Chapter Sixty-Nine: A Single Move!

In the forest, two young disciples of the Jade Sword Pavilion—one slender, the other stout—were both visibly startled when they heard Yang Yan declare his identity.

"What do you want?" the skinny one asked, his expression turning rather unpleasant as he looked at Yang Yan, who watched them with a half-smile.

He harbored no small amount of wariness toward Yang Yan. Though the cultivation world in Jinhuan City was complex and chaotic, lacking the rapid, unchallenged growth the Jade Sword Pavilion enjoyed in Hanxiang City, the title of champion of the clan tournament still marked him as an outstanding member of Jinhuan City's younger generation. Much of his earlier disdainful speech had been meant to curry favor with Leng Yuetian.

"Hand over your identification tokens voluntarily, or I'll take them myself," Yang Yan said, his tone even, but the threat within his words was unmistakable.

"Judging by Leng Yuetian's attitude, a confrontation between us is inevitable. In that case, I might as well strike first and eliminate his lackeys," Yang Yan thought. Influenced by that young master, he felt a hint of disgust toward the Jade Sword Pavilion and made his intentions clear without pretense.

"Heh, you're talking big! Even if you can take us both, you'll pay dearly for it. Once you're weakened, you'll be easy prey in this deadly hunting ground," the stout youth sneered, casting a cold glance at Yang Yan.

"Just hand over your tokens. The rest is none of your concern," Yang Yan replied, his expression unruffled by the threat.

"We'd like to see just how much strength this so-called champion of Jinhuan City's clan tournament really has!" The arrogance in Yang Yan’s calm demeanor finally darkened the expressions of the two young men.

With a signal from the stout one, they spread out to his left and right, advancing on Yang Yan from two angles, intending to attack from both sides.

"A pincer attack? Not a bad tactic..." Yang Yan mused, but did not move.

"Now!" The stout youth, unable to suppress his anger any longer, gave a furious shout and lunged at Yang Yan.

At the same time, the slender youth moved too. Their coordination was so practiced that it was clear they'd fought together many times. Facing the simultaneous assault of two cultivators at the second level of the Spirit Sense Realm, even those at the third level might have found themselves at a disadvantage. But Yang Yan was a different story.

"Oh? Both of them have innate earth bodies—just the thing to counter my water spiritual power..." Yang Yan noted to himself, seeing the faint yellow glow on their fists.

"Die!" bellowed the stout youth, his face twisted with savagery as the yellow glow on his fist intensified. In a flash, he was before Yang Yan, swinging a punch straight at his face.

At that very moment, the slender youth disappeared from Yang Yan’s left and appeared behind him in an instant, his fist radiating a powerful energy as he struck at Yang Yan’s back.

As they closed in, triumph flickered across both their faces. Even though stories about Yang Yan from Jinhuan City were spreading like wildfire—and they'd heard some, even in Hanxiang City—his fourth-grade innate talent during the second round of testing had left many doubting his reputation. After all, fourth-grade talent was not rare; nearly thirty contestants had achieved it this time, not counting prodigies like Leng Yuetian and Sun Zhixin, who boasted fifth or even sixth-grade talent.

So, even if Yang Yan’s innate spirit body was a notch above theirs, facing their joint assault, he should have had no choice but to retreat. Yet now, Yang Yan had no time to dodge!

But just as these thoughts crossed their minds, Yang Yan, who had stood motionless all this time, finally moved.

He twisted his body, fists clenched, then suddenly threw his arms wide, as if intent on taking both their attacks head-on.

"Are you courting death?" both youths thought furiously.

But the moment their fists collided with Yang Yan’s, the smug smiles on their faces froze.

With two dull thuds, the stout and slender figures were sent flying in opposite directions, Yang Yan at the center. They skidded five or six meters across the ground before crashing into tree trunks and finally coming to a halt.

Blood spurted from their mouths as they stared at Yang Yan—who hadn’t even taken a step back—with utter disbelief.

One move! With a single strike, he’d defeated two second-level Spirit Sense cultivators. This seemingly frail youth possessed such terrifying power?

"Now, will you hand over your identification tokens?" Yang Yan’s indifferent voice brought the two dazed boys back to their senses, though their faces remained locked in shock.

At the instant their fists met his, they had felt an indescribable force surge through their arms, flooding their entire bodies. Their organs, muscles, bones, and even veins had all felt a heart-piercing pain, as if their whole bodies were being torn apart.

And this, despite their earth bodies restraining his water power, still ended in such a crushing defeat.

"Take them..." Struggling, the two boys clambered to their feet, each producing an identity token from their pockets. With a reluctant glance and trembling hands, they placed them into Yang Yan’s palm.

"We must find a way to inform Young Master Leng. Among Jinhuan City’s younger generation, a truly remarkable figure has emerged!"

With two muffled cracks, the tokens in Yang Yan’s hands shattered before the resentful gazes of the Jade Sword Pavilion youths.

At the same time, two beams of light enveloped their heads, and their figures began to blur, fading from sight.

"You won’t escape the Jade Sword Pavilion’s wrath, Yang Yan. Young Master Leng will avenge us!" came their resentful voices from the void as they vanished.

"Three hundred soul points. Not a bad haul..." Ignoring the pointless threats, Yang Yan glanced at the blood-red number on his token—370—and a faint smile played across his lips.

But that smile soon faded, replaced by a cold sharpness.

"Leng Yuetian, is it? I’d like to meet you, too."