That's it?

"Wu Chuqi, you did pretty well today. You killed an Ancient Beast worth twenty points."

Zhuang Xihang counted the fake eyes in Wu Chuqi's bag, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

Wu Chuqi let out a soft sigh.

"Still, I couldn't bring out my true strength. I haven't even mastered a Blood Qi Martial Technique yet, so my combat ability was pretty poor."

Zhuang Xihang nodded.

"That's right. Sparring is meant to improve the students' combat skills. Even if you're at the peak of the Five Viscera Realm, it won't do you much good if you haven't mastered a Blood Qi Martial Technique."

Wu Chuqi wiped the blood from his body and looked at his younger brother beside him.

"Chu Hua, it's the same for you. You lost to Chen Yan not just because your Extreme Forging Realm skills were inferior to his, but because of your technique, too."

Wu Chuhua said nothing. Chen Yan was a madman, and he didn't want to compete with madmen.

No, that wasn't right. He used to be a madman, too.

As he spoke, Wu Chuqi looked toward a young man standing outside the Breeding Area in the distance, his face fierce and baleful. Li Qingyuan and several others stood not far from him.

The fierce-looking young man was Li Shaowu, ranked eighth in this year's Town Martial Class.

As for Li Qingyuan and the others, they didn't seem to get along with Li Shaowu.

"What's going on?" Wu Chuqi walked over.

"Brother Wu." Li Qingyuan smiled bitterly. "Chen Yan kicked Zhang Qingsi's leg and broke it in the Breeding Area. Li Shaowu is waiting for him to come out."

"Chen Yan still hasn't come out?" Wu Chuqi was taken aback. Chen Yan had been in there for quite a while.

"That's right. He still hasn't come out." Li Qingyuan shook his head. He was there to keep Li Shaowu from attacking Chen Yan.

In Li Qingyuan's eyes, Li Shaowu was already on the opposing side. Chen Yan had a grudge against him, so naturally Chen Yan would end up on their side.

"Li Shaowu..." Wu Chuqi turned to Zhuang Xihang. "Principal Zhuang, students in the Town Martial Class aren't allowed to fight privately unless both sides agree, right?"

Zhuang Xihang smiled faintly.

"Correct."

Chen Yan was Wang Yang's student, so Zhuang Xihang naturally wouldn't let him get the short end of the stick. Besides, Luo Puxin was there, too.

"Chen Yan was the one who kicked Zhang Qingsi's leg and broke it!"

Li Shaowu, who had been silent until then, growled, the baleful look in his eyes growing fiercer.

"Then we'll talk about it when Chen Yan comes out." Zhuang Xihang warned him. Li Shaowu said nothing.

"Li Shaowu, Zhang Qingsi stole Chen Yan's Town Martial Class Quota. He was already a good-for-nothing."

Before Wu Chuqi could say a word, Wu Chuhua laughed.

"You're spending time with a good-for-nothing. Be careful you don't turn into one yourself."

Li Shaowu's expression hardened. He stared coldly at Wu Chuhua.

"Take it easy." Wu Chuqi smiled warmly. "My brother tends to speak bluntly, so he's asking for a beating. Zhang Qingsi isn't a good-for-nothing, and neither are you."

Hiss...

Beside them, Li Shaowu drew a deep breath. Wu Chuqi's words were even more insulting, but he held it in.

Seeing that Li Shaowu still wasn't leaving, Wu Chuqi frowned and walked away.

The Town Martial Class had barely started, and all sorts of conflicts had already sprung up. He didn't want to get involved.

He wanted to grow stronger, so he couldn't let all those conflicts distract him.

"Brother, what do you think will happen to Chen Yan?" Wu Chuhua asked.

"Nothing much." Wu Chuqi replied calmly. "Other people's business has nothing to do with us. With Chu Xuansheng hanging over us, what good does it do to worry about people like Li Shaowu?"

He could say what needed saying and help someone out that way, but he wouldn't get involved. That would be a waste of time.

Time passed slowly.

By nightfall, one after another, the students waiting by the Breeding Area left.

"What's going on? Chen Yan still hasn't come down."

"It's been a whole day, hasn't it? Chen Yan hasn't even eaten."

"Forget it, let's stop waiting. Maybe something happened to him."

As they talked, Li Shaowu's expression grew darker and darker.

He didn't want to waste time. He only wanted Chen Yan on his knees before him, or to get him to agree to a fight. Then he'd break one of Chen Yan's legs to answer to Zhang Ge.

It was a matter of cost and reward: a small price for a big payoff.

But now, he'd already wasted half a day.

By then, Zhuang Xihang was starting to feel anxious, too. Chen Yan had gone in at eight that morning, and it was already eleven at night.

Could something really have happened to him?

"How did the students do in the Breeding Area today?"

A man's voice rang out. Luo Puxin, the principal of First High, and Chu Feiyuan walked over with several others.

Zhuang Xihang replied, "Liu Zong, ranked second, killed an Ancient Beast worth thirty-seven points today. Zhuo Qingren, ranked third, and Tan Qi, ranked fourth, didn't come. Lu Chong, ranked fifth, killed one worth thirty-one points."

As he spoke, Zhuang Xihang handed two reports to Luo Puxin and the principal of First High.

Luo Puxin glanced at Li Shaowu nearby and frowned slightly. He knew Chen Yan had broken Zhang Qingsi's leg.

He didn't feel like getting involved.

It was a good thing for Chen Yan to have more opponents now.

Chen Yan had strong talent in the Horizontal Refinement path. Luo Puxin thought that by the end of the Town Martial Class, Chen Yan would be good enough to break into the top three, or even take first place.

First place...

Chu Xuansheng.

Luo Puxin narrowed his eyes. Chu Xuansheng had never come to the Town Martial Class; he had better resources at the Chu Family.

"These promising students are all quite good. Maybe we can sign some of them with the Gong Family or the Chu Family early."

The principal of First High smiled, clearly pleased. He looked at Chu Feiyuan.

"Teacher Chu, who is your family planning to sign?"

As for the Town Martial Division, did they even recruit Heavenly Prides?

The principal of First High looked at Luo Puxin, who seemed to have shown no interest at all.

Chu Feiyuan smiled without answering. The Chu Family had actually already made plans, but first they needed to sign Chen Yan.

"Strange. Chen Yan's been in there for fourteen hours already," Chu Feiyuan remarked in surprise.

"That's right. We haven't heard a thing from him." Zhuang Xihang's eyes held a trace of worry, too. "The intercom's signal keeps moving."

Zhuang Xihang looked uneasy.

"Should I go look for him?"

Chu Feiyuan and the principal of First High nodded.

"No need," Luo Puxin said indifferently.

"Entering the Breeding Area is every student's choice. Whether they take it slow and grow stronger within their limits, or push beyond their limits and challenge death, that's up to them."

Luo Puxin looked at the students gathered around him.

"Entering the Breeding Area means risking your life. Think it over yourselves."

All the students were taken aback, then nodded, more cautious than before.

Luo Puxin left. The principal of Second High arrived and walked slowly alongside Chu Feiyuan.

"The head of the family said you were supposed to sign Chen Yan yesterday. Why haven't you done it yet?"

"Be careful the Town Martial Division snatches him up."

Chu Feiyuan smiled faintly.

"There's no rush. Didn't you see? Luo Puxin doesn't care whether Chen Yan lives or dies."

He'd wanted to sign Chen Yan yesterday, but who could've guessed the kid would struggle so much to awaken? He hadn't even given him the chance to speak.

The principal of Second High, Chu Li, frowned.

"Think it over yourself, but the head of the family said the sooner, the better.

"Also, the stunt you pulled in the Blood Sensing Chamber was really crude. Extremely crude. If Chen Yan awakens later, he'll definitely figure out what you did back then."

Chu Feiyuan nodded.

"I did handle that badly. But that kid already failed to awaken once. There's basically no chance he'll awaken."

The Breeding Area.

One punch killed a Green Cat.

It wasn't the first Green Cat he'd killed, but the third.

Chen Yan plucked the fake eye marked with 21 from the Green Cat and lay on the ground, panting heavily.

He was tired—completely exhausted.

[Saint Breaking Realm: Level 3 (60/75)]

[Saint Breaking Fruit:

Strength: (78/100)

Blood: (38/100)

Technique: (21/100)

Physique: (5/100)]

Two [Body] Character Saint Breaking Fruits and one [Skill] Character Saint Breaking Fruit had gone down his throat. That was what Chen Yan had gained from continuously attacking and killing Ancient Beasts.

On his chest, five tangible Pattern Lines had completely solidified.

Two Strength Stripes, with one pattern each on his sinews, bones, and skin!

The text in the cultivation task column on Chen Yan's Martial Merit Badge had changed again. He'd completed the task and earned two hundred Martial Merit Points.

Chen Yan now had four hundred and fifty Martial Merit Points in total.

His Breathing Technique hadn't advanced, but his external martial art, [Crimson Gang Profound Strike Fist], had reached Heart-Entering.

And his Breathing Technique, [Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon], had reached a terrifying stage.

Entering Subtlety!

Whether it was Horizontal Refinement or Qi and Blood, martial artists used the same terms to describe their proficiency with techniques and martial arts.

Beginner, Heart-Entering, Entering Subtlety, Entering Microcosm, Entering Divinity.

Entering Microcosm meant reaching one hundred percent proficiency—in other words, attaining perfection.

As for Entering Divinity, that was a state beyond perfection.

The Breathing Technique's Entering Subtlety stage gave Chen Yan the stamina to fight for an astonishingly long time. He could keep going.

"I heard you broke Zhang Qingsi's leg?"

Luo Puxin's voice sounded. Chen Yan looked over and saw that Luo Puxin had come up beside him.

"Eat. Food is important."

Luo Puxin handed Chen Yan a bag full of food.

"Bro Luo, I don't want to put up with it." Chen Yan took the food and spoke quietly.

Luo Puxin opened his mouth, about to say something, but then noticed the bag Chen Yan was using to store the fake eyes.

Holy shit.

He looked at the Green Cat's corpse nearby, his eyes trembling.

"You've reached Heart-Entering with the Crimson Heart Fist?" Luo Puxin asked in shock.

"No." Chen Yan shook his head.

"Oh." Luo Puxin nodded. That would've been strange if he had—but then he grew even more astonished. "Then how did you kill this Green Cat? Anyone who could kill one of these could rank sixth in the Town Martial Class."

"My Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon has reached Entering Subtlety," Chen Yan said with a smile.

Luo Puxin fell silent.

Chen Yan looked at him.

"Bro Luo, I think I'm making decent progress. I haven't seen anyone else progressing as fast as me."

Luo Puxin still said nothing.

This was bad. Chen Yan had incredible talent.

Worse, he seemed to know it himself.

"Bro Luo, I think the Town Martial Division is strong. At least it won't let the powerful families bully people."

Luo Puxin was silent for a long while before speaking.

"I know what you want to say. If you want to do it, then do it. You..."

"Can I kill people?" Chen Yan looked at Luo Puxin.

Silence.

Luo Puxin looked at him as if he were seeing Chen Yan for the first time. He knew Chen Yan could put on an act. He knew Chen Yan worked hard.

But he hadn't known Chen Yan harbored such murderous intent.

Was it because he'd killed too much today, and the killing had stirred up his viciousness?

Or was it that, after realizing his own worth, he no longer wanted to endure those grievances and wanted to tell this fucked-up world, "Go fuck yourself"?

Luo Puxin's lips quivered.

What a good kid. Had he still been forced into this?

Go kill him!

"If it's a fight, kill him. I'll smooth things over for you. Don't worry about revenge. With me here, no one will come after you or your family."

Luo Puxin stood up.

"Even if he's awakened his limits, you don't need to worry about Chen Min's Lao City Chen Family. If they come after you, I'll take you... and run."

Chen Yan smiled.

"Wanting to kill someone is a good thing." Luo Puxin smiled even more brightly.

"If you don't want to, I'll still push you to kill. And if you can handle it, I won't interfere.

"If you can't handle it, I'll help you kill him."

Luo Puxin left.

He didn't know why Chen Yan had become like this, but he knew what Chen Yan was really like.

The next day, Chen Yan didn't come down the mountain.

On the third day, Chen Yan still didn't come down.

Li Shaowu, who had been blocking the entrance to the Breeding Area, stopped on the third day.

Gao Yuan and the other students had no idea where Chen Yan was.

Was he dead?

Many people began to wonder.

Or had Chen Yan gone into hiding to avoid Li Shaowu?

Then came the fourth day.

Morning.

The morning light blazed, radiant as a heavenly omen, like a golden dragon leaping from the sea. Its rich, warm glow lit up all of First Martial High.

"Chen Yan, have you been up on the mountain this whole time?"

Gao Yuan had come to the gate of Chen Yan's courtyard again. This time, he was delighted to find Chen Yan in the garden, practicing his fists.

Chen Yan waved at Gao Yuan, his gaze warm and his manner courteous.

"I was just waiting for you to come. I saved some breakfast. Please join me."

Gao Yuan froze. A single breakfast at Chen Yan's place was worth quite a bit of money.

"Don't be so polite. Come on." Chen Yan beckoned him over. He'd heard Gao Yuan had been worried about him these past few days, so he wanted to treat him well.

Gao Yuan nodded and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Chen Yan, you have to watch out for Li Shaowu."

Gao Yuan looked at Chen Yan. He was wearing a fresh set of clothes, neat and subdued. He'd always been handsome, but now he looked every bit the refined gentleman.

"Okay," Chen Yan replied with a smile.

Gao Yuan was about to say more, but as he drew closer, he caught a hard-to-describe scent of blood.

Perhaps it wasn't a scent, but an aura.

He looked at Chen Yan again: warm, courteous, handsome.

But beneath it, if you paid close attention, there was brutality, murderous intent, and ferocity.

Holy crap.

A sheen of sweat immediately beaded on Gao Yuan's forehead.

Chen Yan had just killed someone, hadn't he?

Or had he slaughtered a whole pack of Ancient Beasts in the Breeding Area?

After breakfast.

Chen Yan and Gao Yuan walked out. He still hadn't exchanged the fake eyes he'd collected for points.

But there was no rush.

He'd heard about Li Shaowu.

"Chen Yan!"

"Kneel before me!"

Hearing that Chen Yan had shown up, Li Shaowu came over from a distance, bringing Zhang Qingsi, who was leaning on a crutch. His face was twisted with menace.

The students passing by had also noticed Chen Yan and Li Shaowu.

Chen Yan looked at Li Shaowu.

"Kill me, and I'll kneel for you."

Chen Yan smiled gently.

"Come kill me."

Li Shaowu froze. Chen Yan was being so direct.

Far too direct.

It was as if he'd shown up here just to wait for Li Shaowu.

He was smiling, as if to say:

Come on, kill me. I'm easy to kill.

For some reason, Li Shaowu felt uneasy. He glanced at Zhang Qingsi beside him, then spoke to Chen Yan.

"Town Martial Class doesn't allow killing."

"Then cripple me. I'm easy to cripple." Chen Yan smiled even more warmly.

The crowd erupted.

Li Shaowu stiffened again. He stared at Chen Yan for a long while, then suddenly laughed.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Chen Yan was going to fight Li Shaowu.

Word spread quickly through Town Martial Class.

They faced each other on the Sports Field, surrounded by students.

This was a fight between two of the top twenty. They absolutely had to watch. It was a rare opportunity.

"Chen Yan, I suggest you think it over."

Li Qingyuan frowned as he spoke. He hadn't expected Chen Yan to be so direct. Had his strength increased dramatically lately?

But Li Shaowu was no pushover.

Chen Yan smiled warmly at Li Qingyuan.

"Thank you."

There weren't many people who treated him well. He would cherish them.

"Brother Li, Chen Yan doesn't appreciate your concern. Why bother with him?"

A student beside him spoke up, sounding displeased.

Li Qingyuan shook his head.

"It's not that he doesn't appreciate it. If my presence is getting in his way, then I'm not helping him. He's already been very polite."

Li Qingyuan frowned, still somewhat puzzled.

"But the man he's fighting isn't easy to deal with."

Soon, a teacher arrived.

"Chen Yan, you'd better be sure."

Chu Feiyuan looked at Chen Yan. He still had the contract Chen Yan was supposed to sign in his hand. If Chen Yan was crippled, would he still sign it?

"I'm sure." Chen Yan nodded.

Chu Feiyuan frowned slightly. He'd already warned him. Then he explained the rules.

After explaining the rules, Chu Feiyuan looked again at Luo Puxin, the Principal of First High, and the others.

No one tried to stop the fight.

They seemed not to care about Chen Yan at all.

Across from Chen Yan, Li Shaowu's gaze grew more and more solemn.

He could tell that something was wrong with Chen Yan.

The other man looked gentle, but to Li Shaowu, he felt like a powder keg on the verge of exploding, brimming with pent-up violence.

In the crowd, Zhang Qingsi stared fixedly at Chen Yan, his fury surging.

"Begin!" Chu Feiyuan called out.

Li Shaowu lowered his stance and circulated his Qi and Blood Cultivation Method.

"Chen Yan, I won't hold back."

He spoke quietly. If they were going to fight, he would use all his strength.

He didn't want to underestimate Chen Yan.

As for the other man...

A thunderous boom suddenly rang out. The grass and earth flew up beneath Chen Yan's terrifying, coiled strength.

He was blindingly fast!

Chen Yan charged at Li Shaowu like a ferocious beast, holding nothing back.

Li Shaowu's eyes widened in shock. He drew a deep breath, a red glow of Qi and Blood gathering around his fist as he punched toward Chen Yan.

Their fists collided!

Crack, crack, crack!

A series of bone-snapping sounds rang out from Li Shaowu's fist.

"Chen Yan!"

Chu Feiyuan shouted. He hadn't expected Chen Yan to unleash such tremendous Internal Force so suddenly.

"Ah!!!"

A scream rang out. Li Shaowu clutched his fist and howled.

Chen Yan's gaze was vicious. A smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he raised his fist again and slammed it toward Li Shaowu's shoulder with unstoppable force.

Another bone snapped.

Chen Yan struck again, punching Li Shaowu's arm.

Then he kicked at his legs.

Crack, crack, crack!

"Ahhhhhh!!!!"

Screams rang out without pause, surging through everyone's minds like a flood.

Terrifying. Terrifying!

What were they even looking at?!

"I don't—" Li Shaowu's eyes filled with terror. He shouted and screamed, his will to fight completely gone.

Chen Yan covered his mouth with his left hand, pinned him hard beneath him, and brought his fist down again.

One punch landed on Li Shaowu's forehead. Blood immediately seeped from his eyes.

Thud, thud, thud!

Another blow!

"Weren't you going to make me kneel?"

Chen Yan's eyes burned with the fury of a wronged man. His fists pounded down.

"That all you've got?!"

Thud, thud, thud!

He kept raining down punches. Li Shaowu's forehead caved in, blood streaming from every orifice.

Chen Yan wore a smile. There was no madness in it, yet he was doing something more insane than anyone else could.

Both fists were drenched in blood.

Nearby, some of the girls were so frightened they felt faint. The other students stared in stunned silence, too terrified to speak, afraid Chen Yan might charge at them next.

Thump!

Zhang Qingsi fell to the ground, mouth hanging open.

That was Li Shaowu.

How could he possibly have beaten him?!