Take My Fist!

Qiu Jin'an—leader of one of the Five Great Immortal Sects, Sect Master of the Five Elements Sect, and a powerhouse holding real authority across the Central Continent. With a single command, he could mobilize the entire Five Elements Sect and sway the fate of the realm! The Five Elements Sect adhered to the philosophy of the five elements. Any five-element spell imaginable could be found within its ranks. Beyond that, the sect also possessed vast reserves of other spells, and the scale of its Scripture Pavilion rivaled even that of the Imperial Family. And yet, an individual of such stature had swallowed his pride to protect his generational standing, sneaking into enemy territory and humbly seeking guidance from an enemy disciple to learn a spell. Meng Jingzhou found such dedication deeply admirable. Meng Jingzhou fell into contemplation, racking his brain over how knowledge of his fist technique had leaked. It seemed he had casually mentioned it to Yan Tianzhi, Bai Ming, and the others during the Grand Qingzhou Festival. Bai Ming had probably never heard of such a fist technique before and asked his master, Qiu Jin'an. Upon hearing that such a fist technique existed, Qiu Jin'an had promptly come over. Everything made sense now. As the Sect Master of the Five Elements Sect, Qiu Jin'an's cultivation was naturally beyond doubt—in single combat, even the elders might not stand a chance against him. Infiltrating the Dao Seeking Sect was child's play for him; no matter how high the old horse's cultivation was, it could never surpass that of a sect master of an immortal sect. Meng Jingzhou's expression grew conflicted. He had one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. The good news was that his personal safety was guaranteed. The bad news was that he didn't know how to teach the Bachelor Curse Fist. "Sect Master Qiu, it's not that I don't want to teach you," Meng Jingzhou said, "it's that I truly don't know how. The Bachelor Curse Fist is a technique unique to the Bachelor Spiritual Root lineage, imbued with dense resentment. I only comprehended this technique because I formed dual Bachelor Golden Cores." Qiu Jin'an stared silently at Meng Jingzhou. He thought to himself that the eldest son of the Meng Family and disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect was indeed bold. This was the first time he had ever heard of anyone forming two Bachelor Golden Cores. Such determination to burn one's bridges was worthy of respect. He pondered for a moment before saying, "To think such a thing was possible. Perform it once for me to see." Meng Jingzhou did not dare disobey Qiu Jin'an. His two Bachelor Golden Cores began to rotate, forming a vortex in his dantian that channeled spiritual energy throughout all his limbs and bones. "Hah! Ha!" Meng Jingzhou's punches roared with ferocious vigor, leaving behind astonishing fist imprints. Even setting aside the curse effect that condemned targets to bachelorhood, the sheer raw destructive power of those fist imprints was enough to dominate among peers in the Golden Core stage! Qiu Jin'an keenly sensed the curse power woven into the fist marks; it truly had the capacity to curse someone to remain single forever. "A born seed of the Buddha." He felt that if Meng Jingzhou had joined Buddhism, he probably would have been revered as a Buddha-child. Although people said the Bachelor Spiritual Root was unsuited for Buddhism, that was under the premise that the bearer remained celibate passively. The Meng boy was different—he stayed single voluntarily! Just look at how he had formed two Bachelor Golden Cores to demonstrate his resolve. Meng Jingzhou finished the routine, withdrew his stance, and quietly awaited Qiu Jin'an's critique. Qiu Jin'an found himself in a dilemma. Meng Jingzhou hadn't lied—the core of this fist technique lay in the Bachelor Golden Core, and only someone with a Bachelor Spiritual Root could learn it. *Should I imitate a Bachelor Golden Core?* Qiu Jin'an pondered. The Bachelor Spiritual Root was a variant of the Metal Spiritual Root. Since he commanded the power of the five elements, using that power to simulate a Bachelor Spiritual Root and a Bachelor Golden Core wouldn't be difficult. However, the Bachelor Spiritual Root had quite a reputation; he didn't dare imitate it recklessly. What if he couldn't revert back after simulating it? No, too unsafe. He had to find another way. *Have the Meng boy punch Old Second Ba?* *No, the kid's cultivation is too low. The curse effect won't work on Old Second Ba.* *Got it! I can borrow his body to unleash the technique! That way, the Meng boy's cultivation won't matter—it'll be just like me executing the punch!* Qiu Jin'an thought this was a brilliant idea and brought it up with Meng Jingzhou. "Meng boy, how about lending me your body for a bit? Once it's done, I'll impart my cultivation insights to you, and you can also pick one of my Five Elements Sect's secret arts to learn—guaranteed mastery!" Meng Jingzhou's eyes lit up. The Five Elements Sect's five-element spells were renowned across the entire cultivation world. He had heard that even his Meng Family had once offered a fortune for a single spell, only to be rejected by the sect. "Deal!" Meng Jingzhou agreed. Not that refusing would have done him any good anyway. Faced with a cultivator at the level of an immortal sect master, even if he refused, the man could simply take control of him by force. When generational seniority and a potential stepfather were at stake, Meng Jingzhou had no doubt Sect Master Qiu was capable of anything. *Old Ba, I'm sorry. Every grievance has its source, and every debt has its debtor. While I support senior romance, my cultivation is too meager to stop Sect Master Qiu.* Seeing Meng Jingzhou agree, Qiu Jin'an transformed into a streak of spiritual light and entered his body. "Execute it once more." Meng Jingzhou executed the Bachelor Curse Fist once again. Under Qiu Jin'an's empowerment, Meng Jingzhou unleashed a Bachelor Curse Fist powerful enough to affect even the Body Integration stage! A sinister smile crept across Qiu Jin'an's face. *Old Second Ba, let's see what you do this time!* "Are we going now?" "Wait. Going in the dead of night is too conspicuous and will easily arouse Old Second Ba's suspicion. We'll go during the day." Having been rivals for over a millennium, Qiu Jin'an knew Old Ba's personality inside and out. Qiu Jin'an's stealth arts had also been developed during his clashes with the Nine Scions of the Dao Seeking Sect. In their youth, the Nine Scions would resort to any means necessary and frequently launched sneak attacks. To counter them, Qiu Jin'an had devoted himself to comprehending stealth techniques and finally achieved a breakthrough. His stealth arts were on par with Daoist Buyu's! Dawn was still a long way off. Taking advantage of the wait, Meng Jingzhou continued meditating and cultivating. Seeing this, Qiu Jin'an gave him earnest guidance. "I know about your master refining body tempering into shadows. It's quite an impressive feat, but it has its flaws. Listen to me: when training your shadow, you should avoid these few pitfalls... These are weaknesses your master doesn't even know about." In terms of experience and insight, Qiu Jin'an was undoubtedly at the very top. With just a few pointers, he resolved issues that had troubled Meng Jingzhou for days, bringing him sudden enlightenment. Meng Jingzhou cultivated until daybreak. Seeing that the time was right, Qiu Jin'an urged Meng Jingzhou out of his cave dwelling. At that moment, Old Ba was lounging by the entrance of the Herb Garden, imagining a bright future. "The method Lu Yang taught really works! Girls love being praised as smart and pretty, and Yu'er is no exception!" A smile lingered at the corners of Old Ba's lips. He appeared elderly, but considering the lifespan of the Body Integration stage, he was only equivalent to a mortal in middle age—hardly old at all. "Little Meng, what brings you here?" Seeing Meng Jingzhou approach, Old Ba asked casually with a chuckle. He was in high spirits and didn't notice anything unusual about Meng Jingzhou. "I need to talk to you about something." "What is it?" Old Ba asked, curious. "I'll teach you to try and be my stepdad!" Meng Jingzhou suddenly struck, his aura erupting violently. "What?! Who are you?!" "Too late to realize now!" Old Ba instantly sensed something was wrong and reached out to subdue Meng Jingzhou, but a surge of energy enveloped Meng Jingzhou, shattering Old Ba's restraining technique. Meng Jingzhou's lips curled into a smirk of triumph as he threw the Bachelor Curse Fist. The Bachelor Curse Fist struck Old Ba squarely. Old Ba blinked. He didn't feel a thing. Meng Jingzhou and Qiu Jin'an, on the other hand, felt as though the fist had collided with a tangled mass of red threads. The punch couldn't penetrate the threads; instead, the red threads wrapped around the two of them, binding them layer upon layer! "What's going on?!" Qiu Jin'an cried out in shock. This was completely different from what he had envisioned! Meng Jingzhou's face turned deathly pale. "It's over! Even you can't suppress the karmic ties of romance on Old Ba, Sect Master Qiu! We're suffering a backlash!"