Chapter 163: This Isn

"What? Xuecai is already B-class?!"

Someone opened his mouth, closed his eyes, and let out a terrified, incredulous squeal, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead, his hands trembling uncontrollably as if he'd heard something unimaginable.

Wearing a combat strength detection monocle from the Spirit Realm, Mu Dan stared at the demonic power reading again and again, then nodded reluctantly—she too found the terrifying number hard to believe: it had risen another fifty percent since just a few days ago.

Who could possibly handle this?

When Jia Qi told the clueless Nanyu Shibaoli that her child's outstanding grades had earned her a special invitation to the "Youth Palace Special Training," with potential recommendations to elite foreign schools like the "Kassel Academy" or even admission to "Tokyo University,"

Nanyu Shibaoli, concerned for her child, was swept off her feet by a coordinated campaign from the Spirit Realm's human affiliates—scholarships, corporate endorsements, all of it—and readily agreed, allowing Jia Qi to bring the twelve-year-old Zang Ma up the mountain…

Then came Zang Ma to the "Spirit Light Wave Youth Palace," where he saw Xue Cai undergoing Huan Hai's training—and everything spiraled completely out of control.

If judged purely by raw power, Zang Ma was only T2-tier in the Demon Realm—but what earned him respect and fear was his bottomless intellect.

And among all his abilities, the most terrifying was his peerless, unparalleled, side-effect-free enlightenment power—like a living supergod elixir.

"A promising talent."

Upon seeing the Ice Woman, once powerful but now diminished, Zang Ma still recognized her true nature and made this judgment.

Unlike ordinary Ice Women, Fei Ying, born as a "cursed child," and Xue Cai, born at the same moment, shared bloodlines whose origins were unknown—but certainly not mundane.

If Fei Ying achieved A-class demon status at age five, how could Xue Cai's talent possibly be inferior?

Once Zang Ma, the god of enhancement domains, teamed up with Huan Hai and Xiao Yanwang to form the Demon King Accelerated Training Class, Xue Cai's progress didn't slow down like Jia Qi's—it accelerated further, smashing through the B-class bottleneck and continuously unlocking new potential.

He'd just tested it—his own spiritual power alone could no longer withstand Xue Cai's ever-evolving "Ice Storm Infinite Sword—Sword Nineteen."

"Could Xue Cai not be an Ice Woman at all—but instead possess Ice Demon blood?"

The mortal Jia Qi declared it utterly unbeatable.

Weren't we supposed to all be background characters? Isn't this just cheating?

"My sister Xue Cai has the bearing of a Demon Emperor!"

Not only could she defend herself—her progress had far exceeded his expectations. He'd thought breaking B-class quickly was the limit; he never imagined she'd keep breaking through, with clear signs of pushing toward A-class.

She could go to the Dark Martial Arts Tournament in five years alone and come back with the championship trophy—no problem.

Jia Qi scratched his head in deep confusion, sensing something was off. Then he shifted his posture, rubbing his chin instead, a flicker of complex emotion in his eyes.

Recalling his own experiences over the years, everyone he'd ever interacted with had seen explosive growth—breaking past their limits: Esdeath's Ice Emperor Artifact, Enju's Battle Qi awakening, Xia Na's flame power—all had undergone qualitative leaps under his influence, and now even Xue Cai had begun…

If Changmen and Jianzi weren't fighters who didn't need physical strength, they'd probably be the same too—no, wait, Jianzi might already be a fitness prodigy in her world, becoming a female combatant in two years.

Suddenly Jia Qi realized—the truth hit him like lightning: Could his special ability be making everyone in the group cheat?

Whether intentional or not, the girls in the group had gained real, tangible power—their strength surging at an unprecedented rate, like a catalyst for the strong.

Jia Qi, as if he'd uncovered a cosmic revelation, excitedly posted his theory to the group.

【Yinyang Eye Jianzi: It really does seem like that｜д)!!】

【Forever Seventeen: Haha, what catalyst? Maybe you're just the eternal jester—anyone near you just looks better by comparison.】

【Forever Seventeen: So when are you coming to visit Big Sister Zi?】

【Big Goddess: Wait, are you also eager to start?】

【System Notice: "Forever Seventeen" has been muted for ten minutes.】

【Xia Na: Laughable. What jester relativity?】

【System Notice: "Xia Na" has been muted for ten minutes.】

【Big Goddess: I can't laugh—I'm crying on the inside·()】

【Angel After Death: Don't cry, you're already incredibly strong.】

【Big Goddess: This… isn't what I wanted…】

As Jia Qi was deep in group chat, a crisp wind sound came from afar.

He looked up and saw Xue Cai standing at the center of the training ground, thousands of ice swords slicing graceful arcs through the air under her will, the surrounding air seemingly frozen into an ice domain.

Her gaze was focused and resolute—growth in power never came without cause; no matter how much guidance others gave, it all stemmed from her own effort.

"Is this… Sword Twenty?"

Jia Qi gasped—everyone else was cheating, and he was stuck motionless? Was this fair?

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he sensed an unusual fluctuation.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

A rhythmic, heavy footstep echoed, as if crushing hearts.

A kilometer away, the mountain steps shattered into dust under invisible pressure; the air ignited with a terrifying demonic power, as if the very atmosphere caught fire, a scorching wave sweeping through and instantly reducing all vegetation to ash.

That demonic power, like a flame from the abyss, radiating annihilation, slowly coalesced into a blurred figure, inching closer and closer.

With each step the figure took, the ground cracked open—as if even the earth could not bear his weight.

Xiao Yanwang's casual motion halted; Huan Hai, Zang Ma, and Xue Cai all stopped training, everyone turning to look at the figure—and then…

"Boom!"

The combat strength detector on Mu Dan's eye—perfectly intact a second ago—suddenly exploded as if unable to withstand the reading.

This couldn't be due to poor Spirit Realm product quality—it could only mean one thing, one thing everyone now understood:

"Hu Yu Lu Di has arrived."

(End of Chapter)