Seventh mark!
Eighth mark!
Watching the fish corpse being propelled upward by the torrent, everyone below the stage stared wide-eyed, speechless.
Eric Ding felt his own breathing grow a bit rapid, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.
Zane Zhen clenched his fists, crackling with tension, his face extremely cold and grim.
Even as the fish corpse reached the eighth mark, it showed no sign of stopping.
Its speed didn’t decrease—it kept going forward.
Ninth mark!
Tenth mark!
Bang!
When the fish corpse was pushed to the very top by the torrent—
A crisp, clear sound rang out.
"It touched the top!"
Eric Ding muttered to himself.
This iron pillar in front of them was painstakingly built by the Ding family to constantly remind their clan not to slack off in training, and to always know the measure of their own strength.
Until now, no one had ever made that fish shoot all the way to the top of the pillar!
It was a moment of total enlightenment.
The crowd below hadn’t managed to react at first—they just stared at the youth on stage, dumbstruck, unable to utter a single word.
Touching the top!
What kind of strength did that represent?
Eric Ding could only reach the sixth mark, and Zane Zhen, whom Eric revered, managed eight.
But this young man before them hit ten! If the pillar didn’t have a cap, who knows how much higher it would go!
Shawn Shi was completely stunned by the scene.
"Qualified?"
Evan Lin turned his head and glanced at the stunned Eric Ding. Hearing the question, Eric quickly switched to a respectful tone: "I didn’t realize you were so deeply hidden, little brother. Of course you’re qualified."
Eric Ding waved behind him, and soon someone handed him a gilt-edged invitation.
Stepping forward, Eric offered it with both hands: "This is your entry pass for the Underground Boxing Championship. Please accept it, little brother!"
Faced with absolute strength, Eric Ding had no choice but to submit.
"Mm."
Evan Lin nodded slightly, accepted it casually, and walked off the stage without another word.
Zane Zhen clenched his fists even tighter, his complexion shifting between green and white.
Eric Ding had wanted to announce the next round, but when he stepped forward and squatted to check the iron brick, he found it completely embedded in the ground. The entire brick was sunken in the middle—a clear sign of overwhelming force.
This made Eric Ding even more astonished. When he looked back at the crowd, the young man was already nowhere to be seen.
"Looks like a real expert has finally stepped out—so young, yet already this strong. Freakish, honestly," Eric Ding muttered, eyes shining.
The whole point of the Ding family’s Underground Boxing Championship was to lure hidden masters into the open. For someone as young as Evan Lin to display such overwhelming skill made Eric Ding frown in thought.
In all of Haizhou, there didn’t seem to be any truly notable master clans. If there was one, it’d probably be Medicine King Valley.
But...
Eric Ding glanced at Zane Zhen’s expression and was sure this youth couldn’t be from Medicine King Valley.
"Zane..."
Eric Ding wanted to say something to ease Zane’s embarrassment.
Getting slapped in the face in public—Zane Zhen was bound to be furious.
The Ding family still couldn’t quite match Medicine King Valley. Not only did the Valley possess all sorts of unique pills for enhancing the body, but its decades of connections far outstripped anything the Ding family could muster.
Every year, Medicine King Valley recruited and trained many Valley Guardians, each one impressively strong.
Eric Ding worried that personally handing Evan Lin the invitation might have upset Zane Zhen.
"No need, Eric," Zane Zhen shook his head, eyes narrowed as he stared in the direction Evan Lin had disappeared. "Whatever that guy’s real strength is, once we’re on the ring, we’ll see for ourselves."
"Medicine King Valley has accumulated so many techniques. Even if my realm isn’t as high as his, so what? When the time comes, who knows who’ll win!"
Zane Zhen took a deep breath and walked slowly into Magnolia Manor. "This time, Elder Mu and I left the Valley both for your Ding family’s tournament—and for something even more important."
"You don’t need to apologize for what you did. Because in the end, I’ll be the one to snap that kid’s neck myself!"
His tone was chilling, filled with an overwhelming fighting spirit.
Eric Ding sighed and glanced down from the platform, thinking for a moment. "Since the iron brick and fish are ruined, today’s preliminaries end here. Anyone who hasn’t competed can come back tomorrow or the day after."
......
"Zane, why do you look so pale?"
Inside Magnolia Manor’s grand hall.
Two people sat in the place of honor at the center.
One was an elderly man, pale-faced and beardless, holding a bowl of tea and gently blowing on it. Seeing Zane Zhen enter, he spoke slowly.
He wore a blue robe and had an air of immortality about him, somewhat resembling Wu Baitian.
"Zane must be tired. Still, reaching mid-stage Inner Strength at such a young age—his future is bright," remarked the elderly woman beside him.
She wore ornate clothes and a golden hairpin. Though her face was deeply lined, her eyes were sharp and lively, not at all like someone at death’s door.
She was Old Madam Ding. Half of the Ding family’s foundation was built by her own hands—a true heroine among women.
She looked at Zane Zhen with approval. "I heard Medicine King Valley has a prodigy, a youth who’s already reached peak Inner Strength?"
"Did that youth come this time?"
Old Madam Ding turned to Elder Mu beside her.
Elders of Medicine King Valley held great authority. Unlike the Valley Guardians who practiced various techniques, these elders cultivated divine abilities.
So-called divine abilities let one do things ordinary people could never achieve.
With deep mastery, they could summon wind and rain, turn beans into soldiers, and wield powers beyond mortal comprehension.
But cultivating divine abilities was far harder than practicing techniques. Not only were the methods rare, but success depended heavily on one’s innate talent.
Only those favored by fate could hope to comprehend them.
It all depended on whether Heaven chose to grant its gifts.
Elder Mu had mastered divine abilities, earning him great respect both inside and outside the Valley.
"Not just peak Inner Strength—Sean Shao was only nineteen when he left the Valley, and had already half-stepped into the pseudo-Vajra realm!"