Feng Luotian waved his hand dismissively, his voice steady. "Cai Long, cut the sarcasm. Why do you do this? What do you gain from following someone like Mei Hongli? Guarding this area won't help you pass the exam."
In the harsh world of martial arts, Luotian understood the weight of power better than anyone. He had lived through years of pain caused by Mei Hongli and his group of bullies.
Their names were stuck in his memory like old scars, but now, the situation had flipped. With his new power, the fear that used to grip his heart was gone.
Cai Hu sneered, stepping in front of his brother. "You don't understand anything, Feng Luotian. Young Master Hongli promised to link his Theríon with us once he takes the top spot."
"That's right," Cai Lang added with a smug grin. "We'll pass this exam without even lifting a finger. Young Master is kind and strong—unlike you, worthless trash."
Unmoved by the insult, Luotian calmly asked, "Is that so? Tell me, when exactly will Mei Hongli reach that top rank? Five minutes from now? Or maybe five minutes before the exam ends?"
The sharpness of the question left the three brothers silent for a moment. Luotian kept going, his words hitting like a blade. "Does he even have a plan for when he'll start sharing his points? Or will he just keep taking more, never satisfied, while you three stand here wasting your time?"
The questions hit home, planting seeds of doubt in their minds. They knew Luotian had a point—Mei Hongli was selfish enough to keep every point for himself if he felt his own lead wasn't safe.
Cai Long was the first to snap out of it, shaking his head to clear the doubt. "Don't try to ruin our loyalty! Even if we fail, Young Master Hongli will give us something else worth our time."
"Exactly!" Cai Hu and Cai Lang shouted at the same time.
Luotian shook his head slowly. "You're all so blind."
"Shut up!" Cai Lang snapped, his face turning red with anger. "One more word, and I'll send you flying out of here myself."
Ignoring the threat, Luotian landed a final blow to their pride. "Idiotic dogs like you are doomed to follow a stinking pile of trash who talks big but does nothing."
"You're dead!" Cai Lang roared, his temper finally breaking. With a bright flash of Theríon, he conjured a pair of metal claws over his hands, their points glinting in the light. He lunged forward, swinging his right claw directly at Luotian's head.
Luotian chuckled, watching the attack come toward him as if it were a joke. "Why do bad guys always use claws? Is it because they think it makes them look cool?"
As the metal points moved closer, Luotian activated Momentum Eyes. His eyes lit with a clear blue glow, and the world seemed to slow almost to a standstill. Bright blue streaks traced the movement of Cai Lang's body, revealing every shift in weight and the path of his approaching attack.
Without any struggle, Luotian stepped to the left, letting the strike pass by. With perfect timing, he pulled back his fist and drove it forward—straight into the path of Cai Lang's head.
What happened next shocked everyone watching.
Swish! Bam! Boom!
Cai Lang's claw missed by a mile, and Luotian's punch landed with a deep, heavy thud. Cai Lang was slammed into the dirt, his body sliding across the ground. Blood leaked from his nose as he lay there, dazed and looking up at the sky. His mind was a mess, unable to understand how he had been hit so easily.
He turned his head to the left, seeing his brothers with their mouths open in shock. Their faces were turning darker by the second. Slowly, he turned to his right—just in time to see a boot coming toward his face.
Bang!
With a strong kick, Luotian sent Cai Lang flying into the air. The beaten fighter's body flickered for a second before vanishing into thin air, teleported out of the exam site.
"Damn, that was refreshing!" Feng Luotian exclaimed, cracking his knuckles with a wide, satisfied grin.
Although Luotian now possessed the mind of a powerful reincarnator, his memories from this life remained sharp and clear. The images of being bullied by Cai Long, Cai Hu, Cai Lang, and their group replayed in his head like an old, painful song. Every memory of being weak felt like a strike against his pride.
But now, the situation had flipped. Letting out his frustration on them and showing off his new power felt amazing. It was a deep sense of freedom and justice that he hadn't felt in a very long time. For the first time in years, the mental wounds they had caused began to heal, replaced by the simple joy of standing above them as the stronger man.
As the scene played out, everyone watching, including the group of students nearby, stood frozen in shock. Their mouths hung open, unable to find the words to describe what they had just seen.
"H… H… Ho… How?!" Cai Long stuttered like a broken machine, while Cai Hu scrambled backward, losing his balance and falling hard onto the dirt.
Two simple moves were all it took for Luotian to kick Cai Lang out of the exam. The remaining brothers were too frightened to consider fighting back. For the moment, only one question occupied their minds:
Who the hell is he?
Cai Long and Cai Hu stared at him, their eyes glued to his face. Just one month ago, they had seen him at the Peacock Pavilion. Back then, he was just a weak young man who could barely handle Mei Hongli's insults. But now, this person—who didn't even seem like the same man—had crushed their brother, a Five Fangs Fighter, in seconds.
Even more terrifying was that neither of them felt a single ripple of Theríon from Luotian during the fight. That meant he hadn't even used his cultivation. His raw physical strength alone had been enough to break Cai Lang.
Luotian had beaten a Five Fangs Fighter using nothing but his body.
To do something like that, a person would need the power of at least a Six Fangs Fighter. How could someone go from being a normal person to the Six Fangs Realm in only a month? It had never happened before; it was impossible by every rule they knew.
Their minds raced for an answer, and the only one that made sense felt like a wild guess: the man in front of them wasn't Feng Luotian. He had to be someone else.
"Who are you?" Cai Long finally asked, his voice shaking as he tried to pull himself together.
Luotian held out his hands with a relaxed smile. "Who am I? I am Feng Luotian—the God's Crippled Son you know so well."
"You're lying," Cai Long shouted, his disbelief clear in the heavy tone of his voice. "There's no way you're Feng Luotian. He was still a cripple just one month ago."
Luotian didn't argue. He just kept that calm smile on his face, holding his arms out as if to show he had nothing to hide. His quiet confidence only made Cai Long more nervous.
Cai Long tried to think it through. Even if Luotian had been hiding his power before, there was no way he would have held back during the Wight Wolf attack. That had been a life-or-death fight. Mei Hongli had told them the news from the clan, so the brothers knew exactly how much danger Luotian had been in. It just didn't make sense.
Despite the fear and doubt clouding their minds, neither Cai Long nor Cai Hu moved out of the way. Their loyalty to Mei Hongli held them in place, even though they were facing what looked like a total defeat.
Feng Luotian did not look angry at their stubbornness. Instead, a small look of respect crossed his face. "Loyalty that trumps fear, huh?" he said to himself.
A smile pulled at his lips. "How commendable. I'd actually like to be friends with you if only you weren't following the wrong person."
Even as he spoke, Cai Long and Cai Hu stayed firm. Their fear turned into a hard determination. They would not betray Mei Hongli—not now, and not ever.
Seeing their determination, Luotian let out a quiet sigh. His face turned cold as two deep red Evil Cyclones began to spin around him, filling the air with an oppressive pressure. His eyes hardened, and he took a single step forward.
"Excuse me, then," Luotian said, his calm voice carrying a note of finality.
He walked toward them, the dark energy around him filling the space between the trees.
Each step Luotian took toward Cai Long and Cai Hu felt like a heavy weight pressing down on their shoulders. Their fear grew with every passing second. The red Evil Cyclones spinning around his body looked dangerous, sending cold chills down their backs.
Refusing to give in to their fear, the brothers gritted their teeth. They called forth their Theríon to make their weapons appear—Cai Long held a long sword, and Cai Hu carried a heavy hammer. With a loud shout, they ran at Luotian, ready to fight for their pride and their master.
Their brave effort, however, did not matter much.
In less than a minute, the dust settled, and both Cai Long and Cai Hu were gone. Luotian had beaten them easily, sending their bruised bodies out of the exam area. The short fight was so one-sided that it barely felt like a battle at all.
Standing in the quiet clearing, Luotian studied his blood-stained hands, his expression calm and thoughtful.
A low laugh came from his lips as he checked his new strength. "My current power is enough to seriously injure anyone under Six Fangs in just a few strikes. If I activate Underworld Physique, I should be able to one-hit-kill anyone under Seven Fangs."
Cai Long and Cai Hu had been nothing more than practice for him—tools to see what he could really do. Their struggle had been useless, and the results of his test made him feel very sure of himself.
His gaze became sharp, a look of hard purpose in his eyes. "Time to chase away all the dogs before cleaning up the biggest piece of trash in the area," he said quietly to himself.
Before leaving, he turned toward the group of nine who were still standing there in shocked silence. "You can go in now. Hunt the low-level clones as you wish. Goodbye."
With those words, Luotian vanished in a blur of speed, leaving the group in total shock. His easy win and cool attitude left a mark on their minds they would never forget.
"Was that… really him? The GCS?" one of them finally asked, his voice trembling.
"I don't know," another answered, still feeling dazed. "But if it really was him, this news is going to be huge!"
The strongest member of the group snapped them back to reality. "Enough talk. He cleared the path for us, so let's make the most of it. We need to hunt as many clones as possible before the exam time runs out."
The group nodded together, their drive coming back. Without wasting another second, they ran into the open area, taking the chance Luotian had given them.