A gentle breeze carried the sound of wind chimes to everyone's ears.
Yet at this moment, no one paid attention to the chimes—all eyes were fixed on Chen Yunxuan.
Among the crowd, only two people knew who Chen Yunxuan was: the Cheng brothers, Cheng Yushu and Cheng Yulin.
Even so, they were utterly astonished. This kid… truly had an audacious tone.
He had come here to challenge the elders?
No wonder he hadn’t participated in the Northern Domain Grand Competition—he simply didn’t deem it worthy of his attention!
"What an arrogant brat."
"Look at him—barely sixteen or seventeen, yet he dares to challenge the elders?"
"Doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth. He didn’t even dare to join the Northern Domain Grand Competition, yet he has the nerve to challenge the elders?"
"Who does he think he is? Some kind of monstrous genius?"
"How laughable. Let me teach him a lesson."
Every young participant in the Northern Domain Grand Competition carried their own pride, believing themselves unmatched among their peers.
Some had just lost their matches and were already seething with frustration. Now, this upstart had the gall to disregard them entirely—how could they tolerate it?
"You’re no match for me. Don’t waste my time."
Chen Yunxuan’s words only stoked their fury. Arrogant—utterly, insufferably arrogant!
"Fine. Let’s see just how capable you are to spout such nonsense."
Fire Lord, the newly crowned champion of the Northern Domain Grand Competition, was brimming with confidence. Among the younger generation in the Northern Domain, he believed no one could rival him.
And now, out of nowhere, Chen Yunxuan appeared, trying to steal his thunder?
Without another word, Fire Lord leaped forward, charging at Chen Yunxuan.
Chen Yunxuan merely frowned slightly before throwing a single punch. A golden light shot toward Fire Lord.
Boom!
Fire Lord never expected Chen Yunxuan to be this strong.
A casual, long-range punch left him completely defenseless—so effortless that it didn’t even seem like Chen Yunxuan had exerted his full strength.
"H-He’s… so strong!"
"Fire Lord lost? In one punch? Just one?"
"This is insane. How can this kid be so powerful? Why didn’t he join the Northern Domain Grand Competition? If he had, first place would’ve been his without question."
"Could it be… he simply didn’t care for the title of Northern Domain’s top youth?"
"Didn’t care? Damn, that’s the dream title I’ve been chasing my whole life!"
"That’s you. Do you have his strength?"
"…"
With just one punch, Chen Yunxuan had made his power clear to everyone present.
Though some still disliked him, none dared to speak up now—strength reigned supreme.
"He’s really this strong?" Cheng Yulin muttered in shock.
"He’s terrifying. Last time I saw him, his cultivation was only at the first or second level of the Transcendent Realm."
"But now… in just a month… how…?"
Cheng Yushu was even more stunned. He couldn’t fathom how Chen Yunxuan had advanced from the first level of the Transcendent Realm to the sixth in such a short time.
Four breakthroughs in a single month—such speed was monstrous.
Yet what he didn’t know was that Chen Yunxuan was still dissatisfied.
If the Transcendent Realm was this difficult, what about the Divine Ability Realm? What then?
"Chen Yunxuan?"
"Why have we never heard of such a prodigy before?"
Elder Zhao and the others were equally astonished. They could all tell that Chen Yunxuan hadn’t been serious earlier.
At the sixth level of the Transcendent Realm, a casual punch had overwhelmed Fire Lord—this kid was undoubtedly a genius capable of surpassing his realm.
Even so, challenging elders at the Divine Ability Realm was still reckless.
"Chen Yunxuan, your strength is impressive. Why didn’t you join the Northern Domain Grand Competition?"
"If you want to challenge us, you’ll need to work harder."
"At the very least, you should wait until you break through to the Divine Ability Realm," Elder Zhao said with a smile.
"I have no interest in the Northern Domain Grand Competition."
"I only wish to challenge the strongest among you."
"Please grant me this opportunity." Chen Yunxuan’s tone was resolute.
"…"
"Hahaha! Well, well—what an interesting young man."
"If he’s making such a request, refusing would make us seem petty."
"But Elder Liu, he’s still a junior. Isn’t this inappropriate?"
"What’s inappropriate? Didn’t he ask for it himself?"
Elder Liu, a hot-tempered man from the Liu family, couldn’t tolerate being looked down upon by a junior.
With someone stepping forward despite the difference in status, the others didn’t press further.
They, too, wanted to see just how formidable Chen Yunxuan truly was.
"Kid, my cultivation is at the fifth level of the Divine Ability Realm. Does that meet your standards?"
"But don’t worry—I’ll go easy on you. I won’t take your life."
"This is just a spar." Elder Liu’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.
The fifth level of the Divine Ability Realm?
Chen Yunxuan couldn’t hide his disappointment.
"Fine. Then I’ll start with you."
"After you, Elder."
What?
No one had expected Chen Yunxuan to be this audacious.
He was actually letting a Divine Ability Realm expert strike first—was this carelessness, or outright mockery?
"Then don’t blame me for being ruthless!"
Elder Liu’s expression darkened. Without hesitation, he attacked.
Leaping high into the air, he swung his sword—a slash that unleashed a storm of sword energy, hurtling toward Chen Yunxuan.
The strike was overwhelming, drawing gasps from the crowd.
"Elder Liu’s strength is terrifying. That sword strike is unbelievably powerful!"
"No doubt. There’s no way Chen Yunxuan can withstand it."
"Obviously. How could he possibly block Elder Liu’s sword? With his life?"
"The Divine Ability Realm… truly inspires awe!"
Chen Yunxuan ignored the chatter. Though Elder Liu’s strike was formidable, he didn’t consider it a threat.
Boom!
Instead of dodging, Chen Yunxuan met it head-on. His fist erupted with golden light, colliding with the sword energy in a deafening explosion.
The shockwave sent the younger spectators stumbling back—some were even flung off their feet.
"Impossible!"
Elder Zhao and the others were dumbfounded.
Chen Yunxuan had blocked Elder Liu’s strike—without a single scratch!
Even if Elder Liu hadn’t used his full strength, this attack would have injured even a first-level Divine Ability Realm cultivator. Yet Chen Yunxuan stood unharmed.
"So you do have some skill!"
Elder Liu was utterly shocked at this moment, gradually shedding his previous underestimation of Chen Yunxuan.
This was a prodigy—someone absolutely qualified to be his opponent!
"Chen Yunxuan, be careful. I won’t hold back with this strike!"
"Neither will I!"
"Then let’s begin!"
Chen Yunxuan didn’t want to waste any more time. His figure flickered as he charged straight toward Elder Liu.
His speed was so astonishing that it sent a jolt through everyone present.
How could this kid, who clearly followed a brute-force combat style, move so swiftly?
"Break!"
Elder Liu didn’t dare be careless. He unleashed his full power, slashing his sword and sending a bolt of thunder straight at Chen Yunxuan.
"Smash!"
Chen Yunxuan’s aura surged violently as he threw a punch, the force behind it like a collapsing mountain.
Boom!
Another deafening explosion rang out. Fortunately, this time, the onlookers had learned their lesson and retreated far in advance.
Pfft—
"He… lost?"
"Elder Liu actually lost?"
Elder Liu, fighting at full strength, had been sent flying by Chen Yunxuan’s blow, blood spraying from his mouth.
This scene sent shockwaves through everyone present!
A freak! A monster!
Was this kid even human?
"He’s defeated!"
"Is there anyone among you stronger than him?"
"If not, then I’ll take my leave!"

ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!

ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!

ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!

lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...