The moment Xiao Han shouted, "Senior, your divine skill is unparalleled!" the first floor of the Martial Skills Pavilion fell into a terrifying silence. A pin could have been heard dropping.
Everyone froze, their hands going still as they turned to stare at the young man prostrating himself before a battered old book.
The Martial Artists who had been chatting quietly stood with their mouths half open, as though someone had suddenly seized them by the throat, leaving them unable to remember what they were about to say.
Those who had been absorbed in searching for martial skills also raised their heads, utterly bewildered by what had happened.
What was going on?
Had this genius, who had just received a perfect rating, suffered a deviation in his training and fried his brain?
Or had there always been something wrong with his head?
Kowtowing to the Revised Basic Breathing Technique?
And shouting about a senior's unparalleled divine skill?
His antics had practically blinded everyone and completely overturned everything they thought they knew.
"Pfft..."
Finally, someone couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"Ahem... that kid's Xiao Han, right? The one who awakened two SSS+ Martial Souls yesterday? What's he..."
"Has he gone mad? Kowtowing to a trash breathing technique? And calling it a senior's divine skill?"
"Tsk, tsk. Looks like too much talent isn't a good thing either. Easy to suffer qi deviation."
"What a shame. Such a promising seedling..."
Though everyone had deliberately lowered their voices, their words still reached Xiao Han's ears clearly.
Xiao Han remained prostrate, his head buried against the floor. He wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
Social death!
This was a full-blown public humiliation!
All he wanted now was to vanish from the face of the earth, or beg the system to show mercy and teleport him away so he wouldn't have to see any of this.
Just as he wished he could dig a hole in the floor and crawl into it, the system's obnoxious voice finally drawled in his mind.
[ Ding! Congratulations to the host on completing a God-Level Choice. Distributing rewards... ]
[ Ding! Congratulations to the host on obtaining the special movement technique "A Step to the Ends of the Earth," grade unknown! ]
[ Ding! Congratulations to the host on obtaining the special fist technique "Annihilation Divine Fist" (incomplete), grade unknown! ]
In an instant, two streams of unfathomably profound information flooded into Xiao Han's mind like water bursting through a dam.
Countless obscure characters and immensely complicated diagrams of circulation pathways were engraved deep in his soul as though branded there.
The exquisite steps and the mysteries of the movement technique behind "A Step to the Ends of the Earth," along with the incomparably domineering fist intent of the "Annihilation Divine Fist," appeared clearly in his consciousness, like a sudden initiation into enlightenment.
Xiao Han's mind roared, as though something had been thrown wide open, and his understanding of movement and fist techniques instantly rose to an inconceivable level.
The sensation was mysterious and unfathomable, impossible to put into words.
The system's rewards had never let him down!
Feeling the information surging through his mind and the desire stirring deep within his body, Xiao Han's stiff body jolted.
An irrepressible rush of excitement and exhilaration erupted like a volcano, sweeping away his earlier embarrassment and shame.
What did a little social death matter?
What did face matter?
Before a genuine increase in strength, everything else was but passing clouds!
Besides, who said this was social death?
He, Xiao Han, had skin as thick as a city wall. This little scene was nothing!
At that thought, Xiao Han abruptly raised his head. The embarrassment and stiffness on his face vanished without a trace, replaced by an air of effortless, unfathomable composure.
He slowly rose to his feet, his movements smooth and natural, without the slightest awkwardness or fluster, as though he hadn't been the one kneeling and kowtowing just now.
He reached out and dusted off the nonexistent dust on his clothes, then carefully picked up the battered "Revised Basic Breathing Technique" and held it close, as though cradling a priceless treasure.
Only after doing all that did Xiao Han slowly turn around and calmly sweep his gaze over the Martial Artists around him, who were still in a state of shock and confusion.
His gaze was calm, yet it carried a barely perceptible trace of...
Pity?
It was as though a peerless expert were pitying a crowd of ordinary mortals: How could ordinary people like you possibly understand the realm of an expert like me?
The Martial Artists caught by Xiao Han's gaze felt an involuntary chill. Whatever mockery or questions they had been about to voice stuck in their throats, and they couldn't get the words out.
They couldn't say why, but they felt that the Xiao Han before them had an air of mystery about him, profound and unfathomable.
They couldn't see through him at all.
Could it be...
Had their earlier guesses been wrong?
Had Xiao Han knelt before that battered book not because he was being foolish, but because...
He had actually spotted some peerless cultivation technique?!
Once the thought took root, the more they considered it, the more plausible it seemed!
After all, he was a top genius who had awakened two SSS+ Martial Souls!
How could ordinary mortals like them understand the mind of a genius?
Perhaps that unremarkable "Revised Basic Breathing Technique" really did conceal an earth-shattering secret.
Only a fated person could glimpse the mysteries within!
And Xiao Han was undoubtedly that fated person!
With that thought, the way many Martial Artists looked at Xiao Han changed, gaining a measure of reverence.
There was even a hint of...
Envy and jealousy?
If they had known that battered book was a treasure, what harm would there have been in kneeling to it?
Maybe they would have been the next to obtain a divine skill!
In the crowd, some people could no longer contain themselves, their gazes stealing toward the corner Xiao Han had "discovered."
Xiao Han naturally noticed the change in the gazes around him, and the corners of his mouth curved almost imperceptibly.
That was exactly the effect he wanted!
Let them puzzle over it to their hearts' content!
Clutching the "Revised Basic Breathing Technique" close, his expression calm and unruffled, he strode steadily toward the exit of the Martial Skills Pavilion.
When he stepped outside the Martial Skills Pavilion, the sunlight was just right.
Xiao Han took a breath of fresh air and savored the freedom, feeling thoroughly at ease.
The process had been a little humiliating, but the results were great!
A Step to the Ends of the Earth!
Annihilation Divine Fist!
The names alone sounded domineering enough to fill him with anticipation!
Especially "A Step to the Ends of the Earth"—it was a movement skill!
Movement skills had always been rare and valuable, often impossible to buy even with money.
Not to mention that this was a special movement technique of unknown grade!
It had come just when he wanted it, perfectly making up for his shortcomings in movement!
As for the "Annihilation Divine Fist," although it was incomplete, the word "annihilation" alone was enough to suggest how fearsome its power was.
If he could find the complete technique someday, just how incredible would it be?
He forcibly suppressed his excitement and glanced around.
There were too many people at the Warrior Center. It was no place to train.
He needed to find somewhere quiet to study these two divine skills properly.
With that in mind, Xiao Han wasted no more time and quickened his pace toward the exit of the Warrior Center.
His destination: wilderness area No. 1!
The exotic beasts there weren't high-level, making them perfect for practice!
Meanwhile, inside the Martial Skills Pavilion behind him, undercurrents were already surging.
As soon as Xiao Han left, many Martial Artists immediately rushed toward the northeastern corner that no one had paid any attention to before.
Their eyes burned as they all stared at the lone "Revised Basic Breathing Technique."
Someone carefully picked up the battered book and leafed through it, studying it closely in search of a clue.
Others copied Xiao Han's earlier actions, bowing toward the bookshelf and muttering under their breath, hoping a divine skill would descend from the heavens.
Some went even further, spreading out their belongings in the corner and preparing to stay there for the long haul, intent on comprehending the so-called "divine skill"...
Before long, the Martial Skills Pavilion was a mess, with all kinds of bizarre sights cropping up one after another. It was simply ridiculous.
Naturally, Xiao Han knew nothing of what happened afterward.
By then, he had already left the Warrior Center and was hurrying toward wilderness area No. 1.