Invincible Beyond Heavens: Cultivating With A Broken EXP System - Chapter 297: Huang Chen - 3rd in the Hidden Dragon Rankings!

Chapter 297: Huang Chen – 3rd in the Hidden Dragon Rankings!

For several breaths, not a single sound could be heard anywhere on the summit. Even the wind seemed to quiet itself in his presence.

Then the mountain erupted.

“Huang Chen?!”

“That is Huang Chen?!”

“Heavens… why would someone like him come here?”

“The third rank of the Hidden Dragon Rankings has appeared at the Tea Ceremony!”

“This cannot be real!”

Many younger disciples were so shocked that their voices trembled uncontrollably. Some who had only heard legends about him now stared upward with widened eyes, afraid the figure before them might vanish if they blinked. Others instinctively lowered their heads, unwilling to meet his gaze even from a distance.

The name Huang Chen carried terrifying weight.

Among the countless geniuses of the Southern Martial Domain, the Hidden Dragon Rankings were already viewed as the true measure of the younger generation.

To enter the top one hundred meant fame that spread across many counties. To enter the top fifty meant supremacy at sect gatherings and regional competitions. To enter the top ten meant standing above nearly everyone of the same generation.

And to stand at third place meant that only two people in the entire Southern Martial Domain were acknowledged as stronger.

Han Li’s face turned pale as the meaning of Huang Chen’s arrival settled heavily in his heart.

Han Xue’s breathing quickened, and disbelief filled her eyes as she stared into the sky.

Even Qin Ling and Shi Xing, both proud and powerful women who had fought fearlessly earlier, now wore solemn expressions. Neither of them dared treat this lightly.

Because this was not merely another genius.

This was a peak monster.

On the flying boat of Martial Ascension Gate, Peak Lord Shen Ming narrowed his eyes sharply. The two peak lords standing beside him also became grave.

They hadn’t expected Huang Chen to appear here. It was completely out of their expectations.

At the flying boat of Ice God Valley, Elder Mu’s earlier relief vanished at once.

Only moments ago, the arrival of Martial Ascension Gate had restored balance to the field. Now that balance had been broken again.

Behind her, several Ice God Valley geniuses unconsciously clenched their fists. Even Mu Lan’s expression changed.

She had heard stories of Huang Chen for years. She had heard that he crossed realms to kill older experts. She had heard that he suppressed top geniuses in only a few moves. She had heard that he once fought three ranked opponents in a single day and defeated all three.

Now that same man stood above Heaven Dew Peak in person.

On the side of Boundless Martial Palace, the atmosphere transformed completely.

Elder Fan’s earlier rage turned into savage delight.

The other elders straightened proudly, as though their spines had gained new steel. Many palace geniuses looked toward Li Yun with cold smiles and renewed confidence.

Their greatest pillar had arrived.

Yan Luo, who had been cornered only moments earlier, slowly exhaled.

The darkness on her face faded. Confidence returned to her eyes, and satisfaction soon followed behind it.

The situation had reversed once more.

With Huang Chen present, Martial Ascension Gate and Ice God Valley could no longer casually pressure Boundless Martial Palace.

Threatening war was one matter. Facing Huang Chen was another entirely.

If conflict truly erupted, no one could predict how many juniors would die once a monster like him entered battle. Even elders would need to consider the cost of allowing such a genius to move freely in chaos.

Huang Chen’s cultivation had already reached the sixth level of the Essence Qi Realm, placing him at nearly the same realm as many of the major elders gathered at Heaven Dew Peak. On the surface, this seemed like an equal standing. Realm against realm. Expert against expert.

Yet everyone present understood that such a comparison was meaningless.

There was a glaring difference between an ordinary elder at the sixth level of the Essence Qi Realm and a genius ranked third on the Hidden Dragon Rankings. The gap between them was not in cultivation alone, but in talent, battle comprehension, martial foundations, secret techniques, killing experience, and the terrifying ability to fight far beyond one’s realm.

Huang Chen belonged to a level of genius that ordinary experts could not measure with common standards.

An elder who had spent decades cultivating to the sixth level of Essence Qi Realm might possess deeper reserves of qi and years of experience, but against Huang Chen, those advantages meant very little. His understanding of combat, his refined techniques, and his overwhelming natural gifts would crush such opponents without much difficulty.

That was the true meaning of being one of the strongest geniuses of the Southern Martial Domain.

Such people were born to overturn common sense. They were the monsters who could leap realms, kill stronger foes, and treat same-level experts as stepping stones.

For cultivators like Huang Chen, defeating ordinary elders of the same realm was not considered shocking. It was expected.

Only core elders from major sects who had reached the peak of the Essence Qi Realm possessed the qualifications to reliably suppress a top-ten genius in the Hidden Dragon Ranking genius. Those veterans stood at the final boundary of the realm, with immense foundations and power accumulated over many years.

Beyond them were the true rulers of the Southern Martial Domain. The leaders of the four major sects, beings who had stepped into the Mortal Core Realm, each one capable of shaking entire regions with a single command. Only figures of that level could completely ignore monsters such as Huang Chen.

This was why his arrival changed everything.

He was not merely another disciple. He was not simply a talented junior from Boundless Martial Palace.

He was a force powerful enough to affect the balance between major sects.

When someone like Huang Chen stood behind Boundless Martial Palace, even elders had to reconsider their next words, and even major forces could not treat the situation lightly.

Yan Luo lowered her gaze toward Li Yun once more.

This time there was no frustration in her eyes. There was only certainty.

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