I long to return home!

"You've cultivated for a hundred years, boy, you're far too arrogant!" the robust old man roared, unleashing an astonishing surge of power. Even the invisible air was shattered by that force.

Steam rose from his strong right arm as he threw a punch, the force of which whistled towards Gu Changgeng! Gu Changgeng was shocked. Before he could even make a defensive move, the fist was smashing towards his head. If that punch landed, it would be quite severe.

Gu Changgeng swiftly formed a hand seal and cast a spell, "Snow Without Trace." As he uttered the spell, snow poured out from his entire body, as if he were disassembling his body and plunging into the swirling snow to reassemble himself.

The robust old man looked disdainful and said sternly, "After a hundred years of cultivation, you really have no foundation to rely on." He sneered, his eyes narrowed, and a powerful fist gust of wind gathered the scattered snowflakes back together, gradually revealing Gu Changgeng's figure.

"boom!"

The punch landed solidly, and the world seemed to fall into silence. A few breaths later, the shockwave rolled and swept for hundreds of miles, shattering the void of all sizes!

A ring of air rippled outwards from between the two figures, followed by a deafening boom! A beam of icy blue light shot straight down from a height of thousands of feet.

The impact created a deep crater within a radius of hundreds of miles, and the mountains and forests were destroyed in an instant, turning everything into ruins with the shockwave from the loud bang.

After a long while, a figure, as frail as a candle in the wind, staggered to his feet, supporting himself with a long spear. Gu Changgeng's ice-blue hair was loose and fluttered in the wind.

He couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. Soon after, he stood in the broken pile of rubble and laughed loudly. His clothes were torn to shreds, but the snowflake cloak behind him was brand new.

He gripped his cloak tightly, spat out a mouthful of blood, and chuckled, "Senior sister, it seems you've saved me again, but from now on, I won't slack off."

Gu Changgeng spoke firmly, looking up at the robust old man who was looking down at him from thousands of feet in the sky.

Even from a distance of thousands of feet, the robust old man saw everything clearly, and his strong body trembled uncontrollably, as if instinctively afraid.

He didn't take it seriously, suppressing his shock, and his loud and authoritative voice echoed between heaven and earth: "Young Gu, if you swear to your Dao heart that you will not interfere in the affairs of the academy for five hundred years, I will make an exception and this will not happen."

Upon hearing this, Gu Changgeng dragged himself forward slowly, and he laughed coldly: "You old codger, do you really think that burning your primordial spirit and forcibly increasing your cultivation can suppress me? Today, I invite your soul to return to the world and pursue your Great Dao!"

"You brat!" The robust old man exclaimed in surprise, snorting angrily, "You won't listen to reason, so I'll drink the penalty cup. Since that's the case, I won't care about our past friendship. It's time to change the head of the Star Watching Academy." With that, he channeled his powerful spiritual energy and summoned his natal magic weapon, a formidable Bagua axe.

As soon as this axe was unleashed, it drew upon the power of heaven and earth, causing its body to instantly grow several times larger, transforming into a giant axe hundreds of feet long!

"I have tempered this axe for a thousand years, imbued with the spiritual power of heaven and earth. With a strike of this axe, I can sever the physical body! I can also sever the primordial spirit!" The robust old man cast a spell and raised the giant axe, his tone slightly smug. He had tempered this axe as his natal magic weapon for a thousand years, and it was already considered a high-grade magic weapon of the Nascent Soul stage.

"Young Gu, you can die in peace now, buried under this axe." The burly old man laughed heartily, then his white eyebrows furrowed as he gripped the giant axe and brought it down, shouting, "Open Heaven and Earth!"

Gu Changgeng stood amidst the ruins, gazing at the enormous axe that resembled divine punishment. The axe's fall would unleash a catastrophe, its destructive power immense, likely annihilating everything within a three-hundred-mile radius with the power of heaven and earth contained within it.

Even before the axe fell, a powerful shockwave could be felt right in the center. Gu Changgeng felt as if his body was about to be cleaved in two by the axe. As he got closer and closer, the ground began to split open, and a chasm appeared in the center, which continued to widen.

Gu Changgeng took a deep breath, his gaze resolute. He soared into the air, spun around, and brandished his spear, unleashing a dazzling curtain of ice-blue light. He shouted, "If Heaven is heartless, I will overturn it!"

Gradually, the power of stars gathered around him, and his ice-blue hair was burned by flames in a few breaths, turning crimson. The spear in his hand also changed, turning into a fire crystal color.

A deafening roar echoed across the heavens and earth, unleashing wave after wave of catastrophe. Within a radius of thousands of miles, some places experienced landslides and earthquakes, some rivers froze into ice, and others were ravaged by thunder and scorching flames. Even the Star Watching Academy, protected by its array formations, was affected to some extent.

Finally, the light barrier annihilated the giant axe, and the robust old man's figure shot backward, blood splattering across the sky. His primordial spirit was almost shattered, his cultivation level plummeted, and even his indestructible physical body at the Nascent Soul stage was broken. His robust body began to dim and was about to dissipate.

It wasn't over yet. In the blink of an eye, Gu Changgeng arrived, his face filled with murderous intent, as if he wanted to pierce the old man's soul with the spear in his hand.

Just as they were about to make their move, two panicked female voices suddenly came from afar, shouting almost simultaneously, "Wait!"

Before the words were finished, two figures rushed towards them. One of them was a white-haired woman who looked to be in her thirties or forties. As Gu Changgeng's spear thrust down, she quickly formed hand seals and summoned her natal magic weapon, a lotus flower containing the power of heaven and earth.

The lotus flower, upon colliding with the blazing spear tip, began to wilt slightly, ultimately losing two petals to withstand the deadly attack.

In an instant, the two women arrived within ten feet of Gu Changgeng. The other woman had black hair and was quite beautiful. She exchanged a glance with the white-haired woman beside her and instantly understood her meaning. She pulled the robust old man's nearly destroyed body back and quickly took out a high-grade pill to give him, which stopped the body from collapsing.

For some unknown reason, the woman made a move that Gu Changgeng, with his cultivation level, was able to retrieve. However, he reverted to his ice-blue long hair, looking at her with a cold expression. After a long while, he slowly uttered, "Second Elder..." He paused when looking at the beautiful woman, "Fifth Elder."

Seeing that there was room for negotiation, the two women breathed a sigh of relief. The beautiful Fifth Elder looked at Gu Changgeng, who had a cold expression, and hesitated for a long time before finally revealing her purpose: "Changgeng, the First Elder has agreed to your disciple's promotion request. As long as the Third Elder is let go, the promotion trial can begin soon."

Seeing that Gu Changgeng remained indifferent, the Fifth Elder pursed his lips and hesitated before speaking, "For the sake of your senior sister, would you please give the Fifth Elder some face?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Changgeng's expression changed slightly. He glanced at the beautiful woman, replied with a faint "Hmm," and then put away his spear and vanished in an instant.

Not long after he left, the two women looked at the ruins on the ground, both trembling with fear; it was clear this battle was a fight to the death. At this moment, the beautiful woman's eyes held an inscrutable emotion as she softly uttered, "A lazy person underwent a dramatic transformation in ten years, and in a hundred years, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching the Nascent Soul realm. My disciple, if you were still alive, you would have had a wonderful marriage..."