The moment their fists connected, the shockwave erupted outward from the point of impact, blasting the courtyard dust into a perfect vacuum around them.
The bamboo stalks bent nearly double under the force, groaning like they were about to snap.
Skid. Skid. Skid.
Mo Fan slid backward three, four steps, the bluestone slabs beneath his feet cracking apart inch by inch as he bled off the force.
However, Wu Mang was driven back five full steps. Each one left a deep crater in the ground.
"Not bad, kid!"
Wu Mang steadied himself and shook out his tingling wrist.
The battle-intent in his eyes didn't dim—if anything, it blazed brighter, shot through with genuine disbelief.
He'd suppressed his cultivation again, terrified of hurting his youngest junior brother. He knew exactly how much force he'd put into that punch.
Last time they'd exchanged blows, Mo Fan's bones had held—barely—but the impact had nearly knocked him senseless.
He'd barely managed to stand his ground without retreating.
That had been weeks ago.
Now Mo Fan had not only absorbed the hit cleanly, but the rebound force had pushed Wu Mang back five steps!
"The physical intensity of your flesh—it's already touching the threshold of Foundation Establishment! How is that possible?!"
Wu Mang stared at him like he was looking at something that shouldn't exist.
Facing his Eldest Senior Brother's shock, Mo Fan rubbed his sore wrist and shrugged, unbothered.
He didn't fabricate any story about a miraculous encounter. He just smiled wryly and pointed at himself.
"Eldest Senior Brother, I'm a Waste Spirit Root with nothing to work with; where would I get miraculous pills or wondrous medicines?"
"If I can't absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, the only thing left is the stupid way—grinding body-tempering day and night without stopping until something gives."
Hearing that plain, brutally honest truth, something shifted in Wu Mang's chest. A flicker of sympathy. Of genuine respect.
In the cultivation world of the Mystic Realm, having a Spirit Root or not was the difference between heaven and earth.
For an ordinary person to push their physical body to this level through sheer, grinding effort...
Wu Mang, for all his natural talent, understood better than anyone what unimaginable suffering that cost.
"Good! That's what I'm talking about!"
He threw his head back and laughed loudly.
"There are no shortcuts on the path of immortal cultivation. The ability to endure hardship IS the greatest talent!"
He didn't ask anything more. The fire in his eyes burned hotter.
"Again!"
"Watch yourself, Eldest Senior Brother!"
Not to be outdone, Mo Fan drove off his legs and launched forward like a cannonball once again.
No more words. They crashed back into each other and the real fight began.
As the explosive exchange continued, Mo Fan found his rhythm.
His Tier-2 Necromancer HP pool was simply obscene.
His blood and qi ran so thick and deep it barely seemed human—it could even be said he was a humanoid beast.
That unkillable trait was an exceptionally advantageous edge for close-quarters body-cultivation combat.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Fist-wind howled. Shockwaves rolled across the ground.
In the heat of the exchange, Mo Fan was actually faintly pushing back against Wu Mang, who was holding back his cultivation!
The small, peaceful courtyard didn't survive long.
The fence was demolished. The stone slabs were launched into the air.
The two of them fought their way out of the courtyard entirely and into the open wasteland beyond...
Turning the sky dark and the earth gloomy, neither one willing to give an inch.
Just as the two of them were completely lost in it—immersed in pure, uncomplicated, bone-on-bone violence...
A group of figures appeared in the sky above Hundred Forging Peak.
Senior Sister Li Banxia was out front, riding her slender flying sword.
Beside her, a magnificent immortal crane glided smoothly through the air, its feathers white as fresh snow. Two female cultivators rode on its back.
The one seated in front carried herself with the effortless authority of someone accustomed to being obeyed...
Richly dressed, her every movement radiating the composure of a senior figure.
That was Senior Sister Liang Rou, a woman of considerable standing on Sunset Peak.
Behind her sat another cultivator, her expression carefully composed, though the tension in it was visible to anyone paying attention.
Her beauty was striking even in stillness, her bearing aloof and clear.
The Ice Queen, Shen Qiu.
From the air, Liang Rou looked down at the desolate, battered landscape of Hundred Forging Peak and exhaled a soft, sympathetic sigh.
She turned her head to Li Banxia.
"Banxia. You've really suffered, staying in a godforsaken place like this for so long and enduring so many grievances."
She paused, her tone shifting to something more earnest.
"I've already petitioned the Sect Master to have you transferred back to Sunset Peak. They've agreed. So why do you insist on refusing? This desolate wasteland is no place for you."
At this moment, Li Banxia actually put away her usual fiery temperament. She dipped her head slightly, her voice gentle.
"I'm grateful for Senior Sister's care, truly. But... Banxia has never been good with strict rules and precepts. Staying here on Hundred Forging Peak, I actually find myself at ease."
She gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"Besides, if I went back to Sunset Peak and accidentally caused another disaster, I'd truly let down Senior Sister's recommendation."
Hearing those words.
The enormous immortal crane carrying them gave a violent, full-body shudder mid-flight!
It stiffly twisted its long neck toward Li Banxia.
Its small eyes were wide with something that looked disturbingly like traumatized recognition...
As though it had just recalled, in vivid detail, the horrifying fates of its good brothers, the koi fish, and the particular brand of chaos that Li Banxia had visited upon them back in the day.
Seeing her mind was made up, Liang Rou could only sigh helplessly and let it go.
After a moment, Li Banxia turned her gaze to Shen Qiu, curious.
"By the way, Senior Sister Liang—why did you specifically bring Junior Sister Shen Qiu to Hundred Forging Peak today?"
Liang Rou smiled mysteriously, a knowing look in her eyes...
And instead of answering, gently patted the back of Shen Qiu's hand—a silent prompt to speak for herself.
Under the gazes of the two, even the perpetually frost-cold Shen Qiu felt heat creeping up the back of her ears. A faint flush touched her cheeks.
She bit her lower lip lightly, hesitated for a moment, then said quietly:
"Senior Sister Liang was kind enough to bring me. I... I came to find your peak's Lu Xiaoqi."
"Find Xiaoqi?"
Li Banxia blinked.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in a while either," she murmured, almost to herself. "I wonder how his body's recovery is going..."
It was a throwaway remark. She hadn't meant anything by it.
But to Shen Qiu, it landed like a thunderclap!
She jolted visibly, and when she spoke, her cool voice carried an edge of barely-contained alarm and urgency.
"Senior Sister—what happened to him? Is he—is he injured?!"
In Shen Qiu's heart, her first reaction was immediate and certain:
That Huang Yun from the Main Peak actually came ahead of time to launch a sneak attack so quickly! And he even injured Lu Xiaoqi!
Li Banxia stared at her overly nervous reaction, startled—then burst out laughing with a pfft.
"Oh my. Look how nervous you are."
She waved a hand reassuringly.
"Xiaoqi is fine. It's just that a while ago, he sparred a bit with our Eldest Senior Brother. He overworked himself and fainted from exhaustion, that's all."
To set Shen Qiu's mind at ease, Li Banxia straightened up with the confidence of someone delivering a guaranteed promise.
"And don't worry. I gave Wu Mang a very stern talking-to after that."
"Told him in no uncertain terms to absolutely not exchange blows with our junior brother again. I'm sure that guy has taken my words to heart by now..."
However. The words were barely out of her mouth.
BOOM——!!!
On the ground, a column of dust erupted with an explosive boom—dozens of meters high, blotting out the sky!
It was accompanied by the deep, thunderous sound of flesh colliding with flesh at full force...
Instantly attracting the attention of the three women in the sky.
All three of them looked down.
There, on the wasteland behind Hundred Forging Peak, at the dead center of the rising dust cloud...
Was Eldest Senior Brother Wu Mang, who had "absolutely taken the warning to heart," according to Banxia.
And Mo Fan, who was "overworked and needed rest."
Right now, the two of them were going at each other exactly like a pair of wild beasts that had completely lost their minds...
Frantically trading blows in the mud with a savage ferocity that suggested neither of them had any intention of stopping anytime soon!