Chapter Twenty-Three: Defeating Zhang Mingyuan, Heading to the Mission Hall

A chuckle tinged with cold indifference rang out abruptly.

Before him, a man in white robes with a refined, scholarly face stood atop a boulder, gazing at Huo Qing with a smirk. This was Zhang Mingyuan.

Huo Qing slowly raised his head and gave a faint chuckle of his own. "Are you that Zhang Mingyuan?"

Zhang Mingyuan’s smile widened. "Huo Qing, there’s no need to hold a grudge against my subordinates for their incompetence. I am now personally inviting you to join my faction. In the future, I will have them address you as their 'Second Brother.' What do you say?"

"Pfft."

Huo Qing could not help but laugh, though he felt a mix of helplessness and secret amusement. "Sigh, that Yan Hao really is a piece of work. First, he ruined your underlings, and now he’s trying to ruin you. I’m not interested in your proposal. Walk slowly, I won’t be seeing you out."

Huo Qing turned around, waved his hand dismissively, yawned, and walked back toward his courtyard.

Seeing this, the gentle and sincere mask slipped from Zhang Mingyuan’s face, replaced by a sinister gloom. "Hah, so you’re a stuck-up brat after all. Since that’s the case, let me teach you the meaning of courtesy and humility!"

He stomped his foot, shattering the stone slabs on the ground, and lunged toward Huo Qing’s back, carried by a fierce gust of wind.

"Hmph."

Huo Qing had anticipated this. He tilted his body to the side, effortlessly dodging the powerful kick.

"You want to fight me? Fine. Did you bring enough Spirit Points?" Huo Qing glanced at him sideways.

Being harassed repeatedly had stirred his temper. If he let them leave without any consequences, it would only invite endless trouble. Only by making an example of them would they learn to fear him.

"Spirit Points?" Zhang Mingyuan paused, then realized what he meant, his expression darkening instantly.

"Do you still take me for one of those mid-stage Heaven Spirit Realm weaklings? Today, I’ll show you exactly how strong a mid-stage Heaven Spirit Realm cultivator can be!"

"I brought the points, but if you want to take them, you’d better have the skill to do it!"

"I want to see if you’re actually relying on some trick or if you truly possess this level of strength!"

Zhang Mingyuan roared and charged again. Though his frame was slender, he erupted with terrifying force; his hands, elbows, shoulders, and legs seemed to turn into lethal weapons. Sharp gusts of wind whistled continuously.

Boom!

Huo Qing dodged to the side, and Zhang Mingyuan’s punch slammed into the ground, tearing a deep trench into the earth.

"Earth Spirit Spikes!"

Zhang Mingyuan grinned hideously. Suddenly, several black, yard-long earthen spikes erupted from the shattered ground, racing toward Huo Qing’s body. The spikes moved with incredible speed. By the time Huo Qing tried to break free, it was too late; he was surrounded by the spikes, trapped in an airtight cage of stone.

"Hahahaha! Huo Qing, now that you’re trapped in my Earth Spirit Spikes, it doesn't matter how many tricks you have up your sleeve—you’re finished!" Zhang Mingyuan laughed wildly.

Huo Qing remained calm, a faint smile still on his face. He shook his head, clenched his fists, and a surge of powerful spirit energy surged over them.

The next moment, he threw both fists out in unison. With the combination of spirit energy and sword intent, the spike cage held for only a heartbeat before it cracked and shattered layer by layer.

Boom!

Huo Qing dusted off his hands and stepped out of the wreckage.

"What?!" Zhang Mingyuan’s eyes widened in disbelief. "How is that possible? How could you break my spike formation?!"

He knew that even others at the mid-stage of the Heaven Spirit Realm would have been forced to retreat three steps just at the sight of this technique. Yet, this Huo Qing had shattered it with brute force alone?

"You’ve had your fun, right? Well, now it’s my turn!"

Huo Qing grinned, and his figure began to move in a ghostly, unpredictable pattern, leaving trails of afterimages across the field.

"What?" Zhang Mingyuan’s pupils constricted. He let out a violent shout: "Earth Rock Body!"

As the words left his lips, his skin rapidly turned brown, and his frame began to swell and grow, exuding a massive, imposing aura. He looked like a stone giant, his muscles bulging, standing three yards tall. Every movement he made seemed to carry the sound of thunderous air explosions.

"I’ll crush you into mincemeat with a single punch!" Zhang Mingyuan roared crudely.

"Increased defense?" Huo Qing narrowed his eyes. In this state, Zhang Mingyuan’s defense was drastically enhanced, but his agility had plummeted. He could exploit this to defeat him in one blow.

"Sword Dance!"

Huo Qing’s figure flickered into existence, his sword light flashing wildly as he unleashed a barrage of brilliant sword blooms against Zhang Mingyuan’s back.

"Heh, is that all you’ve got? These attacks don’t even tickle!" Zhang Mingyuan sneered.

"Are you sure?"

Huo Qing ceased his strikes. Numerous jagged gashes covered Zhang Mingyuan’s back, but they had failed to tear through the flesh or inflict any significant damage.

"Sword Slash!"

Huo Qing’s expression remained unchanged. A three-yard-long arc of sword energy manifested in the air and slashed down fiercely onto the gashed back of his opponent.

Boom!

Zhang Mingyuan shuddered violently. A massive, gaping wound opened across his back, and blood sprayed like a rainstorm. Cold, biting sword energy seeped into his body through the wound.

"Argh!"

Zhang Mingyuan’s face twisted in agony as he let out a pained roar. While his external defense was formidable, he had no way to block the energy that had invaded his body. After all, his Earth Rock Body technique had not yet reached completion.

Soon, his massive form began to shrink rapidly. Finally, Zhang Mingyuan collapsed to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

"You lost. If you don't want your injuries to worsen, honestly hand over those three hundred Spirit Points." Huo Qing looked down at him from above.

Zhang Mingyuan’s eyes were cold and sharp. His vision was blurred by blood, and though he wanted to stand, he found himself overwhelmed by agonizing pain. He gritted his teeth and spat out, "Fine, take them!"

He swiped his finger, and his Spirit Point token was emptied.

Huo Qing checked his own token and saw the three hundred points added to his balance, nodding in satisfaction. "It seems you’re a reasonable man."

"This isn't over. At the Freshman Assembly in three months, I will wash away this shame!"

Zhang Mingyuan’s eyes burned with a mixture of intense coldness and resentment. He had always been a gifted prodigy, but he had never imagined he would suffer his first defeat after arriving at the Canglan Sword Sect—and at the hands of someone in the Earth Spirit Realm!

Huo Qing paused, offering a faint smile. "You are more than welcome to try."

He did not go looking for trouble, but he did not fear it either. If anyone wanted to see what he was truly made of, he would not hesitate to bare his fangs and terrify them until they never dared to provoke him again.

As for what came next, he would have to pay a visit to the Mission Hall.