The courtyard trembled under the weight of Xuanyuan Zhen's aura.
Xuanyuan Han lay against the cracked pillar, blood at the corner of his lips. Xuanyuan Chen stood frozen, his confidence long shattered. The oppressive pressure of Foundation Establishment suffocated them both.
And yet—
A cold snort echoed from above.
"So vicious."
An elderly figure descended from the tiled rooftops, robes fluttering heavily as he landed between Xuanyuan Zhen and the two youths. His eyes were sharp, but within them flickered unmistakable hostility.
Elder Xuanyuan Gu.
Foundation Establishment, fifth stage.
His gaze swept over Xuanyuan Han and Xuanyuan Chen before settling on Xuanyuan Zhen.
"You've only just stepped into Foundation Establishment and you already bully your fellow clansmen?" the elder said sternly. "Attacking juniors without restraint—have you no shame?"
His words carried spiritual force, clearly intending to suppress Zhen's momentum.
Xuanyuan Zhen looked at him calmly.
Bullying?
Without asking what had occurred, without seeing Yin Mei's pale face, this elder had already taken a side?
He understood clearly.
This was not justice.
This was alignment.
Xuanyuan Zhen's voice was indifferent. "Move."
The single word caused the air to tighten.
Elder Gu's eyes narrowed. "You dare speak to me like that?"
Foundation Establishment fifth stage pressure exploded outward like a storm. The stone beneath their feet cracked further as waves of spiritual power pressed down upon Xuanyuan Zhen.
Yin Mei's breath caught.
Xuanyuan Han's despairing face flickered with renewed hope.
An elder had arrived.
Surely Zhen would not dare act further—
But they did not understand.
Xuanyuan Zhen stepped forward.
Purple-golden qi erupted from his body like a rising sun.
It was not ordinary spiritual power. It carried sacred vastness and tyrannical dominance intertwined into one. The moment it appeared, the elder's spiritual pressure trembled.
"What kind of qi is this—?"
Elder Gu struck first, palm slicing through the air with condensed force aimed directly at Xuanyuan Zhen's chest.
Zhen did not retreat.
His black halberd did not appear.
He chose something simpler.
His fist.
The two figures collided.
Boom—
Spiritual waves rippled across the courtyard. The elder staggered half a step back, disbelief flashing across his aged face.
Impossible.
He was five stages higher.
Again they exchanged blows—palm against fist, qi against qi. Each collision shook the surrounding walls. Yet with every exchange, Elder Gu felt his meridians tremble violently under the oppressive purple-golden force.
It was too pure.
Too domineering.
Even his foundation felt unstable before it.
Xuanyuan Zhen's expression remained calm throughout.
On the fourth exchange, he stepped inward rather than backward.
The elder realized too late—
Zhen's fist descended.
A single punch.
Purple-golden qi condensed tightly around his arm, roaring like a dragon breaking free of shackles.
The strike landed squarely against the elder's chest.
Crack.
The sound of ribs fracturing echoed clearly.
Elder Gu's body shot backward like a broken arrow, smashing into the courtyard wall before sliding down, unconscious.
Silence.
Utter silence.
Xuanyuan Han's heart dropped into an abyss.
First joy.
Now terror.
Even a fifth-stage Foundation Establishment elder… defeated in mere exchanges.
Who had they provoked?
Xuanyuan Chen's face turned pale as paper.
Yin Mei stood motionless as she watched the events unfold before her.
Her earlier fear had vanished, replaced by awe. Xuanyuan Zhen stood there like an immovable mountain, robes fluttering slightly, aura steady and overwhelming.
He had returned not merely stronger.
He had returned untouchable.
Xuanyuan Han's voice trembled, though he forced it out.
"My—my father is the Patriarch! If you kill me, you won't leave this clan alive!"
He truly believed Xuanyuan Zhen would kill him.
Xuanyuan Zhen turned slowly toward him.
Then—
He smiled.
It was not warm.
Not kind.
It was calm.
"I'm not going to kill you," he said softly.
Relief flickered across Han's face—
"You'll kill yourself."
The smile deepened.
For a brief second, Xuanyuan Han could not understand what he meant.
Then Xuanyuan Zhen moved.
Too fast.
He appeared before Han instantly and struck downward—not at his head, not at his heart—
—but at his lower abdomen.
Directly at the Qi Sea.
Boom.
A horrifying cracking sound echoed.
Xuanyuan Han's eyes bulged as unimaginable pain surged through him. His spiritual energy exploded chaotically before dispersing like smoke in the wind.
His cultivation—
Gone.
His Qi Sea shattered completely.
Before Xuanyuan Chen could even scream, Xuanyuan Zhen turned and delivered the same precise strike.
Another crack.
Another scream.
Both youths collapsed onto the ground, writhing in agony.
Despair flooded their faces.
In the cultivation world, being crippled was worse than death.
A life without the path.
A lifetime of watching others ascend while you remain broken.
Xuanyuan Han's earlier arrogance vanished entirely, replaced by hollow devastation.
By then, footsteps rushed into the courtyard.
Clan members gathered.
Gasps filled the air.
An unconscious elder.
Two crippled disciples.
And at the center—
Xuanyuan Zhen.
Foundation Establishment aura unmistakable.
"He… he broke through…"
"He crippled the Patriarch's son…"
"How is this possible…?"
Shock rippled through the crowd like wildfire.
Then—
A terrifying pressure descended from the sky.
Rage thick enough to suffocate filled the air.
Xuanyuan Bei had arrived.
The Patriarch's robes fluttered violently as he landed, eyes burning with fury upon seeing his son lying on the ground, Qi Sea destroyed.
The temperature in the courtyard seemed to plummet.
"Xuanyuan Zhen."
His voice shook with restrained wrath.
"What have you done?"