"Surrender? You misunderstand. I am merely informing you why he was beaten, nothing more!"
Zhang Chen's smile was faint, his mood undisturbed.
"Since you admit to attacking our Cloud Heaven Sect disciple, I cannot stand idly by!"
"Come, let you strike first. Don't say that I, Elder Xuan Tian, bully the young by taking advantage of my age!"
Elder Xuan Tian took a few steps forward and said to Zhang Chen.
"You're going to fight me like this? You don't even need to adopt a defensive posture?"
Zhang Chen looked at the old man, who was already quite old, and felt a bit reluctant to strike.
"Haha, throughout the entire world, aside from those renowned experts, no one can even harm a single hair on my head!"
"Moreover, you dare not even report your name, presumably you are nobody."
"I will stand with my hands behind my back and take your move. What of it?"
Elder Xuan Tian said with full confidence.
"Alright, since you insist, if I hold back, wouldn't that be disrespecting you?"
Zhang Chen said, looking at his own fist.
He had already sealed most of his power, so he should be able to use a bit more force, right?!
And looking at the old man's overconfident demeanor, he seemed to have some substance.
"Of course, if you don't attack me with all your might, then it is disrespecting me!"
"Even if our Sect Master spars with me, he will still give it his all."
"A gentleman would rather die than be humiliated. You must have heard such sayings, right!"
Elder Xuan Tian stroked his beard and looked at Zhang Chen with a slanted eye, full of contempt.
"Good, then I am reassured. I am about to punch, please be ready!"
Zhang Chen walked in front of Elder Xuan Tian, his right hand slowly retracting.
Boom!
A powerful shockwave erupted from Elder Xuan Tian's face, making the surrounding buildings tremble. The bluestone bricks on the ground one by one detached and flew up by more than ten centimeters, then slowly fell back down.
In an instant, Elder Xuan Tian was sent flying far away.
Originally, the square was a T-junction, and behind Elder Xuan Tian was a street.
He flew back a great distance, then bounced off the ground like skipping stones, rising again, falling again, and after several rebounds, he directly smashed through the city gate and flew outwards.
Not a single person present could clearly see what had just happened.
They only saw Zhang Chen standing still, holding a handful of Elder Xuan Tian's beard, and looking dumbfounded.
"My goodness, where did the beard come from?"
"Wasn't it just one punch? How did it turn into pulling a handful? But that speed is too fast!"
"Although I shouldn't laugh at this scene, the moment I recall Elder Xuan Tian saying no one could touch a hair on his head, I can't help it!"
"Indeed, for showing off in front of our Teacher Zhang, he deserves to be taught a lesson!"
The students chattered amongst themselves, filled with laughter.
"This..."
Zhang Chen looked at the beard in his hand, feeling a little embarrassed.
He didn't mean to pull the old man's beard.
It was because after throwing a full-power punch, he suddenly realized that the opponent's body could not withstand such a powerful attack.
So he reduced the force slightly, and at the same time, fearing that he might send the opponent flying too far, he gave a tug to try and dissipate the force.
Unexpectedly, not only did the force not dissipate, but he also pulled off the man's beard. The worst part was that with this tug, Elder Xuan Tian's balance shifted, his head facing downwards, and he flew out like that.
Those repeated heavy falls to the ground, others could not see clearly, but Zhang Chen saw it very clearly; they were basically face-first impacts.
Although his internal organs would not be damaged, his face was likely beyond recognition.
"Master?!"
The disciples, seeing their master sent flying with a single move, were all shocked.
"Demon, how dare you injure my master, today..."
A disciple drew his long sword and pointed at Zhang Chen. Before he could finish speaking, he was gently pulled by the sleeve by a disciple behind him, who whispered a few words.
Then this disciple continued:
"Today I will not hold you accountable, but I will make you pay another day! Retreat!"
After the disciple finished speaking, he turned to lead his disciples away.
However, upon turning around, he discovered that those disciples had already vanished.
To challenge the person who sent their master flying with one punch? What were they thinking!
"Tsk, I thought they had some backbone, but they were just scared out of their wits?"
"So it turns out they dared to cut in line, not because of any special status, but simply because they bully the weak and fear the strong!"
The students all burst into mocking laughter.
But after a few words, they suddenly felt a burning sensation on their faces.
Weren't they doing the same thing before?
When they encountered the weak, they were extremely mocking, but when they encountered a strong person like Zhang Chen, they all caved.
From this perspective, what was the difference between them and those disciples?!
"Alright, the show is over. Come out!"
Zhang Chen suddenly said.
"Heh heh, what a grand spectacle, truly interesting!"
"The person who can send Elder Xuan Tian flying with one punch, as far as I know, such strong individuals can be counted on one hand throughout the world!"
Suddenly, a woman in purple clothes jumped down from the rooftop nearby, her alluring eyes leisurely appraising Zhang Chen.
"But who are you? I've never seen you before!"
Zhang Chen smiled and said:
"We are just passing by. We are here to find someone. Once we find them, we will leave. We are mere travelers; there's no need to know us!"
Zhang Chen said, walking towards the stone lion.
To survive in this world, one had to abide by its rules. With money, one could consume. One couldn't just take everything by force.
"Hey?! Are you looking for a little girl? She's very pretty, and has a large bust?"
"Her clothes are different from the people here, and instead bear some resemblance to your style?"
The purple-clothed girl suddenly blocked Zhang Chen's path and asked with a smile.
"Very pretty, and a large bust?"
Zhang Chen frowned and looked back at the monkey.
After all, he hadn't seen the classmates who entered the portal, but it was certain there were girls among them.
"Mhm, indeed... a bit bigger than hers..."
The monkey nodded in affirmation.
"Mhm, possibly. Do you know her?"
Zhang Chen asked.
"Of course, but I want to verify something!"
"If you can make the stone lion spit out a golden crystal, then I will join you and lead you to find that girl!"
The purple-clothed girl said with a smile.
"A golden crystal?"
"That's right. Ten thousand ordinary crystals can coalesce into one golden crystal."
"As long as you can make the stone lion spit out even a single golden crystal, you've succeeded!"
"Alright!" Zhang Chen smiled indifferently.
In fact, he was going to touch the stone lion anyway, and regardless of whether he succeeded, with the Underworld King Mushroom, he had a way to make the girl speak.
Zhang Chen walked in front of the stone lion and gently stroked it.
Suddenly, the stone lion vibrated violently, emitting intermittent golden patterns, as if it were about to explode.
Then, a golden crystal was spat out from the stone lion's mouth.
"Success!"
The students cheered excitedly. Ten thousand crystals meant Zhang Chen's strength was hundreds of times that of the monkey!
Rumble...
Suddenly, countless golden crystals poured out of the lion's mouth!