Invincible Starts From Dao Fruit

"It seems that Xu Ning is so unworthy that this classmate doesn't even want to spare another glance."

The voice had barely faded in the hall.

Duan Zhengming felt his entire body sinking, as if mired in swamp water, or bound tightly by the Binding Immortal Rope. Helpless, his whole body floated up from the ground, landing within the Scripture Hall, seated by Xiao Lan's side, unable to move.

"Show some courtesy. Stay and listen before you leave."

Chen Jichuan smiled at Duan Zhengming. To the latter, though, that grin looked no less terrifying than that of an evil ghost.

"Haha!"

"Exactly! It's Xu Ning True Person's first lecture, and it hasn't even started. Where's the sense in turning tail immediately?"

"That's far too disrespectful!"

Some among the hall didn't grasp the situation. Seeing True Person Xu Ning's witty demeanor, they laughed aloud and joined in the clamor.

Xiao Lan did not laugh.

She glanced at Duan Zhengming beside her, an intense wave of disgust rising within her, prompting her to inch away slightly.

Meanwhile, Duan Zhengming himself remained motionless, speechless—essentially no different from a living corpse.

He endured overwhelming fear and dread for two relentless hours while Chen Jichuan's discourse on cultivation rang with unerring truth. Yet, Duan Zhengming failed to absorb even a single word.

Finally, the grueling two hours ended as the lecture came to its close.

The scholars hurriedly took their leave.

Xiao Lan also prepared to leave, but Xu Ning True Person called out to her: "Xiao Lan, stay a while."

"Yes."

Xiao Lan replied, the confusion in her heart intensifying.

When the hall had emptied of scholars, leaving only Duan Zhengming still slumped on the ground and True Person Xu Ning seated above, Xiao Lan glanced at Duan Zhengming, then at Xu Ning. Suddenly, a flash of comprehension lit her mind, and her beautiful eyes turned towards True Person Xu Ning in astonishment.

"You remember now?"

Chen Jichuan noticed the change in Xiao Lan's expression and spoke with a grin.

"So, it's you."

Xiao Lan confirmed her realization.

She looked at Chen Jichuan, her eyes briefly flickering with astonishment before regaining composure. Turning her gaze to Duan Zhengming beside her, she finally understood why Xu Ning True Person targeted an obscure student immediately upon arriving at the academy.

"To him, Duan Zhengming represents the enmity of destroying his family and breaking his home."

"And I."

"My withdrawal from the engagement must have also seeded resentment in his heart."

Xiao Lan's thoughts raced as she strategized.

Chen Jichuan exchanged brief pleasantries with her but said little else. Instead, he descended gracefully to Duan Zhengming, grabbed him by the collar, and rested his palm on Duan Zhengming's shoulder, smiling as he spoke: "Years apart spanning several decades—how have you been lately? Xu Ning has missed you dearly. Just the other day, passing through Golden Corner City, I made a visit to Yuanchen Chamber of Commerce to settle an old debt."

As he spoke.

Chen Jichuan waved his hand, revealing severed heads scattered across the hall, piling into a mound of grisly display. Among them, the most prominent belonged to Duan Wenhu's family.

Duan Zhengming's mother, brother, sister, and older brother—all accounted for within the heap.

A wipeout of near relatives; no exceptions allowed.

"Vicious!"

Duan Zhengming couldn't help but curse, only to realize that, somehow, he could now speak.

His furious eyes glared at Chen Jichuan, and he shouted, "Xu Ning! I am now a disciple of Galaxy Academy. If you harm me, the Academy Master will surely not spare you!"

A cold-hearted man through and through.

With his entire family's lives laid bare before him, Duan Zhengming only muttered one word of reproach—'Vicious.' But more evident was his worry for himself, calling upon the Academy Master with haste, hoping to intimidate Chen Jichuan and safeguard his own life.

Such a person—

"No right to be called human!"

Xiao Lan, standing by, grew more disgusted in her heart.

At the same time, she was astounded by Chen Jichuan's ruthless slaughter, gazing in horror at the heads strewn across the hall. More than a thousand victims, among which she identified several as figures from Yuanchen Chamber of Commerce's twelve leaders.

Xu Ning didn't merely pass through Golden Corner City but utterly annihilated Yuanchen Chamber of Commerce!

"What will he do to me?"

Xiao Lan continued to ponder countermeasures within her mind.

On the other side.

Chen Jichuan looked at Duan Zhengming's outwardly tough yet inwardly feeble stance and couldn't help but laugh: "I achieved True Personhood at the age of a hundred. Su Yuanlang, Governance House Master, personally hailed me as the 'Four Extremes True Person,' renowned across ninety-eight cities. Killing a Qi Refinement Eighth Layer disciple like you would be as simple as crushing a chicken."

"You cannot kill me!"

"You cannot kill me!"

Duan Zhengming's courage utterly crumbled, his former commanding presence in Golden Corner City now nowhere to be seen.

"Heh."

Chen Jichuan chuckled lightly as he withdrew his hand from Duan Zhengming's shoulder.

In the next moment.

Duan Zhengming felt heat consuming his entire body, his mana surging uncontrollably, his face flushing red.

A burning sensation suddenly began at the soles of his feet, fervent and unstoppable. He looked down and discovered—to his horror—that his feet had caught fire without him noticing.

The flames flickered.

They climbed from his feet to his calves, then up to his thighs, spreading inexorably to his entire body. The torment of being burned from the outside inward was more cruel than the slicing pain of drawn-out execution. Yet worse was the horrifying realization—he couldn't move an inch, forced to watch helplessly as the fire consumed him, one inch at a time until he was reduced to ash.

Even his very soul would be tormented within the inferno.

Duan Zhengming screamed venomous curses, writhing in bestial agony, but ultimately could not escape his grim demise.

"Aaaaah!"

"Aaaaahhhhhh!"

"It burns! Agony! Agony beyond measure!"

At the moment of his passing, he endured unimaginable suffering, the pain so profound it was inconceivable that Chen Jichuan would dare kill him so openly within the confines of the academy!

It wasn't just Duan Zhengming.

Xiao Lan was similarly dumbstruck: "Killing him in such a manner—it is unlikely you will escape the repercussions from the Academy Master."

"None here are privy to our actions; how would the Academy Master know?"

With a subtle motion, Chen Jichuan incinerated Duan Wenhu's thousand-plus severed heads, alongside Duan Zhengming's remains, into oblivion.

Turning his gaze to Xiao Lan, he smiled and countered coolly.

"He would punish me?"

Xiao Lan hadn't predicted Chen Jichuan to be so brazen.

While she deliberated the implications of his words, Chen Jichuan continued: "Duan Zhengming brought ruin to my home and family—an unforgivable sin. Killing him is justice, not vengeance. Even if the Academy Master learns of it, I doubt he would chastise me."

Chen Jichuan's act thus emerged as more than revenge; it was an act of filial justice for his father—justifiable and inarguable.

What's more.

Chen Jichuan possessed damning evidence against Duan Zhengming that detailed his crimes of murdering innocents without consequence.

This evidence, ignored under ordinary circumstances, might have failed to hold a Qi Refinement Eighth Layer disciple of Galaxy Academy accountable.

But with Chen Jichuan's intervention, what unfolded was not only a personal vendetta but an act of cleansing corruption within Galaxy Academy's ranks.

Most likely, the academy would turn a blind eye to the matter, allowing Duan Zhengming and two other disciples to die while seamlessly washing their hands off the affair.

And if anyone truly pursued the matter further.

They certainly wouldn't seek Chen Jichuan's life in exchange.

Xiao Lan, hearing the reasoning, chose not to dwell on it. Turning to Chen Jichuan, she asked: "True Person, you kept me behind—not simply to let me witness this drama, correct? If you resent me for the engagement I'd annulled years ago, I am willing to accept punishment. I only beg that you spare my life."

She was one capable of enduring humility.

Witnessing Chen Jichuan's decisive nature and bloodlust, she feared he might still hold onto grievances over the broken betrothal, seeking to kill her alongside Duan Zhengming.

"Granny Gan aids me, combined with my mastery over the 'Five Wheel Fire Separation Technique.' In direct combat, I wouldn't necessarily fear a newly ascended True Person."

"But a fight risks exposing my secrets."

"If confrontation can be avoided, it's my preference."

Deep inside, Xiao Lan readied herself defensively, her vigilance elevated to its zenith.

"Capable of pragmatism—truly a character of merit."

Chen Jichuan gazed at Xiao Lan.

Her delicate features exuded icy charm while donning her moon-white robe. Her exquisite curves amplified by her attire made it clear she was a matchless beauty in both form and presence.

"Consider yourself fortunate."

"Were it not for me, such allure would've fallen into another's hands."

Shaking his head, Chen Jichuan silently mused.

He then struck abruptly—his hand clawlike and lightning fast.

Bang!

With one hand, he seized Xiao Lan's shoulder, rendering her immobile.

Boom!

With the other, he hit Xiao Lan's right hand, his fingertips emitting radiant light as the 'Innate One Qi Demon-locking Bone-shrinking Great Method' surged into effect.

Ping~!

A crisp sound echoed instantly—a ring materialized, falling into Chen Jichuan's grip.

All this transpired in the blink of an eye, leaving Xiao Lan with no room for resistance.

While she was inherently strong enough to fight above her station, that applied only to amateur-level True Persons. Against Chen Jichuan—a living anomaly who once slew Ten-layered Heaven True Persons with mere Fifth Layer Heaven—it was comparable to a hen squaring off against an eagle.

"Xu Ning!"

"What are you doing?!"

Xiao Lan, caught and suppressed, panicked seeing her cherished 'Fire Phoenix' ring taken away, her composure unraveling.

She had contemplated many scenarios beforehand.

She had expected Chen Jichuan to mock her, to ridicule her, perhaps even strike her or kill her.

But what she hadn't foreseen—

"How did he discover the 'Fire Phoenix' ring?!"

Her heart filled with disbelief and dismay.

Granny Gan had reassured her repeatedly that the 'Fire Phoenix' ring was extraordinary, imperceptible unless activated—not even the Galaxy Ancestor could detect its presence right before them.

Years spent among Galaxy Academy's numerous True Persons had strengthened her confidence as no one detected her ring or Granny Gan's existence.

But who could have guessed—one move from 'Xu Ning,' and he immediately pinpointed the 'Fire Phoenix' ring.

Without hesitation, he seized it.

She couldn't even muster a scrap of resistance, nor had time to react.

"Fire Phoenix ring."

With Xiao Lan subjugated in one hand, Chen Jichuan held the ring in the other, examining it closely. The ring pulsed in his grip with jumping runes and emanations of mana, which he swiftly sealed layer by layer.

"That'll make it far safer."

Chen Jichuan relaxed slightly, revealing the faintest smile.

While speaking aloud, his hands diligently worked to further strengthen the ring's layers of seals.

"Such treasures!"

"Such treasures!"

His eyes lit up with mixed emotions of caution and exhilaration as he appraised the item in his hand.

The value wasn't in its craftsmanship.

A mere Third-order Magical Treasure, which Chen Jichuan could create himself, posed little excitement.

What truly captivated his intrigue and concern was the ring's concealed essence—

[Magical Treasure: Fire Phoenix Ring]

[Grade: Third-order]

[Description: Alchemy Grandmaster of Medicine King Star, 'Gan Chen,' commissioned friend 'Weichi De' to forge this artifact, capable of absorbing Exotic Fires across the world, transforming them into a mighty Fire Phoenix to scorch heaven and sunder creation. Gan Chen relied upon this treasure to venture across Jiulong River System, but met a fierce enemy and suffered mutual destruction. His physical body fell; his Primordial Spirit shattered, leaving only a fragmented wisp of his spirit fleeing to the Fire Phoenix ring to drift among the stars. To this day, it remains unrecovered.]

...

"Fire Phoenix ring!"

"Gan Chen of Medicine King Star!"

Chen Jichuan firmly grasped the ring, joy evident in his demeanor.

Earlier upon entering the Scripture Hall and spotting Xiao Lan, his instinctual use of 'Insight Skill' allowed him to discern the artifact, uncovering the dormant spirit of 'Gan Chen' within.

The artifact, so elusive to even Second-order True Persons and ordinary Divinity Transformation cultivators, could not escape Chen Jichuan's penetrating observation.

Overjoyed, he concealed his emotions and focused on dealing with Duan Zhengming first.

Only after thoroughly studying the ring in secret did he decisively act, successfully sealing and claiming the treasure.

...