The Seven Peaks Arena was a coliseum carved out of the mountain's granite heart. It was built to hold ten thousand screaming disciples, and today, it was full.

  ?The air smelled of roasted meat, cheap wine, and violence.

  ?Jiang Chen stood in the holding pen for Block D. Around him, fifty other Outer Disciples were warming up. Some were stretching, their joints popping like firecrackers. Others were aggressively circulating their Qi, lighting up the dim tunnel with rainbows of red, blue, and green aura.

  ?Jiang Chen did none of that.

  ?He leaned against the damp stone wall, arms crossed, eyes half-closed.

  ?[Technique Active: The Starless Breath.]

  [Aura Emission: 0%.]

  ?To the other competitors, he looked like a statue. A very boring, very mortal statue.

  ?"Hey, sleepy," a voice sneered.

  ?Jiang Chen opened one eye. A disciple with a massive iron hammer strapped to his back was looming over him.

  ?"This is the combat block," the hammer-wielder grunted. "The spectator seats are upstairs. Get lost before you get hurt."

  ?Jiang Chen looked at the hammer. It was crude iron, poorly refined.

  ?"I'm waiting for my turn," Jiang Chen said softly.

  ?The hammer disciple laughed, nudging his friends. "Hear that? The servant thinks he's a fighter. What are you going to do, sweep us to death?"

  ?"Block D! Match 14!" The referee's voice boomed from the arena entrance. "Iron Hammer Zhao versus Jiang Chen!"

  ?The hammer disciple grinned, cracking his neck. "Looks like you're up first, trash. Don't worry. I'll make it quick."

  ?He marched out into the sunlight.

  ?Jiang Chen pushed off the wall. He walked slowly, his footsteps silent.

  ?"He relies on momentum," Apeiron analyzed, the voice cutting through the roar of the crowd. "His center of gravity is high. He telegraphs his swings. If you dodge left, he will overextend and expose his liver."

  ?"I know," Jiang Chen murmured.

  ?He stepped into the arena.

  ?The sunlight was blinding. The crowd roared—not for him, but for the violence.

  ?"Kill him!"

  "Break his legs!"

  ?High above, in the VIP box, the Elders watched with bored expressions. Among them sat Liu Feng, the tournament favorite. He was peeling a grape, not even looking at the ring.

  ?"Begin!" the referee shouted.

  ?Iron Hammer Zhao didn't hesitate. He roared, his Qi exploding in a burst of yellow earth energy. He swung the massive hammer in a horizontal arc, aiming to turn Jiang Chen's ribs into powder.

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  ?"Die!" Zhao screamed.

  ?The hammer moved fast. To a normal cultivator, it was a blur.

  ?To Jiang Chen, it was a snail.

  ?Jiang Chen didn't dodge. He didn't circulate his Qi. He didn't unleash the Void.

  ?He simply took one step forward.

  ?Inside the vacuum of his body, the [Obsidian Furnace] muscles contracted.

  ?He raised his hand. Not a fist. An open palm.

  ?He slapped the side of the incoming hammer.

  ?CLANG.

  ?It sounded like a church bell being hit by a freight train.

  ?The iron hammer didn't just stop; it rebounded. The force of Jiang Chen's slap sent the weapon flying backward, tearing it out of Zhao's grip. The handle smashed into Zhao's own face.

  ?CRACK.

  ?Zhao spun in the air like a ragdoll, spraying blood and teeth, before slamming face-first into the dirt. He didn't move.

  ?The hammer landed ten feet away, embedding itself in the stone floor.

  ?Silence.

  ?The crowd went dead silent. The cheering stopped.

  ?Jiang Chen stood there, his hand back at his side. He hadn't emitted a single wisp of Qi. No flash of light. No wind.

  ?Just a slap.

  ?The referee blinked. He looked at the unconscious Zhao, then at Jiang Chen.

  ?"Winner..." the referee stammered. "Jiang Chen!"

  ?Jiang Chen didn't celebrate. He didn't wave. He turned around and walked back toward the tunnel.

  ?"Next," he said.

  ?The VIP Box.

  ?Liu Feng stopped peeling his grape.

  ?He looked down at the arena, his golden eyes narrowing slightly.

  ?"Did you see that?" Liu Feng asked the disciple next to him.

  ?"See what, Brother Liu? He just got lucky. Zhao slipped."

  ?"No," Liu Feng said, his voice dropping. "There was no Qi. He didn't use Spirit Energy to deflect that hammer."

  ?He leaned forward, watching the boy in the gray robes disappear into the shadows.

  ?"He used pure physical strength."

  ?Match 2: The Speedster.

  ?"Block D! Match 28! Swift Wind Li versus Jiang Chen!"

  ?Li was a blur of green motion. He specialized in Gale Steps. He darted around Jiang Chen, creating afterimages.

  ?"Can't hit what you can't see!" Li taunted, slashing his daggers at Jiang Chen's back.

  ?Jiang Chen didn't turn around. He just waited for the air pressure to change.

  ?Shift.

  ?Jiang Chen threw his elbow back.

  ?THUD.

  ?It connected perfectly with Li's solar plexus.

  ?Li folded in half, his eyes bulging. He dropped to the ground, wheezing, unable to inhale.

  ?"Winner: Jiang Chen!"

  ?Match 3: The Fire Mage.

  ?"Block D! Match 42! Flame Caller Su versus Jiang Chen!"

  ?Su stood at the edge of the ring, terrified. He had seen the last two fights.

  ?"Stay away!" Su screamed, launching a barrage of fireballs.

  ?Jiang Chen walked through the fire.

  ?The flames licked at his skin, singeing his robes, but the Obsidian Furnace Body absorbed the heat before it could burn his flesh. To the crowd, it looked like the fire just... ignored him.

  ?He reached Su. He grabbed the mage by the collar.

  ?"I yield!" Su shrieked. "I yield!"

  ?Jiang Chen dropped him.

  ?"Winner: Jiang Chen!"

  ?The Aftermath.

  ?By the end of the day, the name "Jiang Chen" was circulating through the betting pits like a virus.

  ?"The Corpse Feeder."

  "The Iron Ghost."

  "The guy who doesn't use Qi."

  ?Lu Pao was waiting for him at the tunnel exit. Lu was shaking, clutching a betting slip.

  ?"Boss," Lu Pao whispered, his eyes wide. "The odds just dropped. You were 50-to-1. Now you're 10-to-1. People are scared."

  ?Jiang Chen took a sip of water. He wasn't even sweating.

  ?"Good," Jiang Chen said. "Let them be scared."

  ?"You are attracting attention," Apeiron warned. "Elder Mo is watching the replays. He suspects you are hiding a cultivation base."

  ?"Let him suspect," Jiang Chen thought. "He thinks I'm hiding power. He doesn't know I'm hiding a species."

  ?He looked up at the leaderboard.

  ?Block D Winner: Jiang Chen.

  ?He had cleared the qualifiers. Tomorrow, the real tournament began. The Top 64.

  ?"Who's next?" Jiang Chen asked Lu Pao.

  ?Lu Pao checked the bracket. He went pale.

  ?"Uh... Boss... you might want to look at this."

  ?He held up the scroll.

  ?Round of 64:

  Jiang Chen vs. Han Ling.

  ?Jiang Chen frowned. "Han? Related to Elder Han?"

  ?"His nephew," Lu Pao gulped. "And he knows who killed his uncle."

  ?Jiang Chen smiled. It was a cold, violet smile that didn't reach his eyes.

  ?"Family reunion," Jiang Chen said.