Li Wuyang's outrageously lavish performance at the auction had intimidated most people, but it had also thoroughly offended the petty Patriarch of the Wang Family. As the local tyrant of Tiangong City, when had the Wang Family ever suffered such humiliation? Especially at the hands of an outsider.
A few days later, the Wang Family found an excuse, claiming that Qingyun Sect disciples had injured one of their people in the city. They demanded an explanation from the Qingyun Sect and specifically named "Senior Li," insisting that he come forward to explain himself.
It was clearly a trap. Qingyunzi came to discuss it with Li Wuyang, deeply worried.
"Fellow Daoist Li, the Wang Family is powerful and closely connected to Tiangong Workshop. I fear this matter will not end peacefully. How about I send them some gifts to settle things?" Qingyunzi wanted to compromise.
Li Wuyang laughed when he heard that. "Settle things? Why should we? If they want trouble, then we'll play with them! My hands have been itching anyway."
He had been worrying that the Spiritual Stream Realm was too boring and that no one was around to spar with him.
Seeing that Li Wuyang insisted, Qingyunzi could only grit his teeth and head to the Wang Family estate in Tiangong City with several elders and Li Wuyang.
The Wang Family estate was steeped in tension. The Patriarch of the Wang Family, Wang Bantian—whose name alone sounded domineering—sat in the seat of honor. Wang Family elders sat on either side, along with several stewards invited from Tiangong Workshop. They had clearly come to exert pressure.
"Sect Master Qingyunzi, your sect's disciples injured a member of my family. If you do not give us a satisfactory explanation, do not blame the Wang Family for showing no mercy!" Wang Bantian struck first, his manner aggressive.
Just as Qingyunzi was about to explain, Li Wuyang yawned and lazily said, "Wang Bantian, right? Stop beating around the bush. You lost to me at the auction, couldn't swallow it, and now you're looking for trouble. Just say it. What do you want? Name your terms!"
His thoughts exposed, Wang Bantian's old face reddened as he roared, "Insolence! Even setting aside the auction, it is a fact that you allowed your disciple to commit violence!"
"Where's the proof?" Li Wuyang picked at his ear.
"My clansman saw it with his own eyes!"
"Oh, so whatever your clansman says is the truth? Then I say you dislike me because you secretly have a crush on me!" Li Wuyang began shamelessly twisting logic.
Pfft! Even one of the Qingyun Sect elders could not hold back his laughter.
Wang Bantian trembled with rage. "You... you're being unreasonable!"
"Enough, enough." Li Wuyang waved his hand. "Don't you just want a fight? Say it, one-on-one or a group brawl? I'm in a hurry to get back and feed my son, Earth Doll."
Wang Bantian gave a sinister smile. "Fine! Since you are so confident, we'll follow the rules of the cultivation world! Let a match decide who is right! If you win, this matter ends here! If you lose, you must apologize to the Wang Family and hand over everything you obtained at the auction!"
"Sure." Li Wuyang agreed readily. "Who's coming up? You?"
Wang Bantian was a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator in the Primordial Realm, and was considered an expert in the Spiritual Stream Realm. He had originally intended to fight personally, but he was wary of Li Wuyang's true strength. So, he gave a meaningful look to a burly elder with a savage aura behind him. "Elder Wang Meng, go and experience Senior Li's impressive skills!"
Wang Meng was a mid-stage Golden Core body cultivator. His body was powerful, his strength boundless, and he was a famous enforcer of the Wang Family.
The group moved to the Wang Family's martial arts grounds. In the center stood a granite fighting stage reinforced with formations, incomparably sturdy.
Wang Meng leaped onto the stage, stretching his limbs until they crackled. With a ferocious grin, he said, "Senior Li, please enlighten me!" He intended to overpower his opponent with brute physical strength.
Li Wuyang slowly walked onto the stage, looked at Wang Meng, then tested the platform with his foot. Muttering to himself, he asked, "Is this stage sturdy? Don't let it collapse in a moment."
Wang Meng felt slighted. With an enraged roar, every muscle in his body swelled as he charged at Li Wuyang like a Brute Bull. He threw a punch that carried a fierce gale of force!
The Wang Family members below the stage all wore victorious smiles, as though they could already see Li Wuyang being sent flying with one punch.
Li Wuyang sighed, seeming terribly bored. He neither dodged nor circulated his power. He merely... casually lifted his foot, then lightly stepped down.
Yes, just a light step, like stepping on an ant.
The movement looked incomparably slow, even somewhat... elegant?
Yet, the instant his foot touched the platform—
RUMBLE!!!
The entire granite fighting stage, reinforced with formations, collapsed with a deafening crash around Li Wuyang's foot as if it had been struck by a meteor! Broken stones flew everywhere, and dust filled the air!
The charging Wang Meng suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath him. He lost his balance and plunged headfirst into the collapsed rubble, half his body buried beneath the stones, with only his legs twitching outside.
As for Li Wuyang, at the instant the stage collapsed, he had already drifted lightly onto the intact ground nearby. He dusted off the nonexistent dirt from the corner of his robes.
The entire place fell silent.
The smile on Wang Bantian's face froze, his eyes nearly popping out. The Tiangong Workshop stewards were gaping as well. The Qingyun Sect members, meanwhile, were both shocked and delighted.
One stomp... just one stomp... had crushed a fighting stage reinforced with formations?! What kind of monstrous physical strength was this?!
Li Wuyang looked at Wang Meng flailing in the rubble and Wang Bantian standing there dumbfounded. He innocently spread his hands. "See? What did I say? This stage isn't sturdy, is it? Build it stronger next time."
Wang Bantian's face alternated between green and white. He pointed at Li Wuyang, so furious that he could not speak. "You... you..."
"What about me?" Li Wuyang's expression turned cold as the pressure of an Earth Immortal instantly erupted from him, engulfing the entire Wang Family estate! "A bet is a bet! If anyone else refuses to accept it, come at me together! I'm in a hurry!"
Feeling that terrifying pressure, like a primordial beast, Wang Bantian and every member of the Wang Family were instantly drenched in cold sweat. Their legs went weak, and they barely dared to breathe! They finally understood that the man before them was someone they absolutely could not afford to provoke!
"P-Please calm your anger, Senior! I was blind and failed to recognize greatness! I offended you, Senior! This matter... this matter is over! It's over!" Wang Bantian hurriedly bowed and admitted his mistake, all his previous arrogance gone without a trace.
Li Wuyang snorted and withdrew his pressure. He turned to Qingyunzi. "Sect Master, let's go. This is settled."
With that, he could not even be bothered to spare the Wang Family another glance before turning and leaving. The Wang Family members looked at one another, on the verge of tears. Not only had they failed to recover their dignity, they had even lost their own fighting stage. They had suffered a crushing loss!
After this incident, Li Wuyang's fearsome reputation... no, his prestigious reputation, spread throughout the Spiritual Stream Realm. Everyone learned that a fierce man lived in the Qingyun Sect's back mountain, one who liked to reason with his feet. Under no circumstances should they provoke him!
(End of Chapter Forty-Nine)
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