"Who will be the one to challenge me!? Step up and I shall face you!"

"I will!" shouted someone from the crowd of challengers.

A young man stepped into the ring. Oozing with the aura of a half-step true saint stage, he presented himself in a dignified manner.

He stood straight in front of Wang Ling, holding a sword in his right hand. "I will be the one fighting you!"

Nodding his head, Wang Ling took a stance of his own and stretched his right hand forward and beckoned the young student to come at him.

"I will not be courteous."

Boom!

The student did not hesitate to move. He held his sword in front of him and made a stabbing motion. Wang Ling watched him come to him with all his strength used in that single burst.

Wang Ling did not move a single inch and stood his ground. As the student neared him.

Wang Ling finally moved his right foot and took a step forward towards the sword. He moved his hands in front of him and tried meeting the sword barehanded.

[What an idiot.] The crowd watching this scene play out all thought the same.

However, the next scene was enough to shake them to their cores as Wang Ling's hands blurred. His eyes gleamed mysteriously and saw through the flow of qi.

Moving like a snake, he got a hold of the hilt of the sword's hilt trapping the hand of the student and inhibiting him from doing anything else.

"Give up." Wang Ling suggested.

But the student took offense of those words and let go of the sword. He jumped up and directed an ax kick towards Wang Ling.

"Get crush!" the young student shouted in anger.

With his legs descending from above, Wang Ling raises a hand and said, "I grew tired of your nonsense."

Bang!

Catching the foot that was descending onto him. His robes fluttered but Wang Ling stood his grounds and did not move, but then, an unexpected twist happened as his hand faltered and the kick got inside his defense.

Wang Ling received a full-force kick into his right shoulders making him lose a little bit of his footing. His face crumpled and with explosive strength, he grabbed the robes of the student and dragged him from above slamming him on the hard floor.

The student rightfully lost consciousness as the impact and the shock of the attack got him good. Wang Ling stood massaging the area where he got hit.

The faces of those watching suddenly beamed as they saw Wang Ling receive such an attack.

The shock they received from when Wang Ling incapacitated Han Shi in seconds was still stuck freshly in their heads.

They thought that Wang Ling was some kind of monster who cannot be taken down. Even though they stepped forth to challenge Wang Ling.

The challengers were mostly blinded by the opportunity. But the underlying fear could never disappear.

Beating Han Shi in seconds might have been luck. But the chance of it being pure skills was not going to go away.

But now that they saw him get him by some grand saint stage student. Even if Wang Ling overpowered him to such a terrifying degree after the hit went in.

They now held hope that Wang Ling could be beaten. They can become a ranker.

Wang Ling's lips curved upwards as he mumbled to himself, "They really are idiots."

=====

Pride is the bane and the cause of destruction for almost everyone who stands at the peak of the cultivation world.

But that pride is natural. It is essential for anyone who strives for greatness. Even if someone is shameless, they still have pride deep in their bones.

None can take away the pride of a cultivator.

Cultivation of oneself takes a lot of time and the more you improve and see greater height, the higher your pride is. The pride of a top cultivator is something built upon by hundreds of bloody battles and a long time of meditation.

However, there is one type of pride that is not welcome anywhere in the world of cultivation and that is baseless pride.

A pride that does not have any strength backing it up or pride that restricts one's view of the world's vastness and infinite possibilities is not welcome in the slightest.

To have pride that limits one's view of the world is not only useless and unwelcomed, but it was also stupid.

However, it was also beautiful to see so many idiots thinking they are so great that they become fodders to those who had the brains to exploit them of everything they had in their possession.

Breathing madly like a tired beast was Wang Ling who had cuts and bruise on his face.

Blood was coming out of these cuts, and his exhaustion could be seen in his expression. But his posture said otherwise.

Those who stuck around to watch the challenges for Wang Ling managed to witness an entertaining fight of a man fighting dozens of people just to keep his position and win the fight.

"This Wang Ling is something else. For him to beat 36 'geniuses' one after another is insane. Why have I not heard anyone his name before?"

"Wait, I know that person, I knew his name was familiar, do you remember the newcomers' competition three years ago? Wasn't he the one who didn't come to it? The one they called the 'coward'?"

"Bah, you idiots were the only ones who believed those rumors. Didn't you remember what the white fox said that day? He was too lazy to come and didn't want to bother with any of the useless competition held to rank the trashes."

Wang Ling, the name of the coward who ran away from the newcomer competition. Bai Xue had tried to "explain" the situation, but it is clear how it turned out.

It was nearing midnight, and all the fights were fought in with grueling efforts. As Wang Ling stood there trying to catch his breath. He turned to one of his challengers and pointed at him and said.

"Are you going to fight or not?" Wang Ling spoke with a hoarse voice. The challenger who had already grown to respect Wang Ling shook his head.

"I cannot fight someone who is already out of breath. I will challenge you again when you recuperate. I am no shameless coward who fights an exhausted counterpart. Also, it is already midnight, and the event has ended."

Wang Ling frowned inwardly. But he showed the student a bitter smile.

[This should be enough acting, for now, right?] he thought as he then spoke loudly.

"I have fought a lot today and indeed I am out of breath. But it is clear that all of the challenges here are dissatisfied with this ending so, in two days, I shall come back, I will accept every challenge that comes my way, for I am Wang Ling of the Wang Family, and my family never recedes from a fight."

With that, Wang Ling stumbled and almost lost his footing. Thankfully, someone appeared beside him and helped him up.

It was Aiane of the Evergreen Clan.

"Please let me help you, First Young Master." Aiane helped the weakened Wang Ling and then brought him away.

Wang Ling leaned on Aiane and praised her on the inside for arriving with such perfect timing. He knew she was only trying to lick his boots but who cares.

Her timing is perfect.

As the two of them walked out. People began to speak of Wang Ling and the statement he had left.

His identity of being the young master of the Wang Family also proliferated at a terrifying rate. And because his name already spread at noon, by the time midnight rolled over, almost every bit of information about him had started to appear.

It did not matter if it was an outer circle or inner circle student and even teacher, Wang Ling's name had spread out like wildfire.

=====

While Wang Ling was quickly gaining fame in the Thundergod Academy.

The entirety of the Wang Family was assembled, the only ones missing was the three men of the Wang Family.

Wang Shu Qing, Wang Hong, and Wang Ling was nowhere to be seen.

Wang Yue was with Butler Sun, and her face was filled with anticipation.

Butler Sun, on the other hand, was fidgeting.

Wang Yue turned to him and asked what was wrong. Butler Sun showed him a wry smile and said.

"As you already know, the Mistress is nice and kind. She is strong and powerful, she is free-willed and honest. But in some cases, the Mistress goes on a, um, how do I say this, rampage when she wants to truly make someone pay. And I fear war is going to happen again once the Mistress read about the endeavors of the two Young Masters… I just hope she does not become angry when she reads it."

"I will not get angry if it's not worth getting angry you know?"

Butler Sun flinched as a graceful and nigh-perfect figure of a lady appeared from above.

The sun was that was rising on her back gave her a natural light that further accentuated the natural beauty of the lady on the air.

Wang Yue raised her head and a smile beamed from her face as she called out, "Mother!"

The Mistress of the Wang Family had returned.

A foreboding feeling had appeared in Butler Sun's heart.