As the protective barrier by the edges of the arena faded away, traces of fresh blood caught the eye. The audience was silent. 'Ren Tianlong' stood quietly, blood seeping down his palm, as a bloody odor spread across the arena.

Had Lin Xiu won in one blow again?

"His opponent was Ren Tianlong from the capital! Just who is that Lin Xiu figure?! Isn't the disparity in strength a little too large?"

The audience exploded into chatter once more.

The dojos of the capital were, as a general rule, stronger than those in Ning. Ren Tianlong was known to be a strong, mysterious hunter, and everyone had witnessed the strength of his blow, but Lin Xiu had countered it with ease.

The Wang, Li, and Qin clan heads were all staring at Lin Xiu with disgust.

"This fellow—"

"There's no doubt—he's one of the four sages of the Fenglin Volcano!"

Wang Han clutched his armrest until his knuckles turned white, creating a crack in the reinforced armrest with brute force alone.

"One of the four sages! Even if we used extraordinary methods, it'll be difficult to get rid of him," Qin Zongming sighed.

"Don't worry. The key will be in the next battle!" Wang Han took a deep breath, then glanced toward one spot in the audience, where a bald man nodded back at him. As he did so, the man retrieved a syringe from within his clothes. Everyone else was focused on the arena, and no one noticed what he had done. He injected the contents of the syringe into his arm, the pale blue glow causing his veins to bulge as a blue glow shot through them.

In little more than a second, everything seemed normal again, and Wang Han relaxed.

Qin Zongming and Li Mo slumped by their seats as they waited for the next challenge.

"Is there anyone else who wishes to challenge me?"

'Ren Tianlong' had admitted defeat. His injury wasn't particularly serious, but the gulf between him and Lin Xiu was obvious, and there was no point in dragging the fight out  further.

No one met Lin Xiu's gaze.

The discussion among the audience quieted down as they waited for the next volunteer.

"I will be the next challenger." After a momentary silence, a figure rose up from the audience, a bald and rather thin dojo leader.

"This is Dojo Leader Liu Shuang, from the Starshine Dojo!"

Someone from the audience recognized him at once.

"That's right, he was the former dojo leader of Starshine, and he's a third-realm hunter now!"

"Isn't it strange? There are so many top-rate hunters here to challenge a first-realm dojo leader?"

"Isn't that so? And the Zenith Dojo's just starting out, too..."

"Well, from my perspective, it won't matter who the challenger is."

"That's right! Can any of these leaders beat Zhang Lie's instructor?  He's been defeating everyone with just one blow!"

It was difficult to determine who would win. Although the audience was surprised by Liu Shuang's identity, many favored Lin Xiu. They didn't think highly of Lin Xiu at first, not until he dispatched his four opponents with just a single blow each.

Lin Xiu gazed coldly at Liu Shuang, from whom he could smell a strange odor. This is... a restricted potion!

"He's consumed a restricted potion!" Zhang Lie, by the side of the arena, frowned. He was also able to detect the strange odor that permeated Liu Shuang's body. "The Wang clan really does love resorting to such means!"

"Captain, will Instructor Lin be able to handle him?" Sun Mengmeng asked, swallowing a gulp of saliva. The challengers had been getting stronger and stronger, and Liu Shuang had even used a potion!

"Handle him? Our Instructor Lin wouldn't break a sweat even if he had to handle two of him at once!" Zhang Lie smiled.

The potion that Liu Shuang had consumed would increase his genetic energy activity fivefold, and he would temporarily lose his sense of pain. A hunter would generally only use such a potion in life-threatening circumstances, because its side effects were commensurate with the boost it granted.

To be using such a potion during a practice match...

"It's a shame to see a dojo leader without any sense of ethics," Lin Xiu commented idly.

"Hah, I don't have a choice—you're too strong." Liu Shuang licked his chapped lips.

"Unfortunately for you, even that potion won't help you do anything against me!" Lin Xiu countered. A blue pillar of genetic energy shot into the air as he turned serious for the first time.

"That dojo instructor's going for the first blow?"

"Just how strong is he? I can sense the fluctuations of genetic energy right where I'm sitting!"

Exclamations rang out from the audience.

The pressure from that pillar of genetic energy was like that from a vast ocean, all concentrated on Liu Shuang's body. Even before Lin Xiu attacked, the pressure from his genetic energy was already causing Liu Shuang to sweat.

Lin Xiu stepped forward. His genetic energy spread over the entire arena, turning it into a blue ocean. As he moved, ripples of blue light emanated from his feet and struck Liu Shuang, each stronger than the last.

Like a deity, Lin Xiu strode imperturbably forward, crushing Liu Shuang with nothing more than his aura and pressure.

Blood seeped out of all the orifices of Liu Shuang's body. Liu Shuang stood hunchbacked, unable to do more than circulate his lightning-attuned genetic energy at full power to shield against Lin Xiu's pressure.

"Th-This is [Domain of the Sea God]! He's from the Fenglin Volcano!" Finally, a knowledgeable member of the audience uncovered Lin Xiu's identity.

Liu Shuang felt the pressure growing stronger as Lin Xiu walked closer.

"No, this can't be—this pressure's comparable to [Domain of the Sea God]! Could it really be him? Surely not, surely not. He's a high-ranking member of the military, so why would he be present now?"

He shook his head forcefully, trying to dispel the doubts that clouded his mind.

"If you admit defeat now, I'll spare your life," a cold voice grated out, seemingly right by Liu Shuang's ear.

The next moment, the pressure increased sharply, and Liu Shuang's vertebrae seemed to pop.

As Liu Shuang's body crackled with lightning, a curious odor emanated from his body.

"What? There's no way he can purge his opponent's blood like that!" Wang Han cried out, noticing what was happening.

"Kneel!" Lin Xiu commanded.

Liu Shuang felt his back dip with the pressure, cracking his bones and forcing him to the ground, despite Liu Shuang's every effort to remain upright.

Those spectating the match gaped in stunned silence: Liu Shuang was no match for Lin Xiu! Even Zhang Lie seemed shocked. Lin Xiu's indolence had vanished and been replaced with a ruler's authority.

"Someone like you doesn't deserve to be a dojo leader." Lin Xiu stared at Liu Shuang from above. Liu Shuang's throat gurgled, as if he were trying to force a few words out. 

"Don't bother explaining. I would hate to mar this opening ceremony with a death. Don't let me ever see you again—now, scram!" Lin Xiu, disgusted by Liu Shuang's pleading, suddenly struck his prone body with a foot, kicking him away like a soccer ball.

Liu Shuang's body flew over the stands and out of the Zenith Dojo. The audience was silent: most of the onlookers still hadn't recovered from their earlier shock, when Lin Xiu had forced Liu Shuang to kneel with just his aura and pressure alone.

"What's the Fenglin Volcano, and just who is that dojo instructor? How could he be so strong?!"

"You don't even know about the Fenglin Volcano or the four great sages of China? Surely you know about the Sage of the Six Seas, then? That's him, Lin Xiu!"

"What? How did he become a dojo instructor?!"

"Of course he's not a dojo instructor! He's just there to protect Zhang Lie!"

"So Zhang Lie has connections to the military? In that case, I've decided: my son will attend the Zenith Dojo!"

The audience once again buzzed with excitement. Almost everyone knew what was going on now. The Sage of the Six Seas himself was protecting Zhang Lie, who had clear ties with the military.

The repeated challenges had only secured the reputation of the Zenith Dojo, whose name would surely spread far and wide across China, and even throughout the world federation.

Lin Xiu reined in his aura and again assumed his insouciant persona. "Are there any challengers remaining? Fair warning: I won't show any mercy to those who dishonor their name."

No one dared rise to the occasion. After all, they would have to face the Sage of the Six Seas himself! Who would want to go against such an indomitable existence?

Wang Han's eyes turned cold. Lin Xiu was a mountain, an obstacle they would have to overcome to get to Zhang Lie.

"What are we going to do? Our plan's going to fail!" Qin Zongming murmured.

"Not yet. The Sage of the Six Seas is an imposing figure indeed, but now that his identity's been revealed..." Li Mo began.

"Hoh, it looks like you have an idea in mind!"

"Perhaps, but whether or not it'll succeed will depend on Zhang Lie." Li Mo's eyes gleamed.