The Elder tossed Lin Tian high into the air and then fiercely kicked him in the forehead.

Then, Lin Tian’s body flew backward several meters, collapsing on the ground.

Buzzing~

Lin Tian felt as if countless bees were buzzing in his head—noisy and annoying. Beyond that, his head was full of chaos, as if he had truly become foolish.

The head is the most critical part of a person, that’s what your head tells you.

If your head fails, the whole person becomes no different than a walking corpse.

At this moment, Lin Tian was in such a state.

Suddenly, a cool stream of air surged through his Ren and Du Meridians and directly into his brain.

It was like finding a spring in the desert, soothing his parched body. Cells throughout his body became lively.

Lin Tian turned over and sat up. He rubbed his forehead; now, a large swelling had formed there, and touching it made him wince in pain.

"You old bastard, that was way too hard!" Lin Tian cursed.

The Elder stood at the center of the whirlwind, hands behind his back, with an air of superiority, saying, "I already held back. Otherwise, you’d be a dead man now!"

Indeed, the Elder had held back with that kick; if he had really tried, Lin Tian’s head would be smashed like a burst watermelon.

Lin Tian opened his mouth to curse some more, but before he could, the Elder’s figure flickered, appearing in front of him. With a low roar, his right fist shot out from his waist like a solid bullet, striking Lin Tian’s Sea of Qi!

With a punch to the Sea of Qi, Lin Tian’s body instantly curled up like a boiled shrimp. The veins from his neck to his forehead bulged, and though he opened his mouth wide, he couldn’t utter a single cry of pain.

The Elder chuckled lightly, quite satisfied with the result.

He had mastered the control over his strength to perfection. This punch wouldn’t destroy Lin Tian’s Sea of Qi, but it certainly didn’t feel good. At least for the time being, Lin Tian wouldn’t be able to use any inner strength. After a few days of recovery, his Sea of Qi would heal.

"Kid, how does it feel to have your Sea of Qi punched? Does it feel like all your strength has been drained?" The Elder teased with a laugh, "Don’t worry, your Sea of Qi is not yet ruined, but in the future, it might be. I hope you’ll cooperate with me, or if your Sea of Qi is destroyed, all will be for naught... You don’t want to experience being a cripple, do you?"

One must admit, the Elder had a deep scheme. For a Martial Artist, the importance of the Sea of Qi is self-evident. If the Sea of Qi collapses, the Martial Artist is as good as a walking corpse.

Lin Tian took a few deep breaths of cold air, forcibly enduring the acute pain.

At this moment, apart from the intense pain, his Sea of Qi suddenly warmed up, as if a small sun had risen inside it. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"What is this..."

Lin Tian’s hand, which was covering his Sea of Qi, trembled suddenly, and his mind went blank for a moment.

The Golden Core, which Lin Tian had always kept at bay, suddenly, recklessly, like a crazed bull, charged headlong into Lin Tian’s Sea of Qi, suspending itself at the center!

The force that dispelled the pain and brought warmth was precisely this Golden Core!

In Lin Tian’s heart, he resisted this Golden Core because there was too much at stake.

At this moment, Lin Tian’s Sea of Qi defied his will, not only accepting the Golden Core but also beginning to merge with it, like milk mixing with water.

No matter how much Lin Tian resisted, he couldn’t stop it from happening. This made him even more anxious. What was this Golden Core trying to do, take over?

Gradually, Lin Tian’s furrowed brow began to relax. He felt his state continuously rising, pores all over his body opening up, starting to absorb massive amounts of Spiritual Qi from the heavens and the earth.

Lin Tian at this moment was like a vortex, greedily and dominantly absorbing.

The wind gradually calmed, the snow stopped, and even the last remaining leaves on the trees dried up quickly, swaying and falling off without waiting for the wind.

"Hmm?"

The Elder let out a sound of doubt, then began to look around.

As a Golden Core master, his perception had reached a terrifying level. He was extremely sensitive to the sudden agitation of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. However, due to the formless and colorless nature of spiritual energy, the Elder couldn’t immediately discern that this was related to Lin Tian.

Could a high-level Martial Artist resonate with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi? That’s a joke, right?

Gradually, the Elder’s gaze returned to Lin Tian, his eyes widening like bronze bells, mouth gaping, filled with incredulity.

"Break... breakthrough?" The Elder’s speech was slurred with surprise.

If not for his unusually clear mind at that moment, the Elder would have thought the heavens were mocking him, making a fool out of him.

Attaining the Golden Core at twenty? That’s a big joke!

In sixty years of cultivation, the Elder remembered that entering the middle stage of a Martial Artist at twenty-three was already impressive.

High-level Martial Artists by age twenty-three were rare, only achievable with immense talent and vast medicinal resources.

As for reaching the Golden Core, relying solely on effort, talent, and medicine had low odds; what was needed was opportunity.

Opportunity, a mysterious and elusive concept, was why so many high-level Martial Artists couldn’t cross that threshold.

A twenty-year-old Golden Core master? The Elder hadn’t even imagined it, let alone heard of it.

"Could my punch to his Sea of Qi have been his opportunity?"

Was there anything more maddening than this?

What shocked the Elder even more was Lin Tian’s direct absorption of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, so much and so quickly. Wasn’t he afraid of exploding?

Martial Artists refined Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into inner strength, storing it in their Sea of Qi.

This direct absorption of spiritual energy was unheard of.

Series after series of miracles left the Elder dumbfounded where he stood.

Gradually, his eyes began to show a fierce determination.

"You want to break through! Get past me first!" The Elder muttered, his face turning vicious as he charged towards Lin Tian.

This child must not be allowed to grow!

With the strongest intent in his heart, the Elder flashed in front of Lin Tian in the blink of an eye. His right hand, clenched tight and filled with ferocious inner strength, punched towards Lin Tian’s Dantian.

This punch was enough to shatter Lin Tian’s Sea of Qi!

With his Sea of Qi destroyed, even as a Golden Core master, all would be for naught, reducing him to a cripple!