The two men watched as Xiang Ning destroyed the expensive robots like he was chopping vegetables. Fu Yingxiao wasn’t the only surprised one; even Chen Tianhua cocked an eyebrow. 

“Uh… that kid looks like Dong Qianyi’s disciple. I didn’t expect him to be this strong. Not bad, not bad at all,” chuckled Chen Tianhua. 

Fu Yingxiao felt his knees go weak. If it weren’t for the chair he sat in, he would have already fallen to his knees. The teenager chopping his robots up like chives was a Great Prodigy’s disciple! A person like that was a treasure! No, people would worship him like a deity because they never knew how many inventions he could produce for them! 

And what did scientific inventions bring? Riches, status, and reputation! Everything a typical person dreamed of. But in the eyes of the Twelve Great Prodigies, those were just superficial, unsophisticated wants that were tools used only when they needed a little more convenience. 

Fu Yingxiao felt like he had been manipulated. He had just been wondering how Chen Tianhua could know about his secrets. But now he knew—it looked like the kid had managed to infiltrate his systems. All he had to say was that this kid was definitely a genius, and that was something Fu Yingxiao admitted with all his heart. But didn’t they all say that researchers were bright, but not strong? This teenager looked like a whole soldier with his two-meter long sword. And he was a disciple of a Great Prodigy? Why wasn’t he a disciple of some tier seven master? 

“That’s enough, aren’t you going to do something to save your robots?” Chen Tianhua could care less about the humiliation Fu Yingxiao was enduring. 

As Fu Yingxiao watched his robots getting destroyed, his eye twitched. “Yes!” He immediately turned off the defense mechanisms. That was why Xiang Ning saw all the robots stop moving at the same time. 

......

As a result, Xiang Ning finally broke through the crowd of robots. However, as he was climbing out of the tunnel, three people were waiting for him. One was a tier five, eight-star master and the other two were at tier four, seven-stars.

“Nice to meet you, kid. The vice city lord sent us to take you upstairs.” The tier five, eight-star master thought he was being very decent, and that his request was polite, but Xiang Ning didn’t move. 

“Kid?” 

“Mountain-Splitting Slash!” 

It was no ordinary Mountain-Splitting Slash, either. It was infused with Triple Slash and Oscillate and enhanced by the Eight Gates. Xiang Ning was now attacking at a tier five, four-star level, his sudden eruption surprising the tier five, eight-star master. 

And that was merely the attack meant for him. There were two more powerful tier four martial artists with him. Xiang Ning’s Eight Gates only helped with amplifying his physical strength, but not Mental Power. He released his array of knives, trapping the two tier fours. 

“What the hell?!” The tier five, eight-star master was caught off guard by the sudden attack, frightened by the sheer magnitude of the Mountain-Splitting Slash. It also had a tinge of desperation—Xiang Ning felt that if he were to be caught, it would be the equivalent of death. He was on foreign ground; all he could do was take them by surprise when they still didn’t know him very well. 

Since no one was expecting his reaction, the tier five, eight-star master was actually thrown back in the air. He felt as if he had been rammed by a two-hundred-ton beast and all he could do was block the attack. 

The two other martial artists saw their leader blasted back, wanting to help but unable to escape the blades. 

Xiang Ning smirked. His plan had worked. Just as he was about to run, his vision blurred. He had a bad feeling, then collapsed and felt someone grab him by the back of his neck. “He’s not bad for his age.” 

A green vein popped on Xiang Ning’s forehead. This person was as strong as Lei Zhongyuan... no, he was stronger. He emanated the true strength of a master at his level. Xiang Ning wasn’t sure how much Lei Zhongyuan was suppressing whenever they sparred. But now he had finally witnessed the true power of a master of that level. 

He was about to force open his seventh gate and break through to tier six when the tier six master let him go. “Calm down, kid. I’m Great Prodigy Chen’s bodyguard. He was the one who invited you over.” 

“Chen?” Xiang Ning was surprised. He knew of the Twelve Great Prodigies, since his master was one of them, and he had also read about them before. There was indeed a member whose surname was Chen. 

“I don’t believe you.” Xiang Ning was already back on his feet, his eyes cautiously darting around. 

The tier six master smiled. “Why would I lie? Do you think you’d still be standing if I wanted to hurt you?” 

Xiang Ning frowned. It was true. If he were truly in danger, his Combat Instinct wouldn’t have missed it. That means the man before him wasn’t hostile. He couldn’t read minds, but his system seemingly could. Since his Combat Instinct wasn’t triggered, that told him everything he needed to know. 

“Why is he looking for me?” Xiang Ning suddenly recalled that if he was also a Great Prodigy, then he must have a great relationship with his own master. Dong Qianyi would have looked for people he trusted after talking to him; Chen Tianhua was indeed the best choice.

“I don’t know either, he just gave me the order.” The tier six martial artist shrugged. There really was no malicious intent. 

“Well… let’s go then.” 

“Retract your knives first.” 

“Oh.” 

“Kid, the way you control your knives is a little different.”

“Would you like to learn?” 

“May I?” 

“All you have to do is to sleep upside down when you go home tonight. Then you’ll dream all kinds of dreams.” 

The tier six bodyguard was flabbergasted, then could only wryly shake his head.

Xiang Ning nervously arrived at the place he had previously cleaned. 

The man announced from outside the door, “He’s here, Mr. Chen.” 

“Mm, bring him in.” 

Xiang Ning gulped. For some reason, he was nervous. Although he was cautious, he was still excited to meet another Great Prodigy on the same level as his master. The knowledge to be gained was just too tempting for him. Even if Mr. Chen only revealed a little bit, he would still greatly benefit. 

Pushing the door to enter, he saw the office of which he had turned every corner. Two people were on the couch—one was the vice city lord Fu Yingxiao he had met before, and the other was a man whose hair had a tuft of white, and sported a tired expression. He was younger than Xiang Ning expected. 

Lmao MC is up to his antics again. Strike first then negotiate hoho