A teeth-jarring sound rang out! 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Guan Xiaojing felt as if she’d been hit by a mountain falling from the sky.

Her head spun and her vision blurred. Her body felt like it was about to tear apart. She lost her grip on her Treasure Sword, and it clattered to the ground.

Fortunately, she had already activated her defenses.

This impact didn’t injure her immediately!

But her Qi Sea roiled, making it extremely difficult to gather her Spiritual Power.

A sense of dread washed over her, and she tried to dodge away.

However, the thought had barely formed when Jiang Jichen rammed into her again. His speed... it was too fast for her to evade.

BOOM!

She nearly coughed up blood as the Defensive Secret Artifact protecting her shattered.

But Guan Xiaojing had no time to react.

To her sorrow, fear, and despair, she realized she had become nothing more than a punching bag for him to slam into.

’Why is Lingchen’s body so powerful? His collisions are enough to break me apart.’

’Ah, he hit my chest! It hurts so much!’

’Ah, he hit my...’

’Oh no, he’s coming again...’

And so, Jiang Jichen rammed into Guan Xiaojing again and again, until her eyes rolled back into her head, her body was black and blue, and she passed out.

Five breaths of time!

This time, Jiang Jichen did not use his hands.

Using only his body as a weapon, combined with the Mountain River Shadow Stepping Technique, he had brutally smashed through all of Guan Xiaojing’s defenses and Secret Artifacts.

Guan Xiaojing wouldn’t have fainted so easily under normal circumstances. She passed out from being utterly overwhelmed by shame and rage.

Being repeatedly rammed by a man in public, Guan Xiaojing was mortified.

She never imagined that Jiang Jichen would be so terrifying even without using his hands. Not even her Flame Silk Sword Qi could injure him.

’He’s a Demon!’

Guan Xiaojing thought, filled with shame and indignation, just before she lost consciousness.

At that moment, the crowd of onlookers was at a complete loss for what expression to wear.

They felt their entire worldview was being shattered.

They had no idea a formal challenge could be fought like this. It completely upended their understanding of the world!

At that moment, Jiang Jichen stood proudly in the center of the room. He flicked his sleeve and laughed. "My dear lady, even if I gave you the advantage of not using my hands, beating you would still be as easy as flipping my palm. I, Lingchen of the Seven Profound Sect, am this powerful! I am a youth of unparalleled grace, a genius beyond compare. Yet you claimed that the mere sight of me sullied your eyes? That my ’stench’ made you sick to your stomach? Hmph! Do you not recognize the virile aura of a true man? How ignorant!"

"I won’t hold this against you today. This is just a small punishment for you all!"

He wasn’t holding a grudge? This was just a *small* punishment?

Someone could no longer hold back and started cursing loudly, "Lingchen, you despicable, shameless, petty, vulgar scoundrel! You... just you wait to be challenged by geniuses from all sides!"

But just as they finished cursing, a light flashed on each of their Identity Tokens, and a message entered their minds.

Lingchen, 500th on the Southern Continent’s Youth Expert Rankings!

It turned out that by defeating Chang Qi—ranked 500th on the Southern Continent’s Youth Expert Rankings—Jiang Jichen had claimed the rank for Lingchen’s Identity Token.

At this moment, anyone who possessed an Identity Token knew that Lingchen of the Seven Profound Sect had defeated Young Master Chang Qi.

The so-called Southern Continent’s Youth Expert Rankings was a list that ranked the cultivation and combat strength of Cultivators under forty years of age.

Every ten years, a challenge and ranking tournament for young Cultivators would be held in Yunshui City to ultimately decide the rankings.

Afterward, to get on the list, one only needed to issue a formal challenge, defeat someone on the list, and take their place.

As for the loser, they would drop down one rank!

The people most shaken by this news were, naturally, those from the Seven Profound Sect and the Chang Family.

In a secret chamber within the Seven Profound Sect, an old man steeped in a deathly aura was cultivating with his eyes closed. But at that moment, his eyes snapped open. It was as if two bolts of lightning shot out, shaking the very air. The immense life force he radiated stood in stark contrast to his moribund body.

’He’s not dead? This Lingchen, the one that old servant raised, is actually this powerful? He’s practically a Transcender, a super-genius. He even managed to bring that brat back... but so what?’

After muttering to himself, he closed his eyes and resumed his cultivation.

Elsewhere in the Seven Profound Sect, an old servant dressed in black was fishing by a small lake. His expression flickered, and a faint smile touched his lips. "So, even the Grand Elder can miscalculate. Hmph...!"

Over in the Chang Family, a middle-aged man was playing chess with a youth. The man’s expression suddenly soured. "That good-for-nothing Chang Qi... the fool was actually defeated by some nobody from the Seven Profound Sect."

The youth across the chessboard smiled faintly. "In a way, this is a good thing. The Seventh Young Master needs to suffer some setbacks, or he’ll never grow."

The middle-aged man looked at the youth. "You have a point. But then again, if Chang Qi had even half of your talent and diligence, this wouldn’t have happened. In the entire Southern Continent, aside from the handful of hidden geniuses you can count on both hands, you, Duan Fei, are ranked fiftieth. How many others can claim such an honor?"

"Uncle Chang, you flatter me. But since that brat Lingchen defeated Chang Qi, I’ll arrange for someone to challenge him. We’ll just have him crippled, and that will be the end of it."

Duan Fei smiled, his voice full of pride and confidence.

Chang Qi’s father, the current Patriarch of the Chang Family, Chang Hong, looked at Duan Fei with satisfaction. "These are matters for your generation. We old folks won’t interfere. Ahem, I have some business to attend to. You should go find Xian’Er. You two should spend more time together when you can. She must be terribly bored all by herself!"

At the mention of Chang Xian’Er, a scorching heat flashed in Duan Fei’s eyes, but it vanished so quickly no one could have possibly noticed.

"Then I will go find Miss Xian’Er. I’ll take my leave now!"

After bidding farewell, Duan Fei walked out the main door and headed toward a secluded courtyard within the Chang Family estate.

The secluded courtyard was vast, a veritable sea of flowers. A figure in red drifted through the blossoms like a brilliant crimson butterfly in flight.

Gorgeous and intoxicating!

Duan Fei took a deep breath, suppressed the desire in his eyes, and then called out, "Miss Xian’Er, I trust you’ve been well!"

Hearing the voice, the woman in red did not turn around, but a soft, charming voice floated over. "Oh, it’s Young Master Duan. Don’t come in. Just stand there at the entrance."

Er!

Although her voice was captivatingly sweet, her attitude kept him at more than an arm’s length.

But this was already considered preferential treatment!

After all, others weren’t even qualified to stand at the entrance.

In the distance, the girl in red finally finished planting a flower, then turned around to face Duan Fei.

Her beauty was that of an immortal, her charm that of a vixen. Her eyes were captivating, her red lips sensual, and her pearly-white teeth gleamed like jade.

Her beauty left Duan Fei utterly intoxicated and mesmerized.

One of the Four Beauties of Yunshui City, Chang Xian’Er, the sister of Young Master Chang Qi!

’Chang Xian’Er, I will make you mine, no matter the cost. And when I do...’

Looking at the woman in red, this was the only thought in Duan Fei’s mind.

...

「At the same time, back at the Yunlai Inn」

Young Master Chang Qi was carried away by two of his attendants, while Guan Xiaojing was carried away by her personal maid.

As they left, they shot venomous glares at Jiang Jichen. He stared back fearlessly until they finally departed, filled with helpless indignation.

They spat threats, vowing to make Jiang Jichen pay.

Just then, the mysterious proprietress of the Yunlai Inn walked over to him and said, "The Treasure Exhibition is about to begin. Young Master Ling, why don’t you come take a look with me?"