I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

"Alright." Qin Yuan finally nodded. "Take your people and leave the core area. Don't let me see you again before the secret realm ends."

Liu Han breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Senior Brother Qin."

She turned to Lu Yun and said, "Senior Brother Lu, let's go."

Lu Yun gritted his teeth, finally lowered his head, and led the people of the Third Peak away from the valley in a dejected manner.

As she was leaving, Liu Han glanced back at Qin Yuan, her eyes filled with gratitude, complex emotions, and a hint of indescribable loneliness.

She knew that from this day forward, Qin Yuan had reached a height she could only look up to.

After the people from the Third Peak and the Seventh Peak left, only the combined forces of the Fifth Peak and the Tenth Peak remained in the valley.

After a brief silence, a deafening cheer erupted!

"Senior Brother Qin is invincible!"

"Incredible! He killed Xiong Li in three breaths!"

"The people on the Third Peak were so scared, hahaha, I haven't seen them this disheveled in years!"

Zhao Tiezhu was so excited that he danced around: "Senior Brother Qin, that move you just made was so cool! Catching the punch with one hand, then crippling his arm with a backhand, and sending him flying with a single palm strike! That was exhilarating! So exhilarating!"

Zhou De was also full of excitement, but he quickly calmed down: "Senior Brother Qin, although the Third Peak and the Seventh Peak have retreated, the real opponents in the core area have not yet arrived."

"The first peak and the second peak." Qin Yuan nodded. "I know."

As soon as the words were spoken, a soft laugh came from the entrance of the valley:

"Oh? It seems we've arrived just in time."

Everyone turned their heads and saw a group of people slowly walking into the valley.

The leader was a boy who looked only seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in a thin white robe, barefoot, with delicate features and a lazy smile in his eyes. Behind him were nine inner disciples, each with a profound aura, the lowest being the seventh level of Foundation Establishment.

"The First Peak, Ye Qingchen," Zhou Ming said in a low voice, his tone solemn.

Qin Yuan's gaze fell on Ye Qingchen.

At the peak of the tenth level of Foundation Establishment, his aura was perfectly rounded and flawless. What caught Qin Yuan's attention even more was the faint air of detachment this young man possessed, as if he didn't care much about anything around him.

Ye Qingchen stopped ten feet in front of Qin Yuan, looked him over, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes: "I didn't expect it to be you standing here. I thought it would be Lu Yun from the Third Peak, or Xiong Li from the Seventh Peak."

"They're gone," Qin Yuan said calmly.

"Oh?" Ye Qingchen raised an eyebrow. "Looks like they were chased away by Junior Brother Qin?"

Without waiting for Qin Yuan's reply, he chuckled to himself, "Fine. Lu Yun is too sinister, and Xiong Li is too reckless. There's no point in arguing with them."

He surveyed the valley, his gaze lingering on the direction of the Herb Garden and the Spirit Beast Valley before turning to Qin Yuan: "Junior Brother Qin, what are your plans regarding the resources in this core area?"

"I'll take it all," Qin Yuan said succinctly.

Ye Qingchen was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Junior Brother Qin is indeed quick-witted. However, good things should be taken by those with the ability. How about this, let's have a contest, and whoever wins gets the core area, what do you say?"

"Compare what?" Qin Yuan asked.

A sly glint flashed in Ye Qingchen's eyes: "Foundation Establishment cultivators, spiritual power, physical body, and spells—it's all the same old stuff, boring. Let's compare something special—"

He paused, then said, word by word, "Compare divine sense."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone on Fifth Peak changed.

"Divine sense? Isn't that something only those at the Golden Core stage can possess?!"

"What kind of divine sense could a Foundation Establishment cultivator have? At most, they just have sharper spiritual perception!"

"Ye Qingchen is cheating! He must have some special methods!"

Zhou Ming urged urgently, "Senior Brother Qin, you mustn't agree! Ye Qingchen is the sect leader's personal disciple, and it's said that he condensed the rudimentary form of divine sense during the Foundation Establishment stage, with a divine sense strength far exceeding that of others at the same level! He's deliberately using his advantage to suppress you!"

Ye Qingchen listened to the surrounding discussions, his smile unchanged: "If Junior Brother Qin is afraid, he doesn't have to compete. But in that case, we'll have to fight for the resources in this core area based on our own abilities."

He seemed to offer a choice, but in reality, he cornered Qin Yuan.

Refusing to agree is a sign of weakness, and morale will inevitably be affected when competing for resources later.

If you agree, you'll have to compete in the area where the other party excels, and your chances of winning are slim.

Everyone looked at Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan simply nodded: "Okay."

"Senior Brother Qin!" Zhou Ming and the others exclaimed.

A flicker of surprise crossed Ye Qingchen's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a smile: "Junior Brother Qin is so straightforward! Then let's make a rule: a battle of divine sense; whoever can't withstand it first loses. The loser, along with their people, leaves the core area, how about that?"

"Can."

The two agreed to each take ten steps back and stand facing each other.

Ye Qingchen's smile faded, and his expression became solemn. He slowly closed his eyes, and a faint light flowed between his brows—a sign that the nascent form of his divine consciousness was manifesting.

The surrounding disciples held their breath, watching this scene with tension.

"start."

As Ye Qingchen finished speaking, an invisible force spread out from him!

That wasn't spiritual pressure, but a more mysterious and direct force—a spiritual impact!

The disciples of the Fifth and Tenth Peaks felt a sharp pain in their heads, as if countless fine needles were piercing their souls. Those with weaker cultivation even groaned and turned pale.

"Such powerful spiritual sense!"

"This is already close to the true divine sense of the Golden Core stage!"

"Senior Brother Qin is in danger!"

A smile played on Ye Qingchen's lips. His nascent divine sense had been personally guided and condensed by the sect leader, its strength enough to crush all Foundation Establishment cultivators. No matter how strong Qin Yuan was, he could never be his match in the realm of divine sense.

However, his smile froze the next moment.

Because he sensed that on Qin Yuan's side, a power far more solid, vast, and terrifying than his own divine sense was slowly awakening!

Qin Yuan didn't even close his eyes.

He simply looked calmly at Ye Qingchen, and then a pale golden light shone from between his brows.

The light wasn't dazzling, but it carried an indescribable majesty. Wherever the light passed, Ye Qingchen's spiritual impact melted away instantly, like ice meeting boiling water!

"This is... true divine consciousness?!" Ye Qingchen exclaimed in shock.

impossible!

How could someone in the Foundation Establishment stage possibly possess true divine consciousness?!

But he was all too familiar with the essence of that power—it was exactly the same as the divine sense of the sect leader and elders, only slightly weaker!

Just as Ye Qingchen was in shock, Qin Yuan's divine sense launched a counterattack.

That wasn't an impact, it was a crushing defeat.

Like a mountain, it slowly pressed down.

Ye Qingchen groaned, his forehead instantly covered in cold sweat. He desperately tried to resist with his nascent divine sense, but in the face of true divine sense, his resistance seemed so pale and powerless.

Three breaths.

In just three breaths, Ye Qingchen's spiritual defense completely collapsed!

He staggered back three steps, his face as pale as paper, the light between his brows dimmed, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.