The sweet strains of a serenade were abruptly shattered by the domineering roar of an angry shout, drawing the eyes of every dancer onto the slightly diminutive warrior student standing framed in the doorway.

Standing barely one meter sixty-five, a modest height among warriors, no one dared to show the slightest sign of contempt for him, for he was the forty-third ranked fighter on the Battle Record of the College of War—Wei Buhuan! A fifth-year student, infamous for his ruthless strikes; in battle, he was not only brutal and savage toward his opponents but also inflicted a degree of cruelty upon himself that was unbearable to witness.

"This man is Wei Buhuan," the dull-witted Tian Ce said, shaking his folding fan as he approached Qian Jin, speaking in a low voice. "He cultivates the Heavenly Remnant Dou Qi."

Heavenly Remnant Dou Qi? Qian Jin stared in surprise at the ashen-faced Wei Buhuan by the door. Although this Dou Qi was not famous in the history of the Zhence Imperial Dynasty, it had been recorded in the notebooks of Qian family ancestors. Perhaps it was because this Dou Qi was so horrifying that it warranted documentation.

Heavenly Remnant Dou Qi! This was a notoriously cruel Dou Qi; its inherent cruelty lay in the very nature of its secret art, targeting not only the enemy but also the cultivator with equal ruthlessness.

Practitioners were required to be stung daily by specially cultivated venomous scorpions, a type possessing extreme cold properties. Even so, each injection would cause the practitioner agony bordering on death. For several days each year, the cultivator's body would erupt in unsightly blisters; when these burst, they would emit a nauseating fluid, which the practitioner had to drink back down to stimulate further training.

Prolonged self-mutilation inevitably warped one’s personality, leading to extremely volatile and savage attacks, making it impossible to distinguish whether the poison originated from the body or the Dou Qi itself.

Over a thousand years ago, a famous teacher at the College of War conceived this unique Dou Qi through a sudden impulse. However, he discovered that the training was excessively brutal, easily twisting the cultivator's psyche, and moreover, due to certain flaws in the secret art, any practitioner who failed to reach the Saint realm before the age of forty was guaranteed to die upon reaching that milestone.

Yet, this Dou Qi training offered undeniable shortcuts to rapid advancement. The teacher who created it couldn't resist practicing it himself. The result was that the creator transformed into a killing spree artist, murdering more than a dozen civilians in the city one night before being secretly sent to the Demon-Human Battlefield.

Rumor had it that the practitioner killed nearly a hundred demons before his death, and upon his demise, the blood that sprayed from his bursting body poisoned more than a dozen surrounding demons and human warriors.

Qian Jin looked at Wei Buhuan with confusion. Weren't the legends about this secret Dou Qi art stating it had been sealed away? How could Wei Buhuan have learned it?

"Be careful," he warned. "His temper is far from good."

Tian Ce smiled faintly. "It's rumored that five years ago, Wei Buhuan somehow stumbled upon this secret Dou Qi art, which should have been sealed. Since then, his strength has skyrocketed, and his personality has become erratic. Usually, no student dares to provoke him."

Qian Jin glanced sideways at Tian Ce, realizing this man was quite the encyclopedia, a veritable know-it-all! What was his background? Few people knew the origins of the Heavenly Remnant Dou Qi, and even fewer knew it had been sealed.

"Who! It's Qian Jin!"

The two warriors behind Wei Buhuan roared simultaneously, their eyes flashing with the same viciousness as they scanned the crowd. Many people quickly looked away, unwilling to meet the gaze of such men.

"Battle Record rank ninety-six... and rank ninety-nine," Tian Ce whispered, hiding the lower half of his face behind his folding fan, unable to suppress a light chuckle. "They recently became Wei Buhuan’s retainers. Word is, they’ve joined some Mujinhua Battle Fortress."

"He! He is Qian Jin!" Aibijia cried out excitedly, her staff slicing through the crowd to point at Qian Jin on the dance floor. "He! He's the Qian Jin you're looking for!"

Many surrounding people looked at Qian Jin with disappointment. How could such a beautiful woman be in his arms when he showed such cowardice? Someone challenges him, and he dares not even answer—it seemed likely this beauty would soon dump Qian Jin.

"You are Qian Jin?" Wei Buhuan’s eyes fixed on Qian Jin, though more than half of his gaze lingered on Biluo cradled in Qian Jin's arms, radiating an intense desire for possession mixed with shock.

What a beautiful dame? Wei Buhuan couldn't help but swallow hard. Cultivating the Heavenly Remnant Dou Qi carried not only a strange personality but also another side effect unknown to most: perpetually escalating lust. The legendary teacher who killed a dozen civilians was rumored to have done more than just murder.

He committed rape! The creator of the Heavenly Remnant Dou Qi had violated more than a dozen young women in one night and still felt unsatisfied.

Wei Buhuan hadn't bottled up his urges like that teacher. Driven by a fiery desire, he didn't abstain from women; he’d slept with nearly every woman in the Courtesan Quarter. Furthermore, because the Heavenly Remnant Dou Qi twisted his nature, he often incorporated punitive acts into his liaisons.

It started with spanking, escalated to pinching, and even involved biting with his teeth. Already, many women refused to do business with Wei Buhuan anymore.

Lately, Wei Buhuan had been feeling unfulfilled. Upon hearing that his retainer, the elite Yingcai Wuba, had been beaten, that surge of evil fire rushed straight to his brain, and he came looking for Qian Jin, intending to kill him!

A beauty! Truly a beauty! Wei Buhuan lightly licked his lips. Tonight, she would be his! Laws be damned! He could play with her and then kill her; he’d just destroy the body and leave!

But use such a gorgeous little thing only once? Wei Buhuan sneered coldly. He almost couldn't bear to part with her! Perhaps he really needed to rent a house outside, imprison this woman there, and ride her whenever he pleased, letting her know what a real man was!

"You are Qian Jin?" Wei Buhuan strode onto the dance floor. Couples parted hastily to make way. One warrior moved a fraction too slowly, and Wei Buhuan flicked his hand, sending him flying.

Qian Jin’s pupils contracted violently as he saw the thrown warrior. That background felt terribly familiar. That was… That was Drake! And indeed, the woman dancing opposite Drake—wasn’t that Kirsten, who used to chase after him demanding duels back in the day?

After some time apart, Kirsten had grown more mature and sexy. Wei Buhuan’s eyes swept over her, and he swallowed again. Today was truly a lucky night; this woman too could be captured and imprisoned.

"You…"

Drake managed a desperate mid-air rotation to land steadily and looked up, intending to speak, but he was immediately pinned down by Wei Buhuan and his two Battle Record retainers.

Such arrogance and dominance, when pushed to the extreme, created an oppressive aura. Many influential figures present now simply wanted to avoid this lunatic, Wei Buhuan.

This was a severe violation of college rules! The Headmaster would surely throw him into the Black Well for confinement!

"Wei Buhuan, do you know what you are doing…?"

From a table near the edge of the dance floor, a deep, authoritative voice rang out, drawing the attention of the crowd, who had already been trying to avoid looking at Wei Buhuan, toward the person who dared to speak amidst this overwhelming pressure.

A first-year warrior student? Everyone blinked. The man speaking was dressed in the uniform of a first-year warrior student, not the formal evening wear required for the ball.

Qian Jin somewhat understood why this man wore only his student uniform: his height of nearly two meters twenty-three was like a Titan from legend!

Tenth on the Battle Record—The Titan, Iron Curtain! A first-year freshman, possessing the Titan Warrior bloodline, rumored to be one of the Twin Titans of this age group!

Wei Buhuan rolled his grotesque eyes. His normally white sclera now held a gloomy, deathly pallor, and his two thin, gray eyebrows twitched repeatedly. A giant? Titan Iron Curtain? Tenth on the Battle Record?

Wei Buhuan let out a cold, dismissive snort through his nostrils. How could a first-year warrior student possibly reach tenth on the Battle Record? This rank was surely only secured through the lingering prestige of the Titan family!

"This has nothing to do with you," Wei Buhuan waved his hand. "If you wish to change your ranking, we can find time for a little match another day…"

"Gladly!" Titan Iron Curtain sneered, gripping his metal wine cup so tightly it crumpled into scrap metal, which he tossed casually onto the floor. "I’d also like to see what ability something that mutilates itself to the point of mental distortion actually possesses."

"You’re asking to die…"

"Wei Buhuan…" Another voice sounded from a different corner of the crowd. This time, people didn't need to turn around to know it came from the exclusive seating reserved for members of the Gryphon King bloodline.

That location was always occupied by family members of the Gryphon King bloodline warriors, with the academy’s foremost powerhouse, Tian Lianlingguan, typically serving as their figurehead—though he rarely appeared publicly.

Wei Buhuan turned his face toward the Gryphon King bloodline seats, his expression instantly hardening into a mask of grim displeasure. Tian Lianlingguan!

Tian Lianlingguan, who rarely showed himself to the students and comfortably held the top spot on the college's Battle Record, was astonishingly present at the ball.

Though only a silhouette, Wei Buhuan would never forget that broad back radiating an implicit kingly aura.

Back when his power was surging after learning the Heavenly Remnant Dou Qi, Wei Buhuan had once challenged Tian Lianlingguan, and the result… One finger!

Without activating his bloodline power, without using the Gryphon King Bloodline War Body, just a single finger, and the fight was decided in one blow.

A nightmare! It was the nightmare Wei Buhuan most wished to forget. And now, here was the Thunder Lion King, Tian Lianlingguan.

Click, click, click…

Wei Buhuan could not control the chattering of his teeth, and his body seemed to recall that past defeat, the shame roaring within his heart again and again.

"Mind your words," Tian Lianlingguan stated blandly, without turning around. "What fun is there in bullying children?"

Bullying children? Wei Buhuan felt the gazes of everyone around him shift from fear to sheer contempt. All because of a single sentence from Tian Lianlingguan, their fear had turned into scorn.