’This boy is only at the Second-level Mortal Realm. How is he so strong?’

A sense of foreboding rose in the hearts of the Golden Snake Sect disciples. They realized they might have picked a fight with someone they couldn’t afford to offend. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

However, their cultivation and mental fortitude were not to be underestimated. They quickly reacted, their feet flashing as they surrounded Jiang Jichen.

Du Fei stared coldly at Jiang Jichen. "I admit I underestimated you, but you’re far too arrogant. If you kill members of the Golden Snake Sect, there will be no place for you in the Celestial Pearl Country."

Jiang Jichen gave a mocking smile. "I’ve already killed a few people from the Mountain Sect. What does your little Golden Snake Sect even count for?"

"What! The Mountain Sect’s legacy disciple, Yann Song, and several other disciples died at your hands?"

"Impossible! You’re only at the Second-level Mortal Realm. How could you have the power to kill Yann Song and the others?"

...

The expressions on Du Fei and his men changed drastically. They cried out in alarm, their faces filled with disbelief.

For the past two days, a rumor had been spreading like wildfire through the Moonlight Forest: the Mountain Sect’s legacy disciple, Yann Song, and four other sect members had been killed, but the murderer’s identity remained unknown.

When the news broke, the entire Mountain Sect was enraged. The Sect Leader had already declared that they must find the killer, capture them, and make an example of them to the world with the punishment of being flayed alive and having their soul incinerated.

After all, the Mountain Sect was the number one sect in the Celestial Pearl Country and valued its reputation above all else. It had been many years since any of their disciples had been killed. Now, the murder of their legacy disciple Yann Song and his party was like a vicious slap to their face.

Within the Celestial Pearl Country, wherever a Mountain Sect disciple went, others had to show them the utmost respect. As a result, they were incredibly arrogant. They were always the ones causing trouble for others; no one dared to offend them, let alone kill one of their disciples.

But this time, less than a day after entering the Moonlight Forest, Yann Song’s group had been completely annihilated. The eradication of a Mountain Sect team sent shockwaves everywhere, and people began to speculate who could be so audacious as to kill members of the Mountain Sect.

Because of this, ten Mountain Sect Elders, ranging from the Innate First Realm to the Third Realm, had entered the Moonlight Forest. They came with overwhelming force, vowing to drag out the culprit.

With the arrival of the ten Mountain Sect Elders, all the young Spirit Cultivators training in the Moonlight Forest became as quiet as cicadas in winter. If they saw the Elders, they would take a detour, not daring to face them directly.

However, two days passed, and they found nothing. No one knew who had killed Yann Song and his men.

In their view, to kill Yann Song, a Ninth Level Mortal Warrior, and four Eighth-level Mortal Realm Mountain Sect disciples, the attacker had to possess a cultivation at least above the Ninth Level Great Perfection Mortal Realm.

It was no wonder, then, that Du Fei and the others reacted so strongly to Jiang Jichen’s words.

Jiang Jichen paid no mind to their reaction. Instead, he murmured to himself, ’It seems she didn’t reveal my identity. That’s rather unexpected.’

"Are you talking about that bitch Qingya from the Flower Rain Sect? So she was lying! She claimed it was a masked man in black, a Ninth Level Great Perfection Mortal, and that Yann Song and the others died protecting her, holding him back so she could escape. It was all fake!"

"That bitch! How dare she lie to the number one sect in the Celestial Pearl Country? She’s dead for sure."

"Just for providing a tip, the reward is a Third-grade Spirit Pill and a Low-Level Innate Spirit Weapon! This is huge! We have to send a message to the Mountain Sect immediately."

Hearing Jiang Jichen’s words, Du Fei and his men were jolted. They all began to speak at once, joy spreading across their faces. They never expected to run into Yann Song’s killer here, and to top it off, the guy was foolishly telling them the truth.

Jiang Jichen looked at the greedy expressions on their faces and couldn’t help but give a cold smile. "Now that I’ve told you the truth, do you really think you’ll be able to leave this place? I said you would all die, and I wasn’t lying."

The faces of Du Fei and his men changed abruptly as they finally realized the boy before them had no intention of letting them leave alive. How ridiculous that they had thought *he* was the foolish one.

"You think just because you killed Yann Song, you can kill me? How naive. Yann Song was only in the Late-stage Ninth Level Mortal Realm, while I already have one foot in the Innate Realm. I’m countless times stronger than him. If I capture you alive today, the Mountain Sect will be eternally grateful to me, to say nothing of the reward!"

Instead of retreating, Du Fei advanced, his aura surging as he took a step forward. He was about to make his move.

"From his last attack, it looked like he was using the techniques of a Body Refiner. Heh, to think that in this day and age, someone would still walk the path of Body Refining. How laughable!" one of the Golden Snake Sect disciples sneered.

Jiang Jichen remained unfazed. His Spirit Veins vibrated, and two faint golden Spiritual Power Lines materialized, coiling around his feet.

"Golden Spiritual Power Lines?"

The moment they saw this, the aura Du Fei and his men had just built up instantly plummeted. The shock in their hearts was beyond description.

Golden Spiritual Power!

This was a sight they wouldn’t have dared to imagine even in their wildest dreams, yet it was now unfolding right before their eyes.

Even condensing silver Spiritual Power Lines would mark someone as an unparalleled prodigy, the likes of which might not appear in the Celestial Pearl Country for a thousand years.

But golden...

’Perhaps only the four great powers of the Southern Continent have such talents!’

This was the first time Jiang Jichen had fully utilized his golden spiritual power, and his opening move completely stunned Du Fei and the others.

He executed Shadow Step, his figure moving like a bolt of lightning—far faster than before. In an instant, he appeared before a Golden Snake Sect disciple and directly unleashed the Seven Stars Sky-Breaking Fist.

THUMP!

This Eighth-level Mortal Realm disciple from the Golden Snake Sect was blasted to death by Jiang Jichen without any chance to react.

He was so much stronger now.

In the past two days of seclusion, he had gone through hell and back, finally withstanding the pressure of the Celestial Dao. He had pushed his Undying Scripture to the Late Stage of First Turn, making him equivalent to an Eighth Level Mortal Realm Body Refiner.

With the Undying Scripture’s First Turn One Layer Heaven, even advancing a single minor realm brought about earth-shattering changes to his physical body and strength.

What’s more, Jiang Jichen had now condensed a second golden Spiritual Power Line!

Du Fei finally snapped out of it, fury raging in his heart.

"Who in the world are you?! To have condensed golden power lines, how could you possibly be a nobody?"

Nine faint cyan Spiritual Power Lines emanated a blue-green glow in front of Du Fei, revealing faint, illusory Spiritual Patterns—the sign of having half a foot in the Innate Realm.

"You’re a dead man walking. What’s the point in knowing?"

A cold smile touched the corners of Jiang Jichen’s mouth. His figure flickered, and he reappeared before another Golden Snake Sect disciple. This disciple raised his palm to meet the attack, his hand filled with powerful spiritual power.

But when fist met palm, the palm was obliterated, and the man perished. He was no match for a single one of Jiang Jichen’s moves.

Du Fei thrust out a palm and roared in fury, "So what if you can condense golden Spiritual Power Lines? Once you’re dead, you’ll still be nothing but a pile of dust!"

Within the Palm Shadow, faint cyan spiritual power surged, transforming into a giant, cyan serpent that lunged at Jiang Jichen.

The Snake Shadow Palm, one of the Golden Snake Sect’s ultimate techniques. Its power was extraordinary, but its most terrifying aspect was its vicious nature. If struck by the Palm Shadow, the victim would die from the poison of ten thousand serpents devouring their heart.