His strength was just too overwhelming.

Resistance was utterly impossible!

The thousands of onlookers drawn to the spectacle retreated in silent shock, not daring to linger a moment longer.

Soon, only Qin Feng and his group remained on the battlefield that had been razed to the ground.

Qin Feng slowly retracted his Long Spear, "Raging Tide." The domineering, godlike aura radiating from him receded back into his body, and his expression returned to its usual serene calm.

He turned and strode back toward his two cousins, who were staring, utterly dumbfounded.

"Big Bro..."

Wang Hao and Wang Jie watched Qin Feng approach, their eyes filled with fervent adoration.

They knew their big bro was strong, but they never dreamed he would be *this* strong—absurdly, unreasonably so.

That was Shi Cang!

A top competitor in the entire Canaan Star System’s Top 100 Martial Arts University League!

And yet, against their big bro, he hadn’t even lasted three minutes. He was crushed in a head-on confrontation, his weapon shattered to pieces!

"Big Bro! That was incredible!"

In the end, all he wanted to say was distilled into that single, heartfelt, and utterly direct cry of admiration from Wang Jie.

"Hahaha..."

Hearing his cousin’s praise, the cold, murderous look on Qin Feng’s face vanished completely, replaced by a hearty, unrestrained laugh from the bottom of his heart.

He laughed and patted Wang Jie’s shoulder. Suddenly, as if recalling some long-forgotten, amusing memory, a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. He asked:

"Oh, by the way, speaking of you two, when you graduated from Qiming First High School, did either of you ever try to challenge the combat record I left in the school’s private Heroic Spirit Hall?"

"Combat record?"

Wang Jie froze, then scratched his head in embarrassment. "Big Bro, when I graduated, I wasn’t strong enough. I didn’t place first in my year, so I wasn’t qualified to take the challenge. But... Wang Hao did."

Qin Feng’s gaze immediately shifted to Wang Hao.

Wang Hao’s face flushed red under his gaze. He looked at Qin Feng and sighed, "Big Bro... don’t even talk about it. I couldn’t win. I just couldn’t win."

"HAHAHAHA—!"

Hearing the expected answer, Qin Feng could no longer hold it in and let out an even heartier burst of laughter.

Back then, just as he was about to graduate from Qiming First High School, he had challenged and defeated the combat record of Sun Chan Hall in the school’s private Heroic Spirit Hall. In doing so, he left behind a combat record of his own.

He had wondered back then if, one day in the future, his two younger cousins would have the chance to stand before that combat record and challenge his past self.

And as it turned out, that’s exactly what happened.

It was a strange, wonderful feeling.

It was as if he had crossed the vast expanse of time to have a silent conversation with his past self and his growing family.

Meanwhile, Wu Yue and the other male Martial Artist stood quietly to the side, all their earlier scorn and doubt completely gone.

They finally understood that everything the brothers, Wang Hao and Wang Jie, had said before wasn’t just bragging—it was the truth.

The male Martial Artist, in particular, felt his mind start racing.

A calculating glint appeared in his eyes as he shot meaningful looks at Wang Hao and Wang Jie, urging them to seize this golden opportunity and ask Qin Feng to stay.

’Are you kidding me!?’

’With a grandmaster at the level of a God of Slaughter on our side, our squad could easily secure a spot in the top hundred thousand! Everything would be a piece of cake!’

’He was a ’golden thigh’ sent from the heavens—and the thickest one at that!’

However, to his utter astonishment, after their brief reunion with Qin Feng, the brothers Wang Hao and Wang Jie showed no intention of asking him to stay.

"Big Bro,"

Wang Jie looked at Qin Feng, his expression dead serious. "You go do what you need to do. Go get more resources for yourself. We won’t hold you back."

"Just seeing you on the battlefield this time, seeing how strong you’ve become... it’s already rekindled our drive to catch up. From now on, we brothers will be more disciplined. We’ll train harder in the Martial Dao. We definitely won’t disappoint you!"

Wang Hao looked at Qin Feng and said solemnly, "Same here."

"Good."

Qin Feng looked into their eyes, saw their unwavering resolve, and nodded in satisfaction.

He didn’t offer to stay and carry them through the qualifiers, either.

’Some paths, you have to walk on your own.’

’Some obstacles, you have to overcome with your own strength.’

In that moment, the cousins reached a silent understanding.

Qin Feng gave them one last, deep look. He then nodded to Wu Yue and the other male Martial Artist as a silent farewell. Without another moment’s hesitation, his body flickered, transforming into a streak of light that vanished at the edge of the ruins.

...

Once Qin Feng’s figure had completely vanished, the other male Martial Artist could no longer contain his anxious confusion. He strode up to Wang Jie and Wang Hao and demanded:

"Ah Jie! Ahao! How... how could you just let him leave like that?!"

"Why didn’t you ask him to stay? With your big bro around, our squad could get into the top hundred thousand as easily as breathing! How could you just let an opportunity like that slip away?!"

Faced with his teammate’s questioning, Wang Jie didn’t waver in the slightest.

He turned around and countered in a tone more serious than ever before, "Senior Li Ang, if this were the real Battlefield of Ten Thousand Races—a true life-or-death struggle where we had to fight over a single, vital resource to survive—then I believe my big bro would stay to protect us without a moment’s hesitation."