At this moment, there were two cultivator disciples guarding the path leading to Giant Peak. After all, this was a gathering of the Thirty-Six Caves, so naturally not just anyone could enter.

After a short while, Ding Fan arrived at the front end of the path. Meanwhile, the two sect leaders did not stop him, but one of them turned to a young man behind him and said:

"Drive that person away. This is the gathering of the Thirty-Six Caves, not a place anyone can approach!"

After Sect Master Gao of the Gaoyuan Sect spoke, the young man behind him replied resolutely:

"Yes, Sect Master!"

The young cultivator then approached Ding Fan directly and said:

"Brother, the place ahead isn't somewhere you can go. Hurry up and leave!"

Upon hearing this, Ding Fan was momentarily startled, but then his face turned calm with a hint of sarcasm as he said:

"You can walk ahead, so why can't I?"

"You..."

The young cultivator was taken aback by Ding Fan's words, surprised by his insensitivity. He had been kindly advising him to leave quickly since this was his first time here, and this was the gathering of the Thirty-Six Caves, not a place for ordinary cultivators to approach. He had kindly advised him, yet Ding Fan did not appreciate it.

The young cultivator observed the calm True Qi fluctuation emanating from Ding Fan and said disdainfully:

"No reason why, you just can't go up because of this..."

Boom...

The young cultivator then punched a large rock, instantly causing it to crack, followed by a crash as it shattered into small pieces, disintegrating completely. After all, the young cultivator was at the Nascent Soul Mid Stage and considered a top disciple in the Gaoyuan Sect. He highly valued the opportunity the sect master gave him to attend the gathering of the Thirty-Six Caves.

Therefore, for the young cultivator, if he couldn't even handle such a small matter, he would have no face to gain the attention of the sect master. Hence, he wanted to show his skill and scare Ding Fan away.

"Sect Master Gao, this kid is impressive!" At this moment, the sect master of the Qinghe Sect couldn't help but praise Sect Master Gao after witnessing the young cultivator's actions.

"This boy merely has some brute strength. In the sect, he is considered somewhat talented, otherwise, I wouldn't have brought him here."

Sect Master Gao said with a somewhat smug expression.

Sect Master Gao was quite satisfied with the young disciple's display, feeling some admiration. The large rock had been shattered into pieces with just a casual punch, which wasn't bad. Especially hearing the praise from the Qinghe Sect's sect master beside him made him even more smug.

"I've brought some disciples this time too. Perhaps we can let the juniors have some sparring matches, to foster some exchange." The middle-aged man from Qinghe Sect spoke with a confident look in his eyes.

"Sounds good, no problem at all. I bet there will be no shortage of tests at this gathering of the Thirty-Six Caves." Sect Master Gao said, trying to maintain a calm facade despite his serious gaze towards the disciples behind the Qinghe Sect's middle-aged man. He had noticed that those disciples were all full of vital energy and spirit, indeed fine cultivators, presumably with great potential.

It was hard to say whether his disciples would be able to compete against them. However, he didn't oppose the idea of disciples from two sects sparring, as it was a rare opportunity for the disciples to exercise themselves.

...

At this moment, Ding Fan, upon witnessing the young cultivator's display, felt somewhat stirred and eager for a fight. Ding Fan then calmly said to him:

"Punching rocks doesn't count as a skill. Why don't we have a match? If I lose, I'll listen to you."

"What did you say? You want to spar with me? Hahaha..."

The young cultivator was shocked upon hearing Ding Fan's words, unable to believe that he wanted to spar with him. It was almost laughable. Ding Fan didn't even seem to have reached the Nascent Soul Stage, yet he wanted to spar with him. A few random moves from the young cultivator would bury him!

The young cultivator couldn't help but turn back and look at Sect Master Gao with an inquiring glance.

At this moment, Sect Master Gao was shocked to hear what Ding Fan said. He never expected that boy to be so arrogant, wanting to spar with his disciple. The boy didn't even seem to have reached the Nascent Soul Stage yet, while his disciple had already achieved the Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivation level. Clearly, at such an age, his disciple was absolutely a prodigy.

Ordinary cultivators of the same age would definitely not be a match for his disciple. This was his sect's most prized disciple; otherwise, he wouldn't have brought him to this 36 Caves gathering. It was both a training opportunity and a chance for his disciple to gain opportunities, which would greatly benefit their sect.

But how could such an outstanding disciple compete with an opponent like that youth? It would be no challenge or help at all, purely a waste of time, and facing such low-level cultivators was simply an insult.

Just as Sect Master Gao wanted the young cultivator to refuse and send the opponent away, the Sect Master of Qinghe Sect was looking at him full of doubt, saying:

"Since someone has challenged, wouldn't Sect Master Gao let your disciple show some skills? Don't let others joke at your expense..."

"Just a low-level cultivator, how could he be a match for Feng Er? There's no need to waste time here." Sect Master Gao disdainfully glanced at Ding Fan, then looked, somewhat unhappily, at the Sect Master of Qinghe Sect. He naturally understood what he was planning, clearly wanting to see his disciple's capabilities, to let his disciple be prepared.

Of course, he wouldn't agree.

"You can't say that. Who says the opponent is a low-level disciple? Is it just because Brother Gao sees him as young? You should know, our Lake Master is about the same age as your opponent, even younger. Does Brother Gao also disregard our Lake Master's abilities?" the Sect Master of Qinghe Sect said, looking at him with doubt.

"You... Alright, of course, I dare not underestimate the Lake Master, the number one young prodigy under heaven, whom I admire. Since Brother Tian wants to see my disciple's abilities so much, then watch." For a moment, Sect Master Gao was caught by the other's words and could not refute, finally looking very displeased at Sect Master Tian of Qinghe Sect.

Sect Master Tian heard the other's words and smiled with satisfaction, glad the other agreed. He couldn't help but glance at the burly young cultivator beside him, giving him a meaningful look. The burly young man immediately understood the sect master's intention, nodded seriously, and then looked toward Ding Fan and the Nascent Soul Mid Stage young cultivator. Sect Master Tian had created a great opportunity for him to understand his opponent.

As for Ding Fan, it was clear that both the Sect Master of Qinghe Sect and the burly youth directly ignored him. Such cultivators could be easily dealt with in just a few moves and were naturally not the focus of his attention.

At that moment, no one paid attention to Ding Fan, but instead, all eyes fell on the young cultivator facing him.

Sect Master Gao spoke indifferently to the young cultivator:

"Make it a quick fight, just enough to make a point."

"Yes," the young cultivator replied directly. Immediately, a flash of anger appeared in his eyes as he looked at Ding Fan. If it weren't for Ding Fan's refusal to leave and even seemingly challenging him, he wouldn't be giving the Qinghe Sect people a chance to watch. The young cultivator didn't exactly know what the 36 Caves gathering entailed, but he vaguely sensed that the Sect Master of Qinghe Sect had brought some very talented disciples, and some overt and covert contests were inevitable.

But before the contest had even begun, he would have to reveal some of his techniques because of this insolent guy in front of him, which was obviously unfavorable. The young cultivator couldn't help but feel a little anger at Ding Fan, grim-faced, he said:

"This is all your doing. If I accidentally hurt you, hope you won't blame me, brother!"

"Alright, bring it on!" Ding Fan readily agreed. He had seen the earlier scene where the young cultivator shattered a boulder, noticing that his strength was not weak. Ding Fan couldn't help but want to test his Mortal Fist and see if his training had made any progress. Clearly, the opponent was a good subject to practice with.

Even though Ding Fan had the confidence to kill a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator without using the Frost Toad right now, he wouldn't use the Frost Toad or his flying sword this time, just intending to test his Mortal Fist. The opponent was also a Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivator, quite close to his own cultivation level, which is why Ding Fan chose him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Soon, the young cultivator released all of his True Qi, wanting to finish the battle in the shortest time possible. Since the disciples of the Qinghe Sect wanted to watch his strength, he would entirely overwhelm them, making them find him daunting. This way, revealing his abilities wouldn't be in vain.

Boom, boom, boom!

A series of muffled sounds came as the young cultivator's hands formed into tiger claw shapes, launching a series of violent strikes towards Ding Fan. But Ding Fan cleverly dodged it, only to see the strikes explode in the air with a terrifying momentum. Surely, such hits, if they landed on an ordinary cultivator, would create several large holes quickly.

At this point, the young cultivator was surprised to see that his attacks had been dodged. He had honed his Tiger Fist to perfection, typically not something ordinary cultivators could avoid. The opponent did not seem to be just as they appeared, seemingly having some skill!

"You've got some skill! But you're still not my match!" the young cultivator said with a somewhat ferocious expression. His body moved again, ferociously charging towards Ding Fan. At this moment, the young cultivator's aura was like a tiger who had spotted its prey, and his mere look was enough to make one's heart tremble with fear.

Boom, boom, boom!

The young cultivator rushed at Ding Fan, launching punches, obviously much faster and more potent than before. His punches hit the air with enough force to make it explode like sudden ripples spreading in all directions.

Even without being directly hit by the young cultivator's fists, the mere aftershocks in the air were something ordinary cultivators could not withstand.