So it was you, you scum!

Hongning Base City.

This was the Limit Martial Hall's Global Headquarters, located in western Asia, close to Europe. The entire Hongning Base City had been built in an ancient architectural style.

In terms of safety and the number of martial artists it produced, Hongning Base City ranked first among the world's fifty-two base cities, because the strongest man in the world lived here.

Hong!

Inside the enormous spaceship-shaped building at the Limit Martial Hall's Global Headquarters, a man dressed in black stood silently by a window, looking outside through the glass.

"Hmm?"

Hong suddenly reached out and tapped the air, and a virtual panel appeared before him.

"Information on a new genius?" Hong was somewhat surprised by the document's title.

Ordinary talent recruitment was handled by the five Inspectors under him at most. Only when someone met the conditions he had secretly set would the virtual space's intelligent program upload their information directly to him.

"Yang Zheng, male, Northwest Base City..."

The information uploaded by the intelligent program was comprehensive. Besides the information on his abilities as a spirit reader that Zheng Cangli had submitted, it included Yang Zheng's various performances in the trial space, along with the intelligent program's analysis and evaluation.

"This talent is simply unbelievable!"

The more Hong read, the more astonished he became. Not only was Yang Zheng a spirit reader with immense potential, but the talent he had displayed in the trial space could not be underestimated either.

It was enough to warrant his attention.

More importantly, Yang Zheng had mastered the third layer of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, achieving a force multiplier of 2.8. In Hong's eyes, that alone was nothing exceptional.

Yet all his moves-the power of his punches, his legs, and his other limbs-had reached the same 2.8-fold multiplier. Even his speed and defense had reached that same level.

His defensive force amplification, in particular, was something even Thunder God had not achieved.

Although Hong was the strongest in the world, Thunder God surpassed him in cultivation realm and bodily force amplification alone. He frequently sparred with Thunder God, so he naturally knew the extent of Thunder God's force amplification.

Moreover, according to the intelligent program's analysis, his combat abilities had clearly improved considerably compared with when he first entered the trial space.

That rate of improvement was no slower than that of Luo Feng, the "fallen genius" whose loss Hong deeply regretted.

"Yang Zheng... Luo Feng..."

Hong silently looked out the window. The first time he had met Luo Feng at the Elite Training Camp, he had been astonished by his talent.

As Luo Feng grew stronger step by step, Hong had come to value him more and more. He had even entrusted the Sky-Escaping Shuttle to Luo Feng, convinced that Luo Feng would become his indispensable aide in the future.

But who could have imagined...

That this rapidly rising genius would fall in the relatively low-risk No. 9 Ancient Civilization Ruins? A year had passed since then, and Hong had long since given up hope.

"Another genius with immense potential!"

"Heaven has smiled upon humanity!"

Yang Zheng spent almost the entire morning at the Basic Training Camp. After getting a free meal at the camp's cafeteria, he left that afternoon to stroll around Kyoto City's Main Urban District.

"It's not much different. Just a little colder than Northwest Base City."

Yang Zheng walked along the streets. Although Kyoto Base City was the political center, it also had densely packed residential areas. It covered the largest area of any base city, but it also had the largest population.

"Oh, that's the university district!"

After passing through several streets, Yang Zheng reached a sprawling complex of buildings. The university district occupied a vast area, and every undergraduate institution in Kyoto Base City was concentrated here.

"Kyoto University!"

At the entrance to one university, the words "Kyoto University" gleamed above the main gate.

Quite a few students were coming out through the gates. Some were couples hanging on to each other, while others were small groups of male or female students.

Yang Zheng had never attended university in this life. After finishing his final year of high school, he had passed the Martial Artist Combat Assessment, become a martial artist, and headed into the Wilderness Zone to hunt monsters.

His mother, Yang Rong, had given him the cold shoulder for several days over that decision. No mother in the world would willingly let her child constantly walk the line between life and death.

Yang Zheng entered the campus and walked along a tree-lined path. Compared with the university in his memories of his previous life, this one clearly occupied less land.

He admired the scenery as he walked. Although the campus had shrunk, it still retained a spot or two where people could enjoy the scenery and unwind.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!"

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out from the distance.

Yang Zheng turned toward the voice and immediately spotted a fairly handsome, fair-skinned young man from a wealthy family beneath the distant trees. Two burly men stood behind him, and judging by their bearing, both were probably martial artists.

The fair-skinned young man appeared to be harassing a female student, whose face bore a trace of anger.

Yang Zheng frowned slightly.

His values had been deeply shaped by nine years of compulsory education. Although his experiences in society had later taught him to rein himself in, that had been when he lacked strength. As for now...

"Hey. Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

The ill-timed sound interrupted the wealthy young man as he harassed the female student.

"Kid, you want to stick your nose where it doesn't belong?"

The wealthy young man lifted his chin slightly and gave Yang Zheng a disdainful glance. Then his gaze turned cold and venomous as a snake's. "I really don't like this guy. Tear his mouth apart."

"Yes."

One of the burly men grinned viciously and reached straight for Yang Zheng with a large hand.

Crack!

"Aagh!"

An instant later, the burly man screamed, clutching his broken arm.

"This is bad, young master! He's a martial artist too, and very likely at the Advanced General Level."

The other burly man hurried forward, shielding the wealthy young man behind him as he watched Yang Zheng warily.

He himself was an Intermediate War General-level Warrior, yet he had not even been able to see his opponent's attack. Someone that strong had to be at least at the Advanced General Level.

"Kid, what do you think you're doing?"

Upon hearing that Yang Zheng might be an Advanced General Level martial artist, the wealthy young man's expression changed. "I'm warning you! My name is Wang Xing'an, and I'm from the Wang Family of Kyoto City. You dare lay a hand on me?"

By then, quite a few people had gathered at a distance. Most were university students passing by, eating snacks or simply out for a stroll, but all had been drawn over by the burly man's scream.

However, once they recognized the wealthy young man, they hurriedly dispersed. The Wang Family's influence over ordinary society was terrifying. They were simply not people these students

could afford to get involved with, not even as spectators.

"Oh, so it was you, you scum!"

Upon hearing him reveal his identity, Yang Zheng's gaze instantly turned cold. Had Wang Xing'an kept his identity to himself, Yang Zheng would merely have given him a vicious beating to teach him a lesson.

This scum was not only the obsessive collector of beautiful women from the original story, but also the son of Wang Yanzhao, his father's enemy. Whether for public justice or personal reasons, Yang Zheng could not let him off.