My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

Deep in the Zhongnan Mountains, the night wind was biting.

Outside the towering stone gate of Guiyuan Sect, five thousand torches illuminated this ancient dense forest as bright as day.

Sect Master Yin Tianzheng stood on the steps, holding a shimmering whisk in his hand, releasing his early Foundation Establishment stage spiritual power without reservation.

His arrogant and overbearing gaze swept over rows of heavily armored elite Tang soldiers, and over Li Jing, Cheng Yaojin, and others with strange looks in their eyes.

Finally, their gaze was fixed on the young man in blue robes yawning, leaning against the carriage shaft at the very back of the army.

"You pretty boy hiding in the back, watching the scenery! You! Get out here right now! Prepare to die!"

Yin Tianzheng's voice, imbued with surging spiritual energy, echoed through the valley, causing the surrounding leaves to rustle.

The words fell.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

Five thousand soldiers of the Tang Dynasty's Xuanjia Army turned their heads in perfect unison.

The civil officials, including Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling, as well as Li Shimin, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, and others standing at the front, all turned around in unison.

All eyes were on Li Chen.

However, there was not a trace of worry in the eyes of the Tang emperor and his ministers.

On the contrary, their eyes were very complex.

There was astonishment, shock, pity, and even a kind of utter mockery as if looking at an idiot.

Li Shimin's mouth twitched violently.

He bit his tongue hard, afraid that he might burst out laughing on the spot.

Did the sect leader of Guiyuan Sect ruin his brain while in seclusion in the deep mountains and forests?

They ignored all those generals who had just learned to draw qi into their bodies and were full of vitality.

They actually picked a powerful ancient Tyrannosaurus Rex that could destroy the world from among a pack of wolves!

"what?"

Li Chen was still holding the half-eaten wild fruit in his hand.

He stopped yawning, held up a finger, and pointed to his nose with a blank expression.

"I?"

"Yes! It's you!"

Looking at Li Chen's dazed and confused appearance, Yin Tianzheng became even more certain that Li Chen was definitely a pushover who couldn't even kill a chicken.

He flicked his whisk and sneered repeatedly.

"Boy, I've had enough of you!"

Yin Tianzheng pointed at Li Chen, his tone full of cruel mockery.

"With a massive army pressing in and besieging our mountain gates, while everyone else is on high alert, you're just hiding in the back enjoying the scenery and eating fruit? You're simply not taking my Guiyuan Sect seriously!"

"Come forth! Today I will use you as a sacrifice for my flag. Let's fight one-on-one!"

Li Chen rolled his eyes speechlessly.

He casually tossed the remaining half of the fruit into the nearby bushes, patted the crumbs off his hands, and sighed.

"Alright, since you're being so proactive, I'll play along."

Li Chen strode out slowly through the passage that the army had automatically parted to make way for him.

He did not use any movement techniques, nor did he release the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy.

He trudged along the muddy mountain path, like an ordinary mortal, step by step, until he reached the very front of the army.

His relaxed and carefree demeanor immediately drew undisguised laughter from the disciples of the Guiyuan Sect.

"Sect Master is mighty! This kid is probably scared out of his wits!"

"Judging by his frail appearance, the sect leader could probably crush him with a single finger!"

As Yin Tianzheng listened to the flattery behind him, his vanity was greatly satisfied.

He floated down the steps slowly, landing three zhang away from Li Chen.

He put his hands behind his back, slightly raised his chin, and adopted the arrogant posture of a highly accomplished sage.

"Boy, I'll spare you the trouble of being a mere mortal," Yin Tianzheng said arrogantly, his eyes looking down at him.

"Don't accuse me of bullying the weak or taking advantage of my strength. I'll let you have your way with one punch today!"

Li Chen stopped and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Really?" He blinked, seemingly unable to believe it.

"Really." Yin Tianzheng snorted coldly, his face full of condescension.

"As expected?" Li Chen asked again, leaning forward slightly.

Yin Tianzheng was getting impatient, his brows furrowed: "Just as I expected!"

Li Chen stroked his chin, a harmless and honest smile appearing on his lips.

"No regrets?"

"No regrets!"

Yin Tianzheng's patience had completely worn thin. He abruptly flung his sleeve and roared, "Hmph! Stop wasting time with your nonsense! I'll stand here and let you fight! Fight now!"

In his view.

Even if a mortal with no spiritual energy fluctuations exerts all their strength, they cannot break through the protective true essence of a (pseudo) Foundation Establishment cultivator.

He wanted to deliver a fatal blow at this moment of mortal despair, so as to completely shatter the psychological defenses of this Tang army.

"Well... I'm really going to hit it then."

Li Chen took a deep breath.

He didn't use any complicated hand seals, nor did he summon the divine thunder from the heavens.

He simply clenched his right fist casually, like a street thug getting into a fight.

Then, without even taking a running start, he just stood there, leaned slightly forward, and threw a straight punch.

This punch.

Light and airy, without any impact.

It didn't even produce a sound like it was being torn apart.

As Yin Tianzheng looked at the weak punch, the sneer on his lips reached its maximum.

He didn't even bother to fully activate his protective true energy; he simply stood tall and took the hit head-on.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

Li Chen's fist landed solidly on Yin Tianzheng's lower abdomen.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

The arrogant, mocking smile on Yin Tianzheng's face froze instantly.

Followed by.

An indescribable, extremely violent and terrifying power, like a volcanic eruption, poured into Yin Tianzheng's body along Li Chen's fist!

That's not the strength of an ordinary person.

That is the physical power refined to the extreme through countless temperings during the Golden Core stage!

"Snap!"

The (pseudo) Foundation Establishment stage true essence vortex that Yin Tianzheng had just condensed within his body couldn't even withstand a second of this terrifying power, and was instantly blasted into countless fragments!

Completely destroying everything in its path.

Unstoppable momentum.

"puff--!"

Yin Tianzheng's eyes suddenly bulged outwards, and his eyeballs were instantly covered with dense blood vessels.

He suddenly bent over, his whole body arching like a fully cooked shrimp.

A large mouthful of dark red blood mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed out of his mouth like a fountain, scattering a gruesome rain of blood in mid-air.

He didn't even have a chance to fly backwards.

Because Li Chen's punch had completely destroyed his body structure, his knees buckled, and he fell heavily to his knees at Li Chen's feet with a "thud".

The entire room fell silent.

The hundreds of disciples from the Guiyuan Sect who had been laughing wildly just moments before now looked like ducks being choked. Their laughter was stuck in their throats, their faces filled with horror and shock.

On the side of the Tang army.

Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong exchanged a glance and silently swallowed.

Today they truly witnessed the highest level of "pretending to be weak to catch a tiger."

"you……"

Yin Tianzheng knelt on the ground, his hands tightly clutching his stomach, blood gushing out from between his fingers.

He struggled to lift his head; his once rosy face had now turned a deathly gray.

He stared intently at the young man in blue who was still in a fist-throwing stance, his voice trembling like a leaf in the wind, his eyes filled with endless fear and confusion.

"What...what exactly do you do...?"