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"You're that guy—Comic Superman, right?"
A man in a black tank top suddenly blocked Ethan's path. The guy was huge, muscles tight and bulging, standing there with a look of self-righteous fury as he glared at him.
"Oh? Nah, you've got the wrong guy." Ethan gave the man a lazy once-over, then started walking around him like he couldn't be bothered.
"What? Nonsense! You are Comic Superman! Don't you dare lie to me!" The tank-top guy froze, caught off guard that Ethan denied it. By the time he came back to his senses, Ethan was already strolling past him.
"Stop right there, Comic Superman! You sneaky bastard!" The man jumped back in front of him, blocking the way again, shouting so loud the pavement practically shook.
Ethan just looked at him with a bored expression. He already knew exactly what this was about.Climb the rankings too fast, and all sorts of "heroes" suddenly get salty. They'd come to challenge him, "teach him a lesson," or whatever. He'd already run into a few like this.
"Seriously, since you already knew I'm Comic Superman, why even ask my name at the start? I actually thought you didn't recognize me, so I was trying to play it cool." Ethan's tone carried a touch of mock complaint, like this was all the guy's fault for wasting his time.
The man's face twitched. Ethan's attitude was just—infuriating.And what made it worse? Someone with a personality this bad was ranked higher than him.
He took a deep breath.Then another.And another.He kept inhaling like he was trying to vacuum up the entire street.
"Wow," Ethan said, sounding genuinely impressed. "That's some lung capacity. You've been breathing in for almost a whole minute now."
Just then, a random passerby rushed by in a hurry, face twisted in pain.As he passed the two of them—
Pfffft—
A thunderous fart ripped through the air, long and foul.
Ethan blinked. He heard it, sure, but smelled nothing.Because the guy in the black tank top was still taking a massive inhale—and had just sucked in every last bit of that airborne horror straight into his open mouth.
The gas shot down his throat, slammed into his lungs, and stayed there.
Ethan stared at him, genuinely awed."Incredible. Absolutely incredible. You must've foreseen this moment, huh? That's why you stayed right here, taking a deep breath, waiting for the perfect timing. What kind of cultivation technique is that? Even your face is changing color—red, purple… wow, it's going black now. Amazing!"
He clapped lightly, as if witnessing a master's performance.
A second later, the tank-top man collapsed to his knees with a thud, gagging and retching so hard he nearly threw up his guts. Ethan stepped back a few paces, watching calmly.
"Truly impressive," he said with a tone of admiration. "To train your internal organs using such an… unconventional method. I really respect your dedication."
"Shut up… you… you bastard!" the man croaked, eyes blazing with weak fury, like he'd kill Ethan if he could even stand up.
"Well then, I won't interrupt your cultivation. Bye now!" Ethan waved cheerfully, smiling as he turned to leave.
"W-wait—!"The man tried to shout after him, but he could barely lift himself off the ground. He could only glare helplessly as Ethan wandered off.
Ethan walked leisurely down the street, hands in his pockets, chuckling to himself.That whole thing was ridiculous—The guy came to pick a fight, only to get wrecked by pure dumb luck. Or maybe divine timing. Honestly, props to that passing stranger for the perfect setup.
"If something that funny happened every day," Ethan murmured to himself, grinning, "life would be way more entertaining."
He strolled around idly, enjoying the sunshine. And okay, maybe occasionally glancing at the pretty girls in skirts walking by. Just glancing.He was definitely not sitting on that bench all afternoon just to admire smooth, shiny legs. Nope. He was only resting. Totally innocent.Even if he'd been there since lunch… and only left when the sun started to set.
He sighed dramatically. "Ah, such a beautiful sun… and yet, it too must set. Just like a man—no matter how bright he shines, dusk comes for everyone."
A girl walking by heard him and shot him a weird look. Ethan only gave her a carefree smile, stood up, and walked away, leaving her staring dreamily after him.
"Comic Superman! You again! This time you're not getting away!"
That same guy in the black tank top came charging out of nowhere.
"Dude," Ethan groaned, rubbing his temples, "a side character needs to know he's a side character, okay? The sun's literally going down—why are you still trying to hog screen time? Move it, move it!"
"Huh?"
"Huh what! Move! It's time to go home and sleep! Wait for the next chapter if you want another scene. This one's already wrapping up!"
"Oh… okay."
"..."
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