One punch

"Are you ready?"

Xiao Qian twisted his neck slightly, the cracking sounds especially clear in the morning air.

He clenched his fists as well, his joints popping crisply and forcefully like exploding firecrackers.

Early morning was indeed a good time to warm up and stretch. Having a live target in front of him was hardly a bad thing.

He hadn't used his full strength against Xiao Yan last night. With his Ancient Void Dragon physique, even without Dou Qi, a single punch was more than someone at the mere fourth stage of Dou Qi could withstand.

He mused to himself that these people still had no idea what the Monster Strength Race was truly worth. Today, he would give them a taste.

"What preparation do I need to take one punch from you? Come on!"

Xiao Yu didn't even take a stance. She stood perfectly upright, even adjusting her posture to display her extraordinarily gifted legs more perfectly before everyone.

Her face brimmed with confidence and disdain. To her, Xiao Qian was just a little fellow at the first stage of Dou Qi, incapable of posing any threat. She would take this punch without fail.

"Very good. Then..."

The cold gleam in Xiao Qian's eyes stabbed toward Xiao Yu like a blade. His right knuckles crackled like roasting beans as he tightened his fist.

Morning dew dripped from the tips of his hair, torn into fine mist by the rushing wind the instant he swung.

"Take this!"

His shout startled Xiao Yu, exploding beside her ears like thunder.

By the time she reacted, his fist was already right before her eyes.

Xiao Yu's pupils contracted sharply. That seemingly slender fist actually carved visibly distorted ripples through the air!

Almost instinctively, she summoned her Dou Qi and crossed her arms in front of her face.

Xiao Yu had a gut feeling that if she didn't block, her face would definitely be ruined!

Bang!

The dull collision of flesh and bone sounded like a heavy hammer striking a drum. The Dou Qi around Xiao Yu's arms scattered through the surging air.

Cries of alarm rose from the crowd.

"Ah-"

Their voices spread in wave after wave like the sea, filled with shock and disbelief.

Sunlight pierced the rising dust as a figure flew backward, her long legs tracing pale arcs through the air. Like a kite with its string cut, she had no power to fight back.

"Ugh!"

Xiao Yu didn't crash to the ground. At the critical instant, a red figure appeared behind her and caught her securely.

It was the Xiao family's Great Elder!

He moved so quickly that he seemed to have teleported there, his eyes filled with anxiety and concern.

Then the clan leader, Xiao Zhan, appeared beside him and asked with concern, "How is she?"

Xiao Yu had thrown the whole clan into a frenzy first thing that morning. It had originally been a farce among the younger generation, something they couldn't very well interfere in, but Xiao Qian's involvement had put them on edge.

Everyone from the clan leader to the elders knew that these siblings had powerful backing. They absolutely could not afford to offend them.

They didn't want this little farce to stir up any serious trouble.

The Great Elder pressed Xiao Yu's back, sending Da Dou Shi-level Dou Qi into her. Like a warm current of water, it soothed the rampaging Dou Qi in her meridians and steadied the blood surging throughout her body.

His brows drew together slightly, his expression grave.

"Fortunately, I arrived in time. Otherwise, I couldn't have kept her from coughing up blood, and she would have suffered internal injuries."

He glanced at Xiao Qian, surprise flashing through his eyes.

He and Xiao Zhan had both seen everything clearly from a distance. Xiao Qian hadn't used any Dou Qi. His body alone had delivered strength comparable to the ninth stage of Dou Qi. It was truly inconceivable.

Xiao Yu bit hard on her lower lip, stubborn tears swirling in her reddened eyes.

Her arms burned with pain, the ringing in her ears hadn't faded, and the image of that fist falling like a meteor kept flashing through her mind.

Just moments ago, she had been chasing Xiao Yan in all her glory. Now, she had humiliated herself before everyone...

Shame, anger, and resentment surged over her like a tide. Her throat tightened, and she could no longer hold back her tears. "Grandpa, he hit me! Teach him a lesson for me! Boo-hoo..."

She wept like pear blossoms drenched in rain, looking like a pitiful little girl who had suffered a terrible injustice, completely unlike her earlier overbearing self.

Xiao Qian's face twitched. He had never imagined this turn of events.

Seeing the looks from everyone around him, he suddenly felt the guilt of someone who had brutally beaten a little girl.

Wasn't this an agreed duel between martial artists? Why run to your family and complain after losing? Where was her dignity as a martial artist? Where was her pride? Was this proper? Did this make any sense?

"Er..." The Great Elder set Xiao Yu down and gave a dry cough behind his hand. "This was a fair wager. How can you ask Grandpa to intervene? A martial artist must learn to win back their own honor."

Though his heart ached for his granddaughter, he knew he couldn't break the rules. Otherwise, how could he command the clan's respect in the future?

His words nearly made the watching clan members' eyes fall out of their heads.

Everyone knew how fiercely the Great Elder protected his own. Otherwise, he would never have spoiled a granddaughter into someone as unruly as Xiao Yu.

What had happened today? Had his whole nature changed?

Everyone whispered among themselves.

"Xiao Yu! You lost! Last night's matter is settled!" Xiao Yan stepped forward smugly, laughing with his hands on his hips as though he had been the one to defeat Xiao Yu with a single punch.

"So it really was you who sneaked into my room last night!" Xiao Yu pointed at his nose, mortified and furious, her words slipping out without thought.

She had already been angry over losing the match. Xiao Yan's provocation made her lose all reason.

"Oh?" The surroundings fell silent for an instant, then erupted into a tremendous uproar.

Everyone was stunned by the news, their gazes toward Xiao Yan filled with curiosity and amusement.

Xiao Zhan's mouth stretched into a grin, and he looked Xiao Yu up and down with an odd expression. The implication was so obvious that Xiao Yu couldn't withstand it at all and fled in disarray.

"I-I'm leaving!" she called as she ran, her figure soon vanishing from everyone's sight.

"Dad, why are you looking at her like that?" Sensing something wrong, Xiao Yan hurried over and tugged Xiao Zhan's sleeve. "Let me put it this way. Not even a dog would marry that shrew Xiao Yu."

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Xiao Zhan scolded him, then turned to the Great Elder with a chuckle. "Children speak without thinking. Children speak without thinking."

"Hmph!"

The Great Elder's wariness of Xiao Qian didn't mean he was wary of Xiao Yan too. His gaze shot over like flashing blades.

Ultimately, he too had lost face and been humiliated by today's affair. Xiao Yan's words displeased him greatly, but he couldn't very well lash out, so he could only snort coldly.

"Disperse, disperse. The show's over. Get back to whatever you should be doing."

Xiao Zhan waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave.

The crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only a few clan members still discussing what had happened.

Xiao Qian returned to the courtyard, missing the faint gleam in Xiao Xun'er's eyes as she watched him. Her gaze was full of admiration, as though she had spotted a rare treasure.

He sat down by the stone table on his own and stared blankly at his fist.

He was pondering his body's strength. Why had things turned out this way?

"What's wrong?" The girl sat beside him with a faint fragrance, tilting her head as she looked at Xiao Qian with concern.

Xiao Qian frowned. "It's strange. My body should have long since surpassed the toughness of a Dou Zong expert's, yet the strength I can unleash is only that of a newborn member of the Dragon Race. It's as though my body has completely reverted to its very beginning..."

Xiao Xun'er looked thoughtful. "This definitely isn't an effect of transformation grass. It's more like you were completely broken down and rebuilt."

She gently bit her lip, considering the various possibilities.

"Yes, that's exactly it." Xiao Qian flexed his hand, a little despondent. "Of my original power, only the magic core remains. Everything else is gone."

"You worked hard for a long time to cultivate that strength, didn't you?" Xiao Xun'er comforted him softly. "It's all right. With your talent, you'll return to your peak in less than twenty years. After all, you now have a true human body. You no longer need centuries or millennia of accumulation."

Xiao Qian exhaled a weary breath. "That's all I can do."

Soon, his fighting spirit soared again. He raised his fist, his gaze blazing. "Actually, this is good too. In the past, I only achieved what I did thanks to the shelter of the Dragon Phoenix and Dragon Races' ancestors. But from now on, I am only myself!"

Though the boy before her had returned to his weakest state, the burning conviction in his eyes seemed almost tangible, dazzling in its defiance of the world.

Xiao Xun'er silently propped her chin on her hand, her gaze a little dazed.

Was getting stronger really that interesting...?

She pondered it inwardly, finding Xiao Qian's fixation on strength somewhat difficult to understand.

"I'm going to cultivate!"

Xiao Qian suddenly stood and strode back to his room. He hadn't yet examined the Dantian he had newly opened last night!

"Ah, I'm so bored..."

Xiao Xun'er slumped over the table, watching Xiao Qian leave helplessly. She had wanted to drag him out shopping, but from the looks of it, even nine oxen couldn't haul him out the door.

"Then I'll cultivate too."

In the shadows, Ling Ying watched Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Qian disappear in their respective directions and couldn't help chuckling.

The clan leader probably never expected Xiao Qian to encourage the young lady to work hard at cultivation...

"Come to think of it, that magic core of his should be the true vessel that inherited all his original power from the Dragon Phoenix and Dragon Races. Letting it go to waste would be such a pity."

Ling Ying would never have imagined that after returning to her room, Xiao Xun'er hadn't cultivated at all. Instead, she began pondering Xiao Qian's magic core.

"Judging by his condition, that power clashes with his body, so he definitely can't merge with it again. How can we make the most of it, then?"

She paced around her room, considering different methods.

"The most widely applicable method: refine it into a medicinal pill!"

She suddenly stopped, a spark of excitement flashing through her eyes.

"Hee-hee..."

Just imagining Xiao Qian going mad when she proposed this idea made her laugh aloud.

"I remember his power had a very unusual attribute. Devouring..."

After a while, her eyes suddenly lit up, as though she had thought of a brilliant idea.

"The legacy obtained from the Tunling Clan back then, perhaps..."

A mysterious gleam shimmered in her eyes. An initial idea had already taken shape in her mind.