The courtyard remained silent.
Brother Wang stood frozen, staring at his trembling hand.
The impact from that single punch still echoed through his bones.
Across from him, Lin Tian calmly turned around and began walking back toward his room.
The surrounding disciples stared in disbelief.
"Did… did Chen Yun just overpower Brother Wang?"
"But Brother Wang is Stage 3!"
"Since when did Chen Yun become this strong?"
Whispers spread quickly through the crowd.
Zhao Kang's face turned pale.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Brother Wang was supposed to crush Chen Yun easily.
Instead…
Brother Wang suddenly shouted angrily.
"Stop!"
Lin Tian paused and slowly turned his head.
Brother Wang's face twisted with humiliation.
"You think you can just walk away after attacking me?"
Lin Tian looked genuinely confused.
"You attacked first."
The crowd couldn't help but laugh quietly.
Brother Wang's expression darkened even further.
"You…!"
Just as he was about to move again—
A cold voice suddenly echoed from the entrance of the courtyard.
"Enough."
The single word carried a strange pressure.
Everyone immediately turned toward the gate.
The crowd instinctively stepped aside.
A young man wearing dark blue robes walked into the courtyard.
Unlike the simple gray robes of the outer disciples, his clothes were embroidered with a silver emblem shaped like a mountain.
Several disciples gasped.
"Inner disciple!"
"It's Senior Brother Zhao Ming!"
Zhao Kang's eyes immediately lit up.
"Cousin!"
The newcomer, Zhao Ming, walked forward slowly with his hands behind his back.
His expression was calm, but his gaze was sharp.
When he stopped, the entire courtyard felt strangely tense.
Lin Tian quietly observed him.
Memories surfaced in Chen Yun's mind.
Zhao Ming.
An inner disciple of Iron Mountain Sect.
Body Tempering Stage 6.
Far stronger than anyone present.
Zhao Ming glanced at Brother Wang first.
"You couldn't even defeat an outer disciple?"
Brother Wang lowered his head in shame.
"Senior Brother… I—"
Zhao Ming waved his hand dismissively.
Then his gaze shifted toward Lin Tian.
For a moment, the two simply looked at each other.
Lin Tian remained calm.
But inside his mind, the system screen suddenly flashed.
[High Value Target Detected]
[Analyzing Cultivation Technique...]
Lin Tian's eyes brightened slightly.
Zhao Ming spoke slowly.
"So you're Chen Yun."
His voice carried a faint hint of curiosity.
"I heard you embarrassed my cousin."
Zhao Kang quickly stepped forward.
"Cousin, this guy suddenly became arrogant today!"
"He even injured Brother Wang!"
Zhao Ming ignored him.
His eyes remained fixed on Lin Tian.
"You seem… different from the rumors."
Lin Tian shrugged slightly.
"Rumors are usually wrong."
The courtyard fell silent again.
Outer disciples nervously looked between the two.
One was an inner disciple.
The other was the former weakest disciple who had suddenly shocked everyone.
Zhao Ming studied Lin Tian for several seconds.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Interesting."
He slowly stepped forward.
With each step, the pressure in the courtyard seemed to increase.
Even the surrounding disciples felt uncomfortable breathing.
But Lin Tian remained completely relaxed.
Inside his mind—
The system continued its analysis.
[Iron Mountain Breathing Technique Detected]
[Advanced Body Tempering Method]
[Analysis Progress: 32%]
Lin Tian felt excitement rising.
Zhao Ming stopped only a few steps away.
"You defeated two of my people today."
"Do you know what that means?"
Lin Tian tilted his head.
"Not really."
Zhao Kang smirked viciously.
"Cousin is going to cripple you!"
But Zhao Ming suddenly raised his hand, silencing him.
His eyes remained locked on Lin Tian.
Then he said something that shocked everyone.
"Fight me."
The courtyard exploded into whispers.
"What?!"
"Senior Brother Zhao wants to fight him personally?"
"Is he serious?"
Zhao Kang himself looked confused.
"Cousin…?"
Zhao Ming ignored the noise around him.
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"I want to see how someone like you defeated Brother Wang."
Lin Tian didn't answer immediately.
Instead—
Inside his mind, the system screen flashed again.
[Technique Analysis: 78%]
Lin Tian slowly smiled.
Then he stepped forward.
The courtyard became so quiet that even the wind could be heard.
Zhao Ming slightly raised his hand.
A powerful aura spread from his body.
The difference between Stage 1 and Stage 6 was enormous.
Several nearby disciples instinctively stepped back.
Lin Tian calmly raised his fist.
Zhao Ming's eyes narrowed.
"Let's see—"
But before he could finish speaking—
A loud bell suddenly echoed across the entire sect.
GONG!
Everyone froze.
Then another bell rang.
GONG!
Several disciples looked toward the distant mountain peak in shock.
"That's…"
"The Sect Assembly Bell!"
Zhao Ming frowned slightly.
The bell rang a third time.
GONG!
An elder's powerful voice suddenly echoed across the sect.
"All disciples…"
"Gather at the main hall immediately."
Zhao Ming lowered his hand slowly.
Something serious had clearly happened.
Around them, the disciples began whispering nervously.
But at that moment—
Lin Tian's system screen suddenly flashed red.
[Emergency World Notification Detected]
A new message appeared.
[Second World Available for Descent]
Lin Tian's eyes widened slightly.
Then another line appeared.
[Warning: High Risk World]
And below it—
A world name slowly appeared on the screen.