While the two spectators talked, the fight between Lin Zheyu and Qiu Kun had already intensified. More precisely, Qiu Kun's attacks grew increasingly frantic as he began unleashing his strongest skills.

Throughout, Lin Zheyu remained completely relaxed, moving with the ease of someone strolling through a garden. If he were facing cultivators, ancient yao, or shamans with their strange tactics, he might find it challenging. However, against a simple martial brute like Qiu Kun, he had no such worries. To him, beating Qiu Kun was quite satisfying.

A sweeping whip kick blasted Qiu Kun backward.

"Still want to continue, my friend?" Lin Zheyu asked with a faint smile as he looked at Qiu Kun's bloodshot eyes.

Whether it was speed, strength, or defense, Lin Zheyu surpassed Qiu Kun in every aspect. What exactly could Qiu Kun use to fight back? There was simply no way for him to win.

"Again! I refuse to believe I can't even force out your true intent!" Qiu Kun bared his teeth in a savage grin, his fighting spirit surging skyward. Having come from the War God Sect, he simply did not know the meaning of fear. Even against opponents stronger than himself, he remained filled with boundless battle intent.

"If this is all the strength you have, then I'm afraid it won't be enough," Lin Zheyu said lightly with a faint smile.

Qiu Kun was a traditional martial artist who pursued a clear and progressive cultivation path. Starting with understanding martial true intent, he focused on cultivating true strength, transforming it into the Grandmaster's will, advancing through the Martial Innate realm, then reaching the Divine Repository realm, and finally entering the Shackles realm. His Berserk true intent grew stronger over time, eventually touching upon the power of rules and ultimately pointing toward the Great Dao.

In contrast, Lin Zheyu lacked this kind of intent. Despite cultivating more than forty true intents, none had developed enough to turn his spirit into a Grandmaster's will. His spirit only matched that of a Grandmaster because it was reinforced through the Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art.

Initially, he couldn't condense a Grandmaster Domain. Instead, once his physical body reached a certain strength and was nourished by golden energy, it yielded the Perception Domain through transformation. However, as his strength and martial knowledge grew, condensing a Grandmaster Domain became straightforward for Lin Zheyu, even though he saw no reason to do so.

"Haha! This is my strongest and final move. It's called the Eight Extremes Dragon-Slaying Fist. Be careful, my friend!"

Qiu Kun laughed loudly. The moment his words fell, blood qi surged from his body while his battle intent rose without end, fusing together with the blood qi to form a brand new and terrifying energy.

"What an impressive technique." Lin Zheyu's eyes lit up slightly.

Although he did not walk the traditional martial path, Lin Zheyu never underestimated those who did. Even he found the mysteries contained within martial intent extremely tempting. Unfortunately, he was destined to be unsuited for that road. The comprehension, tempering, and strengthening of intent all required immense amounts of time.

Although Lin Zheyu possessed Origin Force, which could drastically shorten his cultivation time, it could not help him comprehend or temper martial intent within the space of consciousness. Because of this, the traditional martial path simply did not suit him. That was also why, despite cultivating so many martial true intents, he had never continued investing effort into refining any one of them to the level of a Grandmaster's will.

A thunderous boom erupted as terrifying air currents surged outward from Qiu Kun in all directions. A crimson phantom with three heads and eight arms slowly appeared behind him. It was the manifestation formed from the fusion of his intent and blood qi. Suddenly, the blood-red phantom merged into Qiu Kun's body. His figure swelled once more, muscles bulging grotesquely across his entire frame.

"Eight Extremes Dragon-Slaying Fist!" Qiu Kun shouted. His entire body seemed to transform into a crimson war god as he shot into the sky in fury, as though his fists sought to slay a divine dragon itself. The might behind this attack had already come frighteningly close to the Golden Core realm.

In an instant, the massive crimson phantom fully took shape in the sky. The heavens and earth changed color as though the entire world had been swallowed by endless scarlet light.

"Fellow Qiu's Eight Extremes Dragon-Slaying Fist is becoming more and more terrifying. Even I wouldn't dare receive it head-on." Bai Lin narrowed his eyes, sensing a tremendous threat from Qiu Kun's strike.

Yet at the same time, a powerful battle intent suddenly erupted from his body as well. Watching the battle between Lin Zheyu and Qiu Kun had ignited his fighting spirit.

Looking at Qiu Kun, who seemed to have transformed into a demonic war god, Lin Zheyu suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Haha, excellent!"

Blood qi surged violently through his body as both of his arms rapidly expanded. Dense lumps of muscle bulged across them while faint golden light flowed beneath his skin. Lin Zheyu stepped forward with his right foot, standing atop the air itself as he charged directly toward Qiu Kun.

Now this is more like it! It's getting fun!

Their fists clashed with a fierce explosion, crimson waves radiating outward. Lin Zheyu sensed an overwhelming surge of intent from Qiu Kun's fist, piercing through his physical defenses and directly assaulting his consciousness. This was not just a physical strike; it also carried a profound intent targeting his soul.

Within Lin Zheyu's sea of consciousness, the boundless golden energy rippled slightly like a vast ocean. The spiritual form wandering within that sea of golden energy remained completely unaffected. Over time, an immense quantity of golden energy had accumulated inside his sea of consciousness, occupying nearly a third of the entire space. These golden energies possessed extremely powerful defensive effects against soul attacks.

Meanwhile, two figures collided and separated at incredible speed. Every punch erupted with terrifying energy fluctuations, while powerful crimson shockwaves ravaged the forests below into complete ruin.

A pair of crimson fists slammed against the massive, tumor-covered fists. Lin Zheyu's body trembled slightly, while Qiu Kun was blasted backward through the air. The Eight Extremes Dragon-Slaying Fist consumed an enormous amount of energy. After only a brief clash, the blood qi within his body was already nearing exhaustion.

"I'm done, I'm done! You're seriously a monster!" Qiu Kun struggled out of the ground in a miserable state and waved his hand weakly. Yet excitement and exhilaration still flashed through his eyes. Although he had lost this battle, he had enjoyed it immensely.

"Damn, what a freak. You really aren't in the Shackles realm?" Qiu Kun cursed under his breath while rubbing at his injuries, looking at Lin Zheyu suspiciously.

"No." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Lin Zheyu shook his head slightly. In truth, he had not even reached the Divine Repository realm yet.

"You're already this monstrous before even reaching the Shackles realm. What the hell are you going to become after you break through?" Qiu Kun muttered quietly.

Bai Lin and Zong Linjing descended beside them and offered a few smiling compliments.

"Come on, come on. That fight was satisfying. Tonight's on me. We're heading to Profound Light Tower for a proper feast to celebrate Fellow Xiao joining the Martial Alliance!" Qiu Kun declared generously.

"Profound Light Tower? You're actually this generous today?" Bai Lin exclaimed in surprise the moment he heard Qiu Kun mention the place.

Qiu Kun shot Bai Lin a sidelong glance and replied speechlessly, "What's that supposed to mean? Since when have I not been generous?"

The group took to the air and flew toward Yanwu City. Profound Light Tower was one of the city's most luxurious restaurants, with outrageously high prices. Even the minimum cost for a single meal was three hundred low-grade spirit stones. Ever since freeloading off Gu Yidao there once, Bai Lin had not returned to Profound Light Tower for over twenty years. He simply could not bear to spend that many spirit stones.

"Oh, right, Fellow Xiao, have you decided which missions to take for earning contribution points?" Bai Lin asked with a smile after a round of drinks.

It had been his suggestion in the first place for Lin Zheyu to compete for the vice hall master position.

"I have. I selected several hunting missions," Lin Zheyu replied with a smile.

"Mmm, hunting missions really do suit a fellow Dao Converging cultivator. If you need any help, just say the word. My cultivation has hit a bottleneck lately anyway, and I've got nothing better to do. It's about time I got out and moved around a bit." Qiu Kun laughed heartily and thumped his chest.

For powerful martial artists, hunting missions were the easiest way to earn contribution points. The difficult part of such missions was merely tracking down the target. However, Lin Zheyu was not particularly worried. His Perception Domain was incredibly mysterious, even stronger than the spiritual sense of immortal cultivators. With a tracking compass and the assistance of his Perception Domain, finding targets should not pose much difficulty for him.

"Then I'll thank you in advance. If I do need your help, I won't stand on ceremony," Lin Zheyu replied with a cupped-fist salute and a smile.

As the saying went, birds of a feather flock together. Bai Lin had a good temperament, and the friends he associated with were much the same. Whether it was Zong Linjing or Qiu Kun, both were people worth befriending.

"Come anytime. No need to be polite with me!" Qiu Kun declared boldly while pounding his chest again.

He pointed at the spirit beast meat on the table and said generously, "Eat. Go all out. If it's not enough, we'll order more."

"You said it yourself, waiter!" Lin Zheyu replied with a sly grin.

The dishes here were truly delicious, far beyond anything his own roasting skills could match.