Almost at the same time Li Lin spoke, the people inside were already fighting. Vast spiritual power gathered into a mighty river, instantly sweeping many away.
Not far away, Li Lin and Li Lingru stood quietly, watching the changing situation on the field.
Li Lin smiled and said, "This time entering the inner perimeter of Cyan Yang Mountain Range for herb collection carries certain dangers, but it is also a good opportunity to establish relations with sect disciples. Among these disciples, quite a few might gradually rise to prominence and become Inner Sect Elders."
"Father, which one do you favor the most?"
"Yan Zhenhai from Burning Fire Valley is good but too ruthless, and he might meet a disastrous end in the future. Luo Qianyi's swordsmanship from Cyan Nether Mountain is exceptionally fierce, but it also reveals a certain weakness. As for Celestial Star Sect, it is hard to comment. Cyan Yang Sect... forget it. Let's talk about Martial Extreme Sect; Huang Liangping is very good. He hasn't said a word so far and is unfathomable. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be the strongest among these people."
"Huang Liangping?" Li Lingru's eyes scanned the red circle carefully.
At this moment, three or four sect disciples had already been blasted out of the red circle without surprise. Except for Chu Ming, all disciples from Cyan Yang Sect who participated in the selection had been eliminated.
Boom
Inside the circle, a cold indifferent youth from Martial Extreme Sect and a heavily-built disciple from Cyan Nether Mountain clashed with each other using palm techniques. Their bodies flew back simultaneously, and waves of air, centered on the two, continuously spread around. Three or four more disciples were swept away by the airwaves and blasted out of the circle, but within that circle, there was a figure that remained unmoved, his white robe fluttering, aura pure.
Chu Ming!
"Is it him?" Li Lin also noticed Chu Ming's composure and realized Chu Ming was not simple. He stared intently, and naturally, Chu Ming's situation also drew the attention of other disciples around.
"Kid, kneel down and lick my shoes now, and there's still room for negotiation. Otherwise, I'll make you spit blood thrice today."
Yan Zhenhai's momentum surged, a cruel smile flickering at the corner of his mouth, and all the blue Gang Qi on him was released, stretching three feet. He took three steps in two, punching towards Chu Ming with an unstoppable force. A series of sonic booms continuously spread from his fist.
Seeing Yan Zhenhai's fist, Chu Ming's expression turned cold, "If you survive three punches from me, I'll spare your life!"
Facing the aggressive Yan Zhenhai, Chu Ming remained unafraid. He had already decided to fight with full strength next. If the opponent could withstand it, so be it; if not and was beaten to death, it was deserved. After all, there were many precedents in the past, more or less wouldn't matter, and Burning Fire Valley wouldn't be able to seek accountability.
Furious, Yan Zhenhai's body surged with an immense amount of blue spiritual power, almost becoming tangible.
"Celestial Fire Fall Fist!"
Yan Zhenhai's physical strength was extremely powerful. Coupling it with the Celestial Fire Fall Fist, his fist seemed like a meteor falling from the sky. The surrounding disciples, afraid of being caught in the aftermath, quickly dodged.
Chu Ming remained motionless until Yan Zhenhai's Celestial Fire Fist came within three feet of him. Only then did he punch to counter it, his fist emitting a golden light, trailing a dazzling golden glow as he launched a furious attack naturally.
"Dominate the World!"
Boom
The two fists collided fiercely, all the surrounding airwaves were cleared out, forming a vacuum around Chu Ming and Yan Zhenhai. Numerous dust particles flew around, with blue and green lights constantly intertwining and extinguishing each other.
Pfft
Soon after, everyone saw a figure flying back at an even faster speed—it was Yan Zhenhai. His right arm abruptly broke, blood seeping out from the exposed muscles, emitting the sound of bones breaking.
Spewing a mouthful of blood, a trace of fear flashed in Yan Zhenhai's eyes. He dared not stay within the circle; otherwise, Chu Ming would surely kill him.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Chu Ming wasn't willing to let the opponent go easily. He moved, his body instantly disappeared without a trace. When he appeared again, he was already close to Yan Zhenhai, matching his retreating speed and landing two more punches on him.
Crunch Crunch
"No!" Yan Zhenhai spat out blood while looking at the sky, his eyes filled with death. He could no longer control his body as he crashed out of the red circle, hitting a wall of the Li Family, causing it to collapse, burying Yan Zhenhai within it, his life or death unknown.
Silence!
Dead silence!
The field fell silent, everyone stared at Chu Ming in astonishment.
Without giving others time to be shocked, Chu Ming turned to the disciples from Burning Fire Valley within the red circle and said coldly, "Are you going to walk out yourselves, or shall I throw you out?"
The two remaining disciples from Burning Fire Valley felt a mix of shame and anger: "Chu Ming, you are courting death and still don't know it. Senior Brother Yan is a key disciple of Burning Fire Valley. If you kill him, Burning Fire Valley will not let this go easily. If you realize your mistake now, perhaps there will still be a chance to spare your worthless life!"
Ignoring their threats, Chu Ming said, "Hasn't Cyan Yang Sect had enough disciples killed by Burning Fire Valley? Didn't Senior Brother Zuo Tian get killed by your Burning Fire Valley disciples during last year's mission? Wasn't Senior Sister Liu driven to stupidity by Burning Fire Valley disciples? And wasn't Senior Brother Tie also killed by your Burning Fire Valley? Dead geniuses aren't geniuses. Even if I cripple Yan Zhenhai today, even if I cripple you all, Burning Fire Valley won't be able to say anything!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the two remaining disciples from Burning Fire Valley quickly jumped out of the red circle, afraid that Chu Ming would cripple them as well.
"Chu Ming, don't get too complacent. Just wait for our senior brothers and sisters to deal with you! Don't expect any mercy when that time comes." The two disciples from Burning Fire Valley said unwillingly as they left, not even having time to take the two thousand silver given by the Li Family.
Chu Ming turned to look within the red circle. Including himself, there were just five disciples left. He breathed a sigh of relief and had a new understanding of his own strength. With his mastery-level Tyrant Fist, its power was almost at the peak of the Fourth Layer of the Transcendence Realm, close to the Fifth Layer. But if he used the Starfire Swordsmanship, his explosive power might be comparable to the middle stage of the Fifth Layer of the Transcendence Realm.
"Senior Brother Chu!"
Several Cyan Yang Sect disciples said timidly. In martial cultivation, the capable are respected. Although they wouldn't call Chu Ming 'teacher,' addressing him as Senior Brother wasn't disgracing themselves.
On the side, Li Lin hurriedly had a few servants dig Yan Zhenhai out of the wall and took him to the best physician for treatment. Although he might not be cured, maintaining appearances was necessary to avoid Burning Fire Valley's wrath.
Clap Clap Clap
After doing all this, Li Lin slowly walked over, a smile on his face.
"Indeed, heroes come from the young. Your performances have truly opened my eyes! Rest well tonight, tomorrow we set off!"
The remaining five nodded. After Li Lin left, a tall woman from among the five slowly walked towards Chu Ming.
"Brother Chu, your dominance just now greatly impressed Luo Qianyi!" The tall woman said with a smile.
Unfazed, Chu Ming replied, "There are so many geniuses. What am I compared to them?" Only Chu Ming knew that it wasn't his own talent, but something on his chest that was too miraculous.
"Brother Chu, you're being too modest. In the Great Yan Kingdom, many geniuses can challenge ranks, but there are not many like you who challenge so many ranks and win. However, Brother Chu must be careful. Cyan Yang Sect and Burning Fire Valley have always been at odds. I've heard that Wu Hao, an Inner Sect disciple from Burning Fire Valley, is on a mission in this area. If you encounter him, do not fight head-on!"
"Wu Hao? What level of strength does this Wu Hao have?" Chu Ming asked blandly. He didn't ask about cultivation because sometimes cultivation levels didn't mean much to some geniuses. A First Layer of the Transcendence Realm defeating a Fourth Layer wasn't impossible. What really needed to be asked was combat power.
Luo Qianyi glanced at Huang Liangping and explained, "Brother Chu, you've heard of the Earth List in the Great Yan Kingdom, right?"
"Is Wu Hao from the Earth List?" Chu Ming asked. The Earth List was an official list in the Great Yan Kingdom, recording the strongest fifty-two martial artists under the age of twenty. Those who could be listed were all renowned in the Great Yan Kingdom, with strength at least at the peak of the Transcendence Realm. Some could even defeat weaker True Dao martial artists. For example, the core senior apprentice of Cyan Yang Sect, Li Yuqing, ranked third on the Earth List.
"Not exactly, but Wu Hao is one of the martial artists closest to making the Earth List. Last year's ranking placed him at 84." Luo Qianyi explained.
"Thank you for the information, I will be careful!" Chu Ming said. Then he felt some emotions within. The Great Yan Kingdom was just one of the sixty small countries in the Celestial Realm, which also included fifteen medium-sized countries and six large countries. The territory of one large country was twice the total of the sixty small countries. If there were so many geniuses in the Great Yan Kingdom, how formidable must the geniuses in other places be? The top geniuses of the Great Yan Kingdom would probably be average in other large countries.
Moreover, the Celestial Realm was just a peripheral area of the continent, where spiritual power was thin and resources were scarce, making cultivation extremely difficult. The closer to the center of the continent, the denser the spiritual power, radiating from the center to the surroundings. It was said that in the Central Divine Domain, spiritual power was like rain year-round, with spiritual energy constantly pouring down, making it difficult for martial artists not to break through!