Chapter 16

Before obtaining Armament Haki, Su Han already knew his Armament Haki was strong, but he had never clearly understood just how strong it truly was.

At first, he thought, at the very least, one punch should knock a Lingneng Artisan halfway to death.

Now that he had truly unleashed it, Su Han realized he had grossly underestimated the terror of a max-level Armament Haki. With the destructive power shown—shattering an entire mountain—how could this possibly be limited to Lingneng Artisans?

Even a living Lingneng Master who took this punch would be left half-dead, if not dead outright?

"So does that mean, even though I can only throw one punch while fully channeling Armament Haki, that single punch carries the destructive power of a Master-level strike?"

Thinking of this, Su Han felt ecstatic, convinced his future was boundless.

Once he improved his physical conditioning enough to perfectly manifest Armament Haki, what would he have to fear? Even if Grandmaster Xiao Ma stood before him, he would still dare to swing one punch.

"Too arrogant, too arrogant!" Su Han turned around. "I still need to improve my Observation Haki! It's said that Master-level experts have terrifying reaction speeds. Even if I raise my physical conditioning to that stage, if my reactions can't keep up, I probably won't even land a hit on them."

Though he was full of anticipation for the future, the most pressing issue right now was…

Run fast.

If someone found out he had shattered a mountain, things would get very messy.

Su Han wasn't worried about someone demanding compensation for a single mountain—after all, his punch had displayed destruction rivaling that of a Master-level expert. A mountain was nothing; the comparison was meaningless.

What he feared was exposure: if his identity became public, he would be famous nationwide in short order. After all, he was still so young—possessing Master-level destructive power at this age, he could legitimately be called the top young genius in the world.

The key problem was, if Su Han truly had Master-level combat power, he wouldn't mind exposure—but right now, he only had one punch. What's the point of exposing himself?

Not to mention, he had previously been a spiritual energy insulator—how would he explain that? Another huge problem.

If his true identity leaked, even a fool would know he was hiding a massive secret.

"Stay low, stay low! Focus on stealthy growth."

Su Han rested for an hour in the dense forest, and once his stamina had mostly recovered, he sprinted toward Jianghai City at top speed, his Observation Haki fully activated.

No need to guess—word of his mountain-shattering punch had surely spread by now; countless intelligence agents and reporters were probably rushing toward the site.

If he ran into them head-on, it would be deeply embarrassing.

Though his Observation Haki was only at the beginner stage, it could still sense everything within a one-kilometer radius.

His current perception, like a radar, could only crudely detect moving objects—he couldn't discern their faces, let alone hear the sounds of all things, as one would at the highest level of Observation Haki.

But this was enough—it allowed him to avoid the reporters and intelligence agents heading his way.

When Su Han neared Jianghai City, he hailed a DiDi Express car and rode back in it. After all, he had arrived by DiDi; if there was no return record, it might draw suspicion.

Returning by DiDi now posed little risk—no one would ever link a Master-level expert to an ordinary young man.

The youngest Master in the current world is from the Rockefeller Consortium in the U. S., but he reached Master realm at age thirty-nine.

In fact, the average age for breakthrough into Master realm is sixty; anyone achieving it before sixty is considered to have limitless potential.

…

Jiangnan Province Nengzongxie Society.

In the society's office hall.

More than thirty middle-aged men in formal black suits sat in their seats, whispering among themselves.

Moments later, the office hall doors opened, and a man with white hair and beard—but a smooth, wrinkle-free face—strode in, followed by a quiet girl dressed in white.

The white-haired elder took the seat at the very top.

At that moment, the entire hall fell silent.

The girl stood behind the elder, head bowed, utterly calm, saying nothing.

This elder was Xu Maoguo, Chairman of the Jiangnan Province Nengzongxie Society—a renowned Master-level expert in Jiangnan Province.

Someone of his stature held immense status throughout Jiangnan Province; even if he traveled to Beijing and demanded an audience with the highest leader, he would face no obstruction.

Such was the influence of a Master-level expert.

Xu Maoguo calmly surveyed the room, his voice steady: "What are your thoughts on the minor earthquake that recently occurred in Mount Langya?"

After a long silence, someone finally raised a hand: "Chairman, reliable reports confirm this minor earthquake was not natural—it must have been a weapon test."

Xu Maoguo remained silent for a long while, his gaze sweeping across every face in the room. Some avoided his eyes, flickering nervously; others met his gaze calmly; still others looked confused, having not yet received confirmation of what had happened.