"Who dares to hurt my son?" the phantom roared with anger as its oppressive gaze swept through the foot of the mountain.

The phantom took the form of a middle-aged man. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

He had a sharp, angular face and a well-trimmed beard. He bore a striking resemblance to Long Feng, who stood behind him.

Combined with his earlier words and the way he made his entrance, it was clear to all that this man was Elder Long, Long Feng’s father.

As soon as his phantom materialized, Elder Long ignored the other people and his gaze locked onto Chen Xuan.

Then, he roared once more.

"You dare hurt my son?" he questioned, stretching out his right hand.

His palm instantly grew bigger, large enough for its shadow to shroud Chen Xuan.

Elder Long pointed his finger and aimed it at him.

Screams erupted as the crowd scrambled to escape.

Even the Foundation Establishment Elders fled, knowing they had no place getting involved in such a fight.

Only Xiao Huo, Long Feng, and Huo Ling’er remained near the entrance.

The former were shielded by the phantom’s power, while the latter forgot to move.

She stared at Chen Xuan with teary eyes and hesitated, unsure whether to help him.

The only person who remained calm throughout this process was Chen Xuan.

Faced with the sudden attack, he didn’t so much as blink, much less grow frightened.

Chen Xuan knew Elder Long.

He was an Elder at the Early Stage of Core Formation.

Chen Xuan wouldn’t have been afraid of him even before his breakthrough, let alone now, after his strength had transformed.

Moreover...

’The talisman only contains one of his blows. The phantom seems conscious, but it’s merely an illusion.’

Still, Chen Xuan did not choose to meet the attack head-on.

He didn’t rely on his cultivation base. Rather, his mental power poured into the robe and actively cast one of its abilities.

The patterns along the surface of the Evergreen Robe lit up.

A lifelike dragon, half-black and half-white, emerged and curled up in front of him.

When the colossal finger descended, it didn’t land on Chen Xuan, but on its tough scales.

Yet, this powerful attack, enough to split mountains and level cities, only left behind a faint white mark.

The finger’s momentum halted abruptly. Then, a sharp crack rang out, followed by a deafening crash.

The phantom broke apart.

First the finger, then the hand, and the rest of the arm. A shockwave quickly spread through the phantom.

Its entire body soon shattered. It transformed into burning ashes that were blown away by the passing wind.

The mere phantom of a Core Formation cultivator had met the real deal.

Such an outcome was to be expected.

However, Xiao Huo below was unwilling to accept it.

"Impossible!" he screamed, "How could Elder Long fail to defeat you?"

"You must have cheated! Yes! You must have secretly manipulated the Yin Yang Peak’s formation!"

Rather than believing that the "useless handsome face" was powerful, Xiao Huo preferred to believe that Chen Xuan had relied on external forces.

Upon that "realization", his contempt became even more apparent.

’Hmph! I’d only need a strike to kill you if I were at the Core Formation realm!’ he thought secretly without realizing how outlandish his thoughts were.

Chen Xuan had lived for nearly a century and seen much. His ability to remain calm was far beyond that of ordinary people.

Yet, having been attacked out of nowhere, and now sensing that the opponent’s killing intent had only intensified, his gaze turned sharp.

He stared at Xiao Huo and Long Feng with a cold gaze.

"It seems that Elder Long has failed to discipline you adequately. Since that’s the case, I will do him a favor and teach you a lesson today."

The moment his words fell, Chen Xuan waved his hand, and a massive palm materialized above the youths.

Then, it descended and struck them down like flies.

Chen Xuan had suppressed most of his strength, but his opponents were merely at the Qi Refining realm.

They coughed a mouthful of blood as the force enveloped them and slammed them into the ground.

Chen Xuan did not stop there.

He followed up with another attack, as if he were determined to torture the two to death.

Fortunately for the youths, a figure arrived just in time.

It was Elder Long. Appearing beside his son, he used his palm to meet the descending palm and obliterated it easily.

Just when he was about to ask what had happened and why his son had used his talisman, he noticed the injuries on the two men.

His face turned ugly. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that even though neither of them looked seriously injured, an ominous power circulated through their bodies and stuck in their Dantian.

Though it could be removed with time, cultivating during this process would be impossible. If this process took long, their future achievements would be limited.

Elder Long did not need to ask who was responsible for this power. He stared at Chen Xuan from the corner of his eye and had the impulse to attack him.

However, he forced himself to calm down when he recalled the rumors circulating about the Yin Yang Peak.

Rather than attacking recklessly, he first decided to find out exactly what had happened.

Emotions flickered across Elder Long’s face as he got the answer from his son.

Confusion, astonishment, and hatred all mixed together, though it was unknown to whom they were addressed.

In the end, Elder Long could only take a deep breath and look toward Chen Xuan apologetically.

"Peak Master Chen, what happened today was an accident. It was caused by the impulsive actions of two young men."

"I’m sure they’ve learned their lesson."

His attitude was low.

"I hope you can spare their lives. Not only for my sake, but also for the sect’s harmony. You may not know this, but Peak Master Lan has already accepted Xiao Huo as his disciple."

"It’s best not to break the relationship between the two Peaks over such a small matter."

Elder Long’s tone was polite, and his apology was sincere.

Yet, as Chen Xuan listened to his words and heard no mention of any compensation, he knew that he was not as kind as he seemed.

The hint of threat in his words made this even more obvious. Bringing up Peak Master Lan, the Leader of the Battle Peak, was clearly not an accident.

Elder Long wished to use his name to intimidate him and make him forget about what took place today.

Unfortunately, his attempt was destined not to have the expected outcome.

Chen Xuan was far from being frightened.

A gentle smile appeared on his face, and he shook his head, "Every generation of the Battle Peak seems to be worse than the last..."

"You dare use Senior Brother Lan’s name to scare me?"

"I tell you, even if he were to come here in person, he wouldn’t dare to talk to me like this."

Saying this, the smile on his face vanished. His tone grew sharper, and the temperature around him fell to a freezing point.

"Indeed, we should not involve ourselves in the matters of the younger generation." he ignored these phenomena and suddenly changed the topic, "Since your son dares to use your power to oppress my disciple, I won’t seek revenge on him, but will hold you accountable instead."

Chen Xuan’s gaze lingered on the two young men, and particularly on Xiao Huo, before shifting towards Elder Long.

His aura grew more powerful with each passing second. At the same time, his hand moved to his waist.

"I’ll give you a chance: withstand one of my strikes. If you can survive, I will spare their lives."

"If you die, your corpse will become fertilizer for our Yin Yang Peak."

The moment his words fell, a deafening clang rang out.

Before Elder Long could react, the sharp edge of a sword filled his vision as his hair stood up.