[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star":3,"chapter-after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-96":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","After Fifteen Years of Secret Cultivation, I Start as a Top-Grade Ultimate Peak!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2282204,4464,"Chapter 96: The Gap","after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-96",96,"\u003Cp>Hearing this, Li Yuanling froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, she realized Li Muxian’s words sounded familiar—it was exactly what she had sworn to him before coming to Fuzhou City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like a boomerang thrown out had now struck her squarely on the head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Li Yuanling had no time to feel embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the copper rings above the wooden boat suddenly shattered at once, silently dissolving into fine copper dust that drifted down like rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yuanling looked up in shock, and in the next instant, a hand seized the collar at the back of her neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she felt the entire underground palace vanish in an instant; when she saw clearly again, she stood atop the black giant ship that had floated above them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yuanling glanced around in confusion and saw two figures standing directly ahead, their martial qi terrifying, studying them both.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The aura radiating from them, chilling and overwhelming, made it clear: they were both Tianren-level martial experts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never expected it to be you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gray-robed elder Sheng Shi’an’s eyes swirled with bloodlight, staring at Li Muxian in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had assumed the two behind them had a powerful ally—but he never imagined the true master was Li Muxian himself!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a young Tianren-level martial expert shattered Sheng Shi’an’s lifelong assumptions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had roamed the martial world for most of his life, encountered countless martial geniuses—but someone like Li Muxian? He had never heard of such a person, never seen one!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Li Muxian’s gaze swept over Sheng Shi’an and Tu Yao, and he had no intention of wasting words—he spoke bluntly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You must be the ones in charge of Fuzhou City. Good. Hand over the Qilin blood for me to study.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Tu Yao’s pupils narrowed slightly, and he exchanged a glance with Sheng Shi’an:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How strong do you think this man is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheng Shi’an’s bloodlight grew visibly denser; the surrounding heavenly qi continued flowing into his body without pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black iron chains writhed, clinking loudly, while his aura steadily rose—as if, so long as heavenly qi endured, his power had no limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have not seen him use any martial technique, so I do not know what style he cultivates. But his body movement must be extraordinary—perhaps even comparable to Lingbo Xianzi’s Lingbo Step.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Moreover, from how he manipulated heavenly qi to shatter my copper rings, he must possess an extremely powerful ‘Qi Control’ divine art. Do not underestimate him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Tu Yao’s expression shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The difference between post-heaven and pre-heaven martial realms lies in whether the martial artist can absorb and store heavenly qi within their meridians and dantian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The difference between pre-heaven and Tianren lies in whether one comprehends the boundary between self and heaven-earth, using one’s own martial qi to control heavenly qi beyond the body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the Tianren level, one’s martial qi flows endlessly, and one can use a point to guide the whole, a small force to command the vast—controlling all heavenly qi in the world to amplify the power of one’s martial arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this level, the sheer volume of qi controlled far surpasses even the greatest martial masters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his view, if Li Muxian truly possessed a technique to command qi, he had elevated the mastery of heavenly qi to an even higher tier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he and Sheng Shi’an’s cultivation surpassed Li Muxian’s, they would still need to tread with extreme caution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking this, Tu Yao did not overestimate himself and immediately advised Sheng Shi’an:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We can pursue the escaped ones later. For safety, please join me in subduing this man now—avoid any complications.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the gray-robed elder Sheng Shi’an slowly nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bloodlight in his eyes grew restless, blooming from his eye sockets like rising flames of blood, as if his inner madness and malice could no longer be contained:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have never seen such a shocking martial genius. Let us capture him and see what secrets he hides!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as he spoke, Sheng Shi’an released the restrictions he had long suppressed. The surrounding martial qi trembled violently; the black iron chains wrapped around his body snapped instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In their place, crimson chains erupted from his skin, writhing rapidly across his entire body, radiating a terrifying, towering bloodlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, boundless torrents of blood qi burst from Sheng Shi’an’s body, triggering a horrifying crimson storm that shattered the black iron ship beneath them, sending it crashing downward into the palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sheng Lao, no!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Tu Yao’s face turned pale—he tried to shout a warning, but it was already too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crimson storm was too powerful, sweeping in all directions; any rock or iron chain it passed over turned to dust in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the massive, heavy iron ship beneath them cracked and collapsed, crumbling from midair and falling in fragments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Sheng Shi’an was engulfed in rolling blood flames, standing motionless in midair, his aura dark, potent, and chilling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stalactites hanging from the cavern ceiling, unable to withstand the martial pressure radiating from him, shattered into stone dust that drifted down like snow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heavenly Demon Blood Palm Seal!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire underground void trembled. A massive hand, several zhang wide, formed from countless beams of bloodlight and torrential qi, silently appeared above Li Muxian and Li Yuanling. The next instant, it descended with terrifying, lethal force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yuanling, standing beside Li Muxian, was filled with terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she looked up at the descending blood hand, she clearly felt as if an invisible giant fist had seized the space around her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her body was sealed like wax, unable to breathe, unable to move—she could only wait helplessly as the giant hand fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li Muxian remained unmoved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gazed calmly at Sheng Shi’an, now like a blood demon incarnate, and slowly shook his head:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You guessed right—my martial cultivation is indeed Tianren. But…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You may not realize that the gap between one Tianren and another can sometimes be beyond measure.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Li Yuanling felt her collar seized again; the scenery before her vanished in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, she found herself hovering in midair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before her, just a foot away, floated Sheng Shi’an, still wrapped in blood flames—but now, those flames vanished like a receding tide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crimson light in his eyes extinguished instantly; the surrounding crimson storm vanished without a sound…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire underground space fell utterly silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even, as Li Yuanling turned her head slightly, she saw that the massive blood hand that had fallen below had disappeared without a trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1090,"2026-06-20T01:43:38.503Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","992b66694544ac9f9c62a255c404c50531a0539060e6d964569d70989ed42e09","after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-97","after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-95",259,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-cover.jpg"]