144: My followers, are you worthy enough to challenge me?

When Gu Fan, the City Lord's son, uttered those words, brimming with the arrogance and provocativeness of a "local tyrant," echoing through the silent banquet hall, everyone's gaze, like iron filings drawn by a magnet, instantly focused on the black-clad young man who had remained calm and composed throughout.

The atmosphere, at this moment, dropped to freezing point.

The air seemed to have solidified.

Everyone held their breath, waiting.

Waiting to see how this newly crowned king, who had just been enthroned at The Peak of the Forbidden City with the invincible myth of "one man suppressing an entire generation," would respond to this first, most direct... "show of force" from the local powers.

A barely perceptible, triumphant smile played on Gu Fan's face. He believed he had successfully outmaneuvered Lin Tian.

His words, seemingly a "reminder," were in fact full of traps.

If Lin Tian were to lose his temper and lash out on the spot, it would confirm the accusation of "outsider arrogance and rudeness," inciting the unified hostility of all local powers in Guixu City.

If Lin Tian were to endure it and not respond, his newly established "invincible" reputation would instantly be tainted by a shadow of "bullying the weak and fearing the strong," crumbling without a fight.

This was an overt scheme. A scheme that forced him to react.

However... Lin Tian's reaction exceeded everyone's expectations.

Facing Gu Fan's provocative gaze, facing the entire hall's scrutinizing and questioning stares.

He seemed... to have heard nothing.

He didn't even shift his gaze a single inch from the face of his stunning, queen-like fiancée, Elizabeth, whose golden hair shimmered beside him. It was as if, in his eyes as deep as the Universe, the captivating blush on Elizabeth's cheeks from a slight tipsiness was far more interesting than the open provocation from Guixu City's top Genius.

He continued to leisurely savor the fine wine brewed from thousand-year-old ice marrow in his cup, a faint, playful smile even gracing the corner of his lips.

Disregard!

A complete, undisguised, absolute disregard, as if looking at a speck of dust!

This silent contempt was more damaging than any thunderous verbal retort!

It seemed to be telling Gu Fan, telling everyone present, in the cruelest way possible—

You don't even have the right to earn a glance from me.

Boom!

Gu Fan's face instantly turned a liver-like purple! An unprecedented, utterly humiliating feeling, enough to completely consume his reason, erupted in his chest like the fiercest volcano!

He felt like a clown who had painstakingly schemed and prepared for half a day's performance, while the only, most important audience member couldn't even be bothered to look at him!

"You...!"

He was about to explode in anger, ready to utter even more provocative words to completely escalate the conflict.

Just then.

A figure, like a mountain, stepped out steadily from behind Lin Tian.

That figure stood between Lin Tian and Gu Fan, also blocking Gu Fan's gaze, which was filled with jealousy and rage.

It was Long Qingtian!

This former First Sequence of the Long family now stood quietly beside his "new master" like the most loyal and powerful guardian knight. His eyes, usually as steady as a mountain, were now incredibly cold, like two drawn swords, fixed firmly on Gu Fan.

He spoke coldly, in a tone full of absolute contempt, as if looking at a frog in a well who didn't know the vastness of the world:

"You want to challenge... my master?"

He paused, a mocking curve, identical to Lin Tian's, appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"You're not worthy."

"Defeat me first."

"Then we can talk about... the right to challenge him."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall erupted in an uproar again!

"Arrogant! Too arrogant! The master is arrogant, and even one of his followers dares to be so presumptuous!"

"Who is that man? Such a powerful aura! He's also an S-rank Peak expert!"

"I recognize him! He... he seems to be the Long family's former 'First Sequence,' Long Qingtian! He actually... actually submitted to Lin Tian?!"

And Gu Fan, upon hearing Long Qingtian's words, his already flushed face instantly became incredibly distorted!

"Good! What a Long family! What deep loyalty between master and servant!" He laughed in extreme anger, "I'd like to see what ability you, this 'dog' of the Long family, possess to dare to spout such nonsense in front of me!"

The moment his words fell, he moved!

Without the slightest hesitation, in front of everyone present, he brazenly attacked!

"【Raging Tides Palm】!"

Boom!

A blue energy, A-rank Peak, filled with wild and destructive aura, erupted from his body! His palms, at this moment, seemed to transform into two boundless oceans capable of stirring up monstrous waves, striking fiercely towards Long Qingtian with a terrifying might capable of smashing mountains!

However, facing this full-power attack, which would make even experts of the same level change their expression and even need to temporarily avoid its edge.

Long Qingtian didn't even lift an eyelid.

He simply, calmly, raised his right hand.

He wanted to establish his authority!

He wanted to use the most straightforward, decisive, and unreasonable crushing defeat to prove his worth to everyone, especially to his "new master" who was leisurely sipping wine behind him! To prove that he, Long Qingtian, even if no longer the "First Sequence," was still an existence capable of crushing the likes of them!

Combat power, fully unleashed!

"Roar—!!!"

A terrifying roar, not human, filled with endless majesty and the aura of Heavenly Tribulation, erupted from his body!

His SSS-Grade Mutant Talent, the Tribulation Body, was, at this moment, pushed to its absolute limit without reservation!

One could see countless purple divine patterns, composed of pure thunder Law and resembling Dragon scales, instantly appearing on the surface of his body! His entire being seemed to transform into a Thunder Punisher War God who commanded the Heavenly Tribulation and judged all living beings!

First move!

He also struck out with a palm, but his palm was entwined with destructive purple tribulation lightning, capable of purifying all evil in the world!

Boom—!

The giant purple lightning palm and the blue raging tides crashed together in the center of the banquet hall!

There was no stalemate, no resistance.

Only... overwhelming destruction!

Gu Fan's incomparably domineering 【Raging Tides Palm】 was instantly torn apart, evaporated, and annihilated before Long Qingtian's even more domineering and unreasonable 【Heavenly Tribulation Divine Lightning】, like paper!

"Not good!" Gu Fan's face changed dramatically, and without thinking, he tried to retreat!

But, it was too late.

Second move!

Long Qingtian's figure had already appeared before him as if teleporting! A large hand, wrapped in purple lightning, like a divine iron pincer, directly ignored all of his protective Qi and fiercely clamped his throat!

Third move!

Long Qingtian lifted him as if he were a helpless chick, then fiercely slammed him from mid-air to the ground!

Rumble—!!!

A muffled, utterly profound roar, as if the entire City Lord's Mansion had violently trembled!

That arrogant, overbearing "local top Genius" Gu Fan was brutally slammed by Long Qingtian, in the most humiliating and shocking way, into the center of the great hall, creating a huge human-shaped crater in the incredibly hard floor, made of special alloy!

Pfft!

Gu Fan spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, all his bones shattered, already... severely injured and completely losing his combat ability!

Three moves!

Only three moves!

An A-rank Peak, a top Genius ranking among the top three in Guixu City, was... completely defeated!

The entire hall was silent.

All the local power members who had previously harbored a slight desire to watch a good show now had their smiles frozen on their faces, replaced by an unprecedented, heartfelt... fear!

Even a "follower" by Lin Tian's side was so powerful... then how terrifying must he himself be?!

Long Qingtian slowly withdrew his hand, not even glancing at Gu Fan, who lay in the pit like a dead dog.

He turned around, returned to Lin Tian's side, and respectfully bowed slightly to him, as if he had only done a trivial thing.

Thus, this "show of force" initiated by the "local tyrant," filled with foolishness and arrogance, was declared... a failure in the most complete and humiliating way.

Guixu City, for the first time, lowered its proud head before this "Dragon crossing the river."