Just then, Lin Zong suddenly shouted, "Nan Xunran, I want to challenge you too!"
The Lin Clan head's face changed drastically when he heard that. "Lin Zong!" he roared.
But Lin Zong paid him no mind, a contemptuous smile on his lips. "Don't worry, Clan Head. I'll definitely win!"
In his eyes, Nan Xunran was nothing more than a silkpants who relied on his Lineage's backing. How could he possibly compare to him?
However, he failed to notice that everyone was looking at him as though he were a fool.
The Lin Clan head already regretted bringing Lin Zong along. This idiot was bringing shame on the Lin Clan.
Nan Xunran smiled faintly and said tactfully, "You think very highly of yourself."
Lin Zong was full of himself and completely missed the deeper meaning in Nan Xunran's words. "Of course!"
Everyone's lips twitched. Was Lin Zong really stupid, or was he pretending? Couldn't he tell that Divine Son Xunran was mocking him?
Lin Zong challenged him. "What? You don't dare?"
Nan Xunran smiled faintly. "You seem to have had a problem with me for a while now."
"Have I offended you somehow?"
"Ha! I just look down on useless trash like you who rely on their Lineage!"
As soon as Lin Zong said that, the scene fell silent.
Everyone present, apart from Lin Zong, was a prodigy from a great family.
With those words, he had insulted everyone there except himself.
Their expressions turned ugly, and their gazes filled with anger as they looked at Lin Zong.
The Lin Clan head could no longer bear it. "Get out of here!" he roared.
Lin Zong looked utterly confused. He didn't understand what he had said wrong.
"I'll fight you! There's no need for Divine Son Xunran to deal with someone like you!"
A figure stepped out of the crowd.
"It's the Cheng Clan's prodigy!"
"Cheng Peng is on the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking."
"Lin Zong is bound to lose!"
When Lin Zong heard that, he flew into a rage. "Come on! I can defeat you in one move!"
Cheng Peng snorted disdainfully. "You? Where did you get the courage to challenge Divine Son Xunran?"
He sneered. "From your Divine Ability Realm cultivation?"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Veins bulged on Lin Zong's forehead. He clenched his right hand, and a powerful force gathered around his fist.
Cheng Peng waited on the spot for a long while, then said impatiently, "What are you doing? Taking so long to build up your move!"
"Let's see what you can come up with!"
A moment later, a vicious look appeared on Lin Zong's face, and he shouted, "Die!"
Cheng Peng sensed the powerful spiritual power carried by the wind from the punch, and his face instantly turned pale with shock.
He definitely couldn't take that punch. It might even kill him.
He hurriedly defended himself with all his strength.
But Lin Zong's fist smashed into the protective barrier, shattering it instantly. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Cheng Peng.
At that critical moment, Nan Xunran flashed in front of Cheng Peng and reached out one hand to stop the punch.
"Th-thank you, Divine Son Xunran!" Still shaken, Cheng Peng hurriedly thanked him.
"As long as you're all right," Nan Xunran said calmly.
Lin Zong stared blankly at Nan Xunran, who had suddenly appeared. That punch had been his strongest killing move.
It could even kill someone two minor realms above him, yet Nan Xunran had stopped it effortlessly with one hand.
"Since he lost, I'll fight you."
Lin Zong turned around and snorted. "Hmph! This young master won't fight today after all!"
Watching him turn away, Nan Xunran raised a hand and pressed it down. Lin Zong instantly fell to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Nan Xunran... what are you doing..." Lin Zong struggled to force out the words.
"Helping you understand the gap between us," Nan Xunran said calmly, pressing his hand down a little farther.
A faint smile played on his lips. "My temper isn't so good that I'll endure being insulted for no reason."
Under that immense pressure, Lin Zong's arms and legs began to break. He struggled to breathe and couldn't speak at all, while blood quickly stained the ground red.
Shen He'an whispered to Shen Xinyue, "See that? That's what he's really like."
The Lin Clan head looked at Nan Xiao and Bai Wanying in the seats of honor. Seeing that they had no intention of intervening, he could only grit his teeth and say, "Divine Son Xunran, please show mercy."
No matter how poorly Lin Zong compared to Nan Xunran, he was still a prodigy the Lin Clan valued highly.
Hearing this, Nan Xunran looked at him calmly, smiled faintly, and said slowly, "Then I'll give you face."
At that moment, however, the Lin Clan head couldn't help shuddering. He felt as though a ferocious beast had set its sights on him.
Nan Xunran stopped. By then, Lin Zong's face was mangled beyond recognition, and blood flowed from all seven of his orifices.
His body was bent into a grotesque shape, his limbs twisted at unnatural angles. Even if he survived, he was already half-crippled.
Seeing his miserable state, everyone couldn't help shuddering.
From that moment on, everyone understood.
In this era, Nan Xunran stood alone, by himself at the very front.