The reason Yi Yunya had bet her entire fortune—and even herself—on Zhong Ming was her firm belief in his outstanding Talent and extraordinary strength.

Even so, when she now witnessed Zhong Ming’s gaze sweep over them, causing the Cuixiang Mountain disciples to collapse in waves like wheat in a gale, her expressive eyes still filled with dazed disbelief.

"Is... is this something someone in the middle stage of Qi Cultivation can do?"

She subconsciously clenched her sleeves, her throat tight as she spoke again:

"Besides, wasn’t Senior Brother with me this whole time? He didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. How did he develop such terrifying strength?"

Even Yi Yunya, who had always believed in Zhong Ming and stayed by his side, was stunned. The others who witnessed the scene were, naturally, even more dumbfounded.

Zhuang Yi: "Ahem, maybe we can postpone my match with Senior Brother Zhong again..."

Xue Yao: "Senior Brother really is the strongest!"

Xie Yuzhu: "So cool... That’s the Sword Dao I want to learn."

As for First Senior Sister Mo Shuying... well, just before she could leave the Profound Secret Hall, she was called away by Law Enforcement Elder Wei Jingcheng. As a result, she missed this reality-bending scene.

...

Zhuang Yi’s caution, Xue Yao’s adoration, Xie Yuzhu’s longing—all three reacted differently to Zhong Ming’s immense power.

But of everyone present, the one with the most complicated feelings was Xie Yushuang.

After siding with Zhong Ming, she had been branded a traitor by the disciples of Cuixiang Mountain, who hounded her with insults and accusations. This had long filled Xie Yushuang’s heart with frustration and stress.

But now, watching Zhong Ming stand up for her and feeling the sense of security his presence provided, the pain and bitterness in Xie Yushuang’s heart instantly vanished.

At this moment, all that remained in her heart was an indescribable happiness.

But amidst her happiness, a thought occurred to Xie Yushuang. She stepped forward, took hold of Zhong Ming’s wrist, and said softly,

"Senior Brother, this punishment is enough. Please stop."

Fearing Zhong Ming might misunderstand, she quickly added, "I’m not pleading for them. It’s just that the Seven Profound Sect forbids disciples from crippling one another. Senior Brother, you have a brilliant future ahead of you. It’s not worth breaking the sect’s rules over a bunch of worthless people."

...

Those words did indeed cause Zhong Ming’s oppressive presence to recede slightly.

The Seven Profound Sect was one of the Renowned and Righteous Sects, not a Demon Sect, and the general atmosphere was actually quite decent. While there was certainly some sucking up to the powerful and bullying of the weak, things like extortion or robbery were almost unheard of.

In such an environment, crippling a fellow disciple would naturally result in severe punishment.

WHOOSH...

As Zhong Ming retracted his oppressive presence, the Blocking effect of his Spirit Stream Finger’s Jie Technique vanished from the disciples.

With that, the Cuixiang Mountain disciples before him regained control of their bodies.

PANT, PANT, PANT...

However, the sudden shift from being powerless to regaining control was too much for many of their bodies to handle.

Some of the Cuixiang Mountain disciples began to pant raggedly. Others’ legs gave out, sending them crumpling to the ground. A few even suffered from a backlash of their internal energy, causing them to spit a mouthful of blood.

But no matter their state, all the Cuixiang Mountain disciples stared at Zhong Ming as if he were a demon. And despite their extreme weakness, they scrambled away from him on all fours.

The terrifying power to decide their life or death with a single glance had utterly broken their spirits.

But Zhong Ming, having retracted his oppressive presence, didn’t leave right away.

Zhong Ming would repay a drop of kindness with a gushing spring, but he was never merciful to those who provoked him.

Yuan Wei’s provocation had put Zhong Ming in a foul mood.

’The sect rules prevent me from killing him, it’s true. But sometimes, living is worse than death.’

With that thought, Zhong Ming glanced at Yuan Wei, who was sprawled on the ground, unable to even crawl. Then, his gaze shifted to the Cuixiang Mountain disciples. "Because of Yuan Wei’s provocation," he announced, "I will grant your wish. During the Seven Peaks Grand Tournament, I will consider Cuixiang Mountain an enemy."

Zhong Ming’s tone was perfectly level as he spoke, devoid of any obvious threat.

And yet, his words struck an even deeper terror into the hearts of the Cuixiang Mountain disciples.

"No, please! Young Master Zhong! Senior Brother Zhong! This is all a misunderstanding!"

"We at Cuixiang Mountain have no desire to be enemies with Longxi Peak..."

"We’re from the same sect..."

Zhong Ming’s single glance had completely cowed the Cuixiang Mountain disciples. Now, none of them dared to make an enemy of him.

Beyond their fear, having witnessed his power, they all acknowledged a simple truth from the bottom of their hearts: with someone as unreasonably powerful as Zhong Ming on their side, Cuixiang Mountain would be no match for Longxi Peak.

Even though they had more A-Class Disciples, they didn’t believe that people like Su Lingya or Lin Yuxuan could possibly be a match for Zhong Ming.

If the two peaks were to clash, the probability of them being swiftly eliminated was extremely high.

And the Seven Peaks Grand Tournament was no mere squabble over pride. It determined the allocation of resources, cultivation benefits, and even the sect standing for new disciples over the coming year.

—If they came in last, then no matter how many of them had an A-level Rating, Cuixiang Mountain would only be allotted a single spot for an Inner Sect Disciple, and the benefits and resources for all other disciples would be slashed by more than half.

With their own cultivation futures on the line, how could they not be anxious?

They were frantic, insisting it was all a misunderstanding and begging Zhong Ming to take back his declaration of hostility. But, of course, Zhong Ming paid them no mind.

After giving the Cuixiang Mountain disciples one last cold glance that left them trembling, Zhong Ming turned and left with Yi Yunya, Zhuang Yi, Jiang Yue, and the others.