"Perfect."
Jiang Yuan marveled.
No wonder it had been classified as an SSS-rank sequence.
"With the power I have now, burning an entire hundred-story building to ashes wouldn't be a problem."
"Looks like I underestimated those geniuses awakened with SS- and SSS-rank talents."
"The talents in these top-tier sequences are even more absurd than I imagined..."
Jiang Yuan sighed.
He finally understood why those top universities and powerful organizations spared no expense to cultivate top talents who had transferred into rare professions.
The gap between them and ordinary martial artists was simply too great.
Once they were fully trained,
they became the core of the team—the hope of humanity in its fight against the Abyss!
"With an SSS-rank nature-class talent, the mythical [Martial God] profession, and the cultivation technique I'm practicing now, I'm unquestionably among the very best of my generation worldwide!"
"Give me time, and I'll be able to fight not only the top prodigies in the world's first tier, but even seasoned powerhouses."
Jiang Yuan murmured to himself. As he spoke, his aura reached its peak and underwent a subtle transformation, radiating a forceful Deterrence that struck fear into the hearts of others.
Anyone with a weak spirit would tremble with fear at a mere glance from Jiang Yuan now, perhaps even fainting on the spot.
If a high-tier martial artist had been present, they would have been astonished to realize that this was the nascent form of willpower suppression.
Martial artists without Psychic Class sequence talents usually had to reach Tier Five before undergoing a breakthrough in willpower and mastering their own martial will. Their will could then affect the outside world and form a suppressive force. High-tier martial artists could even use that force alone to immobilize low-tier martial artists.
Only a very small number of low-tier martial artists with exceptionally strong resolve and courage could touch the threshold of martial will.
At that moment, without Jiang Yuan realizing it,
the transformation in his aura passed through the metal walls and continued spreading outward.
A few minutes earlier, just as Jiang Yuan obtained the Undying Phoenix Flame, several people arrived at Chongming Martial Arts Hall.
The chubby middle-aged man leading them smiled. "Hall Master Xu, long time no see."
Xu Yihan's expression turned icy when she saw who it was.
"Wang Xinlong. You again."
Wang Xinlong, the head of Thunder Martial Arts Hall, walked over with his men and surveyed the empty hall with a smile.
"Pretty deserted. Hall Master Xu, don't tell me you haven't recruited a single disciple in the past two months?"
"That's none of your business. What are you here for?"
"Don't you already know? I'm here to take back the B-rank alloy weapon your father borrowed from our Thunder Martial Arts Hall."
"I told you, that's a lie. My father never said anything of the sort!" Xu Yihan's chest heaved with anger.
"Denying it won't help." Wang Xinlong clasped his hands behind his back and glanced around. "This place was much livelier when Brother Xu was here. I even studied here for a while back then. What a shame. After Brother Xu passed away, this place fell into ruin."
"Watch your mouth! My father isn't dead! One day, he'll come back."
Xu Yihan's voice was low and her gaze icy. A surging aura washed over the group. Wang Xinlong's smile didn't waver, but the three Tier-One Martial Artists behind him turned pale and looked uncomfortable.
"You're close to Tier Three. No wonder you're Brother Xu's daughter. If you hadn't dropped out halfway through to take over the hall, you'd have reached Tier Three two years ago. What a pity."
Wang Xinlong feigned regret, his narrow eyes sweeping over Xu Yihan's graceful figure with a greedy look.
"Hall Master Xu, if you don't want to repay the debt, there's another option."
"Just accept the proposal I made last time: marry into the Wang family and bring your family's Void-Splitting Spear with you. Our two martial arts halls will merge, and your family's debt to mine will be wiped clean. It's the best solution for both sides."
Wang Xinlong made Xu Yihan sick. She replied coldly,
"Don't even dream about it, Wang Xinlong."
The fat man spread his hands. "Then I'm afraid there's nothing I can do."
His narrow eyes turned cold, a sinister glint flashing in them.
"You don't know what's good for you."
"Today, you either shut down this hall or hand over your family's Void-Splitting Spear."
Xu Yihan glared at Wang Xinlong, wishing she could run him through with a spear. He was a Tier-Three Martial Artist, but he'd clearly reached that level by piling on supplements, leaving his qi and blood terribly unstable. Xu Yihan was certain she could beat him.
She endured it not because she feared him, but because she dreaded the man backing him—Wang Xinlong's father, Wang Tai.
The founder of Thunder Martial Arts Hall, a Tier-Six Martial Artist!
In Nanjiang City, a Tier-Six powerhouse was already an important figure, respected wherever he went.
Xu Yihan didn't want to drag Blood Rose into her personal affairs unless she had no other choice.
"Don't look at me like that. It only makes me more excited." Wang Xinlong grinned, showing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Well? Made up your mind?"
"Are you going to pay up, or sell the hall to cover the debt?"
"Or... you could spend one night with me, and I might consider giving you another month." Wang Xinlong's gaze roamed freely. The young men behind him also looked at Xu Yihan with shameless desire and lewd thoughts.
"Shameless!"
Xu Yihan's expression darkened. "Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the Martial Artist Association?!"
"Report me?" Wang Xinlong laughed. "Paying your debts is only right."
"You're making this up. You have no proof."
"No proof, sure. But martial arts halls have their rules. I can bring my disciples here to challenge yours. The loser takes down their sign and shuts the place, can't I?"
Wang Xinlong said smugly, "Then get your disciples to accept the challenge if you have the guts."
"What's the point of running a martial arts hall without any disciples? Right, everyone?"
"The hall master's right."
A short, middle-aged martial artist fawned on Wang Xinlong. Counting on his backing, he sneered at Xu Yihan. "If you ask me, our hall master likes you. That's a compliment. With his family background and strength, he could have any woman he wants."
"You're a woman. No matter how strong you get, you're not going into the Abyss or heading to the battlefield. What's the point of guarding this run-down hall?"
"Well said! Hahaha."
Wang Xinlong and the others burst into wild laughter.
Xu Yihan gritted her teeth, furious.
"You've got some nerve. I'll remember this humiliation, Wang Xinlong. Just give me a chance..."
Just then, an invisible pressure swept over them from the Pressure Chamber.
The young men's laughter cut off abruptly. Their faces turned pale as they looked around in terror. A terrifying force had just pressed down on them, as if a giant hand had grabbed their hearts, making their hair stand on end!
"What was that just now?"
"You felt it too?"
"That was terrifying."
Wang Xinlong's smile vanished as well. He stared toward the Pressure Chamber, both startled and suspicious.
"Was that... willpower suppression? Or a psychic deterrent?"
Psychic Class martial artists were extremely rare, and generally only martial artists above Tier Five could awaken willpower suppression. Could this martial arts hall be hiding a powerful expert?
Wang Xinlong glanced at Xu Yihan, only to find her staring toward the Pressure Chamber in shock too.
"Creak, creak."
As the group watched in astonishment,
the Pressure Chamber's metal door slowly opened.
A handsome young man stepped out, his pale golden eyes coolly surveying them.
"Who are you?"
Before you continue