Facing Elder Zhang and Meng Gaofei, Qin Yang maintained his composure.
Elder Zhang was merely at the early Qi Sea Realm stage. Though he had crossed a major cultivation realm, his strength wasn't significantly greater than that of a Qi Gathering Realm expert at its peak.
The transition from Qi Gathering Realm to Qi Sea Realm wasn't a fundamental transformation.
In the Qi Gathering Realm, one awakened spiritual sense and condensed true qi. The Qi Sea Realm merely represented a vast accumulation of true qi - a difference in quantity, not quality.
What truly mattered was whether one could fully harness and utilize that true qi.
"You impudent brat!" Elder Zhang glared at Qin Yang before addressing the surrounding Inner Sect disciples. "Qin Yang stole the sect's second-grade Face-Preserving Pill formula. Now that the truth has been exposed, I must retrieve the formula and purge the sect of this disgrace!"
"So Qin Yang's formula was stolen from the sect?"
"No wonder an Outer Sect disciple could concoct such a high-grade pill. This formula must be incredibly precious!"
"Does that mean Shen-shixiong had already detected clues and deliberately challenged Qin Yang to force him to reveal himself?"
"We've all misunderstood Shen-shixiong! Shen-shixiong, we apologize!"
Shen-shixiong was overjoyed by this unexpected turn of events. Clearing his throat, he said, "I don't blame any of you junior disciples. After all, anyone can be deceived at times."
He deliberately glanced at Lou Mengyu, his words carrying an unspoken meaning.
Shen-shixiong continued, "Now that the truth has come to light, as the eldest disciple, it's my duty to handle matters of disciplinary action!"
Lou Mengyu stood to the side, utterly dumbfounded. Is this small sect truly so absurd? she thought. The Inner Sect's eldest disciple is jealous and petty, the Inner Sect elders are insatiable, and the Inner Sect disciples are ignorant...
How could the formula for the Face-Preserving Pill possibly have been stolen from the Thousand Hidden Sect? Not even the Celestial Academy possesses such a formula!
"Qin Yang, hand over the formula immediately," Shen-shixiong declared loudly. "If you do, I might spare your cultivation and merely expel you. Otherwise, you'll die today!"
"Hand over the formula! Hand over the formula!"
"Having Qin Yang, such a shameless scoundrel, among our Outer Sect disciples is a disgrace to the Thousand Hidden Sect!"
"Give up the formula now, and we'll all have access to the Face-Preserving Pill!" an Inner Sect female disciple demanded sternly.
Qin Yang glanced around, picked at his ear, and chuckled softly.
Lou Mengyu stood bewildered on the sidelines. Why had the entire crowd's hostility suddenly focused on Qin Yang? And now... he was actually smiling?
Qin Yang spoke calmly, "I stand by my earlier words. Which of you... will make the first move?"
Lou Mengyu drew a sharp breath. Was Qin Yang truly challenging the entire Inner Sect alone?
"It seems we'll have to take you down first," Meng Gaofei growled, his eyes narrowing as he unleashed the Yellow-Grade martial art, Falcon Claw.
Lou Mengyu moved to intervene, but Qin Yang blocked her path.
Qin Yang turned to Lou Mengyu with a smile. "Didn't I tell you? You need to learn to trust me."
With that, he mirrored the clawed strike, his fingers hard as tempered steel, catching Meng Gaofei's wrist in an iron grip.
Meng Gaofei's heart lurched. This was his own technique! Such force should have shattered his wrist!
Yet Qin Yang didn't crush it. Instead, he whirled his arm, hurling Meng Gaofei across the courtyard.
Meng Gaofei stared at his wrist, horrified by the deep purple bruises marring the flesh.
"It's happening again..." Lou Mengyu shuddered. He's using my own technique against me! And the difference in strength is clear as day!
At the same time, Lou Mengyu felt puzzled. Why did Qin Yang hold back with that claw strike just now?
Qin Yang spoke slowly, "You've perfected the Wind Piercing Finger, haven't you? Are you stuck in a cultivation bottleneck?"
Lou Mengyu nodded, caught off guard by the question.
Qin Yang continued, "To reach the pinnacle of mastery, it's no longer about force or timing. The key lies in understanding the true meaning of 'Wind Piercing'."
After a moment's thought, Qin Yang added, "Imagine your target as the wind itself. Your task is to pierce through it."
A realization dawned on Lou Mengyu. Is he actually teaching me?
"Damn you! You think I'm that weak?!" Meng Gaofei roared, launching another clawed attack. Qin Yang's earlier imitation of his own technique had given him sudden enlightenment, and he immediately put the insight into practice!
Qin Yang found the situation amusing. "Watch carefully now," he warned Lou Mengyu. "This is how the Wind Piercing Finger should be used!"
He thrust out a finger in a motion that seemed utterly ordinary - no different from how Lou Mengyu had performed it earlier.
Meng Gaofei swiped his claw to change course, aiming to seize Qin Yang's wrist. But every twist and turn remained within Qin Yang's control.
His technique had been broken again, but this time Meng Gaofei lacked the fortune he'd had when Lou Mengyu had countered him before.
A sudden numbness gripped Meng Gaofei's palm. He initially thought Qin Yang's strength fell short, but then realized with horror that his true energy could no longer reach his hand!
A searing agony tore through his entire palm as every meridian in his hand snapped simultaneously!
His hand was destroyed—utterly and completely, with no hope of recovery!
"Ah!" Meng Gaofei roared in pain, veins bulging on his forehead as his face twisted into a grotesque mask.
Lou Mengyu's eyes widened. "What... what did you just do?" she gasped, her mind suddenly recalling Martial Heaven's words.
The powerful clans advance their techniques and martial arts step by step. Never assume that reaching a certain level means you can simply switch to higher-level methods. That is a fatal mistake!
The Eight Divine Clans' strength lies in each solid foundation they build before taking the next step.
"It's like your family's advanced martial technique, the Yellow-Grade Wind-Shattering Finger. When cultivated to the pinnacle of the Great Achievement stage, it directly grants you entry into the Pulse-Splitting Finger. This approach is far superior to attempting the Pulse-Splitting Finger directly, as your foundation becomes unshakably solid."
"Impossible! Are you truly some kind of prodigy...?" Lou Mengyu stared at Qin Yang as if seeing him for the first time. Could anyone truly possess such extraordinary talent?
I haven't even mastered the Pulse-Splitting Finger myself!
Clutching his dantian, he recalled how Qin Yang had disrupted his true qi circulation earlier. How can he control his power with such precision? If he were to cultivate the true Pulse-Splitting Finger, its destructive potential would be...
"What are you waiting for? Do you understand now?" Qin Yang's voice cut through his thoughts.
Lou Mengyu snapped out of his daze, shaking his head before nodding.
Elder Zhang, witnessing Meng Gaofei's defeat in a single move, hadn't anticipated this youth possessed such hidden strength. Without hesitation, he unleashed a powerful punch.
Copy: Giant Spirit Art. Technique 2/10.
The system hadn't warned about copying martial techniques, nor did it alert him that the copied cultivation method exceeded his host's level. So Elder Zhang had been practicing a yellow-grade cultivation method, and the martial technique was... Mountain-Opening Fist?
So that's how Zhou Shi's yellow-grade martial techniques came to be?
"Pitiful. A Qi Sea Realm cultivator who doesn't even know a Profound-grade cultivation method or martial technique." Qin Yang shook his head. In that case, the elder merely had slightly more true qi than him.
"Mountain-Opening Fist!" Qin Yang roared, his fist glowing with a luminous earthy light.
In contrast, Elder Zhang's fist emitted a dim, fading glow.
Lou Mengyu covered her mouth in shock, blurted out, "Mountain-Opening Fist focuses on power, avoid direct confrontation! Elder Zhang is in the Qi Sea..."
Thud!
A muffled sound cut off Lou Mengyu's warning.
Qin Yang shook his hand and took half a step back. Elder Zhang, however, stumbled backward several paces!
Despite focusing on power, in a direct clash, the early-stage Qi Sea Realm Elder Zhang proved inferior to Qin Yang, who was at the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm!
The Pill Dispensary fell into deathly silence.
This... This can't be real, can it?