Sorry, I Don't Play by the Rules

"My family?"

Chen Lie found it strange.

How did we become "family"? Is that how you use the term "family"?

Zhao Mengmeng was even more puzzled. Her cousin's friend, a relationship so distant they might not even recognize each other, had somehow become family. "By the way, Chen Lie, I saw you use Mental Power attacks to subdue your enemies during the Three-Province Martial Tournament in Cloud River Province. Your Mental Power must be quite high, right? As everyone knows, Divine Sense Master are the nemesis of the Illusion Beast in the Sumeru Illusion Realm, especially Divine Sense Master with strong Consciousness Spirit. Hunting Illusion Beast is a piece of cake for them. How come you didn't use your Mental Power attacks? This lowest-level Illusion Beast shouldn't have been able to escape, right?" Ruan Liuyun said.

Chen Liedao, "Can Mental Power attacks suppress Illusion Beast? I'm not sure."

"When you encounter another Illusion Beast later, you can try using your Mental Power to subdue Illusion Beast; that should easily do so," Ruan Liuyun said. "Okay, I understand," Chen Lie nodded.

"Alright, then you can hunt the Illusion Beast yourself. I'm going to the Comprehensive Zone to exchange Illusion Beast Crystal Core for Galactic Coin."

After Ruan Liuyun finished speaking, she waved to Chen Lie and then turned to leave.

After glancing at Chen Lie, Zhao Mengmeng followed Ruan Liuyun back to the camp.

Upon arriving at the camp, Zhao Mengmeng asked, "Liu Yun, are you alright? Your cousin's friend, a completely unrelated person, is it really worth you wasting a Crystal Core on her?"

Ruan Liuyun glanced at Zhao Mengmeng and explained, "He's not just an ordinary friend, he's my cousin's boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Zhao Mengmeng's eyes widened, and she said, "I remember you told me that you have a cousin with extremely high martial arts talent. She broke through the Blood-Qi Extreme Realm at the age of 17 and won fourth place in the All-Member Martial Competition the Sunan Province Genius Group."

Is this the cousin you're talking about?

"Of course, I only have one cousin," Ruan Liuyun said.

"So young? And already dating? Will you still practice martial arts? Wouldn't that be a waste of such a great talent?" Zhao Mengmeng said.

"Of course not. Two people with good martial arts talent will have a positive effect on each other when they are together. As long as they both have a passion for martial arts, it will not hinder their martial arts practice," Ruan Liuyun said.

"That's true, but will your cousin's family agree?"

Your cousin and Chen Lie are definitely having a secret relationship, right? I personally think that if I were dating at this age, my parents would definitely not approve."

"You don't need to worry about that," Ruan Liuyun said with a smile. "Chen Lie and my cousin were brought together by our elders. Now they just need to meet each other's parents. Otherwise, why would I call Chen Lie family?"

Zhao Mengmeng's eyes widened in disbelief. "What kind of amazing parents are these? So open-minded? They even actively tried to matchmake us. Aren't they afraid of hindering their daughter's martial arts progress?"

"If you knew Chen Lie's background, you wouldn't say that," Ruan Liuyun said.

"What do you mean? Does that Chen Lie from earlier have a powerful background?"

Ruan Liuyun shook his head and said, "He has absolutely no background!"

"Then why are you saying all this?"

"Let me finish telling you. A person born in Chuanzhong Province, one of the bottom 20 provinces on Blue Star, with no background and an ordinary family, yet able to rely on himself, rose from Ordinary Class Martial Arts Student to Elite Class, was recruited into the Genius Training Camp, entered the Provincial Youth Genius Group, became the Martial Leader arts in the province, and finally became the Region-Level Genius and the Three-Province Martial Champion Chuanzhong."

Isn't this kind of talent far more precious than any powerful background?

"A regional genius? Although the martial arts in this Chuanzhong are probably not that strong, its value is comparable to that of the Martial Leader from the top ten provinces of the Blue Star."

If he truly came from an ordinary family, he is indeed remarkable. Before attending Starry Sky University, he could easily have entered the top fifty of the Blue Star Blood-Qi Martial Artist Ranking. After entering Starry Sky University, he was still among the most competitive individuals.

"Your cousin's parents have great taste! They managed to pick such a promising young man for your cousin from among so many people." Zhao Mengmeng exclaimed. "You mustn't tell anyone about this, after all, it's a private family matter," Ruan Liuyun instructed.

"Be careful, I'm not a blabbermouth."

"Okay, let's go to the Comprehensive Zone to exchange for Galactic Coin."

After Ruan Liuyun and Zhao Mengmeng left, Chen Lie and his group continued searching for Illusion Beast in the surrounding area.

At this moment, Gao Yaqing, Huang Yuande, and Chen Huafeng suddenly froze for a moment.

Gao Yaqing was the first to recover and said, "Chen Lie, someone in our class sent us coordinates. It's about three kilometers to the north of us. We must have encountered Illusion Beast."

"Yes, the coordinates were sent by a girl named Zhou Mengyuan. This Zhou Mengyuan is a student in our Xiangguang Province Genius Training Camp," Huang Yuande asked.

"You all received the coordinates? Why didn't I receive mine?" Chen Lie asked.

"Didn't you not show up the last time we entered the Sumeru Illusion Realm?"

"At that time Mu Ningshu asked everyone to establish a communication circle for the Sumeru Illusion Realm. You weren't there, so the coordinates naturally couldn't reach you," Huang Yuande said. "How about... I talk to the class monitor when I see her later and ask her to add you to the communication circle as well?" Gao Yaqing asked tentatively.

"No need for that trouble."

Chen Lie waved his hand and said, "If you're not in the communications circle, then you're not."

"Should we go to the coordinates that were sent?" Gao Yaqing asked.

"Go!" Chen Lie nodded.

As soon as he gave the order, Gao Yaqing, Huang Yuande, and Chen Huafeng all rushed to the coordinates.

Chen Huafeng was extremely puzzled. Wasn't Chen Lie from Chuanzhong? How could he possess such strength? And how could he even know a second-year senior from Blue Star University?

About ten minutes later, Chen Lie and his group of four arrived at the center of the coordinates.

At this moment, dozens of students from the 15th Key Class had already gathered in front of them.

In the very center, four or five people were besieging a seven- or eight-meter-long Illusion Beast with a blue face and fangs, resembling a giant thousand-legged worm.

Among those besieging the Illusion Beast were some of the strongest students from 15th Key Class, including Chi Naixue, Mu Ningshu, and Liu Hengyu.

At this moment, the Illusion Beast roared angrily, its thousand legs sliding, even creating faint sparks in the void.

Mu Ningshu's powerful qi and blood surged, and she struck the Illusion Beast with a palm strike, only to be flung dozens of meters away by the Illusion Beast's tail swing.

After landing, she said in a heavy voice, "This Illusion Beast must have the strength of the mid-to-late Organ Refining Stage. A single swipe of its tail can actually generate more than 25,000 jin of force."

"Dear students, you must surround the Illusion Beast and prevent Illusion Beast from escaping."

"Any student above the Tendon Refining Period can go forward and hunt the Illusion Beast. With so many of us, even if it takes a long time, we can wear the Illusion Beast down!" After Mu Ningshu finished speaking, the remaining dozens of people formed a circle and answered in unison, "Yes!"

In an instant, two students at the Tendon Refining Period stepped into the middle to help besiege the Illusion Beast.

Suddenly, the Illusion Beast unleashed its power, arching its body and exhaling a puff of smoke. Then, with a thud, it knocked several attacking students flying.

Upon seeing this, Mu Ningshu immediately said, "Everyone, please don't go any further. This Illusion Beast Illusion Beast is extremely agile. It's best if no more than five people surround it, otherwise everyone will be unable to use their full strength and the Illusion Beast will take advantage of any openings."

Those in the Tendon Refining Period should step back first, and wait until Chi Naixue, Liu Hengyu, and others who are besieging the Illusion Beast are exhausted before taking over the attack.

As soon as Mu Ningshu spoke, several Tendon Refining Period immediately withdrew from the battlefield.

After Chen Lie and the others arrived, Gao Yaqing glanced at the situation and asked, "Chen Lie, this Illusion Beast Illusion Beast be about the same strength as the one we encountered earlier."

You can handle this by yourself, do you want to come and help?

"Then I'll go take a look!"

Chen Lie leaped into the air and instantly landed in the middle where everyone was attacking the Illusion Beast.

At that moment, Mu Ningshu was once again knocked away by the Illusion Beast's tail. Just then, Chen Lie appeared behind Mu Ningshu Mu Ningshu reached out to support her swaying figure.

She instinctively said, "Thank you."

But upon seeing Chen Lie's face clearly, Mu Ningshu's expression immediately turned cold, and she said, "Didn't I just say that if too many people attack the Illusion Beast, it will be impossible to clear the area? Who let you come here?"

Chen Lie abruptly pushed Mu Ningshu away, then said expressionlessly, "You mean you don't need my help?"

Mu Ningshu sneered and said, "Don't cause trouble for everyone, just take care of yourself!"

"OK!"

Seeing this, Chen Lie stopped insisting and retreated back into the crowd.

Just then, Tang Guanlin and his group of five approached from a distance.

He walked into the circle of dozens of students, exchanged a glance with Chen Lie who had returned to the crowd, and said, "Class Monitor Mu Ningshu, I think the two who were attacking the Illusion Beast are a bit exhausted. Why don't we take them down and I'll fill in?"

"Tang Guanlin?"

Mu Ningshu was taken aback when she saw Tang Guanlin. She knew that Tang Guanlin was at the Organ Refining Stage and would be more effective than the two Bone Refining stage cultivators, so she said, "Alright, Liu Hengyu and Jiang Tianming, you two step down!"

As soon as Mu Ningshu finished speaking, the two nearly exhausted people withdrew from the hunt for the Illusion Beast, and Tang Guanlin quickly took their place.

The moment he appeared, the idea of a set of SS-Rank Martial Art came to fruition.

"Nine-Curve Bright Palm!"

"Boom boom boom!"

Dozens of palm prints landed on the Illusion Beast in an instant, temporarily repelling Illusion Beast.

Chi Naixue, who had been struggling to cope with the two people's retreat, instantly felt relieved.

She looked at Tang Guanlin with a sweet smile, "Tang, you've finally arrived."

"Chi, if you feel exhausted, you can go and rest for a while. I will fight the Illusion Beast by myself," Tang Guanlin said.

"No need. You hold off the Illusion Beast for a moment. The instructor said that Mental Power attacks are extremely damaging to Illusion Beast. You hold off the Illusion Beast, and I'll unleash my Mental Power attacks from the side."

"Good!"

After answering, Tang Guanlin immediately stepped forward and engaged the Illusion Beast in battle.

He unleashed a series of palm strikes, the palm prints hitting the Illusion Beast, Illusion Beast did not dodge but instead lashed out with its tail.

"Bang!"

The powerful impact forced Tang Guanlin to retreat.

Immediately afterwards, Tang Guanlin flew forward again and engaged in battle with the Illusion Beast.

Chi Naixue began to mobilize her Mental Power. Although her Consciousness Sea World was not vast, her Consciousness Spirit was top-notch.

In a battle, she can only launch two Consciousness Spirit attacks at most before consuming all her mental energy. Moreover, she must be within ten meters of the target to launch a Mental Power attack, otherwise the effect of the Mental Power attack will be greatly reduced.

Just as Tang Guanlin was engaged in a fierce battle with the Illusion Beast, Chi Naixue suddenly launched a Mental Power attack.

A whip of Mental Power struck straight at the Illusion Beast.

"Awoo..."

The Illusion Beast suddenly let out a strange cry, its huge body reacting continuously on the ground, and its thousand legs instantly retracted.

"A great opportunity!"

Upon witnessing the Illusion Beast's attack, Tang Guanlin didn't waste a moment. He struck ruthlessly, delivering over a dozen blows to the Illusion Beast's vital points in an instant. After being hit, the Illusion Beast's size suddenly shrank dramatically.

In an instant, the Illusion Beast's blue-faced, fanged appearance vanished, transforming into two fish-headed, eel-bodied creatures that swam away in all directions.

"Stop it! This is a rare Illusion Beast that can be split in two. If one of it escapes, our hunt will be a failure!" Tang Guanlin shouted.

The two Illusion Beast with fish heads and eel bodies split up and escaped in two directions. One of them entered the encirclement and was instantly captured by Liu Hengyu and a student in the Tendon Refining Period.

However, the other Illusion Beast nimbly broke through the encirclement.

"The Illusion Beast is badly injured and can't have gone far. Chase after it!"

Upon seeing this, Mu Ningshu immediately leaped up and went to give chase.

Several top-performing students from 15th Key Class rushed to the front.

Before the Illusion Beast with a fish head and an eel body could escape even a few hundred meters, it was caught in the palm of a slender, fair hand.

"Hehe, I'm having the luckiest day ever! I just stood here and Illusion Beast's Crystal Core core actually crawled into my hand, and it was even a rare Illusion Beast with two Crystal Core."

At that moment, a girl walked up to the students of the 15th Key Class. She held the struggling fish-headed, eel-bodied Illusion Beast in her hand and muttered to herself with a grin.

Tang Guanlin was the first to approach the girl and said, "Classmate, this Illusion Beast was severely damaged by our 15th Key Class with great effort. Could you please return it to us?"

The girl glanced at Tang Guanlin indifferently and said, "This is clearly Illusion Beast I caught casually. Why should I give it to you when it's in my possession?"

"This was a serious injury sustained by our 15th Key Class after a great deal of effort; so many of us can testify to that."

"Enough with the nonsense. You think I'd just give up what's in my hands for nothing? You're dreaming!"

At this moment, Mu Ningshu also stepped forward and said coldly, "So, you want to keep this Illusion Beast for yourself?"

"I caught it in the first place, what's wrong with keeping it for myself?" the girl said nonchalantly.

"The Illusion Beast was severely injured by us after a great deal of effort, how did it become something you captured?" Mu Ningshu questioned.

"Heh heh, are you trying to reason with me? Sorry, I'm not a reasonable person. If I have something, it's mine. You can't expect me to give it back just by talking! No way!"