The air inside the dilapidated mud hut didn't just turn cold; it crystallized.
Frost crept outward from Ling Yue’s leather boots, spider-webbing across the dirt floor and crawling up the rotting wooden beams. The temperature dropped so fast that Leo’s breath blossomed into a thick, white mist in front of his face.
Ling Yue’s right hand rested lightly on the pommel of her sword. Her posture was motionless, yet every fiber of her being radiated the sharp, crushing pressure of a Stage 7 Body Refining cultivator. To an ordinary outer disciple, this sheer display of spiritual intent would feel like having an anvil dropped onto their collarbone.
Leo, however, merely shivered, adjusted his shoulders, and blew on his hands.
"Damn, lady," Leo said, his voice completely unbothered. "Are you a cultivator or a walk-in freezer? My landlord back in Detroit didn't even cut off the heat this badly."
Ling Yue’s icy blue eyes narrowed. She was testing him. In the world of martial arts, aura was everything; a weak mind would crumble under the weight of a superior cultivator's pressure long before a single blow was struck. Yet Xiao Long stood there, chewing on his lower lip, looking at her not as an intimidating sword fairy, but as a minor nuisance who was driving up his heating bill.
His spirit isn't flinching, she realized with a jolt. He has zero defensive Qi covering his mind, yet my frost aura isn't even making his knees buckle. How?
[PING!]
[Emergency Quest Complete: The Arrogant Senior Sister Approaches!]
[Bonus Objective Achieved: Target's sense of superiority successfully dismantled!]
[Rewards Issued:]
+200 Chaos Qi (Direct Transfer)
Skill Manual: [Ghost-Pacing Footwork] (Instantly Learned)
+100 System Points (Current Total: 150 SP)
[Breakthrough Threshold Exceeded!]
[Current Chaos Qi: 360/300]
[Automatically Advancing to: Body Refining Stage 4!]
A deep, resonant rumble echoed inside Leo’s chest, sounding like heavy iron gears grinding together.
The cold air rushing around him was suddenly blown backward by an invisible wave of kinetic force. The frost on the ground instantly shattered into fine, sparkling powder. A subtle, dark-golden light flared beneath Leo’s skin, particularly around his forearms and legs, before sinking deep into his meridian pathways.
Stage 4. The barrier between simple muscle force and true spiritual projection.
Ling Yue took half a step back, her icy composure cracking entirely. Her hand gripped her sword hilt so hard her knuckles turned pale. "You... you broke through? Right in front of me?!"
"Oh, hey, look at that," Leo hummed, flexing his fingers and feeling the dense, liquid energy pulsing through his palms. "Upgraded again. Thanks for the boost, Senior Sister. Your cold vibe really helped set the mood."
"You..." Ling Yue swallowed hard, her mind reeling.
To go from an unranked, talentless cripple to Body Refining Stage 4 in a single afternoon was a physical impossibility. Even the greatest geniuses of the grand sects in the Central Plains required months of dedicated meditation, rare spirit herbs, and high-tier scriptures to jump two stages.
Yet this boy had just done it while cracking jokes in a ruined shed.
"Who are you?" Ling Yue asked, her voice dropping into a dangerous, low whisper. She drew her sword three inches from its scabbard, revealing a gleaming blade of forged blue steel that hummed with a razor-sharp chill. "The real Xiao Long was cowardice incarnate. He couldn't look anyone in the eye, let alone channel Qi of this density. Are you a demonic cultivator possessing his corpse?"
Leo rolled his eyes hard.
"Oh, classic," Leo scoffed, leaning back against the wall with his hands behind his head. "When a guy works hard and makes progress, it's gotta be 'demonic possession.' You people in this world have a real lack of imagination. Ever heard of hitting the gym and eating your vegetables?"
[Passive Skill Triggered: Sarcastic Glare (Lv. 1)]
[Target's Irritation Level: 85% -> 98%]
Ling Yue’s temple throbbed with a visible pulse. Her flawless, pale forehead creased into a deep scowl. "Your words are insolent!"
"And your sword is out," Leo pointed out, nodding toward the blue steel blade. "You gonna use that, or are you just showing off your metallurgy? Because if you're gonna swing, swing. But I gotta warn you, Senior Sister..."
Leo’s grin turned sharp, dark, and utterly devoid of fear.
"...I don't die easily. In fact, I don't die at all. And if you miss, it's my turn."
For three long, agonizing seconds, the air in the hut stood frozen in a deadly deadlock. Ling Yue’s eyes locked onto Leo's. She searched his face for a split second of hesitation, a quiver in his irises, a single drop of sweat that would betray a bluff.
She found nothing. Just an abyss of absurd, unshakable confidence.
CLANG.
Ling Yue slammed her sword back into its sheath. The suffocating frost aura vanished instantly, returning the room to its normal, dusty temperature.
"I won't fight a fellow disciple without a formal challenge," Ling Yue stated coldly, though her chest heaved slightly as she forced her racing heart to steady. "The Clan Elder Council has already heard about what happened to Xiao Feng. His father, Elder Xiao Shan, is furious. He is currently calling an emergency tribunal at the Main Ancestral Hall."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "A tribunal? Let me guess: a bunch of old guys in fancy chairs telling me I was wrong for not letting his kid beat me to death?"
"Precisely," Ling Yue said, turning her back to him, her long black hair swaying gracefully. "Elder Xiao Shan intends to execute you for treason against the clan's bloodline. If you run now, you might make it to the outer wilderness before the guards catch you."
She paused at the shattered doorway, glancing over her shoulder with an unreadable expression in her cold eyes.
"Of course, if you stay... you will be executed before sunset."
Leo snorted, brushing dirt off his sleeves. "Run? Back in Detroit, when the police showed up to a party, you ran. But when a bunch of corrupt old men want to talk trash? You grab popcorn."
He walked past her, stepping right over the broken door frame into the bright afternoon sunlight. He stretched his arms high above his head, his joints popping satisfyingly in the fresh air.
"Lead the way, Senior Sister," Leo smirked, looking back at her. "Let's go see how these old guys handle a little bit of truth."
Ling Yue stared at his retreating back, utterly stunned for the second time that day. Is he brave, or is he simply insane?
The Ancestral Hall of the Xiao Clan was a towering monument of red sandalwood, black marble, and towering gold pillars. Banners displaying the clan's flame crest hung from the high ceiling, and the air was thick with the rich, heavy scent of burning sandalwood incense.
Seated on elevated stone thrones at the head of the hall were the five High Elders of the clan.
At the center sat the Grand Elder, Xiao Tian, a withered old man with a long white beard and eyes as sharp as an eagle's. To his right sat Elder Xiao Shan—a broad-shouldered, fiery-tempered man in crimson robes whose face was currently purple with rage.
Below the thrones, dozens of inner and outer disciples were gathered, whispering among themselves as they sneered at the boy standing in the center of the hall.
Leo stood alone on the cold marble floor, his hands casually tucked into his pockets, looking around at the grand architecture like a tourist visiting a museum.
"Silence!" Elder Xiao Shan roared, his voice echoing through the massive hall like thunder.
The whispers instantly died down.
Xiao Shan glared down at Leo, his fingers crushing the armrests of his stone chair. "Xiao Long! You vicious, ungrateful hound! You dared to brutally assault your own cousin, Xiao Feng, breaking his bones and destroying his cultivation foundation! Do you deny this crime?!"
Leo tapped his chin, pretending to think deeply. "Brutally assault? Man, that’s a real spin on the story. You should work for the news media."
"Silence, trash!" Xiao Shan slammed his fist onto the armrest, cracking the solid stone. "You are the son of a lowly maid! A leech living on the generosity of the Xiao Clan! To strike a legitimate heir of the main bloodline is an act of high treason! According to clan law, the penalty is to have your meridians severed and be beaten to death with iron rods!"
The surrounding disciples sneered, enjoying the spectacle.
"He's finished!"
"Serves him right! Acting so arrogant earlier!"
"Elder Xiao Shan will tear him apart!"
Leo looked up at the enraged elder, then looked at the Grand Elder, who remained silent, watching with cold, calculating eyes.
"So let me get this straight," Leo said, his voice carrying effortlessly through the quiet hall. "When Xiao Feng dragged me behind the training grounds, broke my ribs, and left me to bleed out over three copper coins, that was just 'clan discipline'?"
"Xiao Feng was merely correcting your insolence!" Xiao Shan spat. "His life is worth a thousand of yours!"
"Right, right. Double standards," Leo chuckled, shaking his head. "Typical corrupt corporate culture. The boss's son can wreck the company car, but the intern gets fired for taking an extra five minutes on lunch."
"What absurd gibberish are you spouting?!" Xiao Shan bellowed, standing up from his throne. A terrifying aura of red flame erupted around his body—the power of a Core Formation Stage master. The sheer weight of his pressure made the stone floor around Leo begin to crack. "Accept your death, cripple!"
[PING!]
[SYSTEM QUEST GENERATED!]
[Quest: Courtroom Drama!]
[Objective:] Provoke Elder Xiao Shan into striking you with full lethal force in front of the entire clan tribunal.
[Warning:] The blow WILL kill you physically.
[System Note:] Do not worry. The Immortality System will handle the rest. Make sure it looks dramatic!
[Reward:] +500 Chaos Qi, Title: [Unkillable Bastard], System Shop Unlocked!
Leo stared at the quest prompt, his eyes twinkling with pure, unadulterated mischief.
You want me to take a lethal hit from a Core Formation Elder? Leo thought, a massive, shameless grin spreading across his face. System... you are truly evil. I love it.
Leo straightened his back, pointed a finger directly at Elder Xiao Shan's purple face, and let out a loud, theatrical laugh.
"Hey, old man!" Leo yelled, his voice echoing off the high ceiling. "Your son punches like a wet noodle, and judging by your weak-ass aura, you probably do too! Come down here and hit me yourself, you old bald fraud!"
The entire Ancestral Hall went dead, suffocatingly silent.
Ling Yue, standing near the back pillars, gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Is he trying to get executed?!
"YOU DIE TODAY!" Elder Xiao Shan shrieked, his mind snapping entirely.
Transformed into a streak of roaring red fire, the elder launched himself from his throne, his palm coated in a massive, searing fireball, aiming straight for Leo’s chest!
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