Chapter 94: The Dragon-Tiger Institute’s Attention, Strength That Made One’s Scalp Tingle
“Indeed.”
Upon hearing that, Shen Yanzhou nodded in agreement.
Liu Zi’an’s expression stiffened slightly. He could not tell whether Shen Yanzhou truly failed to understand, or if he was simply pretending to be ignorant.
“That fellow just now—he was your man, wasn’t he? You’re the one who instigated him to attack me?” Shen Yanzhou suddenly turned his gaze toward Cui Ruifeng and began walking toward him.
Seeing his movements, the area around the Meditation Stele immediately fell silent.
All the Martial Institute disciples who had come to comprehend the insights left behind by the elder predecessors were astonished—could it be that Shen Yanzhou still intended to make a move?
They might not know others, but everyone was clear about Cui Ruifeng’s status within the Institute.
At the Sixth Rank in Martial Path, he had long remained among the top ten of his realm in the Grand Competition. The martial arts and techniques he cultivated were all of the highest tier.
Even if Shen Yanzhou possessed terrifying physical strength and was also at the Sixth Rank, if it came to real combat, he might not necessarily be a match for a prodigy of the same rank.
In actual battle, it wasn’t merely a contest of strength and realm—martial skills, techniques, and experience were often far more decisive.
Cui Ruifeng narrowed his eyes, looking at Shen Yanzhou with mild interest. “Do you have proof?”
He was somewhat surprised, not expecting this wastrel to be so easily provoked—did he really intend to strike him?
“I don’t have proof. I just wanted to ask,” Shen Yanzhou said.
Cui Ruifeng gave a low, mocking laugh, his tone full of disdain. “Then let me tell you—it was me who provoked him. What can you do about it?”
Had it been before, when Shen Yanzhou was still the Heir of the Demon Suppression King, Cui might have shown some restraint.
But now, Shen Yanzhou was nothing but a fake stand-in heir, even said to be a drowned infant dredged up by the Nether Cult from the filthy ditch outside the brothel Shen Yanzhou frequented most…
What right did he have to speak to him in that tone?
“So, that’s your personal admission,” Shen Yanzhou said.
Cui Ruifeng sneered. “Yes—”
However, before his “yes” could finish, Shen Yanzhou had already appeared right before him. A palm lifted and fell like a flash of lightning—then darkness swept across Cui Ruifeng’s vision, followed by an unbearable surge of pain. His head spun as if the sky itself was whirling.
When he regained his senses and tried to speak, he realized his face was swollen, his mouth filled with the taste of blood.
He spat out a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood and teeth—only then did he notice he was already lying flat on the ground.
“You—”
Cui Ruifeng struggled to open his swollen eyelids, only to find in furious disbelief that Shen Yanzhou was stepping on his face.
What in the world had just happened in that instant?
“Shen Yanzhou! What are you doing? Stop at once!”
Not only Cui Ruifeng, but Liu Zi’an and his companions had failed to catch Shen Yanzhou’s movements.
They only saw Shen Yanzhou approach Cui Ruifeng, raise his hand, and strike his face—then Cui Ruifeng had been sent flying.
Yet Shen Yanzhou’s control of power was exquisite. Cui Ruifeng had flipped once mid-air like a fluttering sheet of paper before crashing heavily to the ground.
That sight filled everyone with both shock and dread, making their scalps tingle.
The area around the Meditation Stele fell into utter silence.
All the Institute disciples who had witnessed the scene stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Cui Ruifeng, one of the top ten of the same rank within the Institute, had been slapped away without even a chance to resist?
“Why are you lying down so suddenly? Stand up and talk.”
“Don’t like talking?”
“Oh, right. Your teeth are shattered—you can’t open your mouth.”
Shen Yanzhou looked down at the man under his foot, his tone calm yet distant.
Negative emotions from Cui Ruifeng +8 +9 +9…
“You—”
Cui Ruifeng was nearly livid with rage.
Light gleamed from his forehead as his inner strength and True Qi surged violently. He tried his utmost to rise from the ground—but the foot pressing down on his face was immovable, heavy as a mountain. He could not even twitch a finger.
This was no longer simple suppression by strength—it was the crushing pressure of a higher-level Martial Will, forcing him to the ground in total submission.
As a direct descendant of the Cui Clan of Hejian, Cui Ruifeng had always been treated with utmost respect wherever he went, revered by all. Never in his life had he suffered such humiliation.
Yet now, he could neither speak nor move.
“Shen Yanzhou, stop immediately! Release Brother Cui, don’t bring ruin upon yourself!”
By now, Liu Zi’an and his companions had fully come to their senses. None of them had expected Shen Yanzhou to be this fierce. They had even reminded him of the Martial Institute’s rules, yet he had still chosen to act.
And they all knew Cui Ruifeng’s strength well—he had even studied Daoist techniques, his mind sharp and his reactions swift—yet before Shen Yanzhou, he could not even withstand a single exchange.
Where were the martial skills, the techniques, the experience they had just spoken of? Why did none of it matter?
“Do you intend to make a move as well?”
Shen Yanzhou looked at them.
The group fell silent. Even Cui Ruifeng was powerless before Shen Yanzhou—if they acted, they would surely meet the same fate.
“All together, then?”
One among them clenched his jaw. Thinking of Cui Ruifeng’s identity, he realized that if they stood idle today, they would inevitably be implicated later. With the Cui Clan of Hejian’s current influence, what noble house would dare offend them?
However, before he could move—
A fierce Martial Will capable of moving mountains and shifting peaks erupted and pressed down upon the area. A storm of force swept through, a blazing fist light roaring like thunder. Even the surrounding void seemed to tremble.
“Cease your insolence within the Institute! Release Cui Ruifeng at once!”
An unkempt old man strode over. Dressed in grey robes, tall and broad-shouldered, with white hair and beard, temples bulging, and joints thick, his eyes gleamed like stars. It was none other than Elder Tang Ya, who had once blocked Shen Yanzhou at the gate of the Dragon-Tiger Institute.
As an Elder of the Martial Institute, his abilities were naturally extraordinary—he was already in the late stage of the Mountain-moving Realm, the Fifth Rank of the Martial Path.
Outside the Institute, such a man could easily serve as a city’s guardian commander.
Shen Yanzhou, as if having long anticipated this, raised his foot and kicked.
The heavily bruised Cui Ruifeng, who had just been under his heel, cried out miserably as his body was sent hurtling through the air like a human sandbag, crashing straight toward Elder Tang Ya.
“Attacking a fellow disciple—so despicable and vicious!”
Elder Tang Ya’s face turned cold. He had no choice but to retract his fist and sweep his broad sleeve, catching Cui Ruifeng steadily in mid-air.
He casually examined Cui Ruifeng’s condition and found that he seemed to have lost consciousness from his injuries. In truth, though, his blood and Qi were in chaos, his breathing ragged. Understanding the situation, Elder Tang Ya promptly handed him over to Liu Zi’an and the others.
After suffering such a public humiliation, pretending to be unconscious was the only way Cui Ruifeng could end this matter with any semblance of dignity.
“How many benefits did Elder Shen Zhigao offer you that you’d go out of your way to make things difficult for me here in the Dragon-Tiger Institute?”
Shen Yanzhou looked at Elder Tang Ya standing before him and deliberately sighed.
Upon hearing that, Elder Tang Ya’s expression grew even colder. “Stop spouting nonsense. You rely on brute strength to act wantonly within the Institute, injuring your fellow disciples and breaking the rules. As an elder, it is my duty to restrain you—did you expect me to let you run wild?”
The Meditation Stele was a special area within the Martial Institute, built for disciples to comprehend martial insights. It was now midday, and many disciples, after finishing their lunch, had come here to meditate and exchange insights.
The commotion just now had already drawn everyone’s attention.
With Elder Tang Ya’s arrival, the scene drew even more notice—students from the Confucian Courtyard and Daoist Courtyard of the Dragon-Tiger Institute had also heard the news and were rushing over.
“I heard Shen Yanzhou caused trouble again—and even beat up some students from the Martial Institute.”
“One of them was Cui Ruifeng of the Cui Clan…”
“What?”
“Isn’t Cui Ruifeng one of the young prodigies of the Martial Institute? They say he might reach the Grandmaster Realm before the age of thirty—and he was beaten too?”
Students from the other branches were all stunned and shaken.
At that moment, Zhao Qingchan, who was in the Confucian Courtyard’s Library Pavilion, searching through old texts, heard the news from her maid and was equally astonished.
“Cui Ruifeng is at the Sixth Rank of Martial Path and has even studied Daoist techniques. Even for me, defeating him wouldn’t be easy.”
“Could Shen Yanzhou truly be that strong?” She lifted her delicate brows slightly.
Then, setting aside her book, she decided to go to the Martial Institute herself to see it.
“What?”
“Cui Ruifeng often associates with Brother Zi’an—don’t tell me Brother Zi’an got involved too?”
When Qi Haoran heard the news, he was equally shocked. After a moment’s hesitation, he, too, hurried over.
Soon, the area around the Meditation Stele was filled with a crowd of students, the surroundings buzzing with lively discussion.
Countless gazes—some doubtful, some incredulous, some full of shock—turned toward Shen Yanzhou.
His handsome features were calm and unruffled, his figure tall and upright in a white robe embroidered with Cloud Pattern Brocade. His ink-black hair shone with a crystalline luster, and there was a faint air of detachment about him, like an exiled immortal who had descended to the mortal world.
Many female students were stunned, gazing at him as if seeing him for the first time, unable to associate this man with the infamous wastrel they had once heard of.
“When he harassed me in the street before, he didn’t look like this…”
A noble lady who had once been flirted with by Shen Yanzhou murmured softly, her bright eyes glistening with emotion.
Not far away, Zhao Qingchan also paused, staring blankly for a moment. It had only been a few days since she had last seen Shen Yanzhou—how had he become even more strikingly handsome?
What on earth caused this change?
Meanwhile, the unconscious Cui Ruifeng, supported by Liu Zi’an and the others, felt an unprecedented humiliation—even though he wanted to faint for real, he simply couldn’t.
“Shen Yanzhou, this disaster is all your doing!”
In the center of the crowd, Elder Tang Ya’s face grew darker still.
“Unable to tell right from wrong—Elder, I think your time in office has run its course. With parasites like you, this so-called cradle of the empire won’t be nurturing any ‘promising young seeds’ anytime soon,” Shen Yanzhou sighed.
Such undisguised words made Elder Tang Ya’s expression turn utterly sour.
“Today, I’ll teach you a lesson and show you what it means to respect your elders!”
With a metallic hum, Elder Tang Ya’s entire body glimmered with flowing light as his True Qi surged. His grey robes fluttered as if he had donned a suit of golden armor, his body appearing larger and mightier.
“That’s the Diamond Sumeru Art…”
“When cultivated to Major Accomplishment, the Sumeru contains Diamond Strength—every pore flows with indestructible power, forming golden armor that resists all attacks!”
Some students recognized the internal technique. It was one of the Martial Institute’s top-tier arts, of the Fourth Rank, accessible only to elders.
Clearly, Elder Tang Ya had trained it to a profound level. His entire body radiated golden light, brimming with martial will, like a blazing sun suspended in the air—so radiant it made hearts tremble.
An elder of his standing personally taking action was a rare sight—especially against someone so young.
The crowd erupted in astonishment, but Elder Tang Ya showed no hesitation. His fist shone with golden brilliance, like thunderclaps shattering the air, as he struck toward Shen Yanzhou.
Yet Shen Yanzhou made no unnecessary move—his gaze simply deepened.
A commanding aura radiated from him. Apart from borrowing Lin Qingcang’s strength once, this was the first time he had faced a true martial expert head-on.
Moments later, the Primordial Qi vortex within him surged, and strands of Primordial Qi flowed through his meridians.
Shen Yanzhou raised his palm, shaping it into a claw—dragon-shaped, sweeping forth through the air. The void itself seemed to echo with a faint dragon’s roar, bursting into radiant golden light. For an instant, even the shadow of a mighty dragon flickered past.
This was the Dragon-Seizing Force, a martial technique he had taken from Lin Qingcang.
Though he had not enhanced it through system points and had cultivated it through self-study, its might was extraordinary when unleashed.
Boom!
The instant their powers collided, the dragon’s roar grew vast and boundless, as though piercing through time and space, echoing in every ear.
Some disciples who stood too close felt their eardrums on the verge of tearing. Their vision darkened, blood streamed from their noses and ears, and they staggered back in horror.
Elder Tang Ya, who bore the brunt of the impact, reacted most intensely. It felt as though he wasn’t facing flesh and blood, but rather a primordial beast from the ancient wilderness. The terrifying force shattered his fist light and overwhelmed his inner Qi with ease.
“How is this possible? I cultivated the Diamond Sumeru Art—one of the world’s few top-tier body-refining techniques…”
He could not believe it—what kind of power was this?
A sense of danger welled up within him, but it was already too late. Shen Yanzhou’s dragon-claw-like hand was now covered in a hazy brilliance, descending toward him.
He was forced to react, his palm erupting in brilliant light as he swung his fist again—but in the next instant, unimaginable pain shot through him, and a scream tore from his throat.
“Ah—!”
Elder Tang Ya’s palm exploded, his finger bones shattered in an instant, flesh and blood bursting apart.
Shen Yanzhou’s strike didn’t stop—it slammed into the elder’s chest, caving it in immediately.
At the final moment, a glow flared from the soft armor beneath Tang Ya’s robes, runes bursting forth to form a shield that absorbed the blow. Otherwise, his entire body would have exploded on the spot.