Panic rapidly spread throughout the clearing.

"This monster..."

"How is this even possible?!"

"He’s not even using concepts!"

The expressions of the disciples who had mocked Max only moments earlier were now filled entirely with fear and disbelief as the reality before them shattered everything they thought they understood.

Only now did they finally realize something terrifying.

They had assumed cultivation level was Max’s greatest weakness.

But the truth was far more horrifying.

Even without relying on cultivation, Max was already strong enough to crush every single one of them.

The entire clearing had already descended into complete chaos as shattered trees littered the battlefield in every direction while enormous craters spread across the ground from the terrifying force behind Max’s attacks.

The once dense forest had been devastated beyond recognition, with broken trunks, collapsed earth, and countless fragments of stone scattered everywhere. Several disciples lay sprawled across the ruined battlefield while blood continuously dripped from their mouths, and the confidence they once possessed when surrounding Max earlier had now completely disappeared, replaced entirely by fear and disbelief.

Meanwhile, Max himself stood calmly in the center of the destruction as though the devastation around him had nothing to do with him at all.

Seven-colored lightning crackled faintly around his body while violent currents of power continued surging through every part of him without slowing in the slightest.

The Third Divine Vein remained fully active.

Vein of Strength.

Max slowly clenched his fist as he carefully felt the terrifying physical power coursing through his body like an endless torrent. Every muscle within him overflowed with monstrous force while every movement carried enough weight to distort the surrounding air faintly.

Even now, despite the destruction he had already caused, Max could clearly feel that he was still subconsciously restraining himself to some extent because the overwhelming power flooding his body had already surpassed the level these participants could possibly endure.

"I’m already holding back..." Max thought quietly while his gaze swept across the terrified disciples surrounding him.

His eyes slowly moved from one participant to another as he observed the fear spreading across their faces.

"And yet I can still crush peak Law Refinement Realm geniuses this easily."

The realization caused even Max himself to feel slightly surprised deep inside.

These participants were not weak cultivators by any means. Every single person gathered here was considered a genius within their respective third-rate forces, individuals who normally stood above ordinary cultivators and possessed enough talent to dominate those below them.

Under normal circumstances, a peak Law Refinement Realm cultivator should have been more than capable of suppressing a ninth-level Law Awakening Realm cultivator with overwhelming ease.

Yet before the Vein of Strength—

They appeared utterly powerless.

A faint smile slowly formed on Max’s face as he continued feeling the terrifying power surging throughout his body.

"If this is the result while I’m restraining myself..."

The light within his eyes gradually sharpened.

"Then what happens if I stop holding back entirely?"

The moment that thought surfaced within his mind—

Boom!!!

A horrifying shockwave erupted violently from Max’s body.

The surrounding ground collapsed instantly beneath the pressure as countless cracks spread across the clearing like massive spiderwebs tearing through the earth. Violent winds exploded outward in every direction while the nearby participants felt their expressions change drastically as the pressure radiating from Max suddenly multiplied at an astonishing rate.

Several disciples instinctively staggered backward in horror.

"What... what is this?!" one participant shouted while trembling uncontrollably.

"He was still holding back before?!" another disciple exclaimed with disbelief written all over his face.

The black saber disciple’s face turned pale instantly as cold fear surged through his heart.

"No... this is impossible..." he muttered in shock.

Max slowly raised his head.

At that moment, the pressure radiating from him no longer resembled the aura of a normal cultivator at all.

It felt like a humanoid beast standing before them.

A monster wearing human skin.

Then suddenly—

Max disappeared once more.

Boom!!!

The place where he had been standing exploded apart violently from the sheer force of his movement.

The next instant, he appeared directly before a disciple wielding a long spear.

The young man’s pupils contracted violently as terror exploded within his mind.

"Wait—!"

Before he could even finish speaking, Max’s fist had already descended toward him.

There was no martial technique.

No concept.

No law.

Only absolute physical power.

Boom!!!

The disciple’s body exploded instantly upon contact.

There was no blood spraying through the air.

No flesh remaining behind.

The instant Max’s fist struck him, the participant’s entire body shattered directly into countless golden particles that scattered through the air like dust illuminated by sunlight.

He had been eliminated from the Survival Trial instantly.

At the same moment, a system notification appeared before Max’s eyes.

[+350 Killing Points]

Max did not even pause after seeing the notification.

Boom!

Another participant exploded apart into golden particles.

Boom!

A hammer-wielding genius disappeared instantly after Max’s punch shattered his body completely.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Everywhere Max moved, participants vanished one after another as though they were incapable of resisting him even slightly.

No one could stop him.

No one could even defend against a single attack.

The most horrifying part of all was that Max still had not used any laws, concepts, sword arts, or lightning techniques throughout the massacre.

He was relying purely on the monstrous physical strength granted by the Vein of Strength alone.

And that strength by itself was already enough to completely overwhelm peak Law Refinement Realm geniuses without giving them the slightest opportunity to resist.

Panic instantly spread throughout the clearing.

"This monster!"

"He’s killing people with his bare hands!"

"How can someone this strong exist at the Law Awakening Realm?!"

The woman wielding twin daggers suddenly turned around and desperately attempted to flee as fear completely overwhelmed her courage.

However, before she could even escape more than a few meters—

Boom!!!

Max appeared directly behind her like a phantom.

She barely had enough time to widen her eyes in terror before his fist descended mercilessly.

Her body shattered into countless golden particles instantly.

[+420 Killing Points]

The notifications before Max’s eyes began increasing rapidly one after another.

[+380 Killing Points]

[+410 Killing Points]

[+360 Killing Points]

[+450 Killing Points]

One participant after another was completely eliminated from the trial.

The clearing gradually fell silent.

Only countless golden particles drifted slowly through the air like glowing dust while the shattered ground, destroyed trees, and massive craters stood as silent proof of the massacre that had just taken place.

Moments later—

The final remaining disciple staggered backward while staring at Max with absolute terror written across his face.

The greed and confidence he possessed earlier had long vanished completely.

Only fear remained.

"You... you monster..." he muttered while trembling uncontrollably.

Max calmly walked toward him step by step.

Every footstep caused the ground beneath his feet to crack faintly from the overwhelming force within his body.

The disciple’s face turned deathly pale as he desperately attempted to retreat further.

However—

Boom!!!

Max’s fist struck forward once again.

The final participant exploded into countless golden particles instantly.

Silence completely returned to the clearing.

Max slowly lowered his fist while the seven-colored lightning surrounding his body flickered faintly around him.

Then the system notifications continuously appeared before his eyes one after another.

[+350 Killing Points]

[+420 Killing Points]

[+390 Killing Points]

[+410 Killing Points]

...

His Killing Points skyrocketed at an astonishing speed.

Soon afterward, the ranking screen before him updated rapidly.

[Name: Max Morgan]

[Killing Points: 6,820]

[Rank: 3]

Max calmly looked at the screen for several moments before a faint smile slowly appeared on his face.

"So this is how the Survival Trial works..." he murmured softly.

Then his gaze slowly shifted deeper toward the endless forest stretching far ahead of him.

The anticipation within his eyes gradually sharpened.

"If that’s the case..."

A faint crackle of seven-colored lightning echoed around him once more.

"Then this trial is perfect for farming Killing Points."