Birds sang and made the mountains seem all the more still. This place was tranquil and serene — mountain peaks wreathed in thin mist, green trees entwined with blue vines, a stream murmuring softly as it flowed over smooth, rounded river stones, winding past ancient trees. The fish in the stream were unafraid of people.

At first, Li Xiaoman furrowed her delicate brows slightly — but she quickly settled into composure. She stood with elegant, composed bearing before them, her gaze coming to rest on Ji Ziyue.

The Star Peak disciples beside her were likewise sizing up Ji Ziyue and Ye Fan, unable at the moment to make out who these two were or where they had come from.

Ji Ziyue was a child of heaven and earth’s most refined essence. Graceful and slender, she could not help but draw the eye — every male disciple present turned to look at her.

Her face was exquisite — beautiful brows and refined features, her bearing radiating natural confidence. Her purple robes danced in the breeze, vivid and lively, with a touch of noble elegance. She tilted her head and looked toward Li Xiaoman, a smile brightening her soft, delicate face.

Li Xiaoman remained calm. She made no reply, her beautiful eyes untroubled like still water. She met Ji Ziyue’s gaze, her expression showing not the slightest flicker of emotion.

“Elder Sister, why aren’t you speaking?” Ji Ziyue laughed lightly. She extended one slender, delicate hand and waved it back and forth in front of Li Xiaoman’s eyes. Then, taking the opportunity, she lightly stroked Li Xiaoman’s face — just like a reckless young rogue flirting with a respectable young lady — and said, “Quite a few points of beauty. I rather like what I see.”

Li Xiaoman was no ordinary person. She came from beyond the starry sky, and her thoughts and outlook were very different from the women of this world — naturally, she would not be frightened by this. She merely revealed a look of surprise and said, “Little sister, did you need something?”

“Indeed I do. I am seventeen years of age, refined and lovely in appearance, and have yet to take a bride…” Ji Ziyue was radiant and spirited, smiling with enchanting grace. She reached out her soft right hand and cupped Li Xiaoman’s chin from below, saying, “Today I have encountered a beautiful person. Love at first sight, deeper affection at second, and at the third — she is mine. I ask for nothing more.”

Beauty flirting with beauty — a delight to the eyes. The Star Peak disciples nearby could barely resist wishing they could switch places with Li Xiaoman on the spot.

Having her chin cupped and being flirted with so boldly — even if Li Xiaoman was not particularly conservative, she could not help but frown slightly. She shifted her steps gracefully and quickly moved back to put distance between them.

“There is no need to worry, Elder Sister — truth be told, I am a man. A graceful and dashing young gentleman, handsome as carved jade. I am perfectly qualified to marry you.” Ji Ziyue laughed and followed her forward.

Seeing how things were going, Ye Fan hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Ji Ziyue back. This little girl was clever and unpredictable — she even dared bite him. If she truly latched onto Li Xiaoman, there was no telling what kind of mischief she might get up to.

“I am helping you…” Ji Ziyue was very displeased, blowing a puff of air into Ye Fan’s ear, accompanied by the faint sound of small teeth grinding together. Yet in the eyes of everyone else, this scene seemed oddly intimate — as though the two of them were quite close with each other.

Beside them, one of the male Star Peak disciples asked quite naturally, “May I ask — which main peak do you two belong to?” Though his question was directed at both of them, his eyes never left Ji Ziyue alone.

“This junior sister’s natural beauty is radiant — like a lotus rising from the water, like an orchid blooming in a secluded valley. I imagine she must surely be a disciple of ‘Li Peak.'” A second Star Peak disciple chimed in with flattery.

Ji Ziyue paid them no attention, her large eyes casting a sideways glance toward Li Xiaoman. But Ye Fan gave her no opportunity to step forward — he pulled her firmly and stepped in front of her, blocking her. He had no desire to create any misunderstanding with Li Xiaoman. Since everything between them in the past was already over, there was no need to stir up this kind of trouble.

He stepped forward and faced Li Xiaoman directly, saying, “I never imagined we would meet here at the Profound Mystery Sect. We haven’t seen each other in more than a year — I hope all has been well.”

“All has been well.” Li Xiaoman drew her gaze back from Ji Ziyue and looked toward Ye Fan. “This is truly unexpected. I never thought we would meet again — so you came to the Profound Mystery Sect as well.”

“Wait — why do I feel like I recognize you?” One of the Star Peak disciples stared at Ye Fan for a moment, then suddenly cried out, “It’s you — that scoundrel from Zhuo Peak?!”

“Hey, hey, hey — watch your mouth!” Ji Ziyue was displeased and shot him a sharp glare.

“Junior Sister, please do not be angry. Do not blame us. This person has a great grievance with the disciples of our Star Peak. Please do not involve yourself in this matter.” In an instant, all the Star Peak disciples closed in around them.

Ye Fan stood still and looked toward Li Xiaoman.

“What is going on here, Senior Brothers?” Li Xiaoman spoke up.

“This is the one from Zhuo Peak — he seriously injured many of our Star Peak’s disciples, and has a deep feud with our peak’s members.”

“He relied on Zhuo Peak’s ancient treasures to repeatedly injure our Star Peak disciples. Today we demand an explanation!”

Ye Fan said nothing. He simply watched them in silence. Ji Ziyue’s large eyes shifted back and forth a few times. She stopped speaking as well, turning her gaze to Li Xiaoman, curious to see how she would handle this.

“This matter… I have heard of it as well.” Li Xiaoman furrowed her brows slightly, then looked toward Ye Fan. “You injured multiple Star Peak disciples — that was truly wrong of you. Offer your apologies to these Senior Brothers here, then go back to Zhuo Peak quickly.” After saying this, she turned toward the others and asked, “Senior Brothers, what do you think?”

None of them wanted to make things difficult for Li Xiaoman by refusing her — but neither were they willing to simply let Ye Fan off the hook. “How can we just let him go like this? We demand a clear and definite explanation.”

“Oh wonderful, wonderful!” Ji Ziyue clapped her hands with a grin, delighted to fan the flames of chaos.

Ye Fan turned and gave the group a sweeping glance, then said, “Where exactly were those people injured?”

“On Zhuo Peak, naturally.”

“Zhuo Peak is a main peak in its own right. They trespassed without cause — after being punished for it, who is there to blame?!” Ye Fan swept his gaze across them and said nothing more.

“Junior Sister Li, it is not that we wish to disrespect you — but you can see for yourself. This person is insufferably arrogant. He injured our peak’s disciples first, and now he still refuses to lower his head. We have no choice but to act.”

“Laughable.” Ye Fan gave a scornful laugh. “Even in the mundane world, trespassing on another’s home is a serious crime. This is the world of cultivators — to intrude upon a main peak’s sacred transmission grounds, and after being driven away, to still claim one is in the right? Even if I had struck killing blows that day, your Peak Master would have found it difficult to say a single word against it.”

“Such arrogance!”

The Star Peak disciples sneered coldly — yet not one of them dared step forward. Among them, one quickly slipped away. They feared that Ye Fan carried some ancient treasure of Zhuo Peak, and that if they tried to capture him and failed, they might end up being subdued instead. The precedent was fresh in their minds, and it made them wary.

“Regardless of what is said, you did seriously injure people — that was indeed wrong of you. You should bow and apologize to these Senior Brothers here.” Li Xiaoman stepped forward and spoke these words.

“What do you mean by that?” Ye Fan raised his head. “I was not in the wrong. Why should I apologize?”

“You…” Li Xiaoman’s expression shifted slightly. “I am trying to help you.”

“Some ants think they can make moves against me. I’ll simply flick them away. What need is there for you to help like this?” Ye Fan turned to face the Star Peak disciples squarely.

“Ye Fan, you are truly far too arrogant.” Li Xiaoman said in a low, firm voice. “I am doing this to help you — yet you… I know you have exceptional talent and an unusual physique, but Star Peak has many powerful cultivators…”

“Oh wonderful, wonderful!” Ji Ziyue clapped her hands again.

Half a month ago, Ye Fan had already disciplined the Star Peak disciples once. Now that Zhuo Peak had risen, with a powerful figure like Li Ruoyu presiding over it, Ye Fan naturally had nothing to worry about. Surrounded by a few Life Spring realm cultivators, all he had to do was bat them away.

“No matter how far away — get out of my way, all of you! Don’t block my path!” Ye Fan swept his gaze across the people encircling him.

“You think you’re walking away today? Not possible!” Though the Star Peak disciples said this, they didn’t truly dare to move against him head-on. They feared him drawing on an ancient treasure and making short work of them. At this moment they were only stalling for time — someone had gone to summon a truly powerful expert.

Ye Fan had no patience for them. He turned around directly and walked toward the direction of Zhuo Peak, intending to leave.

The people blocking his path immediately fell back — none of them wanted a direct confrontation with him.

“Ha ha ha…” Ye Fan laughed loudly and said, “You want to stop me, yet you fear me this much? Then do not speak such big words.”

“Exactly — how boring. I thought you were all going to have a real fight. And here you are, scared off into this state.” Ji Ziyue pursed her lips, muttering her dissatisfaction.

“If you didn’t have an ancient treasure on you, we would never have let you run your mouth like this — we would have subdued you already.”

“Do you dare face us in a proper, honorable battle?”

The Star Peak disciples were red-faced and seething, their necks flushed — filled with indignation. They shouted loudly.

“With just you small fish and shrimp — what do you know about ancient treasures? You can all come at me at once if you like. These two fists of mine will send you flying straight up into the clouds.” Ye Fan continued walking forward with great strides.

“If you don’t use an ancient treasure, I’ll fight you!” One of the cultivators stepped forward.

“I have no so-called ancient treasures. If you’re not afraid of broken bones and snapped tendons, then all of you come.” A faint cold smile played at the corner of Ye Fan’s lips.

“Kill him!”

Someone unleashed a weapon — a blood-red blade transformed into a streak of starlight and slashed down toward Ye Fan. This was a full-force strike from a Life Spring cultivator, blazing with brilliant, eye-catching radiance!

“Clang!”

Ye Fan was utterly unconcerned. He casually waved his hand and lightly flicked out a single finger. His golden fingertip made contact with the blood-red blade, and immediately the sound of shattering rang out.

“Crack!”

A Life Spring realm cultivator’s weapon — tempered and refined over many years — was shattered by Ye Fan with a single flick of his finger, broken apart like dried straw, utterly incapable of withstanding even a single blow.

“This…”

Every person present was thoroughly shocked. Li Xiaoman, in particular, showed a look of astonishment. She knew that Ye Fan’s physique far surpassed ordinary people, but she had never imagined it was this formidable.

“And you lot dare to speak your big words and stand in my way?!”

Since Ye Fan had already acted, he had no intention of stopping. He left one afterimage after another across the area, rushing toward the people surrounding him.

Each of those individuals unleashed their weapons, striking with full force to attack and kill Ye Fan. Light blazed and radiated brilliantly. Flowers and grasses around them withered; stones and boulders crumbled and shattered. Yet something terrifying occurred — Ye Fan kept flicking his fingers, and one weapon after another was completely shattered. Beneath those golden hands and fingers, every weapon was like a porcelain vessel, unable to bear that tremendous force.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

In no more than a few exchanges, every one of them had fallen to the ground, spitting blood — none able to rise again.

Ye Fan paid them no further heed. He kicked each one of them away, sending them flying, and did not look at Li Xiaoman. He walked with great strides toward Zhuo Peak.

Ji Ziyue laughed cheerfully and followed behind him.

“Going somewhere? You injure our Star Peak disciples and think you can just leave?” Brilliant light flashed in the distant sky. Several figures came flying over. Leading them was a young man in white robes — very heroic and striking in bearing — and beside him were five or six others who also appeared quite extraordinary.

“Senior Brother…” The disciples who had been kicked away gathered over, their faces filled with shame.

“That young man in white has a very formidable cultivation.” Ji Ziyue murmured softly in Ye Fan’s ear.

The young man in white did not step forward. The one who had shouted just now was not him either.

One of the men beside him stepped out, his gaze cold and piercing, fixing Ye Fan in place. “Do you dare fight me?”

“Are you challenging me — a newly entered junior cultivator?” Ye Fan replied with a smile.

“I won’t make things unfair for you. I won’t press you with my full Divine Bridge peak realm power. I’ll give you a chance: I’ll rely solely on physical strength, and we’ll exchange three palms. If you can withstand them, everything that happened just now will be written off.” This man stated his terms clearly.

Ye Fan laughed loudly. He swept his gaze across everyone present, glanced at Li Xiaoman, and finally fixed his eyes on this man. “Very well — since you’ve said it like that, I naturally cannot back down.”

Star Peak cultivators tempered their bodies with the power of starlight. Once they reached the Divine Bridge realm, their bodies would begin to undergo a profound transformation, becoming incomparably powerful and unyielding. This man’s confidence rested precisely on this foundation.