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

Inside the Martial Arts Hall on the third peak, the floor is paved with bluestone and the dome hangs high.

The twenty disciples stood on either side, clearly separated.

On the left are the ten people from the Third Peak. Chen Mo stands at the head, dressed in a crisp blue robe, though his face is slightly pale.

Qin Yuan stood at the very end, his gray robe simple and clean, his aura almost non-existent.

On the right are the ten people from the Seventh Peak. The leader, a young man in a blue robe named Li Xiu, stands with his hands behind his back, a faint smile playing on his lips.

The deacon in charge of refereeing stood in the hall and said in a deep voice, "As usual, each side will send ten people to fight in turns. The side with the most wins will win. Now, please let the Third Peak decide the order of appearance."

Chen Mo turned around and exchanged glances with the people behind him.

"Senior Brother Chen, stick to the plan," Wang Chuan said in a low voice. "You and I will go first and hold the fort in the first two rounds."

Zhao Qingwan looked worried: "Li Xiu reached the twelfth level of the Great Perfection realm last year, I'm afraid he'll reach it this year..."

"Shut up," Chen Mo said coldly. "To be cowardly before even fighting, what kind of behavior is that?"

He turned to the steward: "Third Peak, first match Wang Chuan, second match me, third match Zhao Qingwan, fourth match..." He announced the names one by one, and finally said, "Tenth match, Qin Yuan."

Suppressed sneers came from the Seventh Peak.

A sharp-faced disciple beside Li Xiu sneered, "Putting this outer sect trash last, are you planning to have him clean up the mess, or are you simply not going to let him participate at all?"

Qin Yuan didn't even lift his eyelids.

When Wang Chuan entered the arena, he was full of momentum, with his Qi Refining eleventh level cultivation fully activated, and his palm strikes were fierce and powerful.

His opponent was a tall, thin man wielding double hooks, also on the eleventh floor.

After more than thirty moves of fighting, Wang Chuan gradually gained the upper hand and struck his opponent's chest with a Stone-Splitting Palm.

Just then, the tall, thin man twisted his body strangely, and his double hooks, like venomous snakes, lashed out from an unbelievable angle.

"Pfft—"

Wang Chuan suffered two more deep, bone-revealing wounds on his right arm, and collapsed to the ground with a scream.

"Thank you for your kind offer." The tall, thin man pulled back his hook, a smug look on his face.

In the second match, Chen Mo faced off against Li Xiu.

Both were at the twelfth level of the Great Perfection realm, but Li Xiu's swordsmanship was clearly superior.

After a hundred moves, Chen Mo was struck in the left shoulder by a sword, his green robe stained with blood, and he staggered back in defeat.

They lost both battles, and the defeats were so devastating.

The people of the Seventh Peak burst into laughter.

"Is that all the Third Peak is capable of? Their two strongest are like dead dogs!"

"What's the point of fighting? Just admit defeat!"

The faces of the people on the Third Peak were ashen.

Chen Mo clutched his injured shoulder and growled, "Come out, all of you."

The ten people left the main hall and gathered under the pine trees outside.

Wang Chuan slumped to the ground, blood gushing from his severed arm. Chen Mo's face was deathly pale, his breathing heavy. The remaining eight men exchanged glances, none daring to speak.

"Eight games left," Chen Mo said hoarsely. "Who's playing?"

No one answered.

After a long pause, Zhao Qingwan, who had drawn the third round, said in a trembling voice, "Senior Brother Chen... I... I had a stroke during my cultivation yesterday, and my dantian is aching. Today I really..."

"You!" Wang Chuan glared angrily.

Sun Hai lowered his head and said, "My old injury flared up again, and I can't put any weight on my left leg..."

"Useless! All of you are useless!" Wang Chuan cursed.

Chen Mo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew that the rest of them would only be throwing their lives away if they went up. Today, the Third Peak was destined to suffer a humiliating defeat.

At that very moment—

"I'll do it."

Qin Yuan walked out from the periphery of the crowd.

A brief silence.

Wang Chuan stared at him as if he were a madman: "You? An outer disciple, at the tenth level of Qi Refining, are you going up there to die?"

Zhao Qingwan shrieked, "Qin Yuan! You want to embarrass yourself? Don't drag the Third Peak down with you!"

Sun Hai shook his head and sighed, "Junior Brother Qin, we appreciate your kindness, but this..."

"How will you know if you don't try?" Qin Yuan interrupted him, looking at Chen Mo. "According to the rules, anyone who hasn't yet participated can fight."

Chen Mo looked into his calm eyes and felt a strange stirring in his heart, but ultimately shook his head: "No need. Today's defeat is not something you can reverse alone."

Qin Yuan said no more and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?!" Wang Chuan demanded.

Qin Yuan didn't even turn his head: "Since you're not going, I'll go."

Everyone stared in stunned silence as his figure disappeared in the direction of the palace gate.

"He...is he really going?" Zhao Qingwan murmured.

"They're just going to their deaths." Wang Chuan sneered. "Fine, let the Seventh Peak see that even if our Third Peak sends a piece of trash, he still has the courage to fight."

No one noticed that Qin Yuan did not go down the mountain, but went straight back to the Martial Arts Hall.

When Qin Yuan pushed open the palace door, the people of the Seventh Peak were chatting and laughing.

"Where are the people from the Third Peak? Did they run away in fear?"

"She's probably gone somewhere to cry!"

Seeing Qin Yuan walk back alone, Li Xiu raised an eyebrow: "What, did the Third Peak send you to admit defeat?"

Qin Yuan walked to the center of the hall and stood there, looking at the ten people from the Seventh Peak: "I will fight alone in the next round."

Dead silence.

Then a deafening roar of laughter erupted.

"What did he say? He said he could take on ten of us by himself?"

"Has this piece of trash gone mad?"

The tall, thin man who had just defeated Wang Chuan was eager to try again: "Senior Brother Li, let me play with him for a bit first."

Li Xiu waved his hand, a half-smile on his face: "Since Junior Brother Qin is so bold, Junior Brother Zhang, you go. Remember, don't finish too quickly, leave some face for the Third Peak."

The tall, thin junior brother Zhang grinned, holding the double hooks in his hands: "Don't worry, I'll have some fun with him."

He walked to within three zhang of Qin Yuan, the hook tip pointing to the ground: "Kid, don't say I'm bullying you. I'll give you three moves. After that, I can finish you off with just one finger..."

Before he could finish speaking...

Qin Yuan made a move.

Without any build-up or fancy moves, he simply took a step forward and thrust his right fist out horizontally.

Junior Brother Zhang still had a mocking smile on his face, and instinctively raised his double hooks to block.

"clang--!!!"

The clanging of metal against metal caused dust to fall from the palace beams.

The double hooks flew out of his hands, and Junior Brother Zhang was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a pillar in the hall before sliding down, his fate unknown.

One punch.

The hall was deathly silent.

The smiles on the faces of the people from the Seventh Peak froze.

Li Xiu's pupils shrank sharply: "You..."

Qin Yuan withdrew his fist and looked at the remaining nine people: "Next."

"Attack together!" Li Xiu shouted.

The remaining eight people seemed to awaken from a dream, drawing their swords and blades, their various spiritual energies surging forth as they rushed towards Qin Yuan from all directions.

Qin Yuan stood still, without even moving a step.

He raised his hand, his five fingers loosely clenched.

The air seemed to freeze.

The eight men's forward momentum abruptly halted, as if they had crashed into an invisible wall. Immediately afterward, an irresistible force pressed in from all directions.

"Pfft—" "Pfft—" "Pfft—"

All eight men coughed up blood and flew backward, their weapons falling from their hands. They crashed into the wall and landed on the ground, and none of them were able to stand up again.

In the end, only Li Xiu remained.

The seventh peak genius was deathly pale, his sword-wielding hand trembling. He stared intently at Qin Yuan, saying each word slowly and deliberately, "You've concealed your cultivation... you're definitely not at the tenth level of Qi Refining!"

Qin Yuan didn't answer, but instead beckoned to him with his finger.

Li Xiu roared, his sword light surged, and he and his sword became one, transforming into a stunning blue rainbow that pierced straight at Qin Yuan's throat—this was his killing move "Surprising Rainbow Piercing the Sun," which he had painstakingly cultivated for three years and had once injured a Foundation Establishment cultivator who was of a higher level!

Qin Yuan extended his right hand, joined his index and middle fingers together, and gently pinched them together.

The tip of the sword was firmly gripped by two fingers three inches from the throat.

Li Xiu desperately channeled his spiritual power, causing the sword to tremble and hum, but it could not advance even an inch.

Qin Yuan applied slight pressure with his fingers.

"Click—"

The sword tip shattered.

Immediately afterwards, an overwhelming surge of spiritual energy poured into the sword.

"Ah—!" Li Xiu screamed as his entire right arm exploded into a cloud of blood mist, flying backward and crashing into half of the palace wall before being buried under the rubble.

Ten breaths.

From the moment Qin Yuan made his move until all ten members of the Seventh Peak were wiped out, only ten breaths had passed.

An old man in hemp clothing was standing at the entrance of the palace.

The old man had white hair and beard, a gaunt face, and a gourd of wine hanging from his waist. He looked Qin Yuan over with interest and nodded: "Not bad."

Qin Yuan cupped his hands and said, "Disciple Qin Yuan greets Elder."

"My surname is Zhou, and I am the seventh in my family. The sect leader calls me the Seventh Elder." The old man took a sip from his wine gourd. "I saw the competition just now. One person fighting ten people, that was quite interesting."

He tossed over a storage bag: "These are the rewards for this competition: five hundred mid-grade spirit crystals, a bottle of Foundation Establishment Pills, and a Xuan Iron Sword. They're yours."

Qin Yuan accepted it: "Thank you, Elder."

The Seventh Elder waved his hand, gave him another deep look, and then turned and drifted away.

Hurried footsteps could be heard outside the hall.

The nine members of the Third Peak rushed into the main hall and were stunned to see the mess on the ground and the Seventh Peak disciples lying haphazardly.

"This...this is..." Wang Chuan's eyes widened.

Chen Mo's gaze swept across the entire hall, finally landing on Qin Yuan, who stood in the center. Qin Yuan held a storage bag in his hand, the reward from the competition.

An unbelievable idea arose in everyone's minds.

Could it be... that he did it?

Zhao Qingwan blurted out, "Qin Yuan, these people were... defeated by you?"

Qin Yuan looked at her but didn't say anything.

Wang Chuan's expression shifted, then he suddenly shouted, "Impossible! How could an outer disciple like him defeat Li Xiu? There must be some mysterious expert passing by who couldn't stand the arrogance of the Seventh Peak and taught them a lesson!"

Sun Hai immediately chimed in, "Right, right, right! We rushed in after hearing the fighting and saw everyone from Seventh Peak lying on the ground. Qin Yuan just happened to be standing here and got lucky!"

"Exactly! How can this credit be given to him?" Zhao Qingwan shrieked. "The mysterious expert defeated the Seventh Peak, but our Third Peak won the competition! Qin Yuan, hand over the reward; this is the Third Peak's spoils of war!"

Qin Yuan looked at the group of people's faces, which were turning black into white, and suddenly laughed.

He stuffed the storage bag into his pocket and turned to leave.

"Stop right there!" Wang Chuan roared. "Leave your things behind!"

Although he had lost an arm, he could still move his left hand and struck Qin Yuan in the back of the chest with a palm.

Qin Yuan didn't even turn his head, and simply swung his hand back.

"Bang--!"

Wang Chuan was struck as if by a heavy hammer; he flew backward, crashed into the wall, and lost consciousness.

Everyone was horrified.

"Qin Yuan! How dare you run wild on the Third Peak!" Chen Mo shouted, his shoulder injury bursting open and blood gushing out.

Just then, an angry shout came from outside the hall: "Who dares to harm my Third Peak disciple!"

An elderly man in black robes descended from the sky, his beard and hair bristling; he was none other than Wang Zhenshan, the Enforcement Elder of the Third Peak.

He landed and surveyed the entire area, his gaze settling on Qin Yuan: "Junior, how dare you injure someone on the Third Peak! You have quite the nerve!"

Qin Yuan calmly said, "Elder, you are wise. They attacked first and tried to steal the credit. I was only defending myself."

"Stealing credit?" Liu Zhenshan sneered. "The rewards from the competition should rightfully belong to the Third Peak! You, an outer disciple, dare to take them?"

Seeing the elder's undisguised bias, Qin Yuan suddenly burst into laughter.

Laughter echoed through the empty hall, filled with sarcasm.

"What a fine third peak." He stopped laughing, his gaze sweeping over Chen Mo and Zhao Qingwan, finally settling on Wang Zhenshan's face. "Shamelessness inherited from top to bottom."

Wang Zhenshan's face turned ashen: "You're asking for death!"

The oppressive aura of the late Foundation Establishment stage erupted suddenly, engulfing Qin Yuan like Mount Tai pressing down.

Qin Yuan stood still, his back straight, his gray robe fluttering even without wind.

Within his body, the spiritual power of the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, the "Extreme Realm," began to slowly awaken.

Outside the hall, the Seventh Elder reappeared under the pine tree, carrying a wine gourd and smiling as he looked into the hall.

"Interesting." He took a sip of his drink. "This little fellow is hiding something even better than I thought."