"Hmph, so utterly pathetic!" Elder Qin snorted. Is this what they call a genius? Overrated!
"Triumphant Elder! Triumphant Elder!" The Qin Family disciples cheered, their faces alight with excitement. With Qin Yang's death, a weight had been lifted from their hearts.
Qin Yang had been like a demonic presence - just his presence made them feel suffocated. And he was a true descendant of the Qin Family...
Now that Qin Yang had been reduced to ashes, everything seemed perfect!
"Did you see that? When faced with the Elder's blazing hand seal, Qin Yang froze like a fool, too scared to move!"
"Haha, it's hilarious! No matter how strong he was, killing him was as easy as squashing an ant!"
"I think Nangong Ling and Wei Yu were the real weaklings - they couldn't even defeat this Qin Yang..."
The Qin Family disciples whispered among themselves, now doubting their previous assessment of Qin Yang.
As the sea of flames gradually dissipated, a blurred figure slowly came into focus.
The chatter died down, leaving only a deathly silence.
"What kind of Qin Yang?" Qin Yang had advanced to the Zongshi Realm, his transformed divine sense allowing him to perceive every expression clearly.
"Not dead? Impossible!" Elder Qin's eyes widened in shock.
The other elders frowned. "You were holding back?"
Elder Qin looked astonished. "No, I unleashed my full fury just now... I gave it my all!"
The other elders' expressions turned wary as they stared at Qin Yang's unscathed form, disbelief written across their faces.
Qin Yang dusted himself off. The Great Hand Seal of Flames was indeed formidable, but it couldn't touch him.
If it weren't for the system upgrade's confusion, he would have counterattacked with a palm strike that could've reduced anyone to ashes!
He stood completely unharmed, not a single hair singed. However, in the heat of the moment, he hadn't yet fully adapted to his advanced physical strength and failed to protect his clothing with true qi.
His garments lay in tatters, leaving him looking like a beggar as his muscular physique was fully exposed.
Fortunately, his pants retained their undergarment structure, preventing any embarrassing exposure.
Qin Yang looked at the elder who had used the Great Hand Seal of Flames and wagged a finger. "You're no good. Get someone else. If anyone can actually hurt me, I'll break my own neck right here!"
After his advancement, his physical body had become even more powerful. Even without activating his true qi, his current physical strength alone made him invulnerable to these worthless elders.
This arrogant tone left Elder Qin seething with humiliation.
Another elder roared furiously, "Boy, let's see how long you can keep that smug look on your face!"
Copy opponent's technique: Ice Crystal Art. Host's strength upgraded to Zongshi Realm perfection. Technique 1/10.
Copy opponent's martial art: Frostbite Fatal Strike. Proficiency automatically elevated to peak mastery. Martial Art 1/10.
Qin Yang looked at the elder as if he were a complete fool. With a leisurely sigh, he said, "If all my opponents were as dumb as you, my life would be so much easier."
"You fool! If you were hit by my Frostbite Fatal Strike, your true qi and blood would freeze. Even if you didn't shatter into an ice statue, your cultivation would regress until you became completely useless!" The elder shouted, sending a frosty spear of ice filled with murderous intent hurtling toward Qin Yang.
The temperature, which had been raised by the blazing Great Hand Seal, plummeted instantly. This Frostbite Fatal Strike seemed even more formidable than before.
"Didn't you just learn the basics of our Qin Family Martial Arts? Why are you using such garbage techniques? Even the rudiments of our arts are far superior to this trash."
Qin Yang shook his head and formed a hand seal.
"Shocking Sword Finger!"
A sword of true qi materialized, shimmering with iridescent light like a divine blade.
With a flick of his finger, Qin Yang sent the divine sword shooting toward the incoming Frostbite Fatal Strike.
In mid-air, the Frostbite Fatal Strike shattered completely. The divine sword, undeterred, continued its trajectory toward the elder.
"What? It's a complete Shocking Sword Finger?" The elder's eyes widened in horror.
The other elders felt their hair stand on end as they condensed their true qi into swords. This is a Zongshi!
When did that brat Qin Yang reach the Zongshi Realm?
Thud!
The divine sword pierced through the elder's chest with a dull sound.
Qin Yang rotated his finger, effortlessly controlling the sword. His eyes blazed with divine light - the Shocking Sword Finger had finally unleashed its true power! And with his current strength, he could manifest far more than just this single divine sword!
"A single strike to kill an elder... This Qin Yang..."
"He's a devil incarnate!"
The Qin family disciples fell into panic, their elders' faces turning pale.
"That boy must have gained some incredible opportunities. His rapid advancement makes sense now," Elder Qin roared. "Everyone, strike with me! Destroy him!" He unleashed another palm strike: "Blazing Hand Seal!"
Qin Yang chuckled, severing his connection to the divine sword. The blade dissolved into nothingness. With a matching palm strike, he countered:
"Frostbite Hand Seal!"
Within his body flowed both frostbite and blazing energies. Having mastered the true essence of the Blazing Hand Seal, he now channeled it through his frostbite power.
A massive handprint of ice, thirty meters wide, shot upward to meet the blazing fire handprint head-on.
The two colossal hands—one frozen, one fiery—clashed like titans, their opposing attributes locked in a death struggle.
"This... this..." Elder Qin stammered, utterly astounded. How could there be an ice handprint? Such a martial art didn't exist!
Yet the technique mirrored the fire handprint's form precisely. No, this icy version carried even greater power and ferocity!
There was no deafening explosion. Instead, a chilling "crunch-crunch" filled the air as ice crystallized violently.
The fire handprint froze solid in an instant.
Moments later, the ice-encased fire shattered explosively, dispersing into raw spiritual energy that scattered across the sky.
Sparks danced amidst swirling ice crystals, creating a mesmerizing spectacle that cast a dark shadow over the Qin Family members.
Under the strain of clashing energies, Elder Qin coughed up a mouthful of blood. But the worst was yet to come!
Qin Yang's ice handprint accelerated with terrifying speed, grasping the frozen elder in its icy grip.
Before the man could fully freeze into an ice statue, he gasped out, "Handprints can only strike! Why does yours... why does it move like a real hand?"
Ice encased his head completely.
Qin Yang clenched his fist, suddenly tightening his grip with force.
Elder Qin was crushed to dust in an instant.
"I said I wouldn't show mercy," Qin Yang said expressionlessly.
"Escape! We can't fight! We're no match for him!" One elder activated his magical artifact and attempted to flee.
The other elders quickly followed suit.
The Qin Family disciples scattered like birds and beasts across the ground.
"I gave you your chance. Now you want to escape? Too late."
Qin Yang spoke calmly, his left hand forming a sword-like gesture while his right hand rose slowly to his side.
Boom!
Behind Qin Yang, a blazing divine sword materialized.
Hiss!
A freezing ice sword coalesced moments later.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ten divine swords, each radiating dazzling light, materialized in the air.
"Shocking Sword Finger!"
Qin Yang's right hand swept forward.
In an instant, the duel arena filled with swirling divine blades.
The fleeing elders were cut down mid-air, their magical artifacts falling to the ground.
The Qin Family disciples fell like wheat in a harvest field.
In the blink of an eye, every last one was slain.
Whew! Qin Yang exhaled deeply. With the Shocking Sword Finger, combined with his mastery of various martial arts' true essence, and his control over ice and fire, what enemy could challenge a Zongshi?
This technique consumed a significant amount of true qi. Qin Yang wiped the sweat from his forehead. He actually had more efficient methods, but doing it this way... was cooler!
Qin Yang chuckled.
"Qin Yang, watch out!" Jin Wanshan's voice shouted from a distance.
Jin Wanshan stood by a second-floor window, shouting at Qin Yang. He hadn't witnessed the earlier scene because he'd been preoccupied with evading a terrifying demonic beast, too afraid to move recklessly.
Having sensed unusual and powerful movements nearby, he'd rushed to the window just in time to see the monstrous creature closing in behind Qin Yang!
"Huh, you're here too?" Qin Yang asked curiously, waving in greeting.
Watch out? The Elder Qin and all the Qin Family disciples had already perished—what was there to fear now?
Could there be a hidden beast lurking?
The moment this thought flashed through his mind, his heart tightened, skipping a beat.
"Dragon Soaring Steps!" Qin Yang vanished from his original position, reappearing three zhang away!
Where he'd stood moments before, the Jadeblood Mantis' two forelegs descended like massive cleavers, slicing through the air.
The crumbling Zongshi-level secret realm's unstable space warped violently, the strike creating two spatial fissures that tore through reality itself!