The ultimate insult! The chosen one was furious on the spot!

Lin Ke'er stood to the side, initially listening in a daze.

But as Lin Yuan explained, she felt a sudden enlightenment; all the Bottlenecks she couldn't understand before were instantly resolved!

She looked at the pattern on the ground, which was even more perfect and mysterious than the standard Formations in textbooks.

Then she looked at her brother, who remained calm and composed. Her small mouth opened into an "O" shape, and her eyes were filled with little stars of admiration.

"Wow! Brother! When did you become so amazing!"

Lin Ke'er lunged forward and hugged Lin Yuan's arm, shouting with shock, "You're even more awesome than the special-grade Formation teacher at the academy!"

Lin Yuan stood up, patted the dust off his hands, and boasted as if it were only natural: "Of course. Who do you think your brother is? I'm a one-in-a-million Genius. This little thing was just self-taught without a master."

"Hmph, keep on bragging!"

Just then, a cool voice came from not far away.

A stunning woman wearing a high-end custom professional suit, tall and with a capable temperament, was leaning against a pillar on the porch with her arms crossed, watching them.

The woman's appearance was somewhat similar to Lin Yuan's, but there was an added air of authority and sharpness between her brows from long-held high positions.

"You spend all day fooling around; only a little girl like Ke'er would believe your nonsense. Xiao Yuan, although our family has a great business, the path of martial arts is like rowing upstream—if you don't advance, you retreat. You still need to work hard yourself."

Hearing this familiar, nagging "sermon," Lin Yuan's head immediately began to throb.

No need to ask, his powerful business-woman sister, Lin Mengyao, who controlled a vast commercial Empire, was back.

Their grandfather guarded the frontier, and their parents held high positions, rarely being home throughout the year; they mostly communicated via video calls.

Thus, this sister, who was only a few years older than him, naturally took on the role of the "head of the household."

Every time she returned, she would subject him to a round of ideological education.

"Sis, why do I feel like you're becoming more and more like Mom?"

Lin Yuan couldn't help but complain.

"Hey! You brat, you dare to make fun of me now, do you!"

Lin Mengyao's beautiful eyes widened. In a flash, she was in front of Lin Yuan, reaching out a fair hand to give his head a firm flick.

"Ouch!"

"Hee hee!"

Lin Yuan's exaggerated cry and Lin Ke'er's bell-like laughter echoed in the warm courtyard.

The family walked toward the dining room, chatting and laughing, ready to enjoy the late-night snack the sister had specially brought back... Time flew by, and the day of the School-Wide Competition drew closer.

The entire Dragon Summer Country Capital Martial Arts Academy was filled with a tense atmosphere.

All the students were seizing the last moments to Cultivate frantically, trying to achieve a good result in the competition.

Especially Ye Xuan.

Since Lin Yuan had cut off his "financial path," he seemed like a different person, Cultivating ten times harder than before.

Every day, he was either challenging his limits in the Gravity Room or taking on various high-difficulty missions in the Task Hall.

He used battle to temper himself and used blood to trade for resources.

Under his tireless efforts and the guidance of the Ultimate Ancestor in his mind, his cultivation indeed progressed by leaps and bounds.

Finally, three days before the competition began, he successfully broke through his Bottleneck!

Boom!

Inside the cultivation room, a powerful Aura erupted from Ye Xuan's body. He snapped his eyes open, and they shone with brilliant light!

Marrow Cleansing Realm Second Level!

Feeling the Spiritual Energy within his body, which was several times stronger than before, a confident smile appeared on Ye Xuan's face.

Although it was only the Second Level, he had the secret techniques taught by the Ultimate Ancestor and combat experience far exceeding that of ordinary people.

He was confident that even when facing an ordinary Marrow Cleansing Realm Fifth Level or Sixth Level, he would have the strength to fight!

And what about Lin Yuan?

He was merely at the Marrow Cleansing Realm Sixth Level.

Ye Xuan firmly believed that was just a hollow Realm built up by Lin Yuan using resources—flashy but useless!

In a true life-and-death struggle, the Realm is not the only deciding factor!

A strong Battle Intent burned in his chest.

He wanted to challenge Lin Yuan!

He wanted to completely crush this once-lofty young master in front of everyone before the competition, washing away all his previous frustration!

No sooner said than done.

Ye Xuan immediately got up and walked out of the cultivation room aggressively, heading straight for the Back Garden where Lin Yuan most often stayed.

Sure enough, he saw that familiar figure at a glance.

Lin Yuan was lying sprawled out on the lawn.

With a blade of grass in his mouth and his legs crossed, he was humming an unknown little tune while sunbathing.

That leisurely and cozy appearance was completely out of place with the tense atmosphere of the academy's preparations.

Seeing this scene, the anger in Ye Xuan's heart flared up instantly, and veins bulged on his temples.

I'm here Cultivating for my life, and you, this guy, are actually lying here sleeping?

"Lin Yuan!"

Ye Xuan strode over and roared with a voice like a booming bell, "You trash! Do you dare to have a fair and square match with me?"

Lin Yuan was disturbed by the roar and opened his eyes impatiently. He gave a yawn and glanced at him lazily.

"Compete with you? Why?"

"You!" Ye Xuan was so angered by his indifferent attitude that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood. "Are you afraid?"

"Afraid?" Lin Yuan acted as if he had heard some huge joke. "I'm just not interested. Will beating you let me lie down more comfortably, or make the sun feel warmer?"

Pfft!

These light words caused more damage to Ye Xuan than ten thousand vicious curses!

This was blatant disregard!

"You're looking for death!"

Ye Xuan was exasperated and could no longer hold back. The Spiritual Energy in his body erupted instantly as he moved to strike directly.

"Stop! Kid, don't be impulsive!"

In his mind, the Ultimate Ancestor's voice hurriedly rang out, "This boy's Aura is steady and long, unfathomable! Acting rashly now is disadvantageous for you! Endure your anger for a moment; it's the best strategy to defeat him in front of all the big shots during the competition!"

"I can't take it anymore!" Ye Xuan roared in his heart. "I'm going to completely crush him today! Let him know who the true Genius is!"

The Ultimate Ancestor couldn't dissuade him and could only sigh inwardly.

At the very moment Ye Xuan was about to strike, a figure walked over.

"Ye Xuan."

It was Li Xuan'er.

She walked over quickly. When she saw Lin Yuan on the lawn, her expression clearly became somewhat awkward and unnatural.

But she still didn't speak to Lin Yuan, instead looking directly at Ye Xuan.

"Ye Xuan, come with me for a moment; I have something to discuss with you."

During this recent period, having lost Lin Yuan's supply of resources, Li Xuan'er finally deeply realized the difficulty of Cultivation.

Her cultivation progress was slow, and she had remained at the Marrow Cleansing Realm Third Level without an inch of progress, which gave her an unprecedented sense of crisis.

Therefore, she wanted to find Ye Xuan to form a team and go out to gain experience and obtain resources.

However, Ye Xuan was currently in a fit of rage and was even more ill-tempered upon seeing Li Xuan'er.

It was because of this woman that he had been humiliated by Lin Yuan and had his financial path cut off!

Now that this path was broken, what use was she to him?

Ye Xuan gave her a cold look and said in a stiff tone, "I'm very busy lately, no time."

After saying that, he didn't even wait for Li Xuan'er to react. He suppressed the urge to strike, gave a cold snort, and turned to stride away.

Leaving Li Xuan'er alone, standing there in astonishment.

She looked at Ye Xuan's back as he left without lingering, then looked at Lin Yuan on the lawn in the distance, who didn't even bother to glance at her.

In her heart... for the first time, a surge of indescribable confusion and regret welled up.