After a full half-hour of beating, Mu Nanxing's cries of agony gradually turned into a dark satisfaction, only to revert back to painful wails. In the end, his cries slowly subsided.

At this moment, he lay on the ground, covered in wounds, his gaze vacant, as if he had turned into a salted fish that had lost its dreams, his spirit so withered it seemed ready to leave this beautiful world at any moment.

"Damn it!" The old man put away his stick, "I've been killing people all my life and never beat someone to half-dead. This is quite the workout. It's harder to beat someone half to death than to just kill them!"

"Good job, have a cup of milk tea!" Zhang Menglong, who had already prepared a cup, handed it over.

"Mmm! Delicious!" the old man said animatedly, "Is this the milk tea you mentioned yesterday? It truly is a rare delightful beverage in this world!"

The old man took a couple of large sips, then nodded at Mu Nanxing, who was lying not far away, "What should we do with this guy?"

"He's immobilized now, right?" Zhang Menglong asked. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"If he could even move a bit now, then I'd be letting you down!" Qi Congyun said with confidence. This beating had nearly shattered all his bones and muscles, and even his qi sea was almost dispersed. Now, even if someone defecated on his head, he'd have to endure it quietly.

"Not bad!" Zhang Menglong stepped forward and, under the public's gaze, stripped Mu Nanxing down to his underwear, then dressed him in sexy black silk stockings and a suspender. Even in the realm of perverts, this attire was quite explosive.

Mu Nanxing watched helplessly as Zhang Menglong dressed him in the humiliating outfit, then took out something square and brick-like, flashing white light at him.

"Oh my, this is exciting?"

"This Gu Tianle really is innovating with a new style."

"Hahaha, should we also keep some image records?"

"Forget it, I'm scared of death, aren't you? The guy was just crippled, not killed. Aren't you afraid of repercussions later?"

"What's there to fear? There are so many people here, he has to find us first. If we post anonymously, who's to know?"

"Uh-huh, makes sense!"

...

Humiliated, Mu Nanxing closed his eyes, letting Zhang Menglong and the crowd photograph him as they pleased. He had already decided that once he recovered, he'd leave Hong Yun Empire, find a place where no one knew him, and live incognito.

After a while, several youths and middle-aged people came over to Mu Nanxing. Zhang Menglong clearly saw a flash of shock and then humiliation in their eyes.

"Old... Teacher..." the leading youth reluctantly uttered these words, not wanting to believe that the person in front of him, wearing black silk and a pink suspender with small wings on his back and pink handcuffs on his wrist, was the martial arts teacher he once respected so much.

"Aren't you going to take me away?" Mu Nanxing yelled with his last strength, "Cover me with some cloth! Hurry up!"

Amidst laughter, Mu Nanxing finally disappeared from people's sight, but within this Hong Yun Empire, he left behind a less than pleasant legend.

"Satisfied, kid?" Qi Congyun looked at Zhang Menglong and smirked helplessly, knowing Zhang Menglong was a pervert, though he hadn't expected him to be this perverted.

"It's alright," Zhang Menglong smiled, "Thank you, Elder Qi."

"Spare me the flattery," Qi Congyun said, "You owe me."

"Don't worry, I'm a man of my word. Even if your Sunset Sect falls, I'll find a way to help it rise again before joining."

Qi Congyun rolled his eyes at Zhang Menglong, "You do know how to talk, promise to speak more next time."

...

After helping Zhang Menglong with two matters, Qi Congyun turned into a streak of light and left.

Zhang Menglong then went to the side of the Heavenly Pride Order stone. It was then that he noticed his Heavenly Pride Order was already a bright red color, and within it, some golden hues began to appear.

At this moment, on the Pride of Heaven Stele, his name shone brilliantly, slowly rising above Lin Yuan, who had originally been first.

Pride of Heaven Stele, first place!

"Mmm! This is more like it!" Zhang Menglong nodded in satisfaction.

"First place, he's now ranked first!"

"Lin Yuan has actually been surpassed, this is really something rare to see."

"Though his ranking is higher than Lin Yuan's, it doesn't necessarily mean his strength surpasses Lin Yuan's; after all, Lin Yuan can easily defeat a Martial Artist in the Divine Cultivation Realm."

"Indeed, although Gu Tianle is quite popular now, his only notable achievement is defeating a Heavenly Pride of the Divine Breath Eighth Grade. The rest are just helpers he hired; that doesn't really prove anything."

"Hahaha, I think if Lin Yuan learns of this news, he'll be extremely furious. He never allows anyone to surpass him. If someone does, he'll find a way to surpass them back and then trample them underfoot."

"Shush! Look, who's that?"

The crowd suddenly quieted down, many even avoiding eye contact in a particular direction.

From the opposite direction of the Pride of Heaven Stele, a young man walked slowly toward them, surrounded by a group of people.

This group was all of the Divine Breath Seventh Grade realm, especially the one standing in the center who was almost at the Divine Breath Eighth Grade, and his aura made it feel like facing a powerhouse of the Divine Cultivation Realm.

He wasn't very tall, about 195cm, with a well-proportioned and lean figure, dressed in deep purple attire that wasn't extravagant yet carried a unique charisma. What caught everyone's attention was his head of gray-blue hair.

"Lin Yuan, your ranking has dropped to second place!" A young man beside Lin Yuan showed an expression of disbelief. In his concept, there couldn't possibly be someone more outstanding than Lin Yuan.

"I saw," Lin Yuan, in fact, didn't care much about the Pride of Heaven Stele's ranking because he had never heard of anyone more talented than him on the continent.

Those ranked behind him were also among the continent's most dazzling individuals. Mo Lingyun, who was formerly second, had been his longtime rival but was always slightly behind him.

Upon hearing a foreign name appear second on the stele, Lin Yuan felt an inexplicable sense of crisis.

He had been in the Hong Yun Empire for some time, mostly in seclusion and meditation. Upon hearing this news today, he decided to take a look at this person who had surpassed Mo Lingyun.

He didn't expect that upon arriving at the stele, he'd see this Gu Tianle rise directly above his own ranking.

It was Lin Yuan's first time experiencing such a strong sense of crisis and his first time being so interested in a peer.

"Are you Gu Tianle?" Lin Yuan walked up to Zhang Menglong and extended a hand, "Pleasure to meet you, from Moqing Empire, Lin Yuan."

"From Ritian Empire, Gu Tianle!" Zhang Menglong also extended a hand. After encountering so many morons, it was refreshing to meet someone who appeared normal. Because Zhang Menglong didn't sense any malice from him.

"I wonder if Brother Gu is interested in a little sparring?"

"Here?" Zhang Menglong could feel Lin Yuan's competitiveness, given he had never been surpassed by anyone.

"Sparring doesn't have to be a real fight; we could just arm-wrestle," Lin Yuan suggested confidently, "Frankly, I've never lost an arm-wrestling match to a peer!"

"Sure!" Zhang Menglong agreed immediately, "I never lost with my single life of 20-plus years' worth of arm wrestling either!"