"Ranked 296th on the list is something to be proud of? Hardly worth mentioning!"
Ye Chen's indifferent and dismissive words instantly caused an uproar throughout the training ground.
This was an achievement left on the Power Monument by an elite student of the Heaven-tier Academy, and it had already broken into the top three hundred strongest in the history of Xia Feng Academy.
Even though it was ranked at the very bottom, it was still enough to be proud of. After all, not all elite students of the Heaven-tier Academy were qualified to be listed among them. Over the past thousand years, only three hundred people had managed to secure a place.
Yet such an achievement was actually dismissed by Ye Chen as "hardly worth mentioning." This was a blatant slap in the face.
The red-clad woman stared at Ye Chen in shock. To trample such an accomplishment underfoot and deem it so insignificant—was this arrogance, or did he truly possess such confidence?
Even Vivian was somewhat taken aback, her red lips slightly parted in a stunned expression that was rather adorable.
However, upon careful reflection of the time in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range when Ye Chen had even managed to engage a Xiantian demonic beast in close combat, everything made sense.
Naturally, the one with the ugliest expression was Xia Mang. His proud achievement had been belittled so cheaply in front of so many people. How could a proud young master like him bear such humiliation? At this moment, his handsome face had completely darkened, and he couldn't help but roar, "Brat, you dare say that again!"
Ye Chen smiled, brilliantly so, but no matter how one looked at it, it seemed filled with contempt. He glanced at Xia Mang and said, "I said your so-called proud achievement is hardly worth mentioning. I've said it. Satisfied?"
"Ah!" Xia Mang roared in fury. This bastard was clearly mocking him. He charged forward, directly swinging a palm strike. True Yuan power erupted, intending to kill this little bastard and wash away the disgrace.
But a graceful figure was even faster. It was Vivian. She arrived in front of Ye Chen, her pretty face cold, her delicate hand lightly raised to meet the attack.
With a loud bang, the ground of the training ground cracked, but Vivian's figure did not retreat in the slightest. Only her mint-green robe fluttered vigorously. Meanwhile, Xia Mang's figure staggered back seven or eight steps, clearly no match for Vivian in the clash.
Xia Mang grunted, feeling a sweet taste in his throat, almost vomiting blood. But consumed by rage, he still wanted to continue. However, Li Hu grabbed him and shook his head, saying, "Xia Shao, don't act rashly."
"That's right. Miss Vivian is clearly intent on protecting him now. It would be difficult for you, Xia Shao, to harm him," others also advised.
Xia Mang calmed down. With his strength, breaking through Vivian's protection would indeed not be easy.
But letting Ye Chen off was something he couldn't accept. This grudge was impossible to swallow, so he could only glare fiercely at Ye Chen.
At that moment, a sudden exclamation came from the crowd watching from the periphery of the training ground: "So it's him! I finally know who he is!"
This exclamation attracted everyone's attention. They all asked who it was, because this youth always felt familiar, but no one could recall who he was in a short time.
Faced with so many inquiries, the person who claimed to know didn't dare to keep them in suspense and said, "I wonder if you all remember that our Xia Feng Academy once had a peerless genius who broke into the Xiantian realm at the mere age of thirteen, shattering the record for the youngest to achieve Xiantian, a record that has been maintained to this day."
"Could you be saying he is..."
Upon hearing this crucial hint, everyone suddenly realized. They all looked at the mysterious youth before them in shock, slowly overlapping him with the somewhat blurred figure in their memories. Though there were some differences, they were ultimately shocked to discover it was the same person.
This person's identity leaped out!
"Ye Chen!"
No one knew who spoke the answer, but it didn't matter. The moment the name "Ye Chen" was uttered, it immediately caused a huge uproar. Everyone couldn't help but suck in a cold breath as they looked at the mysterious youth before them. They never expected him to be that peerless genius who had created the record back then.
Back then, that youth was astonishingly brilliant. At just thirteen, he broke into the Xiantian realm, becoming the youngest Xiantian expert. A year later, at fourteen, he received an invitation from Tian Du Academy—the cultivation holy land in the heart of the Tian Du Continent that countless people revered—to cultivate in the Earth-tier College, the second of the four great colleges. What an honor that was.
Even the Crown Prince at the time was overshadowed by his genius halo.
Unfortunately, all of this ended with his participation in the Trial Ancient Path at the age of fourteen. After returning, his dantian was crippled, completely falling from the altar of genius to become a cripple.
This outcome made countless people sigh in regret. After all, once such a stunningly talented peerless genius grew up, reaching the Martial God realm was inevitable, and there was a great possibility of stepping into the Heavenly God realm.
With some opportunity, he might even have been able to step into the legendary Divine Realm at the very peak of the entire Tian Du Continent, overlooking the vast Tian Du, presiding over the rise and fall of heaven and earth, becoming the supreme being of the world.
Since then, Ye Chen had completely disappeared from Xia Feng Academy. Although his remarkable achievements from back then were occasionally mentioned, for most people, Ye Chen was just a fleeting meteor—a topic for idle conversation, unable to leave behind deeds that would be remembered through the ages like a true peerless powerhouse.
It was believed that after a few more years, Ye Chen's proud achievements would eventually be completely forgotten. Perhaps many years later, future cultivation histories might occasionally mention him, letting people remember that there was such a person in the history of Xia Feng Kingdom, nothing more.
However, no one ever expected that two years later, the youth who had faded from the stage of the cultivation world and returned to a small border town would once again emerge out of nowhere, arriving at Xia Feng Academy.
Just like the last time, his appearance once again caused a sensation among everyone.
Not because of his strength, but because of his shocking remarks. Yet, seeing the invisible confidence emanating from the youth, everyone seemed to feel that the peerless genius who had once shone so brightly that he overshadowed all other geniuses had returned!
"Young master, you are... Ye Chen!?"
Vivian looked at the youth beside her in shock, somewhat stammering. Even she was learning his identity for the first time. She stared at the youth beside her in disbelief.
The red-clad woman was also very surprised. No wonder he seemed so familiar. So he was that fallen peerless genius from back then.
Ye Chen gave Vivian a light smile and said, "I am Ye Chen!"
Everyone was shocked once again. Speculation was one thing; confirmation was another. That fallen peerless genius from back then was truly about to return.
Everyone had a premonition that a new storm was about to stir within Xia Feng Academy.
Xia Mang, Li Hu, and the others were equally shocked, because the name Ye Chen had been too resounding back then. Almost no one in the entire Xia Feng Kingdom didn't know that name.
Although they were elite disciples of the Heaven-tier Academy, compared to Ye Chen's achievements back then, they seemed rather dim.
Even the Crown Prince at the time had been overshadowed by the youth's genius radiance, let alone them.
But Xia Mang suddenly looked at Ye Chen and sneered, "So it's you. I wondered who was so arrogant. Unfortunately, you're no longer that peerless genius from back then. You've completely fallen from the altar, just a cripple. Yet you still dare to be so conceited. Truly arrogant."
After realizing this, the crowd also felt it made sense. They looked at Ye Chen with some pity. Although his former reputation was indeed dazzlingly glorious, his dantian had been crippled two years ago. He was just a cripple now. Where did he get the confidence to look down on Xia Mang like this?
Li Hu shouted, "Brat, kneel down and kowtow to apologize to Xia Shao immediately, or today will not end well."
"You dare!" Vivian's pretty face turned cold. For Ye Chen, she would not hesitate to act.
"If you don't want to apologize, that's fine too. As long as he can surpass me on the Power Monument, not only will I not demand an apology, I'm even willing to bet a hundred thousand gold coins. Ye Chen, do you dare to bet?"
Xia Mang pointed at the Power Monument, a cold sneer on his face, causing exclamations from the crowd. They felt he was too despicable. Ye Chen was no longer the genius from back then; how could he possibly surpass him and enter the list of the three hundred strongest in history?
But Ye Chen stepped forward slowly, looking down at Xia Mang as if he were a clown, his gaze lofty, a curve lifting the corner of his mouth: "Fine, I'll take that bet!"