A series of weary coughs echoed as the smoke within the Training City gradually cleared.

Deputy Instructor Wang Dashan was seen pushing himself up from the ground with one hand. The other arm, which had just executed the Demon Cloud Finger, hung limply at his side. Blood trickled down his arm and dripped from his fingertips. DRIP-DROP, DRIP-DROP. The sound was so oppressive that everyone's hearts seemed to sink with the rhythm.

Clearly, the outcome of the spar was already obvious. Even though Deputy Instructor Wang had broken through his limits to become a Strong Innate Ancient Martial Artist, he was still no match for Chen Fei. From beginning to end, he had been utterly suppressed, his counterattacks seeming flimsy and powerless.

It wasn't just the onlookers who felt this way; Deputy Instructor Wang himself was somewhat stunned. His chubby face, with its perpetually squinting eyes, was turned toward the distant horizon, a sense of profound awe echoing within him.

Too strong! So strong that he felt utterly helpless!

And this feeling, which he might even call 'despair,' was something he had never felt from anyone under sixty. But now... how old was Chief Instructor Chen? Was he even thirty?

WHOOSH!

At that moment, a dark shadow flashed before him, and Chen Fei's familiar figure appeared. With a gentle wave of his hand, the lingering smoke instantly scattered in all directions. Only then did he extend a hand to Deputy Instructor Wang, smiling. "Instructor Wang, how do you feel? Anything different from before?"

"Different?"

Taking Chen Fei's offered hand to be pulled to his feet, Deputy Instructor Wang frowned slightly as he sensed the changes within his body. Suddenly, a glint of light flashed in his narrowed eyes. "My body feels drained... but my power seems to have stabilized."

What had stabilized was, naturally, his new Cultivation Realm as an Innate Ancient Martial Artist.

As the old saying goes, heavy pressure is the best touchstone. Everything that had just happened was enough to cause a qualitative change.

"That's good. Once you reach the Innate Realm, minor injuries recover extremely quickly. Your injuries should self-heal in two days at most, so you won't mind, right?" Chen Fei rubbed his chin and smiled, a bit embarrassed. It seemed he might have been a bit too harsh.

"What are you saying, Chief Instructor? If it weren't for you, who knows how much longer it would have taken me to take this step... Please, accept my bow of gratitude," Deputy Instructor Wang said, his expression turning solemn.

"There's no need for that."

Chen Fei smiled, helping him up. Then, his expression suddenly turned serious, and he lowered his voice. "By the way, Instructor Wang, do you mind if I ask something a bit more private?"

"Please speak, Chief Instructor," Deputy Instructor Wang replied, momentarily startled before nodding with a serious expression.

"Alright, then."

Chen Fei's eyes, as dark and clear as black glass, flickered. He leaned in and spoke in a low voice, asking the question that had been on his mind. "Instructor Wang, that Martial Arts Internal Power you cultivate..."

Deputy Instructor Wang froze for a second before answering truthfully. "This is a Martial Arts Internal Power I stumbled upon by chance in the depths of the Lingnan Mountains thirty years ago... Are you interested, Chief Instructor?" He hesitated on the last sentence, his expression turning odd, clearly misunderstanding Chen Fei's intent.

"It's not what you think," Chen Fei said with a wave of his hand, his own expression a little strange. "I just noticed that your technique seems to have a small problem... For instance, does it affect your emotions?"

"You could tell?"

Deputy Instructor Wang was taken aback, then gave a wry smile, shaking his head with a sigh. "That's right. Although my Martial Arts Internal Power is formidable, with few able to match my strength within the same realm, it subtly affects my mind. It makes me somewhat cruel, almost as if... I'm becoming demonic."

"You probably don't know my nickname, do you?" he added after a moment of silence. "I'm called the Smiling Demon. Why 'Demon'? That's why."

Chen Fei was momentarily speechless. "Then, in the future, you..." He stopped mid-sentence, realizing his question was pointless. After coming this far, what could be done? He believed anyone else in the same situation would have no choice but to bite the bullet and continue down this dark path. What other choice is there?

"Actually, Chief Instructor, you don't have to worry so much about me. I've already found a way to suppress it," Deputy Instructor Wang said unexpectedly with a smile.

Chen Fei was surprised, his expression a mixture of curiosity and puzzlement. "What way?" Others might not know the origin of Deputy Instructor Wang's strange technique, but during their spar, I caught a few clues... It's clearly a very basic, entry-level demonic cultivation technique from the Cultivation World. That's why it can affect a cultivator's mind. After all, compared to the cultivators from that world who seek immortality, the Ancient Martial Artists of Earth are simply too weak to resist the corrosive nature of such a demonic art.

"Chief Instructor, do you recognize this?" Hearing Chen Fei's question, Wang Dashan turned his back to Chen Fei and ripped his shirt open, revealing his shoulders, which were still trembling slightly. What he saw made Chen Fei's eyes narrow.

"The True Word Mantra of Buddha?" Chen Fei was surprised and solemn, not expecting to see such a thing. On Deputy Instructor Wang's back, a dense pattern of tiny, fly-sized characters was tattooed in faint gold, arranged in a perfect square and emitting a soft glow.

If the demonic technique Wang practiced was just a run-of-the-mill, entry-level art from that other world, then this Buddhist Sect method was, by comparison, a relatively rare technique that showed true mastery.

He truly hadn't expected to encounter such a high-level Buddhist cultivation method on Earth.

Could it be that he had underestimated Earth?

"Chief Instructor, you know what this is?"

Hearing Chen Fei's soft mutter, Deputy Instructor Wang was stunned for a moment before explaining, "Over a decade ago, I made a solo pilgrimage to the Potala Palace in Tibet. There, I met an old monk. Before he entered nirvana, he carved these onto my back, saying they might be able to help me."

"The Potala Palace in Tibet?"

Chen Fei stroked his chin, a thoughtful look in his dark, clear eyes. He then waved his hand and smiled. "He was right. This puts my mind at ease. Let's go, Instructor Wang. I think you need to get some rest."

"Oh, by the way," Chen Fei added after a pause. "It's best if word of today's events doesn't get out."

"Yes, Chief Instructor. I understand," Deputy Instructor Wang said. "Don't worry. All members selected for the Headquarters of Flying Leopard are unquestionably loyal and can be trusted."

"That's for the best, of course," Chen Fei nodded with a smile. Shortly after, someone came to escort Deputy Instructor Wang to rest, and Chen Fei left as well.

「...」

After Chen Fei's shocking sparring match with Deputy Instructor Wang concluded, it unsurprisingly earned him the awestruck reverence of every Member of Flying Leopard. This reverence and shock only intensified when a rumor began to spread that Deputy Instructor Wang had already stepped into the Innate Ancient Martial Arts Realm.

This fact was simply too staggering to believe. As the elite of the elite, the members of the Headquarters of Flying Leopard knew exactly what an Innate Ancient Martial Artist signified. They knew even more what it meant for someone who looked to be only in his twenties to defeat such an expert.

Words like "petrified," "dumbfounded," or "incredulous" were insufficient to describe the true depth of their emotions. It was all so unbelievable it bordered on the fantastical.

At this point, no one dared to harbor the slightest doubt about Chen Fei's qualifications to be their Chief Instructor. Everything he had just demonstrated proved his worth beyond question. It was no longer a question of whether Chen Fei was qualified! Rather, it was whether Flying Leopard was worthy of inviting a peerless, prodigious talent like him to serve as its Chief Instructor.

True power knows no age. A figure like this could only be respected.

As for the emotional turmoil roiling through the Headquarters of Flying Leopard, Chen Fei, the protagonist of the incident, paid it little mind. He took advantage of the two days that Deputy Instructor Wang was recovering to enter closed-door cultivation.

He had distinctly felt a new change within his body after the fight. The fourth strand of the Sword Qi of Sanyang True Fire seemed about to condense, and he certainly couldn't afford to be careless about such a matter. He made thorough preparations and went into seclusion.

Two days later, Chen Fei emerged from his room, refreshed and invigorated. By this time, Deputy Instructor Wang had also mostly recovered.

"By my calculations, it's about time to head to Tian Kui Peak. Instructor Wang, shall we go together?" Chen Fei sought out Wang Dashan before they were set to depart.

"Me? I'm going too?" Wang Dashan was naturally surprised to be approached.

"It's not that you're just going along," Chen Fei said, a faint, mischievous smile playing on his lips. "You will represent Flying Leopard as an Innate Ancient Martial Artist and participate in this year's Lingnan Mountain Martial Arts Conference!"

Now that someone could finally take his place, he couldn't be more pleased.

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