One Punch

Chu Yuan let out a scoff but didn't refute Hu Yan Lanruo's words. His tone and demeanor clearly conveyed his stance.

Nie Li showed no reaction. Neither Hu Yan Lanruo's praise nor Chu Yuan's contempt could stir even a ripple within him. Having returned from rebirth, Nie Li didn't regard insignificant figures like Chu Yuan at all. Chu Yuan simply wasn't qualified to speak with him!

"Chu Yuan, what's your attitude?" Hu Yan Lanruo frowned slightly.

"I'm laughing because I don't know what kind of spell you've fallen under that you actually think he's a genius! A good-for-nothing with only a Red Soul Sea, what achievements can he possibly make in his life? Does trash like him deserve to associate with us?" Chu Yuan sneered. He had a good relationship with Shen Yue's brother, Shen Fei, and that extended to his strong dislike for Nie Li.

"You've gone too far!" Ye Ziyun's brows furrowed deeply, feeling indignant for Nie Li. Although Nie Li could be a bit annoying, it had to be said that Nie Li had real talent. It was just that Nie Li was too low-key, and many people didn't know about his abilities!

Nie Li's gaze turned cold. He didn't take Chu Yuan seriously and couldn't be bothered to respond, but that didn't mean he would tolerate a clown jumping around in front of him indefinitely.

"Chu Yuan, your talent isn't exactly stellar either. You're three years older than Nie Li and are still only at Bronze 3-star. How dare you talk about others," Hu Yan Ruolan said with a smile. Many young masters from aristocratic families of the same age had already advanced to Silver, yet Chu Yuan remained stuck at the Bronze 3-star realm.

Hearing Hu Yan Ruolan's words, Chu Yuan immediately felt embarrassed. Among the peers present, his talent wasn't the worst, but he was the least diligent. He spent his days indulging in wine and women, so naturally, he didn't focus on cultivation. To this day, he was still only Bronze 3-star.

"So what? I at least have a Yellow Soul Sea. As long as I put in a little effort, breaking through to Silver won't be difficult. But he probably won't even reach Bronze 1-star in his lifetime!" Chu Yuan continued to attack Nie Li without mercy. Nie Li's silence must mean he was scared. People like Nie Li could only deceive others with their good looks and sweet talk; they had no real substance.

A Red Soul Sea was utter trash!

Nie Li's sharp gaze swept over Chu Yuan, and he smiled coldly, "Then I challenge you now. Whoever loses has to crawl three circles on the ground like a dog, how about that?"

Hearing Nie Li's words, Ye Ziyun immediately tugged at him nervously. What was wrong with Nie Li? He was challenging Chu Yuan? Nie Li's cultivation hadn't even reached Bronze 1-star yet, while Chu Yuan was already Bronze 3-star! The difference in their levels was like a chasm, impossible to bridge.

Seeing Ye Ziyun's anxious expression, Nie Li felt a warmth in his heart. Ye Ziyun still cared about him.

As for Hu Yan Lanruo, after a moment of surprise, her eyes seemed to hold a meaningful glance at Nie Li. Nie Li didn't seem like an impulsive person.

Chu Yuan was stunned when he heard Nie Li's words, then burst into wild laughter. "What did I just hear? You want to challenge me? Haha, this is the funniest joke I've heard all day. Someone who hasn't even reached Bronze 1-star wants to challenge me! Utterly overestimating yourself!"

"Nie Li, don't be rash," Ye Ziyun said, thinking Nie Li had made an irrational decision to challenge Chu Yuan out of anger.

"Even without using Soul Power, just relying on my physical strength, I'll be enough to beat you black and blue!" Chu Yuan laughed arrogantly. His physical strength alone was already at the Bronze 1-star level. "Kid, if you're scared, you can still take it back now!"

Nie Li moved his fingers, and the sound of his knuckles cracking echoed. He looked at Chu Yuan coldly and said, "If there were trash like you jumping around in front of me every day, I'd be too busy! Since you're so blind, I'll just have to teach you a lesson. Some people you can't afford to offend!" As he spoke, Nie Li's gaze swept over Shen Yue and the others.

Chu Yuan's face turned grim, and he glared fiercely at Nie Li. "This is your own doing!"

Chen Linjian was also alarmed. Although Nie Li was knowledgeable, in terms of cultivation, he hadn't even reached Bronze 1-star yet. How could he possibly defeat Chu Yuan? Just as Chu Yuan said, Chu Yuan could crush Nie Li even without using Soul Power!

However, Nie Li didn't seem like an impulsive person. Chen Linjian couldn't help but feel a bit curious. He waved his hand, and the onlookers stepped back a distance.

"Don't worry, as your man, if I can't even handle this situation, I might as well just kill myself!" Seeing Ye Ziyun's anxious expression, Nie Li said with a soft laugh beside her.

"You..." Ye Ziyun's cheeks immediately flushed red. She stomped her foot. Nie Li was so infuriating. She was merely showing concern as a friend, but Nie Li had to be so glib, making her secretly annoyed. She almost wished Chu Yuan would just beat Nie Li up.

Seeing Ye Ziyun's flustered and indignant expression, Hu Yan Ruolan glanced at Nie Li with a half-smile. Nie Li wasn't a complete blockhead, after all. He seemed quite adept at pleasing girls. But from the beginning, Nie Li had been indifferent to her. Could it be that her charm wasn't enough? Hu Yan Ruolan felt that with her charm, captivating Nie Li, such a young boy, would be an easy task! She became even more interested in Nie Li.

The surrounding people retreated, leaving a clear space between Nie Li and Chu Yuan.

Shen Yue watched the scene, his eyes flashing with cold light. Nie Li daring to challenge Chu Yuan was simply courting death. He had spoken with Chu Yuan a few times, and if given the chance, Chu Yuan would definitely beat Nie Li to a pulp! But for some reason, seeing Nie Li's confident expression, he felt a faint sense of unease.

Would Chu Yuan lose? That was impossible. Chu Yuan's Soul Power had reached Bronze 3-star!

Although his Soul Power was only 88 and his Strength around 50, Nie Li had a profound understanding of Soul Power and Strength.

Nie Li's Soul Sea began to circulate, channeling Soul Power into his physical body. His muscles slowly bulged and trembled. Although Nie Li's muscles didn't bulge very obviously, they contained explosive power.

"I'll let you have three moves, so you don't say I'm bullying a junior!" Chu Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Nie Li proudly, a hint of contempt in his eyes.

"Alright!" Nie Li suddenly accelerated, charging towards Chu Yuan, and threw an elbow strike towards Chu Yuan's abdomen.

"This kind of childish boxing style, do you think this is playtime?" Chu Yuan sneered. Seeing Nie Li's elbow about to hit his abdomen, he stepped back with his hands still behind his back, maintaining a distance from Nie Li's elbow.

In Chu Yuan's opinion, Nie Li's elbow wouldn't reach him. But at this moment, a cold smile played on Nie Li's lips. Chu Yuan was too overconfident! He suddenly shifted his body and accelerated, changing his elbow strike into a punch, which landed with a bang on Chu Yuan's abdomen. Chu Yuan, from a wealthy family, had a weak foundation in footwork and clearly lacked combat experience. Although he had reached Bronze 1-star in Strength, it was obvious he had relied on many pills to cultivate. With just a few simple combat tricks from Nie Li, Chu Yuan couldn't cope.

For someone at this level, wouldn't it be easy to toy with him?

And here I was, preparing so many backup plans, completely useless!

As the punch hit Chu Yuan's abdomen, the muscles on Nie Li's arm tensed and bulged, showing the terrifying power unleashed by that single punch.

Chu Yuan's smug expression froze on his face. He clutched his abdomen and curled up like a shrimp, falling to the ground with a thump. His body convulsed, and he let out sounds of dry heaving. Nie Li's punch had practically turned his insides out!

Seeing this, the surrounding onlookers were stunned.

Chu Yuan, a Bronze 3-star Demon Spirit Master whose physical strength alone was at the Bronze 1-star level, was actually knocked to the ground by Nie Li's single punch?

Was Chu Yuan too careless? Did Nie Li just take advantage of an opening?

"No, in terms of physical strength alone, even if Nie Li hit Chu Yuan's abdomen with one punch, it probably wouldn't cause any substantial damage to Chu Yuan. The difference in strength is too vast. But what's going on? Chu Yuan was knocked down by one punch?"

At this moment, everyone understood. Nie Li must have been hiding his strength. Nie Li's physical strength was probably at least Bronze 1-star level?

What they didn't know was that Nie Li hadn't reached the Bronze 1-star realm, but his control over strength was beyond ordinary people's imagination. When he used his fist, he concentrated all his strength into it, and the target was the most vulnerable part of Chu Yuan's abdomen. A single hit to the vital spot was already showing mercy by not crippling Chu Yuan.

When it came to the use of strength, Nie Li was undoubtedly a master. Let alone Chu Yuan with only Bronze 1-star physical strength, even someone at Bronze 5-star or even Silver level, if hit in a vital spot by Nie Li's current punch, would probably be rolling on the ground in agony!

To Nie Li, those who only knew how to rely on brute force and clash head-on were no different from primitive humans.

Ye Ziyun's clear eyes showed deep shock. Nie Li had knocked Chu Yuan to the ground with a single punch, and the impact on the young girl's heart was imaginable. Nie Li hadn't even reached Bronze 1-star yet. How did Nie Li achieve this? Ye Ziyun finally realized that she had underestimated Nie Li's strength all along.

Hu Yan Ruolan looked at Nie Li with amusement. The strength Nie Li displayed had indeed startled her, and her interest in Nie Li grew even stronger.

"Interesting," Chen Linjian appraised Nie Li with keen interest.

Chu Yuan convulsed on the ground for a long time before he could slowly get up. As a young master from an aristocratic family, when had he ever been beaten so badly? He thought his strength far surpassed Nie Li's and that he could completely disdain Nie Li. He had even offered to let Nie Li have three moves, only to fall to the ground after one move, unable to get up.

His entire insides felt like they were churning, an unimaginable pain. If he hadn't endured it, Chu Yuan would have already fainted.

At this moment, Nie Li looked at Chu Yuan on the ground and asked with a harmless expression, "You said you'd let me have three moves. That was one just now, so there are two more!"

Hearing Nie Li's words, Chu Yuan, who was enduring the pain and trying to stand up, saw stars. Did this guy have any humanity? That one move had already taken half his life, and Nie Li still wanted him to give him two more moves!