"You have no idea what death is!"
In the air, Gu Qingfeng swept his leg in a horizontal arc, conjuring a nine-meter-wide crescent of murky, violent Spiritual Power crackling with lightning—like a thunderous dragon. The five members of the Li Clan charging toward him didn't even know what hit them. In an instant, they were struck as if by lightning: their hair stood on end, their robes shredded, their skin split and flesh torn. They crashed to the ground, bodies blackened and flushed, trembling uncontrollably, convulsing nonstop.
It wasn't just the five Li Clan members who attacked; over twenty Steward Elders of Yunxia Sect also unleashed their immortal arts in the first moment—martial skills, spells, sword techniques.
Gu Qingfeng didn't even glance at them. With a wave of his hand, the murky crescent arc, crackling with lightning, dissipated all their powerful immortal arts in an instant.
"A bunch of rabble. You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Since that's the case, then roll down there and await your deaths!"
In mid-air, he took a single step, arriving instantly before them. Lifting his arm, his palm brimming with surging, turbid Spiritual Power, he pushed downward—a palm strike through the void!
*Crack!*
The sky filled with lightning, filled with thunderclaps!
*Boom!*
*Crack!*
The twenty-plus people who had attacked didn't even have time to grunt. One by one, they were struck as if by lightning: hair standing on end, skin split and flesh torn, collapsing to the ground.
Dead?
No one knew.
No one could tell. It happened too fast, too suddenly, too madly!
Many people's minds were still reeling from the shock of Gu Qingfeng manifesting twenty immortal arts moments ago. Now, witnessing him sweep away five Li Clan members with one leg and shatter over twenty Steward Elders with a void palm strike, every single person present—without exception—was terrified to the point of their scalps tingling, their faces ashen, their souls flying in fright.
The other Steward Elders who had been preparing to attack saw this scene and dared not move. Scared, they hastily stopped circulating their Spiritual Power, even sheathing their flying swords. Those with weaker nerves didn't dare stay a moment longer, leaping up to flee.
However, how would Gu Qingfeng give them the chance? He raised a hand, coalescing the Azure Nether Wind Cave Vortex in his palm, and one fleeing person was instantly dragged back.
"Kneel and await death!"
Gu Qingfeng slapped down, and that person sprayed blood from his mouth and nose, kneeling on the ground.
Three more tried to escape.
"Without my nod today, no one will take half a step from this place!"
Gu Qingfeng flicked his fingers, sending three Great Perfection Flame-Thunder Bolts. The three escapees were struck to the ground on the spot, skin split and flesh torn, black smoke rising from their bodies.
Too terrifying!
Too horrifying!
At this moment, everyone finally realized a dreadful fact: Gu Qingfeng's strength far exceeded their comprehension. In less than a few breaths, Feixue, the five Li Clan members, and over twenty Yunxia Sect Steward Elders had all been defeated. Whether they were dead or alive, no one knew.
They didn't know what identity Gu Qingfeng truly held.
Nor did they understand why, after failing to establish his foundation, his physical body was so formidably strong.
Similarly, they couldn't fathom why his Spiritual Power, though so turbid, was so immensely thick and terrifying.
They didn't know. No one knew. And at this moment, no one wanted to ponder these questions. They were afraid. Simply afraid.
Especially those few who had previous conflicts with Gu Qingfeng.
Like Mu Zibai, Tan Siru, Yun Hong, Ye Hui, Li Can, Li Sen—they were so frightened they could barely stand, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. Gazing at the white-robed man hovering in the air, as still as a dead sea, Tan Siru could no longer bear the terror in her heart. She turned and ran.
The Azure Nether Wind Cave Vortex appeared once more in Gu Qingfeng's palm. Tan Siru was sucked back.
"I said, without my nod, no one leaves half a step. You are no exception. Roll down there and kneel beside your master to await death!"
With a *slap*, he struck her down. Tan Siru sprayed blood from her mouth and nose, landing precisely on her knees beside True Person Feixue.
Who dared run now?
No one.
No one dared run anymore, because everyone who tried was lying on the ground. Regardless of your cultivation level, whether you were a disciple or an Elder, male or female—it was all the same. Forget fleeing; the surrounding crowd was so terrified they didn't even dare move, didn't even dare breathe.
In mid-air, Gu Qingfeng stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His white robe was clean, neat, spotless. Only, the button at his collar had somehow come undone, and the sleeves of his arms were rolled up. He stood there, just standing quietly.
Utterly quiet.
His expression was. His eyes were. His aura was. Even his robe didn't flutter. Even his hair didn't stir.
There was no towering rage, no rolling killing intent. Everything about him was incomparably still, like the dead sea that had lain silent for billions of years in endless darkness—without a single ripple.
Too quiet. Quiet to the point of fear. Quiet to where no one dared move, no one dared speak, no one dared breathe.
In the distance, Fei Kui hunched over, head bowed, body trembling uncontrollably. His robe was soaked through with sweat. He finally understood why the old master had rushed back yesterday to repeatedly warn him. He understood now...
He finally understood.
He felt this way, and how could Elder Ren De be any different?
He too finally understood why Huode had rushed back in such a panic to caution him, telling him never to provoke Gu Qingfeng, saying that if Gu Qingfeng ever grew impulsive and furious, he must try to dissuade him.
But how to dissuade?
Ren De truly didn't know how.
Furious?
Was Gu Qingfeng furious?
He wasn't furious. His eyes weren't red, his breath wasn't ragged, his words weren't shocking or terrifying. He had never been furious.
Impulsive?
Did Gu Qingfeng seem impulsive?
Not in the slightest. Not when he struck Li Zheng. Not when he absorbed the Solar Yang spiritual energy. Not when he refined the crystal. Not when he manifested twenty Great Perfection immortal arts. Even when he attacked moments ago, he still wasn't impulsive.
He was calm. Calmer than anyone. Calm from the very beginning. Yet, it was precisely this calmness that made Elder Ren De afraid to speak up and dissuade him. Yes, afraid. He feared that if he opened his mouth, Gu Qingfeng would slap him until blood poured from his seven orifices.
Under such circumstances, how could he dare speak up?
If he dared, he would have done so long ago. Why wait until now?
He didn't dare, so he remained silent.
Silence.
Just this silence.
In mid-air, Gu Qingfeng's dark, dark and profound eyes swept across. His deathly still gaze passed over the face of every Steward Elder, then landed on the high platform—on Elder Mu De and Guang Yuan. Their faces instantly turned deathly pale, ashen, without a trace of blood. Their expressions were filled with utter terror, eyes wide. They tried to breathe, but the more they breathed, the more they suffocated.
Their hearts trembled. Their bodies shook. Uncontrollably.
Mu De didn't know why he was afraid. Guang Yuan didn't know either. Especially when meeting Gu Qingfeng's dark, dark and profound gaze—both Mu De and Guang Yuan, in that instant, felt as if they had plummeted into the endlessly silent depths of the sea, unable to breathe. As if they had fallen into an endless dark abyss, unable to struggle. As if they had plunged into an endlessly terrifying hell, sinking into boundless despair.
Trembling. Afraid. Terrified.
The trembling came from their flesh. The fear came from their hearts. And the terror came from their souls.
Sweat beaded on Guang Yuan's forehead. Leaning against the wall, he trembled uncontrollably. With a *thump*, he could no longer bear the terror of this moment and instantly collapsed to the ground.
Scared paralyzed!
Completely scared paralyzed!
This only made everyone present feel even more creeped out. Guang Yuan was, after all, a Golden Core True Being! Even if his Golden Core was achieved through pill consumption, it was still a Golden Core! How...
How could he be scared paralyzed like this?
Gu Qingfeng didn't speak. He just stood there. Just watched.
On the opposite high platform, Elder Mu De, already terrified enough, grew even more frightened after Guang Yuan collapsed.
"Shi...
Senior Brother?"
Perhaps from excessive fear, even his voice became trembling, hoarse. Mu De looked toward Ren De, as if pleading for rescue.
Ren De's expression changed, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. He glanced at Gu Qingfeng, opened his mouth to speak, but the words stuck in his throat and were forcibly swallowed back.
"You..." Discovering Ren De bowing his head in silence, Mu De looked at the paralyzed Guang Yuan beside him, then at the blood-soaked Feixue kneeling on the ground, and the twenty-odd Yunxia Sect Steward Elders lying on the ground, skin split and flesh torn, unknown whether dead or alive.
Mu De felt the world spin. His face grew increasingly ugly, his breathing more and more labored, his body trembling more violently. He raised his head, looking at the boundlessly silent Gu Qingfeng hovering in the air opposite him, and stammered, "You...
You passed the assessment..." He was afraid. Truly afraid.
He no longer wanted to consider how Gu Qingfeng becoming a Nine Halls Direct Disciple might threaten the heir apparent position. He just wanted to live. Just wanted to leave this place.
However, that was merely his wish.
Gu Qingfeng paid no heed. He just kept watching.
"You..." Seeing Gu Qingfeng remain silent, Mu De asked again, trembling, "You...
What do you actually want?"
No reply. Gu Qingfeng still didn't speak.
"You...
I...
I've cultivated for over seven hundred years... I am...
I am a Golden Core True Being...
I...
I'm not...
not afraid of you at all..." Though Mu De said he wasn't afraid, everyone present could hear how utterly lacking in confidence his words were. He couldn't conceal the fear in his heart at all.
Gu Qingfeng's silence made the terror in Mu De's heart grow ever stronger. He was about to break. Gritting his teeth, stamping his foot, he roared violently, summoned his flying sword, and charged forward.
"You demon!
!! This old man will fight you to the death!
!!"
Mu De was a Golden Core True Being. Even if his Golden Core was achieved through pills, his Spiritual Power turbid and inferior, he was, after all, a Golden Core cultivator. The power of his sword strike was naturally formidable. Moreover, this was his all-out strike—its power can be imagined.
In Mu De's mind, although Gu Qingfeng's identity was mysterious, his physical body bizarrely powerful, his strength boundless, his full-force sword strike might not be able to defeat him, but at least he could hold his own for a while.
However, that was merely what he thought.
As he charged, Gu Qingfeng raised an arm, his five fingers like heavenly hooks. *Crack!* Mu De's flying sword shattered instantly.
"You!"
Mu De was scared out of his wits. As he tried to retreat, Gu Qingfeng lifted a foot and kicked him in the chest. *Bang!* With that one kick, the Spiritual Power around Mu De's body instantly dissipated, his robes shredded, every inch of his skin split and flesh torn as if struck by lightning. *Ugh!* He sprayed blood from his mouth and nose, sent flying backward.