“Leave? You are not leaving today!” Qing Xiangming blocked Ye Chu’s path, his eyes carrying a cold and sharp glint. Old and new grudges would all be settled with Ye Chu right now!
“I never intended to leave!” Ye Chu said. “But I also do not want to fight with you!”
“What? Scared now?” Qing Xiangming mocked Ye Chu. “But it is already too late! If you do not leave your legs and arms behind today, do not even think about walking out of the Qingyang Marquis Residence!”
“Scared is not quite the word! It is just that fighting you for no reason, without any stakes, who would be willing? How about this? If you insist on fighting, then put up your three-hundred-year lingzhi as the wager!” Ye Chu said casually to Qing Xiangming with a smile. “What do you say?”
“Not to mention a three-hundred-year lingzhi, even if it were a thousand-year lingzhi, so what? Do you have the ability to take it from me?” Qing Xiangming sneered. He did not take Ye Chu’s words seriously at all. Just a notorious scum of Yao City. A casual wave of his hand would deal with him.
Qing Xiangming swung his fist and swept it towards Ye Chu.
“Be careful!” Liang Shan spun in anxious circles. He thought to himself that Ye Chu really was something. Why had he not brought Pang Shao along? With Pang Shao there, forget about a single three-hundred-year lingzhi. Even if they demanded a thousand-year lingzhi, the Qingyang Marquis Residence would do everything possible to find one for him!
“Ye Chu! Today I will rid Yao City of a scourge on its behalf!” Qing Xiangming’s fist was about to land on Ye Chu. His voice boomed, full of excitement.
Ye Chu casually grabbed a nearby stool and tossed it towards Qing Xiangming. Qing Xiangming smashed his fist into the stool. The stool shattered into pieces, wood chips flying everywhere. The crowd instinctively retreated, forming a wide circle.
The impact caused Qing Xiangming’s movement to pause for a moment. Ye Chu took several steps back, then extended a single finger and wagged it. “One move is enough!”
Before the crowd could understand what Ye Chu meant, they saw the originally lazy Ye Chu move like a cunning rabbit, his speed astonishingly fast. Everyone’s vision blurred for an instant, and Ye Chu was already in front of Qing Xiangming. His fist struck without any flourish, colliding directly with Qing Xiangming’s fist.
“Boom…”
A muffled sound rang out. Everyone in the hall witnessed a scene that shook their souls. All eyes widened, breaths held, expressions filled with disbelief. They stood frozen in dead silence. The muffled sound echoed endlessly in the hall and in everyone’s minds.
Everyone felt as though their minds had turned to mush, thoughts completely halted. They stood there stunned, eyes nearly popping out.
Su Rong, Zhang Su’er, and the other young ladies all suddenly opened their delicate little mouths in shock, then hurriedly covered them with their hands to stifle any cries of surprise.
“He… he…”
Liang Shan pointed at Qing Xiangming, who had been smashed to the ground, stammering incoherently!
How was this possible?! One move! Just one move! And he had taken down Qing Xiangming, one of Yao City’s talents, someone almost about to break into the top ten! Liang Shan felt his brain could no longer function. His gaze burned as he stared at Ye Chu. Was this really the notorious, utterly useless scum and waste of Yao City? It was simply too unbelievable!
“Three years ago I could bully you until you did not dare speak. Three years later, the same still holds!” Ye Chu looked at Qing Xiangming calmly. “A bet is a bet! Bring out the three-hundred-year lingzhi!”
Ye Chu thought to himself that some people simply loved getting slapped. He had originally intended to exchange with him in good faith. Yet the other party had insisted on picking a fight. Only after suffering a loss would they regret it!
Qing Xiangming propped himself up with his hands and struggled to his feet. He coughed several times and noticed traces of blood in his cough. Recalling the surge of energy from the clash just now, Qing Xiangming felt absolute terror in his heart. That was definitely the power of upper-grade true qi!
“Impossible! You are just a worthless scum of Yao City! There is no way you could defeat me!” Qing Xiangming was going mad. He refused to accept this reality. It was far too absurd!
Not only Qing Xiangming, even Su Rong was covering her lips at this moment. Her beautiful eyes blinked hard, confirming this was not an illusion! Her heart could not calm down. She had repeatedly warned Ye Chu to leave Yao City earlier, yet now it seemed how laughable her warnings had been. With the strength to defeat Qing Xiangming, he truly had nothing to fear!
“Three years! Can three years really transform a person to this extent?” With a complicated expression, she looked at Ye Chu. This young man no longer seemed to be the one who used to tremble and stutter in front of her because of his secret crush.
Although he was still a rogue and a scoundrel, he was no longer a useless waste! Who would dare call someone capable of defeating Qing Xiangming a waste? That would be slapping their own faces!
Ye Chao’s expression was complicated. Massive waves surged in his heart. This was the descendant the Ye family had expelled from the clan. He had originally thought Ye Chu was doomed this time. Yet the outcome was completely unexpected!
He knew very well what the sixth layer of true qi meant. It was a realm ordinary people could never reach in their lifetime. In the kingdom, such strength was already comparable to a deputy general in the army! One more step and he would enter the upper grade of true qi! In the entire Yao City, he was absolutely among the top ranks! Yet under Ye Chu’s hand, he could not even withstand a single move!
Ye Chao roughly estimated his own strength. Even defeating Qing Xiangming in one move would not be this effortless! What did that mean? It meant Ye Chu was already stronger than him?!
“This is impossible!” Ye Chao refused to accept this fact!
While Ye Chu had been indulging in debauchery and pleasure in Yao City, he himself had trained relentlessly regardless of scorching heat or freezing cold. He had persisted like that for more than ten years! If Ye Chu could catch up after only three years of cultivation, it would be far too crushing!
In the past, Ye Chao had deeply despised Ye Chu’s behaviour and considered him a disgrace to the Ye family. But at this moment… Ye Chao felt a thousand different thoughts swirling in his heart!
“What? Still not bringing out the three-hundred-year lingzhi!” Ye Chu laughed. “You who style yourself as a gentleman surely would not go back on your word!”
“You could not possibly defeat me!” Qing Xiangming roared. He swung his arms again and swept fiercely towards Ye Chu. He refused to believe Ye Chu was truly this strong.
“One does not see the Yellow River and does not give up until reaching it!” Ye Chu shook his head. “Fine then! Yesterday that fat deadweight in front of me said beating someone can only make them fatter, not slimmer. I did not believe it. Today I will use you to test it out!”
Just as Qing Xiangming’s fist was about to smash into Ye Chu, Ye Chu swung his palm in a backhand slap without any suspense. The slap landed squarely on Qing Xiangming’s face. A bright red palm print appeared instantly, and his face swelled up at once.
Qing Xiangming had never suffered such treatment. Rage burned in his heart. Only one thought remained in his mind: kill Ye Chu. He charged madly towards Ye Chu like a demon, his energy erupting to the extreme. His entire strength seemed to surge several times over.
Ye Chu’s expression did not change in the slightest. He slapped out another palm!
“Smack…”
The crisp sound of the slap reached every ear. The crowd’s expressions were complicated. This had once been the genius they admired, the centre around which they had gathered, the figure they respected to the extreme, the goal they had set for their lives.
Yet now their central figure was being ruthlessly trampled underfoot by someone they had cursed as a useless scum! This was a fact they could not accept, because it completely shattered their beliefs!
“Smack…” Another slap rang out. Ye Chu looked at the increasingly swollen face and muttered, “Strange. Really cannot make him slimmer. Only fatter?”
“Smack… I do not believe it! I think it can make him fatter!”
“No logic at all! According to physics, a slap should compress, right? Compression should make it smaller. Why is it getting bigger? Let me try again…”
The sound of slaps continued to ring out. From time to time Ye Chu tossed out a casual remark. Liang Shan felt Ye Chu was far too shameless. Was he deliberately trying to disgust people? He had never heard of anyone being able to beat someone slimmer!
“Smack…” Ye Chu delivered another slap. Seeing Qing Xiangming’s face swollen to the point where he was almost unrecognisable, Ye Chu finally shook his head. “Forget it! It seems even someone as knowledgeable as me can be wrong sometimes! Turns out you really cannot beat someone slimmer! But no matter. At least it proves the feasibility of beating someone’s face swollen to make them look fatter!”
Ye Chu felt he was an excellent scholar. Even at a time like this, he remembered to leave reference material for future generations!
“What audacity! To dare cause trouble in my Qingyang Marquis Residence!” Just as Ye Chu stopped, a furious roar suddenly rang out. Everyone looked over and saw Qingyang Marquis storming in, his face ablaze with anger!
The arrival of Qingyang Marquis filled the crowd with joy and hope! Yet Liang Shan’s expression changed dramatically. This was a figure of the same generation as his own father. Qingyang Marquis was notorious for his explosive temper. Among all the marquises, no one wanted to provoke him!