Li Yuan was defeated. It happened a bit too quickly—absurdly so, even.

And just who was this person who had appeared out of nowhere?

At first, they had assumed he was from the Fang Family or the Cheng Family.

Sent to wear down Li Yuan.

But...

Now, no matter how they looked at it, he didn’t seem to be here to wear anyone down.

It was more like he was here to defeat everyone.

He stood there, and for a moment, no one dared to approach.

Be they at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer or the Eighth Layer...

They were no longer his match.

Li Yuan’s defeat made everyone else even more wary of the newcomer.

Just then, a voice came from the Fang Family’s group. "It’s the second-ranked of the Six Pavilions, Jiang Man."

Jiang Man?

Li Yuan, who was still conscious, heard the name and found it incredible.

’No wonder he came after me first. He was determined to injure me severely, even if it exhausted him.’

’He must be regretting it now.’

’There are still two others at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. His defeat is imminent.’

’If my people surround him to get revenge, Jiang Man will surely be defeated.’

Just as he was about to order his people to press the attack and avenge him, a sudden clarity washed over him.

A wave of cold dread washed over him.

’I can’t get the prize anymore. But if the Fang Family or the Cheng Family gets it...’

’...then things will get complicated.’

’If nobody gets it, then this is just a personal failure.’

’But if the Fang Family gets it, I’ll be a traitor to my clan.’

Instantly, he stopped the people at his side who were about to make a move and said with great difficulty, "Withdraw!"

Though his people were confused, they didn’t question him.

Instead, they supported Li Yuan and fell back.

The heavily injured Li Yuan stared at Jiang Man’s back, screaming inwardly, ’You have to succeed! Defeat them!’

Jiang Man was somewhat surprised. ’I didn’t expect Li Yuan and his group to actually retreat.’

He immediately fixed his gaze on Cheng Ning.

Her brow furrowed. ’Not good,’ she thought. ’I’m his next target.’

She quickly spoke up, "I’ll offer ten thousand Spiritual Source. Help me deal with Fang Tiancheng, and in turn, help me get a qualification for the Secret Realm. How about it?"

"I can offer fifteen thousand," Fang Tiancheng chimed in.

Jiang Man ignored them, his eyes fixed on Cheng Ning as he strode forward.

Divine Step.

’Too much pointless chatter.’

’Take out one more in one go.’

’I doubt Fang Tiancheng will interfere.’

’Even if he does, it’ll only be when Cheng Ning is about to lose.’

’That gives the Fang Family the highest chance of victory.’

’Therefore, I have to finish Cheng Ning before he can make a move.’

’The Cheng Family has the Blood War Skill, but I wonder if she’ll dare to risk everything for one last stand.’

’With Fang Tiancheng here, she’s sure to be indecisive.’

’I’ll finish her before she can make up her mind!’

"Wait, we can definitely talk this over," Cheng Ning said at once.

But seeing Jiang Man moving faster and faster, she dared not hesitate. She fell back at once, shouting, "Stop him!"

At her command, the others immediately attacked Jiang Man.

But in a flash, Jiang Man transformed into a wisp of Cyan Smoke and appeared before Cheng Ning.

However, she too turned into a wisp of Cyan Smoke and vanished from her spot.

Meanwhile, the attacks from the others had already reached him.

Nine runic seals burst from Jiang Man’s body, instantly striking the others.

Then, he threw a palm strike.

Six Palms Combined, striking a man charging at him.

Jiang Man immediately used the man’s body as a springboard to leap forward, catching sight of the retreating Cheng Ning.

He then transformed into Cyan Smoke again to pursue her.

The instant he appeared, she escaped again.

And once again, the people around them attacked.

Nine Dragons Emerge.

BOOM!

Then, he stomped his foot.

Bengliu Technique.

Spikes jutted out from the earth.

Sending his assailants flying.

Jiang Man ignored them, turning into a wisp of Cyan Smoke and giving chase once more.

But Cheng Ning continued to flee.

"There’s no need for this! Both the Nine Clouds Dragon-Suppressing Seal and the Cyan Smoke Prelude consume a huge amount of energy. You can’t keep this up for long."

"I only need to use it once to escape, but you, while being besieged, have to use it two or three times," Cheng Ning tried to reason.

Jiang Man stood his ground, casually swatting away an attacker with a palm strike.

He stood there, looking at Cheng Ning. ’She has a point,’ he thought.

’I can’t let this drag on.’

’If this goes on until the forest opens, I’ll be too late.’

So...

The next moment, he transformed into a wisp of Cyan Smoke and reappeared before Cheng Ning. As she vanished, Jiang Man vanished as well, dodging the surrounding attacks.

When he materialized, he saw Cheng Ning again and immediately transformed back into Cyan Smoke to pursue her.

Jiang Man appeared and disappeared so rapidly that he forced Cheng Ning to use her Cyan Smoke Prelude in quick succession.

The massive energy drain caused a slight lag in her Magic Skill.

And that brief lag made her trail obvious.

The next moment, as she vanished, Jiang Man vanished with her, reappearing right beside her as she materialized.

"Got you."

A Golden Dragon roared. Nine Seals Combined.

BOOM!

He unleashed the Great Success Nine Clouds Dragon-Suppressing Seal.

RUMBLE!

A powerful shockwave of energy spread out.

But Jiang Man didn’t feel the impact of hitting a person.

He then saw the runic seal land on a shield.

With a loud BANG...

...the runic seal dissipated and the shield shattered.

Jiang Man was startled. ’A Top-grade Technique?’

Cheng Ning stared at Jiang Man in shock. "You’ve been using Nine Seals Combined and Cyan Smoke Prelude this whole time. How are you not exhausted yet?"

Jiang Man couldn’t be bothered to answer her. Nine Clouds Dragon-Suppressing Seal.

He continued his relentless assault.

This time, she didn’t use Cyan Smoke Prelude to escape.

Instead, she activated a Combat Skill, and the Lingkong Armor enveloped her.

The Cheng Family’s Hundred Battles Skill.

A shield materialized in front of her to face the Attack.

A Top-grade Technique, the Hundred Battles Mountain Shield.

BOOM!

The Nine Clouds Dragon Suppressing Technique struck the shield, and the two attacks canceled each other out again.

Just then, Cheng Ning made a grabbing motion with her right hand, and a long blade condensed from her Combat Skill.

She slashed it toward him.

Jiang Man vanished into a wisp of Cyan Smoke, reappearing at Cheng Ning’s side. Nine Seals Combined.

The shield appeared, blocking the blow.

BOOM!

RUMBLE!

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

At this point, the others could no longer interfere at will.

Jiang Man rapidly vanished and reappeared, relentlessly attacking with Nine Seals Combined.

Cheng Ning’s shield appeared time and again, and her long blade struck out repeatedly.

Both of them were incredibly fast.

But they were also burning through their energy at an alarming rate.

Before long, Cheng Ning’s shield was a split second too slow to appear.

In that moment, the Nine Clouds Dragon-Suppressing Seal shot straight for her head.

BOOM!

Just as Jiang Man thought he had succeeded...

...a large hand blocked the powerful blow.

But the hand was quickly withdrawn.

"Miss Cheng, I’ve come to sa—"

BOOM!

Before Fang Tiancheng could finish speaking, Jiang Man appeared behind him. Nine Seals Combined.

He reacted quickly, blocking with his other hand.

BOOM!

He was forced back several steps.

"You’ve lost," Jiang Man said, stepping forward to close the distance.

He threw a palm strike. Nine Seals Combined.

His opponent fell back.

Jiang Man stomped his foot. Bengliu Technique.

RUMBLE!

His opponent was forced to raise a hand to attack, but his brow quickly furrowed; he couldn’t gather his power.

Both of his hands had blocked Nine Seals Combined, leaving them injured.

Just then, Jiang Man appeared at his side and landed a palm strike on his body.

CRACK!

The sound of breaking ribs.

He followed up with a kick.

Bengliu Technique.

PTHOO!

Fang Tiancheng was sent flying backward.

Jiang Man immediately pursued him.

His opponent tried to counterattack with his hands several times, but his Magic Skill was always a step behind.

BOOM!

This time, Jiang Man’s kick landed squarely on his opponent’s body.

With a THUD, he was driven into the ground.

He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Jiang Man looked down on him, unable to help but feel a grudging respect. "You took two of my Nine Seals Combined with your bare hands. How could you possibly be uninjured?"

Cheng Ning had been incredibly difficult to deal with, so he had expected the fight against Fang Tiancheng to be a tough one.

But he never imagined that the man would take a Nine Seals Combined with his bare hands.

This was a Top-grade Technique, the ultimate offensive method in the Qi Refining Stage.

His own combat experience was lacking; he had defeated Li Yuan and Cheng Ning entirely by relying on this one move.

’How did Fang Tiancheng dare?’

’Even if his arms were protected by a Top-grade Technique, he would have had to face it with his full power.’

’Otherwise, he’d definitely get hurt.’

’And when I ambushed him, he actually used his other hand to block again.’

’What was he thinking?’

Fang Tiancheng spat out another mouthful of blood.

He had the Mid Grade Iron Arm Skill, and he had used it.

He had assumed that Jiang Man’s energy was greatly depleted and that he could block the blow.

Who could have known that one strike would injure his arm so badly?

Caught off guard, he was a step too slow.

But that one step was all it took. It prevented him from casting his Magic Skill quickly, leading to his immediate defeat.

Seeing this, Cheng Ning immediately took a step back and said, "I surrender."

Jiang Man stepped forward. A Golden Dragon materialized. Nine Seals Combined.

’Surrender?’

’The only good Qi Refining Ninth Layer is a heavily injured Qi Refining Ninth Layer.’