To be honest, the situation had Li San in an awkward spot.
His background was rather unusual. He had originally been the illegitimate son of a cultivation family. Yet not long after he acknowledged his ancestry and returned to the clan, the family declined.
Fortunately, he possessed fairly decent cultivation talent. Coupled with the favor his ancestors had once done for someone, he was introduced and successfully joined the Righteous Path Alliance.
Later, relying on the slick adaptability he had developed as a Rogue Cultivator, he worked his way into a faction and won the appreciation of his superiors.
His path wasn't entirely smooth, but after several hundred years, he advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage without major mishap.
However, in the past few decades, after being promoted to Grand Deacon, he began to lose his balance.
Using the authority in his hands, he elevated his woman, Hua Yan, to the position of Deacon.
Under Hua Yan's constant pillow talk, he gradually lost himself in women and power. That was why he had stepped in to meddle in this mess today.
At first, he thought it was nothing more than a dispute among a few minor cultivators, something he could suppress with ease.
Even if a Golden Core Stage cultivator was involved, even an examiner, it was still far beneath his status as Grand Deacon.
What he never expected was that a Foundation Establishment cultivator who appeared out of nowhere would actually be capable of damaging his Life-bound Flying Sword. That was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
At first, he had merely been standing up for his woman. Now, however, it had become personal.
So although he briefly regained his senses when Elder Wang spoke up about removing him from his post, what truly weighed on his mind was still his injured Flying Sword.
Besides, compared to a few Talisman Masters, he, a Nascent Soul Stage Grand Deacon, was far more valuable.
The higher-ups would surely take that into consideration and handle him leniently. At most, they would deduct a few months of his offerings. Nothing serious.
The only pity was that he couldn't kill these people outright in front of everyone.
Still…
Crippling them should not be a problem.
After all, he had only recently advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage. Failing to control his strength perfectly would be entirely reasonable.
A knowing smile curved Li San's lips.
Truthfully, he never took Ye Ling seriously.
What kind of storm could a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator possibly stir up?
If this were out in the wild, a single wave of his hand would be enough to reduce everyone present to ashes. So no matter how spirited Ye Ling's threats sounded, Li San did not bother listening.
Would a human waste time listening to the buzzing of ants?
Ridiculous.
Heavenly Gate Sect?
What Third-Grade Sect dared to take such an overbearing name?
They truly did not know their own limits.
Anyone who could serve as an examiner was, at the very least, an Elder of a Third-Grade Sect. So Li San naturally categorized Ye Ling as someone from a Third-Grade Sect.
At most, judging by Ye Ling's youth, perhaps a Second-Grade Sect.
As for First-Grade or Super-Grade?
Don't joke. Those heaven's favored prodigies, so arrogant they looked down on the world, would ever bother attending this kind of assessment conference?
It wasn't even worth gilding their reputation. Putting it on their résumé would only be embarrassing.
Li San waved his hand dismissively.
"Say whatever you like. A Demon is present here. That's a fact. What is there for you to deny?"
Though he had acted without fully distinguishing right from wrong, he wasn't truly stupid. He had simply grown overconfident. He had indeed seen a member of the Demon race in Leng Qingqiu's arms before speaking up for Hua Yan.
Otherwise, with his personality, he would never have stepped out so openly.
"Deny?"
Ye Ling walked toward Li San as he spoke.
"That child is mine. I have nothing to deny."
"Oh? You're coming closer?"
Li San was slightly surprised by Ye Ling's approach.
Even if a low-level cultivator truly had some means to deal with a high-level one, they would never dare get this close.
From a distance, a low-level cultivator might act before the high-level cultivator could react.
But at such close range, the high-level cultivator would have more than enough time to respond and stop any move, including self-detonation.
Had he given up?
Or was he putting on a show in front of his friends, too proud to admit defeat?
Or perhaps he intended to—
Kneel at my feet and beg for forgiveness?
Li San ran through every possibility in his mind.
But the one thing he did not consider—
"If I don't get close to you—"
Ye Ling swung his fist and shouted at Li San,
"How am I supposed to beat you senseless?!"
Heaven-Shattering Power!
It was an utterly ordinary punch, no different from striking a wooden post during training.
Its speed was painfully slow. Even in the eyes of a Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator, it moved at a turtle's pace.
Had he been scared stupid?
To Li San, the punch looked like slow motion. He even had the leisure to wonder whether he should have fried eggs or lotus soup tomorrow.
For a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, just having the nerve to throw a punch at me already makes him a promising young talent.
The thought wasn't unreasonable. Even ordinary Golden Core Stage cultivators needed courage just to stand in front of him, let alone attack. That was the suppression of realms.
And yet, Leng Qingqiu and Ye Ling could fight against Nascent Soul Stage cultivators. That alone proved how extraordinary they were.
Take Elder Wang and the others. Before Li San, they were utterly powerless. The main reason was the pressure of his realm. Their spellcasting slowed, their True Qi stagnated, and even their thoughts became sluggish.
Hmph. Since you dared to punch me, then prepare to face the wrath of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.
Li San might acknowledge Ye Ling's courage, but the price for offending him would be heavy.
He was not magnanimous. On the contrary, he was extremely petty.
He had already decided to cripple Ye Ling completely. Not just physically, but more importantly, to make him understand one thing—
Nascent Soul Stage cultivators are not to be offended.
But just as Li San was about to act, something happened that shocked him to the core.
What kind of sorcery is this?
No matter where he moved, that slow, unhurried punch clung to him, drawing closer and closer.
Wait… Qi Tracking!
Having stayed at the Righteous Path Alliance headquarters for too long, he had nearly forgotten when he last truly fought.
Most of the time, he merely bullied low-level cultivators like today. It had been ages since he battled someone of the same realm.
He had almost forgotten this basic rule of combat.
Cultivators moved at incredible speeds. Without first locking onto the opponent's qi, an attack simply wouldn't land.
But to lock onto someone's qi, the difference in Cultivation Levels couldn't be too great.
This kid was only at the late Foundation Establishment Stage, wasn't he?
Thinking of that, Li San relaxed again.
Right. Just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. How could he possibly—
Before the thought even finished forming, a surge of searing pain erased his ability to think.
In Li San's perception, the process felt unbearably long. But in reality, everything unfolded completely differently from what he imagined.
With a bang, Ye Ling's punch sent Li San flying into the sky in an instant.
Ye Ling shot up after him, following with a right roundhouse kick, a left straight punch, and a right sweeping kick.
Relying on pure instinct and the protective True Essence around his body, Li San barely managed to defend himself. But the intense pain had already shattered his awareness. There was no way he could counterattack.
And Ye Ling had no intention of letting this opportunity slip.
High in the sky, he used Li San as a live practice dummy, unleashing Mighty Strength Fist again and again. Each burst of force tore through the air with sharp whistles. It was hard to believe these attacks were coming from a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The sky rang with the heavy sounds of flesh colliding with flesh.
Aside from that first "slow" punch, Ye Ling's movements were so fast that even cultivators could hardly see them. He pinned Li San in midair and unleashed a relentless combo, treating him like a punching bag.
To be fair, Li San had been careless. He didn't dodge.
But who would have imagined that a battle spanning two major realms could turn so one-sided?
Earlier, Leng Qingqiu, only at the early Foundation Establishment Stage, had managed to damage Li San's Life-bound Flying Sword and even hold out for a time against a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. That alone had been shocking.
Yet Ye Ling was even fiercer.
Though he was only two minor levels higher than Leng Qingqiu, he relied purely on his Body Cultivator prowess to beat a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator into the sky and hammer him mercilessly.
On the ground, Elder Wang and the others stared blankly.
They had thought Ye Ling would use the classic tactic of Talisman Practitioners: firepower suppression.
They were wrong. Completely wrong.
Ye Ling was indeed suppressing with firepower.
Just not with Talismans.
With his fists.
The sound of each punch landing squarely on flesh made their own bodies ache just from listening.
Hua Yan's face had long gone pale. What she feared now was no longer Li San seeking revenge afterward.
She was afraid that after Ye Ling finished beating Li San, he would come for her next.
What kind of monsters are these people?
A thick fear, almost dense enough to take form, seeped from Hua Yan's body.
Even the sharp scent of her perfume began to feel strange and unsettling.
Though everyone's eyes were fixed on the battle in the sky, those near her unconsciously edged farther away.
Of course, the one most shocked by Ye Ling was Leng Qingqiu.
She had fought him herself. She knew how strong he was.
But she had never imagined that after just one month apart, he would have grown even stronger.
And at a speed so terrifying it made her feel despair.
No. This time, she really had to return to the Leng Clan.
If she had still been hesitating before, Ye Ling's performance made it clear she could not continue drifting like this.
He trained for just over a month and could already crush a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. If she kept slacking off, then when she saw him next year, he might already have Ascended.
Realizing the gap between herself and Ye Ling was one thing. But the battle unfolding in the sky left her shaken beyond words.
She had never seen combat like this.
There was a kind of artistry to it.
Battles between Body Cultivators were inherently spectacular, stirring something primal in those watching.
And with the fight taking place in midair, it opened up even more possibilities.
The only pity was that one side was nothing more than a punching bag.