Since Lu Tianzi and company were just a bunch of Origin Core realm martial artists, Elder Qiren had not bothered to exert his full strength.
But even so, the combined pressure from him and the lingering Battle Intent in the cave was more than what most Origin Core realm martial artists could bear.
Yet in the face of such immense pressure, Lu Tianzi and Young Master Xuan Hao remained standing.
It was one thing for the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm Young Master Xuan Hao to be able to withstand the combined pressure. But for even the Third Cycle Origin Core realm Lu Tianzi to stay on his feet, it was something that Elder Qiren had never expected.
At this point, he could not help but grow even more interested in Lu Tianzi.
But interest was just interest.
Elder Qiren would not go easy on Lu Tianzi just because of that.
On the contrary, Elder Qiren was now getting curious about Lu Tianzi's limit, even feeling slightly tempted to increase the pressure on him!
Lu Tianzi gritted his teeth in pain, but he did not utter a word of complaint.
Back at the Divine Storm Sect, Lu Tianzi had experienced the strength of an Overlord when Elder Yinghe stepped in to stop his duel with Chengban.
At that time, just a single moment of exertion from Elder Yinghe was enough to cause him internal injuries.
In comparison to that, he knew that Elder Qiren was most definitely already holding back right now.
If he still complained about Elder Qiren abusing his higher cultivation level, Lu Tianzi might just end up angering Elder Qiren, causing the situation to worsen.
After all, there was no one else around to witness this, and thus Elder Qiren had no need to consider his status.
Lu Tianzi took a quick glance at Young Master Xuan Hao, the only other person left standing.
Young Master Xuan Hao was showing an expression of agony, beads of cold sweat covering his forehead as his body continued to tremble slightly.
It was obvious that just like Lu Tianzi, Young Master Xuan Hao was barely holding on.
By the looks of it, there was no need to hope that Young Master Xuan Hao would be able to resolve the situation.
But how else could they get out of this mess?
His Slaughter Essence cultivation level alone was not enough, and he certainly could not reveal his Spiritual Essence cultivation in front of a demon Overlord.
In fact, it might not be enough even if he did.
The only way he could think of was to activate his beastial bloodline and hope for the best.
Up till this day, his beastial bloodline activation had yet to fail him even once. He did not know how it would fare against an actual Overlord realm powerhouse, but he could no longer think of any other option.
Yet just as Lu Tianzi was about the activate his beastial bloodline, another idea struck him.
Be it the immense pressure at the War Intent Cliff or the pressure within the cave, they were all due to the lingering Battle Intent in those areas.
As long as he could master the use of Battle Intent, he might be able to create his own mental pressure and use it to counteract the pressure from Elder Qiren!
And after months of practice while being exposed to the old master's Battle Intent, Lu Tianzi could feel that he had already grasped the essentials.
Now, all that was left was for him to try it out himself.
He closed his eyes while tightening his grip around the Torrential Sabre.
Nanlan Qianxue, Young Master Xuan Hao, and Ruan Ling were all too busy trying to resist the pressure to notice, but the four youngsters from the White Tiger Immortal Sect immediately noticed Lu Tianzi tighten his grip on the Torrential Sabre.
"No way, is he trying to fight back?"
"What a joke! He might have caught Liuhao by surprise earlier, but the same thing would never work against Elder Qiren!"
The youngsters immediately started to discuss among themselves in schadenfreude.
Overlords had always been untouchable beings in their eyes. For Lu Tianzi to even think of resisting Elder Qiren was something completely inconceivable.
Even Elder Qiren smirked when he noticed Lu Tianzi's seemingly futile actions.
But when Lu Tianzi's trembling arm slowly rose through the air, the smirk on Elder Qiren's face started fading away as well.
Eyes closed, Lu Tianzi stood before everyone with the Torrential Sabre raised high into the air.
His entire body was trembling, yet he was somehow able to give others a bad premonition when they looked at him.
For a moment, there was absolute silence within the cave.
Apart from Nanlan Qianxue and Ruan Ling who were suffering under the unbearable combined pressure, all eyes fell upon Lu Tianzi who had suddenly taken on an offensive stance.
"Brother... Tianzi...?" Young Master Xuan Hao managed to say through gritted teeth.
However, his words did not reach Lu Tianzi.
Right now, Lu Tianzi was in a state of absolute focus, the memories from the past few months replaying in his head again and again.
Lu Tianzi's perception sank into his inner world, driving his true origin core and channelling Origin Force towards his raised arm.
Though it was just a minute amount, a new form of energy started forming within Lu Tianzi's inner world, fusing naturally into his Origin Force.
This was something that had never before appeared in Lu Tianzi, yet it was also something that Lu Tianzi was incomparably familiar with.
This was materialised Battle Intent.
Success!
While it was extremely faint as compared to the old master's, just being able to summon the slightest trace of it was enough to make Lu Tianzi's heart race.
After all, this was only his first attempt at it.
The moment he managed to fuse this faint wisp of Battle Intent into his Origin Force, Lu Tianzi felt the pressure on him lighten significantly.
In this state, leaving the cave before the end of the day would not be a problem at all.
But Lu Tianzi was not contented with just that.
Now that he had come this far, Lu Tianzi wanted to see just what this mysterious Battle Intent was capable of in his hands.
When his Origin Force had finally gathered within the Torrential Sabre, Lu Tianzi's eyes shot open, and his arm swung down in one smooth motion.
That one slash created an energy crescent that shot forward with extraordinary speed.
As the energy crescent sliced through the air, even the pressure within the cave was dissipated for an instant, neutralised by the sheer might of the sabre strike.
Though it was just a momentary respite, Nanlan Qianxue, Young Master Xuan Hao, Ruan Ling, and even the four youngsters from the White Tiger Immortal Sect felt a huge burden being lifted off their shoulders, allowing them to breathe normally once more.
This power...!
Elder Qiren's eyes immediately widened in shock.
"Step back!" Elder Qiren waved his hand, and an invisible force forcibly pulled the four youngsters away from the path of the energy crescent.
Fortunately, Lu Tianzi's sabre strike had not been aimed at anyone in particular, making it much easier to avoid.
The energy crescent shot past the four youngsters, exiting through the cave entrance and disappearing into the distance.
Silence immediately returned to the cave.
Nobody could believe what they just saw, not even Elder Qiren.
Under the pressure of the lingering Battle Intent and an Overlord powerhouse, the Third Cycle Origin Core realm Lu Tianzi actually chose to attack instead of begging for mercy?
How preposterous!
And what made it even more shocking was that if not for Elder Qiren, the four youngsters might even have been injured by him!
One had to know that these four youngsters not only had a higher cultivation level than Lu Tianzi, they also hailed from the strongest White Tiger Immortal Sect.
If this matter were to spread, not only would none of them be able to lift their heads in front of others in the future, even the White Tiger Immortal Sect's reputation would be undermined!
The four youngsters exchanged nervous glances, not knowing what they should do next.
By now, the four of them had already realised that despite their higher cultivation level, there was a high chance that they were actually weaker than Lu Tianzi.
Just the sabre strike earlier was enough of a deterrence, not to mention that Lu Tianzi might still have other tricks up his sleeve.
They could only look on helplessly at Elder Qiren, hoping for him to take revenge for them.
After all, this was already the second time that Lu Tianzi tried to injure one of them.
Surely Elder Qiren would not overlook this matter?
But they never expected that instead of avenging them, Elder Qiren would suddenly let out a hearty laugh.
"Hahaha! Impressive! Truly impressive!" Elder Qiren clapped his hands while removing his mental pressure on Lu Tianzi and company. "Young man, you are quite capable indeed!"
As an Overlord powerhouse, he had never once felt threatened by Lu Tianzi.
From his point of view, he was an a.d.u.l.t dealing with a problem child. The moment he got serious, Lu Tianzi would not be able to last more than a few seconds.
However, that did not stop him from appreciating Lu Tianzi as a talented junior. That, or Lu Tianzi was at least a junior with unfathomable secrets.
Under the shroud of the lingering Battle Intent in the cave, Elder Qiren had been unable to detect the faint trace of Battle Intent in Lu Tianzi's sabre strike.
But what he could see was that Lu Tianzi had clearly succeeded in dispelling the pressure around him.
Since there was nothing else stopping Lu Tianzi from leaving the cave, according to their previous agreement, he could no longer hold Lu Tianzi accountable for his previous actions.
Of course, punishing Lu Tianzi was the last thing on Elder Qiren's mind right now.
"Young man, may I know which influence you belong to?" Elder Qiren asked with a smile.
This sudden transformation in attitude caught everyone by surprise.
The four youngsters from the White Tiger Immortal Sect could only stare at Elder Qiren in indignation. They knew Elder Qiren's temperament better than anyone else present, and understood that he had clearly taken a liking to Lu Tianzi.
But to Lu Tianzi and company, Elder Qiren's smiling face did not appear all that friendly at all.
As for asking about which influence they belonged to, it seemed more like a threat than anything else!
Young Master Xuan Hao was still stunned from witnessing Lu Tianzi's sabre strike, while Nanlan Qianxue and Ruan Ling had just been given relief from the immense pressure and did not have a clear picture of what was going on.
That left only Lu Tianzi to answer.
Taking a deep breath to calm his inner world, Lu Tianzi carefully put away his sabre before clasping his fists towards Elder Qiren. "Senior, the few of us have promised our masters not to reveal our backgrounds before leaving. I hope Senior can understand."
"Oh?" Elder Qiren looked at Lu Tianzi with eyes filled with doubt, but decided not to press the matter. "How about this? How do you and your friends fancy taking a trip with us back to the White Tiger Immortal Sect as guests? I can personally show you around if you would like."
Elder Qiren smiled in confidence.
To be able to visit the strongest White Tiger Immortal Sect was a golden opportunity that no martial artists would be able to reject, especially if an elder like him was offering to be the guide!
Not surprisingly, Ruan Ling's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this.
Even she had never been to the White Tiger Immortal Sect.
Never would she have expected that an opportunity like this would come to her while she was still hiding her true status.
This is a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!