The immense sword light blotted out the sky, tearing through the air and creating a terrifying, piercing sonic boom.
A thunderous boom rolled out as the sword light slashed across the mountaintop as easily as a hot knife through butter.
RUMBLE!
The next moment, the entire mountaintop collapsed, instantly sheared in two!
One Sword Breaks the Peak!
The terrifying scene was as horrifying as a natural disaster.
Before Qin Yang's eyes, the massive mountaintop split apart. Rubble tumbled endlessly into the valley below, creating a continuous, deafening roar.
"Not bad. Not bad at all. The power of that strike could rival a missile's."
Qin Yang looked at the longsword in his hand as a profound Sword Intent emanated from it. He couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
'No wonder conventional weapons are useless against those who've reached the Grandmaster Realm.'
'With the immense power of a single sword strike, any number of incoming missiles could be obliterated with a single slash.'
'If one slash isn't enough...'
'Then I'll use two!'
'I can do this at just the Innate Realm. What will it be like when I reach the Grandmaster Realm?'
At this thought, Qin Yang grew even more excited about his future cultivation.
'Once I've truly matured in my cultivation, I'll probably be able to tear the very heavens and earth asunder.'
'This really is a Fantasy World!'
Just as he was lost in these thoughts.
Suddenly!
He sensed several auras speeding toward his location.
They were moving with incredible speed, far beyond that of ordinary Martial Artists.
'Did the commotion draw them here?'
Qin Yang frowned. He had no desire to deal with other experts at the moment.
'Too many complications. Not my style.'
With that thought, Qin Yang immediately used the Seven-Star Step. His figure flickered and vanished on the spot.
A cold night wind swept through the valley, howling wildly through the mountain forest.
With the mountaintop gone, the wind blew with even greater force.
A few seconds after he left,
Four figures swiftly arrived at Qin Yang's former position, hovering in the air above the Broken Peak.
They were two middle-aged men in formal suits and an elderly man in a traditional tunic suit, who held the hand of a teenage girl.
The Sword Intent lingering in the chasm surged with power, transforming into a ferocious killing intent that kept them at a distance, forcing them to observe from afar.
The sight before them was utterly shocking. The immense Sword Intent felt like a monstrous, surging wave, so powerful that their hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
"One Sword Breaks the Peak? Since when has Jianghai City had a Sword Dao expert of this caliber?!"
The more scholarly of the two middle-aged men murmured, his brow deeply furrowed as he struggled to maintain his composure.
"Strange. The power of this attack is at the Grandmaster Level... but I'm in charge of tracking who enters and leaves Jianghai City. It's impossible for an expert like this to have come in without my knowledge."
The other middle-aged man narrowed his eyes, studying the Sword Intent as he mused.
He was dressed in a crisp police uniform, the multiple gold stars on his epaulets gleaming brightly in the moonlight.
"Could it be those Demons from the border sneaking across? Hasn't that Bloodthirsty Demon been wreaking havoc lately?"
"Hard to say. An expert of this strength could cross the border with ease. If they truly wanted to hide, why reveal themselves by cleaving a mountain in two?"
The two middle-aged men discussed.
After a moment of careful thought, with neither of them having any ideas, they turned to the old man and asked:
"Elder Li, your cultivation is the highest among us. Did you see the person when you arrived?"
"No. I arrived as fast as I could, but the one who sundered the peak was even faster. I only caught a glimpse of his retreating figure..." the old man in the tunic suit said, stroking his white beard with a sigh.
"Someone was actually able to evade your senses?!"
"How is that possible?!"
The two middle-aged men were utterly shocked by the elder's answer, finding it completely unbelievable.
"Indeed. The powerhouse who created this Broken Peak was here and gone in a flash. Not only is their Sword Dao profound, but their Body Technique is also exceptional."
The elder gazed at the smooth cut on the mountain and sighed with a sense of helplessness. "I don't know if this person is friend or foe. I fear the days ahead for Jianghai City will not be peaceful..."
After the elder's pronouncement,
silence fell over the group for a moment.
The chirping of insects filled the valley, but their hearts remained turbulent.
The one who had sundered the peak was long gone, but the sight of the severed mountain weighed on their hearts like a heavy hammer.
Whether this person was friend or foe was unknown. Nothing was certain.
The girl standing beside the elder silently gazed at the Broken Peak, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.
The pressure from the lingering Sword Intent was so immense it was almost hard to breathe. It was only thanks to the elder's protection that she could even bear witness to this terrifying, god-like spectacle.
She had heard the entire conversation between the three seniors who brought her, which only deepened her astonishment.
After all,
the elder who had brought her was the dean of the Jianghai Martial Arts Academy, a man who had taught countless prodigies!
And the identities of the two middle-aged men were even more extraordinary.
One was the Commander of the Star Martial Police Bureau, responsible for all of Jianghai City's defenses against Star Beasts.
The more scholarly one was the Director of the Jianghai Library, a man who had read countless Cultivation Method Manuals.
The fact that all three of them found the situation so difficult was a testament to the terrifying power of the one who had shattered the peak!
"Alright, there's no point in discussing this further here."
The Commander of the Star Martial Police Bureau waved his hand and spoke. "I'll have my people cordon this area off in a bit. No one is to enter."
"Wait, Commander. I have a small request."
Seeing his chance, the dean quickly stepped forward.
"Please, Elder Li, there's no need for formality," the Commander of the Star Martial Police Bureau said with a slight nod.
"It's nothing too troublesome. It's just that this Sword Intent is extraordinary. The students from my academy could gain a great deal by observing it."
The dean said slowly, "I hope you'll be able to make an exception for them, Commander."
"Don't worry, Elder Li. I'll make the arrangements."
...
「Meanwhile.」
While the outside world was in an uproar,
Qin Yang, the cause of it all, was already back in his rented apartment.
On the way back, he replayed the details of the technique in his mind, realizing there was still plenty of room for improvement.
'That sword strike was immensely powerful, but it also consumed a great deal of energy.'
Qin Yang raised his hand, lightly mimicking the motion of a swing, and sensed the flow of True Essence within his body.
The amount of True Essence consumed by that single peak-breaking strike had been immense.
It was a strike that could stop an army of a million, but this world was far too dangerous, with all sorts of bizarre Star Beasts emerging one after another.
'There's no guarantee that after I kill a weaker one, some peerless, reclusive old monster won't emerge from the shadows!'
'Once my True Essence is depleted, I'll be no different than a lamb to the slaughter.'
'I have to find a way to remedy this weakness.'
'Looks like it's time to practice a Star Force Technique.'
His thoughts raced, and he quickly made a decision.
As far as he knew, after stepping into the Innate Realm, a Practitioner could cultivate a Star Force Technique to actively absorb the vast Power of Stars.
The ability to actively channel Star Power to temper one's own body...
...was the greatest distinction between Innate Realm and Postnatal Realm Martial Artists!
'I remember the first floor of the library has two basic Star Force Techniques. Coincidentally, their flaws are complementary. They should be perfect for creating a new Cultivation Technique of my own.'