In this world, no one cares if you are kind and weak.
All they will see is your power and social status.
Because they hate you for your true self, the world will require you to be a hypocrite.
Without those things, everyone will see you as nothing more than a clown.
No matter the world, everyone will always chase after their desires—whether those desires are good or bad, easy or hard to obtain, they will cling to them.
But Zhang Yong?
He walked quietly amidst those shouts, and his heart was still, unmoving.
Why should he change?
To please people?
He would not change, even if it meant heading to his own end
Until now, he hadn't changed—he had only grown, realized more, and deepened his understanding of life. His gaze was no longer that of a reckless youth; he already had some self-awareness of his own.
That was a trait in him—he wanted to prove himself but hadn't had the strength to do so. If he had the strength now, why shouldn't he use it?
He stood calmly and smiled. The deacon cleared his throat and announced the continuation of the tests, and the audience quieted down.
After all the tests ended, the deacon announced:
"Now, the second stage of the exam will begin—the arena battles."
There were exactly eight arenas in the place. One had to step up first and fight until the set time ended—half an hour—similar to how fights were done in Tong Xi City.
But unlike that time when Zhang Yong withdrew, he decided to give everything he had in this test. He was the first to leap onto the stage.
He stabbed his sword into the ground and leaned on it.
"Now, who dares to challenge me?"
Anger stirred outside the arena. Opponents below called Zhang Yong an idiot, and those in the stands called him arrogant.
Only two looked at him with admiration, easily recognizable among all the participants.
"You're far too arrogant!" One of the participants jumped into the arena. He was a little thin, and no matter how you looked at him, he seemed ordinary.
Zhang Yong raised an eyebrow and scanned his level, feeling slightly disappointed.
"Boy, what are you doing here? You're only at the Master level, and you dare to step up?"
The boy laughed carelessly "Even I managed to make the pillar react six degrees, so why shouldn't I fight?"
Zhang Yong looked at the boy coldly and pulled his sword from the ground. A suffocating killing intent swirled around the boy "Am I to understand… that you're prepared to throw your life away like this?"
Zhang Yong walked toward him slowly. The boy trembled in fear and stepped back.
Soon, Zhang Yong stood right before him.
"I asked you a question."
The boy lowered his head, feeling the crushing weight of the killing intent so strongly that he couldn't even raise his eyes.
Zhang Yong lightly patted his shoulder.
"Hahaha, were you really scared? I was just messing with you. Go ahead, I won't move—I'll let you take the first strike."
The boy's body trembled, unable to move "I-I can't even m-move."
Hearing that, many in the audience burst out laughing at the boy's state.
This angered Zhang Yong "Shut up, all of you!"
Without warning, the entire crowd fell silent.
"You're nothing but worthless trash who knows only how to criticize. Shame on you all. So what if he's scared now? At least he had the courage to stand in front of me here and now. Even if he loses, he hasn't truly lost—he's learned a lesson. If any of you had even a fraction of what he has, then get your asses off those seats, come here, and I'll make sure to break every bone and cell in your body until you wish for death!"
A violent killing intent surged toward the audience, nearly making them faint.
Then Zhang Yong turned back to the boy and gestured.
"Now, take your strike."
The boy's eyes shone with determination. He clenched his fist, swung it quickly, and struck Zhang Yong's chest directly, but the latter didn't even budge.
Zhang Yong grabbed his chin and began thinking.
"Not bad at all for your level. Remember—never let anyone discourage you. Even if you don't have strength, there's something else you can use—your mind. Intelligence has often defeated strength."
The boy smiled gratefully and bowed ninety degrees.
"Thank you, Brother Zhang Yong, for the advice."
With that, Zhang Yong gained the boy's respect, and also some from a few in the audience and among the participants. His unpredictable demeanor left the elders above puzzled.
"That boy dares to boast here so brazenly," said the Elder of Thunder Peak angrily.
The Elder of Sword Peak glanced at him coldly before speaking.
"That doesn't matter—as long as he has the strength to back up his boasting and arrogance, he can say whatever he wants."
The boy left the stage, and Zhang Yong continued to stare at the participants.
"Now, who dares to step forward?"
They all avoided his gaze, unenthusiastic about stepping into the arena where that man stood.
'Strange… let's give them a little motivation,' Zhang Yong thought.
"Whoever defeats me, I'll give them one thousand spirit stones."
At first, some thought it was a bluff—after all, it was practically impossible for an outer disciple to have a thousand stones unless they came from a wealthy family.
One participant jumped onto the arena, but before he could say a word, Zhang Yong sent him flying with a single punch.
"This is annoying. Everyone, come at me together. Don't worry—if you all beat me, I'll give all of you the spirit stones."
The elders' jaws dropped.
The Elder of Thunder Peak spoke in disbelief "Impossible! There's never been anyone who challenged everyone so crazily before."
The sect master, who had been silent for a while, sighed.
"This disciple… I can't tell if he's a fool or just overly confident in his strength. On the other hand, it seems the others have finished, and everyone's heading toward him."
All the other arenas were now empty. Su Ming himself sat atop his arena, grumbling:
"That Zhang Yong actually did it. He's crazy, but he did it."
Immediately, a total of twenty people leapt onto Zhang Yong's stage. It was like a battle to the death. From all directions, people flew endlessly, one after another falling unconscious.
Zhang Yong jumped high into the air and smiled.
"I'll try this—Beastly Instinct."
At that moment, he felt his consciousness being swallowed, as if sinking into darkness itself.
Landing on his feet and hands like a wild beast, he scraped the ground with his foot before pouncing again like an unbelievable predator, tearing through all opponents before him. Feet, hands, head—he used every part of his body to cause damage to anyone in his way, until he stood on both feet with a savage, feral grin.
He shoved two people with his hands, sending them crashing into the others, knocking everyone out of the arena with injuries.
Standing there, he wiped his mouth with his arm, his clothes torn from the violent fight.
The deacon Zhao announced:
"Now, the matches are over. Those who remained victorious in their arenas may challenge each other for ranking."
Zhang Yong smiled and clapped his fists together.
"Good, I'll jump to—"
Before he could finish, someone leapt onto his stage—a girl with silver-white hair and clear blue eyes.
"Or maybe not. I didn't expect you to last until the end."
At this point, everyone had already chosen their opponent.
Zhang Yong sighed helplessly and prepared to fight.
As soon as the fight was announced, the girl raised her hand.
"I surrender."
Zhang Yong was stunned. What sense was there in jumping into someone's arena only to admit defeat?
Without warning, the girl appeared beside him, completely without presence, as if a ghost stood before him.
She placed her hand on his shoulder and whispered:
"My name is Wu Ruxian. I look forward to what you will achieve in the future."
Leaving those words behind, she jumped off the stage, while Zhang Yong remained shocked.
"She's on a completely different level… Uni, is she…"
(Wu Ruxian: At the ninth layer of the guru's realm , she was killed by righteous-path martial artists in a final war after embodying the demonic path and lived for 300 years, nearly bringing ruin to the righteous path. After her death, she returned in time, vowing for the demonic path to rise again, to rule the world and drown it in darkness. At present, she is interested in the host's body.)
Zhang Yong shivered as he read the system window before him 'My body! This just made things worse. She's the worst kind to deal with—a cunning old fox. It'll be hard to deceive her'
He sighed in frustration. This type was especially troublesome; amateur heroes could be fooled since they were young and rash, but those who had lived long would not be deceived easily—they had enough life experience to see through things. But there was still a chance, after all. Their overconfidence, arrogance, and belief that they were better than everyone else—if used correctly—could be their weakness.
Zhang Yong disliked battles of wits; as long as things could be solved with strength, there was no need to use the mind.
Su Ming watched from afar and laughed, while his opponent had just been sent flying off the stage with a strike.
"Look at him, that expression on his face is priceless. I'll be sure to mock him later if I get the chance."
Once the fights in the other arenas ended, Deacon Zhao immediately announced:
"The first round of matches is over. The second round begins now."
After the announcement, another man leapt onto Zhang Yong's arena. Bowing forward with both fists clasped, his tone held some pride.
"I am Shan Yuntian. Pleased to meet you, Junior Brother Zhang Yong."
Zhang Yong nodded and cracked his neck.
"I hope Senior Brother Shan can last until the end."
With a soft shout, Zhang Yong leapt violently forward, aiming a punch at Shan Yuntian.
The wind began to shift around Shan Yuntian's arms, a blue aura swirling like twin threads of silk before he launched his own punch.
Their fists were so powerful that the air around them exploded, the sound of the wind audible.
Shan Yuntian smirked coldly.
"Junior Brother Zhang Yong, you're remarkable—you matched me without even using spiritual energy. I wonder why you haven't used it."
Zhang Yong sneered immediately.
"Yeah, I wonder about that too.bitch"
He pulled his arm back, spun quickly, and kicked with the back of his foot toward Shan Yuntian's ribs.
The latter pulled himself back—he was an expert in close-range natural combat, having grown up in the slums where he had to either steal, be beaten, or starve.
He had been saved by 'kind people', passed the sect test, and climbed the ranks to make a name for himself. He was good at strength path but his past experiences make it easier to adapt to it , even if the two weren't the same
Zhang Yong regained his balance and rushed in again, extending his fingers like a blade toward Shan Yuntian's chest.
Suddenly, Zhang Yong's arm stopped—he felt as if his fingers had struck a stone wall.
A bright golden light surrounded Shan Yuntian.
Shan Yuntian grabbed Zhang Yong's arm and pulled, kicking his stomach with unnatural force, sending him staggering back ten steps.
Before Zhang Yong could fully recover, Shan Yuntian leapt and brought his leg down from above, smashing it toward Zhang Yong's head and driving him into the ground.
Zhang Yong raised his head, eyes flashing in realization.
"You… you're a strength path cultivator"
What Shan Yuntian had used earlier was just such a barrier, True, there were defensive techniques in this world, What he didn't know was that this was the Golden Bell Defense Technique
A technique of the intermediate mysterious stage, which ordinary disciples often would not obtain unless they had enough points to enter the third floor of the tower.
Shan Yuntian chuckled coldly.
"That's right. And to be fair, I'm already over twenty-five. I joined the sect at eighteen, and with the resources I've had, why wouldn't I advance? I didn't want to enter the inner sect before cultivating my technique to the maximum, just so I could secure my victory against unnaturals like you. Now it seems I made the right choice."
The Elder of Thunder Peak laughed confidently, as if he had expected this "This boy's character is good, and he's appropriately cautious. I've decided—I'll take him under my wing."
The Elder of Sword Peak smiled faintly "Hoho… old man, could this all have been your plan?"
The Elder of Thunder Peak denied immediately.
"What do you mean? I have no idea what you're talking about."
But inside, he smiled secretly.
'Of course—who else would provide him with resources if not me? Ever since I saved him that day, he's been a good seedling for Demonic Spring Sect'
Zhang Yong slammed his hand on the ground, stood up quickly, and threw a hook punch at Shan Yuntian's head.
Shan Yuntian jumped back, skillfully dodging the strike.
"Is that all you can do?"
Clearly, Shan Yuntian had the upper hand, but Zhang Yong didn't retreat either.
His mind remained calm and clear. He inhaled deeply.
"Alright, I didn't want to do this, but I have no choice."
Suddenly, Zhang Yong's face turned to ice, his very presence seeming to vanish before Shan Yuntian's eyes.
It made Shan Yuntian's heart skip with a flicker of fear, as if he were staring at a ghost. With his combat experience, he could tell the atmosphere around Zhang Yong had changed.
Only one thought crossed his mind: Strike first to win.
He dashed toward Zhang Yong, but the latter gave him only a passing glance.
At the moment Shan Yuntian reached him, Zhang Yong used his own knowledge—combining the Breakpoint technique with the Controlling Crane Catching Dragon he had learned.
Chest, waist, shoulder, foot, stomach, back—suddenly Shan Yuntian flipped and tumbled.
In that instant, his body exploded with blood. His joints dislocated, his flesh tore, everything was out of place.
Blood sprayed from his body along with his endless, hoarse screams.
Many spectators couldn't bear the sight—they began vomiting or covering their eyes.
"I told you, I didn't want to do this," Zhang Yong said coldly.
The Controlling Crane Catching Dragon
was a dangerous grappling technique capable of controlling things from a distance when using spiritual energy.
But in its original form, it was a brutal wrestling move that tore muscles and dislocated bones. Combining it with Zhang Yong's Breakpoint technique—which revealed weaknesses—made it an extremely vicious killing move.
Still, it didn't kill Shan Yuntian; there was no deep grudge between them. Zhang Yong hadn't struck vital spots like the head or heart.
He raised his hand indifferently, ignoring Shan Yuntian's pitiful screams.
"Deacon Zhao, he can't continue the fight—declare the result. After that, I'll take Brother Shan for treatment."
"Cruel."
"How wicked , this is just a competition."
"How can he be so heartless?"
Those words fell from the audience, but Zhang Yong only smiled quietly.
Deacon Zhao closed his eyes, trying to forget the sight of Shan Yuntian.
"The second round is over."
Zhang Yong turned toward Shan Yuntian's body, secretly slipped a healing pill into his mouth, and carried him off the stage.
After ensuring his condition, Zhang Yong stepped back onto the arena.
Deacon Zhao raised his hand.
"Now, the finals! Zhang Yong versus Su Ming!"
Both smiled at the same time, locking eyes.
Zhang Yong leapt onto Su Ming's stage.
"Looks like you managed to last."
Su Ming laughed heartily "There's no way I'd miss this chance. Let's fight with all we've got."
"You read my mind," Zhang Yong replied with excitement.