Amid the expectant gazes of the crowd, Zhou Batian finally stepped onto the stage.

His gaze swept over everyone before finally landing on Lin Chen, who was holding hands with Qin Lan below the stage.

Murderous intent exploded across Zhou Batian's face, and a bloodthirsty smile crept onto his lips.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm delighted that you could all attend Zhou Ci's eighteenth birthday, and coming of age celebration. Zhou Ci has been extraordinarily gifted since childhood, chosen by Kunlun as a disciple where he has been cultivating. Now, he has become a powerhouse in the Innate Realm."

"Boom!"

Zhou Batian's words sent a shockwave through the hall.

"My god, Zhou Ci has already achieved the Innate Realm!"

"How is this possible? He's just turned eighteen, this is absolutely monstrous!"

"Lin Chen is doomed this time. Innate Realm versus the peak of the Nascent Soul, there's simply no match at all."

Hearing that Zhou Ci had already reached the Innate Realm, many felt a chill. This was a duel without suspense.

The Family Head of the Xue family turned pale, suddenly regretting his allegiance to Lin Chen.

Qin Liang, watching Qin Lan holding hands with Lin Chen, felt an itchy hatred in his heart. Lin Chen would soon be a dead man, yet his daughter remained deluded. Thinking of the Zhou family's impending anger, he broke out into a cold sweat.

Seeing the lively expressions on everyone's faces, Zhou Batian was very satisfied and continued, "This celebration marks not only our Zhou Ci's coming of age but also his engagement to Qin Lan of the Qin family."

As Zhou Batian's voice fell, the lights in the hall suddenly went out, and a spotlight fell on Zhou Ci.

Romantic waltz music started playing, and Zhou Ci, holding ninety-nine roses, walked towards Qin Lan.

Everything was romantic and warm, except for the odd detail that the female protagonist was holding another man's hand.

Zhou Ci's eyes flashed coldly as he walked up to Lin Chen and Qin Lan.

He knelt on one knee in front of Qin Lan, opening a golden box.

Swipe! A burst of colorful light instantly illuminated the hall.

My god! It's a multicolored jeweled diamond!

Called the King of Diamonds, the multicolored jeweled diamond in Zhou Ci's hand is worth tens of millions of dollars, nearly the expenditure of a second-tier family for several years.

The entire hall burst into murmurs. Despite the presence of wealthy and noble young elites, everyone was still astonished by Zhou Ci's luxurious engagement ring.

Many young women revealed envious expressions, "Zhou Ci is simply too handsome, how great it would be if I were the female protagonist."

"This is what a true high, rich, and handsome looks like. What is that girl hesitating about? If it were me, I'd have accepted right away."

The surrounding area buzzed with exclamations and discussions.

Zhou Ci looked smug, confident that with his Innate Realm strength and the valuable ring, he could win over Qin Lan.

He earnestly said, "Qin Lan, since the first time I saw you several years ago, no other woman has been in my heart. Marry me, Qin Lan. I will love you, spoil you, and make you the happiest woman."

This declaration of love sounded very romantic; however, to Qin Lan, it was exceedingly nauseating.

"I'm sorry, Young Master Zhou. I've already found my love, so I cannot marry you," Qin Lan said calmly.

"Him? He will soon be a dead man. Are you sure you want to marry a dead man? Behind me stands the number one Zhou family in China. What does Lin Chen have? He is nothing but a nouveau riche from the countryside," Zhou Ci yelled hysterically.

Lin Chen at the side snorted coldly, "Zhou Ci, love cannot be measured with money, and besides, what makes you, a scumbag like you, qualified to talk about love?"

"What did you say?" Zhou Ci's face turned cold.

Lin Chen smiled faintly and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, a blood-boiling scene appeared on the big screen, and the main character was none other than Zhou Ci.

Zhou Ci was seen pouncing on a woman like a hungry wolf, biting and gnawing at her.

The woman beneath him let out bursts of screams. Zhou Ci played coldly for a while before pushing the girl aside, "Boring, Qin Lan is indeed a stunning beauty. Haha, tomorrow I'll press her beneath me and ravage her well."

The last part of the screen showed a close-up of Zhou Ci's face, lecherous and ferocious, and even more shockingly, his mouth was smeared with streaks of blood.

Wow!

The entire hall was in an uproar, it was simply too bloody.

This guy actually treats women like this, he's simply a beast.

Damn, to think that someone who looks so decent could be such trash.

Zhou Ci's beastly nature incited the collective outrage of everyone.

"Shut it off, shut it off now," Ba Tian's complexion changed drastically, he yelled at his subordinates.

Zhou Ci's face turned ashen. This video was from last night in his own bedroom, but how was it leaked!

"Good, good, good, Lin Chen, you're ruthless. Today I'll leave you dismembered, and the cheap woman by your side will become my slave, to my mercy," Zhou Ci, with his true nature exposed, no longer had any disguises as he coldly stated.

Lin Chen smiled faintly, "What's the use of spewing so much nonsense? If you want to kill us, just get your ass on the stage."

As he spoke, Lin Chen flicked Zhou Ci the middle finger and strode towards the arena in the courtyard.

Zhou Ci's face was steely. He had thought that upon hearing of his advancement to the Innate Realm, Lin Chen would be terribly shocked, even begging for mercy.

But he was wrong. On Lin Chen's face, there was not a trace of fear, but instead, he was still arrogant and domineering.

Zhou Ci followed Lin Chen onto the stage, his eyes flickered with a bone-chilling killing intent.

"Kid, I am curious, with such a disparity in strength between us, where do you find the courage to challenge me?" Zhou Ci spoke coldly.

Lin Chen scoffed, "Just relying on drugs to forcibly upgrade to the Innate Realm, do you think you're so impressive?"

Upon hearing Lin Chen's words, Zhou Ci's face changed again. He felt a tinge of panic in his heart, as if Lin Chen knew everything about him, damn, there must be a spy from the Zhou family.

Zhou Ci could never have imagined that all the intelligence was obtained by Lin Chen using his invisibility skills.

"Hmph, no matter how much you know, today this place will be your graveyard. I'll let you understand that in front of an Innate Realm powerhouse, even if you are strong, you are just an ant," Zhou Ci said as he spoke.

As his words fell, Spiritual Energy surged in the palm of his hand, waves of Innate Realm energy fluctuations suddenly made the air around grow as cold as ice, and in the next instant, a white ice blade quickly formed in his palm, lunging fiercely towards Lin Chen.

Zhou Ci moved like lightning, leaving trails of frost wherever he passed; just his cold air alone could directly freeze a Nascent Soul powerhouse.

With this move, Zhou Ci displayed a frighteningly powerful aura, shocking all the spectators. Was this the power of the Innate Realm?

Lin Chen's gaze tightly followed the white light rushing toward him. Against all expectations, facing the fatal strike of an Innate Realm powerhouse, Lin Chen did not choose to dodge, but instead, his body turned into a blaze, hard-charging with a punch towards Zhou Ci.

This punch seemed noticeably weaker in momentum compared to Zhou Ci's, but at the instant his fist was launched, golden light shone, and purple flames surged.

"What is this?" Everyone's faces showed stunned expressions.