Zhang Chulan watched with his own eyes as the father and daughter duo from the Omni-Alliance left with their bodyguards without even saying goodbye. Just a moment ago, they were trying to sell him on the organization, attempting to recruit him into their ranks. Then Brother Ian showed up, tapped a finger on someone's forehead, waved his hand, and the two of them turned around and left as if they were possessed.
The gears in Zhang Chulan's head began to turn rapidly.
A big shot! This is an absolute big shot!
The Chairman of the Omni-Alliance? One of the Ten Masters? They don't seem to be worth a damn in front of Brother Ian!
While he was just thinking of how to navigate his way around the Omni-Alliance, his mind now held only one thought: he had to cling to Brother Ian's leg!
He jogged over to Ian's side, a cheeky, fawning smile plastered on his face.
"Brother Ian! You are truly incredible! Chairman Feng and his daughter were pestering me just now, but the moment you stepped up, they didn't even dare to let out a fart before scurrying away!" Zhang Chulan's voice was dripping with worship, stopping just short of throwing himself on the ground.
Ian glanced at him and said nothing, though he mentally noted that this kid's skin was indeed thick enough.
Seeing that Ian had acknowledged him, Zhang Chulan quickly continued his "report," testing the waters along the way. "By the way, Brother Ian, people from Dragon-Tiger Mountain came by too. That Zhang Lingyu said his master, the Old Taoist Master, wants me to go to the Grand Luo Heaven Sacrifice in a month."
He carefully observed Ian's reaction, calculating how to bring the topic back to himself.
"Brother Ian, look at what a weakling I am. My Golden Light Curse is hit-or-miss, and my Lightning Method is just surface-level stuff. If I go to the Grand Luo Heaven Sacrifice and run into those famous experts, won't I just be a sacrificial lamb?"
"It's a small matter if I get beaten to death, but what if I lose face for a senior like you..."
Zhang Chulan began to play the victim, his tone sounding as pitiful as possible.
"So... Brother Ian, do you think you could give me some pointers? Help your little brother out?" He rubbed his hands together, his eyes filled with a longing that bordered on kneeling and calling him "Father."
'Big boss, carry me! I don't want to work hard anymore!' This was Zhang Chulan's truest inner cry at this moment.
Hearing Zhang Chulan's words, Ian's lip twitched. However, he immediately thought of the Grand Luo Heaven Sacrifice, which was essentially the core plot of the early stages of Under One Person. Zhang Chulan was the protagonist of that arc, relying on his "Don't-Shake-the-Jade-Lotus" antics to make it all the way to the finals.
While such behavior was entertaining in an anime, it was honestly hard to watch in reality.
A flash of inspiration hit him. He had a technique that seemed perfect for Zhang Chulan.
"Forget about me training you. I'm busy," Ian said, his voice flat, instantly crushing Zhang Chulan's unrealistic fantasies.
Zhang Chulan's heart went half-cold instantly. As expected, big shots were aloof; clinging to their legs wasn't that easy.
However, Ian's next words made his spirit rally.
"But," Ian changed his tune, speaking with a strangely seductive tone, "I do happen to have a divine technique here that I can pass on to you."
"A divine technique?" Zhang Chulan's eyes widened, his breathing quickening.
"That's right. A divine technique that is incredibly compatible with you." Ian looked at Zhang Chulan with a hint of mischief in his eyes. "It is the final puzzle piece to complete your perfect life!"
"Once you practice this divine technique," Ian's voice seemed to carry magic, "you will be able to go anywhere and do anything! Young experts, famous outcasts—they will all be powerless before you! Even..."
He paused and said, word by word, "Becoming the strongest in the world is not impossible!"
The strongest in the world!!!
Those words exploded in Zhang Chulan's mind like a clap of thunder! He could already see a glorious future where he swept through the outcast world, becoming a living legend! What Grand Luo Heaven Sacrifice? What secrets of the Eight Supreme Skills? In the face of "the strongest in the world," it was all fluff!
Zhang Chulan could no longer control his excitement, his eyes practically shooting golden beams.
The next second—thud!
Zhang Chulan dropped to his knees with practiced efficiency, grabbed Ian's leg, and began his performance.
"Brother Ian!!" Zhang Chulan wailed, tears and snot instantly covering his face. "I see it now! My perfect life was indeed missing a puzzle piece!"
"But the piece I'm missing isn't a divine technique—it's an adoptive father!"
"I heard you don't have a son. I want to take care of you in your old age and see you off at the end! If you don't find me distasteful, I am willing to bow to you as my adoptive father!"
"Adoptive Father! Father, please receive your son's kowtow!"
"I am your long-lost biological son who happens to have no blood relation!"
Zhang Chulan cried so earth-shatteringly and sincerely that one would think Ian really was his long-lost father.
'What is dignity? Can you eat it? Can it make you stronger? Clinging to Brother Ian's leg is the only way! This is a shortcut to becoming the strongest in the world! What's wrong with calling him Dad? It's a bargain!'
Zhang Chulan frantically cheered himself on internally, then used his inner Qi to stimulate his tear ducts, making himself look even more heartbroken.
Ian: "..."
He looked with a forehead full of black lines at Zhang Chulan, who was clutching his leg, crying a river, and trying to wipe snot on his pants. This guy's level of shamelessness seemed to have reached a new peak.
Ian felt the veins in his temple throbbing. He raised his foot and kicked this humanoid creature away.
"Scram."
"Ouch!" Zhang Chulan rolled twice on the ground, but he didn't care at all. Instead, he felt the kick was intimate—like he was being kicked by family.
After all, to hit is to be close, and to scold is to love; his adoptive father was clearly showing him both!
Before he could crawl back up to keep clinging, an ancient, grand-looking book flew through the air and smacked him in the face.
"The technique is yours. Go practice it yourself," Ian's voice drifted over.
Zhang Chulan scrambled to catch the book. When he looked up, Ian had already vanished.
"Father! Father, where did you go?"
"Father walks so fast!" Zhang Chulan muttered, then immediately turned his focus to the book in his hands.
He could not wait to find out the name of this divine technique that Ian had hyped up as something that could make him "the strongest in the world"!
He carefully held the book. The cover was made of some unknown, resilient material that felt warm to the touch. On the cover, drawn with extremely vigorous and ancient brushwork, was a killer whale! The killer whale in the drawing wasn't large, yet it gave him a sense of immense scale.
It seemed to possess a soul, its eyes fierce and its body filled with an explosive sense of power. Even through the pages, he could feel an aura of world-destroying intensity, as if it would burst out and stir the clouds at any moment!
Just the cover alone radiated an aura of being insanely powerful!
Zhang Chulan's heart began to race. Then, his gaze shifted down to the five large characters below. Those five words were written in a wild, unbridled style, each stroke seemingly containing infinite power, leaking a domineering aura that looked down upon all under heaven!
It looked super strong! Extremely strong! Violently strong! Insanely strong!
Zhang Chulan held his breath and read it out loud, one word at a time.
Sea—Tiger—Explosive—Punch!
Yeah!!!