The ground exploded around them as dust filled the air. The spiritual energy bursting from Yang Zhen carried a terrifying destructive force. When he was just a meter away from Horn, his right palm turned into a claw, reaching for Horn's throat. "You little bastard, stop pretending in front of me!" he snarled.
Yang Zhen's entire hand was enveloped in a sharp, menacing aura. This was the Rank Three combat skill, Eagle Claw Shattering the Sky. An ethereal image of an eagle's talon formed above his hand, and before it could even touch Horn, a stone tablet outside the academy exploded from the sheer force.
Mr. Wei and the others doubted that Horn, even with his early stage of the Good Fortune Realm cultivation, could withstand Yang Zhen's attack. But they also knew he wouldn't be defeated so easily. All four of them moved to intervene.
As Yang Zhen's claws closed in on Horn, Lu Lin and the others could only watch, helpless. Yang Hai, seeing his brother's imminent victory, smiled in twisted triumph.
However, Yang Zhen's expression suddenly changed. His claws were just five centimeters from Horn's throat, but they couldn't move forward, as if an invisible wall blocked his advance.
"What the...?" Yang Zhen couldn't believe it. The young man before him, who had been so nonchalant, was somehow preventing his attack. "Little bastard, you think you can fool me with tricks?" Yang Zhen growled, channeling more power into his claws. For a moment, they advanced another centimeter.
But before he could celebrate, a sudden pfft sound filled the air as his entire right hand disintegrated into a mist of blood.
"Ahhh!" Yang Zhen screamed in agony, but his cries were cut short as Horn reached out, grabbing him by the forehead and lifting him effortlessly. "Didn't you ask why I was laughing?" Horn's voice was cold and steady. "I'm laughing because you don't know the difference between life and death."
Yang Zhen, now powerless and terrified, stared into Horn's indifferent eyes. How could this young man, who looked no older than twenty, possess such overwhelming strength? Was he truly more powerful than Yang Zhen, a genuine expert at the early stage of the Creation Realm?
Mr. Wei, Mr. Qiao, and the others halted in their tracks, their eyes wide with shock. "Zixuan," Jiang Wan breathed, "just how powerful is Horn's cultivation? He's clearly beyond the early stage of Creation."
Lin Zixuan shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know. He's never shown his true aura. He must be using some kind of concealment technique."
Mr. Wei and Mr. Qiao exchanged looks of resignation. They had always thought themselves unmatched, yet compared to Horn, they now felt as if they had wasted their lives.
With Yang Zhen's oppressive aura no longer affecting them, Tang Yuxin, Wang Menglu, and Lu Lin could finally move again. Lu Lin, still in shock, muttered, "Brother Su... is incredible!"
Meanwhile, Yang Hai's face drained of color, his mind unable to process what was happening. "This can't be real," he whispered to himself. "There's no way this abandoned son of the Su family is this powerful. It's impossible!"
Jiang Wan, seeing Yang Hai's breakdown, calmly flicked her wrist, sending a small pebble hurtling toward him. Before Yang Hai could finish shouting, "No, you can't kill me, I'm an Anbu—," the pebble pierced his forehead, silencing him forever.
Yang Zhen watched in horror as his half-brother fell, lifeless, to the ground. The fear in him deepened. He didn't want to die. Not like this.
"Senior," Yang Zhen begged, tears streaming down his face, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have offended you. Please, give me a chance to live!"
Horn, sensing the murderous intent still lurking in Yang Zhen's heart, saw through his ploy. At that moment, a dog ran out from the academy, urinating on the muddy ground nearby. With a flick of his wrist, Horn sent Yang Zhen flying into the muck.
"You want to live?" Horn said calmly. "Didn't you just say you wanted me dead? If your mouth is so foul, then I'll treat you to a good meal to cleanse it. Eat the dirt in front of you. And don't make me say it twice."
Yang Zhen, smelling the stench of the urine-soaked mud, hesitated. But faced with the fear of death, he forced himself down into the dirt and began chewing, retching all the while.
Mr. Wei and the others looked on with disdain. Yang Zhen, once one of the most feared figures in the southwest, was now reduced to this pitiful state.
After about ten minutes, Yang Zhen, his mouth full of dirt, looked up at Horn and stammered, "Senior, I've... I've eaten it all."
Horn nodded indifferently. "Alright, I'll spare your life."
Yang Zhen, relieved, began to stand, but as he did, Horn moved his fingers. Four sharp beams of energy shot out, severing Yang Zhen's limbs in an instant.
"Ahhh!" Yang Zhen's scream echoed through the air as he collapsed, bleeding profusely. "You bastard," he wailed, "you said you'd let me live!"
Horn's gaze was cold. "I said I wouldn't kill you. And I haven't. I just removed your limbs. As for whether someone else here wants to finish you off, that's beyond my control."
With those words, Mr. Wei and Mr. Qiao stepped forward, crushing Yang Zhen's head beneath their feet, ending his life with a sickening crunch.
Horn didn't spare a glance at the dead Yang Zhen. With the spatial crack in Linzhou sealed, it was time to attend to other matters. "Yuxin," he said, "I need to go to Tianhai. It's time to settle things with the Su family once and for all."