"I think I'm in the wrong place," Tianhai got up, forcing a dry laugh. "I'll leave now." He turned to go. "Sit over here." The old man spoke.

Tianhai's body slumped, and he shuffled over on small steps, sitting on the ground opposite the old man. For some inexplicable reason, facing this mysterious elder made him more docile than he was around his own father, like a mouse encountering a cat. Just moments ago, as he left this room with Zhong Yun and the others, the old man's voice had suddenly echoed in his ears: "Shake them off later, and come find me alone." As if driven by some unseen force, he actually came.

Thinking about it now, he couldn't fathom what strange compulsion had overtaken him. "Do you know why I asked you to come here?" The old man scrutinized Tianhai closely, his eyes growing brighter, which unnerved Tianhai. Why did he look at him the way Tianhai looked at those rare, out-of-print models?

Could it be...? A possibility surfaced, sending a chill down Tianhai's spine. Seeing he didn't answer, the old man didn't press the issue.

The deep, ravine-like wrinkles on his face shifted slightly, and he squeezed out a sinister smile. "Do you want to become a powerful Martial Artist?" "No," Tianhai rejected instantly, without thinking. The old man's expression and tone reminded him of a sleazy uncle luring a young girl with a lollipop.

The smile vanished from the old man's face, returning to that stiff expression. Tianhai felt thoroughly uncomfortable all over. Mustering his courage, he stood up.

"I'm leaving." "If you want to go, then go," the old man's voice betrayed no hint of emotion. This statement gave Tianhai a feeling of sudden, undeserved amnesty. He turned towards the door.

Just as his hand reached for the doorknob... The old man's voice sounded again. "If you wish to forever be a burden and a shadow to your two friends." Tianhai's hand froze.

The old man's words struck him like a massive hammer, hammering violently against his heart. In an instant, the door seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. His hand could not move even a fraction.

He stood there, utterly still. "I can see you are very close friends," the old man spoke slowly. "Chen Wen and your other friend are the most outstanding young people I have ever met.

Their future achievements are limitless. And you? You are still just an ordinary person." "You are young now, and friendship can be maintained.

But what about when you grow up? The gap between you and them will grow wider and wider. By then, you will only drag them down.

Even if they still consider you a friend, what will others say about you..." "Enough." Tianhai roared, spinning around. His eyes were red as he glared at the old man, resembling a ferocious beast ready to devour someone. The old man's words were like sharp swords, piercing the weakest parts of his heart until they were riddled with holes.

A look of mockery flickered in the old man's eyes. He continued mercilessly, "Others will only say you are leeching off them. Moreover, you will discover that their feelings for you will slowly turn into pity..." "I told you to stop talking." The thing Tianhai feared most had been exposed before him nakedly.

In a fit of mounting rage and indignation, he lunged madly toward the old man. When he was half a meter away, he was flung back by an invisible wall of energy, tumbling two meters away. "I ask you one more time," the old man demanded sharply.

"Do you want to become a powerful Martial Artist? To become a distinguished man, no less impressive than your two friends?" An invisible pressure descended upon Tianhai, rendering him almost immobile. He clenched his fists tightly, his teeth grinding audibly.

From exerting too much force, blue veins stood out around his forehead. Tianhai slowly pushed himself up. "You—shut—up." He stood up, shattering the pressure the old man had imposed.

In that moment of immense anger and unwillingness to yield, he tapped into an infinite potential, unleashing a roar that came from the depths of his soul. A flash of approval crossed the old man's eyes. As expected of the young man he had chosen, he awakened so quickly.

Tianhai stood there, feeling an unprecedented surging power within his body. His expression shifted through several changes. After a while, he knelt down.

"Teach me. I want to become a powerful companion to Zhong Yun and the others, not a burden." In the main hall, separated by a door, Zhong Yun stood with his hand resting on the metal pillar, immersed in a strange state. The Yuan within his body seemed to be drawn by something, flowing along his arm towards the metal structure.

Initially, it was just a trickle, but it soon became a raging torrent, impossible to stop. A wave of terror struck Zhong Yun. Acting purely on instinct, he employed the new control method he had learned and decisively severed the connection with the pillar.

Pulling his hand back, Zhong Yun retreated a few steps. Chen Wen was already supporting him from behind. Shaken, he told Chen Wen, "This pillar is quite peculiar." Chen Wen chuckled.

He recalled his own reaction being similar back then. Thinking about it, anyone would be startled if the supernatural ability they painstakingly cultivated was suddenly sucked away. At that moment, the entire metal structure pulsed with purple light.

After a while, a synthesized electronic voice echoed in the hall: "Challenger's Martial Art Level: Fourth Grade. Combat Skill Assessment will be held in ten days." Everyone in the hall was listening intently. When they heard the testing device announce "Fourth Grade," a stir went through the crowd.

This young man, wearing a school uniform, couldn't look a day over twenty, yet he had already reached "Fourth Grade"! The gazes directed at Zhong Yun became strange. The progression rate of Martial Arts was peculiar.

Before the age of twenty, progress was extremely slow, accelerating only after twenty, peaking at thirty. Thereafter, it gradually slowed down until death. During this entire process, the Yuan was continuously increasing, although at varying speeds.

Unless the body suffered a major injury, it would still grow automatically, even without knowledge of cultivation methods. Historically, the highest Martial Art level achieved before the age of twenty was set four hundred years ago by a woman who broke through to the Sixth Layer at nineteen. (Actually, the most powerful was Liu Yunqi, but for protective reasons, those aware kept her situation confidential, so no one knew.) Reaching the Third Grade before twenty was already rare; Fourth Grade could be termed genius; anything above Five was monstrous.

Thus, their astonishment upon learning this youth was already Fourth Grade. People held a degree of reverence toward true geniuses. "Fourth Grade?" A flicker of suspicion crossed Chen Wen's eyes.

Based on his perception, Zhong Yun should be beyond that level, but he trusted the testing device wouldn't be wrong. He had no idea that Zhong Yun had actually managed to break free from the testing device's potent suction, unintentionally retaining some of his true strength. Because the testing device's suction was unparalleled, even high-level masters in the Chen Wen family—Seventh or Eighth Grade—could not break free during testing.

Thus, he never considered that possibility. "Fourth Grade? Hmph." Hearing this result, the man in the corner's face darkened, a cold sneer playing on his lips.

(Have you guessed who this man is?) P: Strong promotion starts today. We are aiming for the ranking tonight. I will update a chapter at midnight.

Brothers who are still awake, please cast your vote for me. Thank you very much.