"Overestimating yourself."
A trace of disdain curved Li Yun’s lips as he looked at the oncoming attack.
If the Earth Scorpion Tiger had remained hidden underground and continued launching sudden, vicious strikes, he would have needed to treat it with caution. Now that it had exposed itself, however, this level of assault posed no real threat to him.
"Golden Battle Body!"
Li Yun let out a roar as he activated his Golden Battle Body. His skin instantly took on a radiant golden sheen, and an overwhelming surge of power rushed through his muscles, bones, and meridians.
Boom!
When that strength reached its peak, Li Yun stepped forward. A deafening sonic boom erupted as his figure vanished from his original position, reappearing before the scorpion tail in an instant, as if he had teleported. His fist, wrapped in blazing golden light, did not dodge or retreat as it smashed straight toward the incoming stinger.
"Is this kid insane? Does he not know that the Earth Scorpion Tiger’s tail stinger is extremely venomous?"
"That poison is so corrosive that even some profound-grade treasure artifacts can barely endure it, yet he dares to meet it with his bare fist. This is no different from courting death."
"Once poisoned by the Earth Scorpion Tiger, even a Xiantian Realm second level expert would die instantly, and a Xiantian Realm third level expert could only struggle briefly before perishing. This kid is done for."
Gasps of shock rippled through the crowd as they stared at Li Yun, their eyes already viewing him as a corpse.
They all knew just how terrifying the venom within the Earth Scorpion Tiger’s stinger was. To them, it was something no one below the Xiantian Realm fourth level could possibly withstand.
Although Li Yun had already demonstrated great strength, in their eyes there was still a vast gap between him and a true Xiantian Realm fourth level expert.
Clang.
Then, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
Li Yun’s fist collided head-on with the sharp stinger, producing a crisp metallic sound, as though steel had struck steel rather than flesh meeting bone. The stinger failed to pierce even a single layer of skin. Instead, a violent force erupted from Li Yun’s fist like a volcanic explosion, instantly shattering the blue-glowing stinger into countless fragments.
Dark green blood sprayed out in a violent arc from the broken tail, splashing across the ground like a fountain.
"Roar!"
The destruction of its tail inflicted catastrophic pain on the Earth Scorpion Tiger, which released a deafening, agonized roar. It lifted its head and looked at Li Yun with eyes filled with terror and hatred, then immediately turned and fled toward the black earth.
At this moment, the Earth Scorpion Tiger had finally realized just how terrifying the opponent before it truly was.
"Trying to run now? You are already too late."
A cold sneer appeared on Li Yun’s face as he drew his sword and unleashed the final move of the Skybreaker Sword Art, Falling Sky Collapse, bringing the blade down in a ruthless arc.
The gray scales covering the Earth Scorpion Tiger’s body were as brittle as soft tofu before the chilling sword light. They were pierced through instantly, and a massive spray of dark green blood burst forth as the beast’s enormous body was cleaved cleanly into two.
Hiss.
An existence so fearsome that even Xiantian Realm third level experts would treat it with caution was slain by Li Yun with nothing more than a single punch and a single sword strike.
The young geniuses watching from the sidelines were struck dumb by the sight. After a long moment, they finally regained their senses and collectively sucked in a sharp breath.
"The demon core of a fourth-tier Earth Scorpion Tiger is worth one hundred contribution points. I cannot let that go to waste."
Li Yun ignored their stunned expressions. He calmly retrieved an irregular object emitting a faint grayish-brown glow from the corpse of the Earth Scorpion Tiger, then shifted his gaze to the nine extremes magnetic origin fruit.
"Come here."
He extended his palm and reached out. A powerful force surged forward, shattering the peculiar magnetic field surrounding the nine extremes magnetic origin fruit and dispersing it completely. The fruit flew into his hand, obedient and silent.
"That settles it. Time to leave."
With a third-tier demon core and a priceless Heaven and Earth treasure now in his possession, Li Yun smiled in quiet satisfaction and turned to depart.
At that moment, an overbearing voice rang out from high above, dripping with arrogance and command.
"Kid, you did quite well. Killing that Earth Scorpion Tiger saved me the trouble of dealing with it myself to obtain the nine extremes magnetic origin fruit. Considering your contribution, I will not seize your contribution points, and I will even allow you to keep the demon core. Now, hand over the nine extremes magnetic origin fruit to me."
Li Yun rolled his eyes in speechless disbelief.
He had killed the Earth Scorpion Tiger with his own hands, and he had personally obtained the nine extremes magnetic origin fruit. Both clearly belonged to him. Yet this person spoke as if he were bestowing a favor, generously allowing Li Yun to keep what was already his, while demanding the fruit as though it were only proper.
Who did this man think he was, some lofty God Emperor ruling the Nine Heavens?
"Who is this person, daring to act with such arrogance?"
The young geniuses present also frowned when they heard the domineering voice. None of them had encountered someone so overbearing before, and they immediately lifted their gazes toward the source of the sound.
There, suspended in the air, was a figure completely shrouded in golden radiance. An overwhelming aura of majesty and dominance poured from his body, making him resemble a war god clad in divine armor.
"This is..."
"Shen Feng, the young powerhouse ranked tenth on the unofficial New Disciples Ranking!"
"So it’s him. No wonder he dares to act so arrogantly. He truly has the strength to back it up!"
"That young man is unlucky. He finally obtained the nine extremes magnetic origin fruit, only for it to draw the attention of someone like Shen Feng. There is no way he will be able to keep it."
"Indeed. With millions of Martial Artists participating in the Eternal Sky Hunt, Shen Feng still manages to rank among the top ten. That alone proves how terrifying his strength is. He is absolutely a peerless genius capable of fighting above his realm and defying the heavens to slay stronger foes."
As soon as they recognized the golden figure, the surrounding young talents exclaimed in shock. Many of them then turned their gazes toward Li Yun with expressions filled with sympathy.
"So it’s Shen Feng."
Although Li Yun had never met him in person, he had learned a fair amount about Shen Feng from the information he purchased from Ming Yun.
This man was ranked tenth on the unofficial New Disciples Ranking and possessed astonishing strength. He was at the peak of the third level of the Xiantian Realm and walked the path of a body refining Martial Artist.
His Ninefold Golden Demon Skill had tempered his physical body to an extremely fearsome degree. If Li Yun were still cultivating the Golden Battle Body at the second stage, even his own physical body might not match Shen Feng’s in raw might.
That alone was enough to show just how terrifying Shen Feng’s physique was.
Relying solely on the overwhelming strength of his physical body, Shen Feng, despite being only at the peak of the Xiantian Realm third level, was capable of overpowering even some early stage Xiantian Realm fourth level Martial Artists.
Even so, Li Yun felt no real fear.
On the unofficial New Disciples Ranking, only Ye Beichen in first place, Zhu Ximen in second, and Lu Changsan in third were individuals who truly warranted his caution.
As for everyone else, he simply did not take them seriously.
"Idiot."
Li Yun rolled his eyes, genuinely unable to understand where Shen Feng’s overwhelming sense of superiority came from. Being ranked tenth on the New Disciples Ranking was apparently enough for this man to look down on everyone else.
"Brat, you dare insult me? Do you even know who I am?" Shen Feng heard the muttered remark clearly, and the faintly handsome features on his face immediately darkened.
"Of course I know you. You are Shen Feng," Li Yun replied with a cold sneer. "But if you think I would hand over a treasure that already belongs to me, then even if Ye Beichen himself came, he would not be qualified. Let alone you."
"You are quite arrogant," Shen Feng said, his eyes narrowing as a chill flashed through them. "I know every one of the twenty powerhouses on the unofficial New Disciples Ranking, yet you are nowhere among them. An unknown nobody dares to challenge me? How ridiculous."
"Ridiculous?" Li Yun laughed softly, his tone filled with mockery. "The truly ridiculous one is you. Do you really believe that a single ranking list contains every powerhouse in the entire Eternal Sky Secret Realm? If that is what you think, then you are nothing but a naive fool. I honestly do not understand how someone as naive as you managed to climb to tenth place."
"You are courting death!"
After being humiliated again and again, Shen Feng finally lost all restraint. His arrogance could tolerate challenges from those stronger than him, but being mocked by an unknown figure like Li Yun was an insult he could not endure. His face turned icy, and a fierce killing intent surged from his eyes.
"Hmph!"
With a thunderous shout, Shen Feng released his aura. Brilliant golden light erupted from his body like a heavenly flood, condensing into a massive golden wave that swept violently toward Li Yun.
Rumble.
Wherever the golden radiance passed, the air churned and roared as if it were about to be torn apart.
It had to be said that Shen Feng’s arrogance was not without foundation. Even this casual release of Qi carried enough power to severely injure a Xiantian Realm second level expert.
"Break!"
Li Yun smiled coldly. His sword appeared in his hand, and he slashed forward without hesitation. A vast sword light surged out like a raging river, ripping through the air as it met the incoming golden wave.
Boom.
The collision produced a deafening explosion. The sword light trembled for an instant before erupting with terrifying force. The golden wave could not withstand it at all and was torn apart as easily as cloth.
"So you do have some ability," Shen Feng said, genuine surprise flashing across his face before it vanished. His expression quickly returned to one of contempt. "No wonder you dare to be so bold. Unfortunately, if you think this level of strength is enough to contend with me, then you are truly delusional."
A disdainful smile appeared on his lips.
"Now watch carefully. I will show you my ultimate body refining technique, the Ninefold Golden Demon Skill. Let me make it clear just how vast the gap is between you and the tenth-ranked powerhouse on the New Disciples Ranking."

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