chapter ten:The servants amazement
As the slow, phantom-like punch approached, Xiao Chen's pupils shrank.
To his astonishment, the fist coming toward him no longer looked fast.
No—
Everything around him seemed to slow down.
The air trembled faintly, dust hung motionless, and even Cang Ming's arrogant expression appeared frozen in place.
So slow… Xiao Chen thought, stunned.
Is this really a punch from a Third Stage Body Strengthening cultivator?
Instinctively, he raised his own fist.
Boom!
A dull explosion echoed through the servant quarters.
Dust billowed outward, swallowing the narrow corridor in a thick cloud. For a split second, no one could see what had happened.
Then—
A shrill, agonized scream pierced through the silence.
"AAARGH—!"
As the dust slowly settled, the figures within became clear.
Cang Ming staggered backward, clutching his arm, his face twisted in disbelief and pain. His posture was no longer arrogant; it was chaotic, unsteady, as if his balance had been completely shattered.
"You little trash!" Cang Ming roared hoarsely. "You actually dared to hurt me?! How—HOW?!"
His voice cracked, filled with fury and disbelief.
"You haven't even properly cultivated!" he shouted madly. "I'm at the Third Stage of the Body Strengthening Realm! How could this happen?!"
Xiao Chen stood silently in front of him.
His gaze slowly drifted toward his own fist—the same fist that had just collided head-on with Cang Ming's.
There was no pain.
Not even a numb sensation.
Only warmth… and power.
This doesn't make sense, Xiao Chen thought.
I'm only at the First Stage.
The gap between the First and Third Stages was said to be like heaven and earth. By all logic, his bones should have cracked instead.
Yet reality told a different story.
Cang Ming noticed Xiao Chen's calm expression, and his rage exploded.
"You think you can be proud?!" he snarled.
With a furious roar, Cang Ming raised his other hand. A faint silver light surged around it—qi condensed around his fist, forming a thin, shimmering layer.
Qi reinforcement.
With this, a single strike could unleash several times the power of a normal blow.
"Die!"
His punch shot forward, far faster than before, tearing through the air with a sharp whistling sound.
This time, Xiao Chen didn't hesitate.
A strange sensation surged from his dantian, flowing naturally through his meridians—smooth, unobstructed, as if his body had been doing this for years.
Without any manual.
Without any guidance.
Blue-black qi gathered around his fist, silent yet oppressive.
If anyone knowledgeable were present, they would be horrified—because normally, a single mistake in guiding qi could cripple a cultivator instantly.
Yet Xiao Chen's qi moved as if it had a will of its own.
Boom!
The collision shook the entire servant quarters.
The ground cracked slightly, and the shockwave blasted outward.
Cang Ming's body was flung backward like a broken kite, crashing violently into the far wall before sliding down and collapsing onto the ground.
The silver glow around his fist shattered instantly.
Silence followed.
Cang Ming lay motionless.
Xiao Chen stared at his own hand, his breathing uneven.
I… did that?
Before he could process what had happened, hurried footsteps echoed around him.
Doors burst open one after another.
Servants rushed out of their quarters, shock written all over their faces.
"What happened?" "I heard screaming!" "Was there a fight?!"
Their voices died the moment they saw the scene.
"…Senior Brother Cang Ming?"
Someone swallowed hard.
Another servant pointed shakily. "He's… unconscious."
Murmurs spread rapidly.
"How is that possible?" "Who could injure him?" "Wait… isn't that direction—"
Their gazes shifted.
Toward Xiao Chen's ruined quarters.
Toward Xiao Chen.
Shock. Confusion. Disbelief.
And beneath it all—quiet satisfaction.
Cang Ming had long used his status to bully servants, venting the humiliation he suffered from stronger disciples. Many here had tasted his temper but dared not resist.
Now, seeing him lying there—
Some servants clenched their fists secretly.
The heavens truly do have eyes.
Yet fear soon followed.
"This is bad…" "An outer disciple was injured." "The elders will definitely come."
Xiao Chen stood silently amid the gazes.
He felt no joy.
Only a deep calm.
So this is what stepping forward means, he thought.
Once I throw a punch, there's no turning back.
And somewhere deep within his body, the Heaven Devouring Emperor Scripture pulsed faintly—
as if acknowledging its chosen path.