Due to Yecheng's astonishing speed, the crowd hadn't even had time to react before they realized his body had already appeared in front of the massive red fireball.
And just as everyone was wondering what he was planning to do, Yecheng tightly gripped his crude bone blade and began to focus his spiritual pressure—no, magical power—into the sword. Then, he struck.
"Ichiblade Style—Divine Rend!"
Yecheng had his own sword style. Although he came from the Rukongai, he had once met a master of swordsmanship during his early days. The master took a liking to him and taught him his techniques.
No matter how powerful a martial arts master is, death eventually comes for all. According to the world's rules, once a person dies, their soul either becomes a wandering spirit or eventually falls into hollowfication.
Many once-formidable martial arts masters, having died of old age, went unnoticed in the Rukongai. But even before gaining any "cheats," Yecheng had already been wise enough to take advantage of his circumstances.
Not only swordsmanship—whether it was hand-to-hand combat or other fighting skills—Yecheng had already mastered a great deal even before entering the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy.
This was exactly why someone with no background, no power-ups, and no connections could still far outpace many side characters from the original story.
Originally, this attack should have been a high-density spiritual particle slash, but in this world, it transformed into a pure, compressed magical energy strike.
Because of the compression, the bright white slash took physical form, and the moment it left his blade, it turned into a crescent moon several meters wide. In an instant, it sliced the giant red fireball cleanly in two, like cutting a watermelon.
BOOM——————!
As the red fireball was split in half, a terrifying surge of energy exploded outward. The intense heat instantly engulfed the surroundings. The ground, seemingly crushed by force, formed a crater several meters wide. Even the area nearby had been scorched into blackened earth, and the temperature in the air soared several degrees.
Even more outrageous was the slash itself—this several-meter-high crescent-shaped energy wave not only carved a deep trench into the ground, it also tore through the ceiling overhead.
After slicing the fireball apart, it continued its rampage, splitting every table and chair in its path, finally leaving a deep slash mark on the wall of the Adventurers' Guild.
Because everything had happened in a split second, everyone present was left in stunned silence.
By the time they processed what had happened and looked back at Yecheng, their eyes were completely different from before.
No wonder Rex had looked so tense earlier. If this kind of monster was considered a rookie adventurer, then weren't the rest of them basically babies in diapers?
"Miss Soya, I'm really sorry. I haven't fought seriously in a long time, so I didn't have good control over my strength just now.
I'll compensate for all the damage here. I might be a little short on funds at the moment, but I'll earn enough money soon."
If Yecheng had said that before this display, everyone in the room would've assumed this newbie was just full of himself.
But after witnessing that insane battle, no one had even the slightest doubt about his words.
Are you kidding? Even though the fight between Yecheng and Rex had been brief, Yecheng had already proven his superb swordsmanship, vast magical power, and astonishing physical prowess!
His refined swordsmanship was seen in the slash that cleaved the fireball, his immense magical energy from casting the red fire cannon, and his insane movement speed was displayed when he appeared in front of the fireball like a teleportation move.
Swordsmanship, magic, and physical strength—Yecheng had completely surpassed everyone in the guild. Even though he was a newly registered adventurer, he was undoubtedly the strongest rookie!
"Regarding this incident, I'm also partly responsible," Soya added."I thought it would just be a little sparring, but... so this is what you meant by having a 'tiny bit' of strength."
Honestly, Soya never expected that a spar between Yecheng and Rex would escalate to this level.
She had assumed Yecheng was just an innocent newbie. Even if they didn't move to the training field, a fight in the guild hall wouldn't cause much damage. But who could've imagined...?
"So, Miss Soya, I've proven my strength now. Can I take on quests above E-rank?"
Rex: (ToT)/ Who am I? Where am I? Did everyone just forget about me?!
As Yecheng left the Adventurers' Guild, his face was full of satisfaction. After proving his strength, not only did he get approved for higher-level quests, he even received an A-rank mission!
For a rookie adventurer at E-rank to receive an A-rank quest—something like that would have been unthinkable before.
However, this special treatment was personally granted to him by the guild master.
Originally, the guild master had been upstairs sipping tea and chatting with his lovely assistant. But the massive explosion below made him think his wife had come to kill him, so he immediately "snapped back to reality," pushed away his delicate secretary, and rushed downstairs.
After understanding the situation, he directly gave Yecheng special permission.
After all, the Adventurers' Guild wasn't exclusive to one location. Most large towns had their own branches, and each year, the main headquarters conducted performance evaluations.
The stronger the adventurers in a town, and the more high-level quests completed, the better it reflected on the guild master.
So once he realized Yecheng was a young man with great potential, the guild master generously stated that Yecheng didn't have to pay for any damages—and even granted him the privilege of taking on high-rank quests.
That said, adventurer ranks themselves couldn't be upgraded by authority alone, not even by the guild master.
To raise one's rank, an adventurer had to complete the required missions. This was a rule of all guilds, and he couldn't make exceptions.
But that didn't bother Yecheng in the slightest. He had never cared about things like reputation or status.
Right now, his goal was simple: make money. As long as he could take high-rank quests, he could make money faster.
Whether it was to better understand this new world or to strengthen himself, money was essential.