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

Zhao Tiezhu stomped his feet in anger: "These ungrateful wretches!"

Lin Qing'er also looked somber.

Qin Yuan remained calm and turned back into the hall.

"Senior Brother Qin, aren't you angry?" Zhou De followed in and couldn't help but ask.

"Why are you angry?" Qin Yuan said calmly. "Their choice to leave is their loss, not mine."

He sat down cross-legged again and closed his eyes.

"Just wait and see."

That evening, at midnight.

Qin Yuan extracted twenty years of cultivation from today on time, which merged with the twenty years stored yesterday, transforming into a mighty torrent that surged through his body.

Forty years of cultivation!

This is equivalent to two hundred years of arduous cultivation for an ordinary Golden Core cultivator!

The Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Technique circulated wildly, guiding this vast spiritual energy towards the Nine Revolutions Golden Core in the dantian. The Golden Core slowly rotated, absorbing the surging spiritual energy like a whale sucking in water, and the nine patterns on its surface gradually lit up with a pale golden light.

The barrier between the early and middle stages of the Golden Core realm began to loosen under the impact of this force.

Click... Click...

A faint cracking sound echoed within my body.

Qin Yuan gritted his teeth and activated his cultivation technique with all his might. His spiritual energy surged through his meridians like a raging river, crashing against the insurmountable barrier time and time again.

I don't know how much time passed.

It felt like a century had passed, yet it also felt like just a moment.

"BOOM—!!!"

The barrier has been completely shattered!

The Nine-Turn Golden Elixir suddenly expanded, its color changing from light gold to pure gold, and the surface patterns became clearer and deeper, radiating a vast and powerful aura.

Mid-stage Golden Core, achieved!

Moreover, it's not just a typical mid-stage Golden Core cultivator—it's a mid-stage Nine-Turn Golden Core cultivator!

Qin Yuan opened his eyes, golden light swirling within them, his aura at least three times stronger than before. His divine sense expanded to five thousand feet, almost covering half of the area inhabited by true disciples.

He slowly rose and walked outside the hall.

The sun rises in the eastern sky.

"It's time to go and meet that Lei Ba."

The area for true disciples, the sixteenth peak, "Thunder Peak".

This mountain peak is a hundred feet higher than Crimson Flame Peak, and its spiritual veins are of better quality. At the summit, a palace built entirely of black rock stands majestically. In the square in front of the palace, there is a ten-foot-tall iron flag with a huge "Thunder" character embroidered on it.

At this moment, dozens of disciples had gathered in the square; they were all followers and servants under Lei Ba.

Lei Ba himself sat imposingly on a stone chair in front of the hall, with a beautiful female cultivator on each side of him, and Wang Lin, Zhang Hai, and Li Mo kneeling in front of him.

"How about it? Is the spiritual energy of Crimson Flame Peak comparable to mine?" Lei Ba grinned.

Feeling the spiritual energy several times denser around them, Wang Lin and his companions fawned, "No, no! Senior Brother Lei, this is the real treasure trove for cultivation!"

"You guys know what's good for you." Lei Ba nodded in satisfaction. "Follow me closely from now on, and you'll get your share of the benefits."

As soon as the words were spoken, a calm voice came from the mountain path:

"Lei Ba, come out."

The sound was not loud, but it clearly traveled throughout the entire mountain.

The square fell silent instantly.

Everyone turned to look in the direction of the mountain path.

Qin Yuan, dressed in a gray robe, walked slowly towards them. His pace was not fast, but he exuded an air of composure, and the disciples watching him stepped back to make way for him.

Lei Ba narrowed his eyes, released the female cultivator from his embrace, and slowly stood up.

"Qin Yuan?" He looked Qin Yuan up and down, then his pupils suddenly contracted. "You...you've broken through?"

He could sense that Qin Yuan's aura was much stronger than yesterday! This was definitely not the kind of pressure one would expect from someone in the early stages of the Golden Core realm!

"I broke through by sheer luck," Qin Yuan said calmly, "so I came to spar with you."

"A friendly spar?" Lei Ba sneered. "I think you're here to die!"

He took a step forward, and his figure instantly appeared in the center of the square, ten feet away from Qin Yuan.

"Since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, I'll show you what a true mid-stage Golden Core cultivator looks like!"

As soon as he finished speaking, lightning surged around Lei Ba!

Blinding sparks crackled and popped across his body. He formed hand seals, and instantly dark clouds filled the sky. A bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket tore through the clouds and struck Qin Yuan down!

The low-grade Xuan-level spell, "Heavenly Thunder Summoning"!

The power of this attack far surpassed Zhao Wuji's "Burning Sky Lion's Fury"! Before the thunder even arrived, the terrifying pressure had already turned the surrounding disciples pale, causing them to retreat repeatedly.

Wang Lin and the other two were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, filled with regret—they hadn't expected Lei Ba's strength to be so terrifying! This attack could probably kill someone in the early stage of the Golden Core realm!

Faced with this devastating attack, Qin Yuan still did not move an inch.

He simply raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and gently clenched them towards the descending lightning bolt.

"Disperse."

As the word was uttered, the thick bolt of lightning suddenly stopped in mid-air!

Then, to everyone's disbelief, it shattered inch by inch! It turned into a sky full of sparks and vanished without a trace!

The sinister smile on Lei Ba's face froze completely.

"Impossible! Even late-stage Golden Core cultivators wouldn't dare to directly withstand my Heavenly Thunder Guidance! How could you possibly..."

His words came to an abrupt end.

Because Qin Yuan made a move.

With a single step, he vanished from his spot. When he reappeared, he was already in front of Lei Ba.

It was still that simple punch.

Straightforward, simple, and without any frills.

But the moment that punch was thrown, Lei Ba felt the entire world pressing down on him! The terrifying fist intent locked down all his escape routes, making it impossible for him to even raise his hand to block!

"No--!!!"

He roared, desperately circulating all his spiritual power, his body crackling with lightning as he tried to condense the strongest defense.

But all of this was in vain in the face of that one punch.

A fist landed on his chest.

"puff--!!!"

Lei Ba was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into half of the palace and carving a ten-zhang-long trench in the ground before finally coming to a stop. His chest was caved in, blood gushing out, and cracks appeared in his golden core, causing his cultivation level to plummet back to the early stage of the golden core!

One punch.

Another punch.

The entire room fell silent.

All the disciples watching, including those who had originally come with the intention of just enjoying the spectacle, were now staring blankly at the gray-robed figure in the arena.

Wang Lin and his two companions were ashen-faced, collapsed to the ground, and trembled all over.

They finally realized what they had missed.

Further away, Wen Ruofeng and Jian Wuhen stood on a mountain peak, watching this scene with complex expressions.

"Luckily, I didn't make a move." Wen Ruofeng shook his folding fan and smiled wryly.

Jian Wuhen stood with his sword in his arms, a look of seriousness appearing in his eyes for the first time: "This boy... is not to be trifled with."

On Thunder Peak, Qin Yuan withdrew his fist and looked at the True Inheritance Stone Tablet.

The name "Lei Ba" faded away in sixteenth place, and a new name emerged:

[16th Place: Qin Yuan, True Disciple of the Fifth Peak, Mid-stage Golden Core.]

He turned around, glanced at Wang Lin and the other two who were sprawled on the ground, said nothing, and went straight down the mountain.

Behind them, the entire mountain was filled with shock and deathly silence.