BMG: Chapter 5: The Protagonist's Luck is Upon Him, Never Leave a Grudge Overnight!
"You two have said enough."
A woman with straight bangs and a sweet appearance stepped out from the crowd.
"Jiang Chen is our classmate, after all. Even if you look down on him, there's no need to humiliate him like this."
Jiang Chen recognized her — she was in his class, and her name was Li Yanran, a level 8 talent professional, just like Wang Hao. What surprised him, though, was that he had never been particularly close to her. So why was she speaking up for him now?
"This is a matter between me and Jiang Chen. It has nothing to do with you," Chen Chuxi said, her expression shifting slightly at the sight of Li Yanran. She hadn't expected anyone to stand up for Jiang Chen after everything that had just happened.
"Li Yanran, did you hear her?" Wang Hao chimed in from the side. "This is between Jiang Chen and Chuxi. Mind your own business."
Li Yanran opened her mouth to respond, but Jiang Chen stopped her. "Chen Chuxi is right — this is between her and me. It has nothing to do with anyone else."
He then turned his gaze to Wang Hao, who was still wearing a smug expression.
"So why are you still barking?"
The moment the words left his mouth, his pupils flashed a deep, blood red.
In the next instant, Jiang Chen vanished from where he stood.
"What—"
Before Wang Hao could react, a sharp pain exploded from his abdomen. His entire body shot backward like a comet, rolling across the ground several times before slamming into a wall dozens of meters away, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The whole field went silent.
No one had expected Jiang Chen — who had never once caused trouble — to lash out like this. And that punch — the sheer force behind it. Sending someone flying dozens of meters with a single blow? Even a level 20 Jonin Contractor would struggle to pull that off.
Chen Chuxi's brow furrowed deeply. "What do you think you're doing? Wang Hao is with me now. How dare you lay a hand on him?"
Jiang Chen turned back to look at her. "I did. What are you going to do about it?"
Some people say a gentleman can wait ten years to take his revenge. That was someone else's philosophy. For Jiang Chen, if a score could be settled today, he saw no reason to let it carry into tomorrow.
"Jiang Chen," Chen Chuxi snapped, "do you still think you're the same high and mighty max-level talent professional? You contracted a Genin. That makes you trash — now and forever."
"We'll see about that."
Li Yanran spoke up from beside him with a calm smile. "The power inherited from a contracted statue only sets a person's floor, not their ceiling. Even professionals who haven't contracted a statue at all can still grow into formidable fighters through resource cultivation."
She wasn't wrong. Since the advent of the Dimensional Era, Secret Realms had appeared all across the world. Clearing them yielded all manner of rewards — Ninjutsu, Ninja Tools, even Bloodline Limits. Professionals who had only awakened elemental Chakra, or who had contracted nothing more than a Genin, could continue building their strength through these means.
The catch, of course, was that the entrances to nearly every Secret Realm were monopolized by established families and organizations. Commoners and independents without backing simply couldn't get in. For those at the bottom, the only path upward was to pledge themselves to a local power and work under their banner.
The Chen family was the largest such power in Jinghai City, and as the eldest daughter of its main bloodline, Chen Chuxi understood this better than most. So when she heard Li Yanran's words, she laughed.
"How amusing. Who exactly do you think Jiang Chen is? He's a freeloader living under our Chen family's roof. The moment he walks out our door, he's nothing. Say the word and I can make sure he never sets foot in a single Secret Realm in Jinghai City."
Li Yanran smiled back. "Your Chen family is impressive, I'll grant you that. But Jinghai City doesn't answer to the Chen family alone."
She turned to Jiang Chen and held out a token.
"Jiang Chen, I am here on behalf of the City Lord's Mansion to formally invite you to join us. Under our banner, you will have protection, cultivation resources, and full access to Secret Realm entry rights."
The smile on Chen Chuxi's face froze.
She hadn't expected Li Yanran to be from the City Lord's Mansion.
The surrounding students exchanged glances as everything clicked into place. No wonder she had dared to speak against Chen Chuxi so openly — in all of Jinghai City, the only force willing to openly challenge the Chen family was the City Lord's Mansion.
For Jiang Chen, the timing couldn't have been better. What he needed most right now was cultivation resources — experience points above all else. Having contracted two characters simultaneously, the amount required for him to level up was double that of anyone else. With less than two years left before the Otsutsuki Clan descended on Blue Star, joining a faction with steady access to Secret Realms wasn't just convenient — it was essential.
Originally, he had planned to use the Chen family's influence to enter Secret Realms for cultivation. But now that Chen Chuxi had turned against him, that door was closed. Li Yanran's invitation had opened another one at exactly the right moment.
So the Protagonist's Luck from contracting Uzumaki Naruto is already kicking in, he thought. Someone delivers food the moment you're hungry. If that isn't protagonist's luck, what is?
"Since the City Lord's Mansion is willing to have me, I accept."
Jiang Chen gave Li Yanran a composed smile and pocketed the token.
Chen Chuxi's composure cracked. "Jiang Chen — you've had a roof over your head and food on your table courtesy of my Chen family for three years. You're really just going to walk away like that?"
Jiang Chen looked back at her. "Why? Are you asking me to stay?"
"You ungrateful wretch—"
"Ungrateful?" Jiang Chen's voice was quiet but sharp. "Your Chen family spent three years secretly monitoring my every move, controlling what I could and couldn't do, keeping me like a pet in a cage. Don't pretend I didn't notice. I thought you were genuine. Turns out you're just another person chasing power."
He had seen through her long ago. There was nothing left worth saying. He turned and walked away without looking back.
Li Yanran fell into step behind him.
Chen Chuxi stood rooted to the spot, trembling with rage, silently vowing that Jiang Chen would pay for this.
Not long after, Wang Hao limped back clutching his ribs, a thin trail of blood at the corner of his mouth.
"Chuxi, that coward Jiang Chen sucker-punched me when I wasn't ready. I was just caught off guard — it won't happen again. Luckily, inheriting that Elite Jonin has toughened me up considerably, so no real damage done..."
It was, of course, a lie. More than a dozen of his ribs were broken. Had his pride not been on the line in front of Chen Chuxi, he would have sprinted to the nearest healing professional already.
A cold glint passed through Chen Chuxi's eyes. "Let him enjoy it while it lasts. Once our levels rise and we unlock more of our contracted abilities, the gap between us will speak for itself."
Wang Hao nodded vigorously. "Exactly. Genin contractors only fall further behind as time goes on. I won't forget this punch. Next time I see him, I'll make him pay back a hundredfold."