"Stop fighting!"
Qin Yang, face full of helplessness, shouted loudly, "Tian Swallowing Beast, quickly release this Fire Dog! I have urgent matters to attend to!"
"Don't interrupt me! I'm going to beat this thing into submission today!" The panda retorted between attacks, only to receive a bite on his hind leg from the Fire Dog.
"Aroo!" The panda jumped up in pain, swiping his paw to knock the Fire Dog's head off, which crashed heavily onto the ground.
"Roar!" The Three-headed Flame Hound's remaining two heads spat twin pillars of fire, leaving fresh burns across the panda's body.
"Hmph! Who's going to beat whom?" The Three-headed Flame Hound roared furiously. "I had that human brat summon you here to crush you, not beg for help breaking chains!"
"Crush me? With what?" The panda scoffed, lashing out with a kick that sent the Flame Hound tumbling.
The massive Flame Hound twisted nimbly, its tail whipping like a fiery serpent to strike the panda.
The panda spun like a top several times, momentarily disoriented.
Both combatants paused, breathing heavily. Their eyes locked in a fierce stare-down, refusing to yield even during this brief respite.
"My God!" Qin Yang pressed a hand to his forehead. At this rate, they'd keep fighting until one came out victorious.
Qin Yang could tell that these two bastards' true strength far surpassed the Zongshi Realm; their cultivation had only been suppressed by the secret realm. Forcing a winner in this battle would be impossible in the short term.
"Whatever, keep fighting at your leisure. I'm out of here." Qin Yang shook his hair to clear it of stray ash. He feared he'd be roasted to a crisp by the Fire Dog's flame if he stayed any longer.
Clearly, neither the panda nor the Fire Dog had any interest in him. The moment Qin Yang left, the two resumed their fierce battle.
The top priority now is finding a lone Qin Family member.
Qin Yang pondered briefly, making up his mind. If he wanted to rescue Lou Mengyu from the Qin Family, he'd need to elevate his cultivation to the Zongshi Realm!
Mentally reciting the command, he summoned his interface panel.
Host: Qin Yang
Strength: Qi Sea Realm - Perfect Stage
Cultivation Technique: Yin-Yang All-Embracing Art. 6/10
Martial Techniques: Racing Thunder Fist, Ground-Shaking Fist, Ten Arrows of Wonder, Shocking Sword Finger, Dragon Soaring Steps, Crazy Dragon Palm...
Qin Yang clicked his tongue. Each of these martial techniques was extraordinary, with several only truly unleashing their power after reaching the Zongshi Realm.
Releasing his Treasure Rat, Qin Yang hurried toward the Qin Family's territory. The closer he got, the more likely he'd encounter members of the family.
He expected it would take hours to find anyone, but after climbing over a mountain, he stumbled upon an entire Qin Family patrol.
A group of ten people, led by a middle-aged man. The man's cultivation seemed to be at the Qi Sea Realm, while the others were all at the Qi Gathering Realm.
"A bit of a pity," Qin Yang sighed.
"Who's there?" The middle-aged man whirled around, his face darkening as he glared at the tree three zhang away.
When did he appear? I didn't sense a thing!
The other young disciples scattered. One of them called out, "Hey, you! Are you Qin Yang?"
"Hm? Did you come looking for me? Looks like your gift made it safely." Qin Yang smiled slyly.
The mention of the gift made the group erupt in anger. Only the middle-aged man's eyes showed wariness, refusing to underestimate his opponent.
"Like finding a needle in a haystack!" The man snorted coldly. "We found you faster than expected. Your head will bring a hefty reward from the clan!"
With a wave of his hand, he shouted, "Attack!"
The nine disciples charged in a fan formation, surrounding Qin Yang. Their combined assault came with deadly intent.
These nine youths were all at the Qi Gathering Realm, a full major realm below Qin Yang. The system completely ignored them - though their cultivation methods and martial techniques had been copied, no notifications appeared. After all, they offered no real challenge to Qin Yang.
"Hurricane Sword? Fast, but lacking in accuracy." Qin Yang observed the first attacker to reach him, a longsword thrusting toward his chest.
Qin Yang formed a sword seal with his hand, catching the opponent's yellow-grade magical sword between his fingers. With a twist of his wrist, his fingers proved harder than the enchanted blade, snapping the sword tip clean off.
He flicked the broken fragment like an arrow, piercing through the attacker's body with lethal precision.
Before he could marvel at his enhanced physique from the frost tempering, two more assailants struck from behind - one with a fist, the other with a kick.
Qi Gathering Realm opponents posed no real challenge. Qin Yang deployed the Clear Wind Willow Palm, redirecting their attacks.
"Why are you attacking me?"
"How did you kick me?"
The three attackers' strikes lost control, striking their own comrades instead.
In the blink of an eye, Qin Yang had dispatched four opponents.
"Hmm? This Breeze Brushing Willows..." Qin Yang's brow furrowed. The technique was merely a yellow-grade palm method, yet its execution now rivaled even black-grade martial arts.
"Proficiency has reached peak mastery..."
Qin Yang's eyes lit up. His martial technique had reached the pinnacle of mastery, fully comprehending its true essence. When executed now, it transcended the original rank of the technique. In other words, having grasped the true essence of the martial art, both the form and method of execution were no longer bound by fixed limitations. This Clear Wind Willow Palm was no longer the same as before!
The Clear Wind Willow Palm, when manifested by Qin Yang, had become a Profound Rank martial technique!
"Martial art rank upgrade..." Qin Yang smiled. He had always favored the Breeze Brushing Willows' principle of using four ounces to move a thousand pounds, which gave him a sense of controlling everything when he used it.
"If martial arts can even upgrade their rank, then what about fusion?" Qin Yang's mind stirred. Among his movement techniques, he possessed both the Wind Step and the Dragon Soaring Steps.
The Dragon Soaring Steps were already incredibly powerful, but what if he integrated the Wind Step into them...
Qin Yang recalled how, during his attack on the Ice Dragon, the Shocking Sword Finger had incorporated the swift momentum of the Racing Thunder Fist. At the time, he hadn't fully realized it.
"Dragon Soaring Steps!" Qin Yang unleashed the Dragon Soaring Steps, infused with the essence of the Wind Step. In an instant, he covered thirty meters of distance.
His speed was now several times faster than before!
Qin Yang burst into laughter. So this was what he'd been missing all along! The Yin-Yang All-Embracing Art could assimilate the strengths of any copied technique—this was what the system had hinted at from the beginning!
Yet only now had he realized it and put it into practice.
As Qin Yang's figure surged forward, the remaining attackers' strikes fell empty. They stared in disbelief at the distant Qin Yang, cold sweat beading on their brows.
"What kind of speed is that? How is he so fast?" The middle-aged man watching the battle felt his heart skip a beat.
He'd already been startled by Qin Yang's earlier feat of taking down four opponents in an instant, but now he'd demonstrated such extraordinary mobility...
"Don't be afraid! He can't possibly match us in combat—he's only resorting to evasive maneuvers!" someone shouted, their eyes bloodshot with the promise of clan rewards.
Qin Yang smiled faintly. Perfect. This was exactly the opportunity he needed to hone his Dragon Soaring Steps!
For a moment, Qin Yang's figure blurred and swayed, as if the entire world were an ocean and he a fish gliding freely through its currents.
"See that? He's just dodging!" one attacker shouted.
"Stop running if you've got the guts!" another roared, his attack missing as frustration boiled over.
As the saying goes: those involved are often blinded, while observers see clearly. The middle-aged man's brow furrowed deeply. He'd already realized Qin Yang was toying with his assailants!
"Judging by his cultivation, he's at the peak of the Qi Sea Realm - the same as me. Though the power he's displaying far surpasses mine..." The man narrowed his eyes, watching Qin Yang move with such abandon. A smirk tugged at his lips. "But I can strike from the shadows!"
Copy: Thick Earth Art. Technique 7/10.
Copy: Boulder Crushing Hand. Proficiency: Peak Mastery. Technique 7/10.
"Success!" The man's heart swelled with triumph. This palm strike would reduce the stone steles to dust...
Yet as the attack closed in on Qin Yang's body, the cultivator suddenly turned his head and grinned.