The monk was forced to draw out a long staff, slamming it into the ground as he chanted a series of verses. The weapon began to glow with a radiant golden light.
But Wang Li did not stop.
He thrust forward with five consecutive strikes, each one colliding against a golden barrier.
The monk could only defend. He had no chance to counterattack—Wang Li was not an opponent he could afford to take lightly.
Seeing that the barrier held firm, Wang Li activated the *Mountains and Seas Art*. Within his body, lifelike mountains and vast oceans surged through his blood vessels.
The mountains infused his blood and Qi with overwhelming power.
With a single strike—
The golden barrier dimmed.
Cracks began to spread across the staff.
Wang Li shifted into a strange stance, then attacked again. This time, his fist pierced straight through the barrier and slammed into the middle-aged monk.
**Boom!**
The monk was sent flying, coughing up blood as he crashed to the ground.
He looked up—
—and met Wang Li's gaze, filled with undisguised killing intent.
"Are you backing the village chief here?" Wang Li asked as he walked forward. "That would explain it. Without support, how could someone slaughter so many mortals and survive openly for so long without interference?"
"What… what do you mean?" The monk stammered, panic rising in his chest.
He could feel it clearly—
Wang Li intended to kill him.
He himself stood at the pinnacle of the Martial Genesis Realm, yet he had been completely overwhelmed.
"You can't kill me!" the monk blurted out.
Wang Li raised a brow.
Curious, he lifted his leg and brought it down toward the monk's bald head.
"Stop!"
A thunderous voice echoed from afar, filled with immense authority.
But Wang Li did not stop.
His foot slammed down.
**Crack!**
The sound of bone fracturing rang out.
Yet—
the monk did not die.
"Insolent brat!" the voice roared again, now furious, carrying the might of heaven and earth.
"You're the insolent one," Wang Li shot back coldly. "Your entire family is insolent."
He looked up at the streak of light rapidly approaching. His foot remained planted on the monk's head, grinding it into the ground.
A suffocating pressure descended upon him.
His bones creaked, nearly cracking under the weight.
But strangely—
a surge of vitality awakened deep within him.
His blood began to boil.
He was reaching a threshold—the Fourth Transformation.
This was already beyond the Martial Genesis Realm.
"Kid! Release my disciple and cripple your cultivation. Do that, and I might leave you an intact corpse!" the voice exploded in his mind.
It tried to suppress him.
Control him.
Wang Li's face turned pale—
—but his eyes grew colder.
Power flooded his blood and Qi. The transformation within him accelerated wildly as the *Mountains and Seas Art* leapt directly into the stage of perfection.
"Naive," Wang Li replied.
His foot pressed down harder.
**Katcha!**
The monk's skull shattered.
His body went limp.
Dead.
"Old thing," Wang Li said calmly, looking up with a mocking expression, "you have a disciple—do you think I don't have a master?"
To the figure's shock—
Wang Li suddenly shouted:
"Master! Some old monster is trying to steal your disciple!"
The moment those words fell—
The sky seemed to darken.
Multiple killing intents locked onto the figure above.
It felt as if the sun itself had vanished.
Cold crept across his skin.
He trembled.
*Supreme beings… more than one…*
Even his sect's ancestor was only half a step into that realm.
If he made a wrong move—
he would die.
Immediately.
"This… this benefactor," the old man said hurriedly, his tone changing completely, "we can discuss this calmly."
The pressure on Wang Li vanished instantly.
Wang Li blinked.
*Seriously?*
*Are cultivators in this world always this cowardly… or is my master some terrifying demon?*
He muttered under his breath:
"Shouldn't he be acting arrogant first? Then my master appears, slaps him around, robs—cough, cough—*repossesses* his treasures, and leaves me some scraps…"
Though he spoke softly, several people still heard him.
They turned to look at him strangely.
"Wang Lu… is this how you teach your disciple?" a voice said.
"No wonder you fought us over him," another added. "Crooked to the bone—just like you."
"Thank you for the praise, senior brother, senior sister," Wang Lu replied lightly.
She appeared calm, but beneath it lay a chilling killing intent directed at the monk in the sky.
The other peak masters quickly intervened.
If they hadn't—
she would have already acted.
---
Back on the ground, Wang Li stretched lazily now that the pressure was gone.
He looked up and said:
"Do you have any Earth-grade techniques? Let this young master take a look. Oh—and add some divine blood too. Preferably something with purification properties from your sect."
He had no intention of backing down when benefits were within reach.
The monk hesitated only briefly.
"It… will be as you say, benefactor."
Soon, Wang Li received five Earth-grade techniques, three drops of Buddhist Divine Blood, and one drop of demonic blood.
He stored them away without hesitation.
"Where's the nearest place with the most poisonous mist?" he asked next.
"That would be the Tidal Abyss," the monk replied carefully. "But it is extremely dangerous—"
"Give me a map."
The monk complied immediately.
Wang Li took it, glanced at it briefly, then turned to leave.
"If you ever feel too rich," he said casually, "come find trouble with me again."
He walked off without another word.
---
After he left—
A terrifying pressure descended upon the monk.
A cold, authoritative voice echoed in his mind:
"Cut off your arm. Then scram."
The monk didn't hesitate.
But as he prepared to act—
his storage ring vanished from his hand.
His face twisted in pain.
---
---
Wang Li studied the map as he walked.
He realized he was still quite far from the Tidal Abyss.
"Stupid disciple! You're still not returning to the sect?" an annoyed voice rang in his mind.
Wang Li grinned.
"Oh, Master! So you're the reason that bald donkey became so obedient."
"That's not what I asked," she snapped.
"I still have one thing to handle," Wang Li replied. "I'll return after that."
A brief silence followed.
"…Alright. Be careful."
Her voice carried a trace of concern before fading away.
---
---
Meanwhile—
In the Second Heaven of the Spirit Stream Sect, beneath storm-laden skies filled with flashing lightning, twelve figures sat gathered.
The ten peak masters.
The sect master.
And an old man with a dignified, handsome appearance.
"Little Lu, you've finally taken in a disciple," the old man said with a smile, watching Wang Li through a projection. "Your master would be pleased."
He paused—
then frowned slightly.
Looking between Wang Li and Wang Lu, he felt an uncanny resemblance.
Not in appearance—
but in presence.
"So similar…" he murmured. "Wang Lu, why did you choose him?"
Before he could finish—
a dangerous glint appeared in Wang Lu's eyes.
"Cough… disciple niece, calm down," he said quickly. "Do you think I'd steal your disciple?"
"Good," Wang Lu replied flatly.
Another peak master, cloaked in black, spoke:
"Did you pass down your ancient techniques? Why is he heading to the Tidal Abyss? That place isn't safe. Shouldn't you stop him?"
Wang Lu glanced once in the direction Wang Li had gone.
"My disciple may be stubborn," she said calmly, "but he's not stupid."
Then she closed her eyes.
Her presence faded—
as if she no longer existed at all.
And she ignored the rest of the discussion.