Young Master Bai's face contorted with rage at the dismissal. "Kill the bumpkin! Teach him his place!" he shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at Li Wei.
His two guards, their 7th Stage Qi Gathering auras flaring, lunged forward. To Li Wei, they were statues. He didn't channel Qi. He simply moved.
A blur of motion, two sharp CRACKS, and the guards were on the ground, one clutching a shattered leg, the other gasping with broken ribs. The entire exchange took less than two heartbeats.
Young Master Bai stood frozen, his jaw slack with terror. Li Wei turned his gaze to him. "The next time you point your finger," he said, his voice dangerously soft, "I will take it." He then turned, gave a slight nod to a wide-eyed Su Lin, and walked out.
---
When Li Wei returned to the Li Clan compound, his presence was a stone dropped into a still pond. He found Li Jin waiting for him at the main gate, but the usual condescending smirk was replaced by a cold, confident glare.
"The wanderer returns," Li Jin said, his voice ringing out to draw a crowd. "Still pretending to be a Fourth Level disciple? Your little act is over. Did you really think you were the only one making progress?"
With a surge of energy, Li Jin unleashed his spiritual pressure. It was no longer the 7th Stage. A wave of power, sharp and aggressive, washed over the disciples.
"The 8th Stage! Li Jin has reached the 8th Stage of Qi Gathering!"
A wave of awe and admiration rippled through the onlookers. This was the genius they knew! The undisputed top disciple, now closer than ever to Foundation Establishment.
Li Jin basked in their admiration, his eyes locked on Li Wei. "Now, you cripple, bow and apologize for humiliating my brother. Do it before I make you."
The crowd fell silent, all eyes on Li Wei, expecting him to crumble.
Instead, a slow, cold smile touched Li Wei's lips. "An 8th Stage... insect is still an insect. The same goes with the weak assassin you hired"
Then, he let his own aura rise.
It wasn't the weak, suppressed flicker of the 4th Level. It was the solid, undeniable pressure of the 8th Stage of Qi Gathering, meeting and matching Li Jin's own.
The gasp from the crowd was deafening. Disbelief turned to utter shock.
"He's... he's also at the 8th Stage?!"
"But... how?! He was a cripple! He's been hiding his true strength all this time!"
Li Jin's triumphant expression shattered into pure, unadulterated shock. "Impossible! You... you faked it? All this time?!"
"The only thing fake," Li Wei said, his voice cutting through the chaos, "is your reputation."
But he wasn't done. The patience was over. "You think our auras are equal?" he asked, his whisper silencing the crowd. "You, who hides behind poison and assassins? You have no idea what true power feels like."
And then he unleashed it.
The full, unbridled pressure of his true power crashed down. It wasn't just the 8th Stage. It was the Primordial Chaos Qi, heavy and ancient. It was the faint, divine echo of the Ancient God Bloodline. It was the terrifying weight of the Divine Dao Bone.
It was the aura of a Sovereign.
Li Jin's matching aura shattered like glass. He cried out as if struck, his knees buckling. He fell to the ground, his face pressed into the dirt, utterly crushed under the overwhelming pressure. The other disciples were similarly forced down, groveling. They now understood—Li Wei hadn't just been hiding his level; he had been hiding a completely different dimension of power.
"You DARE!"
A roar of fury erupted as Clan Head Li Tao descended, his face a mask of apocalyptic rage. Seeing his son humiliated and sensing the alien power of Li Wei, he lost all reason. He gathered his Foundation Establishment power and lunged, a palm strike aimed to obliterate Li Wei.
But another figure intercepted him.
BOOM!
A blast of energy shook the courtyard as Li Kang appeared, meeting the Clan Head's strike. The impact forced both men back a step.
The clan stared, utterly stunned. Li Kang stood tall, his eyes blazing with a long-dormant fire. His spiritual power, while scarred, was undeniably potent.
"You will not touch my son," Li Kang said, his voice ringing with absolute finality.
The standoff was complete. The hidden son was a monster. The broken father was a shield. The Li Clan would never be the same.