Inside the side door was another long corridor, lined with mages clad in flowing robes.

"Elder Yi!"

Chen Feng noticed that nearly every mage bowed slightly upon seeing the old man ahead of them, calling out, "Elder Yi!" Yet, in the brief moment of their bows, a subtle thread of fear flickered in their eyes.

"What exactly does this Elder Yi want with me? Is there some hidden agenda?" Chen Feng muttered to himself.

"Kid, stop your restless thinking. Bringing you in is certainly a good thing, old man," the elder known as Yi boomed, as if having heard Chen Feng’s quiet complaints.

They walked down the long hall for about ten minutes, turning seven or eight times, before Elder Yi led Chen Feng into a spacious room that resembled a laboratory.

"I am an alchemist," Elder Yi gestured excitedly at the contents of the room. "This is all my work."

The room was filled with all manner of strange flora. Suddenly, a white rat leaped out from a corner. This rat was the size of a washbasin, moving with lightning speed. As the rat darted forward, a housecat, the size of a water bucket, burst out after it. The cat let out a cry—"Meow!"—and leaped over two meters high. The instant force of its spring shattered the bluestone floor beneath it into countless fragments.

"That cat has incredible strength..." Chen Feng exclaimed in shock, watching the cat airborne.

To shatter bluestone like that, the burst of power in the cat’s jump must have been hundreds of pounds. How was it possible for a mere cat to possess such might?

The giant rat, seeing the ferocious approach of the feline, trembled uncontrollably. Suddenly, its four short legs dug into the ground, and its body lunged forward, slamming into the descending cat mid-air.

With a dull thud, the cat’s plump body flipped twice in the air, but it was knocked violently off course by the rat’s collision. It landed with a plop, let out two weak meows, and slunk away miserably.

It seemed the rat’s strike had injured the cat, forcing it to abandon its predatory pounce.

Though victorious, the rat’s sense of danger did not vanish. It whipped its head around and scurried back into the corner of the room, not daring to reappear.

"The cat is huge, weighing seventy or eighty pounds. This rat is perhaps only ten or fifteen pounds. To knock it flying like that—the instantaneous burst power of that rat must be no less than three hundred pounds!" Chen Feng’s understanding of power had expanded. He calculated quickly, but the higher the number, the deeper his shock. If rats and cats like this were common in this world, how could humanity even survive?

Seeing Chen Feng’s astonished expression, Elder Yi looked smug. "Did you see? What are your thoughts?"

"Thoughts?" A spark ignited in Chen Feng's mind, and he asked in surprise, "Elder Yi, did you cultivate this rat and cat using potions?"

Elder Yi let out a loud laugh. "Of course! Otherwise, where would such formidable cats and rats come from?"

When his laughter subsided, Elder Yi stared at Chen Feng, his eyes gleaming. "I enhanced these two by activating the blood of a Strength-Type Fourth-Tier Battle Beast within them, fundamentally altering their very structure to forge such robust physiques! Haha, your own strength is already immense; if you were to combine that with my special concoctions, coupled with the Battle Beast blood... wouldn't your power be even greater..."

"..." Chen Feng felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. It turned out the man was eyeing his robust physique for experimentation!

The thought of turning into the white rat he had just witnessed sent a shiver down Chen Feng’s spine. He spun around and started walking back the way they came.

"Hey, don't go..." Elder Yi hurriedly called out.

"I'm not participating," Chen Feng threw back the words, not daring to look back as he fled.

Elder Yi watched the fleeing Chen Feng, who ran faster than a rabbit, his beard bristling with anger, his eyes wide as saucers. "They are all the same! This is my world-shattering invention, something that could grant a Fighter the strength of a Master in a short time..."

Sighing, Elder Yi retreated into the room and soon emerged holding a bottle of faintly glowing, jade-green potion, a smile spreading across his face. "The previous test subjects failed, likely because their bodies couldn't withstand it. But that red-haired fellow just now managed to score over five points on the Magic Wall; he must be able to bear the potion's power... Haha, no, I absolutely must catch him..."

With that, Elder Yi carried the potion and left the room.

Shortly after he departed, both the giant rat and the housecat twitched violently, deflating like old balloons, shrinking rapidly before exploding with a bang, both dead on the spot...

Of course, Elder Yi saw none of this. Had he witnessed it, he would likely have sighed again, lamenting another failed experiment...

Chen Feng’s expression was grim. Anyone nearly used as a test subject, like a lab rat, wouldn't look pleased.

He retraced his steps back to the testing area and found Judy and Brent still waiting. Following the casual arrangements of the "Rookie Spire" staff, the three were assigned rooms in a small courtyard.

Each took a private room, close to the others.

After the day's exertions, Chen Feng felt drained. Standing in his room, he practiced the moves like Fake Hachijin two more times before collapsing onto the bed and falling into a deep sleep.

He slept until dawn. Chen Feng slowly opened his eyes, but before he could even get out of bed, the door slammed open.

Chen Feng's face instantly turned icy cold as he looked at the two figures standing in the doorway.

"You had better give me a reason, or I will kill you," Chen Feng stated coldly.

The two were one dressed in a mage's robe and the other in tight warrior gear. Both looked about twenty, and their eyes fixed on Chen Feng were filled with hostility.

"What do you two think you are doing?"

The mage, Danny, glanced at Judy and said resentfully, "I want to see just how much stronger your chosen partner is that you’re willing to risk everything for him."

The fighter, Moko, chimed in agreement, "So he has red hair and looks cooler than us? I’ll teach him a lesson today, so you know that we are your best partners."

"Are you two fooling around? Go back immediately," Judy’s face flushed crimson with anger.

"You know perfectly well whether this is fooling around or not. Just because he saved you once, you insist on teaming up with him?" Danny's voice dripped with jealousy. "I suspect those bandits were his doing—he arranged it all just to play the hero saving the beauty! Hmph, I’ve seen through tricks like that long ago."

The matter of the bandits they encountered outside the Icebound Demon Garden had long been known among the mercenary group members, and they knew Chen Feng had been the one to save her.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Judy couldn't help but flare up. "Both of you, get out!"

"If we don’t teach this red-head a lesson today, neither of us is leaving," Moko roared from the side.

"Are you a coward who only hides behind a woman?" Danny taunted Chen Feng, who remained silent.

"Ha... ha..." Hearing this, a wild fury erupted in Chen Feng’s chest. He covered his forehead and burst into loud laughter.

Hearing this laughter, Judy’s expression immediately changed. Chen Feng had displayed this same maniacal laughter several times before engaging in combat. Once he started laughing like that, none of his opponents ever ended well. Anxious, she urged, "Go, quickly! If you don't leave now, it will be too late!" Judy frantically tried to push Danny and Moko away.

"We aren't leaving. We must teach this kid a lesson today," Danny and Moko stood rooted to the spot, refusing to move.

When the laughter ended, Chen Feng’s body blurred, creating several afterimages. In an instant, he was standing before Danny.

"You want to teach me a lesson?" Chen Feng’s cold voice whispered next to Danny's ear.

"Ah, so fast..." Danny was startled by the sudden appearance of Chen Feng right in front of him. He frantically tried to begin casting a spell, but before he could, he heard a sharp shout from behind him: "Retreat quickly!"

Then he felt his collar grabbed, and he was sent flying backward over ten meters. Turning to look, he saw Moko holding his collar.

Just as he was about to ask why, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Looking down, his face changed drastically.

His magic robe was slashed open, revealing a bloody gash across his belly, as if raked by a ferocious beast’s claws. Five deep, bloody grooves were visible. If Moko hadn't yanked him back just then, he likely would have suffered a fatal evisceration.

So fast an attack; how could I sustain this injury before even seeing it? Cold sweat streamed down Danny's neck.

The noise of the door being kicked in and the subsequent brawl was significant. Everyone staying in the small courtyard participating in the Rookie Selection Competition heard it, and a crowd immediately gathered around.

"Stop! Don't fight!" Judy grabbed his arm. "They are from our Blood Wolf Mercenary Group. Father originally arranged for them to join the Rookie Selection Competition with me, but I changed my mind temporarily because of you. They mean no harm; they just don’t understand your strength..."

"Get lost!" Chen Feng flung his arm out, sending Judy, who had been clinging to him, flying into the air. With a thump, her back slammed against the courtyard wall, shaking down a cloud of dust.

The surrounding crowd stared dumbfounded. Judy had worn a veil since entering the Imperial City, so people hadn't seen her features. But now, in her panic, she hadn't put the veil on, revealing a peerlessly beautiful face that stunned everyone into a daze. Yet, such a stunning beauty was thrown aside by the red-haired youth...

This showed a complete lack of gentleness toward women!

After tossing Judy to the ground, Chen Feng looked coldly at Danny and Moko, who were not far away, and spat out four words.

"Those who provoke me, die!"

ps: Old Ya is very angry today; my supervisor treated me unfairly. Last time, I was seriously ill, and he tried to dock my pay. I got angry too and told him I quit!

My supervisor said if I left, he’d dock my pay. Damn it, I told him: "If you dare dock one month's pay, I'll break one of your fingers. If you dock two months, I'll break four. If you withhold my entire salary, I'll cripple you!"

My supervisor panicked and threatened to call the police. I said: "Call them. Even if I get arrested, as long as I don't get executed, I'll come out and still leave you crippled!"

Writing about KOF has made my temper a bit wild too. I'm angry now and have no state of mind, so there will only be one chapter update today. I’ll probably be leaving the company tonight. I hope everyone can understand.

Old Ya is starting to rent an apartment and get the network reinstalled, but the updates won't stop. I will do my utmost to update to everyone's satisfaction! (To be continued. To find out what happens next, please visit wwwwncom for more chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading!)

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