"Who the hell are you?" Meng Bao took a deep breath, his expression cold and sharp as he stared at Mu Chen. All the arrogance had vanished from his words.

Mu Chen stood perfectly straight and calm opposite Meng Bao. A corner of his mouth lifted as he said lightly, "Demon Castle, Mu Chen."

"Mu Chen?" Meng Bao felt like he had heard that name somewhere before. Although he had only been back at the academy for a few days, the name had definitely reached his ears.

"Boss, that’s the new Outer Circle student who defeated a Three-Ring Martial Spirit as a Sixth-Ring Martial Master," one of Meng Bao’s lackeys whispered from the side.

Meng Bao glanced out of the corner of his eye at the lackey embedded in the Fine Steel Ladder and swallowed hard. He remembered him now. Back then, he had dismissed it as a ridiculous, absurd rumor. But now, it seemed it wasn’t impossible at all. The young man before him truly had the power to perform Tier Jumping and defeat higher-level Martial Artists. There was no other explanation, because the lackey Mu Chen had just sent flying was a One-Ring Martial Spirit.

At that moment, Meng Bao’s mind was in turmoil. ’Should I press forward? I’m only a Four-Ring Martial Spirit. If he can perform Tier Jumping and beat a Three-Ring Martial Spirit, who’s to say he can’t do the same to me? But if I retreat... a fifth-year boss from the Holy Hall, backing down in front of a new Outer Circle student? If word of this got out, the Holy Hall Students would spread it around as a joke. I’m caught between a rock and a hard place.’

"Mu Chen? Is that really Mu Chen? But isn’t he from the Outer Circle?" The arrogant young man who had been standing before Mu Chen had a look of utter confusion. The others looked just as puzzled.

Meng Bao suddenly looked as if he’d found an opening and shouted, "That’s right! I remember now! You’re from that special class in the Outer Circle, aren’t you? But this is Holy Hall territory! We Holy Hall Students can mess around however we want, and it’s our business. But what right do you, an outsider, have to meddle in our affairs? Or are you just looking for trouble with the Holy Hall and want to provoke all of us?"

Meng Bao’s last sentence was calculated to put Mu Chen in an impossible position. Provoking Meng Bao alone was nothing more than a personal grudge. But an Outer Circle student causing trouble in the Holy Hall was a provocation against the entire Holy Hall. At that point, no matter how justified you were, hitting one of the Holy Hall Students was tantamount to declaring war on them.

"Yeah! What right do you have to meddle in Holy Hall business?" Meng Bao’s lackeys chimed in one after another.

"Heh," Mu Chen let out a cold laugh. "That’s a pretty skillful way to frame me. But sorry, I don’t have time to meddle in your Holy Hall’s business. How you guys fight amongst yourselves is your own problem. I’m here today to challenge the Tower of Calamity. I couldn’t care less that you cut in line in front of other Holy Hall students, but you cut in front of *me*. So, apologies, but I have to use my fists to defend my rights. What’s the matter? You think that’s going too far?"

The meaning behind Mu Chen’s words was clear: He didn’t care if they were dogs biting dogs; it had nothing to do with him. But since they cut in front of him, he wasn’t happy about it and decided to cut back. You use your fists to cut in line, so he’ll use his fists to take his spot back. It was giving them a taste of their own medicine. If they had a problem with it, they could fight him!

Meng Bao immediately realized Mu Chen was a handful. Could he really call it ’going too far’? He had done the exact same thing. Besides, Mu Chen really hadn’t meddled in Holy Hall business. He had just stood by and watched while they were fighting, only stepping up to reason with them after they were done.

"The Tower of Calamity is a training ground for the Holy Hall. Since when can Outer Circle students use it? I’ve never heard of such a thing. What proof do you have that you can use the Tower of Calamity? Let’s see it." Meng Bao started playing dirty. ’Since I’m not sure if I can beat you, I can at least make things difficult for you, can’t I?’

"Heh, this is getting interesting. And what if I say no? What are you going to do about it?" Mu Chen grinned. ’If you’re going to play dirty, I can be even dirtier.’

"You!" Meng Bao’s face flushed red. Faced with someone even more shameless than himself, he felt a surge of rage roiling in his chest.

"Hey! Have you all caused enough trouble? If you’re done, then get to the back of the line, now! You, you, and this whole group of you—if you got here late, you line up at the back! What are you looking at? I’m talking to you! Hurry up, or don’t blame me for revoking your qualifications to enter the tower in the future."

Just as the two sides were bristling with hostility and about to fight, an old man wearing a black robe with a colorful ’Xuan’ talisman on its cuff emerged from a pavilion next to the Tower of Calamity. He had his hands clasped behind his back and his expression was perfectly calm. However, his eyes flickered for a moment when his calm gaze fell upon Mu Chen. This was none other than Wu Kui, the keeper of the Tower of Calamity.

Meng Bao, his face and neck red with anger, was about to curse out loud, but when he turned and saw it was Wu Kui, he immediately deflated like a frostbitten eggplant. "Hmph. Mu Chen, this isn’t over between us. Just you wait." With that, he led his group to the back of the line.

The corners of Mu Chen’s mouth lifted into a bright smile. "Sure. I’ll be waiting." Then, Mu Chen pointed at the Holy Hall student he had sent flying and said seriously, "But shouldn’t you carry your little friend back first? Leaving him there is bad for the academy’s appearance."

Meng Bao gritted his teeth and growled, "You win this round. You two, go carry him to the infirmary. I’ll save your spots."

The two men Meng Bao pointed at looked reluctant, but intimidated by his strength, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and carry their companion to the infirmary. Mu Chen slowly walked back into the line, taking a spot right in front of Meng Bao. The queue was now in the same order as before, with Mu Chen in seventh place. Just as everyone settled into their spots, the third floor of the Tower of Calamity suddenly erupted in a brilliant flash of blue light, and a mechanical, emotionless voice rang out.