"Who dares disrespect Your Excellency!"
Shawn Shi suddenly frowned. In his eyes, Evan Lin was now an absolute powerhouse.
And just now, Evan had helped him take out Harvey Pang on the spot.
At this moment, Shawn Shi was completely convinced by Evan Lin.
It was pure respect for strength!
"Your Excellency? You think this kid deserves that title?"
Shawn turned his head and saw a youth standing beside him, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
The youth looked about eighteen, with sharp features and an air of restrained elegance rather than brute strength.
He wore a black T-shirt with a skull print, chewing gum as he glanced at Shawn and then Evan, his expression full of pride and arrogance.
"No idea what the Ding family is thinking—setting the entry bar this low. Is that supposed to be fun?" The youth spoke as if to himself, but loud enough for others to hear.
His words instantly drew angry glares not just from Shawn, but also from several others who’d failed the test.
"What did you say? You looking down on us?!"
A burly man who’d just failed the test, already in a bad mood, stepped forward and reached out to grab the youth’s collar.
"Trash."
The youth spat out the word coldly, then spun and kicked, his foot smashing into the man’s neck and shattering his skull. The man convulsed on the ground and stopped breathing within seconds.
After doing all this, the youth looked completely unfazed, as if it was nothing.
To him, it was just a trivial matter, done without a second thought.
"If all the Ding family can attract is trash like you, no wonder their strength’s been going downhill these past few years."
He swept his gaze over the crowd, full of disdain.
He walked straight through the crowd to the front row, ignoring all the angry stares.
"Zane, what brings you here? You’re our Ding family’s special guest this year—you don’t need to take the test. If you want to compete, just say the word."
Seeing the youth step onto the stage, Eric Ding’s usually stern face relaxed. He put on a polite smile, his tone respectful.
"Just bored and wanted to check things out. No need for special treatment, Eric—let’s stick to the rules." Zane replied coolly, barely acknowledging Eric.
To everyone’s surprise, Eric Ding didn’t get angry at Zane’s words, but instead remained as respectful as ever.
This made people start guessing about Zane’s real identity.
"If you can’t even pass such a simple test, showing up here is just embarrassing." Zane scanned the crowd with icy eyes. "With this much trash gathered, I doubt this championship is anything special."
"Eric, don’t tell me the Ding family could only round up this kind of riffraff?"
Zane looked utterly relaxed, while Eric Ding could only force a bitter smile.
The crowd was boiling with emotion, faces twisting in anger.
Everyone here was a big shot in their own city—no one was used to being talked down to like this.
Getting publicly trashed by some cocky kid, a few people started plotting to teach Zane a lesson once he got off stage.
Zane sneered coldly, stepped forward, and stopped in front of the iron brick.
"Watch closely, you losers!"
He clenched his fist, his knuckles whitening, and threw a heavy punch straight down at the iron brick.
A thunderous boom echoed out.
Zane’s fist smashed into the iron brick, driving it down with a sudden jolt.
Inside the glass tube on the iron column, the fish’s belly ballooned, nearly filling the whole tube.
"Whoa, that’s huge!"
"How much force does that take?!"
"That’s insane power!"
The crowd, which moments ago was fired up, was now stunned silent.
Whoosh!
The fish shot upward in a burst.
A powerful jet of water sent it racing up the tube.
First mark.
Second mark.
Third mark.
Fourth mark.
Still going!
Fifth!
Sixth!
Still climbing!
Seventh!!
"Seventh mark!"
"Is this guy even human?!"
"He’s already got Inner Strength?!"
Eyes wide, everyone stared at the scene, shaken to their core.
As the fish neared the eighth mark, its ascent finally began to slow.
At last, it stopped right at the eighth mark before dropping back into the water with a splash.
Silence.
Everyone had just tried it themselves—they knew exactly how freakish the force needed to hit the eighth mark was.
Thinking back to how arrogant Zane had been, their faces turned ashen. All their anger had nowhere to go.
"When I call you trash, you’re trash."
Zane looked down at them with utter disdain.
"Anyone not convinced, come on up!"
His voice rang out, landing heavily in everyone’s heart.
A few who’d been ready to step up froze at Zane’s words.
Even if you hit four marks now, so what?
It’d still be humiliating.
"This guy… could he be from Medicine King Valley?" someone whispered.
"Yeah, only Medicine King Valley could produce a freak like that." someone nearby sighed.
"Looks like Medicine King Valley is dead set on getting the Ding family’s artifact. With that kind of power, he’s at least mid-stage Inner Strength." someone guessed, their face complicated.
The crowd quieted down—no one dared step forward.
Eric Ding forced a bitter smile. After Zane’s display, no one would want to take the test today; anyone who followed him would just get humiliated.
But Eric couldn’t say a word against Zane’s behavior.
He was from Medicine King Valley—the giant that’s dominated Seacrest Prefecture for decades.
And his strength was off the charts.
Eric Ding looked out at the crowd, took a deep breath, and was about to announce the end of today’s test if no one stepped up.
But then—
The crowd parted.
"Excuse me, coming through."
Shawn Shi led the way, pushing past the human wall.
Eric Ding glanced at Shawn, then his eyes landed on the thin youth behind him.
Ordinary-looking, backpack slung over one shoulder, baseball cap pulled low—he was skinny and looked totally out of place among all these fighters, more like a student on a trip than a contestant.
Unlike Zane’s wild arrogance, this youth seemed calm and reserved. But no matter how Eric looked, he didn’t seem like a martial artist.
Eric couldn’t sense any Outer Strength from him.
Could he be an Inner Strength expert?
Eric was puzzled.
The crowd eyed Evan Lin with mixed curiosity and doubt.
Zane raised his eyebrows and sneered, "Well, look who’s got the guts to get on stage."
"How many marks do you think you’ll hit? Can you even get past the first one?"