Swiftly Defeating His Opponent

After the previous battle ended, Chen Cheng and his opponent had both taken the stage.

Chen Xiangnan was a fourteen-year-old boy, his face still carrying traces of childishness.

He was only at the Dou Qi Seventh Stage, but among the branch families, his talent was considered fairly good.

"Young Master, I'll be your opponent in this match. Don't worry, I know my limits. I won't hurt you," Chen Xiangnan said solemnly, his big eyes wide open.

A few days earlier, Chen Cheng's tested cultivation had been at the Dou Qi Fourth Stage. Though he had displayed extremely high cultivation talent, his realm was still lower than that of most others.

Earlier, when an elder of the Hundred Leaves Town Chen Family learned that Chen Xiangnan's opponent was Chen Cheng, he had instructed Chen Xiangnan to be careful with his attacks. They could not afford to injure the Young Master.

One was at the Dou Qi Seventh Stage, while the other was at the Dou Qi Fourth Stage. The gap between them was obvious.

"Begin." The referee gave the order, and Chen Xiangnan immediately charged at Chen Cheng.

His fists swung through the air with force, carrying tremendous power.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Chen Cheng's lips, but he made no move. Only when Chen Xiangnan drew close did Chen Cheng suddenly clench his fist. A strange force gathered around it, and then he seized the right moment and punched forward.

Although Chen Xiangnan noticed Chen Cheng's movement, he did not pay it much mind. In his view, Chen Cheng was only at the Dou Qi Fourth Stage. How strong could he possibly be? He was confident that he could strike Chen Cheng first.

Though Chen Cheng was the Young Master, his cultivation was simply too weak. Chen Xiangnan was a genius at the Dou Qi Seventh Stage. Dealing with someone like this should have been effortless.

And if he could defeat Chen Cheng, Chen Xiangnan's reputation would surely soar. In the future, whenever people mentioned him, they would say that he was someone who had defeated the Young Master.

With a bang, Chen Xiangnan suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. It hurt, but it was not a fatal injury. Even so, his expression changed drastically, and his eyes widened abruptly.

At the same time, Chen Xiangnan felt a tremendous force send his body flying backward.

After knocking Chen Xiangnan back with one punch, Chen Cheng did not stop there.

Power gathered beneath his feet. He stomped hard against the ground, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow. Then, he threw another punch at Chen Xiangnan.

Chen Xiangnan was still flying backward and had nowhere to borrow force from. As Chen Cheng closed in again, Chen Xiangnan had no way to respond. He could only take Chen Cheng's second punch, which accelerated his flight and sent him directly off the arena.

Excluding the time Chen Xiangnan spent charging toward Chen Cheng, less than three seconds had passed from the moment Chen Cheng attacked to the moment Chen Xiangnan was knocked off the arena.

"So fast." Seeing his son defeat his opponent so quickly, Chen Yuan was stunned for a moment before saying in shock.

"Such strength," Chen Yang praised. At merely the Dou Qi Fourth Stage, Chen Cheng had sent a person weighing over a hundred jin flying with one punch. Such power truly astonished him.

"Such precise judgment." Chen Ming stood not far from the arena and had seen Chen Cheng's actions clearly.

Chen Cheng had accurately found the opening in Chen Xiangnan's attack, then struck swiftly and defeated his opponent in an instant.

Chen Ming did not believe it was a coincidence. He could only say that Chen Cheng's battle awareness was exceptional.

The battle on the arena had ended so quickly that no one had even reacted before Chen Xiangnan flew off the stage. Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at Chen Cheng, who stood on the arena with a faint smile on his face.

"That was way too fast," a girl said, her eyes wide.

"Chen Xiangnan is at the Dou Qi Seventh Stage. How did he lose so quickly?"

"Chen Xiangnan isn't weak. It can only be said that the Young Master is too strong. He's still only at the Dou Qi Fourth Stage. Once he becomes a Dou Zhe and learns Cultivation Methods and Fighting Skills, won't he be unstoppable?"

The crowd discussed animatedly, all highly satisfied with Chen Cheng's performance.

Chen Xiangnan, who had fallen off the arena, climbed to his feet in frustration. He was not seriously injured; his chest merely ached slightly.

Chen Cheng had still held back.

Supported by several youths from the same branch, Chen Xiangnan returned to the Hundred Leaves Town seats.

"Xiangnan, what happened? How did you lose so quickly?" the branch elder asked in confusion.

"I don't know either. I saw the Young Master attack, but I didn't pay much attention. Then somehow, he hit me. You all saw what happened after that," Chen Xiangnan said, utterly bewildered.

"The Young Master wins this match," the referee announced.

When Chen Cheng returned to his seat, Yan Lingji immediately congratulated him. "Congratulations, Master."

"Heh, what is there to congratulate? His combat skills are far inferior to yours," Chen Cheng said.

The result of this match had already been within Chen Cheng's expectations, so he did not care much about it.

Defeating someone at the Dou Qi Seventh Stage was not something worth being proud of.

"Family Head, the Young Master's battle talent is truly outstanding. Just now, he did not use any Fighting Skills, yet he easily sent someone three stages above him flying. If properly nurtured, his future achievements will definitely not be below yours," Chen Yang said quietly.

"Three stages?" Chen Yuan looked at Chen Cheng, who was seated not far away, his face filled with satisfaction.

"No, the gap between him and Chen Xiangnan is not three stages, but two," Chen Yuan said with a satisfied smile.

"Two stages, I see." Hearing Chen Yuan's answer, Chen Yang initially felt that a two-stage gap was more understandable.

But when he realized what it meant, Chen Yang immediately cried out, "What, two stages? Family Head, are you saying the Young Master has already reached the Dou Qi Fifth Stage?"

"Mhm." Chen Yuan nodded. "I can tell that his physical condition has changed greatly compared to a few days ago. Only by reaching the Dou Qi Fifth Stage could he have improved so noticeably."

"If that's true, then the Young Master's physique is simply incredible," Chen Yang said in delight.

The greater the talent of the Chen Family's Young Master, the happier elders like them would naturally be.

"As for his cultivation, we should not interfere. He has his own ideas. If he followed the path of old men like us, then at most, he would only become a Dou Emperor," Chen Yuan said.

"The Family Head is right," Chen Yang said.

Since Chen Cheng could advance at such a speed while cultivating on his own, it showed that he was better suited to developing freely rather than receiving the family's systematic training.

Some people had low potential ceilings and naturally benefited more from the family's cultivation. But others were better suited to forging their own path.

The Chen Family only needed to ensure that these geniuses would never lack resources.

"I hope he reaches the Dou Zhe stage soon. As long as he tests positive for the poison attribute, I'll let him cultivate the family's Source of Deadly Poison," Chen Yuan said casually.

The Source of Deadly Poison was a cultivation method only the family head was qualified to practice. It had reached Earth Middle-Rank and came with matching Poison Dou Techniques.

Chen Yang showed no objection upon hearing this. Chen Cheng was originally the Young Family Head. Once Chen Yuan stepped down, Chen Cheng would become the family head. Naturally, he was qualified to cultivate this Earth Rank Cultivation Method reserved for the family head.

In truth, Chen Yuan had left one thing unsaid: if Chen Cheng tested positive for the fire attribute, he also had high-ranking Fire Attribute cultivation methods for Chen Cheng.