Chapter 706 - Five-Finger Mountain, Will Shattering Fist, Mountains and River Army, Lifeline Divinination - Part 2

The man standing amidst the mist and moonlight was calm, composed, and unreadable. Yet the aura that radiated from him was terrifying. It was too still, too quiet, like the calm just before an avalanche. The more gently he spoke, the more he seemed to consider

their

strategy, the more frightening he became.

Mister Mu narrowed his eyes at Li Yuan, then glanced around quickly, taking in the terrain. His voice was low and tight.

“Xiao Brothers. Your turn.”

Meanwhile, Tuoba Yin had retreated in a rush, returning to Mister Mu’s side.

“I never even touched the bottom of his strength,” he muttered, shaken.

Mister Mu’s expression darkened. His thoughts raced, seeking some way to break the deadlock.

What was meant to be a flawless night assault was already falling apart.

In the distance, the four towers of Tang Sect had opened. More disciples were pouring out, and high above them drifted a woman in a milky white robe, descending like a falling feather. Her presence was regal, her aura overwhelming.

Her eyes were cold as frost until they fell on the man with the loose hair. Then, and only then, did a hint of softness appear.

She didn’t speak. She didn’t need to.

Her man was here. Everything would go according to his will.

The wolf riders all tensed. Swords hissed free from scabbards. Their formation shifted subtly as they prepared for any sudden move.

But none of that mattered anymore. The outcome of this battle no longer rested with the wolf riders.

It now rested with the one-vs-six showdown ahead.

In a flash, the Xiao Brothers stepped forward to face Li Yuan.

Their coordination was flawless, the rhythm of their movements almost instinctual. And just like Tuoba Yin before them, they relied on the same method. They entered a berserk state, channeled Qi into their blades, and unleashed strikes that could carve through anything.

Li Yuan thought if one of these blades ever landed on Lady Yu, she’d probably die on the spot. None of her unfurling feathers or returning birds would save her.

There was nothing fancy about these attacks. No ornamentation, no flair. Just raw, killing intent.

But what truly piqued his curiosity was something else.

Everyone had their obsessions, their own unique way to touch the extraordinary.

So how was it that Tuoba Yin and the Xiao Brothers had mastered the exact same skill?

That thought confirmed something he’d long suspected.

This new world wasn’t just a land of lone talents and wandering prodigies.

There were sects here, schools, styles, and paths that could be taught, inherited, passed down.

After all, not everyone could be like Lady Yu, Tang Nian, or Xie Yu, so consumed by a singular obsession that they forged their own transcendence.

Even the clever Four Poisons hadn’t managed to get through the threshold, so what hope did anyone else have?

Without obsession, could one even train to this level?

The entry barrier was sky-high in the early stages, which made it near impossible to popularize.

But if a particular type of power had already spread to the point of becoming a common presence, then odds were high that there was a method for cultivating it that could be taught en masse.

So, was it a combination of breathing, supporting physical training, and something akin to visualization or self-hypnosis?

Li Yuan asked in a casual tone, like he was making small talk, “Who taught you all this?”

No one answered.

His brows twitched slightly. “Life is a precious thing. If I ask you a question, it’s best you answer.”

Still, silence.

Li Yuan's gaze swept across the field and locked onto the Xiao Brothers, who were still standing upright even after defeat. He tilted his head and stared.

That single glance was like a lion fixing its eyes on prey.

The Xiao Brothers bristled instantly, every muscle tightening, every instinct screaming danger.

Mister Mu reacted swiftly, barking out, “All together, now!”

The other four, standing farther back, instantly went on high alert.

But the next moment was utterly baffling.

They saw Li Yuan raise his fist.

Then they saw him bring it down.

There was no surge of energy. No explosive aura. No great display of power.

And yet, the Xiao Brothers didn’t even try to resist. Their eyes were filled with nothing but despair.

The first punch sent one brother flying.

A quick spin, another punch, and the second brother followed, airborne like a rag doll.

Both crashed to the ground moments later.

When the others looked over, they saw blood leaking from all seven orifices. No breath left in their bodies.

Li Yuan calmly lowered his fist.

After breaking through into the Greater Insight Realm, he had gained a passive power, the ability to drain hope. But that was just the passive effect.

His active power...was his fist.

His punches could crush the soul itself. The moment he raised his hand, the opponent’s will to resist would crumble. Like all their thoughts, all their resolve, had been shattered into dust.

When he was at the Lesser Insight Realm, his power had been defensive. A single hand could form a forest, five fingers could become a mountain.

Now, at the Greater Insight Realm, his power was offensive. A fist that shattered thought, leaving only emptiness.

One was the strongest defense in the world.

The other was an unstoppable offense.

The area in front of the Tang Sect’s mountain gate was utterly silent.

The wolf riders, known throughout the southern lands for their savagery, elite among the infamous Phantoms of the Northern Wasteland, now stood in stunned confusion.

This...this wasn’t what was supposed to happen.

They’d come here expecting to break open the Tang Sect’s headquarters, to feast on the spoils of war.

They were supposed to be the ones dictating the terms. Slaughtering, conquering, taking what they pleased.

So how had it come to this?

How?

Before Mister Mu and the remaining three could even make a move, the Xiao Brothers had already been killed.

They weren’t even on the same level as that man.

Mister Mu didn’t hesitate. “Retreat!!”

But the moment the word left his mouth, he saw Li Yuan already in motion, leaping straight toward him.

Mister Mu didn’t even bother trying to remount his wolf. He turned and bolted with all the speed he could muster, vanishing into the mist. The other three scattered in different directions, fleeing for their lives.

As for the 300 wolf riders who had charged in to ambush the Tang Sect, every one of them turned tail, rushing to escape through the mountain gates.

Unfortunately for them, the Tang Sect wasn’t exactly helpless either.

Hidden mechanisms and concealed weapons roared to life, filling the night sky with whistling steel and exploding traps.

Lady Yu locked onto one of the fleeing transcendent fighters and prepared to give chase, but she stopped almost immediately. She was the queen of the Tang Sect. Her job wasn’t to hunt stragglers; her job was to secure the heart of the mountain. Her husband was already outside handling the situation.

If she left, she might give the enemy an opening. That was unacceptable.

The three transcendants who abandoned their wolves and took to the air managed to flee into the cliffs. But the rest of the wolf riders...not a single one would escape.

Just then, one of the transcendents, trying to slip past the side of a tower, let out a terrible scream. His body collided with a drifting gray mist. In an instant, flesh and organs vanished. What little was left was a pitted, half-eroded skeleton, tumbling down the cliff like firewood.

Hearing the scream, Lady Yu glanced over just long enough to see Tang Nian standing atop one of the mechanism towers. No one had noticed when she’d arrived. The Grand Matron of the Tang Sect gave a single, ghostly sideways glance and then flicked her sleeve, disappearing again without a trace. No one knew what she had done, or where she had gone.

On the other side of the mountain, Li Yuan was still chasing Mister Mu.

The scenery on both sides blurred rapidly as they raced deeper into the wilderness.

Mister Mu wanted to cry but held it in. He understood perfectly well. He was the leader. Of course the enemy would target him first.

A few leaps later, the two of them were already deep within the forested mountains.

Mister Mu’s eyes darted around, scanning for anything, terrain, shadows, cover. Then his body swerved sharply, circling around a ridge. At the bend, he suddenly dropped down into a tucked-away hollow between two slopes.

It was late spring. The forest was thick, lush, overgrown, an ideal place to hide.

And although transcendents wielded frightening power, their bodies themselves weren’t overwhelmingly strong. Even with Li Yuan being a full major realm above him, he couldn’t instantly outrun or tackle Mister Mu through brute force alone.

If I hide

, Mister Mu reasoned,

he’ll have to search for me. Whether I slip away or ambush him afterward, I’ll have options.

Defeat had come quickly, but Mister Mu’s mind was still steady. Since his rebirth, everything had gone smoothly until now, until he encountered the most terrifying being this age had produced.

He felt a deep, bitter admiration growing inside him, not for Li Yuan personally, but for the might of the new era’s cultivators. With that thought, he carefully suppressed his breath, pressed himself flat against the undergrowth, and forced even his heartbeat to quiet.

A soft

swish

broke the stillness.

He had barely concealed himself when the long-haired figure descended into the area.

Mister Mu’s heart froze.

Li Yuan glanced around for only a moment...then shot straight toward Mister Mu’s exact hiding place. Not even a second of hesitation.

Mister Mu’s confusion erupted into raw terror. How had he been found so instantly!?

Shock and fear tangled in his mind, leaving him gasping for clarity.

Acting on pure instinct, he attacked.

“Corpse-Rot Miasma!”

Black smoke erupted from the soil behind him. It condensed into streaks of green, venomous vapor, weaving together into a toxic python that lunged frantically at Li Yuan.

But before the serpent reached him, Mister Mu saw something else.

It was a fist. A simple fist, drifting toward him from midair, nothing flashy at all. Yet the moment he saw it, his soul collapsed.

All hope drained out of his body. Crushing grief and suffocating self‑blame surged up from the depths of his mind. Every instinct to resist was uprooted and burned away. His beliefs, everything that kept him standing, shattered like glass.

He wanted to die.

He desired nothing else but to die beneath that fist.

To end everything, right here.

And it wasn’t just Mister Mu.

Even the toxic python formed from his Corpse-Rot Miasma reacted the same way, its aura crumbling, its murderous intent snuffed out, its entire will dissolving into despair.

The venomous python had barely made it halfway through the air before it faltered, sagged, and dissolved with a pitiful fizzle, completely stripped of its will to strike.

That was the nature of Li Yuan’s fist.

The moment he threw a punch, anyone even a single realm below him would see their attacks wither away like autumn leaves, defeated not by force, but by despair. It was as if all desire to resist, all intent to fight, had been smashed before anything even landed.

The fist reached Mister Mu, then flattened into an open palm.

It came down gently right on his neck.

Mister Mu’s vision went black.