After leaving the mine, the two of them deliberately walked towards a crowded area, hoping to make Yan Heng hesitate, hoping the crowd would make him less likely to act too rashly.

However, Lin Hao's and Wang Fu's actions were exactly what Yan Heng had hoped for. The more people who were watching, the better it was for him to establish his dominance.

When they encountered other new servant disciples, he directly called them over to walk with him, so they could all watch the spectacle of him beating Lin Hao and Wang Fu senseless.

Under Yan Heng's intimidating presence, the new servant disciples had no choice but to follow, their faces full of unwillingness.

"Lin Hao, Wang Fu, stop right there."

Seeing that there were already a lot of people around, Yan Heng spoke in a tone that brooked no refusal, his words carrying a hint of menace.

"Is it starting now? Lin Hao is doomed this time," muttered some of the other servant disciples, some with gloating expressions, while others looked on with sympathy.

"What do you want?"

Lin Hao knew there was no escaping this. He took a deep breath and turned around, trying to stay calm.

At the moment, he had only reached the first level of Qi Refining, whereas Yan Heng had already reached the first level of Qi Refining, and was not far from the second level.

Though his master, Chang Sheng Xianzun, had a five-element spirit root that was superior to others of the same cultivation level, Lin Hao still felt a bit uncertain.

"What do I want? Lin Hao, don't act dumb. Heh, how comfortable you two have been these past few days, depriving me of how many bowls of spirit porridge," Yan Heng sneered coldly, his eyes flashing with cold light. "You two will kneel down and call me 'Yan Grandpa,' then beg me to spare you and take my punches. Only then will I let you off easy."

"Do we really have to go this far?" Lin Hao's face changed slightly. Kneeling and begging for mercy? That was too humiliating, and he would never agree to such a thing.

"Yan Heng... Yan, Big Brother, please have mercy. Let us go!" Wang Fu, trembling under Yan Heng's menacing aura, couldn't help but beg.

"Kneel or not?" Yan Heng shouted at Lin Hao and Wang Fu in front of the crowd, his voice full of threat. "Otherwise, I'll have you both beaten to death today!"

Thud!

"I... I was wrong," Wang Fu muttered under his breath, recalling the tragic fate of the servant disciples who had opposed Yan Heng in the past. Unable to resist the pressure, he fell to his knees.

"Lin Hao, it's your turn now," Yan Heng's eyes narrowed as he looked at the kneeling Wang Fu. His smile twisted into something cruel.

The surrounding servant disciples all watched in silence. No one dared to speak up, for they knew that interfering with Yan Heng's business was akin to courting death.

"You want me to kneel? No way."

Lin Hao clenched his fists tightly. At this moment, the survival-of-the-fittest rule of the cultivation world weighed heavily on him.

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He had wanted to submit, but since he would be beaten anyway, he chose to fight back. Yan Heng's strength was on par with his own, and he was not strong enough to defeat him outright, but he wouldn't just give up.

"You're going to regret this!" Yan Heng shouted as he lunged at Lin Hao with incredible speed. His fist was clenched tightly and swung with terrifying force. The sound of air exploding around him was deafening.

His speed and the pressure of his punch made the onlookers shudder. They could only imagine how painful it would be if that punch landed on them.

"Never mess with Yan Heng again," many of the servant disciples thought to themselves, their faces full of fear.

"Yan Heng, you're going too far!" Lin Hao gritted his teeth, seeing Yan Heng charging towards him with murder in his eyes.

He had fought many times on Earth, but this was his first real battle with a cultivator. Lin Hao drew in a deep breath, channeling all the energy in his body as he yelled, "I'll fight you to the end!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was twisted in fury. His five-element spirit root was much stronger than ordinary roots of the same level, and he poured all his energy into his fist.

Bang!

In their desperate struggle, Lin Hao's fist came at Yan Heng so quickly that it almost overtook him. The two fists collided in mid-air.

Yan Heng felt a sharp pain in his hand. His expression changed in shock. He hadn't expected that a newly-minted cultivator like Lin Hao could unleash such a powerful punch.

"You forced my hand," Lin Hao muttered under his breath. He knew that in a fight between equals, what mattered was who could be more vicious.

"Those who are ruthless fear nothing; those who fear nothing are the ones who win!"

After delivering the first blow, Lin Hao didn't hesitate. He swung another punch with all his strength.

Yan Heng was skilled in martial arts and had plenty of techniques at his disposal. However, the distance between them was too short. Moreover, Lin Hao's five-element spirit root was incredibly strong, making his Qi far more potent than Yan Heng's.

Faced with another strike, Yan Heng tried to back off and prepare a counterattack, but there was no time. He could only brace himself and block the punch.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lin Hao didn't give him a chance to regroup. He knew that Yan Heng was a skilled fighter, but if he allowed the distance between them to widen, he would lose the advantage.

With his fists flying in quick succession, he kept hitting Yan Heng without pause.

"Dammit, is he not afraid of pain?" Yan Heng gritted his teeth. He had never expected that Lin Hao would fight back so ferociously.

Yan Heng's hands were bruised and bloody, and his face showed signs of fear. "This... this can't be happening. How can a newly promoted Qi Refining cultivator fight like this?"

"Yan Heng, so that's all you can do?" Lin Hao sneered, seeing his opponent falter. He gathered all his Qi and unleashed it with the full power of his punches, targeting Yan Heng's body.

With his speed and strength, Yan Heng had no time to evade, and could only take the blows head-on.

Cultivators at the first level of Qi Refining were still relatively weak in comparison to those in the Foundation Establishment stage, but this kind of brawl was raw and simple—no flashy spells or magic tools, just brute force.

Bang!

Yan Heng's dual-element spirit roots could not compare to Lin Hao's five-element root. With his energy depleted, his defense crumbled under Lin Hao's relentless assault.

In front of the astonished onlookers, Yan Heng was sent flying by a punch, crashing hard into the ground.

Spit!

Yan Heng spat out a mouthful of blood as he collapsed to the ground.

"This is impossible! Yan Heng actually lost!" the surrounding disciples gasped, their eyes wide with disbelief.

"W-What? He's that strong?" Wang Fu, still kneeling, rubbed his eyes in astonishment. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen.

"Let me show you what happens when you try to bully me," Lin Hao muttered, his adrenaline rushing. He had been afraid he wouldn't be vicious enough to avoid being defeated, but now, with Yan Heng on the ground, he didn’t hesitate to continue his attack.

He rushed forward and began kicking and punching the fallen Yan Heng.

"Ah! Ah! Ah..." Yan Heng screamed in pain, the sound echoing throughout the area. The surrounding disciples could hardly bear to listen.

The reputation of Lin Hao, the toughest newcomer in the servant area, spread like wildfire. Even the older disciples in the area couldn’t help but look over, their eyes filled with shock.

"Stop!"

The situation might have escalated into something far worse if it hadn’t been for the outer disciples on guard. Realizing that things were getting out of hand, they rushed over to intervene and prevent a death from occurring.

It was clear that Lin Hao wasn’t about to stop until Yan Heng was completely beaten down.