Chapter 701: The Genius

It was a child, seven or eight years old, with lively eyes that seemed curious about everything, watching him with keen interest.

He gestured with his hands, as if imitating someone's fist techniques, but only the form was there—no fist wind, not a trace of internal force.

"He's…"

Fang Yue glanced at the Qing Si officer nearby maintaining order.

Dou Hongyi happened to see it and hurried over, barked a command, and took the child named Jun Shao away.

Dou Hongyi felt a bit resentful—how had the staff below maintained order? They didn't even notice a child had slipped in, making him look foolish before Master Ye.

But that child… wasn't he the one the subordinates reported had been captured and interrogated after the incident near the city wall?

Dou Hongyi was busy maintaining order for the martial contest, but that didn't mean Qing Si affairs escaped his notice.

The incident had already reached the upper echelons of the three major organizations.

Dou Hongyi naturally knew about the interrogation of Jun Shao—he just hadn't participated; he'd been given the results directly.

He hadn't thought much about it before, but now he vaguely sensed something was off.

But when Dou Hongyi instinctively glanced toward the direction Jun Shao had left, the boy had vanished into the crowd, gone without a trace.

"Forget it. I'll look into it later."

Suppressing his doubts, Dou Hongyi said, "Ye… Guest Ye, you may continue the match."

Fang Yue gave him a slight nod.

Fang Yue had instructed that, outside, the two should avoid any contact—and Dou Hongyi had followed it well.

He just wondered, if the man found out he'd been tricked, would he fly into a rage and try to kill him?

Just imagining that scene was troublesome.

Dou Hongyi was only mid-level Human Realm—no matter how strong he was, he wasn't Fang Yue's match.

The problem was his status: Qing Si Red Clothes. Fang Yue truly couldn't go all out against him.

"When soldiers come, send generals; when water comes, build earthworks. Can Dou Hongyi really slash someone in public in front of so many people?"

Suppressing his thoughts, Fang Yue waited for the next challenger.

Indeed, without pressure from the merchant caravan, many wanted to test themselves against Fang Yue.

But soon, Fang Yue's side began to resemble a factory assembly line.

Challengers would leap onto the stage, land, and immediately be pushed off the platform by Fang Yue's deft palm technique.

The next batch, seeing this, would leap up immediately—only to suffer the exact same fate.

The entire scene, aside from the challengers' stunned stares at the swiftly defeated "seniors" causing brief delays, flowed with effortless smoothness.

Watching challengers fall like dumplings into boiling water, standing dejectedly on the sidelines, those yet to challenge lost all desire and turned to others.

Fang Yue once again enjoyed a moment of easy rest, when he felt a scorching gaze fixed upon him.

It was the post-heaven realm prodigy—the boy named Ying.

"So eager to challenge me?"

Fang Yue felt uneasy—being fixated on by a man felt strange.

At that moment, the bell signaling the end of the preliminary round rang out with a deep *dong*.

Fang Yue glanced toward the "lords" watching from the stands and noticed several were missing.

Even Tian Shang Alliance's leader, Tian Wangchuan, was absent.

He felt puzzled—when Tian Shang Alliance announced the preliminary results, Fang Yue immediately left the platform to find Yang Hongxia and send someone to investigate whether something major had happened elsewhere in Chunuan City.

Logically, the 【Martial Contest】 was Chunuan City's most important event—if Tian Wangchuan abandoned it to attend to something else, that matter must be both critical and serious, and intelligence had to be gathered.

But as soon as Fang Yue stepped off the platform, someone blocked his path.

"Esteemed Sir, may I challenge you in private!"

The one who blocked Fang Yue was the prodigy boy named Ying.

But… this guy was only post-heaven realm—why challenge a Human Realm expert? Isn't that ridiculously arrogant?

Fang Yue frowned slightly, displeased.

Even he wouldn't have dared, at post-heaven realm, to believe he could cross several realms and fight a Human Realm master.

Outside, a Human Realm master crushing a post-heaven cultivator was no different from crushing an ant.

"No time."

With those two cold words, Fang Yue passed him by.

Ying froze for a moment, about to chase after Fang Yue for a fight, when he saw frost trails left behind Fang Yue's path—thin ice had formed on the ground!

And his own feet, without him noticing, were completely frozen, locked in place by frost.

"So strong?!"

His pupils contracted; Ying felt a shiver run through him.

This was the power of the Human Realm…

I am still far from enough!

If I want to avenge my blood-deep grudge, I must reach the Human Realm—and surpass it!

His fist clenched; Ying stared silently at Fang Yue's retreating back.

When the frost partially melted under the blazing sun, he used his internal force to shatter the remaining thin ice.

Now that he understood the gap between himself and Human Realm experts, he no longer sought other challengers—he returned to his merchant caravan and began training with single-minded focus.

On the other side, Fang Yue had long returned to Yang Hongxia's side, not giving Ying's matter a second thought.

Prodigy boy? Prodigy boy. But who isn't a prodigy?

In just two months, Fang Yue rose from a mortal to the Human Realm—who's more of a prodigy, obvious.

Compete with me on talent? Go take a hike!

Not to mention Fang Yue's Comprehension has skyrocketed—he's more talented than a genius!

"Night Rain, sir!" Yang Hongxia rushed forward eagerly, reaching out to grasp Fang Yue's arm, but Fang Yue instinctively dodged; her hand hung in the air for half a second before awkwardly retracting, though her excitement remained undimmed.

"Night Rain, sir! We've passed the preliminary round! Next up are the real ranking matches against the top hundred merchant groups!"

Yang Hongxia waved her tiny fist excitedly—the day of the Great Sun Merchant Group's revival seemed right before her eyes!

"When do we fight?" Fang Yue asked.

"We wait for notification—it's usually continuous, meaning we might start fighting any moment!" In normal times, Yang Hongxia might have wondered why Fang Yue asked such a question, analyzing every nuance and pondering his intentions.

But now, her mind was clouded by excitement—she had no hidden thoughts at all.

"So we might fight until nightfall?" Fang Yue asked, his expression strange.

If the match drags into the night… my advantage will be huge.

Above, Night Rain still dripped, drip-drip-drip. Was it an illusion, or had the rain intensified further after the arena match? It was slowly nearing a steady 【Light Rain】.

Previously, the black rings had delivered Night Rain in intermittent bursts; if Night Rain became continuous, health would drain in a torrent—no longer would pills be consumed a few bottles a day, but like a barrel, requiring a sip every so often.

Not only was it cumbersome to manage, it also disrupted the mind.

(End of Chapter)