Seeing Li Qiang strike, the students below the stage erupted in cheers. They all knew that Li Qiang had reached the second level of the Profound Heaven Qi Force—a formidable achievement in their eyes. Among them, only a handful of the Martial Arts Society members had reached the first level of the Profound Heaven Qi Force, while the rest hadn't even touched the threshold of qi mastery.
Zhou Yang was well aware of the power of the Profound Heaven Qi Force. To be honest, seeing that fist coming at him made him nervous. But at this point, he had no way out—he could only fight with everything he had.
However, his lack of experience showed. Before he could even react, Li Qiang's fist had already struck his chest.
Instantly, he felt all the qi in his body surge toward his chest, making it swell unbearably, as if it had thickened by several meters in an instant.
Before he could even process what was happening, Li Qiang let out a blood-curdling scream and was sent flying like a kite with its string cut. He soared six or seven meters through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground below the stage with a thunderous *boom*.
By the time he hit the ground, Li Qiang's right arm was completely shattered, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
He was utterly broken. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined this outcome.
He muttered to himself, "That… that was a *Qi Wall* just now? Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Only those at the fifth level of the Profound Heaven Qi Force or above—a fifth-rank Qi Refiner—can manifest a Qi Wall. But this trash isn't even a first-rank Qi Refiner. What the hell just happened?"
The students who had come to watch the spectacle were equally stunned. Seeing Li Qiang fly off the stage and vomit blood upon impact, they all thought their eyes were playing tricks on them. But once they confirmed what had happened, every single one of them stared at Zhou Yang on the stage, jaws slack with disbelief.
Now, they had no choice but to look at Zhou Yang in a new light. After all, Zhou Yang hadn't even lifted a finger, yet Li Qiang had been sent flying. If he *had* actually attacked, wouldn't Li Qiang have been blasted straight out of the building?
Someone whispered, "Turns out Zhou Yang's a real expert. He was just pretending to be weak all this time. He's been playing the pig to eat the tiger."
"Damn, today's been full of surprises. But Zhou Yang's screwed now. Li Qiang is the second son of the Li family, one of the four great families of Spring River City. With him injured this badly, the Lis won't let Zhou Yang off. No matter how strong Zhou Yang is, the Li family will crush him."
Lin Qinglu was also staring at Zhou Yang in shock. She had never imagined he could be this powerful. But she was also worried—this was a disaster in the making.
She leaped onto the stage and grabbed Zhou Yang's arm. "Let's get out of here. I'll arrange for someone to take you out of Spring River City. Once the Li family's experts arrive, we won't be able to escape."
In her mind, getting Zhou Yang out of the city was the best option—at least it would buy him time to avoid the Li family's wrath.
Zhou Yang, however, was still caught between excitement and confusion. He had no idea what had just happened. For someone who had never even reached the first level of the Profound Heaven Qi Force, this was beyond unbelievable.
But one thing was certain: he might have truly attained the eighth level of the Profound Heaven Qi Force.
If that was the case, then in Spring River City, he had nothing to fear. After all, the strongest among the four great families' leaders only reached the fifth level.
So, running from the Li family's retaliation was unnecessary.
He squeezed Lin Qinglu's hand and said firmly, "Qinglu, it's fine. Don't worry. We don't need to fear the Li family, and we definitely don't need to run. Today, I'm settling things with Li Qiang once and for all."
With his sudden surge in power, his confidence was unshakable, and his voice carried an undeniable authority.
Seeing Zhou Yang's fearless demeanor, even exuding a faint aura of dominance, Lin Qinglu felt a surge of admiration. For the first time, Zhou Yang seemed tall and imposing in her eyes. Being his girlfriend no longer felt like a regret—it felt right.
She nodded. "Okay. I'll follow your lead."
Zhou Yang smiled, then hopped off the stage with effortless ease. He looked down at the bloodied, disheveled Li Qiang and said, "I know you hate me. You want me dead. So go ahead—call your family's experts here. Let them avenge you."
The members of the Martial Arts Society paled at Zhou Yang's words, instinctively backing away. Now, they regarded him with fear and reverence. No one dared to mock him anymore, and no one was foolish enough to seek revenge for Li Qiang.
Li Qiang was taken aback. He had expected Zhou Yang to flee immediately after injuring him. Instead, this bas