“WHAT?!”

  Reon’s voice cracked, his gaze snapping back to the Status Window as disbelief surged through him.

  Stage-1 Qi Refining Realm—and even that’s unstable?

  He stared at the s again, willing it to ge, but it didn’t.

  The truth hit him like a bolt of lightning.

  This wasn’t his own status—this was Xue Taiyang’s, the spineless weakling whose body he had unwittingly taken over.

  Reon’s stomach twisted as he fully absorbed the horror of his situation.

  At first, he’d thought the frailty he felt was simply due to his injuries, believing that with time, his wounds would heal and his strength would return.

  But this—this was something else.

  The truth hit him like a hammer: Xue Taiyang wasn’t just weak—he was an embarrassment.

  Weaker than a spirit chi.

  A spirit chi?!

  The thought burhrough his mind, his anger igniting.

  Those pathetic creatures were sidered the lowest of the low, their only purpose being nourishment for low-level cultivators.

  How did this pathetic excuse for a cultivator bee an inner disciple?

  Reohed.

  He's not even fit to bee a Servant Disciple of Supreme Dao Sect!

  The rage bubbling inside him only deepened when he sidered the differeween his current self and the Protagonist of this world.

  Even as a mortal, the protagonist's stats had been off the charts—all above twenty, a testament to his boundless potential.

  In stark trast, Reon's stats were utterly humiliating.

  Worse still, Intelligence—2.

  "Two?!"

  Reon couldn’t help but growl inwardly, his frustration pushing against the walls of his mind.

  Are you kidding me?!

  Ba Earth, he’d beeop student in every subject.

  Now, here he was, cursed with the brainpower of a dull rock.

  It was almost poeti its cruelty.

  To make matters worse, the mysterious "Unknown-Sealed Cultivation, Skills and Teiques" mocked him silently from the Status S.

  And don’t eve him started on the Bootlicker trait. When had he ever stooped so low?

  He’d always chosen solitude roveling in anyone’s shadow.

  But Xue Taiyang? A loyal pdog to a third-rate vilin—a pathetic puppet at the mercy of a spoiled young master from a powerful family.

  But wait...

  tracted beasts? He actually had two of them? One was from a Mythical Lineage—What the actual hell?!

  Mythical Lineage Beast eggs were incredibly rare—so rare that they could be ted among the most coveted treasures in the world, with perhaps no more than three existing across the Entire World.

  Where in the world did this idiot gotten his hands on something so priceless?

  Unfortunately, the damn thing was still unhatched, its full potential pletely wasted.

  The sed beast wasn't bad either: a High-Ranked Demonic Beast with power parable to a Peak-Stage Qi Solidification Realm cultivator.

  Yet, as always, Xue Taiyang had dohing with it.

  This moron owned a Rare-Grade Beast trolling teique. But of course, in true Xue Taiyang fashion, he never bothered to train it properly.

  What a waste!

  It was stuck at the Early Stage and pletely unstable.

  If he dared summon the beast now, there was a high ce it would turn on him, beating him to death instead of his oppos!

  But now, none of that mattered. Reon’s focus snapped back to the present, to the three Outer Sect disciples standing before him.

  Survival was the only goal now. The rest could wait.

  “What’s the matter, Xue Taiyang? Cat got your tongue?” Lu Nian’s voice cut through the air, a taunting swisting his features.

  “He must be too scared to speak,” Wei Xiyan chimed in, his voice dripping with mockery.

  Scared?

  Reon ched his fists, a bitter ugh bubbling up from his chest.

  You're damn right, I'm scared! Extremely Scared!

  If you think I’m excited to stand here, practically naked in front of you, trembling in fear... well, you're half-right.

  I 't even fend off an ant of this world right now, let alohe two of you!

  But he couldn't show weakness. He had to survive, pretend—deceive.

  With a deep breath, he squared his shoulders, f himself to stand tall.

  His voice, cold and unwavering, slid from his lips with practiced ease.

  "A Sleeping Drago waste its breath on ants," he said smoothly, his eyes log onto Lu Nian and Wei Xiyan.

  "Let the Dragoil the threat is worthy."

  For a moment, both of them froze, momentarily taken aback by his calm, defiant tone

  But that shock quickly twisted into a deeper anger.

  "Still ag like you're above us, huh?" Lu Nian snarled, stepping forward, his fist raised. "You're nothing without that fox of yours!"

  "Fox...?"

  “Damn it, Lu Nian! Attack him now!” Wei Xiyan barked. “If he summons that fox, we’re finished!”

  Reon's heart skipped a beat as he thought to himself.

  Does he mean the Mist Cloud Fox?

  Damn it, these fug bastards.

  If I could summon that fox in my current state, do you holy think I'd be here, pretending to be tough?

  Lu Nian lunged forward, his fist crag with Spiritual Qi.

  [Ding! The system has detected the Host's life is in danger. Forcefully activating Bull Stopping Shield.]

  A faint, translut barrier shimmered ien front of Reon, invisible to everyo him.

  Bang!

  .

  .

  In the backyard of the abode, a young man was diligently practig his cultivation teiques.

  Upon hearing a loud noise, he quickly sprioward the front yard.

  .

  .

  Lu Nian’s fist collided with the barrier, and the world seemed to hold its breath.

  The impact was deafening, but not in the way Reon had feared.

  There was no shattering bone. No siing crack.

  Instead, it felt as though Lu Nian’s fist had struck a mountain—unmovable, unyielding.

  A siing ch rang out. Lu Nian’s scream pierced the air as his hand shattered upon the shield’s surface.

  "Aggghh!" Lu Nian cried out, clutg his mangled hand.

  Wei Xiyan and the other boy froze, their eyes widening as they stared at Reon.

  He hadn't even flinched. It was as if Lu Nian's attack had been stopped mid-air by an invisible force.

  [Ding! The Bull Stopping Shield has beewo usage remaining.]

  Reo a wave of relief wash over him. He khat without the shield, that punch would have shattered the bones he had only just mao heal.

  But he maintained his stoic facade, his voice calm and cutting.

  "Even in my weakest state, you are no mate," he said, his gaze steady as he stared dowrembling duo.

  "You bastard!" Wei Xiyan growled, his face twisting with rage. "Don't think you hide behind tricks forever!"

  Wei Xiyan and his panion charged forward, but before they could reach Reon, heavy footsteps echoed through the yard.

  "What are you doing to my big brother, you bastards?!"

  The voice rang out like a thundercp, and all three boys turo see a young man sprinting toward them, his face alight with fury.