I Will Not Negotiate Melting You!

Silence!

A deathly silence!

The vast training grounds, with thousands of eyes, were all frozen, staring intently and disbelievingly at the Potential Stone in the center, which was emitting... an extremely dim gray light! And at the young man's palm, still pressed against the stone tablet, looking somewhat "helpless"!

Gray?!

The Potential Testing Stone had only lit up with a gray glow, representing... the lowest, worst, and even utterly talentless?!

This... how could this be possible?!

Where was the monstrous genius from earlier, who broke through a realm in three days and had terrifyingly stable foundations?

Where was the formidable individual who heavily injured Lin Bao, who was at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer, with a single punch?

Where was the "miracle youth" who excited the family head, earned the elders' praise, and commanded the awe of all his peers?!

How did it come to this during the potential test?!

This massive contrast! This inconceivable result! It was even more shocking than when Lin Chen displayed his astonishing strength earlier! Even more... incomprehensible!

After a brief moment of dead silence, a more violent and chaotic uproar erupted!

"Gr... gray?! Did I see that right?! The Potential Stone is actually gray?!" "What... what's going on?! Could it be that Lin Chen's... potential is extremely low?!" "No way?! His cultivation speed is so fast! His foundations are so solid! How could his potential be so poor?!" "Could the Potential Stone be broken? Or... was there something wrong with the true qi he injected just now?" "I think he's just all show! His previous cultivation must have been achieved through some crooked method or by overdrawing his potential! Now that his potential is being tested, his true colors are revealed!" "Yes! It must be like this! How could there be such a monstrous person! Turns out he's just a gilded vase!" "Tsk tsk tsk, what a shame. He has cultivation but no potential, his future achievements will ultimately be limited..."

The tide of opinion seemed to have subtly reversed at this moment!

The awe and shock generated by Lin Chen's astonishing display of strength were quickly replaced by disappointment and disdain stemming from his "low potential"!

After all, in this world where martial arts reign supreme, potential often matters more than current cultivation! It determines how far a person can go in the future! A person with poor potential, even if ahead in cultivation for a time, will ultimately fail to achieve greatness and will be far surpassed by those with true potential!

Lin Chen's "gray potential" result undoubtedly poured a bucket of ice water on his newly ignited "genius" halo! It was even a direct blow!

Amidst the crowd, Lin Bao was stunned for a moment, and then his face broke into a smile of extreme ecstasy, bordering on madness!

"Hahahaha! Gray! It's actually gray! Useless! You truly are useless!!" He pointed at Lin Chen on the stage and roared with laughter, doubling over. He even aggravated the injury on his chest, causing him to cough violently, but he didn't care. His eyes were filled with the joy of revenge and endless mockery. "I knew it! How could you suddenly become so powerful! Turns out you used some evil technique to overdraw your potential! Hahaha! Heaven truly helps me! What's the point of you having higher cultivation than me now, you useless person whose potential is exhausted? In the future, you are destined to be trampled under my feet! Never to rise again!!"

His followers immediately chimed in:

"Turns out he's just a pretty boy! All form, no substance!" "Garbage potential! Even if he's a bit strong now, he'll still be useless later!" "Brother Bao is right! This kind of person isn't even fit to be compared to you!"

On the high platform, the expressions of the elders also became exceptionally interesting.

The gloom and killing intent on Great Elder Lin Zhenhong's face dissipated significantly, replaced by an uncontrollable delight and schadenfreude! Gray potential! Hahaha! It's truly fate! This little beast was just a flash in the pan! With such low potential, what's the point of having some strength now? He's no threat at all! He even regretted his earlier thought of immediately eliminating Lin Chen; now, it seemed unnecessary! A useless person whose potential was exhausted wasn't worth his further attention! A little suppression, and he'd naturally sink into decline!

The excitement and gratification on the face of Family Head Lin Xiaotian instantly froze! His eyes were filled with disbelief, disappointment, and... a hint of deep regret. Gray potential? How could it be gray potential?! He clearly felt a vast energy contained within Lin Chen! His foundations were also incredibly solid! How could his potential be so poor?! Could it be... as Lin Bao said, that he used some secret method to overdraw his potential? If so... wouldn't the Lin Family's joy be in vain?! A sense of immense loss plunged Lin Xiaotian's mood to the bottom.

The admiration and praise on the face of Third Elder Lin Zhenyue also vanished, replaced by deep confusion and bewilderment. He frowned, staring intently at the dim gray light on the Potential Stone, utterly perplexed. With such stable foundations and such rapid cultivation progress, how could his potential be so low? This completely defied common sense! Could it be... that the Potential Stone was truly faulty? Or... did this Lin Chen harbor even deeper secrets?!

And in a certain corner, Elder Qiu, who had been watching silently, had a flicker of understanding and... even deeper interest in his cloudy old eyes. "Interesting... truly interesting... even the Potential Stone cannot discern his true depth? This young man's secrets are even more numerous than I imagined..."

Under the gaze of various complex, even polar-opposite, looks from the entire audience, the instigator, Lin Chen, displayed a perfectly timed expression of... bewilderment, disappointment, and disbelief.

He stared blankly at the gray-glowing Potential Stone under his palm, as if struck by a great blow, his eyes hollow, his spirit crushed.

"Gr... gray? How... how could it be gray?" he muttered to himself, his voice filled with "despair" and "unwillingness," "Impossible... this is impossible..."

He even tried to inject more true qi, hoping to change the result. But the Potential Stone remained in its listless state, emitting a despair-inducing gray light.

This exquisite acting once again convinced everyone without a doubt – Lin Chen indeed had low potential! His previous astonishing performance was likely just a fleeting moment, or achieved at a great cost!

The attendant responsible for recording now looked at Lin Chen with sympathy and regret. He shook his head and announced loudly, "Lin Chen, potential... lowest grade. Next!"

This "lowest grade" evaluation was like the last straw that completely "crushed" Lin Chen!

He dejectedly withdrew his hand and, like a walking corpse, stumbled off the high platform, returning to a corner of the crowd. He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly, as if weeping silently, perfectly portraying the image of a young man whose "genius dream was shattered and future was bleak"!

This "sincere" performance dispelled the last shred of doubt in everyone's minds!

Laughter, disdain, and schadenfreude erupted once more, even more unrestrained than before!

"Hahaha! I knew it! Useless people are useless in the end!" "What's the use of brute strength? If your potential is bad, you're still trash!" "What a waste of that cultivation! What a pity, what a pity!" "Look at his dejected appearance, truly pathetic! But he deserves it!"

Lin Bao was ecstatic! He felt as if the injury on his chest had already healed by more than half! He walked near Lin Chen, looking down at him from a victor's stance, mocking him to the extreme:

"Useless! See? This is reality! Even if you got lucky and improved your cultivation, so what? Your potential dictates that you'll be useless your entire life! But I, Lin Bao, even though injured, am destined to be an eagle soaring through the nine heavens! You are only fit to look up at me from the ground! Hahaha!"

Lin Chen still kept his head down, his body trembling slightly, as if deeply hurt by Lin Bao's words, not daring to retort.

However, from an angle no one could see, the depths of his lowered eyes flashed with bone-chilling coldness and... a hint of a sly smile!

Low potential? Gray light?

This was precisely the result he wanted!

Or rather, it was the result "chosen" by the Myriad Dao Furnace for him!

The moment he injected his true qi into the Potential Stone, the Myriad Dao Furnace in his dantian suddenly produced a strange fluctuation! This fluctuation was not an attack, nor a defense, but a kind of... isolation! A shielding!

It was as if an invisible, undetectable barrier instantly enveloped his entire body! Perfectly isolating his true potential, which had become unfathomable due to the fusion of the Nine Aperture Dao Foundation, from the Potential Stone's detection!

Moreover, the Furnace had "deliberately" released a trace of extremely weak aura, similar to "waste energy," interfering with the Potential Stone's judgment, ultimately presenting this gray light representing the "lowest grade"!

All of this happened extremely subtly and rapidly! Even Lin Chen himself felt a hint of surprise!

Clearly, the Myriad Dao Furnace seemed to possess some kind of "autonomous consciousness" or "instinct." It did not want its existence or its connection with the host to be perceived by the outside world! It was actively helping Lin Chen disguise and conceal himself!

This discovery filled Lin Chen with both surprise and joy!

It was astonishing that this furnace seemed even more mysterious and… "opinionated" than he had imagined?

The good news was that with the furnace's "active cooperation," his plan to "play the pig" was like adding wings to a tiger! Flawless!

The result of this "gray potential" was simply a stroke of genius!

Not only did it perfectly explain his previous "unreasonable" surge in cultivation (which could be attributed to overdrawing his potential), but it also allowed him to fall from the highly coveted position of a "genius with unlimited potential" back to the safer identity of a "waste with low potential"!

This would cause Patriarch Lin Xiaotian to still value him, but his expectations would be greatly reduced, and he wouldn't be overly scrutinized or interfered with.

This would make Great Elder Lin Zhenhong relax his guard, no longer viewing him as the greatest threat, thus giving him more time to develop in obscurity!

Even more so, it would cause arrogant fools like Lin Bao to completely underestimate him, providing excellent cover for his upcoming "hunting" operations!

It was simply killing three birds with one stone! Perfect!

Lin Chen was overjoyed in his heart, but his face maintained the same dejected, lifeless expression, demonstrating the pinnacle of his "actor's" self-cultivation!

The potential testing segment concluded amidst this dramatic reversal.

Although Lin Chen's "gray potential" became the biggest "joke" and topic of conversation, the tests had to continue.

"Alright! Potential testing is concluded!" Third Elder Lin Zhenyue cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention back. However, the gaze he cast upon Lin Chen still held a trace of unconcealable confusion and scrutiny. "Next, we proceed to the final and most crucial segment: the combat ranking matches!"

"All those who have reached the Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer or above are eligible to participate! The rules are simple! Two by two duels, winners advance, losers are eliminated! Challenges are allowed! Surrender is allowed! But killing blows are forbidden! Stop when you reach a satisfactory point!"

He specifically emphasized "killing blows are forbidden, stop when you reach a satisfactory point," clearly considering the almost irreconcilable conflict between Lin Chen and Lin Bao, as well as Lin Chen's previously displayed "ruthless" methods.

"The match list will follow the draw results from the preliminary test! If there are any objections, you may issue a challenge!"

Following the draw results from the preliminary test?!

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen, who had already become somewhat "disheartened," saw a flash of brilliance in his eyes once more!

On the other side, Lin Bao, who had been smugly triumphant, also had his smile freeze slightly!

Wouldn't the draw results from the preliminary test mean…

"First match, Lin Yan versus Lin…" the attendant began to read the list.

Match after match quickly unfolded!

Lin Yan and Lin Xue, as expected, crushed their opponents without suspense, advancing easily and drawing waves of cheers.

The other duels also had their winners and losers, presenting a dazzling spectacle.

Soon, it was time for the match that had everyone on edge once again!

"Thirty-second match, Lin Bao versus Lin Chen!"

As these two names were called out again, all eyes in the entire venue collectively focused on them once more!

However, this time, the crowd's sentiment had subtly shifted!

Previously, almost everyone believed Lin Chen was destined to lose, perhaps even die horribly.

But now…

Although Lin Chen's potential was low, he had still shown the ability to heavily injure Lin Bao with a single punch! And while Lin Bao's realm was higher, he was injured, and his strength seemed to have declined…

Did the suspense return to this match?

In fact, many people secretly felt that Lin Chen, the one with low potential, might… truly create a miracle again? After all, his previous performances were too bizarre!

Lin Bao's expression turned exceptionally grim! He felt the strange glances from his surroundings! He felt the doubt that no longer guaranteed his victory! This made him feel immensely humiliated!

"Waste! Even if your potential is trash! Today I will let you know! The gap in realms is a chasm you can never bridge!" Lin Bao growled through gritted teeth, forcefully suppressing his unease, and stepped onto the martial arts stage again! He wanted to wash away all the humiliation with a hearty victory! To prove that he was still the proud, heavenly prodigy he once was!

Lin Chen, on the other hand, still maintained that "dejected," "as if he hadn't recovered from the blow of the potential test" appearance, walking onto the martial arts stage with "unsteady" steps.

However, deep within his lowered gaze, the cold killing intent and the conviction of victory burned more fiercely than ever before!

Low potential? Perfect!

Let all of you think my future is bleak! Let all of you relax your vigilance!

This way, I can better hone my claws and teeth in the darkness!

Then, at a time you least expect, I will deliver… the most fatal blow!

"The match begins!"

With the referee's command!

A duel destined to shock the entire arena once more officially commenced!

This time, Lin Chen no longer needed to deliberately hide his strength!

He wanted to use a "difficult" victory to solidify his image of "insufficient potential but decent strength"!

At the same time, he wanted to collect some… interest from Lin Bao!

For example, completely cripple the right hand he used to unleash the "Frenzied Leopard Claw"?!

A cruel and cold arc curved across Lin Chen's lips.

Melt you, no negotiation!