Yang Kai said in a low voice, "I've run into him a few times. He used to operate around Maplewood City. Last time your Star Soul Palace's Five-Color Pagoda opened, he was inside hawking some so-called ancestral Nine-Revolution Soul-Return Pills that he claimed could bring the dead back to life! He even swindled Little Seven out of some source crystals!"
"Is that so?" Everyone was stunned on the spot.
Lan Xun's expression darkened. "So he's just a con artist?"
She had never even heard of Nine-Revolution Soul-Return Pills, let alone any medicine that could truly bring the dead back to life. Such miraculous medicines were invariably treasures of heaven and earth—you'd be lucky to keep one hidden away, let alone peddle it to strangers.
When the old man had stepped forward with such confidence, Lan Xun had actually thought she'd stumbled upon some legendary recluse genius and felt a glimmer of hope. But after hearing Yang Kai's account, her heart sank to the bottom.
Judging by his past behavior, this old man clearly had no real skills. Right now he was just spouting nonsense. If she let him get close to Mo Xiaoqi, who knew what would happen?
Liang Qiu roared, "Get the hell out of the way, old geezer!"
One way or another, he bore at least a sliver of responsibility for Mo Xiaoqi's current condition. It wasn't much, but if something truly terrible happened to her, the Beast Martial Great Emperor might not exactly be willing to sit down and listen to his explanation. So the moment he saw that old con artist had gotten dangerously close to Mo Xiaoqi, he thrust his spear toward the man, hoping to force him back and prevent him from doing something reckless that might make Mo Xiaoqi's condition worse.
Right now Mo Xiaoqi had merely released the seal, which posed no real harm to herself. But if someone tampered with her body, it could very well prove fatal—a risk Liang Qiu simply could not afford to take.
The spear shot out, unleashing a staggering burst of power that seemed capable of piercing through the void itself. Ignoring the spatial barriers, it roared toward the old con artist in an instant.
Yet despite the terrifying force behind this strike, there was not a shred of killing intent. Liang Qiu had no intention of actually killing the old man—he simply wanted to drive him away.
Facing a strike from an Emperor Realm cultivator, the old con artist remained utterly composed, as though he hadn't noticed the danger at all. His half-narrowed eyes glinted with a sharp light as he stared straight at Mo Xiaoqi without blinking.
Only when the spear's momentum bore down on him did he give a casual wave of his hand.
The gesture was as effortless as swatting away a mosquito—his expression relaxed, his movement almost elegant.
A shocking sight unfolded. Under the old man's wave, the fearsome spear radiance was instantly extinguished. The violent shockwave churned up by the strike was smoothed flat in the same instant.
It was as though Liang Qiu had not attacked a Dao Origin Third-Stage elder, but rather a Dao Emperor Third-Stage powerhouse. Every casual gesture the old con artist made radiated an air of unfathomable mastery, leaving the onlookers with the impression that his depths could not be plumbed.
The stark visual contrast left everyone dumbstruck. They all stared with wide, unblinking eyes, utterly overwhelmed.
Liang Qiu could hardly believe what he was seeing. After a frozen moment, he rubbed his eyes vigorously, desperate to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
But over there, the old man stood completely unscathed—not so much as a crease on his robes.
"What the hell?!" Liang Qiu blurted out. Along with the shock, a massive blow landed somewhere deep inside him, filling him with an inexplicable sense of dejection.
Earlier he had relied on his Emperor Realm cultivation to try to put Yang Kai in his place, only to have the matter resolved with a single punch. Now he had tried to force the old man back, and the other fellow had casually brushed aside his spear radiance with a wave of his hand.
If this hadn't happened to him personally, Liang Qiu would never have believed such a thing was possible.
Were Dao Origin Realm fighters really this absurdly overpowered these days? Able to casually defuse an Emperor Realm attack at will? If that was the case, then what was the point of pushing yourself to the Emperor Realm at all? Might as well stay at the Dao Origin Realm for the rest of your life.
Or was it possible that… his own Emperor Realm was a fake?
In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Liang Qiu's mind, and all the joy and pride he'd felt from his recent breakthrough to the Emperor Realm evaporated. His face turned ashen.
Yang Kai was equally stunned.
Though he had managed to withstand Liang Qiu's attack earlier, he couldn't deny the man's strength. In a true life-and-death battle, even if Yang Kai won, it wouldn't be easy—after all, Liang Qiu was extraordinarily talented, the chief disciple of the Hundred Barbarian Mountain, a grand sect of the Western Region, and a prodigy found perhaps once in ten million.
He had some idea of the power behind that spear thrust. If he were in Liang Qiu's shoes, deflecting it wouldn't be too difficult, but he certainly couldn't have done it as effortlessly as the old con artist had.
What was this old man's deal? Could he be some powerful expert hiding his true cultivation?
But thinking it over, that didn't quite add up. Back when the Star Soul Palace's Five-Color Pagoda had opened, only Void King Realm fighters were permitted to enter. Since the old man had gotten in, he must have genuinely been at the Void King Realm at that time.
Given the years that had passed, advancing to the Dao Origin Third-Stage was already remarkably fast. It was highly unlikely he'd been concealing his true level all along.
And yet—Yang Kai simply could not fathom how the old man had deflected Liang Qiu's strike.
Not only Yang Kai, but everyone present was at a loss. That jaw-dropping display had left no one capable of calm reflection.
Still, after that little demonstration, no one dared look down on the old con artist anymore.
Even if he really was a fraud, the ability to brush aside an Emperor Realm attack with a mere wave of his hand proved he was a fraud with real capability!
"Now, now, young man—don't be so impulsive," the old man said lightly after neutralizing Liang Qiu's strike. "This old man is worn and frail. My energy isn't what it used to be, and I certainly can't handle all this commotion."