People stepped out from their homes to peer up at the sky, crashes and bangs throwing the natural noise of the earth into disarray. Two figures locked each other in combat; one of them, wild and ravenous, struck out with a violet thwack to the ribs, slamming into the midriff of the other man.

The other man - disoriented - jumped along with the kick, dispersing much of its force.

"I must say Castellan, it seems like you hardly improve these days!" Shen Yusheng let out a mocking laugh, clearly having fun.

"Shut up." Chen Yu growled beneath clenched teeth.

Since when had Shen Yusheng got so strong?!

Their fights usually ended up with him beating his ass before he ran away, but for some reason that bastard seemed to have the upper hand. It was infuriating!

"Well, if that's how we're going to play it..." Shen Yusheng formed a wry smile, akin to a crescent moon upon his face as he began to leverage a blade from his storage ring.

The blade itself was big - bigger than it had any right to be, and there was no hilt or guard, only a handle wrapped in cloth. The blade was glistening under the midday sun as thick volumes of demonic Qi raged and seethed. In a way, it looked like a giant kitchen knife, but its aura would never let anyone think that.

"What..." Chen Yu's eyes widened, taking in the feeling emanating from the sword as he reflexively put on a more defensive stance.

"Come now, did you really think I came here so often just to antagonize you?" Shen Yusheng smirked as he took on an arrogant tone.

He laughed as he threw a long, dense slash of Qi towards the houses below, his movement incredibly swift as numerous people were injured.

"This beauty right here was forged using the souls of every little civilian that you let die." He drifted towards Chen Yu slowly, barely edging closer before his legs kicked at the wind - pushing him towards Chen Yu like a streaming blur.

"Now, come and join them, Oh Great Castellan!"

Pulling a sword from his storage ring, Chen Yu narrowly blocked the inhuman strike, bashing him into the ground below as a small crater formed.

Shen Yusheng's attack had felt like a mountain slashing at him; his arms shook with aching pain as he pushed himself back up, jumping into the air once more and carving an arc with his sword.

Dodging with ease, Shen Yusheng laughed before throwing another slash towards Chen Yu, who caught a gash on his arm from a lacking reaction time.

Am I really going to lose? To this scum?

Thoughts rushed in Chen Yu's head as he tried to stave off the attacks, cuts beginning to build up all across his body.

He didn't want to lose.

He didn't want to fail the people he was supposed to defend.

Shen Yusheng continued to push and attack him - playing with him as he was forced onto the backfoot. His face was a fierce, mirthful joy at his own strength, which leaned into a sloppy physique as he let his guard down, focusing purely on his offensive.

Chen Yu's Qi bubbled and spiked inside of his dantian. Like an errupting force in his body, flames burst and roared along the edge of his blade as he began to exert a pressure beyond his level.

He would not lose.

He would not fail.

He was the Castellan, and he would defend his people!

[Soaring Sky - Burning Ash!]

***

"Huh, it's kind of warm out today." Jacob lifted a paper fan up and down in front of his face, beating at the heat with wind.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

[Host, you still haven't left the store since arriving here.]

"Shut it! I'll go outside... eventually." He looked off into the distance and sighed, pressing a palm to his cheek as he sat down behind the counter.

The system gave Jacob a mocking emoticon, as if judging him for being a shut-in. Like that was his fault!

If people were smart, they'd know that going outside was a bad idea too!

...at least in a freaky psycho cultivator world. Get your daily vitamin D kids.

[Go outside and get more customers you useless bum!]

***

Chen Yu errupted with more Qi than he'd ever used before.

His technique, 'Soaring Sky Arts' is one commonly used at the academy, but it contained some important fundamentals. It may not be the flashiest technique in the world, but it stuck to the basics.

No students would complain about it not being cool if they were to witness this scene, however.

Flames raged and flickered into the skies - a firm diagonal rending, cutting through the air and Shen Yusheng with it.

Chen Yu was exhausted, that last technique had completely emptied his Qi reserves, but it was worth it.

He won.

Shen Yusheng had been cleaved from waist to shoulder, before burning into ashes and floating into the winds. He looked down to his hands, flames still roaring along his blade as he felt the exhaustion seep into his bones.

What on earth had caused that increase in power?

Chen Yu had been losing completely; he had zero chance of winning, but somehow he had burst out with an unfathomable level of strength, and beat Shen Yusheng.

He thought back on anything that could have increased his strength to that degree. As strong as Chen Yu was, he actually didn't like the use of cultivation pills and reagents - he'd always felt like the people who used them became a bit too detached.

Unhinged may be a better way to put it.

No recent epiphanies, no pills or reagents, no cultivation treasures...

Despite his exhaustion, Chen Yu was dead set on figuring out the source of his newfound strength. He went straight from the 4th stage of Spirit Cleansing to the 6th!

Granted that was due to the tense situation. He could already feel his strength settling down and stabilising at the 5th stage, but still - what the hell increased his stage?

Somehow, Chen Yu couldn't bring his mind away from thinking about that restaurant, 'McDaonald's'.

That Happy Meal was something he could never forget. That succulent chicken... the perfect, crispy breadcrumbs, and god, the fries were beautiful. He'd definitely be making more trips down there for food...

...wait.

His expression immediately hardened, placing a finger on his chin as things began to click together in his head.

Super luxurious building? Check.

Inhumanly delicious food, surpassing that served at royal banquets? Double check.

A strange, bizarre man whose cultivation can't be seen through? Oh yeah.

...

...Oh shit, it's a hidden master.

Sweat immediately began to coat Chen Yu's brow, he thought back on his mannerisms and how he'd interacted with the hidden master before paling.

What kind of unfathomable dickhead makes a restaurant with enough strength to raise a realm with a small meal?!

Why can't he just live in a cave somewhere for three thousand years like everyone else?!

Despite his aggrievances, Chen Yu would definitely go back to McDaonald's.

...with a little more money next time.