"Hah! 'One hand,' is it?"
Qin Zi burst into laughter, then coldly said, "Since you like using one hand, today, I'll let you use only one hand!"
The demons were astonished.
Mingyu had become so powerful after his breakthrough, yet Qin Zi still dared to be so arrogant, saying he would let Mingyu use only one hand.
Did he really think he could defeat Mingyu with one hand tied behind his back?
What arrogance!
"You're courting humiliation!" Mingyu snorted coldly. He gathered white lightning in his right hand and struck out at Qin Zi.
"Boom!"
In an instant, a white lightning pillar tore through the void, transforming into a thunder dragon that rushed toward Qin Zi, ready to devour him.
In the next moment, Qin Zi's body was struck by the thunder dragon, dissolving into smoke.
"A shadow!"
The demons exclaimed in shock, only to realize that Qin Zi's figure was now sprinting along the thunder dragon's spine, running from the tail to the head as though moving upstream against a great river.
"Hmm?!"
Mingyu's eyes narrowed. Just from this speed alone, he recognized the strength of his opponent.
The next moment, Qin Zi appeared right in front of him, throwing a fearsome punch that burned like the scorching sun.
Yet Mingyu was unfazed.
He raised his right hand with composure, positioning it in front of his chest to block Qin Zi's incoming fist. However, the power behind the punch was terrifying, like that of a primordial beast, wild and fierce.
"Bang!"
Sparks flew from Mingyu's wrist, and his entire body was sent flying backward. After flying over ten meters, a pair of white wings unfolded behind him, and a colossal white crane's phantom appeared at his back.
"Buzz!"
The white crane's wings wrapped forward, and its long, sharp beak, like the deadliest sword in the world, stabbed toward Qin Zi.
"Kill!"
Qin Zi's expression changed slightly. The wings blocked his escape route, leaving him no option but to meet the attack head-on. He raised his fist and threw another punch upward.
He unleashed the Sun-Swallowing Emperor Sutra.
His fist glowed like a miniature sun! But the Celestial White Crane's beak was incredibly strong, a god-given, peerless divine power, and its force was nothing short of horrifying.
"Boom!!"
With a deafening crash, the ground beneath Qin Zi's feet cracked like a spiderweb, his body sinking halfway into the plaza.
At the same time, the massive Celestial White Crane phantom was repelled by the force of his punch, falling backward.
"Three Thousand Tribulations Annihilation Finger!"
As the white crane phantom collapsed, a light flared from the crane's heart—Mingyu's true body. He leaned forward and pointed a finger at Qin Zi.
"Whoosh!"
A beam of silver-white light, sharp and powerful, surged forward as if it could tear through anything in its path!
"Fish Dragon Overturning the Sea!"
Qin Zi's hands moved like they were wielding Tai Chi, and immediately, a strange phenomenon appeared around him—a vast ocean, with golden carp leaping into the sky, transforming into coiling dragons that rushed toward Mingyu.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The finger attack was so powerful that it shattered the golden dragons one by one, but its strength was also gradually diminished.
At that moment, Qin Zi activated the Witch Sovereign Body Refinement Sutra. His body expanded to over two meters tall, transforming him into a humanoid beast, with indestructible runes swirling around his form. He charged headfirst into the white beam of light.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The white light hit Qin Zi, but it dissipated upon impact, while Qin Zi surged forward, colliding with Mingyu.
"Divine Feathers Protection!"
Mingyu shouted, his white wings folding in to form a radiant, oval-shaped barrier of white light.
"Boom!!"
Qin Zi crashed into the barrier, causing it to shake violently. The white light sphere was sent flying backward and then exploded.
Whoosh! Mingyu was blasted back a hundred meters, but when he looked forward again, he found that Qin Zi's face was already inches from his own.
"You!!"
Mingyu wanted to say something, but before he could react, he felt a sharp pain as his wings were grabbed by Qin Zi's hands.
"Rip!"
"Splatter!"
In a moment of sheer force, Qin Zi tore off Mingyu's prized wings, leaving blood spraying everywhere.
"Ahhh!!!"
Mingyu screamed in agony as lightning erupted around him, wrapping both him and Qin Zi in a huge lightning ball that exploded in the sky.
But Qin Zi, now in his towering, ironclad form, covered in magical runes, was like an indestructible titan, impervious to all attacks.
"Smack!"
He extended his right hand, grabbing Mingyu by the throat. Thanks to his height advantage, he lifted Mingyu into the air like a helpless chick.
"You... You said you'd let me use one hand... You're... not keeping your word."
Mingyu gasped for breath, barely able to speak.
"I'm keeping my word," Qin Zi's eyes narrowed as he smiled menacingly. "I said I'd let you use one hand, and I meant it."
With that, he grabbed Mingyu's right hand with his left, and with a forceful tug, blood splattered as the arm was torn from its socket.
"Ahhh!!!"
Mingyu let out a heart-wrenching scream, staring in horror at the empty space where his right arm had been.
"Now you've only got one hand, haven't you?"
Qin Zi grinned.
"You... you...!"
Mingyu roared in fury, but suddenly, his anger overwhelmed him, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood before fainting on the spot.
"Hmph, boring."
Qin Zi sneered, casually tossing Mingyu aside like a dead dog, flinging him out of the plaza.
Soon after, a demon elder appeared and carried Mingyu away.
The elder shot a cold glare at Qin Zi but said nothing—there was no point in boasting or making threats when you lacked the strength to back them up.
Meanwhile, the surrounding disciples of Starshatter Academy stared at Qin Zi in terror, as if gazing upon a demon king.
It was as though a dark cloud had blocked out the sky, leaving them without hope—this was the fear of being dominated by a monster.
Even the Celestial White Crane had fallen. Was there anyone left in Starshatter Academy's First Heaven Saint realm who could stand against this man?
"Are we really going to help him break through to the Second Heaven?"
"But wouldn't that just be giving him an advantage?"
"No, once he breaks through to the Second Heaven, he'll be slaughtered by our Second Heaven geniuses!"
The demons began to discuss nervously.
Meanwhile, Qin Zi calmly sat down in the plaza, closing his eyes to rest. After all, he had plenty of time.
The higher one's cultivation realm, the less valuable time became.
At the level of a Saint of Heaven, even breaking through a minor realm could take ten or even dozens of years.
If a young cultivator could reach the peak in just a few years, what would that say about the experts who had spent thousands or tens of thousands of years cultivating? Did they waste their lives?
And if that young cultivator reached their peak in a few short years but then spent the next several millennia without making any further progress, wouldn't that be just as pointless?
A weak foundation means instability.
Cultivation was always a gradual process, requiring time for refinement and accumulation.
Meanwhile...
Qin Chuan had already entered Starshatter Academy—invited, of course, by the major figures of the academy.
It was a matter of etiquette.
Regardless of the conflicts between the human and demon races, at the highest levels, there were still diplomatic relations, and basic courtesy was never broken.
Just like when Elder Ying Sun brought Ying Kong to challenge Ziyun Academy's gates, he was similarly invited to the inner sanctum for tea.
"Elder Qin Chuan, that's your son out there, right? He sure held back—didn't even kill Mingyu," a tiger-headed demon elder sneered.
"Haha, my son is always kind-hearted. In that respect, he takes after me," Qin Chuan replied modestly, as though he didn't catch the sarcasm.
"You!!"
The tiger-headed elder's face twitched—kind-hearted? Your son tore our disciple Ying Kong apart limb from limb!
But he couldn't argue with the truth.
Skill matters in battle, and the weak have only themselves to blame if they die.
Just then, a bat-winged elder spoke in a low voice, "Elder Qin Chuan, let's cut to the chase. In the First Heaven Saint realm, no one in Starshatter Academy can defeat Qin Zi right now. So... let's discuss terms. What will it take for you to leave?"
"You'll have to ask my son about that," Qin Chuan sighed, sounding somewhat helpless. "That rebellious boy always does whatever he pleases. He never listens to a word I say."
"Is that so?"
The demon elders exchanged doubtful glances. They couldn't help but feel that Qin Chuan wasn't as innocent as he seemed.
If Qin Zi really never listened, how could he have survived this long?