Now That You Have Seen This Lord, Why Don't You Kneel!

Whoosh!!!

With a point of Song Hao's finger, he instantly seized everyone's attention.

On the steps, Lu Chen's expression shifted slightly as he narrowed his eyes on instinct.

"You want to spar with me?"

"That's right, Student Lu. It's just a spar, not a fight to the death. You just stepped into First Grade—I imagine you're dying to test your own strength too, aren't you?"

The vicious grin on Song Hao's face could no longer be suppressed, the corners of his mouth nearly splitting to his ears.

He clenched his fists, and his knuckles immediately let out a teeth-gritting series of crackles.

The surging spiritual power within him roared through his body, filling him with unprecedented confidence.

Finally, the moment I'd been waiting for!

Today, I'll settle all these old and new scores at once!

"Song Hao! What nonsense are you stirring up? Do you even know what occasion this is? Get down here!"

A sharp rebuke rang out.

Principal Zhang's face was livid as he berated him harshly.

It would've been one thing if this thorn in his side caused trouble on ordinary days, but on such an important day, he actually dared to act so recklessly in front of the City Lord and all these leaders!

He simply didn't take the principal seriously at all.

"Principal, the rules have been set. Others can do it, so why can't I?"

Song Hao refused to yield an inch. "It's only a spar. I'm not going to kill him. What are you afraid of?"

After finally catching this opportunity, how could Song Hao possibly let it go?

Wasn't Lu Chen supposed to be so damn impressive?

A Divine Service Rating of 50%?

Pretty damn glorious, wasn't it?

He was going to beat the elites!

Song Hao had made up his mind today to beat Lu Chen until he was crawling around looking for his teeth.

He would let everyone see that a high Divine Service Rating meant nothing.

In this world, fists had the final say!

A mere auxiliary deity—even with the highest Divine Service Rating—was destined to be a lamb awaiting slaughter, or a dog used by other nobles and powerful figures.

What the hell was he worth?!

"Song Hao, do you have no shame at all?!" Li Ruoyi finally couldn't hold back and cursed him outright.

"You worship Kui Wood Wolf and walk the path of martial slaughter! Lu Chen worships the Wealth God—he follows the scholarly path of support! Challenging him to a spar is clearly just personal revenge disguised as public business!"

"Ruoyi, that's not right." Song Hao feigned grievance, though a crafty glint flashed through his eyes. "What personal grudge could Student Lu and I possibly have? We're loving classmates! It's only a spar—why are you reacting so strongly? Don't forget, we're Spirit Cultivators now! When others challenge us in the future, can we refuse every single time?"

"You...!" Li Ruoyi was momentarily speechless, unable to refute him.

Song Hao had truly struck the snake's vital point this time.

He had seized the moral high ground.

"What is it, Lu Chen?" Song Hao locked onto his target again, his wild laughter completely undisguised.

"Scared? We're both First Grade, our strength is about the same. What do you have to be afraid of? You're a genius with a 50% Divine Service Rating! Mine's only 3.5%, not even a fraction of yours! I should be the one who's scared."

He pointed straight at the stage. "Are you daring enough to spar or not? Give me a straight answer! When you accepted that task earlier, weren't you acting pretty damn brave and impressive?"

At the same time, City Lord Yu Feng, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, turned his head slightly and asked, "Principal Zhang, do those two... have a grudge?"

Principal Zhang hurriedly leaned closer and lowered his voice. "My lord, Song Hao has always been a well-known troublemaker at No. 3 Middle School. He usually enjoys bullying the weak. Before today, Lu Chen had always been an obscure nobody, exactly the sort of person Song Hao liked to pick on.

"Who could've expected Lu Chen to make such a stunning showing today and bask in all the glory? Song Hao is probably feeling unbalanced, so he's using this as an excuse."

"Oh? He dares play such tricks right in front of me? He's certainly bold."

A meaningful curve rose at the corner of Yu Feng's mouth.

"Yes, my lord. That boy's family background is somewhat complicated. Influenced by what he's seen and heard, he's picked up quite a few bad habits..."

"And you've continued to indulge him?" Yu Feng shot him a sidelong glance.

Cold sweat beaded across Principal Zhang's forehead. "My lord, you've misunderstood. Although this boy is arrogant, he hasn't done anything truly heinous, so the school..."

"If you wait until that day comes, can you bear the responsibility?" Yu Feng's tone was calm, yet it made Principal Zhang shudder from head to toe. He repeatedly bowed and apologized.

Yu Feng stopped looking at him and took a step forward.

"Student Lu." His voice wasn't loud, yet it instantly suppressed the noise across the entire venue.

All eyes turned toward him once again.

Yu Feng smiled. "According to the rules, since Student Song has proposed a spar, you indeed cannot refuse."

A flash of wild delight passed through Song Hao's eyes.

"However! If you truly don't wish to spar with him, then I'll make the decision. The spar will be waived. I imagine this little Student Song won't have much objection, will he?"

Yu Feng's gaze sharpened.

Song Hao instantly felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar, his entire body frozen stiff.

Was this... a threat?!

Damn it!

The City Lord really did regard this guy differently.

The situation was stronger than the man.

Though unwilling, Song Hao could only swallow hard and cup his fists. "I'll follow my lord's decision... But the spar can be waived only if he apologizes to me!"

"Apologizes?"

"He called me an idiot this morning! I can't take that!"

Pfft!

That sudden remark caught everyone off guard.

Laughter immediately broke out around them.

"Song Hao, this is personal revenge disguised as public business!" Li Ruoyi snapped.

"Ruoyi, if you say it is, then it is. He insulted me—shouldn't he apologize?"

"What about how you used to constantly pick fights with him?"

"I don't care about before! I only care about today. If he won't agree, then we'll spar! By the rules!"

Song Hao had grown irritated from being questioned, so he simply said aloud whatever was in his heart.

"Looks like Student Song is very confident in his strength."

Yu Feng smiled pleasantly.

Song Hao lifted his chin and cupped his fists. "My lord, I know my strength is beneath your notice, but against him... this student is more than confident enough!"

As he spoke, he looked at Lu Chen again and grinned through gritted teeth. "Student Lu, are you apologizing or sparring? Give me a straight answer already. Can you stop dragging this out?"

"That's right, Lu Chen, don't chicken out!"

"Spar with him! Take him down!"

"What are you afraid of? We've got your back!"

The students on and below the stage all began clamoring along.

Mockery and false praise came crashing in together.

To be honest, Lu Chen had stolen all the spotlight by himself today, and there were countless people unhappy with him.

Now that someone was taking the lead to crush his arrogance,

these students were eager for the spectacle to grow bigger. They wished Lu Chen would agree immediately.

The moment he agreed,

given their current strength, Song Hao, who worshiped the Dipper Department's Kui Wood Wolf, should have no trouble knocking Lu Chen down in one punch—two at most.

At the thought of this unrivaled legend of No. 3 Middle School being pinned to the ground and rubbed into the dirt,

quite a few people could barely contain their anticipation.

Seeing that he seemed to have provoked "public outrage,"

amid the surging waves of voices, Lu Chen shook his head from the steps.

"King Yama is easy to meet, but petty ghosts are hard to deal with. Fine, then... let's show them. Better to cut this matter off completely in one stroke, so I won't run into this kind of trouble again."

"What did you say?" Song Hao couldn't hear a word of his muttering.

"I said... as you wish!"

Song Hao's face immediately lit up. Damn it, the fish had finally taken the bait!

"Good! Then let's find somewhere more spacious!"

"No need." Lu Chen stepped forward and returned to the platform. "Right here is fine."

"Here? You can't really stretch out here."

"Do you think..." A grim, eerie smile suddenly appeared on Lu Chen's face. "...you'll still have a chance to?"

Song Hao felt a chill run through his heart beneath that smile, and an inexplicable terror seized him.

Before he could say anything,

Rumble!!!

An incomparably muffled clap of thunder exploded across the sky without warning!

The heavens suddenly darkened.

Everyone looked up.

At some unknown moment, the previously clear sky had been swallowed in an instant by thick, heavy clouds that seemed to come from nowhere!

The sunlight was completely cut off, and heaven and earth abruptly plunged into darkness!

"What is this?"

In that instant, Yu Feng, Principal Zhang, and the others realized something was wrong.

Their hearts tightened as they abruptly turned to look at Lu Chen again.

Then their pupils shrank violently!

Lu Chen stood still where he was, yet his robes fluttered wildly despite the absence of wind!

But in the next second!

A dense black aura, dark as ink, erupted crazily from his body. It coiled and surged, transforming in an instant into a black tornado connecting heaven and earth as a violent presence swept through every direction!

"Underworld Office Nether Qi!!" Yu Feng's pupils shook violently. "He... how does he possess the divine power of Yama of the Underworld?"

This sudden transformation seemed to press pause on the entire world.

An icy, bone-piercing pressure suddenly swept across the entire field!

Like an invisible giant hand covered in frost, it clutched every person's heart with vicious force!

At that moment, a scene that would become a lifelong nightmare was reflected in everyone's eyes!

There, upon the high platform—

Thud!

Every time Lu Chen took a step,

the moment his foot landed, the wooden stage beneath the red carpet groaned under unbearable strain. Countless splinters and particles of dust were even jolted into the air!

Yet what was even more horrifying was that the pitch-black nether qi entwined around his hair seemed to possess a life of its own, driving his hair to grow wildly!

In the blink of an eye, his neat crew cut transformed into a mane of black hair that whipped wildly down to his waist!

Boom—crack!!!

Blinding lightning tore through the darkened sky, followed by deafening thunder.

Yin energy shot into the heavens, churning wind and clouds!

At this moment, Lu Chen looked like a Devil Master who had stepped out of boundless purgatory and descended into the mortal world.

The Yama's Command Token on the back of his hand glowed crimson as if ready to drip blood, as though it had come alive. Behind him, it projected a massive, twisted ghostly shadow brimming with endless resentment and the aura of death!

In an instant, with Lu Chen at its center, the area dozens of meters around him seemed to transform into the Samsara Ghost Domain. Yin winds howled, and the faint sounds of ten thousand ghosts weeping, heart-rending wails, and soul-tearing screams echoed through the air. The atmosphere was icy to the bone, permeated by death and terror.

"Dual Deity Worship?! He also carries the inheritance of Yama of the Underworld! And that aura... First-Grade Peak, flawless and complete! So he'd already entered First Grade long ago!"

Yu Feng stared fixedly at that figure, unprecedented fanatic light bursting from his eyes as he murmured over and over, "This child... this child!!"

Meanwhile, Principal Zhang and the others beside him had long gone pale, their legs trembling weakly.

Bang!!

Song Hao, who bore the brunt of it, felt his courage and soul shatter!

Under that terrifying pressure, his knees finally buckled, and he collapsed onto the stage like a heap of mud.

There wasn't the slightest trace left of his previous arrogance or savagery. Only absolute terror and despair remained.

Looking at Lu Chen, who approached step by step with wild hair, blood-red eyes, nether qi swirling around him, and the appearance of King Yama himself descending into the world,

Song Hao's throat convulsed violently before he finally let out a heart-rending shriek:

"Ghost! A ghost!! Help!!!"

He scrambled backward on all fours, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Yet the tangible Underworld Office Nether Qi wrapped around his ankles like icy venomous snakes. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't move even an inch!

Lu Chen tilted his head slightly, scarlet eyes looking down at the ant beneath his feet.

His voice seemed to come from the depths of the Nine Netherworlds, carrying layer upon layer of echoes.

"Didn't you want to fight, Song Hao?!"

"Ah!!!!!!!!!!"

Song Hao's eyes bulged as he let out an inhuman, miserable scream.

Then, with a strange splat, a puddle of murky yellow liquid rapidly spread from beneath his buttocks, and a pungent stench immediately filled the cold air.

Lu Chen frowned slightly.

He broke down from just that?

He looked away in disgust and swept his gaze toward the audience again.

At this point, those student elites who had been jeering moments earlier had also been scared limp, their faces drained of color as they trembled. They didn't even dare breathe loudly.

"Who else dares to spar?!"

Seeing Lu Chen's divine might sweep over them.

The students frantically waved their hands, their voices thick with tears, their minds already on the verge of collapse.

"We wouldn't dare! We wouldn't dare!"

"Since you wouldn't dare..."

Lu Chen's voice suddenly rose. He spread his arms, like ten thousand wronged souls roaring in unison, shaking heaven and earth:

"Since you've seen this lord—"

"Why do you not kneel!!"