White River City. The territory of the Ye Clan.
The city was drowning in the sound of drums and firecrackers. Red lanterns hung from every eave, and the streets were paved with flower petals. Today was the Ye Clan Annual Tournament, but it was more than just a contest. It was a coronation.
The Ye Clan had successfully formed a marriage alliance with the Violet Mist Pavilion. With the backing of a Major Sect, the Ye Clan was poised to become the ruler of the surrounding ten cities.
In the center of the massive stone arena, a young man in blue robes stood with a sword in hand. He was handsome, arrogant, and radiated the sharp aura of a Late Foundation Establishment cultivator. He was Ye Long. The Genius of the Ye Clan. The man who had broken Ye Kai's legs three years ago.
"Is there no one else?" Ye Long shouted, raising his sword to the cheering crowd. "I have defeated ten challengers in a row! Is the younger generation of White River City so weak?"
"Young Master Ye is invincible!" "A 20-year-old Late Foundation Establishment! He is a dragon among men!"
On the viewing platform, the Clan Head Ye Tian stroked his beard, bursting with pride. Sitting next to him was Elder Scorpion from the Violet Mist Pavilion, a hunchbacked old man with a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivation.
"Patriarch Ye," Elder Scorpion croaked. "Your son is indeed talented. The Violet Mist Pavilion is pleased with this alliance."
"You flatter him, Elder," Ye Tian laughed. "But indeed, since I removed the... 'impurity' from the family line three years ago, the clan's luck has been soaring."
"The impurity?" Elder Scorpion asked.
"My former eldest son. Ye Kai," Ye Tian sneered. "A waste of rice. I broke his legs and threw him out. I heard he joined some trash sect in the mountains. He's probably dead by now."
"Good riddance," Elder Scorpion nodded. "Weakness is a disease. It must be cut out."
The Sky Falls
Ye Long basked in the adoration of the crowd. He felt like a god. "Since no one dares to challenge me," Ye Long announced, "I declare myself the champion of—"
BOOM.
A sound like thunder interrupted him. But there were no clouds in the sky.
The crowd went silent. They looked up. High above, a burning golden light was tearing through the atmosphere. It wasn't a firework. It was moving too fast. It was growing larger by the second, pushing a massive shockwave of compressed air ahead of it.
"Is that... a meteor?" a spectator screamed.
"It's heading for the arena!"
Ye Long looked up, his eyes widening. The pressure coming from the falling object locked him in place. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. "Father!" Ye Long screamed.
"Activate the Defensive Formation!" Ye Tian roared, jumping to his feet.
A blue barrier shimmered into existence over the arena. It was the Ye Clan's strongest array, capable of withstanding a full-force attack from a Golden Core expert.
The meteor didn't slow down. It hit the barrier.
CRASH.
The barrier didn't just break; it shattered like cheap glass. The golden object smashed through the formation, through the stone floor of the arena, and buried itself deep into the earth.
RUMBLE. The impact shook the entire city. Dust and debris exploded outward, knocking hundreds of spectators off their feet. The shockwave blew the roof off the viewing platform.
The Titan Rises
Silence returned to the arena. In the center, where Ye Long had been standing just seconds ago (he had been blown back by the wind pressure), there was now a massive crater.
Steam rose from the pit. The rocks were glowing red from the heat of entry.
"What... what is that?" Ye Tian coughed, waving away the dust. "An enemy attack?"
From the center of the crater, a heavy, metallic sound echoed. CLANK. CLANK.
A hand reached out of the smoke. It was huge. The skin was dark gold, shimmering with ancient runes. A figure pulled itself out of the pit.
He stood seven feet tall. He was shirtless, revealing a torso that looked like it was carved from Indestructible Spirit Metal. His hair flowed like liquid gold. The heat radiating from his body was so intense it distorted the air.
The giant looked around the arena. His eyes were burning with cold, suppressed rage. He looked at the terrified crowd. He looked at the trembling Ye Long. Finally, he looked up at the viewing platform, locking eyes with Ye Tian.
"I'm back," the giant rumbled. His voice sounded like grinding stones. "Did you miss me, Father?"
Ye Tian squinted. The face was different—harder, older, metallic. But the eyes... he knew those eyes. "Ye... Ye Kai?" Ye Tian gasped. "Impossible! You are a cripple! You are trash!"
"Trash?" Ye Kai stepped out of the crater. With every step, the ground cracked. THUD. THUD.
"Three years ago," Ye Kai said, walking toward Ye Long. "You broke my legs on this stage. You said I wasn't worthy of the Ye name."
Ye Long scrambled backward, his sword shaking in his hand. "Stay back! I am a Foundation Establishment expert! I... I will kill you!"
Ye Long slashed his sword. A beam of blue Qi shot toward Ye Kai's chest.
Ye Kai didn't dodge. He didn't block. He just kept walking. CLANG. The sword Qi hit his chest... and shattered. It didn't even leave a scratch on his golden skin.
"What?" Ye Long's eyes bulged. "My attack... did nothing?"
Ye Kai reached out. His hand moved faster than the eye could follow. He grabbed Ye Long by the neck. He lifted him into the air like a ragdoll.
"You broke my bones," Ye Kai whispered, bringing Ye Long's face close to his. "You took my dignity."
"Let him go!" Ye Tian roared from the platform. "Guards! Kill that monster!"
Twenty Ye Clan elite guards rushed into the arena. They were all Mid-Foundation Establishment. They charged at Ye Kai with spears and sabers.
Ye Kai didn't even look at them. He took a deep breath. He stomped his right foot.
[Titan Art: Seismic Wave.]
BOOM.
The ground exploded. A shockwave of pure physical force rippled outward in a 360-degree circle. The twenty guards didn't stand a chance. Their armor crumpled. Their bones snapped. They were blasted backward into the arena walls, unconscious or dead before they hit the ground.
The crowd screamed in terror. One stomp. Twenty elites defeated.
The Debt Collection
Ye Kai held his struggling brother in one hand. He looked up at his father.
"Let him go!" Ye Tian screamed, his face purple with rage. "I am the Patriarch! I command you!"
"You command nothing," Ye Kai said calmly.
He looked at Ye Long. "You owe me a pair of legs."
CRACK. "ARGHHHHH!" Ye Long's scream pierced the heavens. Ye Kai crushed his left leg with a simple squeeze of his hand.
"And you owe me three years of pain."
CRACK. He crushed the right leg. Ye Long fainted from the agony. Ye Kai tossed his brother's broken body aside like a sack of trash.
"You animal!" Ye Tian drew his weapon—a Black Grade spear. "I will kill you myself!" Ye Tian exploded with power. Early Golden Core. The pressure of a Golden Core expert washed over the arena. The crowd fell to their knees. "The Patriarch is making a move!" "A Golden Core expert! Ye Kai is dead!"
Ye Tian leaped from the platform, his spear glowing with lethal intent. "Die, unfilial son!"
Ye Kai stood there. He watched his father descend. He didn't activate his Qi. He didn't summon a weapon. He just clenched his fist.
"Master said I should teach you about gravity," Ye Kai muttered.
He punched upward. [Titan Art: Sky Shatter.]
Fist met Spear.
CLANG... CRACK.
The Black Grade spear—a family heirloom—shattered into dust. Ye Kai's fist didn't stop. It continued upward, hitting the invisible wall of air pressure generated by Ye Tian's descent.
BOOM.
Ye Tian felt like he had hit a mountain. The force of the punch traveled through his arms, shattering his wrists, dislocating his shoulders, and blasting him back into the sky.
"PUFF!" Ye Tian vomited blood, flying backward and smashing into the main gate of the Ye Clan estate, reducing it to rubble.
Silence. Absolute, terrifying silence.
Ye Kai stood alone in the center of the ruined arena. He looked at the Violet Mist Elder, who was currently trying to sneak away.
"You," Ye Kai pointed a golden finger. "Sit down."
The Elder froze. His legs gave out, and he collapsed into his chair.
Ye Kai turned to the crowd. His voice echoed like a war drum. "I am Ye Kai. Disciple of the Divine Dragon Sect." "From today onward, the Ye Clan is under new management."
"Any objections?"
No one spoke. Even the wind didn't dare to blow.
Meanwhile, in the Divine Dragon Realm
Jiang Chen was watching the scene on a holographic screen while eating a peeled grape. "A bit dramatic with the landing," Jiang Chen critiqued. "We'll have to pay for the road repairs."
"But," Jiang Chen smiled. "That punch was solid. 8/10."
Old Sky stared at the screen, his jaw dropped. "He... he one-shot a Golden Core with pure physical strength? He didn't even use Qi!"
"Why use Qi," Jiang Chen shrugged, "when you are made of money?"