The Yun Duan Mountain Range soared to the heavens, cutting through the white clouds. Some peaks were lushly green below while capped with white snow above, presenting a scene of two contrasting wonders in one.

The severed peak, situated at the center of the mountain range, was thick with figures. Young cultivators continued to descend at intervals, the numbers swelling steadily — the outstanding young cultivators of Qu Province were gathering.

Situ Feng’s expression carried a slight chill. Tall and slender, he stood apart from the crowd, brimming with self-confidence. He fixed his gaze on Ye Fan and said, “This is not a very amusing joke.”

Ye Fan stood a mere few zhang away, completely composed. He rolled his joints, which cracked and popped, and swiftly reverted to his true appearance.

“It really is you!” Situ Feng was somewhat taken aback, but he quickly sneered. “So you actually dared to come here — you truly have some nerve.”

Ye Fan’s body was wreathed in mist, which drifted and coiled to conceal him fully, masking his true form. He took a few steps forward and said, “The world is vast — where can I not go? This is merely a gathering of Qu Province cultivators. Why should I not dare to come?”

Situ Feng’s expression grew notably colder. “Having come to this place today, you may find you cannot leave.”

“You intend to slap me to death with one blow?” Ye Fan continued walking forward as he spoke.

“Killing you is but a flick of the wrist — one slap is more than enough!” As a genius of the Yanyu Sect, already a powerful cultivator of the Third Level of the Dao Palace at over twenty years of age, Situ Feng’s self-assurance knew no bounds.

Ye Fan rubbed his chin. “Am I really that easy to bully? You think a single slap will kill me — you truly regard me as nothing more than a blade of grass.”

“Aside from relying on that flame, you are nothing in my eyes. Killing you could well be described as plucking a weed or snapping a leaf — effortless.” Situ Feng’s expression remained serene.

“Then come and try to slap me to death.” Ye Fan advanced again.

By this point, the cultivators nearby had noticed the tension on this side and turned to look.

“Is that not Situ Feng of the Yanyu Sect? Hailed as the most outstanding genius the sect has produced in a hundred years — only twenty-one years old and already a powerful cultivator of the Third Level of the Dao Palace.”

“In the southern part of Qu Province, Situ Feng is quite renowned among the younger generation. Many speculate that before the age of thirty, he will certainly break through into the Four Extremes Secret Realm.”

The cultivators murmured among themselves, their assessment of him high indeed.

Situ Feng was only twenty-one years old, not yet an inheritor of a sacred ground, yet to possess such cultivation was genuinely astonishing. After all, among the younger generation, those who truly reached the Four Extremes Secret Realm were vanishingly few.

The likelihood was considerable that he would break through into the Four Extremes Secret Realm before thirty — by any measure, his talent was exceptional.

“You are quite famous here in Qu Province — so many people know your name.” Ye Fan grew more and more indistinct, the mist roiling and folding to cover him entirely.

“Who is this person? How does he dare to stand against Situ Feng — could he actually rival the genius of the Yanyu Sect?” Someone in the crowd looked puzzled.

“Surely a challenger. After Situ Feng made a name for himself throughout southern Qu Province, some of the younger cultivators refused to accept it. Situations like this come up from time to time.”

“Fame and ambition are the ruin of men. To pick a fight for the sake of reputation — and to challenge the genius of the Yanyu Sect no less — is that not courting death? Among those of roughly twenty years of age in Qu Province, there are hardly any who could stand against him.”

“It seems my odds look grim,” Ye Fan said wryly. “Everyone says I am no match for you at all.”

At this moment, young cultivators filled every corner of the severed peak. Many had turned to look, sensing the tension here.

“It is a pity — I have no particular desire to kill you. But since you have walked right into my sight, I do not mind sending you on your way with a single slap.” Situ Feng replied calmly, his body becoming a flowing shadow — like a figure stepping out of a painting — as he drifted forward.

True to his word, he struck with only one blow. His right hand rose high, wreathed in a water-blue halo — blue and crystalline, brilliant and shimmering.

By now, every gaze in the vicinity had converged on this spot — near and far alike. This was a gathering of Qu Province’s young cultivators; clashes like this were entirely expected, and no one was surprised.

Those atop the severed peak who recognized Situ Feng felt the outcome was beyond question — the unknown challenger would surely be killed by the genius of the Yanyu Sect.

Ye Fan stood his ground without moving, waiting calmly as Situ Feng closed in and the right palm swept out. He met it squarely, thrusting his own right palm forward to meet the water-blue hand.

Crack!

The sound rang out like a thunderclap, reverberating across the entire severed peak. The two palms collided, sending ripples of water-blue energy spreading in every direction. The blue haze drifted like gauze, drowning that spot in soft, hazy light.

“Told you — Situ Feng’s talent is extraordinary. Anyone who challenges him is bound to pay a bitter price, often with their very life.”

“Blue light like lightning, divine power overflowing in all directions — the force in that palm is terrifying!”

Many voices rose in admiration.

But when the blue mist dispersed, everyone froze — mouths agape, swallowing their next words unspoken.

At the center of the scene, Ye Fan stood with his long sleeves billowing, shrouded in soft haze, perfectly composed. Situ Feng, by contrast, had gone a deathly pale and staggered backward a great distance. His entire right hand had been deformed beyond recognition, and droplets of blood fell to the ground.

“This… how is this possible?!”

“Who is he? He actually injured the genius of the Yanyu Sect — the bones of his right hand are shattered to pieces.”

“Who is this person? How have we never heard of them — does Qu Province actually harbor someone like this?”

“Qu Province spans more than three thousand li across, and I have never heard of anyone like this. Could he be a cultivator from somewhere in the oasis?”

Everywhere around them, faces shifted in surprise. An unknown, obscure individual had shattered Situ Feng’s hand in a single blow — it was impossible not to be startled.

Ye Fan was utterly composed. In terms of physical body alone, who in the Dao Palace Secret Realm could compare to him? Muscles like copper, bones like iron — more fearsome than any sacred artifact, unrivaled across the entire Dao Palace.

Many were speculating about his identity, yet his body was wreathed in mist, and no one could see through it clearly.

“You…” Situ Feng’s face had gone white. It was not merely that the bones of his right hand were broken — his entire right arm had been shattered in eight places. No one was more stunned than he was. A moment ago it had felt as though he had slammed into a mountain; there had been no way to resist that force.

“Trying to kill me with a single slap — that is rather difficult, it seems.” Ye Fan remained where he stood without giving chase.

Situ Feng’s face went rigid. His right arm trembled as he bit down and worked to reconnect his broken bones. At the same time, he opened his mouth and expelled a small bead, which hovered above his head and let fall curtains of water that enveloped him completely.

“The Water-Blue Bead of the Yanyu Sect!” someone cried out in recognition.

At the same moment, Situ Feng parted his lips and expelled a cyan lotus. Its radiance blazed like ten thousand suns, heavy as a mountain, and the pressure it exerted made the surrounding people gasp for air.

The lotus was translucent all the way through, gleaming with deep blue brilliance. Its crushing pressure made many hearts tremble and faces go pale; even the surface of the severed peak groaned and cracked, fissures spreading in every direction.

Ye Fan’s expression shifted — not just because the lotus was so extraordinarily heavy, but because the fissures splitting through the severed peak alarmed him. This was the cultivation ground of a formidable figure. If they disturbed something here, the consequences could be severe.

He held nothing back, charging forward. His fingers struck like blades in rapid succession, shattering the curtain of water-blue light.

The cyan lotus was unharmed — its light blazed even brighter as it pressed downward. He thrust one hand skyward to hold it off. It was indeed as heavy as a great mountain, and the weight strained even his physical body.

The Water-Blue Bead rose and merged with the lotus, instantly doubling the weight, forcing even Ye Fan to sink somewhat under its pressure.

“That is one of the Yanyu Sect’s most prized treasures — practically impossible to endure — and this person is holding it off with his bare body alone. What on earth is his background?”

Yet what left the crowd truly dumbstruck came next. Ye Fan shook both arms repeatedly, sending golden handprints manifesting outward, causing the sky itself to buckle and cave inward.

Situ Feng’s expression changed. His left hand shot out three beams of blue light that merged into a single blade of blue lightning — suddenly surging to grow enormous, stretching over ten zhang in length, slashing down at Ye Fan.

“Situ Feng has actually refined Three Yin True Water — every single drop of that water can pierce metal and split stone!”

“Even more terrifying is that he has forged a spirit blade from that true water. This secret art is extraordinarily fearsome — it can sever a person’s divine soul!”

“The Three Yin True Spirit Blade has appeared once more — truly shocking and unexpected!”

Every onlooker’s expression changed. All watched with rapt, anxious attention.

Three Yin True Water could extinguish true flame, dissolve refined gold, and was heavy beyond measure. Forged into the Three Yin True Spirit Blade, its power was unrivaled.

Ye Fan let out a low shout. Both arms thundered nine times in rapid succession, and after nine strikes, the Yanyu Sect’s treasured Water-Blue Bead and the cyan lotus both cracked.

Boom!

On the final punch, blue light exploded in all directions. Both sacred artifacts crumbled — shattered to dust by his golden fist!

“What manner of person is this — how does he possess such force?”

“His physical body is harder than sacred artifacts — how has he cultivated it? Is he from the demon clan?”

“This is too terrifying!”

The crowd stared open-mouthed, utterly at a loss.

The Three Yin True Spirit Blade descended, blue light crackling like lightning, casting everyone nearby in a pale blue glow, its cold piercing to the bone.

Clang!

Ye Fan caught the blade with his bare hand. Every finger blazed like red gold, and five deep impressions were left pressed into the blade’s edge.

“The Three Yin True Spirit Blade can sever the divine soul — yet he caught it bare-handed, without the slightest fear.”

“Is this the kind of existence whose physical body could one day attain sainthood? How can anyone have a body this terrifying?!”

Boom!

Situ Feng drove the Three Yin True Spirit Blade forward with everything he had. Blue light shot to the heavens, water radiance flooding outward, surging toward Ye Fan in a torrent.

This was Three Yin True Water — capable of dissolving gold and eating through iron. A single drop was enough to bore through a cultivator’s body. With so much of it erupting forth together, the terror of its power was beyond any calculation.

Yet Ye Fan blazed with light from head to toe, and every drop of true water that touched him evaporated, turning to blue vapor. It could not harm him at all.

His divine power surged. He was like an undying divine furnace — burning all things, destroying all things.

Crack crack!

The Three Yin True Spirit Blade snapped apart in his hand, dissolving back into true water, which then became blue mist — completely refined and absorbed by him.

The scene was horrifying. A spirit blade forged through secret arts proved utterly brittle, destroyed by his golden fingers without difficulty.

“You…” Situ Feng’s face was ashen. He turned and walked away. His heart had gone cold. An opponent like this left him with nothing but a crushing sense of defeat.

“The genius of the Yanyu Sect has been beaten — he has no choice but to flee.”

“He is Qu Province’s genius from the southern region, yet he could not withstand even one exchange against this person. Who is he? So terrifying!”

Across the severed peak, countless faces wore expressions of shock.

“Let you experience a slap from me as well!” Ye Fan’s speed was extraordinary; he closed the distance in an instant. His golden fingers formed a shape the size of a millstone and crashed downward, setting the very air humming and trembling.

“Hold your hand!” An outstanding disciple of the ancient clan Ji Family shouted — a figure that surged rapidly forward.

At the same moment, Situ Feng also fought back with all he had, trying to deflect the impending disaster.

The golden handprint was beyond compare. It drew dry every trace of the heaven and earth energy in the surrounding area, leaving a vast, blurred expanse of black void!

Crack!

This time, it sounded like a heavy thunderclap detonating in mid-air.

Situ Feng’s resistance was completely futile. His entire body was smashed apart, sent flying horizontally.

“You…” The young powerhouse of the Ji Family was incensed. He had never imagined that the other person would show no regard for his face whatsoever — killing someone right before his eyes.

He reached out to catch Situ Feng’s broken body, but the moment his hands made contact, the corpse instantly turned to a stream of ashes. Both body and soul had been annihilated.

“Who are you?! How dare you kill someone in my presence — did you not hear what I just said?!” The young powerhouse of the Ji Family demanded furiously.

“Who are you to me? If you tell me to stop, I stop? Does being an ancient clan make you so special?” Ye Fan clasped his hands behind his back.