In The Dragon Fountain Forest, Chen Jianhong was currently jumping from one bamboo stalk to the next, avoiding the wet earth below him.

"Where are you, my prey?" Chen Jianhong thought excitedly.

He was from a normal clan, and thus his chances of achieving a high position within a sect were extremely low compared to those prodigies who had been nurtured by the Clans since birth.

The only thing special about Chen Jianhong was his oddly strong body compared to others his age. Yet, this was enough for him to soar up like a dragon from the carp that were the common folk. Even though he was only in the Low Adept rank, he was quite confident in being able to be classified as an intermediate Adept if a situation were to arise.

"If I can stay clear from those Clan prodigies and only hunt down the other commoners, it'll undoubtedly be my win!" Chen Jianhong's eyes gleamed with ferociousness.

As long as he could complete the test, his life would be set; all he had to do after that was pledge his allegiance to a member of a Clan.

"Aha! Found one." As Chen Jianhong was traveling through the bamboo stalks, he suddenly noticed someone on the ground, probably unconscious after falling from the bamboo.

He propelled himself towards the person using the bamboo stalk as support and prepared to land a blow to fully incapacitate them.

Yet as he got closer, he felt goosebumps all over his body.

"What the!" Chen Jianhong inwardly exclaimed as he saw that the previously unconscious person suddenly made a move.

WOOSH!

They moved their body, lying face flat on the ground, 360 degrees and landed a kick on Chen Jianhong's face.

BAM!

Chen Jianhong was sent flying and landed with a splat on the muddy ground.

"What an arrogant fool you are." The person spoke with a feminine voice.

"You! It's actually you!" Chen Jianhong's face went pale as he stared at his attacker.

Among the prodigies who had participated in the selections this year, Chen Jianhong had classified them into three levels.

Normies would account for the absolute average of the group with no special abilities and only luck on their side. Next would be the gifted ones who had, in one way or another, a special gift that significantly boosted their combat prowess. Chen Jianhong could be classified as one of them. And then finally, the freaks who were youths raised since their birth; most of them didn't possess any special abilities, yet even so, these prodigies could easily dwarf the talents of gifted ones, and the one in front of him was actually one of them.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Darling of the Regal Peacock, Li Meiyu!

Chen Jianhong was feeling the contradictory mix of emotions of fear and joy. Fear was obvious, yet joy was due to another reason.

"If I can become a follower of such a talent, my position is going to be at least the level equivalent of an officer in the army!"

"Spare me, Senior Sister!" Chen Jianhong quickly kowtowed.

Li Meiyu looked at him with coldness enough to freeze a lake.

"Why should I spare you?" She asked with the tone of a statement.

"I, Chen Jianhong, possess a body of unparalleled strength. Spare me, and I shall become your loyal follower and unwavering shield, protecting you against all adversaries!" Chen Jianhong used his entire talent in acting to deliver his best line ever.

"This very powerful body of yours was the same one that was flung away by my kick, no?" Li Meiyu asked.

Chen Jianhong realized he had been caught. After all, what type of powerful body couldn't even withstand a single kick?

Realizing she had struck correctly, Li Meiyu prepared to attack.

BAM!

Suddenly Chen Jianhong fell on the ground unconscious, surprising Li Meiyu.

"Who was that?!" She thought and looked around yet couldn't find anyone.

Suddenly she felt her body screaming at her to roll to the side, which she followed without hesitation.

CLACK!

A figure landed on the place where Li Meiyu previously stood. It was a youth the same height as Chen Jianhong, and his age was probably similar by looking at him, yet he emanated a completely different presence than Chen Jianhong. If Chen Jianhong was an insect, then this being in front of her was a fire that could burn down the forest of the insect!

"Who are you?" Li Meiyu asked warily.

"Oh, I'm no one. Just excuse me, I accidentally lost footing and fell." The boy answered while scratching his head and turned to leave.

"Oh no, you don't!" Li Meiyu ran towards the boy and attacked. She couldn't feel any actual power from him and thus realized that this boy in front of her must be playing tricks.

SWOOSH!

The boy turned around and easily parried the attack.

BAM!

Li Meiyu quickly blocked it, yet something happened.

CRACK!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Li Meiyu screamed in pain as she looked at her broken arms; it was her first time feeling such immense pain.

"Oi, focus on the battle!" The boy shouted coldly and shot out another punch aimed at her face.

"I must escape!" Li Meiyu thought and used her technique.

The Great Serpent attacks the Tiger!

Li Meiyu's right leg suddenly bulged and spun to attack the boy.

"That technique!" The boy came shocked after seeing her leg bulge.

BANG!

He immediately used his arms to block the attack, grabbed hold of the leg, and pulled it.

"Oh no, you don't!" Li Meiyu, in pain, shouted and used her left leg to attack.

The boy quickly let go of the leg and blocked the attack, giving Li Meiyu enough time to back away.

Both stared at each other.

BANG!

Li Meiyu quickly jumped onto the bamboo stalks and started retreating.

The boy followed as well.

Potential Transmutation Art!

Ling Xuan quickly converted his potential energy into kinetic energy and released it all at once.

BOOM!

All the bamboo stalks under Ling Xuan's feet were blown away as Ling Xuan's speed drastically increased.

The energy released was so much that it literally caused Ling Xuan to be propelled; in other words, he was literally flying.

"I really underestimated this technique!" Ling Xuan inwardly exclaimed in surprise as he got closer to Li Meiyu.

"I have gotten pretty far; he shouldn't be able to find me now." Li Meiyu panted in exhaustion.

Then she suddenly felt someone grab her neck, and the next moment all went black for her.