40: Chapter 4 Does this kid really have no background?
...
A Ninth-Turn Expert!
Chu Ran immediately recognized this person as the one who had issued the bounty that day!
Many people in the audience knew who this beautiful woman in purple robes was!
An elder of the Imperial Capital Professional Association, and also the Chief Commander of the Dragon Kingdom's Demonic Beast Disaster Management Bureau — Liu Yan!
As a referee for this Genius Battle, her main responsibility was to maintain order.
She initially thought it was just a scuffle between young people, but now it seemed that if she didn't intervene, it might escalate into a major conflict.
"Private fights are prohibited during the competition. The kids might not know better, but shouldn't someone your age?" Liu Yan stared at Zhou Jianming, her tone icy.
"It's... it's him who insulted my Zhou Family member. I just wanted to seek justice!" Facing Liu Yan, Zhou Jianming's voice trembled slightly.
This was a true transcendent being who had reached the Ninth Revolution, a genuine top-tier combatant of the Dragon Kingdom. A single spell from her could kill a group of Seventh Turn cultivators...
What's even more terrifying is that upon reaching the Ninth Revolution, one unlocks the power of Power of Laws...
That is the truly world-shattering, earth-destroying might...
In an instant, they can suppress Monarch Grade Demonic Beasts, and killing ordinary Eighth Revolution cultivators is as easy as lifting a finger...
Facing the gazes of the crowd, Chu Ran spread his hands and revealed a harmless smile: "Grandma, you saw it just now. I just asked a friendly question. It was him who refused to answer and even wanted to have someone beat me up..."
"Especially this old geezer, he was even muttering about wanting to kill me. I didn't cast any spells first..." Chu Ran pointed at Zhou Jianming, wearing an innocent expression.
After hearing Chu Ran's words, a flicker of displeasure appeared on the beautiful woman's face. Her chest rose and fell slightly twice, but she quickly composed herself.
Gra... grandma...?
Many geniuses in the audience had taken bounties from the Demonic Beast Disaster Management Bureau and had dealings with Chief Liu.
She never married or had children, devoting herself entirely to cultivation to reach the Ninth Revolution, becoming the only female among the Dragon Kingdom's Twelve Paragons, all to maintain her beauty...
What she hated hearing the most was anyone calling her old... especially being addressed as grandma...
Once, a foolish young man from a certain prominent family in Demon Capital called her 'grandma' while accepting a bounty, and she publicly threw him out of the hall...
The result was that student couldn't get a single bounty from her for an entire semester...
Since then, that student never dared to call anyone 'grandma' no matter how old they were, at most only daring to say 'auntie'...
Seeing the displeasure flash across the beautiful woman's face, everyone inwardly gasped for Chu Ran...
But Liu Yan just looked coldly at Zhou Jianming and spoke: "It was just a childish scuffle. Your family member's mouth wasn't clean either. Let it go. Settle any matters through competition on the stage."
"And you, behave yourself. The competition is about to start." Liu Yan shot a glare at Chu Ran.
That's... it?
The audience was astonished. Offending a Ninth-Turn Expert only warranted a glare?
Moreover, anyone with eyes could see that while Liu Yan seemed to reprimand both sides equally, she was actually intentionally favoring that handsome young man...
If a real fight had broken out, who would have come out worse was uncertain?
Just what background does this kid have?
...
On the other side.
A disheveled Zhou Jianming led Zhou Ming off the stage. Before leaving, he glanced at the beautiful woman's back, showing a hint of helplessness, then looked resentfully at Chu Ran by the stage.
"Just you wait!"
Zhou Jianming spoke in a voice only he could hear...
Their Zhou Family absolutely could not afford to offend a Ninth-Turn Expert, but settling things on the competition stage...
If someone were to accidentally get killed, that would be a different story...
Zhou Jianming glanced at the competition roster and found that the Zhou Family had another genius who had advanced to the semi-finals.
Zhou Shuichuan, Zhou Ming's own elder brother!
...
After the Zhou Family left the arena, the entire venue erupted in an uproar.
"Who is this? Not only did he embarrass the Zhou Family publicly, but after making Chief Liu so awkward, he still got off scot-free. What kind of powerful background must he have!"
"Chief Liu is the one among the Twelve Ninth Revolution Paragons who cares the least about family connections. Ordinary major families can't catch her eye. Those she's friendly with are either from the military or international clans like the Chu Clan..."
Even Mu Zhiyu was now staring at Chu Ran in surprise...
The Mu Family's influence in the Dragon Kingdom, especially within the Imperial Capital, was far greater than the Zhou Family's. If the Zhou Family was a medium-sized family in the capital, the Mu Family could be considered a major one...
But even she only dared to engage in verbal sparring. Actually taking action would be a significant stain on the Mu Family's reputation. Given her upbringing, she wouldn't dare act so recklessly...
"This is...?"
This young man had just stepped in because the Zhou Family spoke disrespectfully of the Northern Domain. Mu Zhiyu turned to Lu Jingkong with a puzzled look.
"I... I don't know. Over the past few years, although many people from our Northern Domain come to the Central Domain every year, most don't get the chance to participate in the Genius Battle. I'm the one who's gone the furthest." Lu Jingkong was equally bewildered.
Chief Liu said earlier that he still had matches, meaning he had entered the semi-finals!
Among the tens of thousands who emerged from the Northern Domain in the past three years, only a few hundred were eligible to register for this Genius Battle. Most were eliminated in the preliminaries. With Lu Jingkong losing this match, the entire Northern Domain had no one left in the semi-finals...
"Could he really be a disciple from another family who just couldn't stand the Zhou Family? I've never heard of him..."
Mu Zhiyu looked puzzled. The Mu Family had business dealings with most of the prominent families in the Imperial Capital and even the entire Central Domain. Family elders always intentionally encouraged interactions between their younger generation and those of other families for potential marriage alliances. So, Mu Zhiyu had seen many young geniuses from various families since childhood. Among those in the capital who could thoroughly thrash the Zhou Family, there were only a few families she was familiar with, and she had never seen this suddenly appearing handsome man before.
Nearby, Liu Yan brought Chu Ran to the main platform to register.
Chu Ran's registration information appeared on the screen, just in a small corner, but it was seen by many.
[Name: Chu Ran.]
...
Seeing the surname 'Chu', Mu Zhiyu immediately thought of the Chu Clan and turned her gaze towards Chu Tianxiong on the main platform.
Chu Tianxiong met her gaze and helplessly shook his head, indicating this person was not from the Chu Clan.
There was only one Chu Clan in the Central Domain. Being named Chu but not from the Chu Clan meant this person likely had no background!
Confusion stirred like a thousand waves in Mu Zhiyu's heart.
If he's not from the Chu Clan, then how dare he hit Zhou Ming?
[Origin: Lin Feng City, Northern Domain.]
[Advancement Method: Direct entry to semi-finals.]
...
After seeing all the information clearly, Mu Zhiyu and Lu Jingkong looked at each other.
Their expressions showed they were both very surprised...
Lu Jingkong was very familiar with the Northern Domain, but as for Lin Feng City...
He only knew that Lin Feng City was located at the very border of the Northern Domain, the kind where you could cross the wall and enter the Desolate Realm...
Its level of development was even one tier behind Tianmeng City...
If one or two people from there managed to test into a Central Domain martial academy each year, it would be considered a blessing...
Direct entry... to the semi-finals...
A Northern Domain genius like Lu Jingkong fought over a dozen matches and still couldn't enter the semi-finals after losing the last one, showing how fierce the competition was. And this guy got a direct pass?
"Could it be that after drawing cards for so many years, our Northern Domain finally got a gold-tier character?"
Although it's hard to believe that a hen laying tens of thousands of eggs might one day hatch a phoenix, it's still possible... right...
"Holy crap, direct entry to the semi-finals! And from the Northern Domain?"
"Isn't Lu Jingkong the strongest from the Northern Domain? Who's Chu Ran?"
"Does the Chu Clan have a branch family in the Northern Domain?"
"How strong do you have to be to get a direct entry!"
Instantly, the venue exploded into chatter over Chu Ran's direct entry to the semi-finals...
Everyone began investigating Chu Ran's identity.
"Do you think it might be because of that incident in the Northern Domain these past couple of days, so the Genius Battle gave them a consolation spot?"
Thinking of this, everyone suddenly realized. The Northern Domain had suffered severe demonic beast invasions with heavy losses these past two days, so it was reasonable for the Central Domain to offer some appropriate compensation.
No wonder Chief Liu was so tolerant of his offense earlier...
And those who wanted to search for Chu Ran's true identity stopped their actions upon hearing this explanation.
People from the Northern Domain struggled to get into a proper martial academy. For years, only Lu Jingkong had gained any real fame.
But even a genius like Lu Jingkong, who received two years of education at the Imperial Capital Martial Academy, couldn't advance to the semi-finals. For a Northern Domain native to suddenly get a direct pass—without some behind-the-scenes manipulation was impossible. They weren't fools...
"Sigh, I thought it was some family genius who couldn't stand the Zhou Family and intervened. Turns out it's just a newborn calf unafraid of the tiger..."
"Now he's done for. Getting a direct pass into the semi-finals, and now he's offended the Zhou Family. Isn't the organizer pushing him into a pit of fire..."
Putting someone into a competition level they shouldn't be in is dangerous enough. Now that Chu Ran has offended the Zhou Family, given their means in the capital, they'll probably swallow him whole...
"The Zhou Family still has Zhou Shuichuan in the semi-finals. He's much stronger than Zhou Ming. Even Lu Jingkong probably couldn't last ten moves against him. And this Zhou Ming is his own younger brother..."
With thatHatredbuff stacked, if they met, Zhou Shuichuan would definitely go for the kill!
"Now I'm almost afraid to watch. This lively, handsome guy now will probably end up in the ICU tonight, kept alive by healing mages..."
"Don't be so pessimistic. He might not even make it to the ICU. Probably a direct one-stop funeral service..."
"Sigh..."
Many of the geniuses in the audience were still students. Although they had experienced life-and-death trials, seeing someone die right before their eyes would still leave an impact.
Moreover, Chu Ran's earlier actions had earned the genuine respect of many, regardless of whether it was ignorance or courage...
However, in this world where the strong were revered and the weak were preyed upon most of the time, having a background for protection definitely made things smoother than having none...
And for a young man like this, coming alone to the Central Domain with no one behind him, even if he died in the end, it wouldn't cause even a ripple here...
In a corner below the stage, a tall, burly man with short golden hair stared coldly at Chu Ran by the main platform.
He was the Zhou Family's only genius who had entered the semi-finals — Zhou Shuichuan.
"Is he the one who beat Ming'er up like that?" He asked calmly towards a middle-aged man with an obsequious expression beside him.
"It was this kid who beat up Young Master Zhou Ming and Steward Zhou..."
"Trash! And that Zhou Jianming is useless too, can't even protect someone properly!" Zhou Shuichuan cursed.
"Steward Zhou... he didn't expect a Northern Domain barba... to barge into the Imperial Capital..." His mind flashed to the earlier scene, and the word 'barbarian' that was about to come out was forcibly swallowed.
Zhou Shuichuan shot a cold glare at the middle-aged man and asked, "Does this kid really have no background?"
"The kid really has no background! Young Master Chu Tianxiong already indicated he doesn't know him. I think he's just a barba... from a small border town in the Northern Domain."
"Fine. Next match, I want to face him!" Zhou Shuichuan said calmly.
With the Zhou Family's power, if no one deliberately obstructed them, it would be easy to manipulate the match-up list...
The middle-aged man left dejectedly.
Zhou Shuichuan looked at Chu Ran with a playful gaze, a sinister smile curling at the corner of his mouth:
"Hmph, since you've offended my Zhou Family, there's no need for you to stay alive."
...