Jiang Chen stood on the porch of the Fallen Star Sect, sipping tea—which was actually just hot water with a random withered leaf he found on the ground.
In the courtyard below, a rhythmic, guttural grunting sound echoed off the canyon walls, like a beast sharpening its claws.
"9,998... 9,999... 10,000!"
Ye Kai collapsed into a puddle of sweat, his muscles steaming in the cold mountain air. The boy had been doing squats for six hours straight. The stone floor beneath his feet had two distinct footprints pressed inches deep into the solid rock.
"Master!" Ye Kai gasped, looking up with eyes shining like feverish stars. "I feel it! My glutes... they are burning with the fire of the Dao! Is this the legendary 'Foundation Establishment' stage?"
Jiang Chen nodded sagely, hiding his shock. 'This kid is a monster. He actually dented the floor.'
"Indeed," Jiang Chen said, his voice calm. "The glutes are the foundation of the body. If the foundation is strong, even the heavens cannot move you."
"I understand!" Ye Kai pulled out a tattered notebook and scribbled furiously. "Glutes... allow me to defy the heavens."
Jiang Chen felt a twinge of guilt, but he shoved it down. He had a mission to complete.
[System Mission: Recruit the Second Disciple.]
[Target Location: Seven Star City (10 miles South).]
[Time Remaining: 48 Hours.]
Location: Seven Star City. The Shadow of the Market.
The sun was setting, casting long, jagged shadows across the bustling streets. The air smelled of roasting meat and unwashed bodies.
Jiang Chen walked through the crowds, his hand clutching his meager bag of Spirit Stones. As the light faded, he activated his System vision.
"System, where is she?"
[Target is 50 meters ahead. Current Status: Extreme Paranoia.]
Jiang Chen looked forward. He saw a figure huddled in a dark alleyway between a silk shop and a blacksmith. The figure was wrapped in rags, shaking violently.
Most people walked past, ignoring the beggar. But Jiang Chen's eyes—enhanced by the 'Ancient God Body'—saw the lethal details.
The beggar's hands were trembling, but they were not empty. Under the dirty begging bowl, the glint of a cold steel dagger reflected the dying sunlight.
Jiang Chen grilled a smirk. 'Found you.'
He walked over, his footsteps echoing in the narrowing alley. The beggar flinched. The dagger shifted, angling toward Jiang Chen's femoral artery.
Jiang Chen stopped five feet away. He didn't ask for money. He didn't offer food. He simply looked at the empty air above the beggar's head and sighed dramatically.
"A Phoenix in a chicken coop. A Dragon in a mud puddle. Fate is truly cruel."
The beggar froze. Slowly, a pair of terrified, sharp eyes looked up from under the straw hat.
"Who sent you?" she hissed, her voice dripping with fear. "Is it the Prime Minister? Or my Uncle? If you come one step closer, I have a hidden talisman that will blow us both to ash!"
Jiang Chen blinked. 'Suicide bombing? This girl is intense.'
He chuckled, waving his sleeve. "Little girl, if I wanted to kill you, you would have died three times before I even spoke."
"Liar!" she snapped, backing into the shadows. "I checked the wind direction! I put colorless poison powder in the air! You should be paralyzed by now!"
Jiang Chen paused. 'Wait, she actually poisoned the air?'
He felt a slight tickle in his throat. His Ancient God Body instantly burned the toxin away, but a normal person would be foaming at the mouth by now.
'She isn't just paranoid. She is lethal.'
"Your poison is merely spicy air to me," Jiang Chen bluffed, his voice deepening. "I am not here for your life. I am here because I heard the cry of your destiny."
"Destiny is a lie created by the powerful to control the weak!" she spat back. "Are you an assassin from the Azure Dragon Court? Prove you aren't!"
Jiang Chen rubbed his chin. To scam a paranoid person, you don't tell them they are safe. You tell them they are right.
"You are correct," Jiang Chen lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, crouching down. "They are coming. The shadows are closing in. You have checked the wind, but did you check the earth? Did you check the sky?"
Su Ling's eyes widened. She looked at the rooftops in panic.
"I can see the threads of Karma entangling you," Jiang Chen whispered. "You are running from a Marriage of Red and Gold, aren't you?"
Su Ling gasped, her face draining of color. "You... you can see the threads?"
"I can see everything," Jiang Chen lied effortlessly. "And I can tell you this: Your talismans and poisons won't save you. Because your enemy is Fate itself."
Su Ling trembled. The dagger in her hand wavered. "Then... then what do I do?"
Jiang Chen smiled. The hook was set.
"Fate cannot be fought," Jiang Chen said, extending a hand. "But it can be... deflected."
"Deflected?"
"Correct. I offer you the Divine Art of Reverse Causality. Whatever misfortune is directed at you shall be returned to the sender. If an assassin shoots an arrow, the wind will blow it back into his own eye."
Su Ling stared at him. She wanted to believe. She needed to believe.
"I... I don't believe you," she whispered, though her voice shook. "Prove it."
"Very well." Jiang Chen looked around, intending to point at a stray dog to demonstrate.
But suddenly, the temperature in the alley dropped ten degrees.
The hair on the back of Jiang Chen's neck stood up. It wasn't the wind. It was Killing Intent.
Ding!
[System Warning: LETHAL THREAT DETECTED.]
[Three Elite Assassins have locked onto the target.]
[Distance: 20 meters (Rooftop).]
[Time to impact: 3 seconds.]
Jiang Chen's smile froze. This wasn't a joke. This wasn't a scam.
Real death was coming.
He looked at Su Ling, who was staring at him, waiting for his 'proof.'
"Stay still," Jiang Chen whispered, his voice turning deadly serious. "Do not move. Do not breathe. The technique... is already active."