Looked Down Upon Again

The days that followed were monotonous yet packed. Every morning, Zhen Hua would haul Lin Qingzhou to the forging room, teaching him everything from basic metal identification to Thousand-Refinement techniques, filling the entire morning with instruction.

Mu Ye would take over in the afternoon, bringing him to the cultivation room to correct everything from his soul power circulation routes to the micro-adjustments of his soul skill activation, often not letting him go until nightfall.

Lin Qingzhou did not slack off on either front; he forged by day and cultivated by night, occasionally having to find time to deal with the cold, robotic reports that Zero would pop into his mind regarding the restoration progress of the Divine Realm's energy.

The days were repetitive, but he was accustomed to monotony. Compared to those nights in Proud Arrival City spent struggling on the edge of life and death, this kind of monotony, where he could focus on growing stronger, was actually a luxury.

A week later, Mu Ye received a message and had to head to Eastsea City to handle some private matters. He didn't specify the details, and Lin Qingzhou didn't ask.

Zhen Hua naturally took over Lin Qingzhou's entire schedule, but as luck would have it, the very next morning, several important clients arrived at the Blacksmith Guild.

Zhen Hua had no choice but to receive them personally, repeatedly urging Lin Qingzhou to practice on his own throughout the morning, promising to return in the afternoon to continue teaching him the quenching techniques for Thousand-Refinement.

Lin Qingzhou spent the entire morning in the cultivation room working on his foundation, his clothes soaked through with sweat several times over.

After taking a shower at noon and changing into clean clothes, he remembered that the refrigerator had been empty for two days and decided to head out to buy some food.

His "cheap" master, Mu Ye, was certainly not stingy. He had given him a black card with several million Federation Currency to spend as he pleased, though Lin Qingzhou clearly didn't have much of an appetite for material things; he remained as frugal as ever.

The central business district of Heaven Fight City was not far from the Blacksmith Guild, only about a ten-minute walk. The streets were bustling with people, far livelier than Proud Arrival City.

The shop signs along the road used holographic projection technology, their colorful light effects appearing somewhat garish under the daylight.

Shops selling Soul Tool accessories, daily necessities, and street snacks were squeezed tightly together, lining the entire street.

Lin Qingzhou stopped in front of a store labeled "Budget Supermarket." Just as he was about to enter, a harsh roar of an engine erupted from behind him.

It wasn't the electromagnetic hum of a hovercar, but the roar of an old-fashioned internal combustion engine, a rarity in a major metropolis like Heaven Fight City.

A modified off-road vehicle turned the corner, moving at a fair speed, and screeched to a halt at the edge of the sidewalk in front of the supermarket. The car door opened, and four people jumped out.

The leader was a youth who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, dressed in expensive dark blue casual soul master attire, with silver thread embroidered on the cuffs and a Spirit Pagoda badge pinned to his chest.

Behind him followed two youths of similar age, one fat and one thin; judging by their attire, they were also from well-off families.

The last to step out was a young woman in her early twenties, wearing the robes of a mid-level deacon of the Spirit Pagoda. Her expression was cold, clearly serving as a bodyguard for these youths.

The leading youth scanned the street, his gaze landing on Lin Qingzhou. He looked him up and down, his mouth curling in a sneer.

Lin Qingzhou was wearing a simple gray cloth shirt that Zhen Hua had found for him earlier. It was washed clean, but the style was outdated, making him look quite unremarkable on this commercial street filled with designer brands and soul master robes.

But what truly caught the youth's attention was likely not the clothes, but the complete lack of soul power fluctuations emanating from him.

Lin Qingzhou was accustomed to keeping his aura completely restrained; it was an instinct honed over those years in Proud Arrival City—never reveal his Martial Soul unless absolutely necessary.

"Move," the youth said as he walked to the supermarket entrance, not looking back, his tone carrying that sense of entitlement born from being spoiled.

Lin Qingzhou stepped aside, not bothering to argue.

However, he felt a bit speechless inside. He had also realized that the clothes he was wearing were becoming increasingly troublesome, and he was considering whether he should go buy something more high-end to avoid such unnecessary hassle.

The four of them pushed open the supermarket door and went inside. The shop was small, with aisles only wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side.

The youth said something to the clerk at the front desk. His voice wasn't loud, but his tone was aggressive; the gist of it was that he was looking for a rare material called "Sea Blue Crystal."

The clerk was an old man in his fifties who looked troubled, explaining that this was a regular supermarket and didn't sell soul tool materials; they would need to go to a specialized soul tool material shop.

"I clearly saw it on your inventory list." The youth slapped his hand on the counter, his voice rising by half a tone. "Check again."

The clerk shrank back, lowering his head to search on his terminal. Lin Qingzhou stood at the entrance without moving, merely watching with an expressionless face.

He had seen this kind of scene many times back in Proud Arrival City—soul master "lords" bossing commoners around, and the commoners having no choice but to bow their heads and take it. No matter how beautifully the Federation laws were written, the reality on the ground was a different story.

"What are you looking at?"

The youth seemed to notice Lin Qingzhou's gaze. He turned his head, looked him up and down again, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt. "A commoner? Stand further away, don't get in the way."

Lin Qingzhou didn't speak.

On the street behind him, the flow of pedestrians continued unabated. A few people glanced curiously into the shop before quickly looking away and continuing on their way.

"I'm talking to you, are you deaf?" The youth took two steps forward, and the fat boy behind him also crowded over, a smirk on his face as if he were looking forward to a show.

Lin Qingzhou finally spoke, his tone flat, as if stating a fact: "This shop doesn't sell what you're looking for. Harassing the clerk won't help."

The youth froze for a moment, then let out a laugh, a sound laced with the intent to show off in front of his companions: "A commoner, meddling in my business?"

He rolled up his sleeves, the muscles on his arms bulging slightly as a layer of pale blue soul power light seeped out from beneath his skin.

His soul power intensity was around the third ring. His thousand-year soul ring hadn't manifested yet, but the mere release of his soul power was enough to make an ordinary person's legs go weak.

The fat boy beside him also stepped forward, his soul power fluctuations weaker than the leader's, but he was at least a second-ring Soul Grand Master.

The tall, thin one leaned against a shelf without moving, his eyes calmer than the other two, though he merely watched without any intention of intervening.

The bodyguard remained standing by the car, staring at the commotion inside the shop with a blank expression, likely thinking that a few young masters bullying a commoner was no big deal.

The air pressure in the shop dropped. The old clerk huddled behind the counter, his face pale, his lips trembling as he wanted to say something but didn't dare. Several customers who had been picking out goods put them down and quietly slipped out of the store.

Lin Qingzhou did not retreat.

He looked down at the pulsing blue soul power on the youth's arm, then raised his gaze back to the other's face, his expression remaining devoid of ripples.

"I'll say it again: this shop doesn't have what you want. If you want to find soul tool materials, there's a specialized shop two streets over." His voice was neither high nor low, as if he were patiently reasoning with someone.

Lin Qingzhou really didn't want to back down now. Perhaps in the past, he wouldn't have bothered with such trivial matters.

Ever since Na'er sacrificed herself, his heart had been in turmoil, and he had grown increasingly irritable; naturally, he wanted to find a punching bag.

Of course, the youth clearly had no intention of reasoning.

To him, a commoner refusing to bow his head in front of his companions was, in itself, humiliating enough.

He let out a cold snort, splayed the fingers of his right hand, and condensed his pale blue soul power into a fist-sized ball of light in his palm, thrusting it toward Lin Qingzhou's chest.

He hadn't used his full strength—probably only thirty or forty percent—but for a Soul Elder to strike a commoner, the mere fluctuation of soul power was enough to send a person flying several meters back.

Lin Qingzhou stood his ground, not moving a single inch.

He raised his left hand, fingers slightly spread, and at the very moment the blue orb was about to touch his chest, he caught it steadily.

He didn't swat it away, nor did he block it; he caught it. The orb of soul power pulsed twice in his palm, as if something from within had dismantled it, and it dissipated into the air without a sound.

The youth's pupils contracted sharply.

His second soul ring lit up, and he threw a punch wrapped in whistling ice shards toward Lin Qingzhou's face, the soul power fluctuations of a three-ring Soul Elder erupting without reservation.

The shelves in the store were pushed aside by the blast of air, crashing down and scattering merchandise across the floor.

Lin Qingzhou sidestepped the fist, the ice shards grazing his ear and exploding into white frost against the wall behind him, leaving the entire surface coated in a thin layer of ice.

He took a step forward.

This step was taken by stomping hard onto the icy surface, causing spiderweb-like cracks to spread beneath his feet and sending shards of ice flying.

He curled the fingers of his right hand into a fist, and purple-gold demonic patterns spread from his chest, tracing along his collarbone, shoulder, and arm until they burned at his fingertips. His first and second soul rings lit up simultaneously, the purple radiance bathing the entire supermarket in the light of dusk.

First Soul Skill, Power of End, activated.

His muscles tensed to their limit in that instant, his bones emitting a faint, rhythmic clicking sound.

With the strength amplification combined with his own Innate Divine Strength and the physical tempering from his Silver Dragon King Bloodline, the three forces stacked together; just by standing there, the ground beneath his feet began to collapse into fine cracks.

For the first time, a look of instinctive unease appeared on the youth's face.

Lin Qingzhou used no flashy techniques. He simply raised his fist and threw it forward. Before the punch arrived, the wind of the blow hit first, carrying with it a scorching power of destruction and an imperceptible mental shock, compressing the air until it emitted a sharp, explosive boom.

The youth instinctively crossed his arms to block, pushing his soul power defensive layer to its maximum, but he forgot one thing—the ice beneath his feet had not yet re-frozen after being cracked by Lin Qingzhou, and his center of gravity was completely unstable on the slick surface.

The moment the force of the punch collided with his arms, his defense was torn open by the piercing power of Devour of End, and he was sent flying as if struck head-on by a battering ram.

His feet left the ground as he flew backward, crashing through the shelves behind him and rolling into a pile of scattered potato chip bags and bottled water, struggling twice but failing to climb back up immediately.

It wasn't unconsciousness; the mental shock had caused him to briefly lose control of his body.

The surrounding air went silent for a moment. The grin on the fat man's face, meant for watching the spectacle, froze mid-expression, while the tall, thin man straightened up, his mouth slightly agape, unable to speak.

Just as Lin Qingzhou retracted the light effects of his soul skill, a sharp, cold chill suddenly erupted behind him.