Sect Leader's Rise to the top!

Hou Zhou watched on in horror as his men were defeated one by one. If he stayed motionless any longer, then they would all die.

Hou Zhou gritted his teeth and moved towards Xu Wei. The masked girl who was fighting Xu Wei seemed to be the stronger of the three so he figured if he got rid of her quickly, then Xu Wei would be able to provide backup for the remaining veteran to escape.

Hou Zhou rushed at Mina with his bare fists, moving faster than any one of the Lee family members could fathom.

"Martial Art: Raging Fist!", he yelled as he arrived before Mina and threw a fist that pierced the air and shook the ground around him.

"They've made their move!" said Craftsmaster Lee to Kai as he also got ready to enter the fray. He turned around to see what Kai would do, but Kai had disappeared.

"Secret Art: Ice Casket!", the frantic voice came from the masked man who had suddenly yelled. Craftsmaster Lee wanted to turn his attention back to the battle but was instead pushed back by a sudden shock-wave. This was followed by an earth-shattering sound, which brought the surrounding mortals to their knees.

The wave traveled a short distance then dissipated when it reached an invisible barrier. The Twin-Lions Sect's liaison whistled in admiration while standing behind the invisible barrier.

"That was quite the impact. it's a good thing I set up the isolation talisman or else this place would be reduced to rubble...not that I care..." he said to himself while observing the fight.

Back within the barrier, the mysterious man was panting heavily while looking at an injured Hou Zhou. The attack had been so sudden that had he not been paying attention to Kai's movements, he would have completely missed it.

The mysterious man recalled that Hou Zhou had suddenly jumped into the battle and gone after the masked girl, that's when Kai made his move. He suddenly disappeared then reappeared right before Hou Zhou, meeting his fist with a seemingly normal fist of his own. However, when the impact came, Hou Zhou was the only one to recoil backward with his arm bending in the wrong direction.

That's when he burst into action, encasing Hou Zhou's body in his ice Casket technique. He was able to do this remotely thanks to a catalyst that he had instructed Hou Zhou to keep with him. This allowed him to shield Hou Zhou from the brunt of the force, but his arm was still badly mangled.

The impact of Kai's attack left a deep impression on the mysterious man as he pulled Hou Zhou towards him.

"That attack isn't something a normal Qi-Condensation cultivator should be capable of...could he be a Foundation Establishment Expert?!..."Hou Zhou said in a panic as he got up on one knee and ate a small green pill. The bleeding on his arm was quickly clogged and he was able to pop his arm back into the socket, giving him some mobility in it again.

"He destroyed the ice casket technique that easily, so he has to be stronger than he is letting on. I doubt he is a Foundation Establishment Expert, but he should at least be at the peak of Qi-Condensation!", said the mysterious man solemnly.

"Peak of Qi-Condensation!", Hou Zhou repeated while looking at Kai. This changed everything in his eyes, this was no longer a challenge, but a fight for survival. Hou Zhou looked over to Xu Wei had taken the chance to slip away and rescue the remaining veteran, but she had taken too many direct hits in the process which destroyed her Grade-3 armor. The armor had been quite rare and expensive, but he had been willing to give it to her since she was a talent that was hard to find.

Xu Wei dragged the injured veteran back while watching Kai in complete fear. She wondered if this was really the same man she had fought a few months ago.

Mina on the other hand had been aware of Hou Zhou's sneak attack thanks telepathic warning from Kai. She knew he would intercept it for her, so she had nothing to worry about. Instead, she had used that time to deliver a heavy attack on Xu Wei's armor which put it on the brink of shattering.

When Hou Zhou had thrown the powerful Qi-filled fist at her, Kai suddenly appeared and intercepted it with his own. The man was then encased in a ball of ice, but the force of Kai's attack also shattered this attack, pushing him away instead

Mina turned around and looked at Kai's figure which had increased and become slightly taller over the past few months. His intricately decorated robes fluttered in the night breeze as he silently stood in-front of her.

"You've done well. You guys can fall back for now. I'll handle the rest", Kai said as he walked towards Hou Zhou and the mysterious man.

"Yes Master!", Mina said while starring at his back. Ryu and Old Lao also went to stand beside Mina, ready to observe Kai's battle.

"He's coming!", Said the masked man as he started channeling his Qi. Hou Zhou stood in-front of him and did the same.

Kai rushed towards Hou Zhou and threw a flurry of normal Qi-enhanced attacks. Hou Zhou had become more careful now and he employed his Raging Fist technique to the fullest.

Kai's attacks were unrefined but powerful, while Hou Zhou's seemed practiced and elegant. Hou Zhou tried to block, counter, or parry Kai's attacks using his Raging Fist technique. However, Kai would simply encase his fist in large amounts of Wind-Qi, stopping any thoughts of blocking from entering Hou Zhou's mind.

Kai wasn't able to figure out the intricacies of the Raging Fist technique with made him unable to land a hit on Hou Zhou, while at the same time, Hou Zhou couldn't initiate any attacks for fear of being hit by Kai's powerful fist. Like this, the battle reached a stalemate.

At that moment, the mysterious man suddenly yelled. "I'm ready!". Hou Zhou heard this and immediately pulled away from the fight using a movement skill.

"Forbidden Art: Ice prison!", he said while putting his hands on the ground. Right then, a thin film of ice spread out towards Kai. Kai noticed this and felt the powerful Qi spreading within the ice. He tried to escape the radius of the ice but it was too late. The ground shook as sharp rods of ice shot out of the ground towards Kai, intent on piercing him.

Kai activated his [Primordial Dragon Armament] to cover his body with scales then ran through the ice shards, towards the mysterious man. The mysterious man was shocked when he saw that his ice shards were simply shattering when they came into contact with Kai's body. This was his most powerful technique passed down through generations within his family, yet to this man, it seemed to be worth nothing.

"Wait!, we surrender!" Hou Zhou yelled when he noticed this. If this attack didn't work, then they were really out of options.

Kai kicked off and moved towards the masked man. He was ready to deliver a kick to the man's head when the Twin-Lion's Sect's liaison spoke.

"The battle is over, the challenger has forfeited. As the appointed representative of the Twin-Lion's sect, I hereby announce the Lee family as the winners of this challenge!. Any further conflict by either side from this point onward will be seen as a direct challenge to the Twin-Lions Sect's authority and will be dealt with severely...".

As he said the last part, he focused his eyes curiously on Kai, waiting to see what he would do.

Kai suddenly stopped his kick inches away from the mysterious man's head. The mysterious man fell to the ground in shock while looking up at Kai.. The force of the kick was enough to blow the hood off his head, revealing him to be a skinny old man who looked exactly like Hou Zhou.