Chang Li Yao had barely survived the encounter with Hung Jun when the ground beneath the Purple Heaven Palace trembled violently. Trees snapped, stones cracked, and a roar echoed across the mountains like thunder made flesh.
"Great… that can't be good," he muttered, gripping his robes.
From the clouds descended a massive figure a tiger faced warrior, muscles like coiled steel, eyes glowing amber. His aura pressed down like a storm, each step scorching the ground.
Tiger General: "Chang Li Yao… your reputation precedes you. Prepare to meet your end."
Chang Li Yao rolled his eyes. "Reputation? I barely arrived yesterday, and already someone wants to kill me? Fantastic."
[System Notice: Encounter detected. High Level Combat Potential Triggered. +30 Breakthrough Points]
[Automatic Realm Breakthrough Triggered: Great Completion Stage to Supreme Completion Stage]
"Ugh!" Chang Li Yao groaned as energy surged violently through him. Muscles tightened, laws whispered their secrets, and his perception stretched across the battlefield. Why does everything I touch make me stronger?I just wanted to eat dinner peacefully!
The Tiger General charged like a lightning strike. Chang Li Yao leapt aside, leaving a gust that shattered nearby rocks. His body moved on instinct, guided by the newly awakened Divine Might and the Purple Bamboo Bloodline.
Space, five elements, lightning… He barely understood it, but the instincts worked. Lightning crackled around his fists; the ground twisted and reformed as he dodged; air condensed into elemental shields that protected him from crushing blows.
Tiger General: "Impossible! Your speed… your power… you are no mere cultivator!"
Chang Li Yao smirked despite the chaos. "Thank you. I wish I could say I trained for this but nope. System did it all for me."
He calculated quickly: a frontal clash would trigger another breakthrough, something he didn't want. He needed a clever approach.
Spotting a cliff nearby, he launched himself into the air, slamming a fist into the ground beneath the Tiger General, creating a shockwave. The General stumbled, and Chang Li Yao used space law manipulation to teleport behind him.
"Here's the thing about being forced to grow too fast," he said, dodging a claw swipe, "sometimes you can outsmart a guy twice your size."
The fight raged on. Each action jumping, dodging, countering unintentionally fed the system:
[Breakthrough Points Gained: 25]
Automatic Realm Breakthrough Triggered: Supreme Completion to Primordial Stage
Chang Li Yao felt the familiar surge of unwanted power. His body glowed faint purple, laws bending and twisting in his mind. He groaned. "I knew this would happen. I just want to stay in one place for five minutes!"
Finally, with a clever combination of teleportation, elemental manipulation, and lethal feints, Chang Li Yao toppled the Tiger General. The warrior crashed into the mountainside, unconscious but alive just enough to make a statement without unnecessary deaths.
Breathing heavily, Chang Li Yao looked at the battlefield. Stones floated, trees burned, the air crackled with leftover energy and yet, he remained frustrated.
"System, stop rewarding me for surviving," he muttered. "I don't want another breakthrough."
[System Notice: Survival triggers mandatory growth. Breakthrough unavoidable.]
Chang Li Yao groaned again, rubbing his temples as new energy coursed through him. He had no choice but to continue growing, despite his reluctance.
"Great," he muttered, standing on the cliff and looking at the horizon. "First Hung Jun, now the Tiger General… and somehow, I'm supposed to avoid the Hong Mang World. Yeah, that's gonna be easy."
But beneath his frustration, a spark of cunning glimmered in his eyes. If the world wanted him to grow, he would play the game but on his terms. Clever tricks, indirect paths, and maybe a little chaos… that was the only way to survive.
And for now, Chang Li Yao still had one goal: stay in the world he could call home, no matter how much the system tried to push him elsewhere.