the **Sword. *When I held the *Sword, I was magnificent, suppressing all rivals on Mount Gexiao! I never thought I’d be beaten back by a mere slip of a girl’s flurry of punches today!

But Yan Fang was, after all, a seasoned cultivator. She made a decisive judgment immediately. She tossed aside the Cold Splendor Serrated Vajra Wheel she had almost secured, pushed off with her feet, and instantly floated back over twenty meters.

Though ferocious, Zhou Qin had not reached Foundation Establishment and her cultivation was not fully polished. Close-quarters fighting prioritized reckless commitment; whoever was more willing to risk everything had a higher chance of winning—an inch shorter, an inch more dangerous.

However, by decisively abandoning the artifact she had almost grasped and creating a twenty-meter gap, Yan Fang pulled Zhou Qin out of her optimal fighting range. Zhou Qin could no longer press the attack with the same advantage.

This twenty-meter gap felt like a chasm decreed by heaven, marking the cultivation difference between Zhou Qin and Yan Fang. No matter how fast Zhou Qin rushed, no matter what desperate gambits she employed, Yan Fang could calmly use her spells to blast Zhou Qin into oblivion.

This was the advantage of length: an inch longer, an inch stronger.

Once clear of the fray, Yan Fang observed Zhou Qin with eyes full of suspicion, finally shedding her contemptuous expression. She knew Zhou Qin’s talent was exceptional, but she hadn't expected a pampered young lady raised in luxury to fight with such brutal desperation—a ferocity that even seasoned men might lack!

Yan Fang now viewed Zhou Qin in her heart as an extremely formidable enemy, not a novice who hadn't established her foundations.

Yan Fang’s face grew solemn, her eyes blazing with killing intent. If this person achieves true cultivation, she will undoubtedly become Li Yundong’s trusted ally and my greatest adversary! Zhou Qin cannot be allowed to live. She must be killed!

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