"Ye... Burning... Heaven..."

Li Shengyi’s voice came from beneath the ground, sending a chill through everyone. That person just now, was really Li Shengyi!

The strength of a Semi-Saint had actually been blasted down from the sky by someone in the Returning Ruins Realm; disbelief filled everyone’s eyes.

Swoosh!

Li Shengyi burst out from underground, suddenly shooting into the sky. The killing intent pouring off him made everyone nearby shiver in fear.

Everyone knew Li Shengyi was about to fly into a complete rage.

This wasn’t surprising. It was Li Shengyi’s first time showing his Semi-Saint power in public, yet not only did he fail to establish his might, he was instead blasted away. Anyone in his place would feel humiliated.

Right now Li Shengyi was like an enraged beast, hair disheveled, no longer possessing that initial arrogance and confidence. He had lost his former calm demeanor; razor-sharp light shot from his eyes, making others afraid to meet his gaze.

He had soared into the heavens; how could he allow himself to lose to Ye Qiu!

Ye Qiu knew his previous strike was nowhere near enough to seriously injure the other party. Li Shengyi absolutely wouldn’t admit defeat. Now that Li Shengyi came charging over in fury, Ye Qiu was long prepared. His Soul Power stirred, instantly wrapping around Li Shengyi once more.

Imprison!

This soul secret art had never failed Ye Qiu. Ever since he obtained it from the Supreme Elder of the Zhu clan back then, he had rarely had to use it.

Facing the Semi-Saint Li Shengyi, without resorting to blackening, Ye Qiu could only hope to win through soul attacks. With the Soul Power strength of a Divine Grade Alchemist, even if Li Shengyi was at the Semi-Saint level, it was enough to affect him.

Li Shengyi’s eyes were bloodshot, the knuckles of his fists crackling. Like a wolf, he locked onto Ye Qiu and attacked from below.

However, before he could reach Ye Qiu, his body once again became like before, as though bound by invisible shackles; his entire being stopped listening to his commands.

His soul experienced a brief moment of distraction.

Bang!

Another kick.

Li Shengyi was once again smashed into the ground.

The people on the ground were stunned.

Boom!

Li Shengyi shot out once more. He now knew why he had fallen for it—Ye Qiu could actually restrict his movements.

"I won’t give you a chance to hurt me a third time."

This time Li Shengyi was prepared. His figure flickered left and right, his speed so fast it dazzled the eyes. He thought that like this, he wouldn’t be affected by Ye Qiu’s soul attacks, but very soon, he realized he was gravely mistaken.

Soul attacks were formless and without trace; they weren’t something you could dodge just by being fast. In an instant, his movements were restricted once again, his soul seemingly imprisoned.

Bang!

Yet another kick. The crowd on the ground saw Li Shengyi get kicked down from the high sky by Ye Qiu once more.

"Senior Brother!"

"Senior Brother!"

Seeing Li Shengyi personally get kicked down from the sky three times in a row, the disciples of the Taiyi Divine Sect were all filled with shock, and all of them were worried sick for Li Shengyi.

Ah!

Li Shengyi went berserk, his body struggling up from the ground again and again as he threw his head back and howled at the heavens.

But this time, before Li Shengyi could charge back into the sky, a long spear suddenly thrust straight down.

Swoosh!

Li Shengyi’s body was instantly nailed to the ground. The long spear pierced through his chest, blood continuously gushing out.

Cough, cough...

Li Shengyi lay sprawled on the ground, showing only his back. From his back, a long spear jutted out, a sight that made one’s scalp tingle.

Ye Qiu descended from the sky, landing beside Li Shengyi. Stroking the long spear, he said indifferently, "Now do I have the qualifications to challenge your Taiyi Divine Sect’s elders?"

"It was your Alchemist identity that helped you. Otherwise, in this battle, the loser would definitely be you..."

Li Shengyi turned his head back with difficulty. As a Semi-Saint, even if his heart was pierced, it wouldn’t take his life. That powerful vitality would completely heal his injuries.

Ye Qiu smiled, knowing that Li Shengyi was referring to his use of soul attacks. With this level of Soul Power, a Returning Ruins Realm Martial Artist normally couldn’t hurt Li Shengyi. Only someone like Ye Qiu, a Divine Grade Alchemist, had Soul Power strong enough to suppress him. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The implication was that Li Shengyi believed he had lost to Ye Qiu’s Soul Power, not to his martial path.

"No matter what method I use, the one standing here is me, and the one lying here is you. That alone is enough."

Ye Qiu finished calmly, no longer looking at the other man, and did not strike again. Killing Li Shengyi was meaningless; the one he wanted to kill was the Supreme Saint.

Li Shengyi, with Semi-Saint strength, had lost to Ye Qiu. This news shocked everyone present and made people re-evaluate Ye Qiu.

An elder of the Pill Tower not yet thirty years old, whose martial strength could defeat a Semi-Saint—such power absolutely put him on par with those few ultimate prodigies.

Other than them, was there anyone else among the younger generation who could be this guy’s match?

Especially since all those ultimate prodigies had gone to the Star River Road—didn’t that mean Ye Qiu was an invincible existence among the younger generation? Even Li Shengyi wasn’t his opponent; only a true Saint could suppress him.

Whether it was Luo Yao of the Turquoise Pool Holy Land and the elders at her side, or the people of the Demon God Sect, all of them started to take this young man Ye Qiu seriously. Because even among the disciples of their own sects, there was likely no one who could be his opponent.

The Heavenly Mechanism Sage and Wu Tian Saint both couldn’t help praising Ye Qiu, envious that such a monstrous genius had actually been taken in by Zhuang Miao Shan. Had they known earlier, they would have fought for him no matter what.

Yang Ce and the other young people behind them had somewhat complicated feelings toward Ye Qiu. At first, they had treated Ye Qiu like a Loose Cultivator. Later, when Ye Qiu became an elder of the Pill Tower, he made people look at him in a new light. And now, even Li Shengyi had fallen to his hands, which was simply jaw-dropping.

"He really is strong." Yang Ce revealed a wry smile. Although he no longer regarded Ye Qiu as an enemy in his heart, seeing this battle today still shook him deeply.

A monster like Ye Qiu gave him a feeling that he could never catch up.

The air fell silent for a moment. Ye Qiu’s strength was now clear for all to see. Aside from Li Shengyi, the other young disciples of the Taiyi Divine Sect were inferior to him and simply had no way to step forward.

Just then, a voice spread across the land, resounding through the mountains and forests.

"Which arrogant little disciple dares challenge my teacher!"

All of a sudden, a figure appeared in the middle of the crowd. It was a middle-aged man. His blue robes made him look slightly young, but in truth he was already over fifty!

"Martial Uncle!"

"Martial Uncle!"

Seeing this middle-aged man appear, a group of young disciples of the Taiyi Divine Sect all lit up with joy and rushed over.

When the middle-aged man saw the state Li Shengyi was in after being heavily injured by Ye Qiu, he snapped his head around, his gaze shooting straight at Ye Qiu.

"You’re the one who injured my sect’s genius, and you still want to challenge my teacher?"

This blended tone of questioning and reprimand came out of the middle-aged man’s mouth, making Ye Qiu’s heart jolt. Was this the disciple of the Supreme Saint?

So he was a Saint-level powerhouse as well!