The Pingliang powerhouse who had struck, was taken aback for a moment.
He didn't stop his attack, instead lifting his leg for a sweep, but just as his leg had crossed halfway, Lan Qingya had already moved to the side and advanced, her fingers like a knife as she bypassed his arms and struck directly at his chest and abdomen.
The breath of the Pingliang powerhouse was immediately stifled, his surging qi and blood became stagnant in an instant, his reactions slowed down by a beat. His powerful and heavy leg sweep also became somewhat rigid.
He'd hit a vital point!
The Pingliang powerhouse, standing over two meters tall, with thick and muscular arms, covered by a layer of thick keratin, resembled a humanoid beast.
Lan Qingya, at 1.75 meters tall, was considered tall among women. However, standing in front of the Pingliang powerhouse, the contrast was stark. Her thighs were not as thick as his forearms, looking like a giant standing next to a delicate young girl.
At that moment, having landed a successful strike, Lan Qingya burst forth with even greater speed. Her hands became a blur, bang bang bang, striking the body of the Pingliang powerhouse.
The giant-like Pingliang powerhouse, whether in defense or offense, could not keep up with Lan Qingya's speed. Like a large ragdoll, he swayed constantly with the muffled sounds of flesh and punching power colliding.
The Pingliang powerhouse ended up sitting on the ground, a spider web-like pattern of cracks spreading out from beneath him.
—Lan Qingya had held back, not for Pingliang's sake, but for if she were to go all out, the entire conference hall, and possibly the entire central building, might collapse.
For the conference at Yang City, face still had to be given.
After all, they represented the image of Green Shadow... Green Shadow had always been a civil and friendly Sanctuary.
People from the other Sanitaries twitched at the corners of their mouths.
When Lan Qingya attacked, there was not a single leak of punching power, and the sounds of impact were not that loud... They thought it was just a 'friendly' exchange.
But looking again at the Pingliang powerhouse slumped on the ground, already dumbfounded, unable to react for a long while, with bright red blood continuously seeping from the corner of his mouth... It was clear he had suffered no light injury.
The rest of the Pingliang people blocking the way hurried forward, their aura bursting out unrestrainedly.
The entire conference room again felt as if a gale had swept through, chairs toppled over haphazardly.
But a large-scale melee did not break out.
The Yang City Master, accompanied by a group of experts, stood between the two parties.
His face was unpleasant as he looked at Pingliang's people, his aura already locking them in at a distance.
The few strong men from Pingliang were even more annoyed; clearly, we were the ones hurt, why are we the ones being scolded?
The other Sanctuaries trying to mediate and calm the dispute were softly imploring the Awakeners from Pingliang, not Green Shadow, as if everything was Pingliang's fault.
—But clearly, they were the ones who were hit!
A few Pingliang powerhouses wailed inwardly, but could only carry their injured Awakener to one side, no longer daring to puff up their fur, just shrinking honestly in the corner.
After the Yang City Master stopped the fight, he turned to chat with Lan Qingya, Lorraine, and others.
Laughter and conversation filled the air.
The differential treatment made the people from Pingliang in the distance turn from green to white, feeling as though their human rights had vanished.
If the Yang City Master knew the inner dramas of the Pingliang people.
He would surely say... Weaklings have no rights to speak of.
The same Ninth Layer Peak top-tier experts, that one from Pingliang, with his large build and a tendency to mutate, being a leader, his strength might be even greater than that of an average Peak expert.
Yet even so, under the contained punching power of Green Shadow's expert, the Pingliang powerhouse still appeared utterly powerless to resist.
From start to finish, he demonstrated only one quality:
It was you who started the trouble in the first place, being spared death is already your good fortune.
Thinking back to the Awakeners from Pingliang who had burst forth with their aura unrestrainedly and messed up the conference room, he couldn't keep his anger in check. If it weren't for the host demanding restraint, he himself would have wanted to personally throw the Pingliang Awakeners out.
In this situation, if not targeting you, then who else could it be?!
The Yang City Master, with an unpleasant face, glanced at the people from Pingliang. He was clearly aware that the situation was not because the Pingliang giant was too weak, but because the woman from Green Shadow was too strong.
From beginning to end, she operated with such ease that it was impossible to gauge her true strength, which layer she had actually reached.
Comparable to top-tier combat power?
The Yang City Master wasn't aware that the Pingliang giant was one of the top combat powers of the Pingliang Sanctuary, nor did he realize that, in fact, Lan Qingya's level of Awakening was still a bit short of Ninth Layer Peak.
The so-called ranks within the Ninth Layer Peak involved two differences: the depth of mastery in the Martial Path and the difference in abilities.
Those known as top combat powers often possess Special Abilities suitable for battle.
Yet, what Lan Qingya had shown, in both strength and speed, was not just a minor difference compared to a common Ninth Layer Peak.
The Yang City Master couldn't figure it out.
Apart from a few such as Lindong and Heng City, who had in-depth interactions with Green Shadow, the other Awakeners from various places simply couldn't comprehend why the gap was so vast.
They looked towards the Green Shadow leader, the brown-haired woman whose aura was contained and who had not taken part in the fighting, with even more apprehension.
The young woman who had taken action, said to be a minor leader in the Intelligence Department, was already so strong... Could this Deputy Director have already breached the Peak of the Ninth Layer, touching upon the final realm of Awakening?
Everyone was secretly making their calculations.
The trash in the conference room was quickly cleared away, chairs and tables replaced with new ones, and apart from the spider web-like crack, there was no sign that a top-tier battle had taken place here.
Transactions and other such side talks were quickly concluded.
The meeting then entered into the main topic, exchanging and discussing information concerning the "Doomsday Cult."