"Cough, cough!"
Charles Chen wiped the blood from his mouth as he stood up, his gaze toward the old man filled with deep wariness. "May I ask your name, sir?"
"I am Darius Di, Elder of the Sword Hall under the Divine Temple," the old man replied arrogantly.
Hearing the name Divine Temple again, Charles Chen, Neil Ning, and Tanya Jin all showed puzzled expressions. They were certain that there was no such power as the Divine Temple in Battlefront Province or any nearby regions.
And yet, this Sword Hall Elder alone possessed such terrifying strength. That meant the Sword Hall Master was likely a Fusion-stage powerhouse, and the Divine Temple's sect master might be even stronger.
The next moment, Darius Di's gaze fell on the unconscious youth. "This boy is a traitor to my Divine Temple. I am taking him away—surely you have no objections?"
At these words, the faces of Charles Chen and the other two elders darkened. Knowing the youth held secrets about an Immortal-relic, they were extremely unwilling to let him go.
Just then, the unconscious youth suddenly woke up and slammed a palm into Logan Lang's chest.
"Argh!"
Logan Lang spat blood and was sent flying. The youth seized the opportunity to break free and fled deeper into the city.
"Stop him!"
Darius Di waved his hand and unleashed a punch, the fist imprint tearing through the air straight toward the youth's back.
"Block him!"
Charles Chen shouted, his figure shifting sideways as he swung his fist to intercept the fist imprint. Neil Ning and Tanya Jin also sprang into action.
Boom!
The impact erupted, shaking the void.
The three of them were forced to retreat dozens of meters before they could steady themselves.
For a moment, all three were inwardly shocked. Darius Di was simply too strong—even as late Soul-Split experts, it took all of them working together just to barely block a single punch.
Still, their goal was achieved: as long as the youth remained somewhere in the state city, their three families would be able to find him.
"Master, it was my carelessness!"
Logan Lang stepped forward to plead guilty to Darius Di.
"Useless! Go catch that little thief at once!" Darius Di roared.
"Yes, sir!"
Logan Lang turned to chase after the youth, but was blocked by the Soul-Split experts of the Chen, Ning, and Jin families.
"What is the meaning of this? Are you planning to make enemies of my Divine Temple?" Darius Di swept a cold glance over Charles Chen and the others, demanding an answer.
"Elder Di, since you've come from afar, the three of us as hosts would like to invite you for a few cups of wine. What do you say?"
Charles Chen spoke with hidden meaning, his eyes flickering with a strange light. Their opponent was strong, but this was their home turf, each family had a Fusion-stage expert in residence, so no matter how powerful Darius Di was, it would be hard for him to truly overturn the situation.
"So you really intend to become enemies of my Divine Temple?" Darius Di demanded harshly.
"Elder Di, don't misunderstand us—we have no such intention. We just want to get closer to you," Tanya Jin said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with a gentle smile.
"Out of my way!"
Darius Di narrowed his eyes, leapt into the air, and unleashed a barrage of punches.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
A powerful fist-intent erupted, mixed with immense force, crashing toward Charles Chen and the others.
"Not good!"
Feeling this surge of intent, the three elders' faces changed dramatically. They all fought back with full strength, but in the end, each spat blood and was sent flying.
Countless onlookers were shocked—Darius Di was far too powerful, able to crush the elders of all three families with ease.
In the next instant, Darius Di strode through the air and threw another punch.
His fist force surged like a flood, sweeping forward.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Immediately, the Soul-Split experts of the three families were sent flying, groaning in pain. The encirclement was instantly torn open, and Logan Lang led nine early Soul-Split cultivators in pursuit of the youth.
"Who dares act so arrogantly here!"
Just then, a commanding voice rang out. A blur of motion, and a middle-aged man in a blue robe appeared ahead.
"Taishan Seal—Suppress!"
The blue-robed man formed a hand seal and cast it out. Instantly, a black mountain peak appeared out of thin air, crashing down toward Logan Lang and the others.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Logan Lang and his nine companions raised their swords to meet the attack, but in the next instant, they were all knocked flying, forced back to their original positions.
"The patriarch has arrived!"
Neil Ning's face lit up with joy—the newcomer was none other than his own clan's patriarch, Mason Ning.
Hmph!
Darius Di snorted coldly, then sent two punches flying toward Mason Ning from a distance.
The fist imprints contained supreme will. Sensing this, Mason Ning's expression grew serious. He moved nimbly in a small area, forming hand seals with both hands, then unleashed a pair of mother-child fist imprints to meet the attack.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
In the next instant, the fist imprints collided in midair, unleashing a powerful force that tore open cracks in the void. The mother-child fist imprints shattered, and Darius Di's fist imprint continued its assault on Mason Ning.
Zheng! Zheng!
Suddenly, the sound of metal rang out—Mason Ning now held a brown ancient zither. His fingers swept across the strings, sending pale blue zither patterns flying to clash with the fist imprint, shattering it.
Zheng! Zheng! Zheng! Zheng!
Mason Ning sat cross-legged in midair, his fingers plucking the zither strings in rapid succession. Each zither pattern was like a chilling sword qi, relentlessly attacking Darius Di.
"Heaven-Hate Fist—Break!"
Darius Di roared, throwing another punch that shook the void. At the same time, his figure turned into a stream of light, meeting the zither patterns head-on.
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!