I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

"Old Li, isn't this your enemy?"

Li Qi's expression remained unchanged. He reached out and took the cup of tea that Meng Qingjiao handed him, took a small sip, and calmly said:

"There is indeed a bit of old grudge. Back then, that idiot Chen Buyan went to the kiln with me..." Li Qi glanced at Zong Shichan, who was looking at him curiously, and Meng Qingjiao, who was expressionless, and changed his words:

"...When we were eating together at the hotel, Chen Buyan finished eating first. He ate much faster than me and went to the toilet to urinate. Unexpectedly, the toilet was full at that time. He and Qiu Hanyu, a disciple of the Yu Lei Sect, who also went to the toilet, got into a fight over a urinal."

"I heard the commotion and rushed over to help before I even finished my meal, put on my clothes, or put down my chopsticks. Together with Chen Buyan, we beat up Qiu Hanyu."

The old man beside him interjected, "Martial arts practitioners are hot-blooded and short-tempered, so it's perfectly normal for them to clash with each other. As long as no one dies, they can even become friends after a fight. They shouldn't hold a grudge for this long."

Li Qi waved his hand: "It shouldn't have come to that, but after the fight, that bastard Zhou Liexiong not only arrived late, but also came up with a terrible idea. He stripped the unconscious Qiu Hanyu naked and tied him to a pillar in the hall to walk his bird. I was young and ignorant, and I thought it was interesting, so I did it."

The old man next to him stroked his chin and said, "You three really deserve to die."

"Qiu Hanyu is now the leader of the Yu Lei Sect. He has an unresolved grudge with you, and he sent his own disciple here this time, which clearly means he is here to seek revenge... Nephew Xue, are you alright?"

Another elderly person said worriedly.

"The Yu Lei School follows the path of 'ancient martial arts with new cultivation'. The founder once learned the 'Five Thunder Technique' from the Taoist Shenxiao School. Later, he established his own school and created the 'Yu Lei Gong' which is close to forbidden techniques with the concept of new martial arts. It does not rely on external objects, but purely uses its own spirit to try to alienate the human body and give birth to the seemingly fake 'human thunder'."

"Although this thunder is too violent and difficult to control, unlike the Five Thunder Technique of the Shenxiao Sect which uses emptiness to control reality in a balanced and peaceful manner, it is even more powerful in terms of destructive force. It is invincible in battle and killing, and often the outcome of a battle or death can be decided in the blink of an eye."

"This young man is renowned and is only one step away from achieving great success. I'm afraid we won't fare well against him. Although Nephew Xue is formidable, he is still too young and might be caught off guard."

Upon hearing this, Li Qi simply smiled and remained silent.

……

On the arena, Xue Jing looked at Qin Fengcong walking towards him and pressed the right side of the attribute chart on his wrist.

The pentagonal radar chart on the dial kept changing, and soon displayed the other party's data.

Body: 934

Italian: 1291

Robbery: 855

Saint: 294

Momentum: ?

Taking the senior brother Meng Boshang as a reference, this person's [physical] stats are significantly lower, but his [intention] stats are still above the senior brother's, suggesting that he has practiced some kind of martial art that emphasizes consciousness and spirit.

A master of the 'mortal limit' who was just one step away from leaping over the Dragon Gate...

"It's a real pity, a very real pity."

As Qin Fengcong walked towards Xue Jing, he spoke in a calm voice.

His body began to crackle with faint arcs of electricity, and his hair, which stood upside down, became even straighter and stiffer.

"A promising talent like you was taken in by the mere Hidden Dragon Clan and wasted... It's truly a pity that you have to die here today."

"Don't worry, it will be over in an instant. I won't let you feel any pain. Just like a child who hears thunder, cover your ears and close your eyes. Before you feel scared, it will all be over."

His voice was not concealed at all, and it carried openly throughout the square so that everyone could hear it, immediately causing an uproar.

"What do you mean? He's going to kill someone?"

"Why? Isn't this challenge just for fun?"

Below the stage, Zheng Jixiang, Xie Yue, and others who were with Qin Fengcong immediately focused their attention on Li Qi and Meng Boshang standing next to him. As soon as they saw any unusual movement, they would rush to his aid.

But to their surprise, Li Qi and Meng Boshang acted as if they hadn't heard anything, staring at the arena with unchanged expressions. Li Qi would even chat and laugh with the old men sitting next to him.

Seeing no unusual activity around him, Qin Fengcong's brows furrowed sharply: "Then... let's end this!"

The words had barely left his mouth when thunder roared.

On the arena, Qin Fengcong's figure transformed into a tangible bolt of lightning, disappearing from his original spot. A bolt of lightning swept across Xue Jing, leaving a lightning afterimage in the air. The next moment, he appeared behind Xue Jing.

His right hand was wrapped in visible arcs of electricity. With a flick of his wrist, a movement like the Blood Vibration of a sword, he shook off the arcs of electricity.

Then, without looking back, he walked off the stage with an air of superiority, as if the fight was over.

The entire arena fell silent, everyone staring in disbelief at the ring.

Qin Fengcong was used to the audience's amazement at him and didn't take it to heart, but after taking a few steps, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Tick-tick-tick-"

The silent audience allowed the sound of dripping blood to reach his ears clearly.

……Blood?

Whose... Xue Jing's?

When using the Thunder Control Technique, the wounds should generally be charred black and not bleed.

Whose is that?

Qin Fengcong stiffly lowered his head and looked at his chest.

There, where the heart was, the clothes that were originally intact had a hole the size of a fist.

Not only his clothes, but his chest was also pierced through, his heart was gone, and thick blood slowly but steadily gushed out, dripping down his abdomen and groin before falling to the ground.

The blood flowed more and more uncontrollably, and the belated pain radiated from his chest and spread to his brain.

Uh... what happened?

He reached up and covered his chest, stiffly turning his head to look at the boy named Xue Jing.

There was no horrific scene of his head being blown apart as he had imagined. The handsome young man, as beautiful as a god, stood unharmed with his back to him.

Qin Fengcong looked at the boy's right hand.

He held a bloodied heart in his hand, which was still beating vigorously, its vitality extremely tenacious. Blood kept gushing out from its veins and arteries, as if it was unaware that it had been separated from the human body.

That was... my own heart.

Although he had never met her before, Qin Fengcong recognized her at a glance.

So that's how it is... The audience's amazement wasn't directed at him, but at Xue Jing.

But what exactly happened?

"pat-"

Even as he collapsed to the ground and his pupils gradually lost focus, he still couldn't understand.

"Feng Cong!!"

Qin Fengcong's accomplices in the audience stared wide-eyed in disbelief as Qin Fengcong collapsed to the ground and gradually died.

"Did anyone see clearly what happened?!"

Xie Yue gritted his teeth and said.

A hint of regret flashed across Zheng Jixiang's ethereal eyes, and he sighed:

"All things in this world are impermanent; such is indeed the case."

After a period of silence, the scene erupted in uproar.

"What the hell? That guy acted like some kind of unparalleled master, trying to show off, but he was killed in less than three seconds?"

"Uh... indeed, I kept my word, it really ended in an instant, and Xue Jing didn't feel any pain."

"Is this guy trying to be funny? His professional ethics are too good, he's risking his life for the ultimate clown performance?"

"No, didn't you see how ruthless he was? His speed was so fast that you couldn't even see him, let alone react. It's just that he hasn't beaten Xue the Demon King yet!"

"So what exactly happened just now? Has any expert with exceptional eyesight seen it and can tell us?"

A flash of dark gold vertical pupils appeared in Li Qi's cloudy eyes, and he laughed triumphantly.

Several old friends around him stared in disbelief, and upon hearing the laughter, they glared at Li Qi with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

"Damn it, a scourge lives on for a thousand years! How did you manage to snag such a huge windfall? Old Li, you deserve to die!"

"Hey, Old Li, you've met my granddaughter before, haven't you? She's grown up so much, so graceful and beautiful. I'll bring her over to visit your temple in a few days, so she can chat with your disciples..."

"Old Li..."

Zong Shichan stared at the calm and collected figure on the stage, covered her mouth, and kept peeking out hearts from her eyes.

“Master… Suki (likes)…”

The little girl who often watches cartoons with Xue Wan recently unconsciously blurted out a phrase in her hometown dialect.

Otogi Kagura looked at Xue Jing with admiration in her eyes:

"As expected of you, Mr. Xue."

She was one of the very few people present who saw the process clearly, and therefore understood even more the value of Xue Jing's talent.

On the arena, Xue Jing tossed the still-beating heart aside, then with a powerful shake, dispersed all the blood that stained his palm, restoring it to its original smooth state.

"...I'm a bit unlucky."

He shook his head, looking strangely at Qin Fengcong, who was now lying dead on the ground.

What happened just now was actually quite simple.

He took the attack without dodging or avoiding it, and then simultaneously used the 'Secret Technique: Eye Strike' to pluck out the opponent's heart, nothing more.

The matter ended quickly, not because Qin Fengcong was weak... but because they were incompatible.

Why did this person choose to practice lightning-based martial arts?

Although it was the first time Xue Jing had seen the other party's Thunder Control Technique, he could tell the details of this martial art at a glance.

The electric arcs flashing on its surface are the result of 'mental interference with one's own reality'. They are neither real nor illusory lightning, but a force that can truly cause a strong lightning strike.

The attack he launched at Xue Jing was mostly lightning strikes; physical attacks were present, but very few.

As for lightning-based attacks, they weren't entirely useless against Xue Jing, but they were certainly like showing off one's limited skills before an expert.

Before he killed the dragon cub and activated the [Dragon Horn], there was some truth to it. But after obtaining the Dragon Horn, he cultivated with dragon lightning enveloping his body all day long, and his skin, flesh and bones were already completely different from ordinary people, with lightning resistance maxed out.

Qin Fengcong's use of Thunder Control Technique against him wouldn't be much better than a mosquito bite.

Without needing to dodge or defend, Xue Jing used a fighting style similar to 'mutual destruction,' landing a punch on his opponent while being hit.