If they wouldn’t come down, Tu Xiao’an had ways to make them. How could he, the reigning Snake King, tolerate others standing above him, acting high and mighty? It was unacceptable.

Tu Xiao’an wouldn’t tolerate them acting so arrogantly above his head.

’Five Thunders Strike the Head.’

Tu Xiao’an remained expressionless, but the Power of Thunder and Lightning within him had already begun to quietly circulate.

In an instant, thunder roared above the Martial Arts Arena. It screeched as if storm clouds were roiling like a tide. Above the heads of the five revered upperclassmen hovering in the air, a bolt of white lightning appeared over each one and struck down.

Their expressions changed dramatically. ’It’s a clear, sunny day. Where did this lightning come from?!’

The lightning was too fast for anyone to react. In an instant, four of them were caught off guard and struck. Their bodies immediately lost stability, and they plummeted downward.

But they were, after all, top-tier masters from the Ancient Academy, each one incredibly powerful. Even after being struck by lightning, they managed to land steadily on the ground, largely unaffected.

However, their pride had taken a serious blow.

So much for not coming down. A single bolt of lightning had forced them down.

"Look, everyone! The revered upperclassmen were struck down by lightning!"

"Evil Qiqi is still up there! She was struck by the lightning but seems completely unharmed!"

The peerless Evil Qiqi fixed her electrifying gaze on Tu Xiao’an below. "You actually control Thunder Power?"

"Come down."

Tu Xiao’an simply replied with two words.

Evil Qiqi seemed to sense something. Her graceful body swayed left and right as if in an elegant dance. The next second, three consecutive bolts of lightning struck her position, yet she dodged them all.

Three pits, smoking and black, appeared on the Martial Arts Arena.

"Why so aggressive? You’re awful..." Evil Qiqi’s steps were feather-light as she flitted away from the Martial Arts Arena like a Ghost, not waiting for the next bolts of lightning to fall.

She was smart enough to know when to quit.

In an instant, the entire area fell silent. Lightning had appeared from a clear sky and struck down the revered upperclassmen. Now, everyone stared with horrified eyes at the slender figure on the Martial Arts Arena.

’The strongest freshman possesses Thunder Power?’

In that moment, everyone just stared blankly, their faces showing utter bewilderment.

’Controlling lightning... What kind of ability is that? The thought alone is terrifying.’

Down below, the vice dean stroked his mustache and thought, ’They say the Bai Town Snake King controls thunder and lightning. So this Snake Spirit actually possesses elemental Thunder Power. Incredible.’

"You damn brat! You dare pull a fast one on us!"

After landing, the upperclassmen glared at Tu Xiao’an, burning with fury, but their hearts were also reeling from shock.

Bai Junran’s expression, in particular, turned foul. ’This kid who stole my Snake King Stone... it seems he’s no ordinary person after all.’

"You’d all better behave yourselves and just watch from down there. Make a wrong move, and you might get struck by lightning." Tu Xiao’an chuckled, a slight smirk playing on his lips, a playful glint in his bewitching eyes. "If you have a problem with me, wait until I’m done with this fight. You can come up and challenge me then. Any of you."

The moment Tu Xiao’an’s words fell, the arena once again fell silent. The very air seemed to freeze. ’Such arrogant words... telling the revered upperclassmen to challenge him?’

All the students below stared, dumbstruck, at his handsome face. ’Such arrogance! Now that’s what you call looking down on everyone.’ 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Haha... Who do you think you are? A mere freshman spouting such nonsense, you clearly don’t know your place!"

The speaker, some supporter of the upperclassmen in the crowd, stared at him as if he were an idiot.

After that, many people started looking at him as if he were already a dead man. To challenge the top five masters of the Genius Class by himself? The boast was so outrageous it made even the other people in the crowd blush with secondhand embarrassment.

Tu Xiao’an shook his head. ’I should take care of business first.’

He looked at Ling Yanhang opposite him and said, "We can begin now."

Ling Yanhang was still reeling from the lightning strikes. ’This kid really controls lightning?’

He had knocked the five most powerful students of the Genius Class out of the sky in one go. Even though it was a surprise attack that had caught them off guard, it was still a shocking feat.

Ling Yanhang knew perfectly well how strong those five were. Each one was a monster among monsters.

They were all Martial Cultivators of extraordinary Talent.

Even stronger than the academy’s High Rank instructors.

’Looks like this fight is going to be tricky,’ he thought. ’This "strongest freshman" is a tough opponent.’

Ling Yanhang didn’t want to be kicked out of the Genius Class. It wasn’t just about losing the honor of being a cut above the rest; his monthly Spirit Stone stipend would also be drastically reduced.

’I have to give this my all.’

After a moment’s thought, Ling Yanhang’s demeanor grew solemn. He drew a cold-gleaming saber from his back, and his entire presence shifted. A powerful aura erupted from him, sending a gale sweeping across the stage.

"The real match is about to begin!"

"Junior, be careful. A blade has no eyes."

Ling Yanhang’s powerful aura was now thick with killing intent. With the large saber in his hand, he made a motion so fast it was almost invisible—a mere flicker of the blade’s shadow. A silver-white crescent moon of light suddenly flashed in the air above the Martial Arts Arena, and an incomparably sharp Sword Qi spread out in all directions.

All at once, the air grew thick with the stench of death. The floor of the Martial Arts Arena cracked and split under the force of the Sword Qi, which surged directly toward Tu Xiao’an.

If it landed, its target would be instantly split in two.

Tu Xiao’an’s pupils contracted. ’This guy uses a saber... he’s clearly cultivated some formidable Saber Technique. To produce such imposing Sword Qi with his very first strike... he’s going straight for the kill.’

This so-called Sword Qi was something one could only manifest after reaching a very high level of achievement in a Saber Technique.

"Break..."

Tu Xiao’an stomped his foot, showing no intention of dodging.

The incoming wave of Sword Qi simply exploded into nothing.

"You’ve lost."

Tu Xiao’an said, having just shattered the encroaching Sword Qi.

At his words, the crowd was utterly dumbfounded. ’Seriously? So you broke his Sword Qi, that doesn’t mean you’ve won. You haven’t even made a real move yet and you’re calling him the loser?’

’Even if you’re the strongest freshman, you can’t be *that* arrogant!’

But Ling Yanhang stood there, frozen like a statue, his jaw hanging open in shock. He swallowed hard a couple of times, his face a mask of disbelief.

That’s right. He had lost.

The crowd below might not have seen it clearly—he hadn’t seen it clearly either—but he had felt it.

He had felt death in that instant.

He stood frozen to the spot, cold sweat pouring down his back. His eyes were wide as saucers as he stared at Tu Xiao’an as if he were a monster.

"Do you concede?"

"I..." Ling Yanhang opened his mouth, a sense of utter frustration welling up inside him. ’I lost? Just like that?’

He had only unleashed a single wave of Sword Qi. It was just a warm-up; he hadn’t even brought out his real skills yet.

But he had no choice but to concede. By now, many in the crowd below had finally seen it, and looks of dawning comprehension spread across their faces.

At Ling Yanhang’s throat, a Flying Knife as thin as a cicada’s wing was pressed against his skin, held there as if by a pair of Formless hands.

This...

How had he done it? When had he made his move? Not a single person had seen a thing.