The area ahead thundered with explosions as a heatwave billowed out. Figures were sent flying amidst a cacophony of screams and sprays of blood.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, everything fell silent.
All that remained amidst the rolling heatwaves was a single, burly figure. His black robes whipped in the wind, and his long black hair flowed freely as he stood in the center of the field.
All around him, figures groaned in agony on the ground. Their clothes and skin were scorched, their bodies heavily wounded, and blood trickled from their mouths.
Without exception, they were all masters of the Inner Realm.
The exchange had been too fast.
The crowd could barely process what had happened. They had only seen these normally formidable Inner Realm masters charge forward, only to be sent flying back just as quickly.
Almost none of them could withstand a single blow.
The bizarre scene left everyone aghast.
Whether they were teachers and students from Tianwu Academy or veteran Inner Realm masters who had come to test Chen Xuan, their minds were all reeling.
"A peerless prodigy is truly peerless... His reputation is well-deserved..."
"So this is an Inner Realm master at twenty years old..."
"His strength is at least equivalent to the Inner Realm Sixth or Seventh Layer... Damn it, the Celestial Secret Pavilion lied to us..."
"That damn Celestial Secret Pavilion! They said he’d just entered the Inner Realm. Does this look like he ’just entered’ the Inner Realm?"
These veteran Inner Realm masters cursed wildly in their minds.
’What a garbage Celestial Secret Pavilion!’
’How did they even come up with their rankings?’
’They might as well put this kid on the Earthly Ranking!’
They had originally come to test Chen Xuan, to see on what grounds he had managed to enter the Inner Realm at the age of twenty. Of course, some had come with the intent to kill.
But not all of them were so shameless.
Regardless of whether they had come to kill him or not, at this moment, seeing the scene before them, they were all rendered speechless.
’No wonder he entered the Inner Realm at twenty.’
’This motherfucker is a monster!’
’You can’t judge him by any normal standard.’
’All your previous theories and common sense become worthless when it comes to him...’
Even the handful of prodigies who had just arrived, the self-proclaimed ’second Chu Shanhes,’ were instantly silenced.
They had to admit, even if it were them on the field, they could never achieve such a result.
His reputation is no empty boast!
Chen Xuan was simply too monstrous!
Sparing with him was just asking for a beating.
"Is that it?"
Chen Xuan frowned and looked around.
’Weren’t there supposed to be more people?’
’Just a moment ago, figures were lunging out one after another. I thought there’d be a lot more experts.’
’But in the end...’
’After a quick count... hmm, twelve of them.’
’At 40,000 points per person, that’s 480,000 in total.’
’Even with the 210,000 I had before, this might not be enough to level up.’
’How disappointing!’
Chen Xuan felt dissatisfied. He looked directly at the veteran Inner Realm masters sprawled on the ground. "Gentlemen," he said, "it seems someone among you tried to ambush me, didn’t they? I wouldn’t have a problem with a normal sparring match. But since you resorted to a vicious sneak attack, don’t blame me for what comes next!"
He walked right over and casually grabbed one of them off the ground.
As if struck by a terrible thought, the man’s face went pale. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and said, "Yama Chen, don’t tell me you’re going to make me kneel to you in public?"
He had clearly heard the wicked rumors about Chen Xuan.
A smile spread across Chen Xuan’s face. "So you’ve heard about me? Good. I’ll give you two choices. One, I strip you naked and hang you from the academy gates for everyone to see. Two, you kneel and apologize to me right now!"
"You!"
The man was horrified. The movement aggravated his injuries, and he spat out another mouthful of blood. "I was only sparring with you," he said hastily. "Why must you humiliate me?"
"That’s not quite right."
Chen Xuan shook his head. "Your palm contained a deadly poison, and you had a hidden weapon. You call that sparring? Besides, you all swarmed me at once, not giving me a moment’s rest. Even in a gauntlet match, there are usually a few words exchanged. But you? You came at me like a tidal wave, your fists like a torrential storm. If I had been even slightly weaker and you’d defeated me, my very foundation would have been damaged on the spot. Tell me, would you have let me go?"
"I would!"
The man said quickly, "I was only sparring. I absolutely would have let you go. Strangers become friends after a fight, right? We’re all friends here."
"I don’t believe you."
Chen Xuan smiled. "You used a hidden weapon to attack me. That’s a fact. No amount of explaining will change it. Two choices. Pick one!"
’Only 480,000 retribution points? That’s definitely not enough.’
’So, I’ll have to squeeze some more out of these guys.’
’Who told you not to play by the rules?’
’You don’t play by the rules, so neither will I.’
The men on the ground were suddenly terrified.
Someone immediately used a Secret Technique, darting away in an attempt to flee.
But he had barely gotten away when Chen Xuan teleported in front of him and slapped him across the face.
SLAP!
The blow knocked out a mouthful of his teeth.
Blood sprayed as his body spun like a top for dozens of rotations before crashing violently in the distance.
"I’d advise you to be realistic," Chen Xuan said. "Trying to run from me? You’d have an easier time figuring out how to defeat me."
"So," he continued, "are you going to kneel, or are you going to strip?"
His sharp, searing gaze swept over those who had broken the code of conduct.
He had no quarrel with those who had engaged in a proper sparring match.
After all, it would be unreasonable to force someone who had sparred with him fairly to kneel.
But some of them hadn’t fought fairly.
And with them, he could do as he pleased.
The surrounding students, teachers, and the prodigies known as the ’second Chu Shanhes’ were all aghast.
’This guy...’
’He’s so ruthless!’
’Yes, what he’s saying makes sense. They really shouldn’t have ganged up on him or tried to assassinate him.’