Once the seven disciples had gone their separate ways, Han Ming commanded the system to suppress its energy before stepping into the outside world. A moment later, he vanished into the void and reappeared at the foot of the peak, where an old man stood waiting for him.
"Boy, the Sect Master has called for an emergency assembly."
A deep and curt voice came from the tall, broad-shouldered old man, whose face was covered in scars. He was Qi Lankong, one of the remaining Guardian Elders who had survived the calamity at the Holy Land of the Immortal River.
Han Ming gave a faint smile and replied, "Still not dead, old man?"
Qi Lankong chuckled. "With that mouth of yours, you'll never live as long as I have."
The two let out a quiet laugh before shooting into the sky, heading swiftly toward the Sect Master's summit.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Han Ming's seven disciples had made their way toward the Hut of Battle, a simulation ground designed for intense combat training and real-time experience. It was a place crafted to elevate their actual combat capabilities.
Guan Zixuan and Ye Liyin, having just received their new powers, were still overwhelmed by the changes within their bodies. They could clearly feel that their current strength surpassed what they had possessed at their previous cultivation levels.
As they traveled toward the Hut of Battle, Lei Chen led the group while explaining to the two junior disciples how the place worked and what its purpose was.
Once inside the simulated battlefield, it was time to choose their difficulty level. Without hesitation, both Guan Zixuan and Ye Liyin selected the highest level of difficulty. Behind them, Rong Lixian watched with a pleased smile and offered a few words of advice before they entered.
In the next instant, their bodies were engulfed in light and drawn into the simulated battlefield.
As the scene materialized before him, Guan Zixuan found himself standing face-to-face with a young boy no older than ten. Yet the danger radiating from the child was utterly disproportionate to his age.
Guan Zixuan didn't hesitate. He lunged forward and aimed a swift kick at Han Ming's neck.
However...
The simulated Han Ming simply ducked under the attack and countered with an upward leap, slamming his head directly into Guan Zixuan's chin. A sharp crack rang out. Guan Zixuan's vision blurred as his awareness began to fade, followed by the distinct pop of his neck twisting unnaturally. In an instant, it was as though his entire world had gone dark.
Ye Liyin's situation was no different. She was killed in a single strike. She didn't even have the chance to retaliate. The simulation's version of Han Ming was so fast and precise that she, in her untrained state, couldn't even begin to follow the attack.
Both were ejected from the simulation almost simultaneously.
As they returned to the real world, their eyes darted around… but no one was there. The air was silent. No voices. No footsteps. They stood still, their eyes filled with confusion and disbelief. They turned to one another, and in that moment, each could tell that the other had endured the same overwhelming experience. Yet before they could speak, before a single word could be exchanged, they were forced to pause.
A massive illusion suddenly appeared in mid-air, displaying their five senior fellow disciples locked in fierce combat against their own simulated opponents.
Strength, speed, and technique erupted in full force. These were not matches to be won they were battles for survival. The aim was to kill, not to triumph. The intensity of it all left Ye Liyin and Guan Zixuan frozen in place, eyes wide in speechless awe.
The battle unfolded across a colossal projection screen hovering over the training grounds, as if a parallel world had been set ablaze by war. Ye Liyin and Guan Zixuan stood there, unmoving, captivated by the sight. No words were spoken. Only the clash of blades, the roar of spiritual power, and the echo of deadly combat thundered in their hearts.
Their senior disciples were all in Level 4 of the Combat Simulation Hut. In this level, their opponent was Han Ming at the Peak of the Nascent Soul Stage.
Lei Chen was suspended in midair, surrounded by hundreds of blades of light raining down on him every second. Each sword targeted only his vital points, yet Lei Chen continued to maneuver through the deadly storm with razor-thin precision, countering with sword techniques that cleaved through Han Ming's light blades. Every move he made was precise and swift. The two clashed in an unending exchange of attacks, with no sign of letting up.
On Rong Lixian's side, her entire body radiated the aura of a golden dragon. Her claws tore through the air with reckless fury, yet not once did she manage to even graze the edge of Han Ming's robes. He avoided direct confrontation, constantly evading and launching distant strikes with his light blades. But Rong Lixian's speed kept increasing. One of her massive claws finally swept toward Han Ming's chest, only for him to dissolve into light and counter with a sharp kick to her neck.
Meanwhile, Su Baining conjured a spear of ice from the surrounding air, launching it to pierce straight through Han Ming's body. But he retaliated instantly, stabbing a blade of light into her forehead. Her body convulsed from the shock and pain before she decided to freeze her own body completely to avoid death. Yet in doing so, her movements fell just a step behind Han Ming's. Before the ice around her could explode and destroy his body, Han Ming had already split her head in two. It ended with Su Baining's death, mere fractions of a breath too soon.
Elsewhere, Hao Yang erupted with flames, unleashing a searing inferno that engulfed the entire simulated arena. The immense heat surged toward Han Ming like a tidal wave, painting everything in a brilliant crimson. Yet Han Ming stood still. With a single stroke of his light blade, a beam of light sliced through the flames, cleaving them apart in an instant. At that exact moment, Hao Yang closed the distance, driving his spear straight toward Han Ming's heart. The blow struck true, piercing his heart directly. But Han Ming, too, struck back with his blade at Hao Yang's throat.
On the other side, Feng Huangjun unleashed the power of the void, tearing through the air until the very fabric of space twisted and distorted. With a single sweep of his Void Fan, the space before him seemed severed from the world itself. Han Ming's body was sliced through but before Feng Huangjun could claim victory, a blade of light grazed his cheek by a hair's breadth, followed by another, and then another, descending like an unrelenting storm. He looked toward Han Ming, whose body was already severed in half, yet he still refused to die. The attacks rained down without pause, as if death itself could not silence him.
Ye Liyin stood watching the scene unfold before her, her expression tense. She understood immediately that this wasn't merely a sparring match… it was a true battle to the death. There was no holding back, no mercy. Every movement carried a murderous intent, every strike aimed at fatal points or vital areas to inflict long-term disadvantage.
"If you lose focus for even a fraction of a second… someone's head could be severed from their shoulders," she muttered inwardly, clenching her fists tightly as she closed her eyes and recalled the past.
With her Chaotic Body, she once possessed both overwhelming combat power and an unrivaled level of comprehension, able to master any technique at terrifying speed. No matter the nature of the energy, she could wield it all. In the past, only opponents with cultivation levels far above hers had any chance of matching her.
Among those of her generation, it didn't matter what physique they had or how powerful they were if their cultivation was on par, not a single one could serve as a worthy opponent. Not a single one. It left her feeling endlessly bored. But now, as she witnessed the scene before her, the long-dormant flames of battle in her heart began to stir once more.
Beside her, Guan Zixuan was no different. He remained silent for a moment, but his eyes gleamed with fierce determination. The energy in his body began to surge visibly. Shame from his earlier defeat, combined with the shock of what he was witnessing, ignited a fire within him that refused to be extinguished.
Neither said a word. Instead, the two turned simultaneously and reentered the simulation for another round of battle.