“You came to exchange for a three-hundred-year lingzhi?” Qing Xiangming felt as though he had heard the biggest joke in the world. He could not help asking again, even doubting whether his ears had malfunctioned! The notorious scum of Yao City, the bastard he hated to the bone, had actually come before him saying he wanted to make an exchange! Was this some kind of performance?
“Of course!” Ye Chu acted as though he had not heard the crowd’s mocking laughter. He smiled at Qing Xiangming and said, “As long as you are willing to trade, I can offer something of equal value to your three-hundred-year lingzhi!”
Ye Chu was penniless, but he possessed some things far more valuable than gold coins. For example, the medicinal pill condensed from baleful qi was precisely such a treasure!
“How amusing! Truly amusing!” Qing Xiangming burst into loud laughter. “If you break both your own legs, I might consider it!”
Ye Chu remained calm where he stood, a lazy smile hanging on his face. “If you have the ability, come and break them yourself!”
“Whoa…”
The entire hall erupted in an uproar. Everyone’s gazes shot towards Ye Chu in an instant. Was he provoking Qing Xiangming? A worthless waste actually daring to challenge one of Yao City’s talents! He truly did not know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth!
Ye Chao’s gaze also fixed on Ye Chu. Seeing him stand there neither humble nor arrogant, doubt flickered in Ye Chao’s eyes. Without the protection of being the Ye family’s heir, on what grounds was he still so rampant?
Su Rong’s beautiful eyes shifted and settled on Ye Chu! Surrounded by so many furious stares, yet he still maintained that lazy and unrestrained posture! It gave the illusion that he held Qing Xiangming and the others in complete disdain! Su Rong found him increasingly hard to read. After returning, Ye Chu was indeed different from before, but that did not mean he could stand toe-to-toe with Qing Xiangming!
“I will fulfil your wish!” Qing Xiangming was furious. To come to his territory and still dare to act so arrogantly, where did that leave him?
Just as he was about to make a move, several people beside him pulled him back. “Brother Qing! How could you dirty your hands on such scum? Leave him to us!”
Several of them surrounded Ye Chu, cold glints flashing in their eyes. A scoundrel deserved to be punished by all. Today they would give him a proper lesson!
Watching Ye Chu surrounded in the centre, Liang Shan stamped his feet in anxiety. Yet he had no way to help Ye Chu out of the predicament. Although he had been cultivating these past three years, his achievements were far from ideal!
“Ye Chu! Today we will make you understand! Yao City is not a place you can set foot in!” The leader among them stared at Ye Chu, rolled up his sleeves, and swung his fist, preparing to smash it towards Ye Chu.
“Wait!” Seeing them about to attack, Ye Chu hurriedly raised his hand to stop them.
“Scared now? Too late! Today you will definitely leave horizontally!” Several of them sneered, their eyes filled with contempt.
“It is not that I am afraid!” Ye Chu shook his head. “It is just that I have always been accustomed to keeping a low profile. I do not like fighting and killing! So let us forget about using fists and feet. In this new era we should emphasise civilisation and promote new morals! Competing fiercely and fighting brutally is not something people of our calibre should do!”
“Haha! A scoundrel like you still has the face to mention the word civilisation!” The one preparing to strike burst into loud laughter, finding it the greatest joke under heaven. “Brothers! If there is a grudge, repay the grudge! If there is enmity, settle the enmity! It is rare to have the chance to deal with such scum. Do not miss it!”
“Are you certain you want to fight?” Ye Chu said helplessly. “Would it not be better to keep things low-key?”
But how could these people listen to Ye Chu? They swung their fists and charged forward.
Ye Chao watched this scene with a complicated expression. His fist clenched, then ultimately relaxed. This person absolutely could not be saved. The moment he acted, it would be equivalent to acknowledging that Ye Chu was still part of the Ye family. Then everything Grandfather had done would be in vain. The imperial Ye family would resume suppressing the Weiyuan Marquis Residence, and the Ye family would become the public enemy of Yao City!
A group of people swung their fists towards Ye Chu. The crowd could not help but grow excited, already imagining they could hear Ye Chu’s miserable cries in their ears.
Just as they imagined, they did indeed hear cries of pain, but they were not Ye Chu’s!
The scene before them left Liang Shan staring wide-eyed in disbelief. The youths who had just swung their fists at Ye Chu were all sent flying one after another, crashing into tables and shattering the banquet tables in the hall into pieces.
At the centre stood Ye Chu, wearing a lazy smile. With every palm he sent out, another youth was blasted away. Ye Chu was like a fierce tiger, while they were like a flock of sheep. With light, casual sweeps of his palms, as though tossing stones, he hurled them one by one!
This scene exceeded everyone’s expectations, including Su Rong’s. Although Su Rong knew Ye Chu was no longer frail and weak, seeing him display such overwhelming strength still made her cover her delicate red lips with her hand in shock. The contrast was too great for her. In her memory, Ye Chu should only have been capable of committing evil and teasing beauties. But now…
His domineering strikes caused those who had raised their fists to prepare to deal with Ye Chu to retreat frantically, faces filled with terror. Some even became mentally unstable, muttering incoherently, “Impossible! Impossible!”
Because of their fear, they backed away. Ye Chu advanced, slapping one palm after another. The sound of slaps rang out continuously as he sent the group flying. “What if I threw you into the cesspit? What if I peeped at your sister bathing? What if I smashed your house… These were all because I thought highly of you, so I played along with you! I added some fun to your lives so you would not find them so dull and boring!”
These people wanted to cry. In their hearts they could not help cursing: Please do not think highly of us, all right?! We do not want any fun, all right?! We like being bored, all right?!
One slap after another finally terrified them. They begged without stop. “Spare us! We will not fight anymore! Ye Chu, did you not say you like keeping a low profile? Let us keep it low-key, all right!”
These young masters were flowers grown in a greenhouse. How could they withstand a few slaps from Ye Chu? They knelt on the ground begging for mercy, tears and snot streaming down their faces, utterly terrified!
“Keeping a low profile was in the past. Now I prefer to be wild!” Ye Chu said very seriously to the group. “Either low-key or wild! I have my own attitude!”
Zhang Su’er had always been rather carefree. Hearing this line, she could not help bursting into laughter. She thought to herself that the words actually sounded quite domineering!
“Stop!” Qing Xiangming had not expected such an outcome. Coming back to his senses, he stepped in front of Ye Chu to block him.
After slapping away the person beside him, Ye Chu clapped his hands as though nothing had happened. He looked at Qing Xiangming with a smile. “Now can we talk about the exchange?”
“Ye Chu! You really make me see you in a new light!” Qing Xiangming stared at Ye Chu. To so easily send these people flying, it seemed Ye Chu had trained bitterly these past three years. “However, today you have disrupted my younger brother’s birthday banquet. Your crime is even greater!”
Seeing Qing Xiangming step forward, the group who had just been slapped by Ye Chu shouted loudly. “Big Brother Qing! You must avenge us!”
“Break his legs!”
“Cut off his hands!”
“Do not let him leave here alive!”
“…”
The group shouted, their hatred for Ye Chu reaching its peak.
“You really want to make a move?” Ye Chu looked at Qing Xiangming. “Are you not afraid of ending up like them? You are different from them. You are someone with reputation and fame. If even you get slapped flying by a scum like me, your face will be completely lost!”
Before Qing Xiangming could reply, someone already cursed loudly. “Who do you think you are? Big Brother Qing Xiangming can handle you with ease!”
“That is right! Who are you trying to scare? Big Brother, deal with him quickly!”
“Brother Qing is about to break into the top ten young talents of the entire Yao City. What are you, you scum!”
“…”
Liang Shan watched Qing Xiangming stand opposite Ye Chu. His heart pounded fiercely. Qing Xiangming had reached the sixth layer of true fire realm, terrifyingly powerful! Although Ye Chu had appeared formidable just now, how could he compare to such a figure?
Ye Chu had been gone for three years. Even counting generously, he had only cultivated for three years. Reaching the peak of the ninth stage would already be impressive! Yet Qing Xiangming had cultivated for more than ten years and had stepped into the path of martial cultivation, reaching the terrifying sixth layer of true qi! Such a level was already comparable to some of the older generation!
“Ye Chu! Do not force it! Leave first!” Liang Shan no longer cared about anything else and shouted at Ye Chu.