Martial artists, put nicely, all possess an inherent streak of pride. Put less kindly, they are all slaves to appearances. To surrender their sect’s plaque in front of so many people? Impossible.

As the four men’s expressions shifted, Qin Fen knew his conjecture was absolutely correct. These four could not bear to lose face and had chosen combat.

“Thirty-six Hours. If we simply hand back the Dragon Hall plaque now, our Vajra Gate should just close its doors.”

“If you want the plaque back, you’ll have to pay the ransom.”

“Or, we fight.”

“Tell us your choice.”

Qin Fen slowly assumed his stance. The Dragon Hall plaque had already been paid for through the system; there was certainly no reason to pay for the same plaque twice. If he paid to redeem it now, what would become of the sect’s reputation? If others knew the story, who would ever pay to join the Hall?

The Four Great Vajras were not surprised by Qin Fen’s movement. In the forums below the Four-Star rank, the name Thirty-Six Hours had become infamous over the past thirty-six hours. This action was entirely in keeping with his reputation.

Combat was inevitable. Qin Fen gave the Four Great Vajras no chance to spread out, immediately unleashing his augmented Dragon-Elephant Prajna Gong. The trousers on his legs tore instantly as his muscles expanded, and his body launched forward like a cannonball under the immense thrust of his legs.

The Four Great Vajras had anticipated Qin Fen’s swift offensive, but what truly stunned them was his speed—a velocity that no Four-Star expert should possess! The ten-meter distance seemed to vanish beneath his feet as if it didn’t exist!

He closed the distance in an instant, paying no mind to whether he faced Zengzhang, Guangmu, Duowen, or Chiguo!

His right foot slammed down, aligning with his left. His left arm moved to guard his abdomen, while his right arm swung up vertically from beneath the inside of his left arm, delivering a straight, crushing punch.

Hong Quan. Cannon’s Ascent!

The ground beneath the Four Great Vajras trembled. Qin Fen’s body was like the recoil chassis of field artillery; the impact of his feet was the shockwave from a cannon blast, and his fist was the shell erupting from the muzzle, hurtling toward them!

Retreat? It was already too late. Qin Fen’s speed was simply overwhelming!

Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao? Even more impossible. The three Vajras not directly targeted were no match for Qin Fen’s sudden burst of power, accumulated from careful preparation. They could only watch helplessly as their comrade was forced to meet the attack head-on—an attack of ultimate Four-Star power that should never manifest at this level!

Zengzhang could not evade, but he managed to react in time to take the full force. Golden Bell Shield instantly covered his entire body. His eyes bulged, his eyeballs seemingly about to pop out—resembling the Wrathful Vajra from myth and legend.

He raised his arm and elbow, forming a shape akin to the lotus pedestal beneath the seated Buddha! This move, the Vajra Seat from the Vajra Fist, sealed off every conceivable path for Qin Fen’s Cannon’s Ascent.

The clothing on Qin Fen’s right shoulder suddenly ripped open. Over the bulging musculature, more than a dozen thick, azure tendons crisscrossed. Simultaneously, the fist of Cannon’s Ascent smashed directly onto the Vajra Seat.

Dong! The sound of the fist meeting the arm was not that of colliding flesh, but closer to the collision of a great temple bell.

The Vajra Gate disciples standing five meters away felt their faces shake! They witnessed an unbelievable scene unfold: Zengzhang’s Vajra Seat shattered!

The residual force of the Cannon’s Ascent pierced through the Vajra Seat and slammed into his chest, blasting him backward over fifteen meters!

All the Vajra Gate disciples were stunned into silence. Zengzhang was already in his forties, having diligently practiced the Golden Bell Shield and Vajra Fist for many years. His Golden Bell Shield had already reached the absolute peak attainable by a Four-Star master, and his Vajra Fist was steeped in decades of mastery, grasping its profound essence.

Zengzhang was not incapable of defeat, but he should never have been defeated in a single move! And such a swift, absolute defeat! This utterly defied the expectations of the Vajra Gate disciples!

Zengzhang, whose body was already dissolving, found it impossible to believe. In the instant of contact, the power from Thirty-Six Hours’ augmented Dragon-Elephant Prajna Gong was indeed terrifying, but the method by which the protective qi circulated was definitely not the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Gong!

Golden Bell Shield? Iron Shirt? Or perhaps the Thirteen Protectors of Hardness? Zengzhang couldn't fully distinguish, yet he vaguely sensed a familiar methodology—it possessed the characteristics of the Golden Bell Shield! Had Thirty-Six Hours not only cultivated the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Gong but also secretly mastered the Golden Bell Shield? Zengzhang’s body was almost entirely ethereal now. He looked at the man who defeated him with a single punch, wondering what Thirty-Six Hours truly looked like, and how old he really was.

The surrounding onlookers on the street were equally dumbfounded. They were shocked that Qin Fen had slain Zengzhang, a master at the peak of Four-Star Golden Bell Shield, with one punch. But they were even more astonished by the technique itself!

Hong Quan!

On the aerial battle nets, Thirty-Six Hours had only ever employed one set of techniques: the Shaolin Arhat Fist, often mockingly referred to as the 'Fitness Dance Fist.' Everyone had grown accustomed to it, assuming that Thirty-Six Hours knew only this 'fitness dance.'

No one suspected that this avaricious money-vampire actually possessed another entire martial art! Another 'fitness dance'! The Hong Quan!

The observers were bewildered, but the three Vajras still engaged in battle had no time for stupefaction. Their bewilderment would only result in death!

Guangmu, the closest, twisted his waist and sprang forward, his left hand hidden at his waist snapping out with the force of his torso, emerging like a venomous snake coiled in the grass, striking directly for Qin Fen’s throat!

“Guangmu plays the Dragon Snake; even the Great Sage finds it troublesome.”

The mythological King Virūpākṣa was depicted with a dragon, or sometimes a snake, wrapped around him. When evolved into a fist technique, this became vividly realized. Both dragon and snake represented change! Guangmu generated force from his waist, and the arm he threw out was venomous to the extreme—precisely the essence of the Guangmu Chapter of the Vajra Fist.

Guangmu’s Snake Spirit hissed with sharp sounds, causing every hair on Qin Fen’s body to stand on end. If he were struck by that attack, it meant certain death!

The outward thrust of the Cannon’s Ascent abruptly halted. He bent his knees and squatted low, his right hand transforming into a fist that met his left palm below and to the left, just in front of his knees. His left palm turned into a fist, and his right arm swept out horizontally.

Hong Quan. Level Heart Cannon!

This transition was the pinnacle of dexterity. Not only did it evade Guangmu’s Snake Spirit, but this squatting and forward lunge made Qin Fen resemble an advancing tank. The Level Heart Cannon was the shell fired from that tank’s barrel!

Bang!

Guangmu was sent flying higher and farther than Zengzhang had been moments before!

Watching this second successive cannon strike kill an opponent, the stunned onlookers felt as though they were hallucinating. What Guangmu met was not a fist, but genuine artillery fire! Many fist styles incorporated various cannon punches, but Qin Fen’s cannon strikes felt like the real thing to the crowd!

Having dispatched two opponents of his own rank in rapid succession—a fight that should have lasted much longer—Qin Fen’s morale soared. He spun to meet the charging Duowen, launching a Squeezing Hand Cannon augmented by the lingering force of the two preceding cannon strikes.

The power of the first two augmented cannon strikes had been immense. Seeing Qin Fen lead with a Squeezing Hand Cannon, Duowen reacted instinctively, swaying his body and shaking his ankles like a dancer to evade the blow. He countered, his hand slicing like a blade toward the back of Qin Fen’s neck.

Vajra Dance! Qin Fen had only heard of it; this was the first time he truly witnessed it—a perfect reproduction of the classic Shaolin Arhat Fist technique, Dragon Concealing Body!

Duowen’s hand blade missed. Chiguo also joined the fray. He took a massive stride, his spine coiling like a taut bow, his right arm becoming a sharp arrow. His arm swung around and shot out—the Great Vajra Wheel, a long-prepared, most ferocious strike from the Vajra Fist, aimed directly at Qin Fen’s head.

No escape! Chiguo’s eyes shone with furious excitement. This punch would finally avenge his two brothers, and it would shatter the undefeated myth surrounding Thirty-Six Hours!

Every muscle in Qin Fen’s body convulsed simultaneously. His ankles and waist rotated in perfect synchronization. The Dragon Concealing Body this time held no trace of a dragon’s form; it was entirely the slithering of a viper in the reeds.

Chiguo’s supremely rigid attack, the Great Vajra Wheel, struck empty air. Chiguo felt an intense frustration, unable to recover the qi from his chest before Qin Fen’s body, already executing the Dragon Concealing Body, rotated sharply again. His right fist swung up strangely from the inside of his right leg, unleashing the most humorously named move in the Hong Quan.

Stomachache Thrust.

Chiguo’s old force was spent, and his new strength had not yet accumulated. Dodging or resisting was impossible. Qin Fen’s fist struck him squarely, folding him into the shape of a shrimp.

Plop…

Chiguo slowly knelt onto the ground, his body gradually dissolving.

In the span of a few rapid breaths, three of the Four Great Vajras had fallen. This result left every spectator on the street utterly stupefied. Even without using their coordinated formation techniques, the Four Great Vajras should not have lost so quickly, so completely, given their superior individual strength.

With three Vajras slain, Duowen, who had used the Vajra Dance to evade, held a faint sorrow flickering in his eyes. The previous terror had been swept clean away. The aura emanating from him underwent a distinct transformation at that moment.

He walked calmly toward Qin Fen. Every step was firm and weighted, yet his movements, while extremely steady, gave the impression that he was dancing.

Qin Fen’s eyes lit up. Having witnessed his comrades defeated, Duowen had shed his timidity and become a truly worthy opponent.

Neither man spoke, exchanging no verbal communication. They simultaneously stomped their right feet, transforming into human blurs as they collided!

Qin Fen launched his practiced signature move, Rushing Tiger Unleashed. Duowen’s body weaved and swayed continuously during his advance. A punch that looked impossible to dodge was evaded with surprising ease. Simultaneously, his lower leg coiled like a grass snake, striking at Qin Fen’s calf, only to be met and easily avoided by Qin Fen’s universally recognized counter: Dragon Concealing Body.

For the next few seconds, most of the disciples from other sects watching on the street were completely transfixed. Were these two perhaps engaged in a friendly sparring match? From the start of the fight until now, they hadn't made a single hard physical connection, not even the lightest brush of limbs.