Dust rose like a great curtain, swirling above the battlefield where Ye Tian stood alone against thousands. Armor littered the valley floor, warriors groaning or unconscious after the storm of Yang Qi he had unleashed. And yet, the real battle was only beginning.
The Iron Vein Sect's vanguard had been shattered, but their true elites had yet to appear. Ye Tian could feel them gathering beyond the thick fog of dust and shattered Qi.
He stepped forward, boots crushing cracked earth. Golden flames rippled off his body, each wave of Yang Qi turning the air uncomfortably hot. Even the trees in the distance trembled as if sweating under the pressure.
"Come out," Ye Tian said calmly. "I know you're here."
A loud metallic stomp echoed across the valley.
Then another.
Then a whole series, like giants marching in unison.
From the mist emerged nearly a hundred armored figures—Iron Vein Sect's Iron Titan Division, frontline elites who trained their bodies to the strength of spirit-forged metal. Their armor was carved with crimson runes, glowing faintly as their Qi synchronized.
Behind them walked a lone woman.
Tall. Mature. Dressed in obsidian armor that somehow still managed to highlight every curve. A war mace hung at her hip, heavy enough to crush mountains. Her cloak fluttered behind her like a banner of authority.
Ye Tian narrowed his eyes.
This aura… this presence…
**A Milf. A peak-engineered milf at that.**
"My, my," Ye Tian murmured. "This is going to be interesting."
The woman stopped a short distance away and met his gaze without blinking.
"Ye Tian of Jade Blossom Sect," she said, voice smooth and deep, with a slight rasp that somehow made it even more alluring. "I am Elder Bei Ling of the Iron Vein Sect. Commander of the Iron Titans."
Her eyes drifted over the battlefield—the fallen soldiers, the crushed boulders, the still-radiating scorch marks from Ye Tian's Sky-Piercing Yang Burst.
Then her gaze returned to him, sharper.
"You defeated an entire vanguard alone?"
"I don't like wasting time," Ye Tian replied.
The Iron Titan soldiers braced, raising shields thicker than doors. They knew what kind of monster they were facing.
Elder Bei Ling studied him quietly. "Your Yang Qi is… unusually dense. Dangerous."
Ye Tian smiled faintly. "Flattery will get you everywhere."
She blinked. For a moment, her composed expression slipped. "…You're bolder than I expected."
"It's part of my charm."
One of the Iron Titan captains shouted, "Elder! Allow us to crush this bastard!"
But Elder Bei Ling raised a gloved hand. The soldiers fell silent immediately.
"No. I will test him myself."
A murmur rippled through the Iron Titans. Elder Bei Ling stepped forward, armor plates shifting with each powerful stride. Her Qi was like molten steel—heavy, burning, but perfectly controlled. Unlike most Iron Vein elites, her aura wasn't crude and oppressive. It was refined, sharpened by decades of discipline and… experience.
And Ye Tian knew from experience—women like her were a dangerous weakness for his Dao.
"You're different from the others," Ye Tian said as she approached.
Elder Bei Ling lifted a brow. "In what way?"
"You're married."
Her eyes widened. "What—"
"And not just married," Ye Tian continued, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "You have a husband who doesn't satisfy you in either cultivation or… other departments."
A crack appeared in the ground where she stepped. "You dare!"
Ye Tian shrugged. "My Dao specializes in recognizing certain energies. And your suppressed Yin Qi is… screaming."
The Iron Titan soldiers stiffened, several dropping their jaws.
Elder Bei Ling's face flushed with fury—or perhaps embarrassment. Her grip on the war mace tightened.
"You insolent little—"
She vanished.
The ground where she had stood exploded from sheer force.
Ye Tian grinned. "Finally."
Their clash echoed like thunder as she appeared before him, swinging her mace down with enough power to break mountains. Ye Tian blocked with a palm wrapped in golden Yang Qi, the impact sending shockwaves rippling across the valley.
Bang!
Another strike.
Bang!
Bang!
Her mace moved with brutal efficiency, each blow calculated to kill. She wasn't holding back. Ye Tian dodged, parried, and countered with strikes of his own—swift, precise, each infused with intense heat.
The battle looked like a dance—one of overwhelming strength versus overwhelming vitality.
"Iron Body Art: Hundredfold Impact!"
Elder Bei Ling's mace exploded with dark crimson Qi, striking Ye Tian's chest directly.
Dust shot up.
The soldiers cheered—until Ye Tian's silhouette stepped out unharmed, shirt ripped open but skin unblemished, muscles glowing with golden light.
"That was pretty good," he admitted. "But if that's all—"
He appeared behind her.
"—I'll end this quickly."
But Elder Bei Ling spun, faster than he expected, her knee aiming for his ribs. He caught it with one hand.
Her face flushed at the contact.
"You—!" She shoved him away and created distance, her breathing heavier, her Qi unstable.
Ye Tian immediately noticed the shift.
Her Yin Qi surged—violently.
Too violently.
He understood instantly.
"You've been forcefully suppressing a cultivation backlash," he said. "Your Yin Meridian is clogged."
Elder Bei Ling froze.
He hit the mark.
Again.
"Your husband can't help you because he's too weak," Ye Tian continued mercilessly. "So you've been enduring it alone."
Her fingers trembled around her mace. "…Shut up."
"If you don't release the excess Yin Qi soon," Ye Tian said, "you'll suffer permanent damage."
"SHUT UP!"
She dashed at him with a roar, but her steps faltered halfway—her Qi fluctuating wildly. She nearly collapsed, barely catching herself with her weapon.
The Iron Titan soldiers panicked. "Elder!"
Ye Tian sighed. "You're not my enemy anymore."
He appeared beside her before the soldiers could react.
"Don't touch her!"
"Get away from Elder Bei Ling!"
"Kill him!"
Ye Tian released a burst of Yang Qi so heavy and dense it pinned all Iron Titan soldiers to their knees instantly.
He gently held Elder Bei Ling's arm as she trembled violently.
"Your cultivation method is flawed," he said softly. "Let me stabilize it."
"You— you… just want to take advantage of—"
"No," Ye Tian said seriously. "I'm not helping because of my Dao."
He leaned close, his voice calm and gentle.
"I'm helping because you're a good woman who works too hard."
She stared at him, stunned.
For a moment, she saw something different in his eyes—a rare sincerity, not lust.
Her resistance wavered.
"I… don't need your pity," she whispered.
"It's not pity," he said. "It's recognition."
Her breath hitched.
Then she exhaled slowly, defeated.
"…Do what you must. Before the backlash worsens."
Ye Tian nodded and placed a hand on her back, pure Yang Qi flowing through her meridians. Her armor glowed as steam rose from her skin.
She shivered.
The Iron Titan soldiers watched in terrified awe as their elder's violent Qi fluctuation calmed under Ye Tian's touch.
After a full minute, Elder Bei Ling's breathing steadied.
She stepped back weakly. "I… feel lighter."
Ye Tian smiled. "Good."
Then her eyes flickered with a mix of confusion, gratitude, and something else she quickly hid.
"This debt… the Iron Vein Sect will not forget."
Ye Tian turned away.
"I'm not done yet."
He faced the still trembling army of Iron Titans.
"Go back," Ye Tian said. "Tell your Sect Lord—if he wants war… I'll bring it to his front door."
The valley trembled under his Yang Qi as he rose into the sky.
Elder Bei Ling watched him leave, fingers pressed to her chest.
"…What kind of monster are you?"
Ye Tian's voice echoed from above.
"A legendary one."