"It’s you, Shen Haoran!" Upon seeing the newcomer, the Spirit Crane Sect disciple’s anger was replaced by sheer delight as he called out in surprise.

"That’s right, it’s me. What, do you need something from me?" Shen Haoran, chewing on a stalk of foxtail grass, strolled leisurely in front of the Liu Family members. His gaze was fixed on the two disciples from the Spirit Crane Sect.

"Hmph. You have a path to heaven, but you choose to knock on the gates of Hell! After offending Senior Brother Zuo Chuan, you should have been cowering in some hole. And yet you dare to show your face to us? You really don’t know your place!

But since you’re here, it saves us the trouble of hunting you down. Senior Brother Zuo Chuan promised that if we cripple you, he’ll give each of us five Dragon Power Pills!" one of the Spirit Crane Sect disciples said, his eyes devouring Shen Haoran with greed, as if staring at a naked beauty.

Hearing the disciple’s words, Shen Haoran nodded and rubbed his chin. "Oh, I didn’t realize I was worth so much! Tsk, tsk. Your Senior Brother Zuo is quite generous!" The Dragon Power Pill was a Second Grade Peak elixir, practically bordering on Third Grade. Taking one would not only boost a cultivator’s Spiritual Power but also permanently increase their physical strength.

"Hmph! How could you possibly compare to Senior Brother Zuo Chuan’s status and background?" the Spirit Crane Sect disciple snorted.

"Hmm, is he that rich? How about this: I’ll give you ten Dragon Power Pills to go cripple Zuo Chuan. What do you say?" Shen Haoran said with a grin.

"Ten pills!" The disciple froze at Shen Haoran’s words. A flicker of greed flashed in his eyes before he realized something was off. Snapping back to his senses, he said coldly, "Hmph, trying to drive a wedge between us? You’re far too naive!"

"Oh? So you’re turning down the deal?" Shen Haoran said, sounding a little regretful. But in the next instant, a sharp aura exploded from him. A voice that seemed to rise from the depths of Hell itself echoed in the disciple’s ear. "Since you refuse, I’ll just have to cripple you instead!"

The words had barely faded when Shen Haoran vanished from where he stood.

The instant Shen Haoran disappeared, the Spirit Crane Sect disciple’s pupils shrank. A sense of crisis bloomed to his right, and he immediately threw a punch in that direction!

BAM! With a muffled thud, Shen Haoran’s fist met the disciple’s. The immense force of the impact instantly numbed the disciple’s entire right arm.

His punch blocked, Shen Haoran didn’t relent. His fist opened into a palm, his five fingers clamping down on the disciple’s fist. He yanked him forward violently while simultaneously driving a knee toward his head.

The sudden shift in Shen Haoran’s assault caught the disciple completely off guard. He could only raise his left arm to shield his head. An instant later, a massive impact sent him flying until his body slammed into a towering, ancient tree.

Shen Haoran’s fluid, seamless attack was so fast that no one present could react. They only saw his figure blur, and the next thing they knew, the Spirit Crane Sect disciple was already flying through the air.

"Cough, cough!" In the distance, the Spirit Crane Sect disciple struggled to his feet, glaring at Shen Haoran with venomous hatred. ’I’m a Tier Eight Spirit Pupil, a whole tier higher than him, but I can’t block his attacks at all! His power is terrifying... I’m no match for him.’ A glance at his nearly useless arms confirmed it. ’And I’ve only taken two of his hits!’

"Not bad. You live up to your title as a disciple of the Spirit Crane Sect," Shen Haoran chuckled, watching the disciple stagger to his feet.

"Hmph, don’t get ahead of yourself!" the disciple snorted, then shouted to his companion, "Senior Brother Zhu, let’s attack together!"

Hearing this, Senior Brother Zhu froze. "But..." he began, sounding reluctant.

"Hurry up! Do you want the Dragon Power Pills or not?!" the first disciple roared, cutting Senior Brother Zhu off.

At the mention of the Dragon Power Pills, Senior Brother Zhu cast aside his pride. The two of them charged Shen Haoran together.

Seeing this, the leader of the Liu Family disciples frowned. He started to step forward to help Shen Haoran. ’After all, he’s being ganged up on by two Tier Eight Spirit Pupils because he tried to save us. Even though my strength as a Tier Five Spirit Pupil is nothing special, I should at least be able to take some of the pressure off him!’

However, just as he stepped forward, the stunningly beautiful girl traveling with Shen Haoran blocked his path.

"Aren’t you with him? Can’t you see he’s being ganged up on by two Tier Eight Spirit Pupils?" the Liu Family disciple asked with a frown.

Ji Lingxuan glanced at the Liu Family disciple and said flatly, "He can handle it. If you go up there, you’ll only get in the way."

At her words, the Liu Family disciple turned to look at the fight, and the scene that greeted him shattered his entire worldview.

Under the combined assault of two opponents, Shen Haoran seemed completely at ease. He weaved and dodged as if he were on a leisurely stroll. It was as if he wasn’t facing two Tier Eight Spirit Pupils, but a pair of clowns.

’How is this possible? Isn’t he a Tier Seven Spirit Pupil?’ The two Tier Eight Spirit Pupils were also finding it unbelievable. They now felt that Shen Haoran was simply toying with them. His constant taunts of "Too slow!" and "Too slow!" struck more fear into their hearts with every exchange. They had never felt this much pressure, not even when facing Zuo Chuan! 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

With two sharp smacks, Shen Haoran caught the attacks from both Spirit Crane Sect disciples again.

"Too slow. Is this the best the Spirit Crane Sect has to offer? I’m so disappointed!" Shen Haoran barked. He then unleashed a flurry of punches, his fists, as big as sandbags, slamming into the chests of the two disciples. They were instantly sent flying, spitting blood as their bodies carved long trenches in the ground.

Everyone present, except for Ji Lingxuan, stared at Shen Haoran as if he were a monster, watching the two Spirit Crane Sect disciples lie on the ground, coughing up blood. Two years ago, they had all dismissed him as useless trash. They never imagined that now, as a Tier Seven Spirit Pupil, he could take on two Tier Eight Spirit Pupils from the Spirit Crane Sect and win so easily. The stark contrast was something they couldn’t quite accept.

The ones who found it most difficult to accept were the two disciples themselves. They had a sinking feeling that Shen Haoran hadn’t even used his full strength, yet the two of them combined were utterly powerless to resist. ’The gap between us... it’s just too vast!’

In truth, this was one of the drawbacks of Sect-based Cultivation. Although a Sect provided countless resources, it was also like a massive greenhouse. Its disciples rarely experienced true life-or-death combat. Flowers raised in a greenhouse were destined to wither before they could truly grow.

"Run!" Realizing they were no match for Shen Haoran, the two Spirit Crane Sect disciples scrambled to their feet and fled. ’We can’t beat him, so we have to run! We’ll find Senior Brother Zuo Chuan and let him deal with this bastard!’

"Hmph. Trying to run?" Watching their retreating backs, Shen Haoran snorted. He vanished from his spot and reappeared in the air directly above them.

"Since you’re here, you might as well stay," a cold voice floated down from above. Shen Haoran brought both elbows down hard onto their backs, smashing them out of the air. The immense force drove their bodies deep into the ground.

Shen Haoran landed lightly, looking down imperiously at the two Spirit Crane Sect disciples.

"Go back and tell Zuo Chuan to wash his neck. I’ll be coming to collect his head soon! As for you two... you’re my greeting gift to him." With that, Shen Haoran stomped on the Dantian of each disciple.

BAM! Two muffled thuds echoed from within the disciples’ bodies. As they felt their Spiritual Power rapidly dissipating, their pupils shrank in horror. They knew their lives as cultivators were over...