Shang Xingren's Dao Heart Shatters

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—

From the audience's perspective, a figure darted swiftly through the darkness, the scenery blurring past.

"Alright, switching the view to Shang Xingren—let's see how he handles Jiang Yan's assault next."

"Shang Xingren is moving!"

"Shang Xingren... he, he's running?"

The commentator's voice was thick with shock.

The earlier perspective hadn't shown Shang Xingren getting injured, so most assumed he and Jiang Yan were at a stalemate, neither able to overpower the other.

But now, with all cameras on him, Shang Xingren had chosen to flee in plain sight. The reason sparked suspicion among the majority.

A tactic?

Some guessed.

: Director, we need a replay.

: Quick, show us what happened in the fight before.

: Fucking useless piece of shit—wasn't he all high and mighty just now? Why's he suddenly bolting when the fight was going fine?

Those outsiders had no idea what Shang Xingren had just endured, so of course they couldn't understand why he ran.

But Shang Xingren knew full well how terrifying that man truly was.

His attacks were bizarre—when he first clashed blades with Jiang Yan, his own body inexplicably took damage.

His defense was practically unbreakable—the dagger ambush, the immense energy from spatial compression, none of it left a scratch.

And then there was the absolute power.

Shang Xingren still remembered that slash Jiang Yan had unleashed—the Abyssal Thunder Annihilation Slash.

A Heaven-grade Martial Skill. Even he had only barely touched upon it, mastering it with the help of his family elders.

That man was an undeniable Stat Monster.

Shang Xingren even suspected Jiang Yan had been deliberately planted in this exam.

"No examinee could possibly have this kind of strength."

His thoughts spiraled.

His inner pride refused to admit he had fled mid-battle.

Suddenly, realization struck Shang Xingren, and his expression soured like he'd eaten something foul.

Had all of that just been broadcast live?

Running was pure instinct. Beneath that blade aura, capable of annihilating everything, Shang Xingren's instinct made him forget he was in an exam. A voice in his head kept screaming:

"Run! Run! You'll die!"

So Shang Xingren ran.

And after running, regret flooded in.

He let out a bitter laugh. "I thought I'd look down on life and death."

His privileged upbringing, absolute talent, and being the center of attention had made him arrogant enough to believe he was invincible.

The audience watched the replay.

Dimensional space development had long since become quite refined. Even though Shang Xingren had used his spatial ability to hide within the void, the livestream still caught his blurry figure.

From his initial fighting spirit to the moment he faced that despair-inducing slash.

Lightning. Blade aura. They filled the entire screen.

The barrage suddenly softened. No one called Shang Xingren a coward anymore.

: Alright, looks like it's not really Shang Xingren's fault.

: I take back what I said about him being a coward. In that situation, I'd have run even faster.

: And Jiang Yan isn't shady? If this doesn't get nerfed, how can anyone play?

: I fucking thought Jiang Yan was at most on Shang Xingren's level, but reality slapped me hard. The guy's a freak among freaks. Hard to imagine even Shang Xingren being this helpless—how hopeless must those ordinary examinees feel facing him?

Only spatial talent allowed a narrow escape from Jiang Yan. What about everyone else?

The meaning of this clash seemed to shift in that moment.

Shang Xingren lay wounded on the ground.

That earlier ambush had been aimed straight at his vitals, and he'd even used an Earth-grade Martial Skill, so the backlash from the counter was severe.

He sat cross-legged, forcing his energy to circulate through his meridians, trying to recover.

Tap... tap...

A rhythmic footstep reached his ears.

Shang Xingren's face darkened. In his current state, he couldn't afford another intense fight.

"Shang Xingren?"

Shang Xingren frowned, looking toward the speaker. "Xiao Ziming, it's you!"

Shang Xingren's taut nerves relaxed a fraction.

His clan and Xiao Ziming's clan had dealings in the past, and the two had crossed swords a few times. Shang Xingren knew Xiao Ziming was an extremely proud man, utterly disdainful of taking advantage of someone in a weakened state.

Or rather, this type of Prodigies all carried a certain pride in their hearts.

Sure enough, Xiao Ziming sheathed his sword, a mocking expression fixed on the listless Shang Xingren.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh, if it isn't the young master of the Shang Clan in Divine Capital. How'd you end up looking so pathetic?"

The moment he opened his mouth, it was a full-on barrage of taunts.

On a normal day, he might have traded barbs with Xiao Ziming, but now he simply had no stomach for it.

Without realizing it, the pride in his heart had been beaten out of him by Jiang Yan.

"I fought someone and lost." Shang Xingren explained flatly.

"Tch, looks like you haven't improved a bit over the years. Forget it, tell me who it is, and I'll take care of him for you on the side."

Xiao Ziming kept up the mockery.

The two were often compared by their family elders, and neither would ever concede to the other.

But unexpectedly, Shang Xingren—who usually loved to posture with a broken fan and act smug—didn't fire back this time. Xiao Ziming found that odd.

"You can't beat him."

One sentence from Shang Xingren fully ignited Xiao Ziming's temper.

"Hey, Shang, just because you're useless doesn't mean everyone else is as worthless as you!"

Shang Xingren shook his head, lacking the energy to argue.

"I couldn't even put up a fight against that person."

That one sentence silenced the previously rowdy Xiao Ziming. He shot Shang Xingren a suspicious look. "You serious?"

Shang Xingren nodded. "Mm. I even suspect that person isn't a test-taker, but rather... the final trial arranged by the officials."

Hearing this, Xiao Ziming's expression turned grave.

He knew Shang Xingren's strength well—his spatial abilities were notoriously hard to guard against. If even he felt despair toward an opponent, just how powerful was that opponent?

"So, what are you planning to do?" Xiao Ziming asked him.

Shang Xingren: "Join forces."

"Pfft, I'm above doing something so spineless. No matter how strong the opponent is, I have the heart to swing my sword at him!"

Xiao Ziming looked at Shang Xingren with disappointment.

"You've gotten old. The old you, annoying as your posturing was, at least wasn't this pathetic."

Xiao Ziming turned and left.

Shang Xingren's lips moved, but in his sight, Xiao Ziming's defiant back gradually vanished into the darkness of the night.

Jiang Yan still hung in the sky.

Many test-takers, seeing the sun rising in the night, cast curious glances at it.

Then Jiang Yan would fly down along their line of sight and rob them.

The remaining test-takers were now mostly at the Second-Rank Perfection level, with an occasional Third-Stage Xiantian, but even those couldn't last a single move against Jiang Yan.

He was like an ultimate boss who had wandered into a newbie village—a casual strike could turn a brave warrior and his shoddy starter gear into a bloody pulp.

A peculiar phenomenon appeared on the official livestream.

Whenever the feed switched to another test-taker's perspective, some guy would suddenly drop from the sky, snatch the Points, and fly back up again.

So the official livestream simply gave up and broadcast Jiang Yan's feed the whole time.

A global livestream had become a solo show for a certain Jiang.