Chapter 8

"Su Ye, you have such audacity to dare hurt my younger brother!"

A white figure darted down, scooped up Qin Feng from the stone steps, and lightly landed not far from Su Ye, who was none other than Qin Hao.

"Brother, my arm is broken."

Qin Feng's face was pale, barely standing steady, his left hand supporting his right arm, tears streaming down his face from the pain.

He never imagined that Su Ye, who hadn't even broken through to the Life-Stealing Realm, could possess such formidable strength. Originally, he thought he would easily crush Su Ye with his overwhelming power, but the situation was completely reversed, and he was effortlessly thrown by a single punch.

At this moment, he finally understood that the "Stop!" his brother had shouted earlier was likely directed at Su Ye, not himself.

"Su Ye, I never thought you would be so ruthless."

After a quick check on his brother, Qin Hao's handsome face turned as dark as water, and his eyes revealed a hint of murderous intent when he looked at Su Ye.

Su Ye smiled: "Fists and feet have no eyes. In a sparring match, getting injured is inevitable. If you can't even handle this level of injury, you might as well give up cultivation and go home to farm."

"You..."

Qin Feng almost fainted from anger.

Qin Hao said coldly, "Su Ye, no need for empty talk. Today, you've inflicted such a severe injury on my brother. You must give an explanation, or it won't be acceptable."

"What kind of explanation do you want?" Su Ye asked with a smile.

"Just another sparring match will do." Qin Hao sneered, his eyes fixed on Su Ye, a fierce light in his gaze.

"Oh?" Su Ye's eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glint in his black, bright eyes.

"Big Brother Su Ye, don't fall for his trick. This guy broke through to the mid-stage of the Life-Stealing Realm yesterday!" A frantic voice interrupted, and it was Su Wen, who had finally recovered from the shock of Su Ye defeating Qin Feng. Seeing Qin Hao's intention to spar with Su Ye, he quickly warned.

"Mid-stage of the Life-Stealing Realm..."

Su Ye murmured these four words, then raised his eyebrows. "Qin Hao, no wonder you're so confident. This is your capital. Fine, as you wish, I'll spar with you again... but if I can defeat you once, I can defeat you twice!"

At first, Qin Feng was secretly pleased by Su Ye's first statement, but when Su Ye said the second part, he was shocked, his eyes wide open. "What? Brother, you've been defeated by him? When did this happen? I never knew!"

The other Qin family disciples looked at each other, utterly confused, while Su Wen, after a moment of shock, burst into a grin. "Big Brother Su Ye, I get it. No wonder they left in a hurry that day in Luoyan Valley. It turns out Qin Hao was afraid of you."

"Shut up!"

Qin Hao's pale face turned red with embarrassment, and he roared, "Qin Feng, if you don't speak, no one will think you're mute." The others, who had been skeptical, now understood that Su Ye was telling the truth.

"Su Ye, when I first entered the Life-Stealing Realm, I wasn't your match. I can't believe that after breaking through to the mid-stage, you can still defeat me? Phantom Hand!"

With that, Qin Hao threw caution to the wind, let out a fierce cry, and his hands, enveloped in white spiritual energy, clawed out like eagle talons. In an instant, his claws split into four, then eight, attacking Su Ye from different directions at lightning speed.

This "Phantom Hand" was a seventh-grade spiritual technique, far more powerful than the "Vajra Fist" Qin Feng had used. Even Su Wen, who was in the Life-Stealing Realm, found it dazzling. Despite knowing Su Ye's immense strength, he still felt uneasy.

After all, Qin Hao had broken through to the mid-stage of the Life-Stealing Realm, while Su Ye was still on the threshold. The gap in realms was too great.

"Hmm?"

Seeing Qin Hao's attack, Su Ye's eyebrows twitched. In a moment, the "Great Yin-Yang Scripture" was activated, and the eight claw shadows from Qin Hao's "Phantom Hand" were reduced to two.

Then, Su Ye's seventy divine acupoints vibrated intensely, and almost all his strength was concentrated in his right fist, which he launched at Qin Hao's slightly forward left claw. The punch pierced through the air, creating a deafening sonic boom that made everyone's eardrums ring.

"My 'Phantom Hand' has been seen through?"

Qin Hao was shocked. Seeing Su Ye's fierce punch, he instinctively tried to change his technique, but Su Ye's right fist was too fast. Almost as soon as he thought of it, the punch collided with his right claw, and a terrifying force surged like a flood, overwhelming him.

"How is this possible? I've broken through to the mid-stage of the Life-Stealing Realm, yet I'm still not as strong as him..."

Qin Hao was filled with shock and horror. In the next moment, he followed in his brother's footsteps, his body flying backward. He could even hear the "crack" of his finger and palm bones breaking, the excruciating pain almost making him faint in mid-air.

"Brother!" "Cousin!"

Qin Feng and the other Qin family disciples shouted in shock, their faces full of disbelief, and they forgot to catch the injured Qin Hao. However, Qin Hao, being a mid-stage Life-Stealing Realm cultivator, was much stronger than Qin Feng. Though he stumbled upon landing, he didn't fall.

"How can this be? Su Ye, you're clearly a waste who can't even break through to the Life-Stealing Realm. How can you defeat me, who is in the mid-stage?"

Qin Hao's bloodied hand hung by his side, his face pale, and he roared hysterically, his eyes filled with intense hatred.

Two years ago, they had met by chance outside Gumu City. A chance collision led to a conflict between Qin Hao and Su Ye. At that time, Qin Hao had just broken through to the Life-Stealing Realm, feeling proud and confident. He immediately wanted to teach Su Ye a lesson, but he never expected that Su Ye, though not yet broken through, had immense strength and beat him up with brute force.

This incident was a great humiliation for Qin Hao. He told no one and instead trained hard, determined to take revenge. Now, having finally broken through to the mid-stage of the Life-Stealing Realm, he thought he would have a sure victory over Su Ye and release his pent-up frustration. But he was met with another crushing defeat.

"No matter how you change, one punch is enough for me."

Looking at the nearly deranged Qin Hao, Su Ye's eyes flashed with a hint of excitement. The previous confrontation had indeed confirmed his earlier guess: the power he possessed after opening seventy divine acupoints was indeed far beyond that of a mid-stage Life-Stealing Realm cultivator.

Although he couldn't cultivate spiritual techniques, he could still defeat them with sheer strength.

Just opening seventy divine acupoints was enough to defeat a mid-stage Life-Stealing Realm cultivator. If he could open twenty or even thirty more dead acupoints, he might even defeat a late-stage Life-Stealing Realm cultivator. Now, Su Ye wasn't in a hurry to break through to the Life-Stealing Realm. Since hearing about the situation outside the Dalu World from his ancestor, he had set a goal: to open all the dead acupoints and make all 108 divine acupoints fully open before taking the next step.

For Su Ye, who previously only had the "Spring Rain Technique" to cultivate, this was a pipe dream, almost impossible to achieve.

But the existence of the "Great Yin-Yang Scripture" made Su Ye believe that his goal was definitely achievable.

"Such arrogance!"

Suddenly, a slightly sharp laugh echoed in everyone's ears. "I thought the 'super genius' of the Su family had long been forgotten, but it turns out that even a mid-stage Life-Stealing Realm cultivator is no match for you. Truly worthy of the title 'super genius.' Su Ye, I can't wait to spar with you."

Accompanying this voice was a tall, slender youth, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with long hair flowing behind him as he descended the stone steps gracefully, his clothes fluttering, exuding an indescribable elegance. However, his brows revealed a pride that didn't quite match his elegance.

Behind him were four figures, two men and two women, all with surprised expressions.

"Qin Tange?" Su Wen exclaimed.

"Cousin Tange!" "Brother Tange!"

Qin Hao and the other Qin family disciples were delighted. Qin Tange was a genius of the Qin family, having entered the Life-Stealing Realm at thirteen and now, at sixteen, was already a late-stage Life-Stealing Realm expert, reportedly on the verge of breaking through to the Spirit-Perception Realm, with a good chance of success.

"Do you think you can gang up on me? Qin Tange, if you want to spar, I'll accompany you!"

A clear, bell-like voice followed, and a fiery red figure flew over, landing in front of Su Ye. It was a girl, also about sixteen or seventeen, with a beautiful face and a slender, graceful figure, wearing a red dress that couldn't hide her curvaceous form.

"Sister Man Yue."

Su Wen's face lit up with joy, completely relaxing.

The girl was named Su Man Yue, also sixteen. Although she had broken through to the Life-Stealing Realm a year later than Qin Tange, her subsequent cultivation progress was faster, and they both entered the late-stage Life-Stealing Realm almost simultaneously. Now, they were both striving to break through to the Spirit-Perception Realm, with similar levels of cultivation.

"Big Brother Su Ye!"

Su Man Yue nodded at Su Wen, her clear, beautiful eyes involuntarily looking at Su Ye, filled with intense curiosity.

"Girl, you've really improved. A few months ago, you were still in the early stage, and now you're in the late stage."

Su Ye smiled, but he felt a bit melancholic, having struggled on the path of cultivation for ten years, with many of his peers, who were about his age, far surpassing him in cultivation. However, he quickly became determined, believing he could catch up.

Su Man Yue stuck out her tongue and said with a smile, "Big Brother Su Ye is much stronger. You even punched Qin Hao, who is in the mid-stage of the Life-Stealing Realm. But since Big Brother Su Ye has already fought twice, I'll take care of this Qin Tange. I'll definitely deal with him."

Qin Tange's lips curled, his arrogance evident. "Su Man Yue, you're really talking big. Who will deal with whom, that's yet to be seen!"

"Let's see, then!" Su Man Yue lifted her chin.

"Fine, let's see!" Qin Tange sneered.

"Alright, alright, Su Man Yue, Qin Tange, you two should fight. I, Tang Sheng, will be your referee."

Another youth appeared, with clear features, looking younger than Su Man Yue and Qin Tange. Everyone knew that Tang Sheng's cultivation was no less than that of Su Man Yue and Qin Tange.