The group soon arrived at the back mountains of the Peak of the Flying Stone. The place was deserted since it was covered by a thick smog throughout the year, and areas of tall bushes and pine trees dotted its grassy grounds. It was secluded, with the howls of beasts and chirping of birds heard off in the distance.

This was the place that sect disciples would usually meet at for duels to settle arguments. These duels were often to the death, and since the location was so secluded from the rest of the sect, there would often be no interruptions to stop them until one party died or was heavily wounded.

All was fine as long as the mess was cleaned up by the disciples afterwards. In fact, the sect was very aware of these duels and had turned a blind eye to cases like these. Although there were very few Battle Cultivators within the Qing-Yun Sect, it was vital for everyone to have some method of self-protection. Regardless of whether they were an Alchemy Cultivator or Blacksmith Cultivator, it would be outrageous if a cultivator did not learn any skills to protect themselves during combat. As such, the sect had always seen these duels as a means to maintain the bloodthirst of their disciples, train their battle power, and also remind them that the outside world was even more unkind.

Of course, this was because the Qing-Yun Sect housed a comparatively small number of disciples and considered itself a sect of righteousness. In this realm, there were plenty of sects that would choose their disciples based on sanctioned massacre, where only the final few survivors would become core disciples. The studies of alchemy, blacksmith, formations, and talismans were all usually rather unimportant and less-established, as most of their disciples would focus mainly on improving battle power and raw strength out of fear for their own lives. As a result, the more cruelty a sect displayed, the more powerful the Battle Cultivators they produced would be. Indeed, Bai Qianzhang himself had made Fang Xing go through countless fights and battles in these past few years to plant and nurture a murderous aura around Fang Xing as well.

"Well kid, let’s see this here then. Even if you kneel and beg in front of me now, it’ll be of no use." As soon as they arrived, Shen Hujun was filled with bloodthirst, his lips twisted into a snicker with his gaze sharp and cold.

Fang Xing, on the other hand, ignored Shen Hujun and rose to his tiptoes to glance back at Qin Xing’er. Once she signaled with a nod that the bet had been placed, he looked back at Shen Hujun and curled his index finger inward with immense satisfaction. "Come at me, you ugly mole! Watch me beat your a**!"

"How conceited, this kid is actively provoking Shixiong Shen. Has he grown tired of living already?" A good twenty disciples had begun to discuss their thoughts amongst each other. They were amazed at how Fang Xing’s ego had driven him to not take this matter seriously, especially with how he was using such a provocative gesture towards Shen Hujun.

"Heh. He probably thinks that just because he joined the inner court three years earlier, he must be a genius. Such ignorance, he should think about how Shixiong Shen is not only an entire tier above him, but has also learned the art of crafting talismans that add even more power to the skills he can use!" Most of these people were not optimistic of Fang Xing’s chances at all and believed he was merely digging his own grave.

"Come and kneel in front of me first!" Shen Hujun howled out, not taking Fang Xing’s provocations well. Facing Fang Xing, he spread all five of his fingers out wide before a flame began to form in the middle of his palm. As the flame grew larger, his left hand summoned a yellow talisman that was burned by the same flame. In seconds, the center of the red flame turned into a mysterious blue, and its temperature also rose along with the change in color.

"Using talismans to nurture fire! No wonder Shixiong Shen is so strong; a standard spell would now have the power of its more advanced version!" someone yelled out in excitement as the temperature of the fire doubled with the talisman’s aid.

"Looks like Shixiong Shen is really angry at the boy. Does he want to take his life in one go?" The onlookers grew even more excited. To them, someone’s death would only make it more exciting.

Hsssh...

As Shen Hujun slammed his flaming palm forward, the fire formed into the shape of a large hand and moved towards Fang Xing. Qin Xing’er tensed; even though she trusted her intuition, she couldn’t help but worry for Fang Xing after seeing Shen Hujun’s attack. Of course, her worries were still mainly for her Spirit Stones and hairpin.

"That’s it?" Fang Xing squinted his eyes and calmly folded his arms in front of the fiery palm. As soon as the palm arrived close enough, Fang Xing suddenly leapt backwards and released a punch.

BOOM

Fang Xing’s stature was thin, and although he was definitely taller than he was three years ago, he was still not fully grown, and the giant palm of flame made him look even smaller up close. Yet a deep, thunderous echo filled the air alongside Fang Xing’s punch. In moments, it was as though the string of a divine bow had been pulled taut within his body, a powerful force seeming to accumulate within.

Hsssh...

When the giant palm of flame was inches away, Fang Xing unleashed the full power of his attack. It was like the untamed roar of a dragon—a barbaric force of pure strength. There were no spells incorporated within, but the punch was so powerful that the palm of flame was nullified in the blink of an eye. The punch did not stop at just that, however; it continued forward to part the flame to the sides, creating a clear path between Fang Xing and Shen Hujun.

"Heavens! Did I really just see that?" someone let out an emotional shriek, his voice a few pitches higher than normal.

"What is this spell? He managed to break through Shixiong Shen’s talisman spell!"

"No, that’s not even a spell. It’s.. it’s his raw strength..."

"That’s impossible. Who would possess such raw strength? Are you a beast?"

People screamed and shouted from within the crowd of onlookers, but it only came from those with swift and sharp eyes. In truth, Fang Xing had delivered his move so quickly that most of the crowd hadn’t even realized what had just happened.

After the punch shattered the fiery palm, Fang Xing stomped into the ground and disappeared in a flash, two pits visible where he had just been. Initially surprised at how quickly Fang Xing had broken his spell, Shen Hujun came back to his senses at this moment in a fluster. He wanted to defend himself next with his Flying Sword, but there was a sudden gust of wind heading towards him head-on, making it difficult for him to breathe. Within only a brief moment, a small palm lashed right at him.

Shen Hujun wanted to avoid it, but his physical body was clearly not as quick as his mind.

SLAP

Along with a crisp echo, Shen Hujun was sent flying and did two full rolls mid-air. His teeth were broken, his flesh was open, and his entire mind was in a state of confusion amidst his ringing ears. It was as if the entire world was far away from him. It was as though everything was an illusion, as though he had been slapped right out of the original realm.

Thud...

Shen Hujun dropped to the ground like a crumpled sandbag as a shadow flashed behind him—Fang Xing. Using sheer speed, it even seemed as though Fang Xing used some sort of spirit tool to utilize such teleportation-like movement.

"What the f*ck is this ‘fire nurtured by talisman’ sh*t? What a pretentious prick you are! Wouldn’t simply using your Flying Sword be a lot more effective here?" Fang Xing cursed loudly in disdain as he stepped straight on Shen Hujun’s head.

To Fang Xing, Shen Hujun was idiotic to the extreme. The flashy fire spell that was "nurtured by talisman" may have looked powerful and showed off Shen Hujun’s high level of mastery in this standard spell. It may have demonstrated his abilities in crafting talismans and—most importantly—it had been aesthetically pleasing to show such a large palm of fire in the air, as though it had the ability to hide the heavens...

But it was all useless! The flame may have been scorching, but it was not concentrated! The palm may have been ferocious, but it was too slow!

"F*CK!" The silence was suddenly broken by the sudden onset of the curse. Besides that single word, there was no other way to describe the speaker’s current emotion; what the disciple had seen was simply too bizarre. A fifth-tier disciple of the talisman branch had been easily sent flying by the slap of a fourth-tier kid? Even if somebody was going to purposely allow the kid to win, they could have drawn it out a bit longer. What did it mean for them to take just a single slap?

More people, however, were wondering what would happen to the wagers. Some had bet that the boy would not last three rounds, and some had bet for ten rounds. There were even some people who had daringly bet for not lasting a single round of attacks. Yet no one had placed a bet on Shen Hujun himself not lasting a single round; how could this still be considered a game anymore?

But this wasn’t completely true...

The large stone of anxiety within Qin Xing’er seemed to lift as she giggled towards the man in the purple headband. "Shixiong Murong, I believe I have won the bet. Ten mid-grade Spirit Stones and your Saber of Azure Dragon, if you’d please!"

The man in the purple headband took in a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his astonishment. "Please take these twenty mid-grade Spirit Stones as my apology to you, Shimei Qin. Let’s not worry about anything else.." he suddenly replied. As he spoke, twenty pieces of red Stones with purple centers were thrown towards Qin Xing’er, and he simultaneously turned to leave while starting to use the skill [Levitation].

Within moments, he was gone and out of sight.

The man was not stupid. He would rather give Qin Xing’er ten extra mid-grade Stones than part with his saber. He had purchased it intending to rely on it to pass the exam and join the Hall of Heaven’s Tribute, after all. He believed that by giving Qin Xing’er the extra Stones, she would not go so far as to push her luck with him for this.

He obviously had forgotten that there was someone else present, someone who wouldn’t mind pushing his luck with him!