Attention from the Outside World

Jiang Yuan, Ji Feiyue, and the others returned to the Chongming Martial Arts Hall.

"I knew you could win, but I didn't expect it to be this easy," Luo Yi said, sitting cross-legged on the floor with a can of beer in her hand. "It's a real shame I didn't even get to see your skills."

Lei Na chirped, "I heard from Yihan that you're already LV9. You're so strong now—do you want to spar with me?"

Excitement radiated from her bright, clear eyes.

Jiang Yuan felt a stir of interest.

A third-tier Shadowless Assassin would be the perfect benchmark to test his current strength.

"Don't start, Lei Na," Ji Feiyue said. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Oh!"

Lei Na slapped her forehead.

"I still have to deliver food! I completely forgot until you mentioned it!"

"I have to go now, little brother Jiang Yuan. See you next time!"

With that, she vanished without a trace; even Jiang Yuan only caught a fleeting glimpse of a black shadow.

"I'm so relieved today. It's my treat—let's all go to the Purple Moon Pavilion for dinner."

Xu Yihan, unable to hide the smile on her face, announced to the group.

Luo Yi raised her hands in excitement. "Yay! It's rare for Sister Yihan to treat us, and at the Purple Moon Pavilion no less! We won't hold back!"

Jiang Yuan had only heard of the Purple Moon Pavilion; it was a high-end restaurant where the average bill exceeded ten thousand, and it only served promoted martial artists by reservation.

Ji Feiyue smiled. "We're only getting this chance because of Jiang Yuan, but it's a rare opportunity, so we won't be polite."

"I can certainly afford to treat you all to a meal."

"Oh, right—there's also this."

Xu Yihan traded a chain-like rare weapon and a skill book to Jiang Yuan.

"These were yours to begin with. They belong to you."

Jiang Yuan didn't decline; he accepted them gracefully. After checking their stats, he realized they weren't quite suited for him and entrusted Ji Feiyue to help him sell them.

Ji Feiyue nodded with a smile and said, "You're in the guild group now. If you have items you don't need in the future, you can put them in the guild warehouse first. Others can buy or trade for them directly if they need them. Likewise, if you need anything, you can trade for it from them."

"I understand."

Jiang Yuan nodded. "Besides those, I do have two other things."

He took out the Bone Spear and the Blood Lion Ring.

After he revealed their stats, Ji Feiyue looked surprised. "It's the tail spine of a bone beast. I didn't expect you to get your hands on something this good. Even though it's first-tier, it's quite rare and fetches a high price on the market."

"High-quality ring-type equipment is also very rare. It seems your harvest from the Abyss this time was quite bountiful."

"Do you intend to sell them all?"

"I want to re-forge the Bone Spear, but if no one in the guild needs the Blood Lion Ring, I'll sell it," Jiang Yuan said.

Ji Feiyue nodded. "The stats are good, but the level is too low. It's better to sell it. I happen to know a blacksmith for the weapon forging; leave both matters to me."

"Thank you, Guild Leader."

Ji Feiyue's eyes flickered at his words. She leaned forward, her alluring upper body—wrapped in a white dress—pressing closer to Jiang Yuan as she exhaled softly. "As a condition for my help, you aren't allowed to call me Guild Leader anymore. It sounds too cold. Call me Sister Feiyue."

The distance between them was now intimate; if he lowered his head even slightly, his gaze would be drawn to the snowy cleavage inches away.

Jiang Yuan's expression turned unnatural. "Alright... Sister Feiyue, I'll leave it to you..."

"Haha, he's blushing! He's blushing!" Luo Yi teased while drinking her beer, giving Jiang Yuan a firm pat on the back. "You're so innocent!"

Lan Xue covered her mouth and giggled.

The group headed to the Purple Moon Pavilion in high spirits and enjoyed a grand meal. It wasn't until evening that Jiang Yuan and Xu Yihan returned to the martial arts hall.

Before they parted ways, a tipsy Luo Yi wrapped her arms around Xu Yihan. "Sister Yihan, you... hic... don't you dare take advantage of living together to... to make a move on little brother Jiang Yuan. Or... hic... I won't forgive you..."

"I, I wouldn't!" Xu Yihan's face flushed red.

She snuck a glance at Jiang Yuan, only to find he had already fallen asleep against the car window.

"Is the Lieyuan Wine a bit too strong for a minor?" Ji Feiyue asked, watching him with a smile.

"Perhaps. Sister Feiyue, has the date for the next Abyss trip been set?" Xu Yihan asked.

"Yes, it's in the next few days."

"Then Jiang Yuan..."

"We're heading to a level-four Abyss this time. His level is still too low, and he needs to prepare for the college entrance exam. We'll skip him for this trip," Ji Feiyue said with a smile.

Xu Yihan nodded, sharing the same sentiment.

"Then we'll be heading back."

"Mhm, stay safe on the road."

Meanwhile.

As the livestream clips from the streamer Moyu spread that battle across the Star Domain Network, Jiang Yuan's handsome appearance, combined with his lazy and mysterious temperament, as well as his unfathomable combat methods and the strength he displayed by one-shotting Liang Cheng twice, attracted a great deal of attention, causing his popularity index to soar.

Lin Qingyan, who had just returned home from the Abyss, saw the news online and remarked while sipping her coffee:

"What's the point of teaching trash like that a lesson, and making such a huge scene out of it... Instead of wasting time on things like this, he should be in the Abyss killing monsters to level up."

Thinking back to the events in the Abyss, a layer of frost couldn't help but cover her delicate, snow-white face.

"That bastard, does he really think that winning against me once means he can keep suppressing me forever?"

"Just you wait."

Xia Family Manor.

"Jiang Yuan? The Fifth Prodigy? Paying attention to these things is completely meaningless."

Inside a massive training hall covered in ten-meter-long trenches, Xia Qinghou, drenched in sweat, spoke indifferently with his back to the butler.

"Among our peers, no matter who it is, they are only fit to see my back."

Somewhere in the suburbs outside Nanjiang City.

Qin Nansun sat on a stone in the distance, looking at the tablet in his hand with a smirk.

"Oh?"

"Jiang Yuan... he's actually quite interesting."

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The ground shook.

"ROAR!!"

Three massive Pig-headed Men charged toward him, wielding giant axes.

Qin Nansun didn't even look at them; he simply flicked his fingers, shaped like a sword, upward.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Six black iron swords flew up, their light crisscrossing like a hot knife through tofu, instantly depleting the health bars of the three massive Pig-headed Men.

"I wonder how many of my swords he can withstand," Qin Nansun mused, his eyes filled with a hint of interest.

"I'm really looking forward to it."

In a room in the basement of the White River Group.

Lin Junhao lay naked in a pool of emerald-green medicinal liquid, with a woman who had been played to death lying beside him.

He raised his arm, and green, willow-like branches emerged from his flesh, swaying and "drinking" the liquid with a gurgling sound as if they were alive. One of the branches pierced the body of the beautiful woman nearby.

"Mmm..."

Her face was full of pleasure, but her body withered rapidly. In just a few seconds, she turned into a dried corpse, still wearing a satisfied smile on her face—a truly eerie sight.

"Power, I can feel the power surging within me."

Lin Junhao absorbed it greedily, his paper-white, handsome face filled with an evil aura, vastly different from the time of his awakening ceremony.

"In this martial arts college entrance exam, no one will be my match. Hahahahaha!!"

Gulp, gulp.

As he laughed wantonly, the flesh at the back of his head parted, and a single purple eye writhed its way out.