Ranked 16th on the Hidden Dragon List—the Crimson Demon, Han Liang!
Lin Chen fixed his gaze on the red-haired youth gripping a halberd before him and spoke in a low voice.
"Heh, didn’t expect you to recognize this grandpa’s name!" Han Liang grinned.
Lin Chen curled his lips into a cold smile.
Though he had always been indifferent to fame and reputation, caring little for such things...
But!
That bastard An Yi had already climbed to 19th on the Hidden Dragon List!
Not just An Yi—even Bai Xiu had shot to fame, securing the 45th spot, ranking above him.
Defeating this 16th-ranked guy should push him higher than that damn An.
"Xue'er, don’t interfere. I’ll handle him myself," Lin Chen said firmly.
Su Xue'er holstered her sniper rifle. "Alright."
Qin Yao gritted her teeth. "Why is that woman in my house?!"
"She’s been here for a while. Earlier, I even saw her peeking through Young Master Lin’s bathroom window," Uncle Fu chimed in.
Qin Yao: "..."
Han Liang swung his massive halberd, laughing arrogantly. "Wolf Fang Lin Chen, huh? Thought you’d be some nobody, but turns out you’re a tough one. Today’s trip wasn’t wasted."
Without wasting words, Lin Chen flicked out blades of compressed air.
Thanks to his jade pendant, Lin Chen’s attacks consumed no energy at all.
For him, unleashing something as absurdly energy-intensive as Qi Control was child’s play.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Three metallic clashes rang out!
Han Liang blocked with his halberd, his bulging muscles trembling as he swung the massive weapon toward Lin Chen.
But in that instant—
Han Liang realized his body had been immobilized, as if trapped in an invisible cage.
"Qi Control! Impressive!"
Thick veins pulsed across Han Liang’s burly frame as surges of bloody energy erupted from his body.
Suddenly—
A mist of blood exploded outward!
Han Liang shattered the air’s restraint and brought his halberd down toward Lin Chen.
But Lin Chen had already closed the distance, dodging the halberd with agile footwork before sweeping his staff across Han Liang’s abdomen!
Blood trickled from Han Liang’s lips as he grinned. "Not bad. The Dao Alliance’s Wandering Dragon Steps, the Qi Control Sect’s techniques, and that last move had a hint of the Lantuo Temple’s Kirin Staff. Lin, you’ve got quite the bag of tricks!"
Despite the heavy blow to his gut, the fire in Han Liang’s eyes only burned fiercer.
His crimson hair, draped down to his waist, flared like a lion’s mane.
Shrouded in bloody mist, he raised his halberd and charged again.
An indescribable aura of slaughter pressed down like a suffocating weight.
Lin Chen’s brow furrowed.
How many lives has this guy taken to accumulate such terrifying bloodlust? He’s tougher than I thought.
Halberd and Cloud-Splitting Staff collided!
Their figures blurred as they clashed at blinding speeds.
Qin Yao pressed against the window, watching the battle unfold. "Uncle Fu, who do you think has the upper hand? Is Lin Chen in danger?"
"Hard to say for now, but Young Master Lin probably has the edge. Still, Han Liang is the Blood Fiend Sect Leader’s son—he won’t go down easy," Uncle Fu mused.
Qin Yao clenched her fists anxiously. "When the hell is An Yi getting here?!"
Just then, headlights flared at the villa’s entrance!
A sleek black luxury car glided through the night like a phantom, its dazzling lights nearly blinding the bodyguards, who shielded their eyes in unison.
"That bastard!"
"He’s got his high beams on!"
Uncle Fu gasped. "Holy shit, a Lamborghini Veneno! Who in Jiangbei drives something like that?!"
Instead of stopping, the black supercar looped around the Qin family villa in a full circle, as if making sure everyone saw it, before finally pulling up to the entrance.
Lin Chen and Han Liang’s battle raged on.
The car door opened, and a strikingly handsome young man stepped out.
"Old Lin, I’m here to back you up!"
An Yi’s ring shimmered, transforming into a sleek black longsword in his grip.
"Dragon-Slaying Nine Swords—First Form: Parting Sorrow!"
With a calm utterance, a crescent-shaped sword beam slashed through the air!
Sensing the sneak attack, Han Liang’s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull.
"What kind of cheap shot is this?!"
"Since when do martial artists fight like scoundrels?!"
Lin Chen already had the slightest edge over him, and Han Liang was struggling just to keep up. Now this shameless bastard was stabbing him in the back!
"I don’t need your help!" Lin Chen shot him a cold glare.
But An Yi’s sword had already been unleashed.
The crescent blade of energy tore forward!
Cold sweat beaded on Han Liang’s forehead.
What the hell is this?!
Sword energy?!
In that instant, the bloody mist around him coalesced into the form of a vengeful wraith, lunging to intercept the incoming slash!
Rip—!
The spectral fiend lasted only a moment before being shredded apart.
Han Liang’s heart leaped into his throat. That Wraith’s Grudge was one of his killing moves!
An Yi smirked, his expression the very picture of a domineering CEO’s arrogant charm.
"Gotta admit, that ghost had some bite!"
"Pretty strong, actually."
"But this idiot made one fatal mistake—turning his back on me when summoning it!"
"A 150% damage multiplier is nothing to scoff at."
The crescent slash continued unimpeded, carving into Han Liang’s back!
Slash—!
Han Liang’s back erupted in a spray of blood as he collapsed heavily to the ground!
Lin Chen retracted his Cloud-Splitting Staff, his icy gaze fixed on An Yi.
This little brat—couldn’t he have picked a better time to show up?
"No need to thank me for saving your life!"
An Yi sheathed his Dragonfang Demonblade and waved a hand, his tone breezy.
Lin Chen shot him a glare.
This guy… whatever.
Han Liang had been slashed across the spine, his entire body drenched in blood.
Yet he clenched his teeth, his eyes burning with hatred as they locked onto An Yi.
"You coward! Fight me face-to-face if you’ve got the guts! Sneak attacks are the moves of a spineless worm!"
If he’d been defeated by Lin Chen in a fair fight, he’d have accepted it—skill was skill.
But this bastard had struck from behind! He’d die with regrets if he let this slide!
An Yi raised an eyebrow. "Old Lin, this kid’s got a real attitude. Should I finish him off?"
"No, no! Spare him!"
Uncle Fu, hearing An Yi’s threat, rushed out from the house in a panic.
"This is the Blood Fiend Sect’s old lecher’s precious son! Kill him, and we’ll spend the rest of our lives on the run!"
"What was he even here for?" An Yi asked.
Lin Chen replied calmly, "Tried to steal my token."
"Tsk tsk."
An Yi stroked his chin, shaking his head in amusement.
"Good thing I got rid of mine already."
If he’d still been holding onto those two tokens for the Hongtian Secret Realm, who knew how long those martial artists would’ve chased him down!
"So, what do we do with him?"
An Yi looked to Lin Chen for direction.
Lin Chen pondered. "Maybe we—"
"Release the Young Master!"
A gaunt, skeletal elder stepped forward through the darkness, his aura oppressive enough to freeze the blood in one’s veins.
The same overwhelming Blood Fiend energy as Han Liang’s!
An Yi and Lin Chen exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.
Uncle Fu paled. "The Blood Fiend Sect’s Third Elder—Han Xi! Ranked 97th on the Heavenly Leaderboard!"
A top-100 Heavenly Rank expert!
Lin Chen’s eyes turned frosty. This was far beyond their current level.
"Elder Xi, slaughter them all!"
Han Liang’s eyes gleamed with vicious excitement.
An Yi’s expression darkened. He stomped on Han Liang’s head and pressed the edge of his black sword against the young man’s throat.
"Still running your mouth while at my mercy? Kid, you’ve got some nerve!"
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...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
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!
