Hearing the purple-clad youth’s words, Ye Chen’s brow furrowed slightly. He gazed at the youth with detached indifference until, sensing the youth growing impatient, he spat out a single word: “Scram!”

The purple-clad youth froze for a moment, the upward curve of his lips instantly collapsing. He clenched his fists, a chilling light flickering in his eyes as he stared intently at Ye Chen. “You are asking for death!”

Ye Chen’s expression remained placid. “You can choose a real arena match. I won’t mind killing you.”

“Hahahaha…” The purple-clad youth laughed in sheer rage. “Arrogant! Did you think that just because you killed Zidian, you could do as you pleased in the Supreme Genius Hall? Let me tell you, even within the Supreme Genius Hall, there are hierarchies! That Zidian only possessed 18 million times the secret manual amplitude—a mere mid-mountain level genius. I will show you the consequences of scorning the Supreme Genius Hall!”

“See you tomorrow morning at eight in the real arena,” Ye Chen waved a dismissive hand, walking straight toward the youth, then brushing past him.

The purple-clad youth’s fists cracked audibly. Gritting his teeth, the muscles in his face contorted into a savage mask of fury.

“You will die!!”

…

Returning to the mid-mountain area, Ye Chen walked down until he reached a cluster of buildings at the foot of the slope. Before he was even close, he heard a burst of booming laughter, instantly mingling with sounds of stifled, hard-won chuckles.

Ye Chen frowned slightly and looked up, focusing his gaze. On the white jade plaza, before an ancient structure, stood several figures: clearly the boisterous youth, the stooped elder, and the man in black from before. Beside these three were two other youths—one clad in snow-white robes, handsome and dashing; the other burly, with skin as dark as earth, eyes as large as an ox’s, a flat nose, and thick lips, making him rather ugly.

Seated before these individuals was a figure huddled timidly, glancing fearfully at the group—it was the little boy, Mickey.

His pure, dark eyes reflected the towering figures before him, filled with a degree of terror. His small body trembled slightly, like a startled, helpless bird.

“Boy, hurry up here! Crawl between my legs three times for Grandpa, and I won’t beat you,” the youth in black said, his arms crossed over his chest, head held high in a mocking smile.

“Hurry, hurry!”

“Little fellow, quick now.”

The others laughed along boisterously, as if tormenting the little boy was a source of immense amusement.

Mickey’s body shook faintly. The reflections of their laughing faces danced in his rolling, dark eyes. He suddenly seemed to grasp something, and with an air of resignation, he slowly lowered his head, gazing at the small patch of pristine white ground before him, and closed his eyes.

Slowly, he clenched his fists.

Like a humble, suffering puppy, he painfully lifted his palm and began to crawl forward, his hand making contact with the cold ground, the chill penetrating deep into his bone marrow.

One step, then another…

If he just crawled across, would it all be over?

The figures formed a loose semi-circle, watching the little one with expressions laced with mockery and careless amusement.

Crawling, crawling…

Suddenly, Mickey saw a pair of exquisite leather boots blocking his path right where his hand rested.

What beautiful boots!

He thought this, tinged with sorrow and self-mockery, and slowly maneuvered his hand, turning to crawl toward the crotch beneath the boots. However, after he moved a few inches, the boots shifted too, once again cutting off his path.

He paused slightly. Just then, a shadow fell over the ground before him, and he felt a large hand reaching down toward his head.

His body involuntarily trembled, and he instinctively shrank his neck, a surge of fear urging him to cry out and beg for mercy. But at that moment, he felt the hand stroke his hair, and a gentle voice said, “Get up.”

Mickey felt struck as if by lightning, instantly stunned into stillness.

His eyes, brimming with unshed tears, widened in disbelief as he looked up.

All surrounding noise seemed to vanish.

Sunlight streamed down from the sky, its soft rays passing over the man’s head before illuminating his own cheek, suffused with warmth.

This sudden apparition was, naturally, Ye Chen.

His expression was as cold as frost, yet his deep eyes held an indescribable tenderness. He patted Mickey’s small head, his deep voice carrying a clear admonition: “From now on, never kneel to anyone.”

Mickey stared blankly at Ye Chen, forgetting everything else.

“No one has the right to make you kneel. A proper man kneels to no one under heaven, nor to anyone on earth—only to his parents. You must remember that!” Ye Chen spoke each word with profound weight.

Mickey was too stunned to utter a sound.

At this moment, the dashing youth in white, spotting Ye Chen’s sudden appearance, knitted his brows and spoke with haughty disdain, “Who are you? We are playing a game here; mind your own business!”

The man in black, the boisterous youth, and the stooped elder, seeing Ye Chen materialize as if teleported before them, were secretly shocked, their expressions turning grave. However, remembering the rules of the Supreme Genius Hall, they weren't overly alarmed. They frowned, their faces set coldly as they watched him.

The dark-skinned man beside them scrutinized Ye Chen, his brow tightly furrowed. After a moment, his eyes suddenly brightened, and he sneered, “I wondered who it was. It’s that First-Rank Genius Hall’s Ye Chen, the one who killed Zidian!”

Upon hearing this, the youth in white paused, looking Ye Chen up and down for a moment, then coldly laughed, “So that’s it. No wonder you’re so arrogant! Mickey, what are you waiting for? Keep crawling!”

Mickey, still prone on the ground, glanced at Ye Chen, then at the white-robed youth. Finally, he lowered his head, his shoulders shaking slightly, as drops of crystalline tears traced paths down his cheeks. He suddenly snapped his head up and shouted, “I’m not crawling!!!”

Everyone present was taken aback.

A flicker of a smile appeared deep in Ye Chen’s eyes. He gently lifted Mickey’s body with one hand and smiled faintly. “Very good.”

Mickey wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. Hearing Ye Chen’s words, a sudden grin spread across his face, the sunlight making him glow brilliantly.

“You bastard!” The white-robed youth’s expression darkened, intense killing intent blazing in his eyes. “Even you, you little thing, dare to resist! Don’t forget your status—under the Genius Protection Law, you are an exception. If I decide to strike you, you can only take it!”

Mickey flinched, as if the heat of his brief defiance had cleared his head. A hint of timidity crept back into his dark eyes, and he shrank back, mumbling haltingly, “I, I, don’t, don’t hit me…”

Ye Chen stepped forward, placing himself between the boy and the others. He looked at the white-robed youth and the rest. “According to the Genius Protection Law, private combat between members is forbidden. Whoever strikes first will be fined all their Divine Points and expelled from the Genius Hall! He is already protected by my energy shield. Anyone who dares to touch him can test the cost.”

The white-robed youth and the others were stunned. They hadn't expected Ye Chen to be so recklessly bold—to antagonize five members of the Genius Hall on his very first day in the Supreme Genius Hall!

The dark-skinned man stared at Ye Chen, his brow deeply furrowed in silence.

The white-robed youth narrowed his eyes, a sharp, icy glint passing over his face. He slowly scanned Ye Chen’s features, then gave a cold laugh after a pause. “I’ll remember you!”

Ye Chen glanced at him dismissively, choosing not to engage.

“I have matters to attend to; I’m leaving now.” The dark-skinned man shot Ye Chen a cold look, let out a heavy snort, turned, and departed directly.

The man in black and the other two also frowned, bidding farewell to the white-robed youth before leaving one after another. Though anger brewed within them, they judged that with their current strength, directly challenging Ye Chen required more contemplation.

The white-robed youth clenched his fist, ultimately forcing down the rage in his chest. He gave a cold chuckle, then turned and strode away with an air of arrogant confidence.

After everyone had gone, Ye Chen’s expression turned indifferent. He turned back to face Mickey, frowning slightly. “Did you commit some grave mistake? Why are you excluded from the Genius Protection Law? If that’s the case, if people beat you, you can’t fight back. Won’t you be bullied here every day?”

Mickey watched them leave, finally letting out a breath. Hearing Ye Chen’s words, his eyes dimmed. He slowly lowered his head and walked over to the threshold of a nearby doorway, sitting down. He stared at the ground for a moment in silence before speaking softly, “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Ye Chen’s gaze flickered. “Then what is the reason?”

Mickey remained silent for a while, then whispered, “Because my father was captured by them. I came here to ransom him out. They promised me that if I could enter the Blazing Dragon Hall, become a member there, and secure a good ranking for the Yan God Empire in the Ten Nations and Ten Halls Genius War one hundred years from now, they would release my father.”

Ye Chen frowned. “Did your father do something wrong?”

“No!” Mickey suddenly lifted his head, tears welling in his eyes, and declared firmly, “My father is not a bad man! He didn’t do anything wrong!”

Ye Chen frowned.

Mickey seemed to realize his outburst was inappropriate. Two clear streams of tears ran down his cheeks as he slowly lowered his head, choking out, “My father is a good man; he wouldn't do anything wrong. He must have been framed to be arrested. I must redeem him!”

Ye Chen considered this for a moment. “And then you came to the Genius Hall, and to make you give up, they excluded you from the Genius Protection Law?”

“Yes!” Mickey nodded, sobbing. “Although I am registered in the Supreme Genius Hall, in reality, I receive none of its benefits. I cannot access their Scripture Repository, the Heavenly Medicine Pharmacy, or the Heavenly Dao Stele. Even if I complete trial missions, I receive no Divine Points, and they haven’t even issued me a virtual world chip.”

“When I practice cultivation using the secret manuals, I get confused, but no elder explains it to me. Nor am I allowed to enter the Scripture Repository to select manuals when it opens every year.”

As he spoke, his voice filled with dejection, growing softer and softer.

Ye Chen couldn't help but be startled. “You reached this level entirely through self-study?”