Just then, an ill-timed voice rings out. A tall, strong-jawed young man leaps onto another arena. His fighting spirit blazes as he stares you down.
It's Rex Lion of the Lion family, the one they call the raging lion.
"Rex Lion? Why is he here?"
Rex Lion, the number one genius of another family from Bluestone City. Earth Realm, second level peak.
His arrival reignites hope in Julian's eyes. Grand Elder Marcus seizes the moment and loudly announces, "For this tournament, the final champion will also receive, on top of a profound grade technique, a spot in the Dragon Ascension Secret Realm."
The moment Dragon Ascension Secret Realm is announced, the entire arena erupts. Every eye burns with excitement.
"Ethan, do you dare face me?" Rex Lion's battle intent burns even hotter.
You glance him over. Earth Realm, second level peak. A solid foundation, but far too many openings. You curl a finger, beckoning him forward. "Come. Don't waste my time."
"Arrogant!" Rex Lion roars, charging at you like an enraged lion. "The Raging Lion Fist."
His punch unleashes a massive phantom lion's head, its terrifying power condensing in the wind of his fist.
Yet, facing this world-shattering strike, you still simply extend one finger. Your index finger again.
Boom. Finger meets fist, and the roaring phantom lion's head vanishes soundlessly like a popped balloon. Rex Lion's entire body staggers uncontrollably backward more than ten steps, the sleeve of his right arm shredding into dust, his arm trembling, covered in bloody marks.
One move, and the outcome is already clear.
"Impossible." Rex Lion's face is full of disbelief.
"Is this all the power you have? You haven't moved an inch from where you stand." Disappointing.
Again, Rex Lion, thoroughly enraged, blurs into an afterimage. He charges again.
This time you don't use your finger. You raise your foot. A light kick, slow-looking, yet it lands first despite moving last, landing precisely on the one weak point in the trajectory of his charge.
Bang. Rex Lion tumbles across the arena like a rolling gourd, from one end to the other. Utterly disgraced.
"Third move." Your voice sounds like a death sentence.
You walk slowly toward him, looking down from above. He struggles wildly to rise, but your foot pins him down by the chest. Before he can even get a word out, you add slight pressure with your foot. Crack. The sound of a fractured rib cage rings out clearly. He coughs up a mouthful of blood and passes out on the spot.
You withdraw your foot, sweep your gaze across the arena, and finally settle it on Grand Elder Marcus, on that face twisted with shock and fury.
"The tournament's over. The technique and the secret realm spot are both mine."
Three days later, at the outskirts of the Hidden Dragon Mountains, the so-called elites gathered here from Bluestone City's three great families are, to you, nothing but a flock of chirping sparrows. You lean alone against an ancient tree, eyes closed, resting, not bothering to notice anyone's stares.
Ever since your stunning display at the tournament, the expressions on the faces of the Reed family have become quite entertaining. No one dares provoke you openly anymore. Yet no one dares approach either. They fear and reject you in equal measure. The cultivation resources the elders sent your way, you didn't even let through the door.
You've come here purely to settle a score, and to take back along the way what's rightfully yours.
"Julian, look at him. Such an insufferable face." Chloe's voice isn't loud, but it carries clearly.
You don't even bother lifting an eyelid. Meanwhile, Julian soothes her with a gentle smile, but the flash of killing intent behind his eyes doesn't escape your perception at all. These past three days, he's probably barely slept. You can't wrap your head around it. Can't accept it. No matter. There's plenty more coming that you'll find even harder to understand, even harder to accept.
You'd already noticed Julian exchanging suggestive glances with a middle-aged man in the crowd dressed in the robes of the Azure Sun Sect. A clear sign that Julian has already arranged some surprise for you inside the secret realm.
Just then, the crimson mist ahead surges violently, tearing open a pitch-black rift.
"The entrance to the secret realm has opened."
At the elders' command, the impatient young disciples flood in like dumplings dropped into boiling water. Julian, pulling Chloe along, is among the first to vanish into the rift.
Only then do you open your eyes and rise, unhurried. You saunter along at the very back of the group.
After a dizzying spin of space, you find yourself teleported into a stretch of primal jungle. The spiritual energy in the air is so thick it feels like it could condense into water. It's more than ten times denser than outside.
Not a bad place. You take a deep breath and the chaos body starts running on its own, silently devouring the surrounding energy.
But you're in no rush to hunt for treasure. The primordial eyes activate.
And the world before you instantly transforms. The true nature of everything, every law of fortune, appears before your eyes as lines and points of light. Your gaze pierces effortlessly through every obstacle, quickly locking onto a thread of fortune. Dazzling, yet somehow hollow. A golden line whose end leads straight to Julian.
Name: Julian. Recent fortune: three hundred li northwest of the Dragon Ascension Secret Realm, he'll discover the legacy cave of the ancient sword cultivator, the Star Sword Sovereign.
Star Sword Sovereign. Scouting the way for me. Good enough.
The corner of your mouth curls up. You lock in the direction and stroll over unhurriedly. Along the way, century-old spirit herbs that others would kill for don't even earn you a glance. You have only one target. Julian.
Why be a diligent treasure-hunting rat yourself when you can just follow the chosen one? A walking automatic treasure detector. Far easier this way.
Elsewhere, Julian anxiously pulls Chloe along, rushing through the valley.
"Julian, where exactly are we going?"
"Don't talk. Just follow me." Julian is visibly impatient.
Soon, they arrive at a cliff face hidden behind a waterfall, and stop.
"This is it." Julian pushes the curtain of water aside, staring at the dense protective formation around the cave entrance, a confident smile spreading across his face. "Chloe, step back. Watch me break through this."
With that, he pulls out his spiritual energy and, sweating profusely, begins dismantling the formation.
Of course, he has no idea that a hundred metres away, up in a tree, you're watching his little show with quiet amusement. To your eyes, this formation is riddled with holes, no better than a child's scribbles. You could think of a dozen ways to get in instantly. But you don't. Free labour is free labour. Why not make use of it?
You even casually pull a piece of fruit from your robe, plucked from somewhere along the way, and take a bite.
Mm. Pretty sweet.