Soon, the group arrived at the assessment site inside the Martial Artist Association.
The hall was large and packed with people.
There actually weren’t that many candidates—most of the crowd was media and onlookers.
The current time was 9:30 AM, with half an hour left before the assessment began.
Many were practicing various martial arts techniques.

“Wow… everyone looks so impressive,”
Little Zero held Chen Xing’s hand, glancing around curiously.
But Chen Xing shook his head and said flatly,
“Most are just formed without intent.”
“No soul.”
“Exactly!”
Yun Xinghai strongly agreed.
“Big bro is still the best!”
Chen Xing smiled but didn’t say anything.

As time passed, the start time drew closer.
However—
The crowd’s chatter didn’t seem to be about martial arts at all.

“Did you manage to grab any gear from Future Factory yesterday?”
“No way! That was way too hard—only 1,000 sets!”
“Today it’s 20,000 sets! I have to get one—even if I don’t use it, I can resell it for a high price!”
“Some idiot got one from the first batch yesterday and only sold it for 4.5 million. Hilarious! The base price is at least 5 million!”
“Hahaha…”

Su Su burst out laughing.
Xue Bufu’s face turned pale with anger.
That idiot… was him!

“I saw some reviews from people who got one. The stat boost is real!”
“Yeah, totally insane. It’s at least 50 years ahead of current tech!”
“That’s why it’s called Future Factory! So badass!”

“It’s almost 10…”
As the time approached, the crowd suddenly fell silent.
Everyone stared intently at the Future Factory website.

“Uh… are we still doing this assessment?”
Yun Xinghai looked around, completely baffled.

“Oh right, that Japanese company is releasing something new today too.”
“Japan? Nah, not buying it. Future Factory forever!”
“Exactly. Japanese gear just scams rich fools. Can it boost combat stats? No!”

People in China basically ignored the Japanese products.
But it was different overseas.
Foreign buyers didn’t boycott Japanese goods—they only cared about value.
Whoever had better quality and price, they bought from them.

Time: 9:58

“WTF?! No internet?!”
“Huh!?”
“Why is the internet down?! How are we supposed to buy anything?!”

Confusion spread through the entire crowd.
Everyone had lost their connection!

Su Su opened the Spirit Interface System and was shocked:
“The network’s really down!? No way…”

The Spirit Network in China hadn’t gone down in hundreds of years!

[Whoa!?]
Little Three suddenly exclaimed.

Chen Xing frowned, “What is it?”
[The whole world’s internet is down!]
“Huh?”
Chen Xing was stunned.
“Why?”
[Let me check…]
[Oh wow… the only places still online are government agencies in various countries!]
[Are they nuts?! What are they planning?!]

Chen Xing furrowed his brows. This was getting weird.
“Them cutting off the global net… what are they trying to do?”
“Can you get people back online?”
[I can, but there’s no point. The delay won’t matter. Let’s wait and see what they’re up to.]

“Alright…”
“Damn! Network crash at such a critical time?!”
“Did foreigners snatch all the stock?”

People were furious and confused.
They had no idea the entire world’s internet was down!

“Ugh… it’s ten o’clock.”
Sighs all around.

[Ding~ 78 billion spirit credits received~]
Chen Xing: ???
Didn’t the internet crash? Who’s buying?
Ghosts?

[Chen Xing… I figured it out.]
Little Three sounded speechless.
“What?”
[They shut down the internet… to buy Future Factory gear for themselves.]

“What the hell…”
Chen Xing was stunned. Was that really necessary?
That’s just… a dimensional-level cheat.

[Can’t handle the game, huh? In my system, you follow my rules!]
“What are you gonna do?”
[Refund all of them. Then restart the sale. Also post a global announcement: ‘Some folks can’t handle the game.’ Heh.]

Chen Xing laughed, a bit helpless.
Wouldn’t that offend every country?
But he didn’t stop Little Three.
Offend them? So what?

Soon after, the internet was restored.

“We’re back online!”
“Check! Are there any left?”
“Sh*t! All gone! Damn it, foreigners must’ve bought them all.”
“Wait, even foreigners lost connection, didn’t they?”
“No way… the whole world’s internet went down!? What happened?”
“Alien invasion?”

“No one seems to have bought anything today! So where did the products go?”
“Look! The Future Factory director just posted a message!”

At that moment, Little Three had already written and force-pinned a statement.
Big bold red text filled everyone’s screen:

【Some people couldn’t handle the game and shut down the net to buy gear. Not naming names. Today’s sale is canceled—everyone refunded.】
【Next round will begin at 10:10.】

“WTF!? A government move?”
“Unreal!”

People quickly figured out who had pulled the plug.
Forums exploded—governments taking down the net just to buy stuff?!
Future Factory gained even more attention!

This was the first time in history that an internet blackout had gone global because of one company!
And it made international buyers reconsider their purchase decisions—
Who had the better product?

While Future Factory postponed the launch by ten minutes,
the Japanese company was thrilled.

As soon as the net came back, their website went live.
Within one minute, 300,000 sets sold!

“Hahaha…”
“Flashy, but it works!”

Executives from the Japanese company were overjoyed by the rapidly rising sales.
They had been worried that Future Factory would steal all their customers.
But now? That worry was gone.

“Damn it! Still couldn’t get one! I’m crying, this is too hard…”
“AHH!! I got one! Anyone wanna buy? Starting at 4.5 million!”
A live auction began right on the spot!
“I’ll bid 4.6 million!”
“4.65!”

Chen Xing and the others were speechless.
Weren’t they here for the assessment?
Why did it feel like a street market?

Suddenly, a group of people walked into the hall—about a dozen of them.
One of them was a familiar face to Chen Xing: Wu Dao!
All of them were martial arts grandmasters!

“Hey! Quiet down!”
A younger grandmaster next to the leading elder shouted.
Instant silence.

The president of the Martial Artist Association had arrived!
The white-haired but sharp-eyed elder walked straight to the main viewing seats.
His expression was emotionless, but his stride was firm and powerful.
This man was the pinnacle of martial arts in China—
The strongest martial arts grandmaster in the world.

The legend of the Yue family—Yue Wufeng, aka Elder Yue!

With long strides, the old man reached the central viewing seat and sat down,
gazing calmly at everyone present.

From the moment he entered, no one dared to make a sound.
Everyone looked at him with utmost respect.

Even Chen Xing was a bit surprised.
This old man… really did look formidable.

Wu Dao stepped forward and glanced over the crowd.
Then he spoke flatly:
“Fifteen groups participating in the master-level assessment, move to the center. Everyone else, step aside.”

The crowd responded quickly.

“Big bro, I’m heading up!”
Yun Xinghai said to Chen Xing.

Chen Xing nodded,
“Don’t embarrass me.”
“Mm! Got it!”

As soon as he turned, Su Su piped up:
“Remember to protect your head, haha…”

Yun Xinghai stumbled slightly, nearly tripping.
He was speechless.
Without looking back, he hurried off.

Chen Xing and the others moved to the side.
Those in the assessment were now in position.

Yun Xinghai was the shortest in the group—
He clearly looked like a kid.

Many people started talking:
“Why is there a little brat in here?”
“Can’t be more than 14, right?”
“I heard there’s a 14-year-old taking the test today.”
“What? He passed the pre-screening?”
“Must be some kind of VIP.”

Before qualifying for a master-level assessment,
there’s a pre-screening that eliminates many.
But Yun Xinghai passed with ease—he was Chen Xing’s disciple, after all.

“You’re Yun Xinghai?”
A tall, sunny-looking youth walked up to him.
Looking down at the short kid.

Yun Xinghai looked up,
“Yeah, and you are?”

The boy didn’t answer directly.
Instead, he smirked and said,
“You’re 14? That short?”

Yun Xinghai: ???

“Oh right, forgot to say—I’m your opponent today: Qi Diao Lingyi.”
“You can call me Brother Lingyi. If you call me that, I’m your bro now.”

Yun Xinghai rolled his eyes and ignored him.
Why was this guy so chatty?

Someone in the crowd recognized the boy:
“Qi Diao Lingyi!? Elder Yue’s only direct disciple?”
“Yeah, that martial arts prodigy?”
“I’ve seen his fight footage. He’s amazing—but… a bit weird.”
“Yeah, dude loves to talk nonsense…”

Hearing that, Chen Xing shifted his gaze from Little Zero to Yun Xinghai and Qi Diao Lingyi.

China’s top martial arts grandmaster’s prized disciple
VS
Chen Xing’s sidekick?

Now that was a match-up.